An Introduction to Early Childhood
Web Links
Visit the websites recommended at the end of each chapter:
Chapter 1- History of Childhood
http://childrensparticipation.blogspot.co.uk
A blog collecting information and resources on children’s agency and participation.
The History of Children website offers links to primary and secondary sources for historical research on children and childhood
Chapter 2 - Modern Childhoods
The reports of the Good Childhood Inquiry on The Children’s Society website.
www.unicef.org/publications/index.html
For the UNICEF yearly reports on The State of the World’s Children.
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Chapter 3 - International Perspectives
http://eppe.ioe.ac.uk/eppe/eppeintro.htm
The website of the Effective Provision of Pre-school Education project. This is a very useful resource for obtaining more detail on the longitudinal study of 3,000 British children known as the EPPE project. The research available on this website is very valuable since it is considered a landmark study of quality and provision for young children.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report Starting Strong III: A Quality Toolbox for Early Childhood Education and Care (2012) is accessible from this site. It focuses on quality issues in ECEC, defining ‘quality’ as it relates to children and families. It outlines five policy levers that can enhance quality in ECEC. This is the most recent in a series of Starting Strong reports that have been highly influential in early years policy in OECD countries.
The Toronto First Duty website provides reports and information regarding a highly successful integrated services model in Canada.
Chapter 4 - Children's Rights to Participation
www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/
This is the web page of the Children’s Commissioner for England. As well as explaining the role of the Commissioner, it has links to a useful range of significant publications and enquiries relating to children’s rights and experiences in England.
This is the website of the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE). It provides advice for children and young people and organisations that seek to support children’s rights. CRAE publishes an annual report about the state of children’s rights in England. The website has useful guidance and information and links to annual reports.
www.edcm.org.uk/resources.aspx
This is the website of ‘Every Disabled Child Matters’ (EDCM), a campaigning group run by Contact a Family, the Council for Disabled Children, Mencap and the Special Educational Consortium. It has links to other organisations and resources relating to involving disabled children in decision making.
www.ncb.org.uk/what-we-do/involving-young-people
This is the National Children’s Bureau web page relating to the involvement of children and young people in a range of aspects of their lives. It has links to other organisations and campaigns to improve involvement, including the young children’s voices network which works to improve the involvement of very young children.
Chapter 5 - Understanding Diversity
The Equality and Human Rights Commission
The Refugee Council
Chapter 6 - Inclusive Practice for Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
The British Institute of Learning Disabilities
Nasen is the leading organisation in the UK promoting the education, training, advancement and development of all those with special and additional support needs.
Based at the Council for Disabled Children at the National Children’s Bureau, Early Support is a core delivery partner for the implementation of the proposals set out in the government’s Green Paper Support and Aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability (DfE, 2011e).
The National Portage Association is a home-visiting educational service for pre-school children with additional support needs and their families.
Chapter 7 - Play and Creativity
The website for Earlyarts, a national network for people working creatively with children and families in the arts, cultural and early years sectors.
The website for the 5x5x5=Creativity independent arts organisation.
Chapter 8 - Outdoor Play and Learning
www.educationscotland.gov.uk/earlyyearsmatters/t/takelearningoutside.asp
Early Years Matters – Take Learning Outdoors. Useful information and case studies on outdoor learning produced by Education Scotland.
www.freeplaynetwork.org.uk/playlink/exhibition
Places for Play. An exhibition of photos created by Play Link and the Free Play network including useful editorial comment and discussion on risk.
Play England. An organisation campaigning for freedom and space to play throughout childhood. The website includes a wide range of resources on play including briefing papers, research reports, good practice guides and case studies as well as news, events and networks.
Chapter 9 - Children and Media
The award-winning BBC website for very young children including television programmes, interactive games and podcasts.
http://childrenyouthandmedia.org/cscym/
The Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media was a unique research centre based at the University of London’s Institute of Education between 2000 and 2010. The Centre is now closed, and this site represents an archive of its work, last updated in mid-2010.
