There has never been a more urgent time to reflect on how we, as a profession, present ourselves to the world. The early childhood community is rich in knowledge, experience and deep commitment to children's learning and wellbeing. Yet, we continue to wrestle with misunderstanding, mistrust and misrepresentation—externally and, at times, internally. This podcast episode and article draw attention to the language we use in early childhood education—how it defines us, how it connects (or disconnects) us from the wider world, and how it influences perceptions of what we do. Language shapes reality. The words we choose matter.

Read the article here:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/reframing-early-childhood-how-language-impacts-our-professional-identity/

This episode is sponsored by Childcare Marketing:

Our team of passionate childcare marketing and childcare professionals have the experience to take your childcare business and its online presence to the next level. Starting with a bespoke childcare website design, we then focus on strategic marketing activity aligned to your goals and objectives. Whether is revenue, recruitment or reputation, our goal is to help you grow and sustain your business.

To find out more visit: childcaremarketing.co.uk

Our 2026 conference info & tickets:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2026/

Listen to more:

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like more from Jan:

·       What is an early years curriculum? - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/what-is-an-early-years-curriculum/

·       Data in early childhood - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/data-in-early-childhood/

·       It's not really about dinosaurs… - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-curriculum/

Get in touch and share your voice:

Do you have thoughts, questions or feedback? Get in touch here! – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/contact/

Episode break down:

00:00 – Welcome and introduction
03:30 – Why language matters in early childhood education
06:25 – Who defines professional language?
09:05 – Rethinking the word 'play'
13:25 – Emotional attachment to terminology
16:15 – Using the right language to elevate our practice
19:15 – Building confidence to talk about curriculum and learning
22:45 – Science, history, and geography in the early years
27:05 – Breaking down the education–care divide
30:15 – Recognising all roles in the profession
32:35 – How do you value different voices in your setting or network?
33:45 – Addressing disadvantage and the role of early education
37:25 – A one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work
41:35 – Recognising and responding to different forms of cultural capital
44:45 – The importance of knowing children and families deeply
47:05 – What do we mean by curriculum?
49:35 – Using GLD data to ask better questions
53:05 – Language, learning goals, and conversations with families
55:15 – Rethinking 'academic' and 'intellectual'
58:00 – Final reflections and key messages

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

This article and podcast episode with Dr Dan Wuori, author of The Daycare Myth, challenge outdated perceptions of early childhood education, highlighting the need for policy reform, professional respect, and fair pay. Drawing on decades of experience, Dr Wuori calls for a reimagining of early learning as essential, complex, and deserving of greater societal value.

Read the article here:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/the-daycare-myth-shifting-the-narrative-on-early-childhood-education/

This episode is in partnership with Male Childcare and Teaching Jobs.

Male Childcare and Teaching Jobs advocate for greater male participation in education and caregiving roles, offering support and guidance to enhance gender inclusion in nurseries and schools.

To find out more visit: https://malechildcareandteachingjobs.co.uk/

Listen to more:

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like to hear more at https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/articles/men-in-early-childhood/

Our 2026 conference info & tickets:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2026/

Get in touch and share your voice:

Do you have thoughts, questions or feedback? Get in touch here! – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/contact/

Episode break down:

00:00 – Welcome!
02:00 – The Daycare Myth
07:00 – How the profession is viewed
14:00 – A journey into the profession
21:45 – Encouraging more men into the profession
26:00 – Inconsistency for young children
29:00 – A stagnant level of men in early childhood
31:00 – The joy of working in early childhood
33:00 – We need to do a better job working with policy makers
35:00 – Further information

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

In this re-released episode and article David Meechan critically explores the reception baseline assessment (RBA), questioning its purpose, reliability and impact on children, teachers and families. Drawing on his research and personal experience, he highlights practical ways educators and leaders can navigate the RBA while advocating for assessment approaches that truly reflect and support child-centred learning in the early weeks of school. 

Read the article here:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/whats-the-problem-with-the-reception-baseline-assessment/

Our 2026 conference info & tickets:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2026/

Get in touch and share your voice:

Do you have thoughts, questions or feedback? Get in touch here! – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/contact/

Episode breakdown: 

• 03:30 - How David's work started on the RBA
• 05:50 - Requesting his son's withdrawal from the assessment 
• 07:55 - Inconsistencies of withdrawal from the assessment
• 09:30 - Moral issues with assessment and testing
• 11:30 - Research into the baseline assessment
• 14:40 - Signing away a child's data footprint
• 15:57 - The datafication of early years
• 19:00 - Are the children's best interests at heart? 
• 20:40 - Taking teachers out of classrooms
• 21:58 - Key findings from David's baseline research
• 23:50 - Treating children as a means to an end
• 27:35 - Making the most of the reception baseline assessment
• 29:00 - A holistic approach to the baseline assessment
• 30:40 - Reliability of the baseline assessment
• 32:00 - Reducing lived experiences to abstract numbers
• 34:15 - Positives taken from the baseline assessment 
• 36:00 - Giving value to assessment
• 40:00 - Tips for teachers conducting the baseline assessment

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/

In this series on the science behind outdoor play Angelica talks to Gemma Goldenberg who is researching how indoor and outdoor environments affect children's stress, attention and self-regulated behaviour.

In this episode, part 4 of the series, Gemma shares her results around children's behaviour and attention during and after outdoor and indoor sessions. Gemma and Angelica discuss the findings in more depth, beyond the general trends, which raises implications for wider educational research as well as pedagogy in classrooms around 'controlling' children's behaviour, looking at averages in data and listening to children's preferences when it comes to their own individual learning. 

Episode breakdown:

01:10 - What we already know about impacts of the outdoors on attention
03:30 - Individual differences and preferences
04:45 - Controlling measures in the research study
06:00 - How do we measure behaviour and attention?
14:32 - Implications for 'good listening'
17:20 - Did you find what you expected to find in the research?
18:30 - What use is identifying the average and looking at general data/trends?
21:00 - Implications for educational research
23:00 - Preference impacts learning: Listening to children's preferences matters!
26:40 - What do teachers need to control and when can they release control?

Listen to the full 4-part series and read Gemma's articles on:

The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

This episode is sponsored by Learniture - Experts in the design of educational furniture for settings and schools who recognise that learning environments can positively impact achievement.

To find out more about Learniture, visit www.learniture.co.uk

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/. 

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like:

Tricia Mohamed's episode on:

The skill of observation -www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/the-skill-of-observation

Let's flip practice on its head - instead of a 'language rich environment', how about we have an environment which doesn't rely on language? Angelica has a conversation with Marlis Juerging-Coles who gives us a different perspective on language, and really challenges common practices. Take a look below at all of the thought-provoking points addressed in this episode...

Episode breakdown: 

01:27 - Three common factors in supporting language
02:55 - Language is our social currency
05:05 - Should we use the child's first language in settings?
12:54 - Tokenism and cultural differences
17:00 - An environment that doesn't rely on language
20:17 - No child has chosen to be at your setting
25:50 - Does it matter if children don't use English?
28:40 - Achieving deep level learning
32:27 - Creating an environment which doesn't rely on language
36:30 - Don't be too quick to make changes...
39:00 - Involving children in constructing their environment
43:00 - Getting to know and respecting families' preferences
48:40 - Reflection and asking questions is not a negative
51:37 - What would you say to Ofsted?

