The Voice of Early Childhood

June O'Sullivan shares her work around supporting families experiencing imprisonment, and takes us through her and her team's journey around a prison. June discusses what this journey is like from the perspective of a young child, and the fact that the child is often forgotten about in these circumstances…

We as educators need to be better equipped to support children and families who are affected by prisons, and there are many ways of doing this which June shares on this episode, and importantly, through collaboration with various organisations on the prison pack, which can be accessed here: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/what-has-prison-got-to-do-with-early-years/

Read June's article:

What has prison got to do with early years? - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/what-has-prison-got-to-do-with-early-years/

Listen to more:

If you enjoyed this episode you might also like:

Starting from the child with Professor Julie Fisher - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/starting-from-the-child/

Why children need joy with Ben Kingston-Hughes - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/podcast/

Episode break down:

00:00 – Why are we talking about prisons? 02:40 – Early years is highly political 04:20 – There is nothing out there to support children and families in this context 07:00 – 6 out of 10 boys are likely to follow their dads into prison… 11:10 – A day in a prison… 18:00 – When a parent goes into prison poverty increases in the family 20:00 – Connecting with the whole family 23:50 – Supporting staff as well as children and families 25:40 – Most people don't get the complexity of working with small children… 29:00 – Changing the world 1 child at a time… 32:00 – Building a stronger voice for early years

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

In this episode Lauren Middleton and Melissa Wilson from Hartley Brook Primary School, Astrea Academy Trust, talk about how their practice and understanding has changed since embarking on the Brain-SET project.

The year-long project focused on enabling children to feel emotionally secure and ready for learning, by looking at classroom design in terms of lighting, noise, the use of colour, furniture layout and more. The overall aim was to really bring calm into children's lives, which is particularly important for areas of disadvantage which Astrea Academy Trust schools work within.

To find out more about the project, see videos and photos of the environments and hear practitioner interviews, visit: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/projects/astrea-academy-trust-project

Episode break down:

00:00 – Introduction to the project 01:30 – The school context 02:45 – Developing the learning environments 03:30 – Understanding the theory behind the practice 04:25 – From bright colours to calming tones 06:00 – Opportunity to focus on more time with the children 11:19 – Changing the environment according to children's needs 14:00 – Educator professional development 16:10 – Understanding new children's needs 19:00 – Taking a step back to notice the changes 21:54 – Aligning practice with wider values and ethos 22:50 – Aligning with the senior leadership team

For more episodes visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Stephanie Warrender brings a new Scandi approach to her school. After using the method in her class, Stephanie has set up her own company providing the Songdrawing Method as part of Laulau Learning UK.

In this episode you will get to learn what Songdrawing is, the developmental benefits of engaging children in singing, the relation between phonics and music, active music listening vs passive music listening and how a teacher can set up their own business doing something they love and continuing with their career.

Read Stephanie's article:

Singing as a support for cross-curricular learning - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/singing-as-a-support-for-cross-curricular-learning/

Listen to more:

If you enjoyed this episode you might also like: Supporting families in understanding phonics through music with Tasha Bretten - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/supporting-families-in-understanding-phonics-through-music/

Episode break down:

00:00 – What is Songdrawing? 04:25 – An international approach 10:00 – The therapeutic nature of Songdrawing 12:30 – An inclusive approach 15:30 – Enriching children's language 18:10 – Holistic learning through music 20:55 – Reading and music: The neuroscience of music 25:40 – Adults' confidence in singing and music making 26:00 – Active music vs passive music listening 26:55 – MYTH: Exposing babies to classical music 28:55 – 'Parentese' / 'motherese' impact on child development 31:45 – Be your children's own personal rockstars! 36:38 – Being a teacher and business owner 45:00 – Future plans for Songdrawing and Laulau Learning UK

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

In this episode Sarah Mason from The Hill Primary School, Astrea Academy Trust, shares with us the journey she and her team have been on in developing their learning environment in line with understanding the way children's brain develops. This was part of the Brain-SET Learning Environments project which Astrea Academy Trust embarked on, looking at classroom design through the lens of children's brain development.

This year-long project focused on enabling children to feel emotionally secure and ready for learning, by looking at classroom design in terms of lighting, noise, the use of colour, furniture layout and more. The overall aim was to really bring calm into children's lives, which is particularly important for areas of disadvantage which Astrea Academy Trust schools work within.

