The Voice of Early Childhood

Kinderly Learn proudly sponsors this podcast with Dr Valerie Daniel - one of Kinderly Learn's regular expert speakers and authors.

To find out more about Kinderly Learn, visit www.kinderly.co.uk/cpd-training

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/.

Dr Valerie Daniel discusses creative pedagogical practices - From being responsive to children's needs and constructing the curriculum to leadership and the pressures of school improvement.

Take a look below at all of the thought-provoking points addressed in this episode...

Episode breakdown:

00:50 - What are creative pedagogical practices? 02:20 - Prescriptive practice 04:40 - Building a curriculum and setting ethos 08:37 - Your learning community 13:33 - Explorers, researchers and inventors 16:01 - Letting go of control 18:17 - Working within the constraints of legislation 25:55 - Don't assume children are too young 31:45 - Navigating the early years landscape 39:01 - The pressures of school improvement 41:22 - Learning from others and good quality CPD 47:00 - The value of being challenged as a leader 52:53 - Seeing yourself as an imperfect leader

Find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/

In this series on the science behind outdoor play Angelica talks to Gemma Goldenberg who is researching how indoor and outdoor environments affect children's stress, attention and self-regulated behaviour.

In this episode, part 4 of the series, Gemma shares her results around children's behaviour and attention during and after outdoor and indoor sessions. Gemma and Angelica discuss the findings in more depth, beyond the general trends, which raises implications for wider educational research as well as pedagogy in classrooms around 'controlling' children's behaviour, looking at averages in data and listening to children's preferences when it comes to their own individual learning.

Episode breakdown:

01:10 - What we already know about impacts of the outdoors on attention 03:30 - Individual differences and preferences 04:45 - Controlling measures in the research study 06:00 - How do we measure behaviour and attention? 14:32 - Implications for 'good listening' 17:20 - Did you find what you expected to find in the research? 18:30 - What use is identifying the average and looking at general data/trends? 21:00 - Implications for educational research 23:00 - Preference impacts learning: Listening to children's preferences matters! 26:40 - What do teachers need to control and when can they release control?

Listen to the full 4-part series and read Gemma's articles on:

The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

This episode is sponsored by Learniture - Experts in the design of educational furniture for settings and schools who recognise that learning environments can positively impact achievement.

To find out more about Learniture, visit www.learniture.co.uk

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like:

Tricia Mohamed's episode on:

The skill of observation -www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/the-skill-of-observation

Let's flip practice on its head - instead of a 'language rich environment', how about we have an environment which doesn't rely on language? Angelica has a conversation with Marlis Juerging-Coles who gives us a different perspective on language, and really challenges common practices. Take a look below at all of the thought-provoking points addressed in this episode...

Episode breakdown:

01:27 - Three common factors in supporting language 02:55 - Language is our social currency 05:05 - Should we use the child's first language in settings? 12:54 - Tokenism and cultural differences 17:00 - An environment that doesn't rely on language 20:17 - No child has chosen to be at your setting 25:50 - Does it matter if children don't use English? 28:40 - Achieving deep level learning 32:27 - Creating an environment which doesn't rely on language 36:30 - Don't be too quick to make changes... 39:00 - Involving children in constructing their environment 43:00 - Getting to know and respecting families' preferences 48:40 - Reflection and asking questions is not a negative 51:37 - What would you say to Ofsted?

Read Marlis' article and find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like:

David Wright's episode on:

Early childhood centres as places of influence, restoration and hope -

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-childhood-centres-as-places-of-influence-restoration-and-hope/

On this first episode of 2024 Angelica talks to Dr Jo Albin-Clark and Dr Nathan Archer on the topic of advocacy and activism in early childhood. Jo and Nathan share the work they do with educators on day to day acts of activism and ethical subversions in practice. A number of topics are brought into this episode, including early childhood pioneers, both past and present, as well as democracy, citizenship and identity.

