Family Child Care

Ex Curricula

Ex Curricula

Today the think tank Demos has published Ex Curricula , described as "a major report on educational disengagement in the early years...

2:55 AM

Children, Young People & Alcohol

Children, Young People & Alcohol

New research from the DCSF investigates the links between the drinking habits of parents and their children. Among the conclusions are the s...

2:35 AM

Online Workshops

Online Workshops

Now that the new semester has started, the times and venues for Online Workshops have altered. These are sessions which students can attend ...

7:50 AM

Cognitive Development in the Early Years

The latest report from the Millennium Cohort Study (see <a href="http://bcftcschildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/2008/10/millennium-cohort-study.html" target="_blank">previous post</a> for details) has just been released, with a focus on cognitive development from birth to five. A huge range of factors which can impact upon children's development have been examined, with social class and being read to by parents emerging as key issues in determining a child's progress. You can read a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/feb/17/children-fall-behind-nine-months" target="_blank">summary of the main findings</a>, while <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/feb/17/researchers-track-19000-british-children" target="_blank">this article</a> covers some of the other issues highlighted by the research. The full text of the report is being published as a book entitled Children of the 21st Century: the First Five Years, which will shortly be available in the library. Earlier this week a similar study was released by the Sutton Trust, which claimed that children in the poorest fifth of families are already nearly a year behind those children from middle income families in vocabulary tests by the time they are five. Their report, entitled Low Income and Early Cognitive Development in the UK is available online (<a href="http://www.suttontrust.com/reports/Sutton_Trust_Cognitive_Report.pdf" target="_blank">click here</a>), as is a <a href="http://www.suttontrust.com/reports/Early_years_gaps_summary.pdf" target="_blank">summary version</a>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NFHpi7TJr9CGBg4epd5g74JbXQKgYMeqtDhuQXwA048bwgK6dh8VKlO7ya6cq3ZwlcR43QXeCadLZ4yeV2yzp4KJH33S9sRRGFO6wnkc0kumYYsWf2KLO1qes7r_r-30wfv6GliAiQ/s1600-h/Babypic.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439229078075509906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NFHpi7TJr9CGBg4epd5g74JbXQKgYMeqtDhuQXwA048bwgK6dh8VKlO7ya6cq3ZwlcR43QXeCadLZ4yeV2yzp4KJH33S9sRRGFO6wnkc0kumYYsWf2KLO1qes7r_r-30wfv6GliAiQ/s200/Babypic.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 134px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 183px;" /></a>

Cognitive Development in the Early Years

The latest report from the Millennium Cohort Study (see previous post for details) has just been released, with a focus on cognitive develo...

6:46 AM

The History of Education in England

It's been mentioned on the blog before, but <a href="http://www.educationengland.org.uk/" target="_blank">The History of Education in England</a> is a website which all students with an interest in schooling should visit. The pages are maintained by Derek Gillard, a retired headmaster who aims to provide students, teachers, lecturers and researchers with important historical information. Probably the most useful area of the site is the <a href="http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/index.html" target="_blank">Documents</a> section; this contains the full text of many landmark educational reports including the Plowden report, the Warnock report, the Swann report and plenty of others (the number is still growing). Also very helpful is the <a href="http://www.educationengland.org.uk/articles/index.html" target="_blank">Articles</a> section, which contains a number of pieces that Derek himself has written, and which help to put the various reports into context by explaining the educational developments that were occurring at the time that they were published.

The History of Education in England

It's been mentioned on the blog before, but The History of Education in England is a website which all students with an interest in sch...

6:38 AM

Classroom Management

Classroom Management

If you've been out on placement or are shortly starting one, then you may want to take a look at an article in yesterday's Guardian ...

6:30 AM

Healthy Kids Learn More!

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgG2BnBbE7Ynsq_MKfrOhkZqSKPzrzuDxo9IIH9UrTppWMg_8bQwSXEC6RFEF96BMj966yRsC1WgFH1SQohsvtC7J7dkZdpZEriPbT1vRajwvaVXosD1_ixtb5Xb4lJPOmN0ErCzNStpE/s1600-h/Hannah+chalk.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436746034438848386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgG2BnBbE7Ynsq_MKfrOhkZqSKPzrzuDxo9IIH9UrTppWMg_8bQwSXEC6RFEF96BMj966yRsC1WgFH1SQohsvtC7J7dkZdpZEriPbT1vRajwvaVXosD1_ixtb5Xb4lJPOmN0ErCzNStpE/s200/Hannah+chalk.JPG" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 156px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>It is a known fact that healthy children are able to be better learners in a classroom setting. Recently, an Ultra Healthy Blog titled, “<a href="http://ultrasoundtechschool.org/2010/top-50-early-childhood-health-blogs/" target="'_New">Top 50 Early Childhood Health Blogs</a>" named the 50 top early childhood health blogs. Although my blog was named as part of the list, there are some great resources for helping to keep young children healthy. Childhood obesity is certainly an epidemic in our country. I think my biggest frustration with this epidemic are the factors that we can do something about, such as outdoor play at school. Schools that limit or cancel outdoor play with the excuse of needing more learning time are not doing anything to help student learning. I think some schools just don't want to deal with any problems that may occur on the playground. To my way of thinking, they are sacrificing the health of the children in their care. I'm still waiting to see documented research that says cancelling recess increases student learning. I think I will be waiting a long time. All the while, young children are getting more sedentary. I think a better idea is to give teachers resources to help <a href="http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/NewDSS/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product=21957&es=10490500000" target="'_New">children stay healthy</a>.