Read Marlis' article and find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/. 

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like:

David Wright's episode on:

Early childhood centres as places of influence, restoration and hope -

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-childhood-centres-as-places-of-influence-restoration-and-hope/ 

On this first episode of 2024 Angelica talks to Dr Jo Albin-Clark and Dr Nathan Archer on the topic of advocacy and activism in early childhood. Jo and Nathan share the work they do with educators on day to day acts of activism and ethical subversions in practice. A number of topics are brought into this episode, including early childhood pioneers, both past and present, as well as democracy, citizenship and identity.

Episode breakdown: 

02:12 - The history of advocacy and activism in early childhood 
04:10 - What does advocacy look like today?
06:00 - Advocacy as an everyday occurrence
07:00 - Resistance practices
08:42 - Bringing together theory, practice and academia
09:46 - Challenging pioneering theorists
13:58 - The word pioneer: Reconfiguring this term
15:27 - Critical awareness around policy as a bedrock for advocacy
16:57 - The importance of collectivising
18:25 - The barriers to collectivising
19:34 - The risks involved in advocacy and activism
22:50 - Acknowledging acts of advocacy
28:44 - The power of storytelling/sharing around day to day practice
32:10 - Examples of advocacy in practice
36:20 - The recipe for advocacy in early childhood
38:15 - Recognising and celebrating play alongside families and children
42:03 - Educators' professional identities
44:12 - Citizenship and sustainability
46:48 - Engaging in dialogue with wider society 
49:50 - A polarised society

Find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/

In this series on the science behind outdoor play Angelica talks to Gemma Goldenberg who is researching how indoor and outdoor environments affect children's stress, attention and self-regulated behaviour.

In this episode, part 3 of the series, Gemma shares with us the first set of results from her research around noise levels indoors vs outdoors and the levels of stress children experience from noisy environments.

Gemma and Angelica discuss:

01:26 - Not enough information around why noise levels matter
02:14 - Tuning into speech is not fully developed until age 14
05:15 - Measuring noise levels in classrooms
06:20 - Sound proofing classrooms and improving their acoustic quality
14:32 - Are outdoor classrooms really quieter than indoors?
22:36 - The impact of noise levels on children's stress levels
25:24 - External influences on the findings
29:20 - Statistical significant findings and impact on practice and policy
30:00 - Further data from this study and Gemma's research journey

In part 4 Gemma will share with us further results of her research:
- How being outdoors affected children's attention
- How being outdoors affected children's behaviour

Listen to the full series and read Gemma's articles on:

The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/. 

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like:

Jan Dubiel's episode on: It's not really about dinosaurs - www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-curriculum

On this episode Angelica talks to Ruth Swailes, Early Years Advisor and Curriculum Developer, and Jan Dubiel, Early Years Advisor with a specialism in pedagogy, assessment and curriculum development.

The idea of a curriculum in early years is still an uncomfortable one for many early years practitioners. In this episode, Jan Dubiel and Ruth Swailes unpick what an early years curriculum is, what considerations go into the construction of an early years curriculum, the recording and updating of it, and the challenges which exist in practice and around the concept of curricula.

Episode breakdown: 

01:30 - The notion of a curriculum being scary and an intimidating term
03:49 - The difference between curriculum and pedagogy
04:45 - What we want children to learn vs what children learn
06:49 - Curriculum from an early years lens
09:55 - Is 'the child' the curriculum? Is child development part of curricula?
14:30 - The role of dispositions and attitudes, and learning behaviours
18:20 - Coverage and depth of curriculum - deep level and surface level learning
19:30 - Development Matters is not a curriculum
22:30 - Educators' ownership of the curriculum
23:20 - The need for training and experience in implementing curricula
25:00 - Constructing your curriculum is a valuable process
29:28 - Does the curriculum need to be fluid or is it about flexible pedagogy?
40:00 - Curriculum sequencing and recording
40:25 - The curriculum hasn't met your children - you have
44:45 - Educator autonomy, confidence and knowledge
46:12 - Wellbeing at the heart of curricula
48:25 - Assertiveness for educators: Advocating for early years

Find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/. 

In this series on the science behind outdoor play Angelica talks to Gemma Goldenberg who is researching how indoor and outdoor environments affect children's stress, attention and self-regulated behaviour.

In this episode, part 2 of the series, Gemma discusses the challenges faced throughout the data collection and how the children and educators reacted to her research during the implementation of the methods.

Gemma and Angelica discuss:

02:00 - A recap of the research methods
03:55 - Challenges around wearable devices
05:33 - Making children feel more comfortable during research
11:10 - Researcher positionality and self reflection
11:54 - Researching with children and educators, not on them
14:10 - The practicalities of researching in classrooms
15:51 - Instant impact on practice
17:25 - What's to come in the next episode

In part 3 Gemma will share with us the results of her research:
-    Whether children are noisier and more stressed indoors or outside
-    How being outdoors affected children's attention
-    How being outdoors affected children's behaviour

Listen to the full series and read Gemma's articles on:

The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

For 10% off our conference tickets visit: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2024/. 

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like:

Matt Bawler's episode on: Growth mindset in early childhood - www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/growth-mindset-in-early-childhood/ 

Maureen Hunt's episode on: Self-efficacy in young children - www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/self-efficacy-in-young-children/ 

This episode details:

On this episode Angelica talks to Dr Jacqueline Harding, International Child Development Specialist, Research Fellow at Middlesex University, Chair of Bright Start Foundation.

Jacqueline and Angelica discuss: 

01:13 - What do we mean by 'play'? 
02:48 - Play is far from JUST fun...
04:35 - Play as a buffer against stress
05:27 - The power of the smile: Social interactions and connection
09:00 - Mirroring and sustained shared thinking: What happens in the brain during this?
11:25 - Neuroplasticity, celebrating our lives and promoting positivity 
13:18 - Creativity and imagination as vital skills for now and the future
19:54 - Play poverty and its long term effects
22:35 - The state of flow and the brain
29:00 - Brain and body working in harmony
30:43 - Adults focusing on their own needs to be able to give more to children
33:50 - Reflective questioning and unpicking research
35:11 - Becoming experts via observations
39:15 - Building resilience through play
40:35 - Advocacy, protecting play and research informed practice
43:00 - What activities help brain growth? - Laughter as an under-researched area

Read Jacqueline's article and find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

In this series on the science behind outdoor play Angelica talks to Gemma Goldenberg who is researching how indoor and outdoor environments affect children's stress, attention and self-regulated behaviour.

In this episode, part 1 of the series, Gemma gives us an introduction to her research, including a look at the methods she decided to use and unpicking some of the decisions and complexities around this. 

The discussion focuses on making research accessible to a wider audience, specifically to those outside of academia, namely families and educators. As well as ensuring that research findings reach policy makers and have an impact on practice sooner rather than later, as is often the case. 

Gemma and Angelica discuss:

00:56 - Making research more accessible for educators and parents
03:30 - The problem with research being shared on social media
05:58 - Why is research not influencing policy and practice quicker?
10:00 -  Researcher bias and choosing methods carefully
14:30 - Controlling variables for accurate findings
19:00 - Measuring self-regulation
24:33 - Mixed methods research
26:19 - Educators shaping research: A two-way dialogue 
27:50 - Ethics: Parental and informed consent
29:45 - Researching in areas of disadvantage

In part 2 Gemma will share with us how children and educators reacted to her research process and some of the challenges the project faced.

