Jo has a wealth of knowledge in early years and primary education, she is now using her expertise to specialise in sustainability. Jo designs and creates the most useful, curriculum and bespoke based resources from repurposed, recycled and natural objects. Personally, we are delighted to use Jo's resources in schools and settings we work with and in our own forest play approach sessions. Jo also holds monthly 'creating resources evenings', where you and your team can visit her at ...

The Beckies are delighted to be joined by Dr Janet Rose, Emotion Coaching Co-Founder and Principle of Norland College. We discuss shaping children’s brains and the importance of our communications as educators and teachers upon children’s lives, not only in practice now, but for their futures. Janet explains how the way we talk and communicate with children shapes brains. She shares the latest research that is needed for practice. She enlightens us about the way children process t...

Here The Beckie's chat together about what children really need from the adults in their lives, we explore what it means to be an advocate for children and why this really matters. Why do children need advocates? What is the role of all educators for children of all ages? What does this look like in everyday practice, how are children seen and heard ? We discover how to really observe and understand what the children are communicating. Open communications are based on ...

Sarah talks to the Beckies about the outdoor environment. Sarah explores ‘risky play’ and prompts us to consider is this ‘risky’ or is this how children play? She explains to us how she uses the term ‘productive uncertainty’ and has applied this to how children learn and explore through play. Sarah’s extensive and varied experiences working with settings have resulted in her belief that you can make some ‘wildness’ in even the smallest of outside spaces and we really delve into the role of th...

Here we chat with Natalie Scarlett founder of simple social word songs. Natalie shares with us her experience of seeing the power of music and songs in creating connections with children to enable their speech and language to develop. She has created songs which provide accessible repartition of social words that help children to engage with their peers and adults around them. Natalie is an early years teacher with a wealth of experience in her field. You can discover more about t...

Here the Beckies chat with Clare to discover what her agency does, how it helps Educators and Families to find the right setting for them, and why safeguarding is crucial in this role. Clare has a professional background as an early years teacher and nanny. She brings the importance of these roles to life and expands upon what is really needed. 'Its children first its all about the children' As a single parent herself she has a deep understanding of what support a parent nee...

We are really pleased to talk with Kate the co-creator of the Pippin App and Independent Speech and Language Therapist. The App was created to support parents to develop environments where communication can flourish and thrive. Pippin provides helpful videos which offer top tips and strategies for anyone working or living with children. Creating environments at home and at play where every interaction is polite and respectful and aids communication. Please use o...

Here we chat with Rachel and Helen as they join The Beckies to discuss their roles in PATA. What does a career as a training coordinator in early years look like? We discover the importance of continual professional development and why this is crucial for the teams, families and children we work with. Helen chats with us about her career choices and being the Operations Manager for PATA, she explains how her role supports educators individually and their setting to ensure that they are ...

Here the Beckies chat with Michelle and Kate to discover what their roles entail and how they became involved with PATA - we discuss the early years curriculum and how they support their own settings across the county and educators beyond this. It was lovely to talk to such a dedicated team and to understand how they support children's early education and enable them to have a great start in life, ensuring brighter outcomes for the children. to discover more head to www.pata...

Here we chat with Rachel Perks owner of Mitton Minis Childcare. Grab a cuppa and join us as we discover more. Rachel runs her own professional childcare and education setting from home. We discover why Rachel chose to become a professional childminder and what are the benefits of a smaller setting. She shares her experience of over 25 years in education and is offers advice to anyone thinking about making a career change into owning their own educational homebased setting. The connectio...

Grab a cuppa and pop your feet up or listen on the go to our 10 min informative podcast ... We are delighted to be joined by Alison Featherbe to chat all about the Early Years Curriculum. We discover the role of the adult in children's play and how to support children's development and learning through their ideas and interest. Alison is a specialist in this area and shares with us all her top tips for engaged learning. You can learn more by connecting with Alison Facebook&nb...

We had a great time recording with Helen and Michelle from PATA this is an early years trust originally set up and run by and for families. They are now a renowned support for the early years sector with training, admin and business support. As well as running settings in the sector. This is an interesting insight into early years careers and gives a great understanding of what it really takes to create secure foundations for early years and the professionals who work in it. For more in...

Here we speak to Hollie an ECS student at The University of Gloucestershire. We discover what the course is all about, the research that she has been part of. Hollies motivation and what early years first years entails. We touch on the careers that this degree can support and the different ways to learn. Understanding early childhood is crucial as we work with children, we are helping to build their brains and the first five years is fundamental. Thank you for listening and enabl...

Karen Nemeth part 2 As promised we are back chatting to Karen in her second recording with us all about children learning multiple languages. Karen shares with us her easy to use research based top tips that can be used in everyday practice, they cost nothing and include the families and children in the learning environment. We loved talking with Karen and learning from her extensive knowledge. Please note there are a few glitches in this international Thriving Language Podcast however ...

Tamsin Grimmer – EY Consultant and Author The Beckies talk with Tamsin all about ‘loving pedagogy’. We explore why this matters, what does it look like in the early years environment and why it has sparked a particular interest for Tamsin. We also chat about Tasmin's journey as an early years educator. Tamsin gives us an inspiring glimpse into her latest book ‘Love and Nurture in the Early Years’. Get in touch with Tamsin www.tamsingrimmer.com Grab a cuppa and have a 15 min ...

This is a 20 minute listen with some fantastic opportunities for early years careers. Paula Hayball CEO at PATA. PATA is the largest voluntary sector provider of support to early years childcare and education in Gloucestershire. We discuss exciting new opportunities for educators looking to grow and develop their careers. We find out what PATA really does and how they support educators locally, nationally, and internationally. Paula talks about her journey from banking and h...

Ailsa shares with us the principles behind the Montessori approach and what this looks like in the early years environment. Understanding the importance of trusting children and reflecting that they are less experienced adults, will ensure that our practice is child led enabling confidence, autonomy, and independence. Head to www.thrivinglanguage.co.uk Training for educators, key note speakers and workshops, one to one sessions for speech language and communication play ses...

Karen Nemeth We talk to Karen about learning multiple languages and the importance of early years environments feeling safe and secure for all children. Karen shares with us why we need to embrace the child’s home language, to follow the child’s lead in play and bring their home language into their early years environment. This podcast is an introduction to multiple language learning, so look out for part two with three practical research based top tips to use in practice. www.languagec...

Matthew Ford – Marketing Manager at Signature We talk to Matthew from Signature, a national charity for deaf communication and language qualifications in the UK. Matthew shares with us insight into learning sign language and what the benefits are. We touch on the exciting development of the British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE and how this is long overdue. All school can embrace this new GCSE and this could be on everyone’s list of options. Early Years plays an integral role in ...

Catherine Ensby – Outdoor Teacher The Mud will wash off, but the memories will last a lifetime! We discuss the importance of the outdoors and how and why children learn in the outdoor environment. Catherine tells us about sharing her family farm with school children and reflects on how this experience empowers children’s learning. The outdoor environment is dynamic and Catherine shares with us the therapeutic benefits of being with animals. Grab a cuppa, have a 10 min listen...