Another great blog to get us thinking by Dr Paula Stone; let Paula know what you think about this initiative by adding your comments. This week (20 February), the Education Secretary Damian Hinds has announced the roll-out of free access to educational apps to families from disadvantaged backgrounds in a bid to boost early literacy …

Continue reading Is this app ……appropriate?

This week’s blog is written by Charlotte Hanks a final year Early Childhood Studies student.     Recently I have been reading ‘Swallows and Amazons’ by Ransome (1930).      I can’t help but think how lovely it is to read about the adventures these children have sailing and camping on an island with no adults around. However, …

Continue reading ‘Get some fresh air’ – The importance of outdoor play

We are both fans of the programme and were interested to find out whether any research has been carried out about it – should parents make time for Teletubbies?

Rebecca Reynolds is an independent early years literacy consultant. Whilst visiting a school recently I was struck by a little girl next to me who had been asked to attempt to write a cursive ‘b’ after a phonics lesson. The teacher explained that whilst in the phonics lesson the letter was shown in print but …

Continue reading Early writing and motor planning

Do you agree with Prof Runciman - should the minimum voting age be lowered to six?

Thank you Dr Paula Stone for another timely post. On Wednesday, I was heartened to hear the news about OfSTED’s plans to issue new guidelines for inspection that will shift the focus towards quality of education rather than purely educational ‘outcomes’ or attainment.  It is proposed that this will be the biggest overhaul of the inspection …

Continue reading OfSTED’s proposed new guidelines for inspection. A step in the right direction?

      When I taught in a primary school there was a Dr Seuss nonsense song that the children loved to sing with great enthusiasm. It was called The Super-Supper March and began ‘Hungry, hungry, I am hungry, I could eat a pickled plum...’. Do you remember it? Perhaps you sang it too. When I …

Continue reading ‘Hungry, hungry, I am hungry…’; young children and food insecurity.

We are taking a break for the Christmas holidays and will be back online on 4th January 2019.  Thank you for all your support for Contemplating Childhoods this year and if you would like to contribute a post in 2019 then do please get in touch. Polly and Jo

Dr. Paula Stone is Senior Lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University. Her interests are class and education. I have been struck by the number of recent articles and debates around the use of social media and the impact that this is having on young people. As highlighted by Harriet Smithers in her recent blog which …

Continue reading Good words are worth much …. (George Herbert)

This week we have been reflecting on the BBC Two series Babies: Their Wonderful World again.