The Voice of Early Childhood

Knowing when to step back, good quality conversations, space for both talking and listening, interacting with the environment around you…Gillian Craig shares her expertise as a language teacher and consultant, as well as a parent herself. We problematise when is the right time to stop babbling back to a child, how much choice we give to children, should we use ‘big’ words with children, whether watching TV is useful for learning language, creating a need to communicate, and much more… Read Gillian’s article here: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/why-is-my-child-not-speaking-yet Listen to more: If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like: My child can’t write yet – Helen Battelley https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/my-child-cant-write-yet-the-foundations-of-early-writing/ My child can’t read yet – Stacy Benge https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/my-child-cant-read-yet/ Episodes mentioned in this recording:  Proactively promoting positive mental health – Matt Bawler https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/proactively-promoting-positive-mental-health/ The power of play in the absence of language – Marlis Juerging-Coles https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/bridging-language-barriers-for-eal-children/  Episode break down: 00:00 – My own concerns as a parent 04:30 – The intersections of parent and educator 06:00 – More input is not always better! 09:00 – Language learning through everyday routines 13:45 – Treating your child like they DO understand language 14:15 – Serve and return interactions 16:00 – You ARE doing the right things! 19:00 – If a child is not ready, don’t force them! 21:50 – Don’t always fill gaps of silence! 24:00 – Reading stories is SO valuable 26:40 – Giving children a NEED to communicate 28:50 – Is babbling back to babies ok? 36:55 – Don’t be scared of using ‘big’ words 41:30 – Labelling feelings to support self-regulation 42:30 – How watching TV can support language 52:00 – Top tips for parents and educators in Gillian’s article For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

This episode is in partnership with the Nursery Management Show Innovate, Educate, Elevate: Leading nursery management into tomorrow Experience an event that can help you, your business, and your career flourish. Located at ExCeL, London, it includes two days of insightful content, CPD training, networking, plus industry leaders and 150+ exhibitors. Register for your free ticket here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0cRmXs0 Adopting an enquiry led approach to learning – this is something Stuart Cloke and his team are carrying out. Stuart shares with us his journey so far, discussing key points such as the importance of ensuring the approaches you are looking at adopting actually fit in with your ethos, values and your setting. We also discuss high quality continuous provision, the challenges involved in enquiry led learning, being critical of new trends and adopting a reflective mindset.  Read Stuart’s article here: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/enquiry-led-learning-a-curious-classroom Listen to more: If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like: Jan Dubiel & Ruth Swailes – What is an early years curriculum - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/what-is-an-early-years-curriculum/ Di Chilvers – Observing and documenting children’s interests - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6iplox8_54   Tricia Mohamed – The skill of observation - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/the-skill-of-observation/ Durham Early Years Curriculum Project - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/projects/education-durham-project/   Episode break down: 00:00 – Partnership message 01:25 – What is enquiry led learning? 02:40 – What made you look into enquiry led learning? 04:00 – Being mindful of trends and shifting your mindset 07:25 – What changes are you making in your planning? 09:45 – An open approach with more freedom 11:00 – Fluidity of the curriculum 14:15 – High quality continuous provision 19:00 – Challenges of enquiry led learning 22:00 – Informal training around enquiry led learning 24:00 – Neuro-affirming practice 25:00 – What about the more formal learning? 30:30 – Documentation and floor books 35:30 – Taking inspiration from other settings 38:45 – Next steps for Stuart’s team For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Dawn Jones’ and team’s research unexpectedly unveiled the use of scrapbooks as a new methodological approach to action research within practice as well as research studies. Dawn proposes that scrapbooks could provide a rich collection of documented evidence to support both the inspection framework and the EYFS outcomes.   Read Dawn’s article here: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/scrapbooks-as-a-methodological-and-practice-based-tool/   Listen to more: If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like to take a listen to and read Dawn’s previous episodes and articles:   What do children have to say about their environment? -      https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/what-do-children-have-to-say-about-their-environment/   Problematising behaviour management systems -      https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/problematising-behaviour-management-systems/   Episode break down: 00:00 – Research context 09:00 – Scrapbooks as a listening tool 11:00 – Slowing down as a researcher and educator 14:00 – A collaborative tool for practice 21:00 – Empowering students to make an impact 25:00 – Scrapbooks as an analytical tool 30:00 – Scrapbooks for aiding inspection processes 32:30 – Collaborative tool and aiding joint observations 35:00 – Developmentally appropriate documentation 40:00 – Not having complete control as educator 44:00 – Slowing down, pondering and wallowing 46:30 – Accessibility of research   For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

