Early Years Podcast

The Early Years Podcast Episode 021 Kate Shelley of Tales Toolkit, July 2017 In episode 21 of the Early Years Podcast, we talk to Kate Shelley of Tales Toolkit. Kate explains what Tales Toolkit is and where the idea came from – and that means we delve right into storytelling. We discuss how how storytelling can help children to develop communication skills and to identify problems and solutions and a whole lot else. There’s some very valuable discussion on working with parents & what to do when children tell violent stories. We discover that Kate has one of the best laughs in the whole of the early years. We hear about some of the people who have gotten involved with the project, including the excellent organisation Think Equal, Julian Grenier and Goldsmith’s college. And a whole lot more! The sound quality is not quite perfect on this one, but Kate more than makes up for the odd muffle and click – so we’re sure you’ll enjoy it as much as we did. Have a listen, share it with your friends and colleagues and let us know what you think on twitter at EYpodcast or in the comments below. As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Further reading Tales Toolkit website Tales Toolkit twitter Tales Toolkit Facebook Tales Toolkit instagram Tales Toolkit youtube channel Email Kate / Tales Toolit Think Equal Julian Grenier Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Kate Shelley of Tales Toolkit – 021 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 020 Liane Katz of Mama Codes, May 2017 In episode 20 of the Early Years Podcast, I talk to Liane Katz of Mama Codes. Mama Codes is the home of creative coding for kids and an interesting project that teaches children aged 3-7 to code in an innovative and fun way. Don’t panic: there is not a lot of looking ones and zeros or gobbledegook on a screen. There’s some real life activity, song, rhyme, storytelling and games that will teach the children – as well as you adults, parents and early years professionals – the concepts of coding while having a whole bunch of fun. (Despite the name, Dada can take part too!) I know that some of you will wonder if it is wise to encourage children to spend more time staring at screens. I did ask that question, so before you make any snap judgement, please do listen to Liane to find out how Mama Codes works because she explains how it all nice and clearly. In fact, some of you lucky London local Early Years professionals can even attend a FREE CPD session in south London on 16 June (2017) where you will get a good understanding of the concepts and feel much more comfortable with the whole thing. I thoroughly recommend booking on to that if you can. If you’re not near enough to London, you can peruse the Mama Codes website to ee how it all works or you can reach out to Liane directly, which I also thoroughly recommend because she’s very nice to chat to. In fact, Liane is so nice that she has offered you early years podcast listeners a whopping 15% discount on the early years pack. All you have to do is mention that you’re a podcast listener. Brilliant! Have a listen, share it with your friends and colleagues and let us know what you think on twitter at EYpodcast or in the comments below. As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Further reading Mama Codes website Mama Codes twitter Email Liane Connected learning alliance article on screen time balance Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Liane Katz of Mama Codes – 020 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 019 Liz Gant, April 2017 In episode 19 of the Early Years Podcast, we’re joined by Liz Gant of Imagine Create. Liz originally appeared on the podcast in at Christmas 2016 (one of the short extra episodes), so we thought it about time we had her back for an in depth conversation. Liz’s day job is as an Early Years Manager at a school, where she found that lots of children were arriving without confidence and self esteem. Thus inspiring Imagine Create: in short, art and poetry activities and workshops to help children build confidence and self esteem. We talk about the activities Liz will take children through in one of her workshops and more generally around what we can do as adults to develop belief in our-fine-selves. There’s also some chat about girl-guiding and enough to make your smile, which is Liz’s expressed aim in life, including one of Liz’s excellent poems. Get a dose of enthusiasm and encouragement by listening to Liz, so go forth and press play. Then tell your friends and colleagues and let us know what you think on twitter at EYpodcast or in the comments below. As always, we hope you enjoy listening.   