Issue 15: May 2025
- Matthew K, Northall
- May 4
- 11 min read
Newsletter
Issue 15 - May 2025
Welcome to this edition of the newsletter – we hope that everyone had a nice Easter break. This
newsletter contains, as usual, a great deal of information so please make yourself a cuppa, pull
up a chair and spend some time to read and digest.
We would like to draw your attention to the awards event that we have planned – this newsletter
has details of how to become involved in the working party for this and how to become a
judge. WE NEED YOU to make this awards event a success and to celebrate the success of our
courses and graduates. This aligns with our strategy of promoting and sustaining the Early
Childhood Studies courses but we can’t do this alone – please come on board and help this to
be the fabulous event it deserves to be.
Aaron and Tanya – co-chairs
ECSDN Awards Ceremony
23 January 2026
Join us at the University of Northampton
'The Leathersellers’ Hide'
Calling all Early Childhood students and practitioners
We are absolutely thrilled to announce the launch of the ECSDN Awards 2026, a celebration of the very best early childhood research, pedagogy and practice available.
Taking place at the University of Northampton’s prestigious 'Leathersellers’ Hide', this is your opportunity to acknowledge, celebrate and thank fellow students, lecturers practitioners and early years providers in the best possible way.
Nominations close at midnight on 30th September 2025, with the shortlist announced December for achievements in the 2024 / 2025 academic year. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Friday 23rd January 2026 with an informal dinner, celebration of achievements and a fun packed evening of entertainment.
At the launch Dr Tanya Richardson, Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood and Co-chair of the Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network (ECSDN) said “it’s an absolute privilege to work with such brilliant, professional and dedicated colleagues who work tirelessly to drive the standards and professionalism in early years practice ever higher and I’m so proud of all our students and their achievements. The ECSDN Awards are for each and every one of you, an opportunity to recognise your efforts, and Dr Aaron Bradbury, co-chair of the ECSDN and I are looking forward to celebrating with as many of you as possible in January”.
Entry is free and the ECSDN Awards are open to all membership institutions to nominate to the following categories:
· Graduate of the year
· Outstanding Early Childhood practitioner of the year
· Researcher of the year
· Placement provider of the year
· Mentor of the year
· Early Childhood advocate of the year
· Publication of the year
· Social impact of the year
· Best innovation / practice with babies of the year
· Early Childhood transformation of the year
Details of how to submit your nominations for the ECSDN Awards 2026 will be coming soon.
We need your help!
Volunteer judges wanted!
Winners of the ECSDN Awards will be chosen by a distinguished panel of judges, who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience of early years to evaluate each entry against category requirements.
If you believe you have the knowledge and integrity to it takes to be a volunteer judge for the ECSDN Awards, we would like to hear from you.
Volunteer judges will receive a free place at the awards ceremony.
To volunteer to be an ECSDN Awards judge or if you have questions about nominating someone to one of the award categories, please contact Jo Steele, ECSDN administrator, at josteele@ecsdn.org. The deadline for volunteers is 30/04/2025.
ECSDN Letter to Vice Chancellor re Early Childhood Studies Degree
Programmes
We have prepared a letter which you are welcome to share with your Vice Chancellor to recognise
the critical role that your institution plays in shaping the future of early childhood education through
your Early Childhood Studies degree programmes.
We know that some universities are facing challenges, some are thriving. It is important that we
keep this academic discipline alive within our institutions. We are leaving up to you whether you
share with your leadership or not, but we do hope it goes some way to show the need for a
unified voice on Early Childhood Studies.
30th April 2025
Dear Vice Chancellor,
We are writing to you in recognition of the critical role that your institution plays in shaping
the future of early childhood education through your Early Childhood Studies degree
programmes. As highlighted in the ECSDN Manifesto 2025, attached for you to read here:
https://www.ecsdn.org/early-childhood-manifesto-2025, a focus on the importance of
investing in early childhood education, research, and workforce development cannot be
overstated. These programmes are fundamental to ensuring positive outcomes for children,
families, and society as a whole.
The ECSDN Manifesto 2025 underscores the urgent need for a well-qualified, graduate led early childhood workforce. Decades of research demonstrate that settings led by graduates in Early Childhood Studies (ECS) result in higher quality education and care, better developmental outcomes for children, and long-term societal benefits. However, despite clear evidence supporting the need for a graduate workforce, we are facing significant challenges, including workforce shortages and undervalued early childhood professionals. We urge you to continue championing your Early Childhood Studies programmes and advocating for their significance within your institution and beyond. The manifesto calls for:
1. Recognition of Early Childhood as a Critical Academic Discipline – The shift from ‘early years’ to ‘early childhood’ emphasises a holistic, interdisciplinary approach that includes social pedagogy, care, and education from birth to eight years. Universities are key to positioning ECS as a respected discipline that influences policy, research, and practice.