A need for a culture shift and systemic change within Ofsted – this is what setting owner Lucy Lewin is advocating for after her recent Ofsted inspection. Lucy believes that Ofsted is too focused on protecting its system’s integrity, rather than focusing on improvement and raising quality.  Read Lucy’s article here: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/the-case-for-systemic-change-in-ofsteds-approach/  Listen to more: If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like: Dr Sue Allingham’s article and episode critiquing Ofsted being the sole arbiter of quality – -       https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/ofsted-sole-arbiter-of-quality/ Adam Marycz discussing the toxic and divisive rhetoric between Ofsted and the DfE and the early years sector, and how we can make a change by working together – -       https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/collaboration-between-us-the-dfe-and-ofsted-is-the-only-way-forward/ -       https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/ofsteds-and-the-dfes-voices-must-be-heard-whether-we-like-them-or-not/ Eva Kyriacou Anastasi providing an honest and raw reflection of the realistic wellbeing struggles that educators face across the teaching profession – -       https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/teacher-burnout/ Episode break down: 00:00 – What has made you lose your trust in Ofsted? 05:37 – Inspection day 08:28 – The word ‘inadequate’ 10:57 – Addressing wellbeing 11:55 – Is Ofsted’s remit improvement? 13:00 – The complaints process 16:05 – The need for a culture change 18:30 – Addressing inspectors’ own bias’s 24:00 – Changing the inspection framework 25:00 – How can things change? 28:00 – The ecosystem around the child 29:00 – Transactional to transformational 31:00 – Top down inspection process 32:00 – Making Ofsted a force for good 34:00 – Where do you go as a leader? 38:45 – Freedom of information 48:00 – From ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’ – but nothing changed 53:00 – The removal of one word judgements 54:50 – What would I like to see change? 01:00:45 – A message for policy makers 01:04:02 – What is the system we need? 01:05:00 – Is Ofsted upholding British values? 01:07:00 – Educator and parent voice during inspections 01:21:24 – Ofsted needs to listen to the sector For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com 

Being attuned to children’s needs, loco parentis, co-regulation and professional boundaries. These are just some of the things Tamsin Grimmer and Aaron Bradbury discuss on the topic of love and nurture in early childhood settings and beyond. Read Aaron and Tamsin’s  article here: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/love-and-nurture-in-the-early-years/ Listen to more: If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like: Tamsin Grimmer’s article and podcast episode on: Tuning into children’s love languages - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/tuning-into-childrens-love-languages/ Aaron Bradbury’s podcast episode on: Bringing the joy back to early childhood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcqXUI4G6sg Episode break down: 00:00 – Why are we talking about love and nurture? 04:10 – ‘The child in the now‘ 10:50 – What does ‘nurture’ look like in practice? 11:55 – Being attuned to children’s needs 12:50 – Professional boundaries and policies 13:40 – We can’t live without touch 14:48 – A no touch policy is verging on neglect 15:45 – Loco parentis 18:15 – Home-based settings 21:00 – Top-down decision making 23:00 – Validating children’s emotions 26:10 – Behaviour as information vs communication 27:25 – Allowing children the time and space for emotions 28:05 – Self-regulation grows out of co-regulation 31:00 – Are we neglecting emotions over academics? 31:55 – Does nurturing apply to adults too? 35:15 – The 5 s’ of belonging and feeling seen 36:10 – Do we feel seen by Ofsted? 39:00 – A focus on PSED vs outcomes 40:37 – A new rating scale for auditing practice 44:45 – Softening the catch up rhetoric For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com 

