In this eye-opening episode, we dive into what it really means to support attention and focus in the early years, not by demanding silence or stillness, but by understanding the science behind how young children’s brains actually work.

Joined by leading neuroscientist Professor Sam Wass, we explore key ideas from his brilliant book Take Action on Distraction. Together, we unpack what’s really going on when children ‘lose focus,’ how stress (yours and theirs!) plays a surprising role, and how we can move away from blame and into strategies that build regulation, connection and resilience for both children and adults.

This is your invitation to step into your role with awareness, empathy and intention, not as someone who manages behaviour, but as someone who shapes the conditions for deep, joyful, sustained engagement.

This conversation will leave you feeling informed, empowered, and ready to take action on distraction.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

• Your call to action: shift from managing distraction to creating the conditions where deep focus and joyful learning can thrive
• How attention actually works and how to strengthen it in everyday practice
• Whether we can truly ‘train’ children to concentrate (the answer might surprise you!)
• The role of stress, co-regulation, and adult presence in supporting attention
• Why predictability, rhythm and routines are essential – and what really matters most
• How to ‘notice more and intervene less’ to grow autonomy and resilience
• What research really says about screen time, overstimulation and attention overload

…and that’s just the start!

I'm Michelle Hague, founder of HEYD (Early Years School Improvement Specialists) and the Early Years Impact podcast. You can contact me directly: [email protected], or visit heyd.co.uk where you will find more details about our coaching offer plus our sponsors KCS.co.uk.

I know this episode will inspire you to know more and to connect further with Prof. Sam Wass, Director, Institute for the Science of Early Years.

Web: www.profsamwass.com / www.isey.org/ www.nestkids.co.uk / www.mee.dev

Instagram @profsamwass/@isey_uel

Twitter: @profsamwass/@ISEY_uel

Bluesky: @profsamwass.bsky.social

LinkedIn - personal: www.linkedin.com/in/sam-wass-987513202/;

ISEY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/107254666/

NEW BOOK: Take Action on Distraction - The definitive guide to improving attention and focus in the Early Years and Key Stage

In this liberating episode, we dive into what it really means to cultivate creativity in the early years – not just for children, but for the adults who lead them. We explore powerful ideas from Bill Lucas’ research and Collaborative Projects with Early Years Wales discussing and deepening understanding about how to move beyond ‘arts and crafts’ to foster creative thinking, problem-solving, curiosity and confidence in every corner of your setting, together with tools to help you enable, grow and embrace creativity. If you love to measure, there are analytical tools discussed too!

This is your invitation to step into your role creatively - someone who doesn’t just deliver a curriculum, but brings it to life with gusto! Whether you’re a teacher, a TA, a childminder, or a school leader, this episode is here to fire up your imagination and remind you: creativity is not a luxury - it’s a necessity.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

• What it really means to be creative (hint: it’s not about being good at drawing)

• The five Creative Habits of Mind: spot the one missing from this list – imaginative, disciplined, collaborative, persistent and…

• How creativity links directly to resilience, independence, and innovation

• How to create an environment where everyone, including adults, feels safe to experiment

• Why leaders must model risk-taking, playfulness, and curiosity – don’t pop the bubble of creativity!

• Simple ways to make creativity visible in your planning, language, and classroom culture

Why creativity is the engine of lifelong learning and how to fuel it for all!

I'm Michelle Hague, founder of HEYD and the Early Years Impact podcast. You can contact me directly: [email protected], or visit heyd.co.uk where you will find more details about our coaching offer plus our sponsors KCS.co.uk.

My guest today, David Goodger is the Chief Executive Officer for Early Years Wales and an absolute advocate for creativity in education. His active voice on LinkedIn champions early years, leading with vision and intention. During the podcast, David makes reference to many creative, educational links you will want to explore further, including:

Early Years Wales: Creative Learning

Early Years Wales: Creative Learning Project

Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Professor Bill Lucas: Biography, Research and More

Creative Thinking in Schools: A Leadership Playbook – Bill Lucas

Professor Alison Clark – Slow Pedagogy

Anna Ephgrave – Planning in the Moment

Connect with David Goodger on LinkedIn to continue to be inspired!

