30-Mar-2020

Despite currently being unable to host in-person meetings and events at our office and training base in Birmingham, CREC remains open, operational and fully committed to enabling a robust learning and teaching environment for our current and prospective students, trainee teachers, tutors, and wider early years community.

Scalchemy Training and Development are working in partnership with CREC to offer more settings the opportunity to undertake the Effective Early Learning (EEL) and/or Baby Effective Early Learning (BEEL) Programme to assist in improving the quality of early years and childcare settings.

10-Feb-2020

You may have seen that the Department for Education (DfE) has released a call for evidence consultation on Music Education to inform their planned refresh of the National Plan for Music Education (NPME).

What you may not know, is that the current NPME only includes children aged 5-18.

In a recent fascinating email dialogue with Julie Fisher, she asked us to clarify what we meant by the term ‘Hybrid Pedagogy’, which we refer to in our recent literature review ‘Getting it Right in the Early Years Foundation Stage: a Review of the Evidence’ .

29-Nov-2019

We are joining 140+ organisations in a call to all political parties to put children and young people at the heart of this General Election

Making and thinking with materials: how can you foster creativity and critical thinking with 0 - 5 year olds though art experiences to ensure progression? How can you link exploration of materials to the Ofsted framework and plan to develop culture capital for our youngest citizens?

Following discussion at recent CREC Board of Trustees meetings, the Trustees would like to share with you this paper which highlights the current challenges and workforce issues impacting on the EY sector.

Birmingham Forward Steps and a group of consortium partners has been awarded £149, 000 by Youth Music Charity to support music in the Early Years. Over the next two years (2019-2021) the project, called Sounds of Play, aims to improve music provision for birth to 5-year olds and their families.

Debi Keyte-Hartland, joint lead tutor of our Creativity and the Arts in Early Childhood MA pathway, explores our understanding of creativity in the early years and how we, as practitioners, can effect change in ways that will nurture the creativity of young children.

If you are thinking about kick-starting an exciting new career in teaching then we have just the event for you!

Pete Sturgess, lead tutor of our Physical Activity in Early Childhood MA Pathway, looks at why positive early childhood experiences of physical activity, sport and exercise are so important.

For the fourth year running, the Birmingham Nursery Schools TSA, working in conjunction with the Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC), is offering a fully-funded* leadership development programme for ambitious teachers who wish to develop their leadership skills and confidence in order to gain promotion. This course is open to all teachers working in Nursery or Primary Schools in the Birmingham area.

We're delighted to announce that we're working with the Scouts to help them explore their early years provision. We'll be helping them research, pilot, and evaluate different models of reaching young children under the age of 6.

In partnership with Birmingham’s 27 Maintained Nursery Schools, we have produced an in-depth report which captures the range of additional activities and vital services the Maintained Nursery Schools in our city offer to children and families, above and beyond the levels of funding that they receive.

Join one of our part-time postgraduate courses to enhance your career prospects and improve outcomes for children. With only 5-7 face-to-face days where attendance is required, our modules can be fitted around a busy, full-time working life or built into your formal CPD plan.

As many of you return to work this week after the Christmas break, CREC directors, Dr Chris Pascal and Dr Tony Bertram, share their New Year's message for the CREC family...

NYMAZ have launched a new bursary for their Early Years Music Network members who wish to undertake our Level 4 Certificate for Music Educators (CME): Early Childhood!

The Birmingham Branch of Early Education will be hosting a free event at CREC next week to discuss the Bold Beginnings document.

Many of you will be all too aware of the loss of children’s centres across the country and the severe financial constraints faced by those that continue to operate, starkly highlighted in recent research published by The Sutton Trust.