Laura Gregory and Shamim Ashraf, Edge Hill University

The three Characteristics of Effective Learning (CoEL) are:

• Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and “have a go”
• Active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements
• Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.

Overview

We know that learning through play is pivotal in early years, including in the CoEL, but the way in which children are given opportunities to play varies drastically from setting to setting.

“Play is central to learning and for most children it is natural and unthwartable.”

(Page, Clare and Nutbrown 2013:76)

Taking this into account, we must as practitioners reflect on the power that embedding the CoEL can have for all children’s learning and development and the influence that this will have for play opportunities offered to children.

In relation to the CoEL the DfE Statutory Framework (2021) states:

“In planning and guiding what children learn, practitioners must reflect on the different rates at which children are developing and adjust their practice appropriately.”

(DfE 2021:15)

Taking a more detailed approach in reference to supporting the CoEL, Birth to 5 Matters (Early Years Coalition. 2021) express that children need consistent lived experiences of autonomy alongside support for their growing awareness and control of the processes of thinking and learning.

The CoEL can allow children to engage in deep level learning through their play and exploration within an environment which allows them to explore, be curious and to follow their own lines of enquiry. One example of this is a child in a setting discovers that the toys left overnight outside are frozen in a bucket and cannot be released. The skilled practitioner supports with effective questioning and engages in sustained shared thinking to promote the child’s curiosity and problem solving. The child recalls what her dad did to defrost the car windscreen, and communicates this to the practitioner, who supports the thinking process. Through following their own lines of enquiry, the child releases the toys.

The child may go on to explore further the effects of temperatures on water, by leaving water around different parts of the environment indoors and out.

Early years practitioners in settings which thrive on developing high quality provision within a stimulating environment, make provision for the CoEL, so that when evident in practice, these can contribute to the development of  a high-quality environment with knowledgeable practitioners who are aware of how young children learn.

Let’s take a further look…

Playing and exploring/ Engagement – children investigate and experience things, and “have a go”

In early years settings where the level of engagement is high, the indoor and outdoor environment, and the adult’s role within it, is designed to allow continuous observation, reflection and adaptation of the environment to maximise the opportunities for learning, allowing children to lead their learning. For example, if a child is observed taking the playdough cake across the setting to the oven in the role play area, then the action would be to provide a second oven near the malleable area.

Consideration should also be given to children’s feelings of safety and belonging, experimentation and mistakes need to be viewed as part of the learning process. Promoting a culture where space is given to allow children to wallow in free-flow play will in turn enhance children’s feeling of wellbeing and involvement leading to deeper engagement.

Time is another vital factor when supporting this aspect. Reflecting on the recent work of Alison Clark and the Froebel Trust there is a case for allowing children to feel unhurried and to engage in slow knowledge and in turn receive a ‘timefull’ approach to their early years.

“The case is made for a ‘timefull’ approach to Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) that can offer a more sustainable and play focused approach to early childhood across generations and communities.”

(Clark 2022:123)

Active learning /Motivation – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements

In addition, we should reflect here on Piaget’s views that children are ‘lone scientists’ who experiment and explore with the world.

Children’s deep level involvement can be enhanced through the provision of challenges through science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). These provide children opportunities to use their problem solving skills, using creativity and design, whilst adults support through a sustained shared thinking approach to extend this learning. One setting we spoke to told us: “One example of this type of challenge, is to provide the children with a small crate of turnips and ask them if they can make a turnip tower. The skills involved in this challenge, can demonstrate children’s creativity in problem solving in a variety of ways, demonstrating the characteristics of effective learning”.

Creating and thinking critically/thinking – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.

These challenges can be provided throughout the environment.

Loose parts play can encourage children’s thinking skills and allow for deep level engagement. Allowing children to mix their own paint using powder paint, or providing primary colours only, can allow children to explore, investigate colour mixing and establish their ideas. Through deconstructed role play children can express their ideas through creativity and develop. This approach promotes inclusivity and allows all children to explore and learn at their pace and stage of development.

