"The quality of children's experiences, and the engagement of their parents, particularly in these early years, is critical to better outcomes that will impact on the child right into adolescence and adulthood. While we have done much to expand quantity, we also must keep working on quality. This book is a key tool for both practitioners delivering services and managers designing and commissioning them." Naomi Eisenstadt, Director, Sure Start Unit, Department for Education and Skills Birth to Three Matters is essential reading for anyone involved in providing care and education or developing policy for children between birth and three. The book: Explores the structure and content of the DfES Birth to Three Matters Framework Supports the use of the pack by providing more detail, background information, and discussion of current research and case studies in Early Years Examines a range of issues that impact on the development of quality in early years settings Features contributions from influential early years experts, many of whom were involved in the development of the Birth to Three Matters Framework Topics include national and international policy and research, practitioners, quality, anti-discriminatory practice, inclusion, safety, and training. A sound theoretical approach is supported and enhanced by a highly practical section, which links to the framework and shows how how observation, play, interaction and creativity affects work with very young children. This book supports a variety of professionals involved in the development of policy, practice and quality in early years settings, as well as students seeking to understand more about the Birth to Three Matters Framework and the issues that influence work with this age group.

This text explores the issues of quality education in early years settings including issues of continuity, anti-discriminatory practice, inclusion, safety and future training.

This book explores the important role of parents and the extended family in the lives of babies and young children. It complements and extends the DfES Birth to Three Matters framework, which supports practitioners in working with children aged birth to three, and builds on the information provided in the companion book Birth to Three Matters: Supporting the Framework of Effective Practice (Open University Press, 2004). Written by academics, practitioners and policy makers interested or involved in the development of the Birth to Three Matters framework, this book argues that parent engagement is essential for developing partnerships within communities in order to give children the best start in life, and shows how this can be achieved. The book: Discusses ways in which services may be developed to involve parents more fully in the care and education of babies and young children Looks at the powerful role of parents and grandparents in the lives of children Considers how skilled practitioners can manage relationships to provide support for both parents and children at difficult times Explores the ways in which parents can be helped to fulfil their own needs at the same time as meeting their children’s needs Includes discussion of families whose children have special needs or disabilities Parents Matter is essential reading for early years professionals and students on courses in Early Education, as well as policy makers, professional development trainers, local authority trainers, social workers and health visitors who work with very young children.

Written by academics, practitioners and policy makers interested or involved in the development of the Birth to Three Matters framework, this book argues that parent engagement is essential for developing partnerships within communities in order to give children the best start in life, and shows how this can be achieved.

The long-awaited new edition of NAEYC's book Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs is here, fully revised and updated! Since the first edition in 1987, it has been an essential resource for the early childhood education field. Early childhood educators have a professional responsibility to plan and implement intentional, developmentally appropriate learning experiences that promote the social and emotional development, physical development and health, cognitive development, and general learning competencies of each child served. But what is developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)? DAP is a framework designed to promote young children's optimal learning and development through a strengths-based approach to joyful, engaged learning. As educators make decisions to support each child's learning and development, they consider what they know about (1) commonality in children's development and learning, (2) each child as an individual (within the context of their family and community), and (3) everything discernible about the social and cultural contexts for each child, each educator, and the program as a whole. This latest edition of the book is fully revised to underscore the critical role social and cultural contexts play in child development and learning, including new research about implicit bias and teachers' own context and consideration of advances in neuroscience. Educators implement developmentally appropriate practice by recognizing the many assets all young children bring to the early learning program as individuals and as members of families and communities. They also develop an awareness of their own context. Building on each child's strengths, educators design and implement learning settings to help each child achieve their full potential across all domains of development and across all content areas.

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

Written for early years practitioners and students, Planning Play and the Early Years provides full-colour, fully illustrated guidance through the process of planning and providing play opportunities for children aged 0-5 years.