Episode breakdown:

02:12 - The history of advocacy and activism in early childhood 04:10 - What does advocacy look like today? 06:00 - Advocacy as an everyday occurrence 07:00 - Resistance practices 08:42 - Bringing together theory, practice and academia 09:46 - Challenging pioneering theorists 13:58 - The word pioneer: Reconfiguring this term 15:27 - Critical awareness around policy as a bedrock for advocacy 16:57 - The importance of collectivising 18:25 - The barriers to collectivising 19:34 - The risks involved in advocacy and activism 22:50 - Acknowledging acts of advocacy 28:44 - The power of storytelling/sharing around day to day practice 32:10 - Examples of advocacy in practice 36:20 - The recipe for advocacy in early childhood 38:15 - Recognising and celebrating play alongside families and children 42:03 - Educators' professional identities 44:12 - Citizenship and sustainability 46:48 - Engaging in dialogue with wider society 49:50 - A polarised society

Find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/

In this series on the science behind outdoor play Angelica talks to Gemma Goldenberg who is researching how indoor and outdoor environments affect children's stress, attention and self-regulated behaviour.

In this episode, part 3 of the series, Gemma shares with us the first set of results from her research around noise levels indoors vs outdoors and the levels of stress children experience from noisy environments.

Gemma and Angelica discuss:

01:26 - Not enough information around why noise levels matter 02:14 - Tuning into speech is not fully developed until age 14 05:15 - Measuring noise levels in classrooms 06:20 - Sound proofing classrooms and improving their acoustic quality 14:32 - Are outdoor classrooms really quieter than indoors? 22:36 - The impact of noise levels on children's stress levels 25:24 - External influences on the findings 29:20 - Statistical significant findings and impact on practice and policy 30:00 - Further data from this study and Gemma's research journey

In part 4 Gemma will share with us further results of her research: - How being outdoors affected children's attention - How being outdoors affected children's behaviour

Listen to the full series and read Gemma's articles on:

The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like:

Jan Dubiel's episode on: It's not really about dinosaurs - www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-curriculum

On this episode Angelica talks to Ruth Swailes, Early Years Advisor and Curriculum Developer, and Jan Dubiel, Early Years Advisor with a specialism in pedagogy, assessment and curriculum development.

The idea of a curriculum in early years is still an uncomfortable one for many early years practitioners. In this episode, Jan Dubiel and Ruth Swailes unpick what an early years curriculum is, what considerations go into the construction of an early years curriculum, the recording and updating of it, and the challenges which exist in practice and around the concept of curricula.

Episode breakdown:

01:30 - The notion of a curriculum being scary and an intimidating term 03:49 - The difference between curriculum and pedagogy 04:45 - What we want children to learn vs what children learn 06:49 - Curriculum from an early years lens 09:55 - Is 'the child' the curriculum? Is child development part of curricula? 14:30 - The role of dispositions and attitudes, and learning behaviours 18:20 - Coverage and depth of curriculum - deep level and surface level learning 19:30 - Development Matters is not a curriculum 22:30 - Educators' ownership of the curriculum 23:20 - The need for training and experience in implementing curricula 25:00 - Constructing your curriculum is a valuable process 29:28 - Does the curriculum need to be fluid or is it about flexible pedagogy? 40:00 - Curriculum sequencing and recording 40:25 - The curriculum hasn't met your children - you have 44:45 - Educator autonomy, confidence and knowledge 46:12 - Wellbeing at the heart of curricula 48:25 - Assertiveness for educators: Advocating for early years

Find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/.

In this series on the science behind outdoor play Angelica talks to Gemma Goldenberg who is researching how indoor and outdoor environments affect children's stress, attention and self-regulated behaviour.

In this episode, part 2 of the series, Gemma discusses the challenges faced throughout the data collection and how the children and educators reacted to her research during the implementation of the methods.

Gemma and Angelica discuss:

02:00 - A recap of the research methods 03:55 - Challenges around wearable devices 05:33 - Making children feel more comfortable during research 11:10 - Researcher positionality and self reflection 11:54 - Researching with children and educators, not on them 14:10 - The practicalities of researching in classrooms 15:51 - Instant impact on practice 17:25 - What's to come in the next episode

In part 3 Gemma will share with us the results of her research: - Whether children are noisier and more stressed indoors or outside - How being outdoors affected children's attention - How being outdoors affected children's behaviour

Listen to the full series and read Gemma's articles on:

The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like:

Matt Bawler's episode on: Growth mindset in early childhood - www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/growth-mindset-in-early-childhood/

Maureen Hunt's episode on: Self-efficacy in young children - www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/self-efficacy-in-young-children/

This episode details:

On this episode Angelica talks to Dr Jacqueline Harding, International Child Development Specialist, Research Fellow at Middlesex University, Chair of Bright Start Foundation.