Further reading Imagine create website Imagine create twitter Imagine Create facebook page – (This is where most of the the videos are/were!) Imagine Create you tube channel Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Liz Gant of Imagine Create – 019 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 018 Alison Featherbe, March 2017 In episode 18 of the Early Years Podcast, we talk to Alison Featherbe; former local authority stalwart and now flourishing early years consultant under the name Orange Caterpillar. There are a lot of folk wondering how to make that transition from a local authority role to that of a consultant and I think Alison is a prime example of just how to do it. She’s obviously already well-known for the right reasons in sunny Sussex, but has also been hard at work spreading her network wider, connecting with like minded folk and being suitably inspired to launch initiatives such as the Minding the Gap conference which takes place on 25 March and has respected folk like Penny Tassoni speaking. We talk about that and the exciting agenda that Alison and her co-organiser Rebecca have planned and much more about Alison’s journey from local authority to consultancy and the process you go through and how to do that, benefits and dis-benefits and so on. Heather and Alison quickly run through what’s changed with the EYFS framework and we learn that reading the footnotes if very important. So, red those footnotes! Kate Peach gets my vote for Primer Minister and Alison gets my vote for Mayor of Sussex and I’m sure she’ll get yours too after listening. So, please go ahead and listen and tell your friends and colleagues and let us know what you think on twitter at EYpodcast or in the comments below. As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Further reading Alison on twitter Orange Caterpillar on twitter Orange Caterpillar website Minding the Gap conference Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Alison Featherbe of Orange Caterpillar – 018 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 017 Ali McClure, March 2017 In episode 17 of the Early Years Podcast, we speak to Ali McClure; education and parenting trainer, consultant and author. Ali is probably best known for her book “Making better for boys: in schools, families and communities” and we discuss that in reasonable depth. We find out how the opportunity to write a book came about and we have a rather interesting discussion about testosterone and its impact on child development. We discuss Ali’s work journey from primary school teacher to early years and her work with parents. We also discuss her rather unique approach to delivering training courses which you will enjoy if you get the chance and which often involves things like teepee! There was some passionate discussion involving words like developmental and appropriate and a whole lot more for you to get your ears into (if that’s something that is possible). Right at the very end, I answer a question from a listener called Jon and I quite enjoyed being helpful. So, if you have your own question for us, please feel free to ask us on twitter at EYpodcast, in the comments below or by email. or in the comments below. As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Further reading Ali’s website Ali on twitter Making it better for boys The event at Greenacres Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Ali McClure: making it better for boys (& more) 017 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 016 Alice Lewes, Feburary 2017 In episode 16 of the Early Years Podcast, we speak to the fabulous Alice Lewes; childcare leadership & management consultant, coach and trainer. We talk to Alice about her interesting journey from international jet setting nanny to founder of a successful training company or two and on to becoming the in-demand inspiration that helps people learn to lead childcare teams. There’s some great lessons for all of us in here about seizing your opportunity and having a positive outlook no matter what challenges life presents you with. We focus a fair bit on coaching, which is one of Alice’s passions, and something that I think will prove valuable given some of the industries key challenges around training an recruitment. We talk about jam and about Alice’s lovely new website at alicelewesconsultancy.com – well worth subscribing too just for her excellent industry related poetry as well as the leadership content. (Full disclaimer: built by me) The Bobcat makes a guest appearance to say “hello” to Alice and that’s something I thoroughly recommend you do after listening. Alice will definitely brighten your day and fill you with warmth and she’ll probably inspire you with ideas too! Have a listen, share it with your friends and colleagues and let us know what you think on twitter at EYpodcast or in the comments below. As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Alice Lewes is fabulous – 016 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 015 NEYTCO with John Warren & Sarka Juric, January 2017 In episode 15 of the Early Years Podcast we talk to John Warren and Sarka Juric of National Early Years Trainers and Consultants (NEYTCO) We find out more about what NEYTCO is, why it exists and how you can benefit whether you’re new to consultancy or an experienced expert in your field. We also find out what NEYTCO are up to at Nursery World on 3 and 4 February 2017. It sounds very impressive indeed and you should certainly definitely and without any shadow of doubt join them. We also talk about neuroscience and it’s pretty fascinating. We hear a dog bark with excitement at the mention of some book launches. We forget to ask John about #MenInChildcare. And we find out about NEYTCO’s future plans and then attempt to turn the podcast around on the same day because And we find out about future plans and then attempt to turn the podcast around on the same day because Nursery World is days away. It’s all very good, even if we do say so ourselves. Have a listen, share it with your friends and colleagues and let us know what you think on twitter at EYpodcast or in the comments