Drawing on approaches such as Reggio Emilia we must recognise the power of creativity and critical thinking and see these not as a stand-alone aspects of learning but integral to the learning process

“This institution, in fact, can play a very special role in cultural development and real socio-political experimentation, to the extent that this moment (designing) and this place (the school) can be experienced not as a time and space for reproducing and transmitting established knowledge but as a place of true creativity.”

(Rinaldi et.al 2021:62)

In her earlier work when Rinaldi talks about the critical and creative thinking that is evident in children’s work in Reggio Emilia, she states that children have been paid extraordinary attention and respected deeply, and this seems to have made all the difference. A key value in these settings is that of seeing the children as “competent” learners and researchers. Creativity is not just the quality of thinking of each individual it requires a context that allows it to exist, to be expressed and to become visible.

How can we embed the CoEL in our practice?

Embedding the CoEL in your practice is about ethos and vision. Reflection on how you support this through provision, documentation, interactions and relationships is key.

We need to allow for all children to have freedom in their play with time and space to enable children to experience the awe, wonder and joy that leads to a lifelong love of learning.

References

Clark, A. (2022) Slow knowledge and the unhurried child: time for slow pedagogies in early childhood education. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group

Early Years Coalition (2021) Birth to 5 Matters: Non-statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Department for Education (2021) Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage.

Page, J., Clare, A. and Nutbrown, C. (2013) Working with babies & children : from birth to three. Second edn. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Rinaldi, C. (2021) In dialogue with Reggio Emilia : listening, researching and learning. Second edn. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group

by Lewis Fogarty

Nothing should grow there, right? In dark conditions, with a lack of light and a malnourished environment, but despite all odds there is immense beauty all around. This is true of the lotus flower that grows in dark and dirty waters and is also true in early years, where despite immense challenges of underfunding, misinformed political initiatives and harsh regulatory controls, beautiful and literally life-changing moments happen daily and children all around the world grow and shine.

But how long can this go on for?

I suggest here that professional confidence is part of the solution to ensuring this growth can be sustained as the waters possibly become darker and more challenging for growth. Professional confidence emerged from my doctoral research with a sample of fifteen early years professionals representing each type of provision available in the early years. This is combined with my experiences of running a small group of three nurseries and being a dad to two wonderful little boys.

Simply put, professional confidence is the confidence you have in your professional role. In my unpublished thesis I have defined this as:

Being aware of injustices and confusions in the sector and actively correcting them, through thoughtful and skilful advocacy for collective action, working towards a better future for the ECEC [Early Childhood Education and Care] workforce and children.

I will suggest here that if leaders can provide an enabling environment, promoting professional confidence in their team, there can be positive change in the sector. As Birth to 5 Matters suggests, high quality early years provision “provides personalised learning, development and support – tailored to the needs of individual children”. The adults in our teams need to be treated uniquely too. In other words, the leader is the team’s “key person”.

Being aware of the injustices and confusions in the sector is about embracing the lotus flower analogy above and understanding this is the reality for the sector. That doesn’t mean accept it and do nothing about it but understand it for what it is. From here, we can work together for collective action through thoughtful and skilful advocacy to actively correct these wrongs. This requires us all to find our voices and spread the word. We need to be engaged in our own learning and challenge respectfully if we disagree with something or are met with “this is the way we have always done it here”. This also means we need to role model exemplary practice and be the change we want to see.

Collaboration is key, so if we can come together and find a shared voice, recognising everyone’s strengths and seeing ourselves as one sector, with one purpose, to do the absolute best for the children in our care, we can engage, grow and share together. This will be beneficial for all stakeholders and reinforces a key message within the Birth to 5 Matters guidance that states “learning together with adults and with other children is important across all contexts”.

Fostering togetherness and empowering individuals to have a voice is not an easy challenge and is one that requires everyone to engage in it, not just leaders in a formal sense. We need to get past personality issues and feelings of a disparate sector in competition with each other. We need to work towards enhanced professional development and genuine career trajectories for the sector and continue the fight for fairer pay.

I urge you to consider your role as an early years professional (or interested and supportive outsider) and challenge yourself to raise the status of the sector. We need collective action and we need it now. More broadly, consider your own level of professional confidence and the level of those around you and support the growth of this for the betterment of your organisation and the sector as a whole.

