October 2025 - Issue 4
- Matthew K, Northall
- Oct 27
- 4 min read
Newsletter
Issue 4 - October 2025
Introduction
Celebrating Progress, Passion & Purpose in 21st Century Sustainability
🌱 A Year of Growth and Impact As the leaves turn and the air cools, the Sustainability Strategy Group is embracing new challenges and exciting opportunities. Angela and Kerrie are celebrating their first year as co-chairs, and it’s been a year filled with collaboration, creativity, and commitment to exploring what sustainability means in the 21st century. Our group of 12 passionate members brings a wealth of expertise, scholarship, and energy to our shared mission. Together, we’ve formed working parties to develop:
- A sustainability poster
- An informative leaflet
- A dedicated blog space to share insights from practice and research
These resources will soon be available on the ECSDN Sustainability Group webpage, offering valuable tools for settings, students, and the wider community.
🔍 Spotlight on Member Contributions
Our members are making waves across the sector:
- One member’s work with Stronger Hubs Northwest was highlighted in an Ofsted report
- Another is championing the role of Childminders in sustainability through their writing
- On Saturday 25th October, Play Green Hull launches as part of the University of Hull’s stewardship with the RSA’s Playful Green Planet initiative supporting green spaces, nature connections, and community building.
📚 Research, Advocacy & Innovation
Across the group, members are:
- Researching sustainability in practice and placement
- Writing proposals to explore ECS graduates’ impact in and beyond the ECEC sector
- Advocating for sustainability across undergraduate programmes
- Lobbying for ECSDN policy change and audits
- Celebrating a Ph.D. award focused on sustainability, with exciting research to share!
🗣️ Looking Ahead: Round Table Dialogues
We’re planning to launch an online round table to open dialogue around sustainability interests, complexities, and practices. This space will lay the groundwork for a face-to- face conference, pending funding and interest.
📢 Stay Connected
Keep an eye on the ECSDN website for:
- Member publications
- Practitioner resources
- Updates from the Sustainability Strategy Group🍁 Final Thoughts
As the seasons shift, we encourage you to wrap up warm, stay dry, and embrace the outdoors. Let nature inspire your sustainability journey.
Warm wishes,
Angela & Kerrie
Update ECSDN Awards
Nominations are in!
Thankyou to those of you that have taken your time to nominate someone for the ECSDN Awards. We have been overwhelmed with the number of nominations received and it has been humbling to be reminded of the excellence within our sector. The judging process is now underway and not long to go until the shortlist is announced!
ECSDN Award Information
The timeline leading up to the ECSDN Awards ceremony in January has been finalised and the details are as follows;
12 October - Nomination portal closes as midnight
week commencing 27 October - Judging Panels to meet
week commencing 10 November - shortlist announced via email, the website and published in the Newsletter
week commencing 10 November - tickets to the Awards ceremony will go on sale.
Tickets will be £20 per head and this includes a hot buffet. Further information to follow.
ECSDN 9th Research Conference - Invitation to Present Theme: Celebrating Early Childhood Studies Friday 30th January 2026
The online ECSDN conference provides an exciting opportunity for early childhood researchers to share their findings and ideas.
This accessible and supportive conference is open to all institutions who offer Early Childhood Studies degrees and welcomes submissions from undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as early career researchers.
We are particularly keen to invite submissions from Early Childhood Studies students and would invite tutors to encourage, support or consider co-presenting with students who may have interesting work to share. This could include a small group from one HE institution using the 15-minute slot to share their research proposals or encouraging recent graduates to present their dissertation research.
Submissions can be a presentation about one of the following:
a research proposal
completed research
a research-informed position piece relating to a contemporary issue in early childhood
findings from a relevant literature review Each presentation will be allotted a 15- minute slot, followed by five minutes for questions. They will be grouped together by theme as appropriate.
Criteria for selection of papers:
Clarity of the research approach and/or focus
Originality of the research or position piece
Significance of the research for Early Childhood Education and Care practice
Explanation of ethical considerations where relevant.
To submit your abstract complete ‘Delegate Application for ECSDN Research Conference 2026’ and email: jo7.steele@tiscali.co.uk or admin@ecsdn.org by 5pm on Friday 21st November 2025. Please put ‘ECSDN 9th Research Conference Call for Papers’ in the subject bar of your email. The Delegate Application form can be found as an attachment to this newsletters email and also on the ECSDN website; https://www.ecsdn.org/research-conferences/ Presenters will be informed if their abstract has been accepted no later than Friday 12th December 2025
FdA (Level 5) Focus Group - Part of the ECSDN
An upcoming event you might be interested in: Advocacy and Hope – ECS Degrees in a Time of Turbulence
In these unpredictable times, our unity and shared commitment to the value of FdA and degree programs matter more than ever — not just for our learners, but for the future of the sector itself. There will be no formal agenda as it will be a structured networking session with some conversation starter questions — just an hour carved out for open conversation, where experiences can be shared, support offered and to reconnect with other ECSDN members. The journey for institutions and partner colleges can sometimes feel isolating, and these moments of connection really do make a difference. Please share the details of this session and any future meetings with other ECS institutions at FdA, HTQ, or equivalent level 5 courses. The link to join the meeting, which is being hosted on Teams, is ;
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