Read Gemma's articles and find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

On this episode Angelica talks to Di Chilvers, who is an Independent Advisory Consultant in early childhood education having worked in the early years sector for over 45 years as a Nursery Nurse, Teacher, Senior Lecturer, Adviser and National Strategies Regional Adviser. 

Di has created an assessment tool called the Development Map, which is a holistic, child centred way of mapping children's development and progress. She is also the creator of The Observation Toolkit, which she touches on in this episode.

Angelica asks Di - what should we choose to observe? We are constantly observing children, but what should we really focus on? How do we know what children's interests truly are, and which ones should we follow? And amongst all of the workload pressures, what and how do we record and document our observations?

Di talks about observation in action, activity based interests, 'interests in motion', a fluid curriculum, working theories and much more...

Episode breakdown: 

02:30 - The starting point is observations
06:27 - Observation, assessment and planning at the centre
07:00 - Child-centred practice through the lens of observations
09:10 -  Statutory duty to observe - Observe, assess, plan
10:00 - Observing during continuous provision is vital
11:10 - Should we observe during pre-prepared activities?
13:00 - Observing for outcomes and statements
16:30 - Observation in action - What does it actually look like?
18:20 - The traditional view of how we record observations
20:00 - You don't need to write all observations down
24:20 - Working smarter not harder!
25:20 - Documenting with photos
28:30 - Observations and interests informing the curriculum
29:20 - A fluid curriculum and letting observations spiral
30:50 - Learning in action boards
32:50 - Activity based interests and superficial observations
35:00 - Working theories and 'interests in motion'
40:00 - Floor books and observation, assessment and planning in action
41:40 - Children's Development Maps and The Observation Toolkit
44:45 - Can you talk about your observations to parents, your SLT and Ofsted

47:20 - Observing children is a privilege - Listening to children's voices
47:40 - The pedagogy of listening - The 100 languages

Find out more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Stephanie Hammond and Angelica Celinska critically discuss early literacy provision and the teaching of phonics, really unpicking how children learn to read.

They discuss practitioner skills and confidence in challenging 'tick list practices', child-led vs adult-led learning, activities set up for adult purposes in terms of testing for specific outcomes and observations, rather than for the value of the learning in the moment for the children. As well as rich language environments, expectations of phonics schemes, reductionist phonics set ups and the 'catch up' narrative.

Episode breakdown: 

00:30 - DfE Literacy Specialist 
03:00 - Learning from practice
04:55 - Are we 'experts' or 'specialists'?
08:00 - Letters in a sand tray are like worksheets 
11:30 - Tick list and outcomes based practice
18:00 - Skilled adults supporting phonological awareness
19:45 - Senior leadership teams and Ofsted
22:00 - Are we interacting or interfering in learning?
23:40 - 'Quick wins' and contradictory information
25:25 - The reading framework
27:50 - Top down pressures and school readiness
31:15 - Strong phonics start in Reception
34:39 - Do children really need to 'catch up'?
42:55 - Phonics schemes and adult-led teaching
45:35 - Picking up literacy in the environment
46:50 - Language rich environment
48:55 - Expectations of phonics schemes
51:35 - Being open to being challenged and reflective

Take a look at Stephanie's article and read more around early literacy and language development: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Reception teacher Poppy LeMar responds to Bridget Phillipson's claim that "half can't sit still" at age four, explaining that while children can sit briefly, their self-regulation is still developing. She highlights what sitting still actually looks like in a reception classroom, challenges misconceptions, and encourages better understanding between families and educators. She also advocates for inclusion and realistic expectations.

Read the article here:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/should-4-year-olds-really-be-expected-to-sit-still-?/

This episode is sponsored by Funding Loop

Funding Loop automates the process for nurseries of collecting funding forms from parents and typing that information into council portals. Funding Loop is used by over 2000 nurseries including over 80% of the top 25 nursery chains in the UK including Busy Bees.

To find out more visit: https://www.fundingloop.co.uk/home

Our 2026 conference info & tickets:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2026/

You might also like…

·       Proactively promoting positive mental health by Matt Bawler – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/proactively-promoting-positive-mental-health/

·       Self-regulation, co-regulation & mental health by Dr Mine Conkbayir – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/self-regulation-co-regulation-and-mental-health/

·       'It's not time out, it's time in' for both of us: Co- and self-regulation by Julia Robinson & Charlotte Hannah – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/its-not-time-out-its-time-in-for-both-of-us/

·       Understanding neuroscience in early childhood by Mandy Worsley – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/understanding-neuroscience-in-early-childhood/

Get in touch and share your voice:

Do you have thoughts, questions or feedback? Get in touch here! – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/contact/

Episode break down:

00:00 – Welcome!
01:50 – Should 4-year-olds really be expected to sit still?
04:00 – Expectations on starting school
06:30 – Safety requirements
08:00 – From sitting still to sitting safely
11:00 – Sitting still is outdated
12:30 – 'Fidget toys' and sensory resources
16:00 – Putting children at the back of the carpet
18:00 – Negative spaces in the classroom
21:45 – 'Marketing' & reframing as a teacher…
24:00 – Freedom to sit how children want
27:00 – Expectations for learning
28:00 – Engaging in deep play
30:00 – Children struggling to play
34:00 – What is your understanding of school readiness?
38:30 – Preparing your child for school
40:00 – Communication & trust is number 1

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Where is AI's place in early years?...Joshua Barr and Angelica Celinska critically discuss the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in early years, specifically for observing children. They question whether AI can act as the 3rd teacher in the classroom, and also as a digital colleague for educators.

The discussion centres around the opportunities of AI, many of which are still untapped in education, but also the need to use AI as an aid to teaching, rather than replacing the teacher - AI is a great addition to teaching, but we must view AI through a critical lens.

Joshua and Angelica further discuss the scripted vs the unscripted classroom - likening AI to educational frameworks. 

Episode breakdown: 

02:20 - Where is AI's place in early years? 
04:30 - Using AI for observations
05:25 - Is AI the 3rd teacher in the classroom?
06:35 - Using AI to support the educator
10:40 - Using AI critically
13:40 - Is technology replacing the teacher?
19:00 - Having a conversation with AI
22:20 - Is the use of AI similar to using educational frameworks?
25:52 - Looking at things from different perspectives with the use of AI
27:50 - AI for CPD and as a 'critical friend'
30:22 - Generating new ideas with AI
32:18 - Getting started with AI

Take a look at Joshua's article with examples of how he uses AI for observations: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Shardi Vaziri and Angelica Celinska critically discuss tuff trays specifically in relation to maths, which is the area of learning most prone to setting up tuff trays as large scale worksheets. They unpick the problems with 'tuff tray maths' - from stifling children's creativity to unethical practice around the use of food in play. How children can be supported to learn abstract mathematical concepts in context are also discussed, as well as the practicalities of using tuff trays, the dangers of 'pinterest pedagogy' and 'the social media trap', as well as thinking about intent and 'the why' behind our set ups, environments and day to day decisions.

