Sure Start Children's CentresThe Parliamentary Education Committee has just published a new report about Sure Start Children's Centres. The MPs' report argues that the quality of provision in children's centres should be taken as seriously as standards in schools, but also says that the role of centres should be made clearer.To…
Ofsted & Free SchoolsTwo days after you write a review of the year (see previous post), two more important reports come out that should probably have made the cut [Sigh...]. Today sees the publication of Ofsted's annual report, which is split into several different sections. You can view them all here, though the one of…
Poverty and Social Exclusion 2013The 2013 edition of Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion has just been published. This is an annual report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation / New Policy Institute which uses official data to present "a comprehensive picture of poverty in the UK." The key points can be viewed in the executive s…
Review of 2013If it's nearly Christmas, it must be time for a review of major developments and new research published in the children's sector during the last year. After all, you might have missed some of these the first time around...It's probably best to start with the DfE, as they've produced a number of impo…
Childhood & Education: A Collection of Open Access Journal ArticlesI've written on here before about the usefulness of Open Access research (see previous post for details), but today's post is specifically about journal articles which are freely available. Traditionally it's been quite difficult to access high quality research which is published in journals - you e…
The Role of Children's CentresThe National Children's Bureau has today published a set of essays which should be of interest to most readers of this site. Partnerships for a Better Start: Perspectives on the Role of Children's Centres contains contributions from several leading early years figures, including Dame Clare Tickell, …
Children and Young People's WritingThe National Literacy Trust has just published Children and Young People's Writing, a new report which looks at data from its annual literacy survey - overall almost 35,000 children aged 8 to 16 took part. As you might expect it's quite a detailed document, though it mainly seems to have made headli…
The Early Years: an International PerspectiveTonight's #EYTalking topic on Twitter (see previous post for details) is all about sharing ideas and suggestions on what an international e-portal devoted to early years might look like. This follows a recent post on June O'Sullivan's blog outlining the reasons why such a site would be useful. So to…
Anti-Bullying WeekNext week (18-22 November) is Anti-Bullying Week, an annual event established by the Anti-Bullying Alliance. If you've got an interest in this topic then the Guardian's Teacher Network site has put together some suggestions for teaching resources, or you might want to have a look at my bookmarks on …
Children's Centre Census 2013Yesterday the 4Children charity published Children's Centre Census 2013. This document tries to present a detailed picture of the current state of children's centres in the UK, and claims that over a million families are now making use of these facilities. To read the census, click here.…
The Impact of FosteringAn interesting new publication from the University of Oxford examines an area that perhaps rarely receives attention. The Impact of Fostering on Foster Carers’ Children argues that when foster children enter a new family, it is in fact the whole of the host family that fosters, and so the existing c…
International Reports3 separate recently published international reports have popped up in my feeds today, which seems as good an excuse as any for a themed blog post.The European Commission has published Childcare Services for School Aged Children, which compares provision across 33 different countries. On a similar no…
They Took Us to the SeaIf you have 25 minutes to spare, today's post is a real treat. Below is They Took Us to the Sea, a charming but also very moving 1963 film made to promote the work of the NSPCC. The clip follows a group of disadvantaged children from Birmingham on a day's outing to Weston-Super-Mare, from their arri…
EYFS ResultsToday sees the release of the first set of results for the new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Profile, which was introduced in September last year. Given the different nature of the new Profile, it's very difficult to make comparisons with results from previous years, but some of the main point…
The Right to PlayThe Bernard van Leer Foundation (see previous post for details)has just published the latest edition in its Early Childhood in Focus series. The new publication is entitled The Right to Play, and contains "short summaries of theory, research and policy issues that can inform the implementation of A…
Investing in Our FutureA common theme of research reports on early years education is the impact that such programmes have on the child in later life. Now another study can be added to the literature in this area - Investing in our Future: the Evidence Base on PreSchool Education is a new report from the USA, published by…
Early Years Foundation Stage Handbook 2014The DfE has just published the latest version of the Early Years Foundation Stage Handbook. This is designed to support early years practitioners in making accurate judgements about each child's attainment, so is very much a 'hands on' sort of document. Click on this link to be able to access the ha…
