Family Child Care

Age and Development

Age and Development

A new study carried out by the NFER has concluded that summer-born children are more likely to develop special educational needs; the liter...

2:22 AM

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has just published a collection of research reports which examine different aspects of parenting and the role of the father in contemporary Britain. If you have an interest in these topics or are considering a project in this area for your dissertation then they are well worth a look. Links to the full text of each report as well as summary versions are below:<br /><br />- <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/understanding-fathering-diversity-full.pdf" target="_blank">Understanding Fathering: Masculinity, Diversity and Change</a><br /><a href="http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/understanding-fathering-diversity-summary.pdf" target="_blank">(Summary)</a><br /><br />- <a href="http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/Asian-fathers-Britain-full.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Understanding the Experiences of Asian Fathers</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/Asian-fathers-Britain-summary.pdf" target="_blank">(Summary)</a><br /><br />- <a href="http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/parenting-support-need-full.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Assessments of Parenting and Parenting Support Need</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/parenting-support-need-summary.pdf" target="_blank">(Summary)</a>

Fathering / Parenting

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has just published a collection of research reports which examine different aspects of parenting and the role...

2:52 AM

Birmingham for Families

The next time you're passing the Central Library, try popping in for 2 minutes and picking up a copy of <span style="font-style: italic;">Birmingham for Families </span>(see below), a free directory of services in the city for children, young people and families. Copies are available in the Centre for the Child, and the booklet contains details of thousands of useful services and contact details, including everything from children's centres and schools to health advice and child safety. Very handy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkScEBHRXxTc9wtra_UCxr4iXEy_QGB5GPwaJ5MXJRS1-B6g5C6dfriJa-f_ZXwmT3x99Exv3Owl8U7NsPsHBV0FksM-U1ZEiGUJ0jeHISLQrBDzZJqTj-n2GugR1UhCshxm7Gi0YbWQ/s1600-h/LeafletJPEG.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384236956527806530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkScEBHRXxTc9wtra_UCxr4iXEy_QGB5GPwaJ5MXJRS1-B6g5C6dfriJa-f_ZXwmT3x99Exv3Owl8U7NsPsHBV0FksM-U1ZEiGUJ0jeHISLQrBDzZJqTj-n2GugR1UhCshxm7Gi0YbWQ/s200/LeafletJPEG.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 140px; height: 200px;" /></a>

Birmingham for Families

The next time you're passing the Central Library, try popping in for 2 minutes and picking up a copy of Birmingham for Families (see bel...

3:24 AM

I Need to be Twins

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKk389zLK3Ap9fu_o3iV3uWo2sqovUYDuDRo1UnnqjXtsoeIUYlKzLTzlYV54ykZq4lUR84Tev-9jubzmt00SvAkVTFUoJq7x962PBeJ6-_2O-cMUGMUroFCxgkmeUKnvoNBeeZEz2EPY/s1600-h/kids+reading+001.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382954082433757202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKk389zLK3Ap9fu_o3iV3uWo2sqovUYDuDRo1UnnqjXtsoeIUYlKzLTzlYV54ykZq4lUR84Tev-9jubzmt00SvAkVTFUoJq7x962PBeJ6-_2O-cMUGMUroFCxgkmeUKnvoNBeeZEz2EPY/s200/kids+reading+001.JPG" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><div>I went to my granddaughter's class for grandparents day this past week. We had a great time. I have another little friend in my granddaughter's room. The school is year-round and my granddaugher has changed schedules (tracks) this year. With all of the that, this little friend has been in her class every year since kindergarten (they are in 2nd grade this year). I was immediately drawn to this little guy in kindergarten because he was struggling with all the basic skills. I was a bit concerned when I asked the teacher about him. Her response was that he, "just didn't know anything," as she rolled her eyes. I took offense to how flippantly she dismissed the situation. I went back to my son's home and told my daughter-in-law that I would love to live closer so that I could tutor this struggling boy in reading.</div><br /><div>Not much has changed in two years. He was the only child in the class without a grandparent or parent with him last week. Of course, with my granddaughter's permission, he became part of our family for the activity. We played bingo and I was distressed as my granddaughter read every word on the card and he could not decode even the simplest word.</div><br /><div>I went home and looked at my schedule to see if I had 3 hours (travel time and tutor time) to devote several times a week to this child. Unfortunately, with supervising student teachers this year, I just can't find that amount of time.</div><br /><div>I feel the same distress I felt when one of my grandchildren had a very poor teacher a couple of years ago. It shouldn't be this way. We must support the children while they are in these crucial early childhood years. I think I need a clone...or maybe several.</div>