Jacqueline and Angelica discuss:

01:13 - What do we mean by 'play'? 02:48 - Play is far from JUST fun... 04:35 - Play as a buffer against stress 05:27 - The power of the smile: Social interactions and connection 09:00 - Mirroring and sustained shared thinking: What happens in the brain during this? 11:25 - Neuroplasticity, celebrating our lives and promoting positivity 13:18 - Creativity and imagination as vital skills for now and the future 19:54 - Play poverty and its long term effects 22:35 - The state of flow and the brain 29:00 - Brain and body working in harmony 30:43 - Adults focusing on their own needs to be able to give more to children 33:50 - Reflective questioning and unpicking research 35:11 - Becoming experts via observations 39:15 - Building resilience through play 40:35 - Advocacy, protecting play and research informed practice 43:00 - What activities help brain growth? - Laughter as an under-researched area

Read Jacqueline's article and find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

In this series on the science behind outdoor play Angelica talks to Gemma Goldenberg who is researching how indoor and outdoor environments affect children's stress, attention and self-regulated behaviour.

In this episode, part 1 of the series, Gemma gives us an introduction to her research, including a look at the methods she decided to use and unpicking some of the decisions and complexities around this.

The discussion focuses on making research accessible to a wider audience, specifically to those outside of academia, namely families and educators. As well as ensuring that research findings reach policy makers and have an impact on practice sooner rather than later, as is often the case.

Gemma and Angelica discuss:

00:56 - Making research more accessible for educators and parents 03:30 - The problem with research being shared on social media 05:58 - Why is research not influencing policy and practice quicker? 10:00 - Researcher bias and choosing methods carefully 14:30 - Controlling variables for accurate findings 19:00 - Measuring self-regulation 24:33 - Mixed methods research 26:19 - Educators shaping research: A two-way dialogue 27:50 - Ethics: Parental and informed consent 29:45 - Researching in areas of disadvantage

In part 2 Gemma will share with us how children and educators reacted to her research process and some of the challenges the project faced.

Read Gemma's articles and find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

On this episode Angelica talks to Di Chilvers, who is an Independent Advisory Consultant in early childhood education having worked in the early years sector for over 45 years as a Nursery Nurse, Teacher, Senior Lecturer, Adviser and National Strategies Regional Adviser.

Di has created an assessment tool called the Development Map, which is a holistic, child centred way of mapping children's development and progress. She is also the creator of The Observation Toolkit, which she touches on in this episode.

Angelica asks Di - what should we choose to observe? We are constantly observing children, but what should we really focus on? How do we know what children's interests truly are, and which ones should we follow? And amongst all of the workload pressures, what and how do we record and document our observations?

Di talks about observation in action, activity based interests, 'interests in motion', a fluid curriculum, working theories and much more...

Episode breakdown:

02:30 - The starting point is observations 06:27 - Observation, assessment and planning at the centre 07:00 - Child-centred practice through the lens of observations 09:10 - Statutory duty to observe - Observe, assess, plan 10:00 - Observing during continuous provision is vital 11:10 - Should we observe during pre-prepared activities? 13:00 - Observing for outcomes and statements 16:30 - Observation in action - What does it actually look like? 18:20 - The traditional view of how we record observations 20:00 - You don't need to write all observations down 24:20 - Working smarter not harder! 25:20 - Documenting with photos 28:30 - Observations and interests informing the curriculum 29:20 - A fluid curriculum and letting observations spiral 30:50 - Learning in action boards 32:50 - Activity based interests and superficial observations 35:00 - Working theories and 'interests in motion' 40:00 - Floor books and observation, assessment and planning in action 41:40 - Children's Development Maps and The Observation Toolkit 44:45 - Can you talk about your observations to parents, your SLT and Ofsted

47:20 - Observing children is a privilege - Listening to children's voices 47:40 - The pedagogy of listening - The 100 languages

Find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com