Book: 50 Fantastic Ideas to Encourage Diversity and Inclusion via @BloomsburyEd

A collection of 50 fun and effective activities to nurture kindness and inclusivity in your Early Years setting. Covering important topics such as gender, race, ethnicity, age and mental health with positivity and openness, this book gives practitioners the confidence to build an inclusive environment for all children. Following the belief that children can be active agents of change, the ideas…

Why the word ‘curriculum’ is important in Early Years

#UKEdChat session 548Curricula come in many forms and are adhered to in different waysThe way a curriculum is implemented changes greatly for different age groups.Click here to view the tweet archive. In my experience, the there are two main sources of curse words in schools: behind the bike sheds and from the head’s office. Some see the word ‘curriculum’ as a dirty word – a prescribed set of…

NEW Report reveals that early years workforce in England is underpaid, overworked and undervalued #UKEdChat

Low pay, a high workload and a lack of career development for early years workers risk having a serious impact on the provision of care and education services for the under-fives, says the Social Mobility Commission in its report, The stability of the early years workforce.

The report reveals that as many as one in 8 of the early years workforce is paid under £5.00 an hour. The average wage is…

NEW: Research shows how disadvantaged boys benefit most from early school years

Boys from disadvantaged backgrounds benefit most from early schooling, helping to narrow the skills gap with boys from high socio-economic backgrounds, according to new research.

The study, by researchers from the University of York and UCL, reveals that an additional term (4 months) of early schooling has a positive effect on boys from disadvantaged backgrounds up until age 11 – improving…

Early Years difficulties may predict academic achievement across primary

Identifying factors that predict academic difficulties during elementary school should help inform efforts to help children who may be at risk. New Penn State research suggests that children’s executive functions may be a particularly important risk factor for such difficulties.

Preliminary findings from a three-year National Science Foundation-funded project, recently published in Child…

UKEdMag: Men in the Early Years by @talkseducation

Men in the Early Years – My experiences: a brief look back

By Ian Mullock – This article originally appeared in Issue 49 of the UKEd Magazine. Click here to view.

It would seem the focus for attracting more men into the early years is once again at the forefront of ‘Early Childhood Education’. During my fifteen years service I, myself have been seen countless acknowledgements that recognise the…