In this essential episode, we dive headfirst into what it really means to get the start of school right - and spoiler alert: it’s not about zone boards, rain clouds or storms!

Instead, we celebrate the power of relationships, routines and respect as the cornerstones of a successful school transition. Together, we explore how schools can shift from behaviour management systems to relationship-led cultures that uplift, connect and truly support every child from day one.

This episode is a rallying cry to banish the behaviour zones, say goodbye to gold stars, and embrace something far more powerful: connection. We unpack how thoughtful transitions and emotionally rich environments lay the foundation for a joyful, safe and thriving start to the school year - for children and the adults around them.

Expect big ideas, gentle challenges and lots of insightful moments about what schools feel like when relationships lead the way.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

• Value in predictability: a stable start for a stunning start

• How to create emotional safety from the very first moment of the school day

• What routines really offer children beyond structure - think safety, identity and calm: sorry zone boards – you’re out!

• Why consistency is kinder than control

• The hidden power of welcome rituals, connection check-ins and joyful hellos

• How to support children and staff through transitions with warmth and humanity

• Why a relationship-led culture is the ultimate behaviour support system

• All aboard from the start! Parents, families, community – it really does take a village to raise a child.

Whether you’re a classroom teacher, school leader, support staff or just someone who believes children deserve more than token praise and traffic lights, this episode will leave you inspired to reframe school transitions – with heart, humanity and a whole lot of hope.

I'm Michelle Hague, founder of HEYD and the Early Years Impact podcast. You can contact me directly: [email protected], or visit heyd.co.uk where you will find more details about our coaching offer plus our sponsors KCS.co.uk.

My guest today, Michelle Windridge, Twinkl’s National Education Lead for School EYFS Settings and TES Columnist. Having written many pieces on school transitions and starting school, Michelle brings schools to life through the warm of positive relationships and routines that rock!

I know you will want to connect with Michelle Windridge after this episode as she is inspirational!

Website: MrsPrimary_EYFS

Instagram: @mrsprimary_eyfs

Facebook: @mrs.primary.eyfs

Linkedin: Michelle Windridge

The power of loose parts comes alive in this episode! In this energising episode, Greg Bottrill and I journey deep into the playful world of loose parts play, but with a twist!

We explore how re-branding, jackets of joy and football socks can transform learning  - turning a "carpet area" into a Carpet Kingdom and the ordinary water tray into a land of possibilities with underwater unicorns! 

With inspiration from Simon Nicholson’s Loose Parts Theory, we unpack how everyday objects can build more than just imagination - they build open-ended, limitless creativity, emotional connection, and joyful learning. As for the role of the adult…step  inside this episode and see where it takes you! 

From bags of joy to sand-filled socks and storytelling spaces, this episode will leave you smiling, inspired, and ready to rebrand your entire learning environment into a world of wonder.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

• Why the adult’s inner child is the true guide to magical play
• How to transform environments with imagination and language
• The power of rebranding: from “carpet space” to Carpet Kingdom
• How loose parts spark creativity, storytelling, physical development and more!
• Why sand-filled socks can support upper body strength in young children
• How to use the metaphorical “bag of joy” to enrich your setting
• Plus unlock a deeper understanding of Simon Nicholson’s Loose Parts Theory

Whether you're a parent curious about how to embrace loose parts, or a professional wanting to unleash the joy of play in your classroom, this episode offers grounded insights you will want to know about and act upon.

I'm Michelle Hague, founder of HEYD and the Early Years Impact podcast. You can contact me directly: [email protected], or visit heyd.co.uk where you will find more details about our coaching offer plus our sponsors KCS.co.uk.

My guest today, Greg is the author of the bestselling ’Can I Go And Play Now?’, ‘School of the Magic of Children’ and ‘Love Letters To Play’. A passionate advocate of childhood and education done with children not to them, he is also the creator of Drawing Club, The Message Centre, Play Projects and Adventure Island. His work and thinking is deeply embedded in joy, adventure, marvel and play, four things that he believes are equally as important for adults.

 I know you will want to connect with Greg after this episode as he is inspirational!

Website: www.canigoandplaynow.com

Instagram: canigoandplaynow

Facebook: Can I Go And Play Now

What is metacognition? And what does metacognition look like in Early Years?. Why does it matter more than we realise? And how can YOU help metacognitive thinking as a parent or professional?