Practically, I would recommend you reaching out to neighbouring settings and opening your doors to them to visit. This can be true not matter what part of the sector you work in. When was the last time you spoke with someone other than a direct colleague about your work? All the organisations involved in the Early Years Coalition which produced Birth to 5 Matters can provide valuable networking opportunities and new insights to challenge your thinking – why not explore how they can help you build your professional confidence?

Lewis Fogarty runs a small group of three nurseries in Berkshire, leads the MA Education programme at Brunel University, is a trustee of TACTYC, co-convenor of the BERA ECEC SIG, an Area Lead for the DfE Experts and Mentors Programme and is in the final stages of writing up an EdD thesis focused on a new understanding of leadership in ECEC.

by Liz Pemberton, Director of The Black Nursery Manager Training and Consultancy

Black History Month in the UK has been recognised since 1987 and was established by Akyaaba Addai-Sebo. Akyaaba was a special projects officer at the Greater London Council and then later at the London Strategic Policy. He recognised the need for Black people throughout the UK to have a month dedicated to celebrating and more importantly acknowledging the contributions of many Black Britons to the rich cultural tapestry of the UK.

Moving gradually away from a sole focus on largely African-American figures, most notably Martin Luther-King Jr or Rosa Parks, it has remained an important factor that the month of October in the UK was one that recognised the contributions of individuals such as Betty Campbell, Wales’ first Black Headteacher, or Olive Morris who fought for Black women’s rights in Britain during the late 60s and 70s.

Now, in 2022, it is equally important to remind our youngest children of the contribution of Black people to the societies that they are a part of throughout the UK especially as we aim to work towards more meaningful anti-racist practice. The need to provide children with a balanced perspective of their history in what can quite often be a very biased and unbalanced view of the history of the UK means that we should strive to reverse the sense of erasure of the contributions of Black people from our educational consciousness and there is no better place to start this work than in the early years.

Black History Month as tokenistic

It has been argued that to save all of the celebrations of Black people for one month in the year as a way of notably recognising their achievements is the height of tokenism and I would not completely disagree. As a Black woman and former nursery manager whose demographic of children and families attending my nursery were predominantly Black, the need to recognise October as a month of explicit celebration of Black people was admittedly not something that we did every year as we prided ourselves as a setting that actively “celebrated” the beauty of the many nuances of the multitude of Black cultures 365 days a year. It became embedded within our pedagogy. But I also recognise that this is not going to be the case for early years settings across the UK and so I would suggest that the need to introduce children, particularly in all-white settings, to important figures within Black Britain during Black History Month can be equally as valuable. I think that if executed meaningfully this can be a brilliant way to extend learning opportunities for all children.

Some key UK figures from history and the present to recognise for Black History Month in 2022

• Phyllis Akua Opoku-Gyimah 
• Claudia Jones
• Amy Ashwood-Garvey
• Akala
• Mary Seacole
• Dr Yvonne Thompson
• Trisha Cooke
• Rageh Omaar
• Laura Henry-Allain MBE
• Dina Asher-Smith
• Lenny Henry CBE
• Roy Hackett MBE
• Ramla Ali
• Diane Abbott
• Bukayo Saka
• Trevor McDonald OBE
• Marsha de Cordova
• Hanan Ibrahim
• Beryl Gilroy
• Nadine White
• Warsan Shire
• David Olusoga OBE
• Edward Enninful
• Marcus Rashford MBE
• Dapo Adeola
• Stormzy
• Dame Floella Benjamin DBE
• Casey Bailey

Meaningful Black History Month celebrations for Pre-Schoolers (3-4 years old)

Meaningful must also mean relevant for the children that we are engaging with, and the context of history must not mean that we should forget about bringing this up to the present day. With this in mind here are some ideas:

• Talk to the children about the brilliance of the current Black children’s television presenters for example Nigel Clarke, Emma-Louise Amanshia, Gyasi Sheppy, Joanna Adeyinka-Burford. Have pictures of them displayed in your room and help children to make connections by asking questions such as “Have you seen *insert presenters name* on TV when you watch Cbeebies ?”, “What do you love about *insert presenters name* ?”.  It is very likely that the children will be familiar with these people already and may also be able to draw on the similarities and differences between themselves and these individuals including the kinds of clothes that they wear, their hairstyles, the colour of their skin, whether they look like members of their family etc.

