For more information, please contact Jon Shipley on
+44 (0)7920 503860
jon_shipley@mcgraw-hill.com

This comprehensive resource pack supports practitioners in understanding what it means to listen and respond to what young children have to say. The resource pack:

Promotes children’s participation in decision-making and problem solving
Enables practitioners to develop and offer young children real opportunities to communicate their experiences, views, concerns and aspirations
Explains how listening and responding to young children can improve practices and services

It is designed for anyone who works with young children and can be used in nurseries, child-minding settings, schools, parent and toddler groups and Sure Start initiatives.

This training resource pack supports practitioners working with children from birth to three years in developing high quality provision and practice, in order to meet the needs of our youngest children more effectively. The pack:

Explains the key characteristics of children from birth to three in an accessible way
Enables practitioners to ground their practice in what is important to babies and toddlers
Encourages practitioners to reflect on and review the quality of their provision and extend their knowledge
Affirms and builds on practitioners' existing knowledge

Developed in partnership with skilled practitioners, the pack covers key aspects of research and theory and includes examples of good practice and observations of children from birth to three. The video illustrates instances of good practice and provides material for practitioners to analyse and discuss as a precursor to evaluating their own settings.

Key Times is an essential resource for anyone working with, or training others to work with, children from birth to three.

Playing to Learn exemplifies what babies' and young children's play and learning is like in the first three years. A DVD, case studies and examples support parents and practitioners, working in a wide range of settings, to learn more about the conditions and contexts for play and learning.

Developed as the result of a project undertaken in five early years centres in the UK, focusing on high quality experiences for children from birth to three, the resource materials are highly relevant for training and professional development, addressing significant issues relating to childcare practice.

The underlying message is that when children play they also learn, and the authors explore this in further detail by examining the following questions:

How can we gain a better understanding of young children's learning and development?
How are play and learning connected for young children?
What kinds of provision and interactions do babies and young children need?

The DVD and accompanying book are organised in such a way that it can be studied by individuals or groups led by a trainer. The sequences involved reflect everyday experiences and interactions between children and their parents or practitioners, and additional support is provided by the inclusion of selected readings, questions and challenges for consideration. The importance of observing children in order to identify and respond to their interests is emphasised throughout.

Playing to Learn is an essential resource for practitioners working with babies and toddlers in out-of-home settings; and is useful and informative for parents of young children.

The basis of this video and book pack - StEPs - is a belief in the rights of the young child to appropriate opportunities to be children and to learn in playful and meaningful ways. It is also predicated upon a view that practitioners working with young children have equal rights to teach using playful strategies.

Children and adults are responsible for making the most of the playful learning and teaching opportunities provided in quality early childhood settings and to ensure that the curriculum - statutory or recommended - is implemented efficiently and effectively. The view taken throughout is that there is no conflict between being accountable to parents, politicians or providers for children's learning and offering play experiences as the basis for that learning.

StEPs offers endless opportunities for development of quality learning experiences for children and for articulation, explanation and advocacy of quality practice by practitioners to parents, inspectors and those who evaluate settings.