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This week

1. Did you know
2. Website of the Week
3. Under5s Download Centre
4. Date for your Diary
5. News
6. International News 
7. More Educational Sites
 

1. DID YOU KNOW
 

It was Early Years Week on Teachers TV last week and we missed it ! If you missed it too then you can catch up on the Teachers TV website.

This themed week on Teachers TV looked at the new initiatives affecting schools across the country including the new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, and asks what it will mean for educators across the school curriculum. It also examined good practices amongst early years practitioners in schools at home and abroad.

Some of the programmes on offer included:

Early Years: How Do They Do It In Sweden?

Sweden's attitude to teaching 1- to 6-year-olds appears incredibly relaxed. There's little formal learning, play is paramount and the children are encouraged to help with cleaning and catering. Most of the children who leave pre-school can't read or write, yet within three years of starting formal schooling Swedish children lead the literacy tables in Europe. We travel to Motala in Sweden to discover just how they achieve such stunning results.
 
http://www.teachers.tv/video/12090

Need to Know - Early Years Foundation Stage

Education broadcaster and journalist Mike Baker presents this essential guide to the crucial Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) issues. He details what you need to know about the new framework and how it will affect the daily work of birth-to-5 settings.
 
http://www.teachers.tv/video/24245

Men in Primary - Early Years

This programme follows a male reception teacher, male nursery teacher and male nursery nurse in the female-dominated area of early years education, giving their frank account of the issues they face. They discuss the highs and lows of teaching and why male role models for young children are so important.
 
http://www.teachers.tv/video/24048 
 
 
 

2. WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

POISSON ROUGE 

A really fascinating site with free games and printable resources to enhance early learning. There are no instructions ! But that is all part of the fun.

http://www.poissonrouge.com/ 
 
 

3. UNDER5S DOWNLOAD CENTRE

DON'T FORGET - you can find 24 different plans in the Download Centre and  all of our planning is available to download today. 

Don't miss the fantastic Let's Sign signing resources.

Childminders - if you are struggling with Birth to Three, take a look at the Birth to Three Planning Guidance.

http://cnb-host4.clickandbuild.com/cnb/shop/under5s?op=catalogue-categories-null

EARLY LEARNING FORUMS

Join Us !

To discuss early years issues. To find support and advice on early years education. To relax and chat amongst friends. Come on in and have a look... 

http://www.earlylearning forums.co.uk
 

4. DATE FOR YOUR DIARY

Early Years 2008 - Sharing Visions for Early Childhood 

12th September

A 2day conference dedicate to 0-5s featuring a programme excellently devised by Ros Bayley and Margaret Edgington. This years event has a truly national event with speakers coming from across the UK & there will be a fantastic exhibition of resources.

http://www.mahealthcareevents.co.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/conferences/detail.html?conference_uid=50
 

NDNA SHARES GOOD PRACTICE AND TIPS FOR MANAGING CARER AND CHILD PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH FREE RESOURCE

NDNA makes new resource widely available to support all nurseries with issue of 'appropriate touch' 

National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) has announced that it has created a free resource to help settings understand the key issues, challenges and good practice when managing physical contact between childcarers and children.
 

NDNA has produced a briefing paper ‘managing carer/child physical contact’ which looks at why ‘appropriate’ touch is increasingly becoming an issue for nurseries, gives guidelines for good practice, shares frequently asked questions and provides illustrative case studies. Briefing papers are part of the benefit package for members, but due to the importance of this topic, NDNA is making the resource available free electronically.
 

Produced in partnership with Scope, and with input and advice from author Jennie Lindon, the paper highlights that whilst appropriate touch might be sometimes a concern for settings, nurseries should not be afraid to cuddle children, provide increased physical contact to meet the needs of disabled children or seek training and support to help with restraining techniques. Packed with useful tips and scenarios about various situations, the briefing paper helps to promote understanding about how nurseries can ensure children develop secure attachments whilst meeting safeguarding requirements.
 

Purnima Tanuku, Chief Executive of NDNA comments: “The issue of what constitutes appropriate touch is increasingly a key consideration for day nurseries and this briefing paper answers some of the major questions. Whilst NDNA understands that providers do have worries about finding the right balance of contact between children and carers, we believe that touch is vital to the emotional well-being of children and this free resource highlights this and provides answers to key concerns around areas such as cuddling, intimate care routines and touch policies. We hope that by making this a free resource, all nurseries can request it and we hope that this will encourage them to look at their own approaches to contact to ensure that children of all ages and abilities within their settings can grow confidently and enjoy the best possible relationships with their carers.”
 