below. As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Useful links NEYTCO website NEYTCO twitter Nursery World show John Warren’s website John’s blog for childcare Expo John on twitter Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post NEYTCO feat. John Warren & Sarka Juric – 015 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 015 NEYTCO with John Warren & Sarka Juric, January 2017 In episode 15 of the Early Years Podcast we talk to John Warren and Sarka Juric of National Early Years Trainers and Consultants (NEYTCO) We find out more about what NEYTCO is, why it exists and how you can benefit whether you’re new to consultancy or an experienced expert in your field. We also find out what NEYTCO are up to at Nursery World on 3 and 4 February 2017. It sounds very impressive indeed and you should certainly definitely and without any shadow of doubt join them. We also talk about neuroscience and it’s pretty fascinating. We hear a dog bark with excitement at the mention of some book launches. We forget to ask John about #MenInChildcare. And we find out about NEYTCO’s future plans and then attempt to turn the podcast around on the same day because And we find out about future plans and then attempt to turn the podcast around on the same day because Nursery World is days away. It’s all very good, even if we do say so ourselves. Have a listen, share it with your friends and colleagues and let us know what you think on twitter at EYpodcast or in the comments below. As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Useful links NEYTCO website NEYTCO twitter Nursery World show John Warren’s website John’s blog for childcare Expo John on twitter Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post NEYTCO feat. John Warren & Sarka Juric – 015 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

Early Years Podcast Extra 002 Merry Christmas with Liz Gant, December 2016 In this Early Years Podcast Extra, we’re joined by the inspired Liz Gant of Imagine Create. I think I spoke long enough in the intro to the podcast, so I’ll just say here that Liz is an early years specialist and foundation stage manager who also helps children to develop confidence and self esteem through using poetry and art. You can listen to some of her poetry in this short podcast, in advance of a longer conversation in the new year. When you’ve done that, head on over to Imagine Create’s facebook page to see a wonderful advent calendar of story and poem that Liz has put together. You can also contact Liz through the Imagine Create website or twitter profile and there’s some more to watch on youtube too. Have a listen, share it with your friends and colleagues and let us know what you think on twitter at EYpodcast or in the comments below. As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Early Years Podcast Extra – Merry Christmas with Liz Gant appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 014 Kathy Brodie, August 2016 In episode 14 of the Early Years Podcast, we talk to the esteemed Kathy Brodie. Kathy could be called a trainer, consultant, author, lecturer or an EYT (amongst many other positive things!) and all those titles would fit. I’d also be inclined to add the title “innovator” and you’ll see why when Kathy tells us about some of the exciting new projects she is working on. One in particular to note is the new Early Years Summit: an online conference starting on Monday 12 September. The summit features some of your favourite early years speakers and is totally FREE if you register in advance – which you can do using the link at the bottom of this page. Before we get to that we do our best to find out what underpins Kathy’s philosophy and how she manages to be so prolific. There’s also a rather interesting discussion about the need for clarity around EYT/EYP/QTS qualifications. We had so much fun that we even let Kathy talk about the newly returned Men In Childcare podcast. There’s loads in here, so please go ahead and listen and we’d be ever so grateful for feedback on twitter or in the comments below. And maybe, perhaps, please definitely do give us a rating on itunes or whichever podcast player you use. As always, we hope you enjoy listening.   Further reading Register for your FREE Early Years Summit ticket Kathy on twitter Kathy’s website Kathy’s books on amazon – not an affiliate link www.earlyyearstraining.org.uk Men in Childcare Podcasts Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Kathy Brodie: trainer, consultant and more – 014 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 013 Professors Christine Pascal OBE & Tony Bertram, July 2016 May 201 In the early years podcast episode 13 we talk to the esteemed Professors Christine Pascal OBE and Tony Bertram from the famous Centre for Research in Early Childhood. Tony and Chris join us to talk about their findings from the “High Achieving White Working Class Boys Research Project”. Our new favourite scholarly pairing decided to carry out some research on the ethnic group that is academically most underachieving. That group is white working class boys. Despite the predictive factors, there are some white working class boys who succeed. So Chris and Tony wanted to look at those positives and see what they can learn about the factors that enable the high achievers to thrive – despite the incredibly challenging conditions they might face. It is fascinating. It’s a great listen and one you don’t want to