No child left behind essay collection
There is by now a wealth of research on the critical importance of early intervention, particularly for those children and families most in need of support. We know that ensuring equal access to quality, affordable early education, care and support is key to tackling inequality at the earliest possibility opportunity.
So at a time when there is so much political focus on breaking down barriers to opportunity, how do we build and sustain an early years sector where all children are given the best possible start in life?
In this wide-ranging essay collection compiled and published by the Early Years Alliance, key early years experts – including Nobel-Prize winning academic James Heckman and Dame Cathy Nutbrown – reflect on the current sector challenges and outline their long-term vision of a system underpinned by fairness and equality.
From supporting children with SEND to embedding anti-racist practice in settings, family support to digital literacy, this diverse and ambitious collection brings together some of the best and brightest minds in the early years, and provides a positive and inspiring vision of a sector where no child is left behind.
Featuring:
- What needs to change in England's early years sector for all children to get the best possible start in life? – Abby Jitendra, Principal Policy Adviser at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Play as a focal point for effective early childhood education – Andreas Rasch-Christensen Ph.D, Director of Research at VIA University College, Denmark
- Making sure every child with SEND gets their early years place – Catherine McLeod MBE, CEO, Dingley’s Promise
- England’s early years workforce: what is broken can be mended – Dame Cathy Nutbrown, Professor Emeritus, The University of Sheffield; Honorary President, Early Education
- Growing up digital: why early years media literacy matters – Cliff Manning, Research and Development Director, Parent Zone
- The power of evidence-based parenting support: unlocking better outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged children – Donna Molloy OBE, Deputy Chief Executive, Foundations
- Investing in early childhood: lessons from lifelong evidence – James J. Heckman, Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, and director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development, University of Chicago; and Alison Baulos, Executive Director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development, University of Chicago
- Reflections on anti-racism in the early years – Liz Pemberton, Anti-racism Trainer and Consultant
- Home is where we start from – Professor Peter Hurley, Director, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University, Australia
- Mathematics: those who start behind, stay behind, but the early years can make a difference – Sue Gifford, Chair of the Early Childhood Maths Group and Emeritus Fellow at the University of Roehampton
- Adverse childhood experiences: it has never been more important to prioritise children’s mental health – Dr Trudi Seneviratne OBE, Registrar of the Royal College of Psychiatrists