103 articles in this category

Cherry Garden Branch Maps - a different approach to assessment for chi…
by Stephen Kilgour on November 18, 2019
Stephen Kilgour, SEND Advisor and Outreach Teacher at Tapestry, tells us about a brand new, unique assessment tool for children with learning differences and disabilities.
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The benefits of introducing STEM in the Early Years
by Natalie Bent and Denhue Harris on November 15, 2022
Natalie Bent and Denhue Harris share their reflections and ideas about why we need to nurture STEM in our early years settings.
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Foundations in Phonics: How pre-phonic skills impact on success in rea…
by Emma Spiers on December 6, 2022
Early reading and Phonics expert Emma Spiers takes a closer look at pre-phonics, and the importance of building a strong foundation for future phonics learning.
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Educational Pioneers: Friedrich Froebel, 1782-1852
by Juliet Mickelburgh on December 16, 2010
As the name of his system of schooling suggests, the 'kindergarten' or 'children's garden' allowed time for outside play and experiencing nature. Froebel felt that play should have a purpose if the child was to learn from it. He devised specific pl…
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Playful Pedagogy and Transitions in Children's Mathematics
by Maulfry Worthington on January 18, 2011
The natural beginnings of written mathematics start within children's imaginative play. In this article, Maulfry Worthington describes children's mathematical graphics; children's own mathematical marks and representations, and gives examples colle…
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The Importance of Young Children's Mark-making: Beginnings, Context, M…
by Elizabeth Carruthers on January 18, 2011
Mark making has an important place in the development towards children's understanding of standard symbolic languages, for example mathematics and writing. This article discusses children's mark making with reference to practice and pedagogy parti…
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Using Music to Support Learning in the EYFS
by Mary E. Maunder on February 10, 2020
Mary E. Maunder suggests musical activities to support young children's learning and development.
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Development Matters: A landscape of possibilities, not a roadmap
by Nancy Stewart on May 27, 2016
How many times have you thought that it would be easy to use Development Matters as a 'tick list'? Which managers have had heated meetings with staff who say that 'ticking off' aspects makes it so much easier to plan next steps? I know that here at…
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What can Play contribute to Early Years Science?
by Natalie Day on October 19, 2016
We know that children love to play. Play is an intrinsic developmental vehicle by which children develop a plethora of skills through physical play, playing with objects, pretence and game play. This ‘knowledge’ of the importance of play has gaine…
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An early years practitioner in the Millennium: Challenges of technolog…
by WChurchill on March 1, 2017
I spent over twenty rewarding and stimulating years as a classroom teacher in the North of England and for the most part as a senior manager responsible for the early years foundation stage (EYFS). I delighted in working with children and parents an…
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Teacher Choices: Visible and open to question
by Jill McLachlan on May 17, 2017
As teachers, we are constantly making decisions. Choosing how to respond, to the events in any given day, is never a neutral undertaking. Our decisions have impact on not only our own experience, but also that of the children we teach and the commun…
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The Practicalities of Next Steps
by FSF Rebecca on September 13, 2017
It comes up on the FSF sufficiently often that I have begun to wonder if we, in early years, are perhaps looking for ‘an answer’ – the Next Step ‘Holy Grail’ as it were. Sensibly, we all know that there cannot be an answer, children are all different…
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Characteristics of Effective Learning: play and exploration in action
by Ruksana Mohammed on July 18, 2015
Characteristics of Effective Learning (CoEL) are a revived element in the current Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS). CoEL advocate that in planning and guiding children’s activities, practitioners must reflect on the different ways that …
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Understanding and Developing Reflective Practice
by Penny Borkett on November 15, 2014
This article will focus on the need for early years practitioners to develop their knowledge of reflective thinking. It will focus on some of the history and theory of reflective practice considering and discussing how theory can help develop practi…
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Creative Diaries: Taking a line for a walk
by Ruksana Mohammed on November 12, 2015
The provision of mark making opportunities can help children develop imaginatively, creatively and physically. Mark making is important for many reasons. It is a visible way for children to tell stories and express feelings, record what they have to …
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“Working with multilingual children in the Early Years.” Dr Rose Drur…
by Kate Cahill on February 15, 2017
From Spring 2017, all schools will be required to assess and report on English proficiency in the Department for Education (DfE) census for any child with English as an additional language (EAL). As this will include children in maintained nursery sc…
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Next steps, choose wisely
by FSF Rebecca on August 14, 2017
This is the first article in what will be a series examining questions such as ‘What are next steps?’, ‘Who decides which next steps are appropriate?’, ‘What is the best way to record next steps?’ and ‘How often should next steps be reviewed?’
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Capturing Children's Sparks
by Ruksana Mohammed on October 12, 2015
It is often noted in literature that planning and teaching should be based around children’s interests. Through doing so, practitioners can enhance development and progress in each area of learning. The National Strategies for Early Years suggest tha…
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Individuality Matters: The Curse of Development Checklists
by Ruksana Mohammed on August 3, 2015
The use of milestones in the form of development checklists do not take on the individuality of each child. They are generic and imply that all children go through the sequential process. This article aims to introduce the concept of individuality of…
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Putting the theory into practice
by Alistair Bryce-Clegg on May 17, 2018
Quality Early Years practice comes from an understanding of child development and also a belief that children should play the principle role in leading their learning. What we do and how we do it is built on centuries of theory, research and succes…
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Supporting parents to understand the benefits of ‘risky’ play
by Dr. Lala Manners on May 10, 2019
Why has ‘risk-taking’ become such a negative concept in children’s lives – or used so loosely as to defy any purpose or definition? ‘Challenging play’ and ‘adventurous play’ are considered acceptable and essential – but ‘risky play’ causes much con…
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Characteristics of Effective Learning: creating and thinking criticall…
by Ruksana Mohammed on June 25, 2014
This article is the third and final in our series on the Characteristics of Effective Learning, following on from Play and Exploration in Action and Active Learning in Action.
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The Historical Context of Outdoor Learning and the Role of the Practit…
by Michaela Machan on June 6, 2016
You could be forgiven for thinking that outdoor play is a relatively new phenomenon, driven by The National Trust (2016) and their ‘50 Things to do before you’re 11¾’ project.  Children and being outside seems to be a recurrent theme in the media a…
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Children, play and digital technologies
by Christine Stephen on July 16, 2014
This article is about young children playing with digital technologies at home and in their educational settings. It draws on a series of research studies conducted at the University of Stirling over a period of 10 years with my colleagues Professo…
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Reflective Practice: What is Reflection, why should it inform our prac…
by Dr Jen Colwell on July 17, 2019
This article is the first in a series looking at Reflection and its role in Early Years Practice. In this paper we focus on the theory of reflection, what the potential benefits may be and what it requires of practitioners.  This series of art…
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