I Need to be Twins

I went to my granddaughter's class for grandparents day this past week. We had a great time. I have another little friend in my granddau...

4:09 PM

Teaching Resources

Welcome to all of the new students on the College's PGCE programme. This post is intended to point you towards some of the Web resources that will be most helpful to you during (and hopefully beyond!) your course, so it may be worth bookmarking some of the links below if you haven't done so already.<br /><br />It's likely that you'll quickly realise the importance of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Times Educational Supplement</span> (aka <span style="font-style: italic;">TES</span>). Their <a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/" target="_blank">website</a> gives you free access to thousands of news stories and feature articles on all aspects of school life that have been published over the last 15 years. The site also contains job listings, lesson plans, a discussion forum, and other interactive features. For further news and features about the profession, try looking at the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/teaching" target="_blank">teaching section</a> of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Guardian</span> website.<br /><br />The DCSF has set up the <a href="http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Teachernet</a> website to support the teaching profession, and so it contains a mass of information about all aspects of the job, from classroom management and ICT to whole school issues and continuing professional development. The site also contains plenty of links to other useful sites, and can be used to download official education-related publications. Teachernet is also home to the bi-monthly <a href="http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachers/archive/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Teachers</span></a> magazine, which can be read online in full.<br /><br />If you've ever flicked through the channels on Freeview, you may have stumbled across channel 88, which is home to <a href="http://www.teachers.tv/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Teachers TV</span></a>. This broadcasts programmes on all aspects of school life, and often has themed weeks where a series of programmes on a particular topic are shown. All of the channel's output is available to watch at any time from the website.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.ttrb.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Teacher Training Resource Bank</a> contains materials to help support your professional development; these can include news stories, research reports, government guidance documents, QTS standards and much more. The 'Glossary' section of the site is also very useful in helping you to make sense of all of the jargon that you'll need to get to grips with during your training.<br /><br />Other teaching-specific websites that may come in handy include the <a href="http://www.tda.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Training and Development Agency for Schools</a> (TDA), which is responsible for the professional development of the school workforce. Also worth a look is <a href="http://www.teachingexpertise.com/" target="_blank">Teaching Expertise</a>, an "information and learning website for teachers and other education professionals" which has been put together by the publishers Optimus Education.<br /><br />As the PGCE contains a significant element of SEN content, you may want to familiarise yourself with the work of the <a href="http://www.nasen.org.uk/" target="_blank">National Association for Special Educational Needs</a> (NASEN). Students can access their publications through the library's online resources, but the NASEN site is also worth viewing as it provides news stories, research summaries, and links to the websites of similar organisations. Teachernet also has an <a href="http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/" target="_blank">SEN area</a> with important information, and the Guardian's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/specialeducationneeds" target="_blank">Special Educational Needs area</a> contains relevant news stories.<br /><br />For reference purposes, you may also want to occasionally check the <a href="http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/" target="_blank">National Curriculum</a> and <a href="http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/earlyyears" target="_blank">Early Years Foundation Stage</a> sites; these contain detailed information on what skills children are taught at different levels, as well as providing supporting materials.<br /><br />Finally, don't forget to check this blog regularly for details of new reports on teaching as and when they're published. You can view a list of previous posts relating to teaching by clicking <a href="http://bcftcschildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/search/label/Teaching" target="_blank">this link</a>, while the 'Useful Links' area in the right hand column lists some more generic education and child-related sites which are worth a visit.<br /><br />That should keep you all going for now. If any readers are aware of a particularly useful teaching-related site that isn't mentioned here, why not share it by putting a link to it below this post in the form of a comment? Here's <a href="http://bcftcschildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/2007/06/leave-comment.html" target="_blank">how to do it</a>.

