Check out this wonderful image from the City and Country School archive showing children engaging in uninterrupted play through the use of blocks from 1951. Next to it is a more contemporary image of a 4 year old at the woodwork bench.

"[City and Country School] archives remind us of the value of uninterrupted play” – Jane Clarke The past and present has come into play as our Autumn Lecture guest speaker, Jane shares the continuing legacy of the City and Country School in New York and its founder, Caroline Pratt. 🌿

@lbflyawayhome.bsky.social does this remind you of anything?

📝 New BERA Blog Special Issue! Reimagining a just early childhood education and care sector in England: Voices from the margins Guest edited by Micky LeVoguer, Jenny Robson, Gemma Ryder Read special issue here: bera.ac.uk/blog-special...

Fabulous days with @westrayalison.bsky.social reflecting on Being Us @Woodlands with lots of exploration around ‘stretched time’🍃 Wonderful to see children taking the lead sharing their off site, garden, playroom spaces & experiences + fantastic educator participation🪴 @froebeltrust.bsky.social

#AndyGoldsworthy exhibition at the @nationalgalleries.bsky.social Edinburgh - loved visiting today after decades of following his collaborations with the natural world. And the best part? Seeing and listening to young children being curious and enjoying the work

@wildflowerhour.bsky.social #Orkney #wildflowerhour Alpine bistort in an ungrazed pasture this week.

Iconic anti-war poster, originally by US printmaker Lorraine Schneider, 1966 #ReframingWomenPrintmakers

Play is essential for children’s growth, skills building and confidence. But too many are missing out. This #InternationalDayofPlay, let’s all choose play – every day. Together, we can raise awareness for every child's right to play. #EarlyMomentsMatter

“We can’t master our skills unless we have numerous times to do it. That’s the importance of uninterrupted play. It allows time to really connect up your learning.” ✨ This clip from Poppies PreSchool highlights the importance of allowing children time for uninterrupted play. 🧵 (1/3)

Despite its many benefits, statistics show that the amount of time children get to play has been declining for decades. Experimenting through play is at the heart of Froebelian practice and at the Froebel Trust we champion children’s play and learning. Today and every day. (2/3)

A thorough explanation from Ruth which will help educators and inspectors with any misunderstandings about healthy writing development and researched best practice.

@bsbibotany.bsky.social A weekend happy Orchid hunting on Rousay #Orkney #wildflowerhour Marsh orchid and heath spotted orchid. Late flowering primroses and water avens

Play as a form of thinking Play as a language Play as being and becoming Play....

‘Singing and playing my own songs is like a holiday in music’. Great article.

Missed the recent @UniMelb Faculty of Education Dean's lecture? Prof. Guy Claxton challenges the idea of a single science of learning, weaving insights from neuroscience, sociology, philosophy & psychology. Teaching, he says, must embrace this complexity. #EdResearch www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGFE...

"If this government is serious in its commitment to the nation’s children, it can’t keep waiting for the stars to align before taking action. It must urgently invest in children and their families, starting with scrapping the two-child limit.” @cpaguk.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Really chuffed to have a piece in @paperboatswriters.bsky.social new edition - out today at paperboats.org

CREC are seeking to appoint a Course External Examiner for the MA Education (Early Years) accredited by Birmingham City University (BCU). Register your interest with Helen Lyndon by Sunday, 30th April 2025. [email protected] #AcademicJobs #ExaminerJobs #MAExaminer #EarlyYears

Local School Nature Grants close this Friday! 🚨 This is your last chance to get: - Two hours of outdoor learning training for your staff; - £500 worth of outdoor equipment; - A climate curriculum pack worth £150; - A climate audit of your site; and more! Apply now 👇 ltl.org.uk/projects/local-s...

On Monday our instagram account was hacked and then deleted. We received a ransom note to recover it; obviously we couldn't and wouldn't pay, and therefore lost thousands of followers. Meta support was useless. But we're BACK with a new account: @littletollerbooks. Can you follow us there and share?

Still waiting for many favourites to appear #Spring #Orkney @bsbibotany.bsky.social #wildflowerhour but colour in the lichens and wall screw moss

Love this essay/manifesto by @anandwrites.bsky.social "Because having, and nurturing, in your life a sphere for joy and connection and community and love and food and music and human difference and living and letting live is everything they are not and is everything they are trying to take away."

Really pleased to have launched this today at @ascl-uk.bsky.social. Please do share/engage - we're hoping to build a national resource which shares examples of good practice that exist in the system.