Lindsay Brewis from Scope adds: “We know that in recent years many nurseries have started to face a practice dilemma about physical contact, and we are pleased to have worked with NDNA on producing this important resource. Contact is key to the development of young children, and whilst safeguarding children is always central, we should not be afraid to cuddle children or adjust levels of contact for those with additional needs. This paper provides a solid introduction to good practice, and will help settings understand how to define what constitutes an ‘appropriate level’ of touch when caring for children. Nurseries should take advantage of this free resource, and we hope it helps nurseries to think about how to address their own concerns to help ensure all children are cared for in safe, loving environments.”
 

NDNA members have already been sent a copy of the briefing paper. Nurseries who wish to receive a free electronic copy should email their full details in full to jessica.hamilton@ndna.org.uk 
 

LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND SCHOOLS NEED TO BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO PARENTS MORE EFFECTIVELY RATHER THAN JUST TELLING THEM WHAT TO DO

    The Family and Parenting Institute has launched its short guide on Listening to Parents which offers practical tips and advice on how to consult effectively with parents.

    The Guide, which is based on research by the FPI and the National Consumer Council, is aimed at local authorities, schools, nurseries and children's centres.

    It gives tips on different ways of engaging with parents, possible consultation methods and ways of making sure the voices of the "seldom heard" are taken account of when schools and local authorities talk to parents.

    The guide recommends that consultation will not work unless organisations have a "parents' champion" to push forward the parents' case. But most importantly it points out that parents need to be told that they have been listened to and be able to see what actually happened in the end.

    Director of Communications, Lucy Lloyd, who led the FPI's work into parental consultation said, "Much recent legislation has placed an obligation on local authorities to ask parents their opinions, be it around their Children and Young People's Plan, their Parenting Strategies or their provision of school and childcare places. The Children's Plan explicitly says that services need to be shaped and responsive to families and not built around professional boundaries.

    "Many local authorities and schools are searching for ways to ask parents their views effectively. Sometimes they talk at parents and tell them what they should do, but they do not actually listen to them because taking parents' opinions into account when decisions are made can be very hard. Even when local authorities do listen to parents properly, they often don't show them that their views have actually had an effect. Parents are frustrated and feel their views are not taken seriously when it comes to the formation of policies and services which directly affect them.

    "This handy guide is based on our research and also our long established work with local authorities and schools on consulting with parents. We hope that by bringing this experience to a wider audience, it will be the first step in making sure that parents are listened to better and that the concerns and interests of families are taken more seriously than they have been up until now."
 

EARLY YEARS WELCOME ASSEMBLY MOVES TO SUPPORT YOUNG CHILDREN

Early Years - the organisation for young children - has welcomed today's all party motion calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to maintain and further develop its support for young children.
 

    This afternoon  (15/01/08) representatives of the DUP, Sinn Fein, the Ulster Unionist Party, the SDLP, Alliance and the PUP supported a motion which reads:

    That this Assembly notes the work of Professor Heckman and Mark Greenberg on government investment with young children; urges the Executive to take note of the outcomes from this work, and to invest in early intervention and prevention; and calls on the Executive to protect, maintain and further develop the investment that has been made in children and young people, through Executive Programme Funds, the Children and Young People's Priority Funding Package, and the Supporting Families Package.

    Speaking prior to the debate Barney Mc Neany, Deputy Chief Executive of Early Years, said,

    "We have been campaigning for the Executive to further invest in early childhood services. We believe a Transformation Fund, to ensure early years staff are qualified at graduate level is a key first step in his process.

    During the symposium organised by Early Years in November 07, Prof. Heckmann demonstrated how an investment of £1 in early childhood services can yield a return of up to £17 over time, helping our population to become better learners, more creative, more adaptable in their attitude to life, more likely to live a healthy lifestyle and to be more law abiding. Investment in early childhood services and in the staff providing them will significantly enhance the quality of life for our youngest children and pay dividends for the future of Northern Ireland.

    We warmly welcome the Assembly debate on this important issue which Early Years – the Organisation for Young Children - has raised and in particular that the potential of Prof. Heckman's work has been so fully recognised. We hope the debate will influence the forthcoming decisions on the Draft Budget and that both policy and spending priorities takes account of Prof. Heckmann's evidence. We look forward to hearing from the Executive on their plans."
 