• Incorporate the showing of different episodes of Laura Henry-Allain’s hit children’s TV show and first children’s animation to centre a Black family, Cbeebies JoJo and Gran-Gran. They are also set to have a Black History Month special this year too which is perfect!

• Plan your month carefully and intentionally around the children’s interests and link these into Black History Month.  You could think about everyday experiences for the children such as eating lunch/snack times. The power of food should not be underestimated, and this will give you a chance to research a range of African and Caribbean heritage food that the children may be able to try. Perhaps offer plantain crisps as an alternative at snack time or vary the fruits selection so that the children are eating mangoes, pineapple or soursop. Look at purchasing the Original Flava Cookbook by Shaun and Craig McAnuff for the person who makes your nursery meals so that they can attempt something new, get a copy of Rochelle Watson-Senyah’s children’s book The A to Z of African and Caribbean Foods, or the Wholefood Fruit Puzzle, created by the company Little Omo, for your nursery.

• If there are Black people in your local community who lead in culturally specific activities that you could invite into the setting then this is ideal, although there are some things to consider here:

1. Do not invite people in and expect them to deliver their services for free – have a budget.
2. Plan way in advance! As a guide, if you are reading this article and it is already October plan for your invited guests to come in next year. You want to be respectful of people’s time and expertise in whatever they do.
3. Make sure that you are thinking about the many ways in which Blackness is represented so be sure to acknowledge the intersections of Black LGBTQ members of the community, Black disabled members and Black Muslim or Jewish members of the community. You are aiming for a diverse representation for your children to see and interact with.

What not to do for BHM

• Generally speaking, unless parents or carers offer, I would steer away from the expectation for Black parents to take the lead in your Black History Month activities at the nursery. This is a chance for you to really use your own initiative and invite all of the parents to be a part of this so that it is still a wholly inclusive month. Remember, celebrating one culture is not a rejection of anybody else’s.

• Do not single out the Black children and ask them things like “what do you do for Black history Month?”. This is not helpful and doesn’t approach the celebrations with sensitivity or respect.

• Do not “dress the children up” nor dress yourself up as “Black people.” Be conscious of stereotyping.  That means steer away from brown body paint or pretending to be a rapper. Don’t ask the Black children to come dressed in their “cultural clothes” to act as a spectacle for the other children. If you want to do an activity that centres cultural dress then you can do this by having clothes displayed on mannequins or fabrics on display for children to look at and touch.

The key for this time of the month is enjoyment for all. Don’t let the fear of getting it wrong stop you from doing anything at all. Our society is made up of a variety of different people from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds and the UK is a place which has greatly benefitted from the contributions of Black people from the past and present. There is nothing wrong with showcasing these wonderful things during Black History Month at your early years setting!

By Patricia Johnson and Sacha Powell

Have you ever wondered what a musical score would be like if it tried to capture the daily pace, rhythm and activity of a baby or toddler room: fast and frantic like The Flight of the Bumble Bee; slow and lilting like a soothing lullaby; or perhaps a little of both?

Research tells us that babies’ and toddlers’ brains are developing more quickly than at any other time during a human’s life. Things are happening at lightning speed in those little heads: around one million new neural connections per second are forming in young brains (Harvard CDC, 2022). But learning builds gradually over time and “nurturing care for the mind is critical for brain growth” (CDC, 2022).

Babies and toddlers benefit from “having freedom and time to play”, explore, rest and reflect in order to make sense of the world around them and create strong bonds of attachment (Birth to 5 Matters, p10). This doesn’t mean leaving them to their own devices, especially the quiet babies and toddlers who may sometimes attract less attention from adults.

Babies and toddlers “learn and develop well in enabling environments” with care, teaching and support from “adults who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time” (EYFS Statutory Framework p6, our emphasis).

When most babies and toddlers are feeding from the breast or the bottle, they suck and swallow at their own pace and sometimes rest. They stop when they have had enough, or to communicate in different ways. In this way, they are showing adults that they can control their own needs at that minute in time, and the rhythm of their meal.