A focus on meaningful contexts, sequenced learning, school leadership involvement and provision for 2-year-olds. The progress from the Durham Early Yeats Curriculum Project is shared here through the journeys of two Early Years Leaders; Paige Hutchinson and Charlotte Norman.  Read Paige Hutchinson’s article here on: Building sequences of learning https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-curriculum-building-sequences-of-learning/  Read Charlotte Norman’s article here on: Provision for 2-year-olds https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-curriculum-provision-for-2-year-olds/  This project involves 26 schools focusing on strengthening purposeful curriculum design and implementation, and empowering leaders and educators in creating meaningful contexts for progressive teaching and learning.  Find out more about the Education Durham Early Years Curriculum Project: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/projects/education-durham-project/  Listen to more: If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like the episode from Jan Dubiel and Anne Brass introducing the Education Durham early years curriculum project: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-curriculum-project-part-1-the-voice-of-the-project-co-ordinator/  Episode break down: 00:00 – Project background 03:30 – Raising the profile of early years 6:00 – Curriculum progression for 2-year-olds 10:00 – Starting at our values 12:00 – Creating a bespoke curriculum 13:00 – Separating early years from primary 19:00 – Working closely with senior and subject leaders 23:00 – Upskilling your teams 27:00 – Networking with other educators and leaders 32:00 – Remaining values-driven For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com  

Advocacy can involve lobbying government as well as less publicly exposed actions such as day to day choices in your classroom. Donna Mooney discusses how educators are generally not equipped with the tools for advocacy, so she provides practical and actionable ways of making change, and routes to influencing government and creating impact.    Read Donna’s article here: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/the-art-of-advocacy/   Listen to more: If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like:  Dr Nathan Archer’s and Dr Jo Albin-Clark’s episode on Telling hopeful stories of advocacy, agency and rights in ECEC – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/advocacy-agency-and-rights-in-early-childhood/    David Meechan’s article and episode on What’s the problem with the reception baseline assessment? –  https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/whats-the-problem-with-the-reception-baseline-assessment/   Episode break down: 00:00 – What do we mean by advocacy? 02:50 – The struggle to advocate 07:00 – Preparing for advocacy and lobbying policy makers 12:00 – Pivotal timings for advocacy 14:00 – Networking and building a community 16:30 – Including the voice of the parents 18:00 – Speaking to your local MP 25:40 – Engaging with opposing views and using common language 30:00 – What actions can I take NOW? 36:00 – Currently is a key time for advocacy 39:30 – Where can I share my voice? For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com 

Too often we have a reactive over a proactive approach to mental health, focusing on mental ill health rather than on thriving. Matt Bawler shares his work around this, including establishing strong foundations and providing children with the tools and agency to be able to thrive in life. Read Matt’s article here: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/proactively-promoting-positive-mental-health/ Listen to more: If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like:  Matt’s previous episode and article around Growth mindset in early childhood - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/growth-mindset-in-early-childhood/ Dawn Jone’s episode and article on Problematising behaviour management systems - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/problematising-behaviour-management-systems/  Dr Mine Conkbayir’s episode and article on Self-regulation, co-regulation and mental health - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/self-regulation-co-regulation-and-mental-health/ Maureen Hunt’s episode and article on Self-efficacy in young children - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/self-efficacy-in-young-children/ Episode break down: 00:00 – What do we mean by proactive mental health? 05:00 – Reverse engineering and going ‘upstream’ 07:00 – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 08:00 – A deep belief of not being lovable 10:00 – Falling over to get back up again 12:00 – What is behind the behaviour? 17:00 – Watching the language you use 23:30 – ‘I am, I can and I will’ framework 27:30 – What’s wrong with affirmations? 31:00 – High self-esteem vs positive self-esteem 34:00 – Growth over happiness & reclaiming resilience 37:00 – Threat vs challenge 41:00 – ‘What’s right with you’ vs ‘what’s wrong with you’ 41:20 – 24 character strengths 42:00 – ‘Use your tools’ 43:00 – Moving away from sticker culture 44:00 – Moving away from ‘othering’ 48:20 – Using stories to explore challenges 50:45 – Embodied agency 53:00 – Matt’s current projects 57:00 – Book recommendations For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com 

