Another thought provoking post by Emily Dawson who is currently studying for a PhD in Education at Canterbury Christ Church University and works as a childminder from her home. As in the previous post, all names are anonymised. Thank you Emily - lots to think about here! I am a mother and yet, because of …
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Professional love and childminders
A great post by Emily Dawson who is currently studying for a PhD in Education at Canterbury Christ Church University and works as a childminder from her home. All names have been anonymised. As a childminder, I welcome lots of children into my home and my heart. One day, a child was being dropped off by …
The impact of COVID-19 on young children
I was fortunate last week to be able to attend a virtual meeting with colleagues from across the globe who all have either a professional role in working with young children or a research interest in finding out the impacts and experiences of young children’s lives. Each attendee shared news of how very young children …
Questions of quality and the EYFS
No doubt you will have been following the reaction to the EYFS reforms from the Early Childhood community. There is genuine outrage that responses to the consultation have been ignore and that the DfE has ploughed on regardless without listening to the concerns and recommendations of those who have years of expertise in working and …
Being outside: why is it so important for babies and toddlers?
It’s a wet and windy kind of day here in the north of England; not the sort of weather you would hope for at the end of June. As I check the forecast to see what time would be best to go for a walk in the fresh air, I am reminded of a conversation …
Continue reading Being outside: why is it so important for babies and toddlers?
Access all areas: Unequal access to the outdoors
There are so many aspects of our daily life we are trying to get right at the moment; we have to look after our mental and physical health, take care of others and follow important government guidelines. As we do so, appreciating all the things we have to be thankful for, the inequalities in our …
Continue reading Access all areas: Unequal access to the outdoors
Where are the babies? A report on babies’ and toddlers’ engagement with the outdoors
We hope our readers are doing okay in these difficult times. We know that it must be especially hard for those of you with young children; you will want to ensure that they get both some exercise and also fresh air. Those with gardens can at least enjoy some of the sunshine we have had …
A new book! Understanding Gender and Early Childhood: An Introduction to the Key Debates
We were delighted to receive through the post this week several copies of our new book; we were even more delighted to see it displayed in the university bookshop. We began thinking about this book in 2016, in fact we submitted the proposal the day after we finished the final draft of our first co-authored …
Trends in early years practice.
This week’s post has been written by one of our regular contributors, Karen Matthews, who is an early years practitioner. Thanks once again Karen for a great post! Many areas of life are spurred on by trends or hot topics and the early years sector is no different. It’s all too easy to get drawn …
What can babies get out of the theatre?
Last weekend one of us went to see a theatre performance aimed at children aged from six to eighteen months.
Contemplating Childhoods 