Reminder! 📢 I’m chairing 'How Creative Research Methods Challenge Power Dynamics in Knowledge Production', for @policypress.bsky.social soon. Secure your spot today! 📅 24.03.2025 | 📍 Zoom Register here: bristol-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/regi... #CRMethods #AcademicSky #PhDSky

“Language, in all its forms, matters. We don’t want children to be victims who are ‘lost for words’. We want to give them agency in their learning, a voice in their future”: my comments on today's important @glassessment.bsky.social #oracy survey: schoolsweek.co.uk/more-childre...

‘My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart.’ —Maya Angelou writingforwellbeing.co.uk #writing #WritingCommunity #WritersCommunity

📣Doughty Street Chambers Children’s Rights Group Annual Children’s Rights Lecture 2024 |Thursday 13 March 2025, 17.30 – 19:00 📣 The lecture will be delivered by @sonialivingstone.bsky.social, London School of Economics and Political Science, and the event will be chaired by @aoifenolan.bsky.social

Transform playtime at your school with the Outdoor Play and Learning Award (OPAL) We support schools to radically expand their play offer and create sustainable cultural change. Find out more: https://buff.ly/3QS0d7Z

Investing in early childhood education is a foundation for life and could solve a lot of societal issues, just saying 💚🌈

Radical Playgrounds has lots of synergy with Forest of Imagination: an invitation to a free space of collective learning & unlearning, open to trying things out, radically non-competitive, a place to practice & reflect on the democratic potential of imagination and play, inside and outside 💖

Nursery child creates a beautifully executed & concise line drawing. He pauses, sits back, and scratches his head. I ask “What are you thinking about?” Child “What it’s like to be a snail with wings” Joy!

It is with great sadness to hear that the great Tim Radford has died. He was, unequivocally, the best science journalist, and a kind and generous man. I used his Manifesto for the Simple Scribe in lectures for student this very week. It’s faultless. www.theguardian.com/science/blog...

GER is having another special issue that should be of interest to early childhood educators, this time on using ECEC values to navigate an uncertain future. It's co-edited by the wonderful Denisha Jones and myself. We hope you are considering submitting a proposal. #earlyyears

Join us to hear about our primary arts education research

After a day’s teaching I walked across a pedestrian bridge over the river. The half moon was reflected in the water and then a swan swam by.

I went to Peterborough Museum yesterday to help install ‘The Wonderful World of the Ladybird Artists’. Tho’ on the small side and not room for everything, it’s starting to look …

Airport reading Along way from Verona by Jane Gardam - her first published novel 1971 The descrption reads ‘Highly recommended for girls, & perceptive boys, of 11 or over’……

Singing together with 299 other people and #KarinePolwart tonight in her #Celticconnections concert in #GlasgowRoyalConcertHall A real joy

We have an announcement. It's the 1st February and WE HAVE SNOWDROPS! ❤️

Facilities Coordinator - Argyll P/T, Temporary £32,010 - £37,626 pa pr Closing 31/1/2 www.outdoor-learning.org/job/Faciliti... With IOL Membrers, Benmore Outdoor Education Centre #workoutdoors #outdoorlearningjobs #jobseekers

Michael was electrifying talking about Where the Wild Things Are

‘The sun’s coming over the hill’ #karinepolwart Travelling to Glasgow for choir rehearsal for #celticconnections Back of Winter concert next Saturday and thankful that this train is running

Nursery child: “This is Mr Crab and he’s reading the newspapers… I’m making them for him and giving them to him” Me “I wonder what he’s reading about” “It’s his birthday & the newspapers say:‘Everyone gets to have cookies.’ ” “Great news” I respond. Child “That’s what he wanted!!!” Joy.

Advisory groups? Distracting myself from the storm to ask ‘What creative ways have you found to help an advisory group for a research study be more than a formality? Advisory groups as ‘knowledge labs’? #educationalresearch #edusky

This is a beautiful thread about the value of taking the longer view ‘what’s always possible if you think ahead’

Our professional opinion? Current wind models show the Central Belt to be in the shotgun barrel of the high winds; we here at the sat station are preparing to suspend antenna operations tomorrow as wind speeds predicted would damage our mounts. Stay home, stay safe. And we survived the 1987 storm.

A number of Education Scotland Curriculum Improvement Cycle (CIC) Webinars coming up over the next few weeks. Session 1 - An Introduction to the Curriculum Improvement Cycle. Monday 27 January at 4pm. Find out more and sign up – ow.ly/q7cB50UJr3C

‘Focusing on literacy in early years takes an act of courage by the government’ @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social Reading Rights Summit today - absolutely. Its about taking the longerview but with benefits for children now too

Our #ReadingRights Summit with Waterstones #ChildrensLaureate @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social is tomorrow! As part of his learning ahead of the Summit, Frank visited a Baby Lab to discover what happens to a baby's brain when they're read to... www.booktrust.org.uk/news-and-fea...