Sometimes It's Just a SlinkyA group of us were looking at new early childhood product possibilities recently and we saw this large, colorful slinky. Everyone was so excited and thought it was so cool. A product developer said, "Yes, everyone thinks it is great. But what do you do with it?" That became the big question. They ga…
One Million Reasons for ReformSimilar to my last post, todays post also deals with a report looking at the Big Society agenda and children's services. One Million Reasons for Reform: Unleashing the Potential of the Voluntary Sector in Early Years Services has been published by ACEVO, and examines the future role of voluntary ser…
Children and the Big SocietyA recent report from the Respublica thinktank examines the potential impact of the government's Big Society and localism agenda on the lives of children and their families. The publication notes that while progress has been made in family policy during the past two decades, there is a need to protec…
Free Nursery EducationNew figures from the Department of Education show that more than 86 per cent of all three- and four-year-olds who are entitled to free nursery places are taking up the full 15-hour offer. Well, their guardians are taking up the offer on their behalf, but you know what I mean...A detailed breakdown o…
Refugee WeekIt's Refugee Week, which seems a fairly good excuse to look at resources from recent years which examine various aspects of the experiences of refugee and asylum-seeking children in the UK.Several reports have covered the circumstances of children when they first arrive in the country. The Office of…
Childcare for Working ParentsFinding childcare outside of the typical working day is becoming a greater problem for working parents, according to a new report from the Resolution Foundation. At present, many nurseries are open from 8am - 6pm, which creates a problem for parents who work at weekends or during the evenings.The fu…
Spotlight on Kinship CareChildren's charity Buttle UK has just published a report entitled Kinship Care, which investigates how many children are being brought up by relatives other than their mother or father. The research is based on data from the 2001 census, and found that many such arrangements between parents and rela…
Never Give Up!I ran a half-marathon yesterday and was suffering the last few miles. I had purchased running shoes which had been 'fitted by experts' that did not provide the support that I needed to run 13 miles. I broke my foot in a car accident in 1996 and that old injury came back yesterday at about mile 9 bec…
Poor KidsA lot of the chatter on Twitter today among the various children's organisations revolves around Poor Kids, a documentary which was shown last night on BBC1. The film follows different children who live in poverty in different parts of the UK, and they talk to the camera about their experiences of t…
Technology in the Early YearsA new study from the Open University claims that many nursery staff and parents are not allowing preschool children to engage with ICT, believing that "new technologies might damage children's wellbeing, social interaction and learning." However, Dr Rosie Flewitt, the lead researcher for the project…
National Literacy Trust First Annual SurveyThe National Literacy Trust has just released the results of its first annual online survey, which was carried out during November / December of last year with young people aged 8-17. The survey focused on young people’s attitudes towards reading, writing and communication skills as well as technolo…