To find out more about the project, see videos and photos of the environments and hear practitioner interviews, visit: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/projects/astrea-academy-trust-project

Episode break down:

00:00 – Understanding the Brain-SET project 03:50 – The effect of lighting on the children 05:05 – Being in tune with the environment 06:20 – Aligning the environment with the needs of the brain 10:30 – Understanding the 'why' behind your practice 14:20 – Are we providing enough calming zones outdoors? 18:10 – What is 'way-finding' 21:00 – Sustained focused play 24:00 – Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation 26:00 – The impact of the project on educators

For more episodes visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

In this episode Dawn Jones shares findings on a project closely working with children in gaining their reflections on spaces and places within shared worlds. In this 1st episode and article, in the 3-part series, Dawn shares how the findings relate to sustainable development goals, and poses some of the following reflections and questions:

• Co-collaboration on learning can lead to so many more avenues around sustainability beyond the '3 R's'.
• Children value quiet spaces and time to think...
• We have too much of a harsh approach of rushing our children…
• Are we brave enough to listen to children?
• Children can be far more engaged through an open and flexible approach

Read Dawn's article:

What do children have to say about their environment? - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/what-do-children-have-to-say-about-their-environment/

Listen to more:

If you enjoyed this episode you might also like:

Education for social sustainability through sociodramatic play with Carmela Garcia Manas - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/contributors/carmela-garcia-manas/

The therapeutic nature of the outdoors with Jenny Smillie - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/the-therapeutic-nature-of-outdoor-play/

Episode break down:

00:00 – Listening to the voices of Reception aged children 02:00 – Top level findings of the research 04:30 – Recognising and following the child's knowledge 06:00 – Children's understanding of complex issues around sustainability 08:20 – The same findings across different schools 10:00 – A less 'hurried space' was a recurring theme 12:00 – We make children do too much waiting 12:45 – Slow pedagogy and children as co-researchers 18:00 – Are we brave enough to step back and not intervene? 22:00 – Being an innovative and open-minded educator 23:00 – Harness children's curiosity, awe and wonder and embed this into the curriculum 24:30 – Consider the language you use – is it helpful? 27:30 – Experiences vs activities 29:15 – Linking research to practice 32:30 – 'Fanning the sparks of wonderful practice' 34:00 – Upcoming episodes – behaviour charts and methodological tools 35:00 – Summary of the episode

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Leadership, management, psychological safety, difficult conversations, priorities, education or care, leading with love…Lewis Fogarty and Angelica Celinska discuss a range of thought-provoking topics, which all stemmed from the conversation of the need to stand up to your manager.

This episode relates to anyone interested in leadership, workplace culture and self-development beyond educational settings.

Read Lewis' article:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/professional-confidence-finding-the-confidence-to-speak-out/

Listen to more:

If you enjoyed this episode you might also like: Yes spaces with Carla Ward -

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/what-are-yes-spaces/

Supporting educator wellbeing with Enya Last - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/articles/wellbeing/

Episode break down:

00:00 – Not everyone is a good manager 03:30 – Good educator doesn't mean good leader 05:00 – Stepping out of your comfort zone can turn into stress 06:27 - The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse… 06:59 – I want my team to stand up to me as a leader 08:07 – The 4 pillars at 'Always Growing' 09:15 – Curiosity over judgement 09:45 – Education or care? 11:40 – Love languages of both your children AND your team 12:40 – Leading with love 15:20 – Opening your team to criticism 16:10 – Anyone can be a leader without the title 17:20 – The power of diverse thinking 18:40 – Not everything has the same priorities 20:18 – Constructive disagreements and tensions are good! 20:48 – Rotated neglect 23:50 – 'Clearing the debris' 26:40 – If you have more than two priorities you don't have any 28:40 – Psychological safety 30:55 – INSET days for CPD and team development 33:55 – Challenging conversations: Encouraging them in the workplace 36:15 – Preparing for difficult conversations: Practically and mentally 40:00 – Being kind doesn't always mean being nice…

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Astrea Academy Trust embarked on the Brain-SET project looking at classroom design through the lens of children's brain development.

This year-long project focused on enabling children to feel emotionally secure and ready for learning, by looking at classroom design in terms of lighting, noise, the use of colour, furniture layout and more. The overall aim was to really bring calm into children's lives, which is particularly important for areas of disadvantage which Astrea Academy Trust schools work within.

In this second episode of the project series Dr Sue Allingham (Early Childhood Consultant, Author and Trainer) and Nicky Turner (National Lead for EY for Astrea Academy Trust) share with us the way the project is running, the training carried out and the reflections and impact so far.