NEW RESOURCES FROM THE PRE-SCHOOL LEARNING ALLIANCE HELP PARENTS SUPPORT CHILDREN AT THE EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE
 

The Pre-school Learning Alliance has published a series of books to help parents support children following the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the play-based curriculum being introduced to all early years settings by September 2008.

Grouped under the umbrella title First and Foremost, the series comprises six books packed with a wealth of ideas for applying the key themes and principles of the EYFS to everyday life and so enriching a child's learning and development in early years settings. With each book containing a chapter on theory and research, the First and Foremost series is an ideal resource for parents, grandparents, practitioners and childcare students alike.

First and Foremost (Ref AO12)

Listening Together (Ref: A001) focuses on the development of communication and language including children who sign and those who are learning to be bi-lingual.
Playing and Learning Outdoors (Ref: A003) offers parents and practitioners creative ideas of outdoor activities they can do with children in the most subtle way and looks at the potential for exploring all areas and aspects of learning in outdoor environments beyond physical play.

Music and Dance (Ref A004) explores ways the crucial role that music and dance plays in children's cognitive, emotional, physical and social development. Included in the book are ideas for encouraging music and dancing and harnessing children's instinctive responses.

Numbers, Shapes and Problem Solving (Ref A006) This book demonstrates how the knowledge and understanding children gain from finding out about objects - how they work, and what they do - informally in the home is linked to further learning through play in their setting. This understanding in turn is an essential pre-requisite for introducing formal mathematics at an appropriate time.

Being Me (Ref A007) focuses on the individuality and uniqueness of each child, their personality and the development of their sense of ‘self'. The area of learning that Being Me links strongly with its personal, social and emotional development. This area is the key to opening the doors to the whole curriculum.

Mark making and representation (Ref A008) This book looks at children's early use of crayons, marks and paint to make lines and shapes on paper or other surfaces that represent their thoughts, ideas, experiences and feelings. Mark making is an important aspect of development for babies and children who are beginning to represent their ideas in this way.

First and Foremost can be purchased either as a set or individually. Price for the complete set is £42.12 for members of the Pre-school Learning Alliance and £52.65 for non-members. Cost for each individual book is £7.80 for members and £9.75 for non-members. Copies can be purchased at http://www.pre-school.org.uk/shop or by calling 0870 603 0062
 
 

LATEST PRIMARY REVIEW RESEARCH SURVEYS QUESTION ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT HOW YOUNG CHILDREN THINK AND LEARN; AND HOW THEIR SPECIFIC NEEDS ARE IDENTIFIED AND MET

Hard on the heels of the Government’s Children’s Plan, and contributing to the debate about young
children’s wellbeing and education, come four further reports specially commissioned for the independent Primary Review, the biggest enquiry into English primary education for forty years. 
 
Drawing on over 500 published sources, today’s reports assess the latest published research on how young children develop and learn, how their differing needs are identified, and how equitably the education system meets these needs.
 
The two reports on children’s learning stress, for all children, the importance of concentrating on the
cognitive, social and linguistic prerequisites of learning during the early and primary years. They show the need for pretend play in the early years, and of structured talk and peer collaboration at the primary stage, neither of which is as well developed in some schools as it needs to be, and of the essential role in children’s learning of all those with whom they interact - parents, carers and peers as well as teachers. Drawing on recent brain research one of the surveys challenges conventional wisdom about left-brain/right-brain learning and ‘learning styles’; and rejects the long-held belief that there are developmental stages in learning to think.
 
The reports have considerable implications for the work of teachers and those who train them.
 
The other two reports, on diversity, inclusion and special educational needs, underline the considerable diversity of the primary pupil population, yet they also warn against simplistic assumptions about children’s differences and needs on the basis of the statistical categories currently in use. They point to inequalities in the system for identifying and meeting children’s special educational needs (SEN), with some groups of children more likely to be statemented than others with comparable needs, and considerable inconsistencies in local provision. The reports show that progress towards inclusion in the primary sector is slow, and that teachers are finding it increasingly difficult to support children with SEN in mainstream primary schools.
 
These reports complement the four published on 23 November which assessed research on children’s lives outside school, changing patterns of parenting and caring, and the relationship between schools and other agencies. Together, this fast-growing body of evidence from the Primary Review contributes not just to the Review’s own deliberations but also to the current debate about the Government’s Children’s Plan.
 