How does Montessori practice embed sustainability? Montessori Consultant Sarah Cummins explains that social development sits alongside academic learning, children are supported in building a sense of ownership of their community and environmental stewardship is embedded early on. We also discuss some misconceptions around Montessori practice as well as how we can support higher education students in becoming passionate educators and sustainably minded advocates for the planet. Read Sarah’s article: Montessori for sustainability – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/Montessori-for-sustainability/   Listen to more: If you enjoyed this episode you might also like:  Essential skills for social sustainability with Carmela Garcia Manas - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/essential-skills-for-social-sustainability/  Life skills over academic achievement with Zanna Clarke and Carmela Garcia Manas -   https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/life-skills-over-academic-achievement/  Telling hopeful stories of advocacy, agency and rights in ECEC with Dr Jo Albin-Clark and Dr Nathan Archer - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/advocacy-agency-and-rights-in-early-childhood/  Episode break down: 00:00 – Why are we talking about sustainability?   01:40 – Sustainability starts from early childhood 04:00 – The Montessori lens – focusing on community 06:45 – Peaceful conflict resolution – restorative practice 07:45 – The classroom is the child’s, not the adult’s 08:20 – Cultural awareness – global perspectives 12:00 – Equipping children with self-expression 14:25 – Trusting the child’s interest 16:22 – Freedom within limits 17:45 – Mixed-age environments  22:00 – Preparing children for the future or focusing on this moment? 24:45 – Protecting children’s individuality For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com 

Reward charts, certificates and golden time – how do such behaviour management systems affect children’s self-perception and the perception of their peers? Dawn Jones discusses her research, opening up conversations around adult and child power imbalances, listening to children, classroom design and much more. This episode is sponsored by ‘My Mood Stars’. My Mood Stars are resources that have been created to support emotional development; with the aim of encouraging children to talk about their feelings and emotions. To find out more about My Mood Stars visit: https://www.wendywoo.uk/mymoodstars/  Read Dawn’s article: Problematising behaviour management systems – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/problematising-behaviour-management-systems/    Listen to more: If you enjoyed this episode you might also like:  Learned helplessness: Are we setting children up for failure? with Dr Sue Allingham - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/learned-helplessness  Growth mindset in early childhood with Matt Bawler - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/growth-mindset-in-early-childhood/  Life skills over academic achievement with Zanna Clarke and Carmela Garcia Manas -   https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/life-skills-over-academic-achievement/  Telling hopeful stories of advocacy, agency and rights in ECEC with Dr Jo Albin-Clark and Dr Nathan Archer - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/advocacy-agency-and-rights-in-early-childhood/  Essential skills for social sustainability with Carmela Garcia Manas - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/essential-skills-for-social-sustainability/  Episode break down: 00:00 – Background into the research 04:50 – Why is ‘Golden time’ problematic? 08:50 – ‘I have things to say & nobody listens’ 15:10 – Creating a sense of helplessness 16:50 – Public shaming & negative perceptions of self & peers 22:35 – The power behind the teacher 23:20 – ‘The blue mat’ – Developmentally inappropriate practices 27:50 – Old fashioned behaviour management systems 29:50 – Children spend so much time either ‘waiting’ or ‘hurrying’ 32:50 – Reward certificates – Some children will never get one… 34:50 – Judging children by standardised expectations 37:05 – Celebrating children for their unique selves 38:15 – Do we want critical thinkers or robots? 40:50 – Challenging standardised practice is a form of advocacy For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com