Supporting a smooth transition into reception

Useful new guidance out from Department for Education to support transition into the Reception Year:
#edusky

www.gov.uk/government/p...

Early years research evidence in 5 quick reads Welcome to issue 20 of my monthly newsletter, bringing you five key research updates and helping you stay informed. All views are my own.

Interested in keeping up with research and evidence in early childhood education and care?

Check out the latest edition of my newsletter on LinkedIn - includes a discussion of the ‘early maths gap’ and the impact of book gifting.

#edusky

www.linkedin.com/pulse/early-...

A great night at the opening of the new V&A East. I’ve been admiring the architecture from the outside since it first went up - inside is even better. This is a tremendous museum. Very much enjoyed the gallery I was able to visit with the crowd, focused on belonging and campaigning for visibility.

SHARE to support struggling readers & writers Where do teachers start when it comes to supporting students who struggle with reading and writing? There is so much written and argued about reading and writing, that busy teachers can feel a little ...

💡NEW POST 💡

'SHARE to support struggling readers and writers'

S – Scaffolding challenging tasks
H – High expectations for every student
A – Assessment-driven adaptations
R – Responsive interventions
E – Explicit teaching

alexquigley.co.uk/share-to-sup...

💡 Birth month always needs to be a consideration:

- Summer born children are more likely to be recorded as having SEND
- September born children 30% more likely to go to an elite university
- More progress in P8 scores for summer born children
…& more

ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2022/11/the-...

Early years research evidence in 5 quick reads Welcome to issue 20 of my monthly newsletter, bringing you five key research updates and helping you stay informed. All views are my own.

Issue 20 of my newsletter is out today on LinkedIn.

It's for everyone interested in catching up quickly with research and evidence in the early years

www.linkedin.com/pulse/early-...

A pink and white blossoming cherry tree in full flower

Stunning pink and white cherry blossom tree in Bethnal Green, just by the fire station.

A white blossoming branch grafted onto a pink blossoming tree.

Graphic of a child climbing together with explanatatory text about 'scaffolding' which is on the downloadable PDF

✅ New from the EEF: free tool to help early years educators scaffold learning more effectively.

Scaffolding gives children the “just right” level of challenge: not too much, not too little.

2‑page PDF with steps for teams to use everyday here: d2tic4wvo1iusb.cloudfront.net/production/c...

#edusky

A great Early Years Network meeting led by Julian Grenier! He shared key knowledge and insights with Early years teachers and leaders. Olga Primary school kindly hosted a showcase of their 3 tiered approach to planning - child led, non negotiable and gap led. Lots of takeaways from this session!

What teachers think about disciplinary literacy It can sometimes feel like primary school and secondary school teachers inhabit different worlds. It is no surprise then that teachers at different phases have diverging views and beliefs given their ...

💡NEW POST 💡

‘What teachers think about disciplinary literacy’

“Teachers who experience teaching a young child to read with a phonics programme and early handwriting practice feels a world away from reading dense science texts or writing history essays.”

alexquigley.co.uk/what-teacher...

What teachers think about disciplinary literacy It can sometimes feel like primary school and secondary school teachers inhabit different worlds. It is no surprise then that teachers at different phases have diverging views and beliefs given their ...

🚨 NEW POST 🚨

‘What teachers think about disciplinary literacy’

“As reading and writing success is synonymous with academic success, disciplinary literacy isn't a nice-to-have extra for teachers. Instead, it is fundamental to the success of every student.”

alexquigley.co.uk/what-teacher...

Are you looking to harness feedback and pupil understanding in the classroom to adapt your teaching?

The new Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) ‘Check.Adapt’ tool offers a simple scaffold for reflection.

Find it here: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/checkin...

Cover of the book ‘John & Paul A Love Story in Songs’ by Ian Leslie. Lennon and McCartney sit together on railings looking at each other.

Just finished ‘John & Paul A Love Story in Songs’ by @ianleslie.bsky.social

I can’t put this well … a profoundly beautiful book that brought back many memories of childhood listening. Memories…but I heard the songs anew.

Finished it, listened to ‘Here Today’ by McCartney, rarely felt so moved.

How can feedback drive successful teacher adaptations?

This new Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) resource - ‘Check.Adapt’ - offers a concise, usuable resource to reflect on decisions in the classroom.

Read more here: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/checkin...

‘Do banded books make for poorer readers?’

“There is clearly a disconnect between early reading outcomes and the way progress flattens after early phonics gains - and banded books might be part of the problem.”

www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

3 frogs in a pond

Close up of a frogs head and eyes

Frogs in Culpepper community garden, Islington. A lovely oasis in a busy part of London.