Episode breakdown: 

02:00 - Tuff trays as large scale worksheets
05:00 - Learning maths concepts in context
06:10 - Does this activity need to be in a tuff tray?
07:50 - Not enough open-ended play
09:30 - What is your intent? 
10:30 - Messy play: The practicalities of tuff trays
11:45 - Inviting set ups and 'Pinterest pedagogy'
12:55 - Knowing your why
14:30 - Have we gone too far with coloured rice?
16:55 - Is setting up a tuff tray a good use of time?
20:00 - Using food in tuff trays
22:15 - Not criticising but developing practice 
25:30 - Carbon copies of classrooms
27:10 - How do we question and develop our own practice?

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Tricia Mohamed and Angelica Celinska critically discuss observations in early childhood. They reflect on whether the mere concept of developmental stages risks educators seeing development as linear, regardless of the documents used to inform practice.

They discuss the implications of not working with stages of development in mind, and Tricia questions identifying the need for support, and whether when we diagnose and label children, do we sometimes put a cap on their learning and abilities? 

A new way of looking at observations? Tricia and Angelica consider seeing observations in a way which is not the most common practice. Observations are a big part of continuous professional development and unpicking educator's own reflections, knowledge of each unique child and pedagogy. Conducting observations can be part of educators' professional development in itself when done well. For instance, discussions with colleagues can build on our considerations, knowledge and insight of how to best support a child, as well as gaining valuable perspectives outside of our views, and unpicking our own biases. 

Episode breakdown: 

00:49 - What do we mean by observations?
06:12 - Slowing down and taking time to observe
08:19 - Observing the authentic child and hearing their authentic voice
09:00 - Allowing children to follow their interests
10:30 - The environment allowing for independence in play
10:49 - What do children learn through their interests?
12:40 - Stages of development: The danger of limiting learning but also missing support
13:45 - Block play: The perfect example of learning progression
17:30 - Progressing through stages of development too fast
20:13 - Taking time for mastering skills
21:45 - The limitations of progression and tracking documents
23:20 - Let's focus more on the characteristics of effective learning 
26:24 - What if we didn't use stages of development documents? 
28:00 - Are we too quick to label and diagnose children?
30:00 - Was there a missed opportunity with the Birth to 5 Matters document? 

33:00 - Do we focus too much on what 'normal development' looks like?

36:10 - Exercising criticality, reflection and professionalism through observations

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Jenny Smillie emphasises the therapeutic benefits of nature for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). A lot of the time the children who will benefit most from being in nature don't get enough opportunities to experience this due to the challenges involved, from keeping children safe outdoors to practicalities such as weather. Jenny and Angelica discuss mental health, Forest School practice, unhurried time, forest bathing, children's therapeutic needs being met and much more.

Episode breakdown: 

• 05:00 - Applying SEND practice to outdoor learning
• 07:18 - It's not bad weather it's bad clothing!  
• 09:24 - Experiencing the joy of the outdoors
• 10:40 - The uniqueness of the outdoors
• 12:00 - Unhurried time: Slowing down practice outdoors
• 16:45 - Regular access to natural spaces
• 19:05 - Recommended physical activity guidelines
• 24:20 - Physical development within day to day routines
• 29:05 - Being outside is a multi-sensory experience
• 33:26 - Forest bathing: The benefits for mental health
• 36:50 - The freedom of the outdoors
• 38:40 - Rest and relaxation outdoors

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Jacquelyn Davis shares with us both her personal experience as a parent of a child with dyslexia and her professional knowledge. Jacquelyn explains that learning to read is not a natural process, it is a learning process, and that building a culture of reading, building language and having a dialogue around what you're reading with a child is vital.

Also in this episode our host, Angelica Celinska, questions whether we are testing children for dyslexia before they even learn to read and write, as well as opening up dialogue around whether structured phonics is a suitable way of teaching young children to read. This is where Jacquelyn and Angelica discuss children learning through play, and Jacquelyn points out that play should be 'based on the science of reading'...

Episode breakdown: 

01:05 - A parent's experience of their child's dyslexia struggle
05:55 - Misinformation around dyslexia
07:54 - Dyslexia should not be seen as a permanent state
09:00 - The importance of repetition and practice
10:00 - Early screening of dyslexia and diagnosis is important
12:20 - Challenging behaviours which manifest with dyslexia
13:10 - Are we testing children before they even learn to read and write?
14:20 - Early indicators of dyslexia
15:35 - Dyslexic children not presenting as dyslexic
18:25 - Is explicit structured phonics suitable for young children?

20:58 - Whole language and balanced literacy strategies

23:28 - Should we teach the alphabet as well as phonics? 

26:20 - Is phonics taking the joy out of reading?

27:05 - Learning to read or reading to learn?

28:45 - Fostering a culture of reading pre-phonics

33:24 - Audiobooks for dyslexic children

36:47 - Using technology to support reading

46:45 - The importance of being research informed

50:10 - Reading is vital for future success and life outcomes

52:56 - Policy makers and 'The reading wars'

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Josh Candy talks us through his role and why PE, or physical education, should be part of early years, and why it is not just the same as what we know as physical development. Josh and Angelica unpick the complexities around how PE fits into early years, such as adapting the teaching, the debate of bringing in external companies and ensuring that PE doesn't just become a gimmick in early years settings. 

Episode breakdown: 

00:50 - Josh's role as an Early Years PE Teacher
03:55 - How is PE different to physical development? 
06:30 - How do we adapt PE for early years? 
07:50 - Using mascots to support learning through imagination
15:00 - Adult-led vs child-led learning
19:30 - Embedding an interest in sport
24:00 - Can anyone teach PE in early years?
35:10 - Should PE exist in early years?
37:20 - Training and upskilling staff
39:15 - Working with external companies to provide PE
44:20 - Not using PE sessions as just a 'selling point'

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Cheryl Warren talks about knowing the difference between reacting and responding to children's behaviours, and importantly tuning into the why behind a particular behaviour. As well as discussing how to support children and families with understanding and dealing with neurodivergent behaviour, Cheryl also shares with us her own personal experience of the emotional rollercoaster of being a parent hearing that her child has been diagnosed with a neurodivergent condition. 

Episode breakdown: 

01:05 - What is behaviour?
02:35 - What is the difference between reaction vs response?
05:55 - Understanding the 'why' behind the behaviour
07:25 - Behaviour as a safety response 
09:40 - Understanding neurodivergence
12:30 - Labelling and stigma
14:15 - Supporting parents with understanding their child
19:00 - Finding out your child has autism
22:55 - Masking behaviours and adult diagnosis
25:05 - Diagnosis helping you to understand who you are
26:20 - Autistic burnout from masking
27:35 - Physical effects of emotional exhaustion
28:30 - Not seeing the hidden disabilities
29:55 - Age related expectations 
31:55 - What is stimming?

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

David Meechan unpicks the issues around the reception baseline assessment, he shares his research with us, as well as his personal experience as a parent, including requesting his son's withdrawal from the assessment and having to work with solicitors on this matter. David discusses his view on data, which should 'drive inclusion and promote access', rather than data being part of a reductionist model. David explains that the baseline assessment is in fact reproducing faults of an old system, rather than coming up with transformative or innovative ways of measuring children's progress. At the end David gives insight into his research findings around some positives teachers have taken from making the most of the reception baseline assessment, and he gives tips for teachers currently conducting the assessment. 