Healthy Kids Learn More!

It is a known fact that healthy children are able to be better learners in a classroom setting. Recently, an Ultra Healthy Blog titled, “ To...

11:02 AM

Safer Internet Day

24 hours late, but yesterday was <a href="http://www.saferinternet.org/" target="_blank">Safer Internet Day</a>, an event aimed at promoting "safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people." In the UK, the <a href="http://www.ceop.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP)</a> took the lead by producing an animation for young children with the theme 'Think Before You Post', and has also been collaborating with Microsoft on a special version of Internet Explorer to give parents and children easy access to useful advice and information. By coincidence, yesterday also saw the publication of <a href="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Documents-by-type/Thematic-reports/The-safe-use-of-new-technologies" target="_blank">The Safe Use of New Technologies</a>, a short research report from Ofsted. Among it's conclusions is the claim that: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8505914.stm" target="_blank">"Pupils given a greater degree of freedom to surf the internet at school are less vulnerable to online dangers in the long-term."</a>

Safer Internet Day

24 hours late, but yesterday was Safer Internet Day , an event aimed at promoting "safer and more responsible use of online technology ...

5:48 AM

Kidulthood

The <a href="http://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/" target="_blank">Action for Children</a> charity has been busy lately, with the publication of several research projects. A couple should be of particular interest to our students: <ul><li><a href="http://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/file_download.aspx?id=8702" target="_blank">Kidulthood: Life as a Pre-Teen in the UK Today</a> is a detailed study of what life is like for pre-teens in the UK today, and howpolicy can best be shaped to meet the needs of these children.</li></ul><ul><li><a href="http://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/uploads/media/36/7857.pdf" target="_blank">Backing the Future: Why Investing in Children is Good for Us All</a> is the final report of the Happiness Counts project, and argues a case for higher funding of support services for young children, with the result that savings will be made in other areas such as dealing with the costs of crime etc as the children reach maturity. </li></ul>

Kidulthood

The Action for Children charity has been busy lately, with the publication of several research projects. A couple should be of particular i...

4:14 AM

New DCSF Research

The latest batch of research reports from the DCSF have just been published; here are two which may interest our readers: If you're interested in Religious Education, a new report entitled <a href="http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RR197.pdf" target="_blank">Materials used to Teach about World Religions in Schools in England</a> takes an in-depth look at the topic, as well as containing useful information relating to the ongoing debates surrounding faith schools. A <a href="http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RB197.pdf" target="_blank">summary version</a> is also available. Also new is <a href="http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RR194.pdf" target="_blank">Parental Opinion Survey 2009</a>, the latest annual publication which researches parents' confidence in their own skills, and their thoughts about the support services available to them. Again, a <a href="http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RB194.pdf" target="_blank">summary version</a> is also available.

New DCSF Research

The latest batch of research reports from the DCSF have just been published; here are two which may interest our readers: If you're inte...

4:02 AM

Being Kids

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWRczyTqqkUPMrxMtA5WIj6spsxYaEdY0fKzreM_bjCerPxU9VxLSGqx48c6ObCPKQizVf_U7Mg7yVMNYCZYteafxgvAWC6ekZnaxAWEaQGswQQgUhUYc3mVzZ9MRCuhDtUDDv4xDgOU/s1600-h/Seth.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433439323513712562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWRczyTqqkUPMrxMtA5WIj6spsxYaEdY0fKzreM_bjCerPxU9VxLSGqx48c6ObCPKQizVf_U7Mg7yVMNYCZYteafxgvAWC6ekZnaxAWEaQGswQQgUhUYc3mVzZ9MRCuhDtUDDv4xDgOU/s200/Seth.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" /></a> I sometimes worry that children in this century are not allowed to really be kids. They are constantly surrounded by adult commentary and much of the television programing contains adult humor. We all laugh when a child on TV says something sarcastic or profound. Statements that in the real world usually don't occur. A college student mentioned to me recently how much she enjoyed the movie Kindergarten Cop when she was a child. I remember that movie well as I was a male kindergarten teacher at the time. The movie was funny and entertaining, but I was dismayed by the fact that most of the things the kindergartners said in that movie would not even occur to a five year-old. Again, adult humor masked as child humor. I was observing a student teacher working in a first grade classroom the other day. She was reading a joke book (the children's choice) for a few minutes prior to leaving for the day. She told the following joke: "Knock, Knock." "Who's there?" "Mississippi." "Mississippi Who?" "She's married to Mr. Sippi!" The children laughed and laughed at the joke. A simple joke for a child's humor. I love to see children who are able to be children. I wish everyone could have a lengthy and humorous childhood. Maybe adulthood would be a happier experience, as well. My second grade grandson loves jokes. I think I will go call him and tell him my latest.....

Being Kids

I sometimes worry that children in this century are not allowed to really be kids. They are constantly surrounded by adult commentary and mu...

4:18 PM

Disadvantage and Childcare

Disadvantage and Childcare

New research from the DCSF has found that disadvantaged families in the UK are failing to access childcare even when it is offered to them ...

7:04 AM