A chasm has opened up between early childhood learning and the first years of compulsory schooling. Kids go from playing to being tested in the blink of an eye, and their learning is poorer for it.
Parents and academics alike agree that childcare should be seen as a central part of the national economy.
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Childcare is central to families being able to sustain working lives. But insufficient government funding and a complex web of for-profit companies means many are losing out
Beyond the many known benefits of outdoor education, COVID-19 has highlighted the outdoors as an environment which mitigates the risk of spreading airborne viruses.
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Planning outdoor early learning and child care has implications for training and recruiting educators as well as for planning, developing and funding physical spaces.
Going to pre-school consolidates language skills and aids children’s emotional development.
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Not being able to attend nurseries due to lockdown has affected children’s growth in emotional, linguistic and physical terms. The longterm effect could heighten inequality
Interacting with other children and educators outside of the family environment benefits children’s early development.
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From nursery closures to families self-isolating, COVID has disrupted children’s access to pre-school care. This impacts their development, and their parents’ ability to work
Learning to speak does not happen in a vaccum. Interaction with peers and the wider world is crucial.
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State-funded nursery schools now fill significant gaps in welfare provision in England.
Both when planning family activities and choosing a child care provider, parents should be mindful of how much physical activity their children are getting.
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When young children are active, their brains and bodies develop the ABCs of “physical literacy,” a key developmental foundation. A new program from University of Winnipeg can help.
The interruption to young children’s learning is happening precisely at a time when developmental gains matter most.
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Remote contact with families in the coronavirus emergency is critical, but learning on a screen is not how young children will gain the foundational and developmental skills they need.
The extent to which parents and educators encourage children to think mathematically in the years before they enter grade one are critically important for math foundations.
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Overall, we’ve seen huge improvements, particularly for children aged three to five years, but now we need a universal approach to quality education and care for our youngest children.