Episode breakdown: 

• 01:20 - How David's work started on the reception baseline
• 02:40 - Requesting his son's withdrawal from the assessment 
• 04:45 - Inconsistencies of withdrawal from the assessment
• 06:20 - Moral issues with assessment and testing
• 08:20 - Research into the baseline assessment
• 11:30 - Signing away a child's data footprint
• 12:47 - The datafication of early years
• 16:00 - Are the children's best interests at heart? 
• 17:30 - Taking teachers out of classrooms
• 18:58 - Key findings from David's baseline research
• 20:40 - Treating children as a means to an end
• 24:25 - Making the most of the reception baseline assessment
• 26:00 - A holistic approach to the baseline assessment
• 27:30 - Reliability of the baseline assessment
• 29:00 - Reducing lived experiences to abstract numbers
• 31:05 - Positives taken from the baseline assessment 
• 33:00 - Giving value to assessment
• 36:55 - Tips for teachers conducting the baseline assessment

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Helen Battelley and Angelica Celinska unpick issues around early writing; from core strength and containerisation to educator training and assessing children. Some of the more controversial points include the effect and use of digital technology and whether writing is even necessary anymore. As well as increasing the status of physical development through higher levels of accountability, in the form of measuring physical development. 

Episode breakdown: 

• 01:00 - What is 'Super Scribers?'
• 02:00 - Early writing, drawing or mark making?
• 04:45 - 'My child can't write yet'
• 06:20 - Tips on encouraging mark making
• 08:25 - Is writing necessary in the digital age?
• 12:45 - What is containerisation?
• 15:45 - Training on physical development
• 17:00 - Data on physical development
• 20:45 - Observing physical development
• 23:00 - Physical play questionnaire
• 25:55 - Educators' confidence in supporting physical development
• 28:05 - Obesity in school starters
• 30:30 - Does technology hinder physical development?
• 32:00 - Adults modelling active movement
• 33:25 - Is our environment sedentary?
• 35:20 - The reading framework

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Dr Helen Simmons, Senior Lecturer in Education, shares with us her work on promoting partnerships with parents which are respectful, meaningful and inclusive. Angelica and Helen discuss that there is no formula or recipe for good parenting; losing your identity when becoming a mother; the importance of connection over knowledge and even advice; fathers feeling welcomed on a local and policy level; how we can gain families' trust in services and support networks; where does parental doubt come from...and much more.

Episode breakdown: 

• 01:40 - Lack of research around parenting
• 03:55 - Tuning into the whole family, not just the child
• 05:55 - Parents want to be seen
• 06:25 - Losing your identity when becoming a mother
• 10:40 - Finding parenting support groups
• 13:05 - Parent-led opportunities to be heard
• 14:25 - Being supported or feeling lectured and judged?
• 20:00 - The Johari Window
• 21:15 - The family are the experts in their own child
• 22:05 - Fathers entering spaces seen primarily for women
• 23:35 - How do we make the initial steps of engaging families?
• 25:50 - Where does parental doubt come from?

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Screen time isn't inherently passive — or problematic. This article and podcast episode explores the difference between active and passive screen time in early childhood, and how digital play, when used intentionally, can support critical life skills like empathy, resilience, and problem-solving. A balanced, developmental approach can help educators and caregivers make informed choices about children's use of screens.

Read the article here:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/active-vs-passive-screen-time/

This episode is sponsored by Nurture

Nurture is an interactive learning app designed for children aged 4–7, developed to teach essential life skills that traditional schools often overlook. Through immersive, story-driven games and a unique dual‑screen experience (mobile/tablet + TV), the platform focuses on mindfulness, emotional regulation, growth mindset, resilience, money smarts, and critical thinking. Built on a science-backed educational framework and crafted by educators, child development experts, and Emmy-winning storytellers, Nurture aims to transform screen time into purposeful play.

To find out more visit: www.nurture.is

Our 2026 conference info & tickets:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2026/

Listen to more:

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like:

·       Life skills over academic achievement by Carmela Garcia Manas & Zanna Clarke - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/life-skills-over-academic-achievement/

·       How can AI positively impact education? By Richard Waite - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/how-can-ai-positively-impact-education/

Get in touch and share your voice:

Do you have thoughts, questions or feedback? Get in touch here! – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/contact/

Episode break down:

00:00 – Welcome & introductions
03:30 – Screen time as a concern
05:30 – What does active screen time mean?
07:00 – Digital social environment
08:30 – Gaming as active screen time
13:00 – Musa's role of game design and research
15:00 – Structure & habit of screen time
16:30 – Co-engagement in screen time
19:30 – Games as safe environments to take risks
21:00 – Asking children the right questions
22:00 – Are games similar to books?
24:00 – Agency and co-creation through screen time
25:00 – What is Nurture?
26:30 – Taking screen time offline & into the real world
28:45 – A balanced digital diet: Passive screen time is also valuable
30:00 – Learning consequences in safe spaces
31:00 – Co-regulation through gaming
33:25 – Eye health & screen use
35:00 – Digital wellbeing
36:00 – Digital expression & creativity (toolbox of expression)
37:00 – Tips for parents who are nervous about allowing screen time
38:00 – A digital canyon – falling behind
41:00 – Key takeaways

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Matt Bawler, Teacher and Head of Early Years, shares with us his insight into the research, theory and neuroscience behind Carol Dweck's work on fixed mindset and growth mindset, and how he applies this to practice with young children and parents. 

Matt and Angelica tap into:

• 01:15 - Getting it right from the start: Proactive vs reactive 
• 02:50 - I am, I can, I will
• 03:45 - Shared language and partnership
• 04:50 - Growth mindset for parents and families as well as children
• 05:30 - Defining growth mindset
• 08:45 - Are you praising the product or the process?
• 10:00 - Carol Dweck's experiment 
• 11:50 - The neuroscience behind growth mindset
• 14:20 - Celebrating mistakes
• 15:30 - Growth language linking to areas of development
• 17:00 - Modelling lifelong learning: It's ok to not know the answer
• 18:20 - A joined up educational approach: Huge influence of early childhood
• 19:30 - Pressures of being a parent/carer
• 21:30 - Not 'me and my child', but 'us and our children'
• 22:00 - Losing teaches you more than winning
• 24:25 - Critical thinking and growth mindset
• 26:00 - Is competition a bad thing? And am I enough?
• 27:45 - Not wrapping children in cotton wool
• 28:45 - Consistent co-regulation and modelling self-regulation
• 29:45 - We will always lose, make mistakes and come across difficult situations
• 30:45 - Self-esteem, resilience and sense of self
• 31:00 - Strengthening neural pathways through building on previous experiences
• 33:00 - Gender normative stereotypes 
• 35:30 - Children and adults as co-learners: Breaking down power dynamics
• 37:00 - Skills-based adaptability 
• 37:50 - Going outside of our early years bubble
• 38:00 - From fire fighting to active advocacy 

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Maureen Hunt, Early Years Consultant, talks to us about self-efficacy for under 5's. Angelica and Maureen discuss slowing down and making time for independence, and seeing children as capable and competent and allowing them to persevere and build confidence. They also consider anxiety in children, supporting a sense of self, encouraging feelings of pride and satisfaction, persisting during set backs and avoiding limiting beliefs. 