Many babies enjoy spending some time as onlookers too, soaking up and contemplating all they can see, hear, smell or feel. Sometimes adults might stand back and mull over what a baby or toddler is doing, feeling, seeing, hearing or perceiving around them. Sometimes then stepping in sensitively to support and extend play or to offer comfort and reassurance.

“Respectful caregiving requires respectful interactions…” which includes “being patient and giving the child time to respond and participate.”

(Birth to 5 Matters, p13)

New research by Alison Clark (2022) has indicated that slowing down has many benefits, including time for adults and children to really observe and think about what is happening; and to respond to each other in a considered and meaningful way.

What opportunities exist for the babies and toddlers in your setting to influence the pace and rhythm of their mealtimes, play, care routines, welcome or departure?

“Settings should ensure physical caregiving is given sufficient time and thought to create situations that are valuable and enjoyable for both child and practitioner.“

(Birth to 5 Matters, p12)

Researchers who studied infant and toddler spaces in early years settings in Australia discovered that care moments can take up 80% of the day (Bussey, Peryman & Martinez, 2021). This finding emphasises the fact that patience, and tuning into babies and toddlers’ rhythms should be part of a whole approach, which incorporates these important care and learning experiences.

What is the pace and rhythm of your room like and who or what conducts the musical score? What are the sounds that greet babies and toddlers when they arrive? What dictates the speed of their day (and yours)? Is there time and space for calmness, stillness, slowness and quiet contemplation?

Being conscious about the pace of life and work can be very beneficial for adults too.

“Slowing down lowers stress and blood pressure, enhances decision making and other cognitive functions, and restores emotional equilibrium. In allowing ourselves to experience the present – rather than rushing toward the future – we become more attentive to what is happening around and within us.”

(Stewart, 2018)

When you are the primary carer, the key person in the lives of children throughout their early years, you shoulder a huge responsibility for parents’ “most precious things” (Goouch & Powell, 2013). Can you make time to slow down and boost your own well-being? 

References

Bussey, K., Peryman, B. & Martinez, S. (2021). Respectful attuned attachment relationships and care. The First Years: Nga Tau Tuatahi. New Zealand Journal of Infant & Toddler Education, Volume 23, Issue 2, pp.23-28. www.firstyearsjournal@auckland.ac.nz

CDC (2022). Early Brain Development & Health.

Clark, A. (2022). Slow knowledge and the unhurried child: time for slow pedagogies in early childhood education. London: The Froebel Trust.

Department for Education (2021). Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage. Setting the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five.

Early Years Coalition (2021). Birth to 5 Matters. Non statutory guidance for the early years foundation stage. St Albans: Early Education.

Goouch, K. & Powell, S. (2013). The Baby Room. Principles, policy and practice. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Harvard Center on the Developing Child (2022). Brain Architecture.

Stewart, S.A. (2018) Slowing Down as the World Speeds Up. Slowing down enhances health and well-being. Psychology Today, 17 December 2018.

In this conversational blog, Shaddai Tembo, Dr Sharon Colilles, Vicky Hutchin and Aaron Bradbury discuss with Donna Gaywood practical ways to support children to develop a positive sense of self and feel that they belong in their early years setting. They tackle how to talk about race and racism openly, how practitioners can give space to children from mixed ethnic backgrounds to develop a positive sense of self, ways to support children to feel that they belong and how to provide positive spaces for children to develop their own gender identity.

DG: Birth to 5 Matters encourages practitioners to talk about race openly. Shaddai, what advice would you give to a staff team that feels worried about saying the wrong thing, or don’t feel confident to talk to children and their parents about race.

ST: I do sympathise with this position. Many people feel like this, and they may have the false impression that such an issue is taboo or inappropriate to talk about in the early years. It can feel overwhelming when practitioners start to think about how to have these conversations about race with their colleagues, children, or parents and carers.

My advice to these practitioners is that they first remember that all staff have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate discrimination against people, including children, on the basis of race. So as uncomfortable as these things may be, you are legally required to meet this equality duty.

If you are not sure where to start – the best place is with yourself. Self-reflection about our own histories is an important first step and provides a springboard to then consider these issues with others and in your practice.

