Centre for Research in Early Childhood

Interested in becoming a teacher? Attend a free Get Into Teaching event!
Don’t miss out, sign up to an event today - and be sure to visit the CREC stand on Saturday 22 November 2025 at the Birmingham Conference & Events Centre between 10am- 2:30pm.
buff.ly/9R649RE
#TrainToTeach #GetIntoTeaching

Four-year-olds don’t need to sit still to be ‘school ready’ Children need physical play to develop their strength, coordination, and motor skills.

"As experts in primary education, we take the view that expecting children to sit still and formally learn how to write at this early age conflicts with widely accepted theories around cognitive and physical development."
Read more: ift.tt/I1Vvszq

#SchoolReadiness #SchoolReady #EarlyChildhood

Calling all Leeds and London Nursery Managers, Early Educators and Childminders: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#EarlyEducation #EYFS #EarlyYears #Childminders #Leeds #London #LondonNurseryManagers #LeedsNurseryManagers #LeedsEYFS #LondonEYFS

Best Start In Life The Best Start in Life parent hub

The Government kicks off a new national campaign to help parents cut through the bombardment of sometimes unreliable advice and false expectations online, with the Best Start in Life campaign:

beststartinlife.gov.uk
#EarlyYears #BestStartInLife #EYFS #First1001Days

'Big question marks' over nursery places funding Hopscotch Nurseries' managing director says funding covers less than half of what it spends.

"A nursery chain in East Sussex says the funding it receives from the government to care for children of certain age groups covers less than half of what it spends." Read more: buff.ly/BYj5PpE
#NurseryFunding #NurseryPlaces #EYFS

Interested in becoming a teacher? Attend a free Get Into Teaching event!
Don’t miss out, sign up to an event today - and be sure to visit the CREC stand on Saturday 22 November 2025 at the Birmingham Conference & Events Centre between 10am- 2:30pm.
buff.ly/9R649RE
#TrainToTeach #GetIntoTeaching

🎉 Five years of impact—and we’re just getting started!

Since 2019, we've been working hard to strengthen #EarlyYearsEducation across #Birmingham.

Together, we’ve built a thriving #network, connecting 80% of settings citywide; sharing knowledge, CPD, and cultivating a vibrant learning #community!

‘Poorly thought out’: expanded England childcare scheme results in higher fees for some families Some parents say scheme is a ‘sticking plaster’, with providers incurring losses on every free hour offered

"‘Poorly thought out’: expanded England childcare scheme results in higher fees for some families" buff.ly/1uR2vsb #EarlyYears #Childcare #EarlyEducation #ChildcareFunding

Addressing low pay among early years staff is key if the government wants to deliver on its ambitions The government has bold ambitions for the quantity and quality of early years provision, which rely on having a workforce that is more attractive, ...

"The government must follow its bold ambitions with policy action to ensure it is both attractive enough to recruit and retain the staff numbers required to deliver the childcare entitlement and highly skilled to improve children’s outcomes." buff.ly/Y6gd7Qz
#EarlyYears #EYFS #StaffingCrisis

What is the effect of the two-child limit on children’s school readiness? Research carried out by the IFS shows that despite significantly reducing the benefit entitlements of larger families, the two-child limit had no effect on children’s school readiness

In 2017, the UK government restricted benefits for children born after 6 April 2017, impacting the third and subsequent children. Nesta and the IFS evaluated this by interviewing 35 parents across four English regions. Report here: buff.ly/ORUkixu #SchoolReadiness #2ChildLimit #EarlyYears

Top tips on how to keep your child healthy at school For many, the start of the school term will mean mixing with different groups of people, which is why the autumn term is also known for its colds and bugs. While it’s usually safe for parents and…

Helpful information for parents: buff.ly/TpyH3qP
#EarlyYears #EYFS #ReceptionYear #ChildHealth

This week our SCITT students have been exploring the role of communication and language development through stories.

Applications for the next SCITT cohort are now open - find out more and apply here: buff.ly/YVnWwYT

#TeacherTraining #EarlyYears #EYFS #Literacy #SCITT

Interested in becoming a teacher? Attend a free Get Into Teaching event!
Don’t miss out, sign up to an event today - and be sure to visit the CREC stand on Saturday 22 November 2025 at the Birmingham Conference & Events Centre between 10am- 2:30pm.
buff.ly/9R649RE
#TrainToTeach #GetIntoTeaching

Early Years Wales Conference 2025 Body, Brains and BelongingThat's our theme this year and it's all about seeing children as whole people.

Early Years Wales Conference 2025 - Body, Brains and Belonging
Thursday 16th October | 18:00 to 20:30
Keynote speakers include: Alistair Bryce-Clegg MBE, Professor Christine Pascal OBE, Dr Sharon Colilles and Helen Battelley MA. buff.ly/kcsOZHO
#EarlyYears #Wales #EYFS

Information session this Wednesday:
CREC in partnership with Teach First offers an Early Years (3-7 yrs) specialist route into teaching. 🧒

Register for the online information event here: buff.ly/2ovqi2z

#EarlyYears #TeacherTraining #SCITT #CREC #TrainToTeach

Parents of under-fives unsure what the EYFS is - Nursery World More information and guidance is needed for parents on how to support their child’s learning, finds survey, as less than half of those with children under give feel confident they know what the EYFS…

A survey indicates a need for more guidance and information for parents to effectively support their children's learning, as less than half of those with kids under five are confident in their knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). More here: buff.ly/4Z5O1RM
#EYFS #EarlyYears

Everything you need to know about free school breakfast clubs Families will soon be able to start accessing free breakfast clubs lasting 30 minutes for their children before school through our new free breakfast club programme. Find out more.