Maureen and Angelica tap into:

• 00:50 - What is self-efficacy
• 01:30 - Performing certain tasks - is this too adult-led? 
• 03:30 - Allowing children to struggle
• 06:30 - Seeing everything as a learning opportunity
• 07:00 - Anxiety in children
• 08:00 - Coping with challenges 
• 09:00 - Preventing mental health issues through a good sense of self
• 10:00 - Working with families to support children's independance 
• 12:30 - Sensitive ways of moving through frustration
• 13:50 - Praising for effort, not accomplishment
• 15:50 - Celebrating effort and small wins
• 18:00 - Developing resilience and the willingness to having a go
• 19:00 - Avoiding limiting beliefs: A key factor in poor mental health
• 20:10 - Exposing children to failure or encouraging to succeeed? 
• 22:15 - Vygotsky: Scaffolding and the zone of proximal development 
• 23:00 - Routines of the day becoming teachable moments 
• 24:30 - Not comparing children to others, but focusing on their strengths
• 25:30 - Children need to have choices to have a sense of control over their lives
• 26:50 - Supporting self-efficacy from birth

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Laura Hughes, Early Years Teacher, shares her career journey, from teacher training to working in a private nursery for 10 years, and most recently re-training as a teacher and stepping into having her own class. 

Laura and Angelica tap into:

• 02:00 - The start of my teaching journey: Not knowing where you want to be
• 02:50 - Transition from a school to a private nursery: Big fish in a small pond
• 03:45 - Imposter syndrome
• 04:30 - Getting the confidence back to step into teaching
• 06:25 - The biggest difference of working in a nursery compared to a school
• 09:30 - The impact of the higher level of structure in a school
• 11:15 - Walking into the staffroom and not feeling comfortable 
• 14:15 - Data and paperwork in a school vs private nursery 
• 19:15 - Are you more equipped to work with children once you become a parent? 
• 23:08 - The importance of a supportive team around you
• 25:30 - Creating your new classroom 
• 28:00 - Celebrating children's treasures 
• 29:00 - Giving children time: The practicalities of this
• 33:00 - Hierarchy and power dynamics between teachers and families
• 36:00 - Understanding the family context 
• 37:00 - How do you get to know 27 families as fast as possible?! 

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Hayley Fuller, Early Years Specialist, shares with us her work around supporting transitions to school. Angelica and Hayley unpick this common topic through 3 lenses: children being ready for the transition, families being ready and also educators being ready. 

Hayley and Angelica tap into: 

• 03:20 - Getting to know the new setting
• 05:00 - School ready skills
• 07:40 - Attachment: Focusing on personal, social, emotional development
• 09:45 - Pressures around academic skills
• 11:45 - It's not just about the Early Learning Goals
• 13:00 - Understanding and supporting families'/parents' emotional needs
• 15:20 - Embarrassing behaviour? 
• 16:00 - Learning from 'break downs'
• 17:00 - Taking learning opportunities from NOT sharing
• 21:55 - Delayed gratification
• 26:00 - Building trust with families
• 29:15 - Children and families feeling represented and part of the setting
• 31:30 - Including the child's voice in the transition
• 32:55 - Is circle time useful?
• 35:00 - Familiar cue around the setting

Read Hayley Fuller's article on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Jesslynn Jeffrey, Director of her own early childhood and training centres in Malaysia, joins Angelica Celinska in exploring leadership. Jesslynn shares her own journey from stepping into the early childhood sector at age 19 to opening multiple settings and training centres. Jesslynn and Angelica discuss delegating, giving your staff agency, knowing your limits and finding balance as a leader, giving your team opportunity to grow and creating new leaders.

Jesslynn and Angelica tap into:

• 01:20 – The start of an educator's journey
• 02:45 – Lack of family support for your career
• 03:30 – Being given opportunities and thrown in the deep end!
• 04:40 – Opening your own childcare and education business
• 06:00 – Enrichment centres
• 07:30 – Support network at the start of your journey
• 09:00 – A strong team around you
• 10:00 – NGO - inclusion for SEN children
• 11:00 – Knowing your limits as a leader
• 13:00 – Putting boundaries in place
• 16:00 – When work doesn't feel like work
• 19:00 – Delegating to your team
• 19:50 – Allowing your team to grow
• 22:45 – Upskilling your team and investing in training
• 23:35 – Giving up control as an owner 
• 24:15 – Trusting your team: Having confidence in yourself and your team
• 27:00 – Giving your team flexibility in their work

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Tamsin Grimmer and Angelica Celinska explore physical touch as a way in which early childhood educators can demonstrate their love to children in their care. As one of the love languages, physical touch can be demonstrated in many different ways, and needs to be part of getting to know each unique child. This episode includes considerations around different types of appropriate and loving physical touch, children's consent and agency, safeguarding, power dynamics, role modelling and consistency between home and the setting.

Tamsin and Angelica tap into:

• 00:40 – Love languages 
• 04:00 – Why is physical touch so important?
• 06:45 – Different ways of using touch
• 08:45 – Physical touch and safeguarding
• 09:45 – Auditing physical touch
• 11:15 – Consent and children's rights
• 12:45 – Tuning into behaviour
• 13:20 – Agency and nappy changing
• 14:55 – Role modelling consent and choice
• 17:30 – Encouraging consent between children 
• 18:10 – Consistency at home and in the setting
• 20:00 – Sharing as an abstract concept
• 21:40 – Equalling out power dynamics through loving pedagogy
• 23:00 – Role modelling the sharing of feelings
• 25:40 – Not all children respond well to physical touch

Read Tamsin Grimmer's article: Tuning into children's love languages on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Jan Dubiel and Angelica Celinska discuss the highly debated topic of data in early childhood. The term 'datafication of early childhood' is used to describe the over use of data in the sector. Jan discusses the need to have a more measured conversation about data in early childhood education. In this episode Angelica and Jan explore the challenges, controversies and importance of data, including statutory assessments such as the EYFS Profile and the Baseline Assessment, for example, considering that it is not the issue of having a baseline, it's the type of baseline and how the data is used.

Jan and Angelica tap into:

• 01:00 - Resistance to data in early childhood
• 02:45 - What do we mean by data?
• 03:25 - Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts
• 05:45 - How can we represent children's learning authentically?
• 06:30 - Progress is not always sequential 
• 07:20 - 'Early years-ifying' language and data
• 09:00 - Data is a way of knowing whether we are getting it right or not
• 10:00 - Is recording data taking us away from children?
• 13:20 - Stronger advocacy with the use of data
• 15:00 - Early Years Foundation Stage Profile 
• 18:50 - Reception Baseline Assessment 
• 22:15 - Data which works for the setting and the children
• 24:10 - Juxtaposition between early years data and health data
• 25:20 - Leuven scales of involvement and wellbeing
• 29:20 - It is vital for educators to take ownership of data in early childhood
• 31:00 - Evidence based-practice, qualitative data and quantifiable data
• 32:00 - Reframing data - is it useful?

Read and hear more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Gemma Thomas-Bohr discusses her work as The Toddler Translator, including how parents and educators can tune into children's behaviour through understanding the triggers, modelling and responding sensitively. 