In this episode, we explore the powerful, often invisible force that shapes how children learn, solve problems and build a sense of self: metacognition.

We dive into:

• Unlocking Metacognition – What it really is and how we can build a shared understanding for parents and professionals

• Flip the Script! – Discover what happens when we invite feedback from the children themselves. Top tips included!

• Modelling magnified – Fuel metacognitive growth through everyday modelling, storytelling and playful curiosity

• Ask Smarter Questions – Going beyond “why” with powerful, evaluative prompts that deepen thinking

• Tiny Thinkers, Big Strategies – Be fascinated by how even the youngest children plan, reflect and problem-solve, long before they can explain it

• Make It Stick – Easy, practical ways to nurture metacognitive skills at home and in the classroom, starting today!

Whether you're a parent, teacher, or professional supporting young children, this episode will give you a fresh lens on what’s happening under the surface and practical ideas to help children grow into reflective, empowered thinkers.

I’m Michelle Hague, Founder of HEYD and the Early Years Impact podcast. You can contact me directly or visit heyd.co.uk where you will find more details of our coaching offer and our sponsor kcs.co.uk As Early Years School Specialists we offer a diverse range of face-to-face and online opportunities, unleashing the power of your early years – together.

If you have found Nathan Burns fascinating, simply search Mr Metacognition and you’ll see his range of books, metacognition training and more on his fabulous website: mrmetacognition.com

Thank you for listening. Please do remember to follow, subscribe and connect with me, Michelle Hague, on Linkedin or HEYD.co.uk

Why is crunching an apple, processing sound, nose breathing and being barefoot so important? Is it true that sitting upright helps your ears to drain better? By slowing down are we really speeding up? And why does motor-sensory integration really matter?

In this episode, we dive into the often overlooked foundations of human development – from slurred speech and sound therapy through to primitive reflexes and holding a sharp visual focus.

Join us for a lively, insightful conversation where we explore:

• The central role of sound processing (yes – it’s different to hearing!)
• How motor skills aren’t just physical milestones: they shape learning and emotional regulation
• The link between visual processing and cognitive function
• How do our eyes and ears calibrate to our brains: brain and body working together
• Why nose breathing is critical and what to do if you’re a mouth-breather
• Pattern and concepts in context: flexible higher level thinking.
• Practical strategies for parents, educators and professionals to identify and address developmental gaps - and support whole-child growth

Whether you're a parent curious about what’s going on under the surface or a professional supporting children’s learning and well-being, this episode offers grounded insights you will want to know about and act upon.

I'm Michelle Hague, founder of HEYD and the Early Years Impact podcast. You can contact me directly: [email protected], or visit heyd.co.uk where you will find more details about our coaching offer plus our sponsors KCS.co.uk.

If you have found Charlotte fascinating, please do connect further: www.fit-2-learn.com email: [email protected] or view Charlotte's many YouTube Videos.

Early Years Impact embraces innovation, insight and impact in early childhood education: whether you’re an educator, parent, policymaker, or just curious about how those early days shape who we become, this is for you.

Michelle brings you the latest research, expert insights and real-life experiences to help you understand how little tweaks to everyday life can have a big impact on children’s earliest years.

I began HEYD with one mission: to help schools build the best possible early years settings, creating and sustaining cultures where flourishing is the norm. Our testimonials show that’s exactly what we do!

How? And why HEYD? They are always great questions. As HEYD’s Founder, I work part-time as a school leader – I see education right now, I feel it, I live it – this makes a huge difference as I connect deeply with early years staff whilst having a strategic whole school leadership perspective.

You can have your cake and eat it with HEYD! You get the practical solutions plus the evidence-informed, strategic thinking – hence why schools rave about us!

Michelle knows that as a Headteacher or CEO, your time is stretched and deep expertise in early years isn’t always at your fingertips. That’s where she comes in. She takes the latest research, innovation, and evidence and turns them into practical, impactful solutions – so your early years setting radiates quality, your staff have a continuous spring in their step and all without adding to your workload.

Find out more about HEYD at heyd.co.uk and follow Early Years Impact! You can find Michelle on LinkedIn or by emailing [email protected]