2. Commitment to a Graduate Led Workforce – Despite evidence that graduate led settings improve children's life chances, funding cuts and workforce instability threaten the sustainability of ECS degrees. Institutions must safeguard these programmes to ensure that future generations benefit from highly skilled professionals.
3. Investment in High Quality Research – The manifesto highlights the need for transdisciplinary research in early childhood, moving beyond narrow psychological models to embrace the complex, social, and economic factors affecting children and families. Universities play a crucial role in producing this research and ensuring it informs policy and practice.
4. Strengthening Training and Workforce Development – The Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies (ECGPCs) provide a clear framework for ensuring that graduates leave university equipped with the knowledge, skills, and experience to make an immediate impact. Embedding and promoting these competencies as a benchmark qualification will help to professionalise the sector.
5. Leadership and Advocacy for the Sector – Universities are uniquely positioned to drive change by influencing government policies, supporting local early childhood initiatives, and fostering collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Your institution can lead the way in ensuring early childhood education is recognised as a field requiring expertise, training, and appropriate remuneration.
The early childhood sector is at a crossroads, and universities like yours have the power to shape its future. We ask for your continued commitment to ensuring that Early Childhood Studies remains a robust and valued academic discipline within your institution. By investing in the next generation of early childhood professionals, we can collectively secure a brighter future for young children and their families.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can work together to strengthen the impact of Early Childhood Studies at your institution. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you would like to explore collaborative opportunities or share your thoughts on how we can collectively advance this vital agenda.
Thank you for your time and for the critical role your university plays in the development of a highly skilled and professional early childhood workforce.
Yours sincerely
Signed on behalf of the ECSDN Dr Tanya Richardson and Dr Aaron Bradbury Co-Chairs of the network
Curious Minds – Student blog
Following the launch of our redesigned website at the AGM on March 21st, 2025, we're excited to introduce a new opportunity for students from ECSDN member organizations: the 'The Curious Minds – Student Blog.'
This platform is dedicated to showcasing student voices within the early childhood sector. We
invite students to contribute original blog posts, or adapt coursework, on topics of interest,
using a journalistic style (max. 700 words). Students can include hyperlinks to relevant resource and copyright-free images to enhance their posts. Visit our blog submission page to share your work and celebrate student expertise. (More information on website collaboration for members to follow soon).
Meeting with Rt Hon. Stephen Morgan
On Wednesday 30th April, Tanya had the opportunity to meet with Rt Hon. Stephen Morgan, along with other Early Childhood advocates. Tanya posed the following question to the minister:
We know from extant research that children benefit from having a highly qualified workforce and I am keen to hear how the government plans to ensure children’s outcomes are supported through training and development of those who work in this field. What can we do to assist the government in ensuring that the early years workforce is of the high quality that our children deserve?
He responded by explaining the government’s recent addition of EYITT and the level 6 YET apprenticeship and advised that they are in the process of updating the level 3 criteria to ensure that high quality training could be provided. He also talked of the new DfE qualification checker. He did not respond to the part of the question around what we could do to assist. As a result of the meeting the group is going to write a response to him and ask to meet again to discuss further.
Invitation to participate in a research study.
Subject: The Role of Pedagogical Leadership in the Early Childhood discipline.
Participant Requirements:
Group 1- Practitioners working in Early Childhood settings.
Time commitment. Completion of a diary which will require approximately 10-15 mins per
day for a 10 day period. Participants will be asked to reflect on the interactions they
encounter as part of their daily role, and record these either on a Padlet page or sketch pad
(the researcher will provide the resources). Examples of the types of critical incidents could
include, dealing with challenges such as budgets, parent interactions, managing
practitioners, reflecting on pedagogy, which includes play-based learning.
The diaries will allow practitioners to capture critical incidents in their daily work lives and
reflect upon their own practice.
Once the contents have been analysed, a short interview of approximately 30 minutes, will
follow. These can be conducted either in person or on Teams.
Group 2-Academics working in a Early Childhood course leader role.
Time commitment. Approximately 50 minutes for an interview, which can be conducted via
Teams or in person. The interviews will provide an opportunity to explore how the early childhood discipline has changed and the emphasis placed upon leadership skills, including leading play-based learning.
Group 3-A small group of students studying on an Early Childhood degree.
