Episode 11: Time to focus on babies in early years settings

Babies are often overlooked in discussions about early childhood education and care today. With the rapid expansion of baby room provision in England underway - with new government funded childcare support being offered from September 2024 to working parents with a child from 9 months old – it's time to focus on the experiences, rights and needs of babies in early years settings


This episode of the Froebel Trust podcast explores what it’s like working in a baby room today: What skills and knowledge do educators caring for babies need? Are early years settings ready to welcome more babies? And how might a Froebelian approach support educators in their work with babies?


"....we've had this astronomical growth in particularly private sector provision for very young children, and that's only going to grow in England from September this year. I think we have to find a way of ensuring that babies have environments that are specifically designed for them... We need to think about space. We need to think about cosy spaces. We need to think about access to gardens..." Dr Caroline Guard


"... we really need to wind back, slow down, allow ourselves to slow down with our children, allow our children to slow down and allow practitioners to slow down..." Julia Manning-Morton


Guests appearing in this episode include: 


• Dr Caroline Guard - Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at Kingston University, London

• Julia Manning-Morton - Author, lecturer and Froebel Trust Travelling Tutor

• Chloe McLaughlin & Kerri Stephen - Two experienced educators who work with and care for babies at Poppies Pre-school in Aberdeenshire.


You can find out more information about each of our guests at www.froebel.org.uk/training-and-resources/podcast (https://www.froebel.org.uk/training-and-resources/podcast)


During Episode 11 presenter, Colin Kelly, and guests refer to the following resources for educators:


‘Thinking About Babies (https://www.froebel.org.uk/uploads/documents/Froebel-Trust-Thinking-about-babies-Interactive.pdf#asset:307200@1:url) ’ by Dr Caroline Guard, Froebel Trust, April 2024 (free to download)


‘A Sense of Belonging (https://froebel.org.uk/research-library/a-sense-of-belonging-recognising-the-importance-of-being-truly-inclusive#entry:94745@1:url) ’ A project report from Poppies Pre-School, November 2023 (free to download)


‘The Baby Room (https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Baby_Room.html) ’ by Kathy Goouch and Sacha Powell, OU Press, 2013 ‘From Birth to Three (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Birth-Three-Early-Educators-Handbook) ’ by Julia Manning-Morton, Routledge, March 2024 


‘Shifting the Conversation (https://www.earlyeducationchildcare.org/shifting-the-conversation) ’ A report by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, Spring 2024 (free to download)


‘Froebel’s principles and practices today (https://www.froebel.org.uk/uploads/documents/FT-Froebels-principles-and-practice-today.pdf#asset:11603@1:url) ’ by Helen Tovey, Froebel Trust, 2020 (free to download)


‘Elinor Goldschmied and treasure baskets (https://froebel.org.uk/training-and-resources/elinor-goldschmied-treasure-baskets#entry:109@1:url) ’ – a collection of resources and information available via the Froebel Trust website: (free to access)


‘Slow knowledge and the unhurried child (https://froebel.org.uk/research-library/slow-knowledge-and-the-unhurried-child-time-for-slow-pedagogies-in-early-childhood-education#entry:9231@1:url) ’ - A collection of resources and information connected to Dr Alison Clark’s 'slow pedagogy' research and work. Available via the Froebel Trust website: (free to access)


 


Visit the Froebel Trust (https://www.froebel.org.uk/) website to access the free resources mentioned in this episode and find out more about the Froebel Short Courses. 


www.froebel.org.uk (https://www.froebel.org.uk)