Nauczyciele dostali zupełnie nowe narzędzie. Ma ułatwić pracę w klasie "Przewodnik po strategiach edukacyjnych" - narzędzie oparte na badaniach naukowych, opisujące sprawdzone strategie nauczania i organizacji pracy dydaktycznej - od czwartku jest dostępne w inte...

Brilliant to see Poland's translated version of the @theeef.bsky.social Toolkit launched today informacje.wp.pl/wiadomosci/n... 👏

children in an early years classroom sharing a book and laughing with an educator

My latest column in TES @tesmagazine.bsky.social

Our early years workforce hasn’t kept pace with rising needs.

I set out practical approaches to improving training, reviewing deployment, and investing to support communication, personal care, and SEND.

#edusky

www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Why we need workforce reform in the early years The needs of children starting school now are different than they were a few decades ago. So it’s time for us to make staffing changes, too, suggests Julian Grenier

"Instead of baulking at the cost, let’s see extra spending on staff in the early years as a great long-term investment in our children and all our futures." In @tesmagazine.bsky.social today, @juliangrenier.bsky.social sets out the changes to EYFS workforce that are needed to improve outcomes.

Why we need workforce reform in the early years The needs of children starting school now are different than they were a few decades ago. So it’s time for us to make staffing changes, too, suggests Julian Grenier

@juliangrenier.bsky.social sets out three areas where changing the approach to early years workforce training could make a big difference to the youngest pupils

What schools need to understand about foundational knowledge The renewed Ofsted framework refers to foundational knowledge. What is it, and how can schools demonstrate that they are providing it?

What does Ofsted mean by ‘foundational knowledge’? And how can schools show that they are delivering it? @greeborunner.bsky.social offers some answers

An early years educators reads and talks with 4 young children

The early years are crucial - educational inequality starts early. Vocabulary is at the heart of it.

My latest blog for @theeef.bsky.social - how thoughtful, joyful teaching and modelling of vocabulary can make a lasting difference to children’s outcomes.

#edusky

ow.ly/exW950Y5yUg

Key takeaways from the Tower Hamlets Senior Leadership Conference: don’t wait for curriculum change, focus on fluency and impact, inclusion matters more than ever, and no school improves in isolation. Collaboration is key.
#EducationReform #Ofsted #SEND #Inclusion #CPD

Learning by hand What if the brave new world of AI and assistive technology means that we stop learning by hand? Would we lose any learning it the translating from handwriting screen tapping, or from note-taking by ha...

🚨 NEW POST 🚨

‘Learning by hand’

“If exams go fully digital, handwriting instruction could quickly be marginalised, and note-taking by hand be swapped out for a digital device with AI aids by pragmatic teachers and tech-loving students.”

alexquigley.co.uk/learning-by-...

Early years research evidence in 5 quick reads Welcome to issue 19 of my monthly newsletter, bringing you five key research updates and helping you stay informed. All views are my own.

𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝟱📬

5 quick reads on:
• Screen time at age 2
• Growth in school based early education
• Inclusive leadership
• Diet and activity programme shows no impact
• OECD insights on inclusion

www.linkedin.com/pulse/early-...

Today I have managed to finished my MacMillianCancer 35 Minute a Day Exercise Challenge!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

I managed to complete all the minutes and raise over £2.5k.

Thank you so much to everyone who sponsored and supported me. It has been hard- but I have enjoyed it hugely.

Huge congratulations. What an amazing sum to raise, too. 👏👏👏

6 strategies to support reading for students with SEND Shared reading is vital for every student to succeed in education. Reading in the classroom helps build knowledge, develop ideas, boost vocabulary, fuel creativity, and so much more. But we know that ...

'6 strategies to support reading for students with SEND'

"Shared reading, done well, may just be one of the most important things that students with special needs do and learn in classrooms, so focusing on doing is effectively is well worth our time."

alexquigley.co.uk/6-strategies...

Why SEND reform depends on the early years Because the EYFS shapes children’s first learning experiences, it is where the SEND crisis begins - so it needs to be a key focus in fixing the problem, writes Julian Grenier, who offers three ways to...

"The EYFS shapes children’s earliest learning experiences... Despite this, it is still common for children in the early years to receive lower levels of funding and support than older children. We need to reverse that," writes @juliangrenier.bsky.social.

Compared with all other phases in school, EY receives the least amount of funding and support from the DFE/policymakers. Yet excellent EY/KS1 provision sets children up for the rest of their lives.

This is so shortsighted.

bsky.app/profile/jons...