Paul Ramchandani

This is one of very few long term studies of a brief early intervention to improve mental health in young children. The news is positive - we can make sustained improvements for children early in their lives. Something that early years practitioners know - now there is more research to back it up.

IFS Associate Director @ckfarquharson.bsky.social gives evidence to @commonshealth.bsky.social tomorrow at 9:30am on the provision of early years services and our recent report on the impact of Sure Start centres.

Find out more here: committees.parliament.uk/event/24353/...

It's your last chance to book your place for the #PEDALConference2025 as ticket sales close at 11pm on Friday!

🎟️ pedalhub.net/conference2025

Do you work with or volunteer with children under five? Please complete this survey about AI in the early years and/or share with your networks.

cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Thanks so much!

PEDAL Conference 2025 - PEDAL Join us at PEDAL’s 2025 Conference to celebrate our 10th anniversary and a decade of play and early years research!

2/2 Catherine Draper (Witts Unit, South Africa), Ellen Sandseter (Queen Maud Uni, Norway), Bo Stjerne Thomsen (LEGO Education), Julian Grenier (EEF) and Nikhit D'Sa (Notre Dame Uni, USA).
It'll be a day filled with learning and good company. Here's the link to book:
www.pedalhub.net/news-events/...

A few places left for our PEDAL annual conference on 11th June. We've booked the biggest room in the Faculty and so can squeeze a few more in. As well as Minister Stephen Morgan MP, we have lots of excellent early years and play science and practice, with experts from all over including....(1/2)

Stephen Morgan MP was appointed Minister for Early Education at the Department for Education on 9 July 2024. He was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South in July 2024. Stephen leads on a wide portfolio as the Minister for Early Education. He covers all aspects of Early Years and Childcare policy, as well as being the ministerial lead for AI and digital & data, education estates, school food, safeguarding, behaviour, sustainability and mental health support in schools.

We'll be joined at the #PEDALConference2025 by keynote speaker @stephenmorganmp.bsky.social, Minister for Early Education at the Department for Education

Learn more at: pedalhub.net/conference20...
Book your tickets at: pedalhub.net/conference2025

The fight to keep big tech in check: digital researchers are in ‘David and Goliath’ battle Resource constraints hobble analyses of how digital technologies affect mental health, and take a huge toll on the scientists working to make the online world safer.

Very good article by Amy Orben

"we propose that if there is inadequate safety information available about a digital product ... researchers and policymakers should lower the evidence thresholds needed to start testing interventions to address potential harms."

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

We've sold 75% of the available tickets for the #PEDALConference2025!

Book your ticket at pedalhub.net/conference2025 and join us at @camedfac.bsky.social on Wednesday 11th June 2025 🎟️

We'll be joined at the #PEDALConference2025 by keynote speaker @juliangrenier.bsky.social, Senior Content and Engagement Manager for Early Years at the Education Endowment Foundation.

Learn more at: pedalhub.net/conference20...
Book your tickets at: pedalhub.net/conference2025

Join us at the #PEDALConference2025 where @juliangrenier.bsky.social will present "Play, access and opportunity: Game-changing action for children".

Learn more at: pedalhub.net/conference20...
Book your tickets at: pedalhub.net/conference2025

Due to popular demand, we've just released another 30 tickets for the #PEDALConference2025! 🎟️ If you've been thinking about booking, now is the time! ⏰

Book your ticket for the #PEDALConference2025 at pedalhub.net/conference2025

#Academics in England! Please sign & share! A group of us across academic disciplines have drafted a letter in support of the #PlayCommission's call for an English national #PlayStrategy. It will be submitted alongside others from people in built environment, health, education etc. bit.ly/4dalQed

Wonderful to see the findings from this important trial published. Congratulations to the research team and all involved in delivering it. Challenging findings, that I still need to digest, but good to see this trial, in a complex area of practice, being delivered.

Trusting play to be meaningful data: using sand tray as a play-based research method with an adapted interpretative phenomenological analysis Play-based research methods wherein play itself is analysed as valuable and insightful data is sparse. This methodology article details one method for play-based research, sand tray, in conjunction...

One stream of work at PEDAL is developing ways to allow young children to express their views and feelings about things that matter to them.
A new paper from Dr Sydney Conroy looks at a way of exploring this, using sand tray methods. You can read about it here:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Join us at the #PEDALConference2025 where Dr Nikhit D'Sa will present "Leveraging alternative systems to support children’s development amid crisis".

Learn more at: pedalhub.net/conference2025speakers
Book your tickets at: pedalhub.net/conference2025

We'll be joined at the #PEDALConference2025 by keynote speaker Nikhit D’Sa, developmental psychologist & applied education researcher at the Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child.

Learn more at: pedalhub.net/conference20...
Book your tickets at: pedalhub.net/conference2025

A Foundations branded graphic that reads: 1 day to go. Launch of the Foundations Guidebook'. Below this is a calendar icon, followed by the date: Thursday 1 May 2025. Next to this is an icon of a local decision maker, wearing a suit with their hands on their hips. The background is a blurred screen capture of the Guidebook website.

Just one day to go until the launch of the new Foundations Guidebook! ⏳

The Guidebook is a free, online digest of over 130 interventions, which makes it easy to access evidence on what works for children & families & put it into practice. Watch this space to find out more 🔍

We'll be joined at the #PEDALConference2025 by keynote speaker Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter, Professor at the Department of Physical Education and Health at Queen Maud University College

Learn more at: pedalhub.net/conference2025speakers
Book your tickets at: pedalhub.net/conference2025

We'll be joined at the #PEDALConference2025 by keynote speaker @DrCathD, Associate Professor in the SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand in SA 🇿🇦

Learn more at: pedalhub.net/conference20...
Book your tickets at: pedalhub.net/conference2025

Join us at the #PEDALConference2025 where Dr Catherine Draper will present "Early childhood development and the ‘next 1000 days’: Research and implementation insights from South Africa"

Learn more at: pedalhub.net/conference2025speakers
Book your tickets at: pedalhub.net/conference2025

The first five years of life are crucial to a child’s development, the prevention of future #mentalhealth conditions and the promotion of mental wellbeing and resilience. Read more about our case for action here: www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default...

Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Head of Educational Impact at LEGO Education will present "Play: The future of learning and thriving" at the #PEDALConference2025

Learn more at: pedalhub.net/conference20...
Book your tickets at: pedalhub.net/conference2025

We're so excited to introduce you to our first #PEDALConference2025 keynote speaker: Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Head of Educational Impact at LEGO Education
🧱

Learn more at: pedalhub.net/conference20...
Book your tickets at: pedalhub.net/conference2025

After our successful joint symposium with @starlightuk.bsky.social in 2023, we wanted to explore what more we could do together to improve children’s healthcare 🏥🧸

This new literature review is the result: www.pedalhub.net/projects/item/playing-with-childrens-health

PEDAL Conference 2025 tickets are available now!
pedalhub.net/conference2025

This years PEDAL Conference will be on 11th June. We'll be celebrating 10 years with some great speakers.

More details here (including some of the speakers):
www.pedalhub.net/news-events/...

And if you want to book a place, go here:
onlinesales.admin.cam.ac.uk/conferences-...

Thank you Karen - very kind.

Richard M. Nixon looking balefully over a cup of coffee, as a reaction to a coworker saying “hope you had a restful break!” with the implication of “because I’m about to ruin your day”

“Hope you had a restful break!!”