Media Smart is a media literacy programme for 6–11-year-olds, focused on advertising.
See the Ofcom website for information about regulations around UK broadcasting and advertising to children.
The Youth and Media project at Harvard University encompasses an array of US-based research, advocacy and development initiatives around children, young people and technology.
Chapter 10 - Child Health
www.bernardvanleer.org/English/Home.html
Based in the Netherlands, this site describes the work of the Bernard van Leer Foundation and aims to improve opportunities for children growing up in difficult social or economic circumstances.
http://effectivechildtherapy.com/
This is a site providing information about evidence-based treatments available to support the mental health of young people.
www.e-lfh.org.uk/projects/healthy-child-programme/
Access this e-learning for health care site for freely available resources to support professionals working with children.
Information about the National Child Measurement Programme is available at this site.
www.nhs.uk/Change4Life/Pages/change-for-life.aspx
This is an NHS website aimed at the general public, to promote better health through healthier eating and increased movement.
Young Minds is a charitable organisation aiming to promote the emotional wellbeing and mental health of young people. They aim to provide support for young people, parents and professionals and the website provides links to a number of resources.
Chapter 11 - Wellbeing
www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/research/wellbeing-1
This website offers a regular update on The Children’s Society’s work, including the Good Childhood reports. It also offers an accessible overview and commentary on related work internationally.
www.oecd.org/statistics/betterlifeinitiativemeasuringwellbeingandprogress.htm
The OECD Better Life Initiative takes an international overview of policy, practice and the lived experiences of global citizens. This initiative asks: ‘Are our lives getting better? How can policies improve our lives? Are we measuring the right things?’ The OECD Better Life Initiative and the associated work programme seek to answer these questions, helping us to understand what drives the wellbeing of people and nations and what needs to be done to achieve greater progress on an international scale. This is very useful if you are interested in broad, national decision making and the impact of international policies on people’s lives.
www.unicef.org.uk/Latest/Publications
The UNICEF website is an essential resource for all those working and interested in children’s wellbeing. It offers information and background concerning children’s rights and the UNCRC, regularly publishes international materials related to children’s wellbeing and is evidence-based in its reporting. This link takes you directly to the publications pages but the entire site is of interest.
Chapter 12 - Protecting and Safeguarding Children
The website for the Children’s Web Mag, an online journal about child welfare
The website for the National Society for the Protection of Children (NSPCC)
Chapter 13 - Working with Families
www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/families
This Department for Education website link provides access to the latest policy documents related to families.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation website is a rich source of data and research about poverty and social exclusion.
This is a video summary on the Office for National Statistics website that makes easily accessible 2011 Census data on families and households in England and Wales.
www.parentingresearch.org.uk/publications.aspx
The website of the National Academy for Parenting Research aims to improve the way in which practitioners work with parents. This link is to a range of publications available.
Chapter 14 - Professional Work in Early Childhood
www.education.gov.uk/nationalcollege
The National College for Teaching and Leadership site includes up-to-date information about developments in teaching and leadership. The professional development section details schemes available through the college.
The Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education and Childcare for England) site includes an Early Years and Childcare section, and statistical information about inspections can be accessed from the site.
Chapter 15 - Joined-up Thinking in Practice
The website for the Centre for Advancement of Interprofessional Education
The website for the National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS)
www.workingtogetheronline.co.uk/resources.html
Workingtogetheronline is the access point for publications and resources linked to Working Together to Safeguard Children
Chapter 16 - Leadership and Change Management in Early Childhood
This is the link to Ofsted’s report on the importance of leadership in early years.
Chapter 17 - Researching Young Children's Worlds
The website for the Children’s Rights Alliance for England, which lobbies for the protection of children’s rights.
www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/childrens-research-centre/
The website for the Children’s Research Centre.
Information concerning the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Chapter 18 - Reflective Practice
There are no recommended websites for Chapter 18.