As uncomfortable as issues of race and racism may be to talk about, these feelings pale in comparison to the actual effects of racism for Black and minoritised children. Given what is known about the significant effects of racial discrimination and prejudice on a child’s life experiences, educational outcomes, their self-esteem and wellbeing, it should be clear that we cannot afford to shun responsibility for this work just because we are worried about saying the wrong thing.

DG: You mention about the importance of self-reflection and thinking about our own backgrounds. What would you say to someone who says, “I don’t see different colours, I treat everyone the same?”

ST: For any practitioner, being colour-blind and aiming to treat everyone the same is not an appropriate strategy for a number of reasons. Young children are often already aware of differences in their own and others’ skin colour and are beginning to form assumptions informed by wider cultural stereotypes about race. We should not leave them to understand these differences themselves and need to be able to challenge any harmful beliefs that they may have developed. As is clearly written in the Birth to Five Matters guidance, a position of colour-blindness “simply allows the continuation of bias in society which disadvantages people from black and minoritised groups”.

DG: Sharon, your work is concerned with how children from mixed ethnic backgrounds perceive their identity. How can practitioners support children to explore their identity so that they move away from being colour blind?

SC: It’s important for practitioners to think about the racial groupings of the children that they work with because children bring to their play rich funds of knowledge from the home about racial identification. These experiences will be mirrored in their play repertoires with peers. Practitioners can think about the culturally appropriate resources they provide for developing children’s positive self-image.

DG: What sort of activities can practitioners provide for children which will support them to express ideas about their identity? 

SC: The experiences that practitioners provide will be dependent on the ethnic/cultural groupings of children they are working with. Essentially though, it’s learning about the children in your setting. This can be achieved by talking to parents and carers initially. Then it will involve careful observation of the children’s interests.

Helpful activities/resources could include:

• Skin coloured paints, mirrors, paper for building a positive self-identity amongst diverse groupings of children.
• Children’s literature with excellent animation/representation of ethnic difference/similarity.
• Storying and Storytelling.
• Home corners that reflect the diversity of ‘communities of practice’ that children live in.

It is important that a play-based pedagogic approach is used that provides space and time for the children to have conversations with peers, their friends and practitioners about their identity.

DG: Sharon spoke about the importance of creating space and time for children to think about their identities. Vicky, I know that you also believe in the importance of creating safe spaces for children to develop a sense of belonging in the early years

VH: Sharon mentioned storying and storytelling which often happens at circle or group times, these can be a minefield for children who don’t feel they belong, having to sit with others in the group, when they feel excluded. So, we need to make this into a safe space where all the children feel at home. Think about the size and make-up of the group as well as watching for the subtle non-verbal clues which suggest the children don’t feel safe.

This is where using a Persona Doll to develop Persona Doll stories can be so useful. The doll is not a toy but a special doll for which you create a persona and family background as if it was a real child. Think about the type of doll to use so that it will reflect some of the characteristics of the child or children you feel need most support in belonging – gender, skin tone and hair are important attributes. You then develop stories about the doll’s life which you tell with the doll sitting on your lap. The stories should mirror common experiences of your children in the group (eg likes and dislikes, favourite food and activities) but they will also provide windows into other lived experiences.

The doll becomes like another child in the group and the children welcome their ‘friend’ when she/he comes to visit. It is often just the presence of the doll which has some similar characteristics to themselves which helps children to feel that they belong, raising their self-esteem and respect from the others. Sometimes it may be the issue that you have addressed in the doll’s story that helps – an experience the child identifies with. Many of the doll’s stories are happy, but some are about difficult or sad events the doll needs help with (e.g. bullying, stereotyping, racism, Islamophobia, name calling). Working together, the children help the doll solve the problems. The positive effect on children’s sense of belonging can be quite dramatic, providing an opportunity for children who feel excluded to have their lived experiences visibly valued.

DG: Feeling that they belong is very important for children, isn’t it Vicky.

VH: Yes, a sense of belonging is inextricably intertwined with a child’s wellbeing. Many children struggle because they feel excluded or like outsiders. Certain groups of people are at risk of being excluded due to a host of factors over which they have no control, such as ethnicity, culture, gender, language, poverty, disability and/or special educational need. The cause may be overt but is often deeply engrained, hidden and unconscious, based on unquestioned, ‘traditional’ ways of doing things and attitudes.