To find out more about the project and listen to more episodes visit: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/projects/astrea-academy-trust-project

Episode break down:

00:00 – What is Brain-SET? 02:30 – Being available for learning 05:50 – The project's impact on educators' thinking and practice 06:55 – Natural lighting, reduced noise and increased learning 12:30 – Classroom flow: Eye-lines and way-finding 16:50 – Familiar and homely spaces and resources 22:00 – Developmental rather than judgemental 26:30 – An ongoing long-term project 29:50 – Re-creating empty and purposeless spaces 28:00 – Working with developing brains: Researching and trying things out 35:00 – Giving educators permission to make good decisions 38:00 – Designing 'thinking spaces' 41:00 – Classrooms developing with the needs of children 44:45 – Brain-SET for adults as well as children 52:00 – Having permission to step back and think 54:00 – Re-calibration spaces 57:00 – Educators sharing their work and journeys

For more episodes visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

In this episode Carla Ward and Angelica Celinska unpick what are 'yes spaces', and in doing so they address children's agency, risky play, knowing your limits, leadership and workplace culture, teaching children to respect boundaries, feeling control over your life, giving children the autonomy to know and feel who they are and so much more…

Find Carla Ward at:

https://elfoundations.com/

Listen to more:

If you enjoyed this episode you might also like – Life skills over academic achievement with Zanna Clarke and Carmela Garcia Manas - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/life-skills-over-academic-achievement/

Episode break down:

00:00 – Why are we talking about 'yes spaces'? 02:45 – What are 'yes spaces'? 04:00 – A child hears 'no' 400 times per day! 06:00 – Encouraging children to take risks 08:00 – Judging risk and communicating risk 11:00 – Does the child feel control over their own life? 14:20 – Instead of 'no' ask 'why' – opening up conversations 16:00 – Fostering curiosity and independence by saying yes more 19:40 – Reflect on your own childhood – did you hear 'no' a lot? 21:30 – Guiding children through conflict 22:25 – 'Yes spaces' for adults 23:35 – Don't let 'no' be your default answer 26:20 – 'Yes but' vs 'yes and' 29:00 – Where can you find Carla Ward?

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Peer exclusion is a major concern for preschool children. In this episode we explore research findings on the regular instances of both exclusion and inclusion in a nursery setting. We discuss children's natural, biological need for belonging and dependence on the adult, how resourceful children can be, children not merely accepting exclusionary situations, adult guidance rather than teaching, the adult not having 100% control and much more…

To read and listen to the whole research series visit: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/articles/sustainability/

Episode break down:

00:00 – Series re-cap 01:40 – Exclusion as a routine concern for preschoolers 04:40 – The natural need to feel included and belong 07:30 – Children's resourcefulness 11:25 – The effects of exclusion on later life 15:40 – Children challenging exclusion 21:40 – We need to stop solving conflicts and problems for children 26:20 – To support children we need to truly know them 33:00 – Sociodramatic play as a powerful tool in exploring challenging issues 36:00 – The need for educator training on complex issues 41:46 – Recommendations for practice 44:40 – Using books to explore complex topics 53:57 – Are you speaking their language? 100 languages of children 59:54 – Imagine the brain like play-dough! 01:03:05 – The value for researchers in sharing their work

For more episodes visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Early years is a key priority for Astrea Academy Trust, who strive to give each child the best start in life, focusing on developmental needs of the children and not just their academic achievement. Which is why Astrea Academy Trust embarked on the Brain-SET project looking at classroom design through the lens of children's brain development.

This year-long project addressed classroom design in terms of lighting, noise, the use of colour, furniture layout and more. The aim was to really bring calm into children's lives, which is particularly important for areas of disadvantage which Astrea Academy Trust schools work within.

In this first episode Asma Maqsood-Shah (Primary Regional Director for Astrea Academy Trust and Strategic Lead for EY) and Nicky Turner (National Lead for EY for Astrea Academy Trust) share the background to the project and talk us through the impact on children, families, educators and leaders so far.

To find out more about the project and listen to more episodes visit: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/projects/astrea-academy-trust-project

Episode break down:

00:00 - Introduction to Astrea Academy Trust and the Brain-SET project 05:47 - Where did this project begin and why? 11:16 - Bringing calm into children's lives 14:07 - Supporting holistic development, wellbeing and life skills 16:58 - The different stages of the project 17:45 - The impact of ambient lighting on emotional states 20:55 - A common understanding between leaders and educators 23:40 - Getting all leaders and educators on board with the project 25:40 - Mentoring for practitioners and EY leads 28:00 - Understanding the science behind classroom environments 29:10 - A whole Trust strategy 33:40- Educators feeling proud of their learning environments 36:25 - The future of the project

For more episodes visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com