Ofsted Social Care Annual ReportToday sees the publication of Ofsted's first Social Care Annual Report. The report has already made headlines for concluding that child protection is inadequate in many councils, with only one in four scoring a 'good' rating for their safeguarding services. You can read a summary of the main points …
Free Research SeminarI don't usually promote training events on this site, but this one's free and local so... On Tuesday 5th November the Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) is holding a half-day seminar on Participatory Research Methods in Early Childhood. More information and booking details are available h…
Early Years / Education BlogsA few years ago I did a mini-research project about Web 2.0 with our undergraduate students. One of the questions on the survey was "Do you find your subject blog [that's this site!] useful?" I was delighted that almost every student answered 'yes'. But then the next question asked "Do you read othe…
Too Young to FailA new report from Save the Children examines how children from low-income families can be affected by falling behind in school from a young age. Too Young to Fail argues that children who struggle to read, write or calculate by the age of seven are much more likely to fail to get five good GCSEs.You…
1940s Childhood3 videos for the price of one today... Below are some film clips from the British Council Film Collection, each depicting different aspects of children's lives in the 1940s. If you enjoy these, there are plenty of similar clips on this site - just click on the 'Educational Films' link in the Hot Top…
School ReadinessA common theme of many reports and debates this year has been the subject of at what age children should start school, or what sort of provision should be made for young children to prepare them for school. Well now there's another piece of research to add to the literature already out there...What …
1940s English SchoolIt's a slow news day and there haven't been any film clips on this site for a while, so take a look at the below. It's a 1940s video showing school life - the clip says 'Primary School' but surely the children involved are younger? There's a lot of charm in watching films like this, though modern vi…
Centres of Excellence?A new report from the Policy Exchange think tank looks at how Children's Centres are coping with the cuts that have hit the public sector in recent years. The report also suggests that high earning parents should have their tax-free childcare entitlement cut, and the savings should be used to improv…
Best Practice for SchoolsThis week the CfBT Education Trust has published a series of reports that may be of interest to readers of this site, particularly if you're a teacher or just starting your PGCE. The series is entitled School Improvement: International Reviews of Best Practice and covers areas such as inclusion, ass…
When Should Children Start School?There are currently a lot of headlines and a lot of noise on social networks relating to a letter which has appeared in today's Telegraph newspaper. The letter, which is signed by 127 childcare experts (click here to read it), calls on the government to alter its approach to early years policy, and …
New National Curriculum FrameworkIf you're a teacher or trainee teacher, you're going to need to read today's post... The DfE has just published the framework for the new National Curriculum, which will come into effect from September 2014. Click here to find links to the various parts of the framework, as well as links to the indi…
Teachers' StandardsFollowing a request from one of our new PGCE students yesterday, here's a link to the Teachers' Standards which you'll need to familiarise yourselves with during your course. The Standards were initially introduced in September 2012, and revised in June of this year. Further relevant information abo…
Breaking BarriersBreaking Barriers is a new report from the Children's Society which examines the impact of budget cuts on children's centres, and how this affects the ability of families to access the services that they offer. You can read the report by clicking here.…
Early Years OutcomesOn a similar note to my previous post, the DfE has just published Early Years Outcomes, a piece of non-statutory guidance which sets out the various developmental milestones which a child might be expected to achieve during the first five years of their life. The document is intended for both practi…
Universally SpeakingThe Communication Trust has just released a really useful set of booklets which outline where children should be with their communication skills at any given age. Each booklet covers a different age range, and is written in simple, accessible language - they are designed for use by anyone who works …
Requires ImprovementA new publication from the Centre for Social Justice examines disadvantage in the education system in England. Requires Improvement: The Causes of Educational Failure presents itself as a "state-of-the-nation report" and covers a wide range of ages, from preschool up to GCSE.To read the report in fu…
Greater ExpectationsLast week the National Children's Bureau published Greater Expectations: Raising Aspirations for our Children. This is a detailed report into child poverty into the UK, and places the topic into a historical context by comparing the situation today with previous child poverty reports which the chari…
Greatest Hits!There's been very little to report in the last couple of weeks - perhaps all the policy makers and researchers are on holiday, hence the lack of new childcare and education reports. So before I go on my own break, here are links to some of the posts on this site that have attracted the most traffic …