Birth to 5 Matters explicitly states the importance of listening to the child’s voice, right from the very beginning of the preface.  Some children are very good at making their needs and desires known to adults and other children, while others can too easily remain unheard, thus receiving less attention from staff and less involvement with other children. These children need to be included. This means watching carefully as well as listening to the many ways they may use to communicate, particularly non-verbally, and then getting involved.

DG: Aaron, as the lead for the Birth to 5 Matters Inclusion and Equalities group what advice can you offer practitioner to help all children feel that sense of belonging in terms of LGBTQI+?

AB: My first point of call would be for the parents to take the lead on this with the practitioners’ support, just like any other forms of child development. It is paramount that the setting allows all children to understand difference within their setting, making the case for representation of all within the setting. Trying to remain gender neutral in the approach within your setting, no gendered colours or resources, just colours and resources etc. and allowing gender flexible play as a typical part of many children’s development. 

We have to be mindful that children are still finding their place within society and at this age it is common for children to act out different scenarios in the early years, both developmentally and socially. However, we also need to listen to the child and see what they are saying, doing and most importantly how the practitioners are dealing with the child’s uniqueness. 

Kholberg’s stages of gender development suggests that a preschool aged child is not yet at the gender permanence stage in relation to development, so it is important to accept that children might be exploring their gender identity, so practitioners need to support parents and carers, remain non-judgemental and keep child at the centre.

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In summary:

• When thinking about racism, start with self-reflection
• Be aware of your legal obligation (Equalities Act 2010)
• Racism is damaging to children, so is silence about racism
• Children need space, time, positive resources, and supportive practitioners to talk about their identity
• Persona dolls can also be a supportive resource for children and help them to feel like they belong
• Feeling like they belong is vital for all children
• Practitioners need to be sensitive to the non-verbal communication of children to think about how the children are experiencing the setting
• Parents are important partners when thinking about children’s developing gender identities
• Adopting a gender-neutral approach can be helpful
• Remaining non-judgemental in practice and keeping the child at the centre is key to supporting children

About the authors

	Aaron Bradbury is an Early Childhood academic, paying close attention to all aspects of Early Years and Child Centred Practice, Workforce development, Child Development and Early Help. His current role is Principal Lecturer for Early Years and Childhood at Nottingham Trent University. He is also the Chair of the LGBTQ Early Years working group and manages his own website and community called Early Years Reviews.
	Sharon Colilles is Senior Lecturer in early childhood education at UWE – Bristol, a Trustee on Froebel Trust Council, and an associate trainer for the Centre for Research in Early Childhood Education (CREC) and British Association for Early Childhood Education (BAECE). She recently worked as project assistant for the development of Birth to Five Matters guidance as well as participating in the review of QAA Benchmark Standards. She is an active member of Early Childhood Education Research Association and CREC learning circle. Sharon’s research is concerned with play based participatory pedagogies and its part in developing children’s mixed ethnic identity learning and development, she also has a deep interest in work that develops anti-oppressive and anti-racist practice.
	Vicky Hutchin worked in inner city playgroups before becoming a teacher, then an early years consultant/adviser in local authorities, in the National Strategies and finally working independently. All her adult life she has been committed to celebrating human diversity, trying to eradicate prejudice and discrimination and in particular implementing anti-racist practice. This was the focus of her Masters and from 2014 she decided to make this the main focus of her work. Vicky worked closely with Babette Brown, the founder of Persona Doll Training, When Babette died in 2019, Vicky became the coordinator to ensure Babette’s legacy lives on. The joy of the role is being in touch with the high numbers of committed early years and primary practitioners in the UK and worldwide who want to celebrate human diversity and make a difference to children and families facing prejudice. Vicky is an Associate for Early Education.
	Shaddai Tembo is a lecturer in early education and childhood practice at Perth College UHI, an associate lecturer at the Open University, and a postgraduate research student at the University of the West of Scotland.  He is a trustee for Early Education and the Fatherhood Institute. Shaddai also co-convenes the SERA EY Network and is an independent writer and speaker through Critical Early Years