These reports have been commissioned as evidence to the Primary Review, which however
reserves judgement on their findings pending its assessment of the full range of evidence. They are:
 
• Children’s Cognitive Development and Learning, by Usha Goswami and Peter Bryant (Primary
Review Research Survey 2/1a).
 
• Children’s Social Development, Peer Interaction and Classroom Learning, by Christine Howe
and Neil Mercer (Primary Review Research Survey 2/1b).
 
• Children in Primary Education: demography, culture, diversity and inclusion, by Mel Ainscow,
Jean Conteh, Alan Dyson and Katherine Runswick-Cole (Primary Review Research Survey 5/1).
 
• Learning Needs and Difficulties Among Children of Primary School Age: definition,
identification, provision and issues, by Harry Daniels and Jill Porter (Primary Review Research
Survey 5/2).
 
 
 

6. INTERNATIONAL NEWS

USA

TODDLERS ENGAGE IN 'EMOTIONAL EAVESDROPPING' TO GUIDE THEIR BEHAVIOR

    University of Washington (USA) researchers have found that 18-month-old toddlers engage in what they call “emotional eavesdropping” by listening and watching emotional reactions directed by one adult to another and then using this emotional information to shape their own behavior.
     
    Writing in the journal Child Development, Betty Repacholi and Andrew Meltzoff of the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences say the research indicates infants understand other people’s emotional states at a very young age.
     
    “This may be a precursor to ‘reading’ other people’s minds by understanding their emotional and psychological states,” said Repacholi, an assistant professor of psychology.
     
    “Understanding other people’s emotions is a lifelong skill and is crucial for school readiness. The fascinating result of this study is how sensitive toddlers are to the emotional dynamics of the interactions around them. They don’t need to try out a behavior of their own and get rewarded or punished, they can watch what an older brother or sister does and learn from what happens to them,” said Meltzoff, who is co-director of the institute and holds the Job and Gertrud Tamaki endowed chair in psychology.
     
    “This study helps fill in a missing piece, because it shows the children engage in ‘emotional eavesdropping.’ Children have their emotional antenna up all the time and they learn from eavesdropping on the behaviors of others.”
     
    To test whether infants eavesdrop on adults to pick up emotional clues, the researchers set up two experiments. The first involved 96 toddlers, the second 72. In both experiments there were equal numbers of boys and girls.
     
    The youngsters watched an adult manipulate a toy in both experiments. Then they watched while a second adult expressed anger or a neutral reaction in response to the first adult playing with a toy. The infants then were allowed to play with the toy and imitate the first adult’s actions. At this point in the first experiment the second adult either left the room or quietly sat with a neutral facial expression. In the second experiment, the second adult either turned her back on the child or silently looked toward the child with a neutral expression.
     
    Repacholi said all of the infants were interested in what the first adult was doing, were leaning forward, making noises and wanting the toy. But that changed when the second adult expressed anger and remained in the room looking toward the child. When the second adult reacted neutrally or expressed anger and then either left the room or turned her back the youngsters grabbed the toy within one second. They also imitated the first adult’s action with the toy 2.5 out of three possible times. However, when the angry adult remained present and her neutral face was visible the infants hesitated, taking an average of five seconds to take the toy. They were only successful in imitating the first adult’s action half the time.
     
    The researchers found no gender differences in how the infants reacted.
     
    “This was a real surprise,” said Repacholi. “Parents usually socialize boys and girls differently and girls are usually more compliant. It may be that differences in this area will emerge later.”
     
    The experiments are the first demonstration that infants can modify their own behavior in response to an emotional communication that does not involve them.
     
    “There are lots of studies of how the emotions parents directly communicate to their infants have an impact on their behavior. No one before considered if infants can take in emotional information when directed toward someone else and apply it to themselves,” said Repacholi. “By observing and analyzing other people’s emotional behavior, infants are able to quickly learn some important lessons. It is not only an extremely efficient way of looking at the world but is also highly adaptive. Infants can use emotional eavesdropping to avoid some of the negative consequences that might arise were they to perform an action themselves. It is also a pretty adaptive way of interpreting what is important and what they can get away with.”
     
    The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the UW’s Royalty Research Fund supported the research.
 
 

7.  MORE EDUCATIONAL SITES

For more educational sites visit

Sites for Teachers

http://www.sitesforteachers.com/perl/rankem.pcgi?id=under5s
 

Kind regards
 

The Under5s Team
Http://www.under5s.co.uk