Teaching Resources

Welcome to all of the new students on the College's PGCE programme. This post is intended to point you towards some of the Web resources...

5:54 AM

History of Primary Schools

History of Primary Schools

From Abacus to Circle Time: A Short History of the Primary School is the title of a 3 part series which begins today on Radio 4 at 4pm. Eac...

3:27 AM

Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents

Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents

The DCSF recently published its annual Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents . This report examines information on parental childcare ...

3:24 AM

Support Staff in Schools

Support Staff in Schools

A new study by the Institute of Education looks likely to prove controversial, after it concluded that pupils who are supported by teaching ...

5:00 AM

Guidance from Ofsted

The mere mention of 'Ofsted' may strike fear into you if you work in a early years or education setting, but on this occasion it seems the organisation is keen to lend a hand; two new publications on the Ofsted website are designed to offer guidance to those working with children.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Forms-and-guidance/Browse-all-by/Other/General/Are-you-ready-for-your-inspection-A-guide-to-inspections-of-provision-on-Ofsted-s-Childcare-and-Early-Years-Registers" target="_blank">Are You Ready for Your Inspection?</a> is a 28 page booklet with information on what to expect from an inspection and how best to prepare for one.<br /><br />Also, <a href="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Care/Childcare/Childminding-a-passion-to-be-outstanding" target="_blank">Childminding: a Passion to be Outstanding</a> is based on the opinions of childminders who have received the highest grade during inspection, and lists best practice in keeping children safe, inclusion, learning and development and other issues.

Guidance from Ofsted

The mere mention of 'Ofsted' may strike fear into you if you work in a early years or education setting, but on this occasion it see...

3:48 AM

Doing Better for Children

Doing Better for Children

A new publication from the OECD suggests that high public spending in the UK on child welfare and education is failing to deliver results . ...

3:34 AM

The Open Classroom

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8o3ZenfiFxMuYtUzayMpqb0xukyG4e9kFlyLB_lgkhsYHmkjLTm0NkBtZmyLtjKzWY_h1_Eni-LI5EAWo8hjVMluIN4MBLrYb7vOBGaQw8X0VugtyR6WW7EKZ47XMIoKvVnD8kAmvZbs/s1600-h/Family+Pictures+7-08+090.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377005742915414770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8o3ZenfiFxMuYtUzayMpqb0xukyG4e9kFlyLB_lgkhsYHmkjLTm0NkBtZmyLtjKzWY_h1_Eni-LI5EAWo8hjVMluIN4MBLrYb7vOBGaQw8X0VugtyR6WW7EKZ47XMIoKvVnD8kAmvZbs/s200/Family+Pictures+7-08+090.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><div>I have the opportunity to supervise student teachers this school year. I've always wanted that assignment. I thought I was well-suited for it since I had numerous student teachers when I was a classroom teacher and I have supervised classroom teachers several times. One of my assignments is a school called The Open Classroom. When I visited for the first time last week, I was thrilled. Talk about using early childhood strategies! The entire school is built around hands-on experiences, working together, parent participation and creating a learning environment throughout the school. It was wonderful to walk into a fourth grade classroom and see tables instead of desks!! There were also several parents as well as the teacher and the student teacher. The school was friendly and inviting. Even the children in the hallway greeted me with a smile and a hello. The principal was just returning from outside where they were making the most of the learning environment while out at recess. The principal told me, "Every situation is a learning opportunity. Whether we are outside, in the hallway, or actually in the classroom. Anywhere the student might be is a teaching moment."</div><br /><div>I'm so excited to visit this school this year. It reflects my personal philosophy about education and educational settings. This is how I ran my kindergarten and first grade classrooms. What a joy to see these basic child development strategies embedded throughout an elementary school. I have always been convinced that a child will always learn more when he enjoys the environment and is met on his developmental level.</div>

The Open Classroom

I have the opportunity to supervise student teachers this school year. I've always wanted that assignment. I thought I was well-suited f...

3:34 PM