Gemma and Angelica tap into:

Logical vs emotional response - 04:35

Tantrums, meltdowns, self-regulation...let's understand the behaviour and re-invent the language - 08:00

Are we instantly reacting or sensitively responding to a child's behaviour? - 13:05

Acknowledging we as adult's lose our temper - 13:55

All emotions are natural - 15:15

Modelling how we deal with emotions - 16:15

Self-care as priority for parents - 19:00

Finding the bahaviour trigger - 21:10

The 3 C's: Calm, Compassion, Communication - 25:15

Co-regulation: Physical touch and synchronised breathing - 27:55

Consent and agency - 30:55

Balance, boundaries and control - 32:40

Stage appropriate communication - 36:30

Vocabulary toolbox and behaviour as communication - 38:45

Generational trauma - 40:00

There isn't a perfect parent: Not comparing yourself to other parents - 45:40

Support system - 48:25

Read and hear more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

David Wright, Early years Ambassador for Paint Pots nurseries, shares his international work in the early childhood sector. Angelica and David discuss the wider context of early childhood, including the power of education in addressing wider societal issues through children, the innocence of youth and how influences from the media and community change this. David explains that our hope lies in the next generation, and early childhood is a window of opportunity to make a difference to children, including with 'cumulative doses of therapy' - every interaction makes a difference to a child.

Dr Lala Manners and Angelica tap into:

International practice: A global movement - 01:40

Inspiration from Dr Martin Luther King - 07:30

Motivating the sector to actively advocate - 11:20

Early childhood centres as places of respite - 12:25

Beyond early childhood: Reaching outside of our sector - 14:25

Children's rights - You have the right to kick leaves! - 16:20

What is a successful society and is it really a case of GDP? - 17:30

A missed opportunity in the pandemic - 18:05

Facilitating children to have freedom to be themselves - 26:00

A sense of what real poverty looks like - 27:50

'I can't feed all the children': Being realistic about the support we can give - 29:00

Read and hear more, including David Wright's speech, on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Dr Lala Manners and Angelica Celinska discuss physical development in the English Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework, specifically looking critically at the Early Learning Goals (ELGs). Some of the questions they pose include 'What is the point of the physical development ELGs?', 'What is the point of the data gathered from the ELGs?', 'Do we need to reposition the ELGs?', 'Do we need to rewrite the ELGs?', and much, much more…

Dr Lala Manners and Angelica tap into:

• Where does physical development sit in the EYFS? - 3:45
• Language development and physical play - 7:00
• Risk of losing physical development from the Prime Areas - 10:00
• The narrow focus of physical development in the EYFS - 10:30
• What is the point of the Early Learning Goals (ELGs)? What is the data for? - 11:45
• The ELGs are not aspirational enough, too basic - 14:30
• Using the ELGs as points for discussion with parents instead of at the end of the EYFS - 18:00
• Physical development is a wider issue of public health in society - 22:00
• Reducing the fine motor skills to handwriting is not good enough - 23:30
• Movement as self-expression and a universal language - 27:40
• The language of physical touch - 29:50
• Physical development and movement as a learning mechanism for social interactions and self-awareness - 31:00
• 'Let me be but be with me' – not always interfering in children's learning - 34:30
• What matters to children – 'what are you good at?' - 38:20
• Physical development playing a role in self-identity, belonging and confidence - 39:00
• If we want children to talk then get them to move! 41:50
• Creating happy physical memories - 44:00
• Two top tips from Dr Lala Manners - 45:30

Read and hear more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

This reflective piece explores how perspectives on risky play have changed over time, highlighting its importance for children's development. Darren Barkhouse draws on personal experiences and cultural comparisons – challenging today's risk-averse attitudes and advocates for supportive environments where children can explore, take risks, and grow. The article and podcast episode invite educators and families to reconsider their own approaches to risk in play.

Read the article here:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/changing-perspectives-on-risky-play/

This episode is sponsored by Funding Loop

Funding Loop automates the process for nurseries of collecting funding forms from parents and typing that information into council portals. Funding Loop is used by over 2000 nurseries including over 80% of the top 25 nursery chains in the UK including Busy Bees.

To find out more visit: https://www.fundingloop.co.uk/home

Our 2026 conference info & tickets:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2026/

Listen to more:

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like:

·       A nature-deficit childhood by Julia Packwood - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/a-nature-deficit-childhood/

·       The therapeutic nature of outdoor play by Jenny Smillie - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/the-therapeutic-nature-of-outdoor-play/

·       The science behind outdoor play by Dr Gemma Goldenberg - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/author/gemma-goldenberg/

Get in touch and share your voice:

Do you have thoughts, questions or feedback? Get in touch here! – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/contact/

Episode break down:

00:00 – Welcome & introductions
04:30 – Reflecting back to early experiences of risky play
08:25 – Positive stress situations & building resiliency
13:00 – Controlled learning environments for exploration
18:00 – Teaching children to risk assess for themselves
20:00 – Less risky play or a different type of risky play?
22:00 – Asking why rather than saying no
28:00 – A cultural lens on risky play
34:00 – The power of boredom
35:00 – Control, scaffolding learning & Vygotsky
37:00 – The impacts of media and technology
43:00 – Building relationships and trust
46:00 – Your own toolbox as an educator or parent/carer

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Gabrielle Smith, early childhood and special educational needs consultant and specialist, discusses the importance of raising awareness of the 1:1 role in early childhood settings.

This episode shares some real life experiences from practice, including the loneliness of 1:1 educators, lack of support and training, what makes a good 1:1 practitioner and preconceived ideas of what SEND looks like in children within early childhood.

Read and hear more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

How can music play an important role in building strong foundations for phonics? Tasha Bretten and Angelica Celinska discuss the holistic values of music for children's learning, and specifically the school readiness narrative. They discuss melodic and rhythmic awareness strengthening the auditory system, building phonological skills, and ultimately helping children to develop wider skills and laying strong foundations for more general cognitive functions.

Angelica and Tasha tap into:

• School readiness and phonics 02:00
• Phonological awareness and pre-social skills 02:40
• Love of learning and lifelong learning 03:50
• Are children 'reluctant' to engage in music? 05:05
• Our innate, intrinsic musicality 05:30
• Modelling enthusiasm and love of music 06:00
• Practitioner lack of confidence in music 07:00
• An environment suitable for music and finding music everywhere 09:10
• Phase 1 phonics 11:00
• Language acquisition 11:55
• Lack of teacher training around music 12:45
• Lack of music in the curriculum 14:00
• Neuro-musical evidence and attention 15:00
• Repetition strengthening neurological pathways: linking music to schematic play 22:50
• Placing musicality at the forefront of early learning 25:00
• Music making learning portable 29:00
• Music as a community cohesive and cultural experience 31:00
• Giving children a rich musical repertoire 33:00
• Developing vocabulary and emotional association 36:20
• Our daily 'DOSE' of music – dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins 37:50

Read Tasha Bretten's article on The Voice of Early Childhood website:

thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

We welcome back Dr Sue Allingham in this episode following on from a month highly focused around mental health and wellbeing.

We often discuss wellbeing from both a theoretical view and quite a negative and deficit perspective of all the things that are not working. What about discussing what we CAN do, the solutions rather than just the problems…

Angelica Celinska and Dr Sue Allingham discuss both adults' and children's wellbeing, what is right for each individual, what is your way of listening? How sometimes we recognise individual needs in adults but actually not always in children. The fact that we cannot schedule wellbeing, and in who's opinion is it wellbeing anyway? What does wellbeing mean? They consider the need to recognise how the other person feels secure in themselves, and questioning "what do I know about the children and adults around me and what makes them feel comfortable"?

