The Guardian - Senior Labour figures call for ‘life-transforming’ Sure Start policy
Gordon Brown and three former education ministers say New Labour’s acclaimed early-years programme benefited millions.
Read more
The Times - The au pair industry’s collapsed — so what now for parents?
A minimum wage ruling and the impact of Brexit have ruined the tradition of exchanging bed and board for help with the kids.
Read more
The Telegraph - The ‘childcare deserts’ where nursery waiting lists begin in utero
Revealed: the constituencies where demand outstrips supply the most.
Read more
The Financial Times - Extra 85,000 childcare places needed in England to meet government target
An extra 85,000 new places for infants are needed in England to fulfil the UK government’s childcare expansion package by next September, according to its own estimates.
Read more
The Independent - Is your child using social media? The safety conversations every parent needs to be thinking about
According to Ofcom, 38% of five-to-seven-year-olds now use social media, with WhatsApp, TikTok, Instagram and Discord particularly rising in popularity among this age group – despite the fact users are required to be at least 13.
Read more
BBC News - Meet the babies helping to improve childhood health in Liverpool
Babies on Merseyside have been taking part in a major new study aimed at improving childhood health. Led by the University of Liverpool, the study followed 10,000 babies born across the region from the start of their mother's pregnancy through to the children's early years.
Read more
The Daily Mail - Baby aged just eight months is seen by NHS obesity clinic - but expert says 'it's not unheard of'
A baby of eight months has been seen by a new service for severely obese children.The NHS service in Somerset, called Splash, is one of only a few in the country offering under-fours and their families access to dietary and psychological support.Dr Chris Knight, clinical director of paediatrics said: 'Eight months is unusual but at that kind of age we can really make progress about how they are feeding those children at such an early stage.
Read more
The Guardian - We were excited to get ‘free’ childcare for our son. Then the government said he didn’t exist
The extension of free nursery hours to two-year-olds has been blighted by a lack of places, admin errors and all-round confusion.
Read more
The Daily Mirror - Poorer kids who lived near Sure Starts got better GCSE results than peers - before Tory cuts
The Tories were criticised their 'historic mistake' in slashing funding for Sure Starts after research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed families hugely benefitted.
Read more
Nursery World - Aid spending on early years at record high, but investment on higher education remains 21 times higher
Driving up standards through ambitious new conditions on public funding for childcare.
Read more
TES Magazine - Schools now ‘biggest source of food aid’ for families
One in five schools is now running a food bank, says report warning that policymakers are unaware of the scale of child hunger.
Read more
The Guardian view on universal credit: raising the level of benefits must be the priority
The case for removing the two-child and overall benefit caps grows stronger all the time.
Read more
Safeguarding voice podcast: The For Baby's Sake Trust
Listen into this episode to learn more about ‘The For Baby’s Sake Trust’ (originally named the Stefanou Foundation) . A domestic abuse charity whose vision is to tackle the root causes of disadvantage and vulnerability with expectant parents, focusing on very young babies who do not have a voice.
Listen here
The work-life equation podcast: When to "sway", practical tips for working parents
This week on the podcast Priya and Paul speak with Joann Lublin, Pulitzer-prize winning Wall Street Journal reporter and author. Learn how embracing mentorship and choosing the right workplace enables ambitious mums to redefine success on their own terms.
Watch here
Shifting the Conversation: How to talk about early education and childcare - Early Education and Childcare Coalition
This guide shares insights from the Early Education and Childcare Coalition’s research with coalition member organisations and parents, exploring their experience of the sector and what matters to them.
Download Guide
Back to basics: what is childcare policy for?: Towards a childcare system based on choice - Civitas
This report makes several suggestions for reforms that would re-orient childcare policy towards the objective of supporting parents, including cash support, tax reform, and streamlining childcare regulation.
Download Report
Fawcett Society - Transforming Early Childhood Education and Care: Sharing International Learning Part 2
This report is part two in a two-part project, supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, that looks in-depth at ECEC provision in five countries that have recently, or are currently undergoing government-led transformation: Australia, Canada, Estonia, France and Ireland, and shows how their learnings can be applied to transformation locally.
Download Report
UCL - Opinion: Phonics isn’t working- to improve children's reading, they need to learn to love stories
Professor Cathie Wallace (IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education & Society) argues in The Conversation that part of the reason why so many children do not experience joy in reading is the excessive focus on synthetic phonics in early education.
Read more
Neuroscience News - Baby Talk: Early Social Interaction Spurs Language Growth
Early social interactions, characterized by “parentese,” smiles, and eye contact, significantly impact infant brain development and language growth.Utilizing magnetoencephalography (MEG), the study observed increased brain activity in 5-month-olds during social interactions with adults, compared to nonsocial scenarios. This brain activity in regions associated with attention predicted improved language development up to 30 months of age.
Read more
Nesta - How might the two-child limit policy be affecting children’s early learning?
A summary of qualitative research conducted by Nesta with families impacted by the two-child limit policy
Read more
The Sector - Traumatic early years experiences can impair muscle function as people age: Study
Published in Science Advances, the study examined the function of skeletal muscle of older adults paired with surveys about adverse events they had experienced in childhood. It found that people who experienced greater childhood adversity, reporting one or more adverse events, had poorer muscle metabolism later in life, measured by the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body’s main energy currency.
Read more
Froebel Trust - Webinar: Thinking about babies
Monday 29 April 7pm: This webinar marks the launch of new guidance, Thinking about babies - created for early years managers and leaders. Presented by Dr Caroline Guard (Kingston University, London), the webinar will consider the significance of relationships for babies and young children's development. The webinar will also explore ways to create baby rooms in early years settings which reflect and acknowledge babies' needs.
Register
UCL - Lunch Hour Lecture | Why Jahmelia Can’t Read or Write: Government Failures and the Reading Wars (online)
Thursday 30 May 1-2pm: In this talk, Prof Wyse will discuss the importance of teaching reading & the education policies in England that ignited debate globally.
Register
Research in Practice: Supporting children, families and adults across housing and social care (online)
Thursday 30 May9:30am-3:30pm: This event shares an evidence base and practice learning for housing and social care professionals. It considers the challenges that people can face when drawing upon social care and housing services simultaneously, and the opportunities to better align support across the sectors.
Register