Early Years Digest

05 May 2026

 

PRESS & MEDIA 

Dads push for better paternity leave - Sky News 

Research to improve home learning environment for young children backed by £32m Government fund - Nursery World

All Party Parliamentary Group for Early Education and Childcare closes after Conservative MP leaves - Nursery World  

Why teachers need a better guide to speech and language support - Tes Magazine 

Dangerous baby-sleep advice given to parents by self-described experts, secret filming reveals - BBC News   

 

FEATURE STORIES  

Early years pioneers, part 5: Lev Vygotsky and Jerome Bruner – How children learn - Nursery World 

The ‘Wait Until Ready’ Approach to Potty Training Is Under Fire - Bloomsberg  

The complex story behind rising suspensions in primary schools - Tes Magazine

Why are so many schools making children learn on screen? - The Guardian

English children more likely to own a phone than be "able to throw a ball" - Centre for Social Justice

 

RESEARCH & POLICY DEVELOPMENT

 

POLICY BRIEF: Knots in the continuum - the tangled perspectives of Early Childhood Education in England - Policy Brief 

GUIDANCE: Safer Sleep, DfE with collaboration from the Lullaby Trust

RESEARCH: From teddies to tablets: New global research reveals that digital devices are being used to comfort babies and parents, 1001 Critical Days Foundation and iADDICT 

REPORT:  Building Strong Foundations for Life - OECD

WORKING PAPER: From Resources to Routines: The Importance of Stability in the Developmental Environment - Centre on the Developing Child, University of Havard 


BLOGS, WEBINARS & MORE 

RESEARCH TRIAL: EEF and NFER are recruiting Reception classes for an effectiveness research trial assessing the impact of OxEd Whole Class and NELI starting Autumn 2026! – more information here

EVENT: Libraries Rising Hybrid Conference: Belonging from the Beginning, 12 May, Birmingham or option to join online.

EVENT: Nursery World's Big Day Out, 15 May, London  

 JOBS 

Chief Executive - YMCA Derbyshire




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