St Edmund's Early Years Stronger Practice Hub

A range of services available to practitioners working in the Early Years in Yorkshire and The Humber.

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Support for Early Years settings in Yorkshire and The Humber

St Edmund’s Early Years Stronger Practice Hub is one of a number of Stronger Practice Hubs designated by the Department for Education (DfE) across England. Our main aim is to help pre-Reception Early Years settings adopt evidence-based practice improvements to address key Covid recovery issues, and build trusted networks for sharing effective practice. We will do this by:

Establishing local networks of settings to share knowledge and effective practice.
Proactively sharing information and advice on evidence-based approaches, for example, through newsletters, blogs, events and social media.
Acting as a point of contact for bespoke advice, and signposting to other funded support.
Working with the Education Endowment Foundation to select evidence-based programmes to fund and make available to settings

Join our hub to get events and opportunities straight to your inbox.

(Please note, signing up to any events/networks from our Hub means that you are also signing up to the Hub).

Talk to us!

Not sure whether an offer is right for you or a staff member? Have you identified a need in your setting that you would like to discuss? Facing a challenge and don't know where to look for support?

You can request a call back from us, where you will receive guidance, advice and where relevant, be signposted to funded opportunities developed to enhance your practice. To book a call in with us, email sph@stedmundsbradford.org.uk to arrange a time that is convenient for you.

Specialist Learning Networks

Our Specialist Learning Networks provide the opportunity to meet other professionals with a shared interest in a specific area of learning, build professional relationships and participate in professional discussions, gain access to valuable resources, share ideas and learn about the latest trends and CPD opportunities.

They are delivered in a variety of ways at a variety of times, including face-to-face or virtual sessions. Some will have inspiring guest speakers, while others will have focused discussions.

Please note, when signing up to our Specialist Learning Networks, you are signing up to our Hub.

Leaders and emerging leaders

Our network welcomes those who are Leaders of Practice, Room Leaders, or Setting Leaders, working in the Early Years to come together to extend your learning and share practice with like-minded individuals.

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Outdoor Play and Learning

This network provides an opportunity to come together with others, to explore how to support children's development in the outdoors and playful approaches to learning.

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CHILDMINDING

A half-termly virtual network meeting by Zoom. Hear about available opportunities from the Stronger Practice Hub, share challenges and celebrations with childminder colleagues and discuss your future needs.

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SEND

This network will bring together early years educators from across the sector to work supportively together, sharing the challenges and joys of working with children with SEND and their families.

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Communication and Regulation

'Face watching' expert Keena Cummins will bring together Early Years educators from across the sector who recognise the importance of improving the communication and language skills of the children we care for.

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Visitor Sessions

Our Visitor Sessions provide an opportunity for you to spend time at another setting where you will:

Meet with other early years educators, share ideas and be inspired by the environment and one another
Take a tour and find out more about the ways others work and how they use resources and spaces inside and outside
Ask questions and engage in professional discussions to develop your practice

Choose from a range of settings (Special School / Childminder / PVI / Nursery School / Academy School Foundation Stage) and a range of days and times - we hope we have provided something to suit everyone.

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Webinars

Our webinars are designed to provide an opportunity to explore a topic, highlighted through our needs analysis, in depth. Delivered by, or in partnership with, the St Edmunds Stronger Practice Hub team, these sessions will include space to discuss and reflect on learning throughout. They will be available to re-watch, share at staff meetings, and we encourage you to use the opportunities given during the recording to pause and reflect with your team.

Upcoming Webinars

Sept 11

‘When their storm meets our calm’ – self-regulation and co-regulation

11 Sept 2024, 16:00 – 17:00

This webinar will explore what is meant by the terms ‘co-regulation’ and ‘self-regulation’. It will provide an insight into how we can unravel what might be the underlying reasons for children’s dysregulated behaviour and how we can identify and meet unmet needs.

We will consider the extensive work on self-regulation by Dr Stuart Shanker from the Mehrit Centre, Ontario, Canada. This will include the 5 Domains of self-regulation and how his 5 Step approach can help us to respond to children’s dysregulation and support them to be ‘Calm, alert and ready to learn’.