Student must have placement experiences. Time commitment. Approximately 40 mins to contribute to a focus group discussion. Students can share their experiences of being prepared to lead and shape early childhood practice as graduates, including their role in leading play-based learning.
Semi structured interviews will be offered to the group, following the analysis of the focus group data. Please let me know if you are interested in participating or if you have any questions. Information sheets and consent forms are available upon request.
Please also feel free to share this invitation with your colleagues and wider professional networks. Thank you for considering this opportunity to contribute to the study. Meredith Hare Course leader for BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies, Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University meredith.hare@ntu.ac.uk
Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network: Student Publishing Opportunity - 14th Call for Student Papers.
Deadline for submission: Thursday 3rd July at 4pm. No papers will be accepted after this time.
Please note: We ask the student’s tutor to act as first reviewer by reviewing and selecting only one suitable paper per institution. All papers to be submitted by tutor with student copied in.
The requirements for the student publications are as follows: ·
Level 4 Reflection on aspect of practice/ role of the student practitioner: Word limit 1000-1500
Level 5 View or commentary on a contemporary issue: Word limit 2000 – 2500
Level 6 Report on leading practice underpinned by research or a reflection on the author’s own research: Word limit 3000 – 3500
Level 7 Report on author’s recent or current research findings: Word limit 4000 - 4500
Criteria for selection:
Relevance of topic or theme in the context of Early Childhood Studies Use of appropriate sources from literature · Satisfactory quality of academic writing.
For Master’s level submission the work must be based on a small piece of original research (documentary evidence or original data). The submission must include a brief justification of research methodology used.
Tutors must confirm with the selection committee that they have approved the submission by signing the application and sending the submission from their university email account.
Guidance for submitting papers
Please visit our students submission page for further guidance on submitting student papers and for access to a digital form to do so. https://www.ecsdn.org/student-publication-guidance
'1001 Days: Setting the Foundations for Life'
We are delighted to share with you an upcoming online (Teams) event, taking place on the 21st May 2025 6.00pm-8.30pm:'1001 Days: Setting the Foundations for Life'. Please see attached which includes digital flyer that provides a sign-up link.
This is a collaborative event, designed by us (Dr Charlotte Jones at the University of Warwick and Dr Helen Simmons at The University of Northampton). The perspective taken within the event will be driven by our committed pursuit to promote the voices and needs of our youngest members of society in all matters impacting upon them. This is accompanied by the prioritisation of building a sustainable infrastructure and cross-Government strategy through which to address factors relating to health and wellbeing, the early childhood workforce and the role of preventative services.
Please do share widely across your platforms as this will be of great interest to you, your colleagues, students, professionals and the settings that you support. Best wishes,
Charlotte and Helen
Inviting you to a free community event at the University of Roehampton on the 15th of May 2025 from 6.00-8.30 pm.
Sign up below (max two participants per Early Years setting)
DfE’s Early years child development training – free online training
The Department for Education (DfE) is offering a fantastic opportunity to build and strengthen your knowledge and understanding of child development through a free comprehensive online programme. Designed by early years experts, this training is free to access and packed with valuable content and resources to support your professional growth.
Deepen your knowledge: Build and strengthen your understanding of child development
Practical advice: Gain actionable insights for supporting children in early years settings and reception classes
Reflective practice: Test your knowledge and reflect on your own practice
Engaging content: Watch practical training videos that bring concepts to life
Flexible learning: Access the modules in any order, at any time. Pause and restart the training to fit your schedule
Certification: Download a certificate upon completion of each module.
Explore key areas of child development
The programme offers eight modules covering key topics:
Understanding child and brain development and the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
Brain development and how children learn
Personal, social, and emotional development
Communication and language
Physical development
Mathematics
Effective curriculum and assessment
Supporting individual differences and needs
Get Started Today!
Sign up and register now by visiting the Early years child development training. If you already have an account, simply sign in and head to the My modules page to access all the training has to offer. If you need any support accessing the training, please email child-development.training@education.gov.uk
Save the Date - 2 June, 2pm
Professionalisation and Workforce Subgroup Drop In
Following the AGM, the PAWS group will be holding an online session to explore how HEIs deliver the Graduate Practitioner Competencies, and work-based learning pathways more broadly, considering things such as how we manage time and costs in a challenging HE climate. Colleagues from Anglia Ruskin will talk through their approach and we invite others to collaborate and share ideas.
We will also use the session as a chance for people to begin feedback on the requirements of the competencies in line with the wider review that will be taking place over the next year or so.
In the meantime do also take a look at our case studies on the website in our PAWS section:
We will be in contact nearer to the time with joining instructions.
All the best
Verity and Sam
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