Everything you need to know about free school breakfast clubs: buff.ly/EF3F0fO
#BreakfastClubs #EarlyChildhood #EarlyEducation

Our SCITT trainees have been telling us about what they are looking forward to in their training year. 😊

#SCITT #CREC #TeacherTraining

Alliance reacts to Labour's early years proposals | www.eyalliance.org.uk The Early Years Alliance has issued a comment following the announcement of the Labour Party's early years proposals as part of its "Opportunity M ...

The Early Years Alliance has issued a comment following the announcement of the Labour Party’s early years proposals as part of its “Opportunity Mission” speech earlier today, which forms one of the party’s “Five Missions For a Better Britain”: buff.ly/Fsrow8s

#EarlyYears #EYFS #EarlyEducation

Chancellor Rachel Reeves looks set to lift two-child benefit limit Campaigners argue that 109 children across the UK are pulled into poverty by the policy every day.

“... Growing up in poverty can have a devastating impact on children, affecting their health, their wellbeing and their future potential...." The Children’s Charities Coalition on the govt's proposals to lift the two-child benefit limit in @the-independent.com www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Our SCITT trainees have been discussing the social, emotional and cognitive aspects of child development and reflecting upon their own childhood.👶
Trainees created their own “childhood in a jar” sharing personal reflections on what childhood means to them through past experiences and memories. 😊

Early years settings invited to take part in survey on woodwork provision - Nursery World Early years settings that offer woodwork provision for children are being urged to take part in a survey to determine its educational value.

Childcare facilities that provide woodworking activities for youngsters are being encouraged to participate in a survey aimed at assessing its educational benefits:

CREC in partnership with Teach First offers an Early Years (3-7 yrs) specialist route into teaching. 🧒
This drop-in session is an opportunity to ask questions about our programme.
Register for the online information event here: buff.ly/2ovqi2z
#EarlyYears #TeacherTraining #SCITT #CREC #TrainToTeach

New report warns disadvantaged children at risk of missing out on early education as expanded entitlements roll out - Coram Family and Childcare Disadvantaged children are at risk of missing out on the same early education as their more affluent peers due to the eligibility criteria of government-funded childcare entitlements, a new report…

A recent report from Coram Family and Childcare indicates that by the time they begin school, children with employed parents who qualify for these entitlements will have access to three times more government-funded early education compared to disadvantaged children. Read more:

Our community of practice has met regularly since 2003 for presentations or discussions on early childhood issues, and includes students, policy makers, local authority leaders and visiting academics.
Our next meeting: Tuesday 14th October 4pm-5pm-Hybrid
Register here: buff.ly/avUKEAr
#CREC

UCL leads first-in-a-generation birth cohort study The first new UK-wide long-term scientific study of babies and child development in a quarter of a century will be led by researchers at the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies.

Financed by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the pioneering Generation New Era project will track the lives of over 30,000 infants born in 2026, observing their development in the early years and possibly extending beyond: buff.ly/RSLyksI
#GenerationNewEra

Year 1 of our part time MA starts Tuesday 14th October where students will meet with their core tutor team and begin to explore how their reflective research journey will unfold.
There's still a little time to apply - find out more: buff.ly/NiihhIU
#EarlyYearsMA #CREC

WATCH: Princess Kate and Melania Trump Join Fun Scouts’ Squirrels Programme Join us to watch Princess Kate and Melania Trump join a Scouts' Squirrel programme and meet Chief Scout Dwayne Fields. #melaniatrump #princesskate #royalfamily Follow us for more royal news,…

CREC is delighted that the Squirrels Programme, with which we were so deeply involved as an evaluator and developer, continues to grow and thrive and hope this high level support shines a further light on the benefits it can bring. buff.ly/lYZCpYJ
#Squirrels #Scouts #Trump #PrincessKate #Melania

Children are not percentages: Rethinking the ‘Good Level of Development’  - Nursery World Children progress in ways that cannot always be captured by a score, say Ruth Swailes and Aaron Bradbury, who make the case for a new approach to the levels of development they are expected to reach…

Ruth Swailes and Aaron Bradbury argue for a fresh perspective on the developmental milestones children are anticipated to achieve by the end of Reception, emphasising that children's growth cannot always be quantified through scores:

Funded childcare expansion: how most disadvantaged families benefit least from flagship scheme - CYP Now Research from the New Economics Foundation (NEF) think-tank predicts that better-off parents will be the main beneficiaries of the government’s funded childcare offer for working families, which…

Top tier of earners benefit most from funded childcare; see report:
buff.ly/mmvPDOW

#EarlyYears #ChildcareFunding #EarlyChildhood