Sept 17

Making the Ordinary Extraordinary - Learning Together With Everyday Materials

17 Sept 2024, 19:00 – 20:00

With Debi Keyte-Hartland: Early Education Associate Consultant

This webinar will explore how simple resources and materials can be used in childminding contexts with mixed age groups to stimulate playful, joyful opportunities that are rich in learning. Debi’s background in the arts and creativity will enable you to look at simple, everyday materials such as torches and lamps, magazines, paper and card to consider ways of exploring these together with the ideas and curiosities that children might bring to them. With special consideration given to small spaces, mixed age groups and low budget sustainable materials this will be a session full of practical ideas supported by connections to how children learn and develop across the EYFS areas of learning (educational programmes).

Who is it for?

Childminders of all levels of experience

Sept 24

Being an Outdoor Champion with Kathryn Solly

24 Sept 2024, 19:00 – 20:00

This webinar will explore aspects of leadership outdoors. It is primarily aimed at those who are keen to develop their outdoor area rural or urban, however large or small, be they a childminder, or a staff member in a nursery or a school. Research shows that leadership is a key factor in improving outcomes, so we need to reflect on its possibilities for our settings
outside.

The focus will be the following:
- Seeing yourself as a champion with a clear focus on what matters and makes a difference outdoors tin terms of high- quality play and learning.
- Considering how you can support and extend curriculum opportunities by starting with children’s individual interests,
risk and challenge.
- Ways to enhance wellbeing and holistic development through experiences and local connections outside.

The session will be illustrated with lots of photographic examples to give you ideas to enhance your environment.

PAST WEBINAR RECORDINGS

THINKING TOGETHER WITH CHILDREN AND NATURE

This webinar will explore the role of the educator in generating contexts for thinking together with children and nature in whatever outdoor space you may have. Whether you are in a rural setting or an inner city urban shared space, nature is present under our noses and beneath our feet! Debi will explore with you 3 key areas to facilitate your thinking, and your children’s thinking in 3 areas: - How learning happens in outdoor environments with a particular emphasis on the Characteristic of Effective Learning ‘Creating and Critical Thinking’. - How children build their ecological identity through relating with nature (8 characteristics of learning with nature). - How educators can develop pedagogy and thinking together with children and nature through exploration of 6 touchstone criteria for ‘rewilding’ your pedagogy. Alongside the above, Debi will share case studies from practice to inspire and enable you to think differently about your teaching, curriculum and the impact on children’s learning in your outside spaces and those you may visit.

INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP WITH JACQUI LEWIS

Inclusive Leadership is about creating an environment where everyone matters, where allyship, not privilege resides! It is both a challenging and exciting time to be a leader in early childhood education. Inclusive Leadership is about creating an environment where everyone matters, where allyship, not privilege resides. Where children and staff from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge, can come together and feel seen, knowing that every voice is afforded the agency and autonomy to achieve a sense of belonging and psychological safety. Inclusive leaders are aware of their own biases and actively seek out collaboration to consider different perspectives to inform decision-making.

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Upcoming Events

Aug 19

White Stork Nursery Visitor Session

19 Aug 2024, 10:30 – 12:30

Experience an open plan environment for children 0 to 5 years old. With a focus on how babies are included and integrated into the open plan setting. Learn the impact of open plan environments and free flow to the outdoors for all ages. Understand how inclusivity works with open plan settings for children with SEND. Meet staff with experience in the nursery who will share their stories of working in the open plan.

Aug 19

White Stork Nursery Visitor Session

19 Aug 2024, 14:30 – 16:30

Aug 19

White Stork Nursery Visitor Session

19 Aug 2024, 18:30 – 20:30

VIEW ALL EVENTS

VIEW CALENDAR

Evidence Informed Professional Development Programmes

Talking Time

Talking Time is a universal oral language programme for children aged 3-5 years, which includes evidence-based professional development for nursery staff.

Outdoors Thinking

Outdoors Thinking is an evidence-informed approach supporting young children in any EYFS setting to thrive through making the most of the potential of the outdoors.

View more Evidence Informed Professional Development Programmes

sph@stedmundsbradford.org.uk

01274 494898

Early Years Stronger Practice Hub, St Edmunds Nursery School and Children’s Centre, Washington St, Bradford, BD8 9QW

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