Best Practice In The Early Years

A must-have guide for everyone working in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Bestselling author Alistair Bryce-Clegg is known for his original and creative ideas and witty and accessible writing style. This book does not disappoint! It is filled with brilliant ideas and practical approaches to use as an Early Years practitioner, including advice for planning sessions, setting up an engaging environment matched to children's interests and encouraging and developing outdoor learning. With a focus on child-led learning, wellbeing and creating the best environment for all young learners, Best Practice in the Early Years is the perfect tool to evaluate, refine and improve provision in your setting. Packed with detailed explanations, thought-provoking questions and inspiring new approaches, this book is a must for all Early Years practitioners eager to ensure their practice is the best it can be for every child in their care.

Popular author Ann Lewin-Benham draws on her experience with the Reggio Approach to present 12 "best practices" inspired not only by Reggio, but also by play-based and Montessori approaches to early childhood education. These practices are demonstrated, one per chapter, with scenarios from classrooms, dialogues of children and teachers, and work samples showing the outcome of using each practice. This resource includes a self-assessment tool to assist you in examining your practices and those of your school.

This is a practical, accessible guide to early years practice. The author examines current theories about how children learn best and focuses on how we can support and extend the learning of young children. This fully revised edition discusses Birth to Three Matters, the new Childcare Bill and the development of children's centres, and has additional focus on the Foundation Stage Profile Packed full with case studies, the book offers: practical advice on how to successfully involve parents as equal partners in the education of their children guidance to ensure that the activities and support offered to young children will promote learning across a broad and balanced Early Years curriculum a focus on special needs, multiculturalism and multilingualism, play and culture, and the importance of interactions with adults and with peers. Essential reading for students on Early Years courses, this book is also invaluable for practitioners, who can use this text as the starting point for developing their own methods within the frameworks of statutory documents relating to Early Years education.

Bringing together prominent scholars, this book shows how 21st-century research and theory can inform everyday instructional practices in early childhood classrooms (PreK-3). Coverage includes foundational topics such as alphabet learning, phonological awareness, oral language development, and learning to write, as well as cutting-edge topics such as digital literacy, informational texts, and response to intervention. Every chapter features guiding questions; an overview of ideas and findings on the topic at hand; specific suggestions for improving instruction, assessment, and/or the classroom environment; and an engrossing example of the practices in action.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Inclusion is a difficult, complex issue for which there are no off-the-shelf answers. To be an effective practitioner it is necessary to identify what makes each situation and circumstance unique and use this knowledge to develop strategies and approaches that are appropriate. This timely new text examines the key perceptions, perspectives and concepts around inclusion in the Early Years. Drawing on real-life experiences of practitioners, it considers the questions practitioners are likely to come across in their professional lives and how they might genuinely go about meeting the needs of all the children in their care. The book covers all aspects of inclusion including special educational needs, gender and sexuality, multiculturalism, multilingualism, Roma and traveller communities and economic wellbeing. Each chapter features: Case studies to develop reflective thinking Boxed examples to illustrate key points Questions to promote discussion and debate Annotated further reading lists With case studies drawn from current research and thinking points which encourage reflective practice, this book will be essential reading for students on early childhood studies programmes and early years foundation degrees that wish to become reflective and critically aware practitioners.

Available in packs of 5, these are the 40-page forms needed to conduct the complete ICP(TM) assessment. How well is your early childhood program implementing quality inclusive practices? Now therea (TM)s a comprehensive, field-tested observational tool that uncovers the answers. A one-of-a-kind tool for classrooms serving children ages 2-5, the Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP) assesses 12 key practices with the strongest research base for supporting the education and development of young children in inclusive programs: Adaptations of Space, Materials, and Equipment Adult Involvement in Peer Interactions Adults' Guidance of Childrena (TM)s Free-Choice Activities and Play Conflict Resolution Membership Relationships between Adults and Children Support for Communication Adaptation of Group Activities Transitions between Activities Feedback Family-Professional Partnerships Monitoring Children's Learning Benefits The in-depth ICP evaluation process gives you the rich information and insights you need to: assess your programa (TM)s current inclusive practices establish a baseline for measuring future progress apply recommended inclusive practices for young children guide quality improvement efforts by linking assessment data with instructional decision-making tailor professional development to teachers' specific needs The ICP is an observation rating scale designed to assess the quality of daily classroom practices that support the developmental needs of children with disabilities in early childhood settings. Comprehensive assessment with ICP takes about 31/2 hours, plus 20 minutes to score. The ICP Manual gives guidance on how to understand, implement, and score the ICP. Learn more about ICP here. See how this product helps strengthen Head Start program quality and school readiness. View our recorded webinar: Introduction to the Inclusive Classroom Profile presented by Elena Soukakou, Ph.D.

An accessible comprehensive guide to good practice in the early years for all early years and childcare students and practitioners.