miss. In fact, you might even find it so interesting that you want to tell other people about it. You can do so by giving us a rating on itunes or by sharing via twitter (we’re at EYpodcast) or in the old fashioned way of speaking to someone! As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Further reading High Achieving White Working Class Boys Research Project Centre for Research in Early Childhood CREC on twitter More about Chris and Tony Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post CREC: High Achieving White Working Class Boys – 013 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 012 Karen Corrie of Greenbank Woodland Play, July 2016 In episode 12 of the Early Years Podcast, we talk to Karen Corrie of Greenbank Woodland Play. Greenbank is a forest school on the outskirts of Glasgow in bonnie Scotland. After the children are greeted with a brief welcome and risk assessment under shelter, it’s then all outside whatever the weather.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 011 Elizabeth Moody-Stuart of Officrèche, June 2016 In episode 11 of the Early Years Podcast, we talk to Elizabeth Moody-Stuart creator of Officrèche – a nursery and co-working space in Brighton. Alongside full time childcare provision, Officrèche offers flexible childcare services to the local community of freelancers, flexible workers and small business owners – some of whom also pay to use the shared office space on the same premises. It’s an interesting business model, but it’s clear that there’s demand: people travel from far and wide to use Officrèche’s services. We talk to Elizabeth about: the origins of the idea the unique challenges the team face in delivering flexible care that meets the changing needs of society, while maintaining high quality childcare standards the importance of building a good team the advantages of bringing in experts and consultants some of the excellent work Elizabeth and her team have done to promote Officrèche using social media and a content marketing strategy. So, have a listen, tell your friends and please do let us know what you think on twitter @eypodcast or on the comments below. You could also give us a rating on itunes! As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Useful links: Blog post on Officrèche’s use of social media and content marketing www.officreche.com Officrèche on twitter Third Door – nursery with co-working space in London Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Elizabeth Moody-Stuart of Officrèche – 011 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 010 Susan McGhee, June 2016 In episode 10 of the Early Years Podcast, we speak to Susan McGhee of BNG Training. Susan has recently been re-announced as an NMT top 20 most influential nursery person, so it shouldn’t have been any surprise to us that Susan was so very impressive! We freewheeled across a range of subjects in this one – because we thought might as well tap into Susan’s wealth of knowledge and experience while she was here – but the focus always came back to quality. We cover (amongst other things): Susan’s start in early years and her eventual frustration with the glass ceiling the inspiration behind the training service that eventually became BNG BNG work with Bertram Nursery Group and with external providers the importance of listening to and understanding people on the shop floor and the challenges of sharing best practice across diverse settings What makes a Bertram nursery recognisable and the challenges of delivering quality service across diverse settings e-learning and the future of training and development Heather gets on her high horse about apprenticeships how to get involved and make your voice heard! If you like what you hear, you can find out more from Susan on twitter, on her blog and on LinkedIn and on the BNG Training website. Have a listen, share with your friends and colleagues and let us know what you think on twitter at EYpodcast or in the comments below. As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Susan McGhee – The Early Years Podcast 010 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 009 Kim Benham, May 2016 In episode 9 of the Early Years Podcast, we talk to Kim Benham of Millie’s and Sparkle’s preschools near Croydon. Kim and her team recently achieved a second “outstanding” OFSTED inspection rating, so we thought it would be a great idea to explore how they managed to do that. (We’re right, it was a great idea!) There’s something in here for anyone who works in a nursery, whether owner, manager, practitioner or even consultant. We cover how to deliver and maintain outstanding childcare get the basics right engage parents know your children really well importance of delivering cues to OFSTED keeping things simple with planning (see Kim’s blog post) importance of safeguarding what it’s like when OFSTED arrive at your door (with reference to David Wright’s blog post) home play bags shout outs for Laura Henry, Susan Taylor, Farhana (Kim’s Manager) and Astec Solutions Ltd’s nursery management software and more! So listen on, take inspiration from these ideas, tell your friends and then let us know what you think on twitter at EYpodcast or in the comments below. As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Kim Benham – Early Years Podcast 009 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Extra 001 Featuring James Colbourne who wants your vote! In this special edition of the Early Years Podcast, James Colbourne of My Children’s Centre asks for your help. I think it’s accurate for me to describe My Children’s Centre as an initiative to help the 3,000 Children’s Centres across the country to share information with parents using technology. If you think it’s a great idea, you can help James out by giving him your vote in a competition called VOOM 2016. So press play to find out how you can help, but hurry: the deadline is 23 May 2016! Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Early Years Podcast Extra – My Children’s Centre appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 008 Contingency planning, May 2016 In episode 8 of the Early Years Podcast, I ask my favourite co-host Heather Stallard where on earth she’s been. Heather recently had first-hand experience that even the best laid plans can go awry simply because life throws a curve ball at you. In this case, a serious and mysterious nursery manager plague struck her down. Fortunately, Heather is restored to full health and once again firing on all cylinders in the way that only she can. When we were planning how to get the podcast back on track, I mentioned to Heather that I found it interesting that her nursery didn’t fall over during her absence. So, we decided, right there and then, to talk about it. We quickly knocked together our makeshift studio, pressed record and explored the importance of contingency planning. It’s just a short one, but you deserved something for the wait and Heather deserved a public platform to share some very welcome good news. Have a listen, share it with your friends and colleagues and let us know what you think on twitter at EYpodcast or in the comments below. As always, we hope you enjoy listening. Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Contingency planning – Early Years Podcast 008 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 007 Kate Peach for Prime Minister! In episode 7 of the Early Years Podcast we talk to Kate Peach, Owner of Each Peach Childcare and of early years business consultancy Peacharno. Kate is a prime example of someone who has been there and done that. She started out as nanny and Nursery Nurse before working her way up to the become managing director of a group of nurseries and, subsequently, running her own businesses. That alone makes her someone worth listening to. Kate’s also worth listening to because she’s a great role model. That’s something that has been recognised with the award of such titles as NMT Top 20 influential nursery people and Five Most Inspirational People. If you are passionate about childcare, particularly if you wonder what opportunities are available to you, you can’t be helped but be inspired. At the very least, you’ll have a good laugh. We cover: Kate’s journey into childcare: starting as a nanny and nursery nurse and becoming Managing Director of a nursery group the importance of training and development and the benefits of mentoring the ongoing battle to balance business effectiveness with quality potential impacts of 30 hours childcare and what owners/managers need to do to remain sustainable/profitable Kate’s work with other childcare settings and organisations, such as NEYTCO some breaking news! Have a listen, find out why we’ve titled this one “Kate Peach for Prime Minister!” and let us know what you think. And don’t forget to connect with Kate on twitter too. Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Kate Peach for Prime Minister – 007 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.

The Early Years Podcast Episode 006 Communicative Musicality with Dr Carolyn Blackburn, February 2016 In episode six of the Early Years Podcast, we talk to Dr Carolyn Blackburn of Birmingham City University about her research on Communicate Musicality. The study – ‘Communicative musicality: sound, pulse and rhythm in music and language‘ – explores young children’s musical interactions in early years settings and in the home. Central to the discussion is the assertion that sound, pulse and rhythm are of vital importance to child development. This seems obvious: childcare settings are filled with music and rhythm in abundance. However, the presence of sound does not mean that practice fully reflects the potential to enhance development, in particular in communication and language skills. In fact, Carolyn suggests that the same is not prominent enough in the EYFS framework. We cover: the basics of communicative musicality why more awareness of communicative musicality is important key findings and recommendations from the study for practitioners, parents and policy makers potential impacts of differences in culture how technology and age impact our social interactions around music limitations of the study and what happens next where you can find out more. Hope you enjoy listening and let us know what you think. And don’t forget to connect with Carolyn on twitter too. Bonus material 1. Video from Sue Hallam on music and its wider relevance 2. Video from Prof Colwyn Trevarthen on musicality of language 3.Various papers from Jessica Pitt, Roehampton University 4. Various papers from Susan Young, University of Exeter Join our mailing list Get the latest podcast delivered straight to your inbox! First Name Last Name Email Address Join! The post Dr Carolyn Blackburn – The Early Years Podcast 006 appeared first on The Early Years Podcast.