Angelica and Sue tap into:

• Stepping back and observing – interacting or interfering (Julie Fisher)
• The adult agenda impacting on children's wellbeing
• 'Chocolates in the staffroom and golden time on a Friday'
• Sitting 'nicely' – what IS sitting nicely, in who's opinion?
• Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation
• The Leuven Scale – Dr Ferre Laevers' emotional wellbeing and involvement scales
• Sticker charts, marble jars, golden time, circle time…does this work for your children? For your community? For your team? For YOU as an educator?
• Leaders tuning in to their individual team's needs
• Critical reflection and critical consumption of knowledge
• Pressures from various central bodies
• 'Emotional backpacks'
• The right to silence – the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child
• Reading body language 
• How do children know you value them?
• How does your team know you value them?
• Slow pedagogy – Dr Alison Clark
• Emotional and physical wellbeing is all about the entire body – do the children feel comfortable in the setting? Does your team feel comfortable?
• Distractions in the environment

This episode is absolutely packed with such a range of big topics, which certainly need further unpicking. But primarily, Philippa Thompson and Angelica Celinska discuss (or try to focus on!) co-production with families. They unpick what this term really means and what the concept looks like in practice. This is a term which has recently become more widely used, originally stemming from public services. 

They also briefly tap into wider education issues such as hierarchy and power dynamics, the role of community in a child's upbringing, Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, the contested phrase 'hard to reach parents', ages and stages of development ('expected levels of development'), the social and medical models of disability, and training courses for working with adults and not just children.

During the recording of this episode Philippa was on an academic trip with her students, which sparked further conversation around tapping into international practice and understanding lived experiences of other cultures, specifically early childhood practice in Mauritius.

What does joy look like in your setting? Aaron Bradbury encourages us to tap into the joy of early childhood and adopt a nurturing approach to practice.

Aaron believes that focus should firmly be placed on connection. We discuss taking time and slowing down, enriching learning through language and positive interactions, the importance of wellbeing and involvement and fostering a lifelong love of learning. 

We are joined by Wendy Kettleborough, who has the most interesting job titles! Wendy is a Brain Architect, Conceptual Engineer, Author, Trainer, Consultant and Creator. We discuss why Wendy uses those terms, both as her own job titles but also why she describes both educators and parents as 'Brain Architects' and 'Conceptual Engineers'. We also discuss mental health, 'word wealth' as opposed to the 'word gap' and children's schematic play. 

Visit www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com to read Wendy's article: 'Perception, Positivity and Parents'.

In this episode we are joined by Dr Mine Conkbayir as we discuss the mental health of educators and how this affects their co-regulation with young children.

We discuss the use of the term 'mental fitness', holding space for each other over problem solving, and the 'Stream of Self-Regulation'. 

Visit www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com to read and hear more.

Just a quick one this week...

This episode is all about our latest big announcement...our inaugural conference!

The Voice of Early Childhood conference is taking place on Saturday 8th July 2023 at Nottingham Trent University. 

It is all about bringing the sector together, and encouraging us all to be active agents of change.

Find more info and grab your tickets here: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/conference

Jan Dubiel takes a critical look at children's learning and how we structure the curriculum by asking the following questions: What is the role of core and personal knowledge in early childhood education? Where do children's fascinations and interests come into this?

Visit www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com to read Jan's full article.

Dr Sue Allingham reflects on the current regulatory circumstances in England, stating that 'Until we have an inspectorate that really understands early childhood education and care, then it is up to us to keep them informed.'

Visit www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com to read Sue's full article.

Transitions are significant milestones in a child's early learning journey, deeply shaping their sense of security, confidence, and readiness to engage with new experiences. Transitions to an early years setting from home and to starting school can be particularly significant periods of time for young children. In this article and podcast episode school improvement officer and director of early years, Delyth Linacre, talks to us about vital considerations for transitions to and within school, including tips for both educators and families. 

Read Delyth's article here:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/starting-school-supporting-transitions-to-reception-and-key-stage-1/

Download the free transition support PDF's here:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/starting-school-supporting-transitions-to-reception-and-key-stage-1/

This episode is sponsored by Funding Loop

Funding Loop automates the process for nurseries of collecting funding forms from parents and typing that information into council portals. Funding Loop is used by over 2000 nurseries including over 80% of the top 25 nursery chains in the UK including Busy Bees.

To find out more visit: https://www.fundingloop.co.uk/home

Our 2026 conference info & tickets:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2026/

Get in touch and share your voice:

Do you have thoughts, questions or feedback? Get in touch here! – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/contact/

Episode break down:

00:00 – Welcome!
02:00 – What are transitions
03:00 – What do transitions look like in your setting?
04:00 – Transition as a process, not an event
05:00 – A gradual and child-centred approach
06:00 – Involving all stakeholders
07:00 – The importance of effective communication
08:00 – Capturing parent and child voice
09:00 – Considering barriers to effective transitions
10:30 – Knowing each individual child
13:40 – Transition plans and building on what the child knows
14:30 – Identifying what is and needs to be the same
15:40 – Peer buddies as transition support
16:30 – Identifying early interventions
18:00 – Transitions from reception to year 1
21:30 – A transition plan spanning the whole reception year
22:00 – Focus on the similarities rather than differences
28:00 – Collaborating across settings and understanding each other's practice
30:45 – How can parents support transitions?
37:00 – Starting reception free support document
37:45 – Books to support transitions
38:20 – Free PDF transition guidance document

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

Eva Kyriacou Anastasi shares her reflections around educator burnout, including her own personal journey. We discuss Ofsted, relationships affected by teaching, frozen budgets, ethical fading, self-care vs after-care, pressure on senior leadership teams and much more.

Visit www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com to read Eva's full article.

This is the introductory episode, giving you insight into The Voice of Early Childhood: the innovative, inclusive and insightful platform for early childhood advocacy and high-quality content.

Hear directly from our Founder on the purpose and values of The Voice of Early Childhood, what to expect from the platform, who the platform is for and how you can be involved. 

Children today are spending significantly less time outdoors than just a generation ago and this raises the question for parents and educators to consider, what are the implications of a childhood disconnected from nature? In this article and podcast episode Julia Packwood, early years outdoor specialist, highlights current research and explores how simply spending time outdoors can build the foundations for a healthier and happier childhood.

Read the article here:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/a-nature-deficit-childhood/

This episode is sponsored by Funding Loop

Funding Loop automates the process for nurseries of collecting funding forms from parents and typing that information into council portals. Funding Loop is used by over 2000 nurseries including over 80% of the top 25 nursery chains in the UK including Busy Bees.

To find out more visit: https://www.fundingloop.co.uk/home

Listen to more:

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like:

·       The therapeutic nature of outdoor play by Jenny Smillie – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/the-therapeutic-nature-of-outdoor-play/

·       The science behind outdoor play series by Dr Gemma Goldenberg – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/author/gemma-goldenberg/

Our 2026 conference info & tickets:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2026/

Get in touch and share your voice:

Do you have thoughts, questions or feedback? Get in touch here! – https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/contact/

Episode break down:

00:00 – Welcome!
03:45 – What is nature-deficit disorder?
07:00 – Noticeable benefits of being outdoors
09:20 – Reclaiming childhood
12:30 – Risk-benefit analysis
13:45 – What does childhood look like now?
16:55 – Less screen time, more green time
28:15 – Barefoot benefits & grounding
30:20 – Safety sweeps
34:00 – Air quality
37:20 – Conservation
43:50 – Calls to action to government and communities
50:00 – It starts with us reflecting inwards
52:00 – Further reading

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com