Early Excellence - News Winter/Spring 2010

The Power of Imaginative Play – Our New Mail Order Service 3-7yrs

In February we launched our new mail order service, which supports schools and settings in extending the quality of their provision for imaginative play. The new brochure features:



		an extensive, high-quality range of small world;

		a unique collection of wooden and natural materials for use as scenery and props;

		a stimulating collection of postcards, story books, pens, pencils and pads to engage children in representing their ideas and exploring literate experiences.

All the resources are presented in small collections to enable you to select exactly what you need to enhance your current provision.

To receive a copy of our new brochure please phone our centre on:
01422 311314, or click below where a copy can be down loaded as a pdf.

Further information can be found in the RESOURCES BY POST section of our website.

Our Summer Term Training Programmes

We continue to provide a specialist range of high-level courses to support the review and development of quality practice birth to 7yrs, including:

	Early Years Foundation Stage (Birth to 5 yrs): This programme provides courses that reflect the full age range of the EYFS and includes courses for advisory staff, senior managers, co-ordinators and practitioners. The summer programme presents many of our core courses and lots of new courses which are clearly marked.

	Transition to Key Stage One: This programme continues to offer courses that support schools in developing more creative approaches to teaching in Key Stage One. It presents many of our core courses and introduces a new course for Heads and Deputies that examines the new primary curriculum and its links to the EYFS.

The new programmes will be updated in the TRAINING section of the website. Alternatively, if you prefer to receive a copy by post, please phone our centre on 01422 311314.

Book Now ... Our Annual Conference
Thursday 17th June or Friday 18th June 2010

Following the success of previous events, we are delighted to be holding our seventh annual conference, which this year is focused on ‘Looking Closely at Children's Playful Learning’.

Drawing on both national and international research, theory and practice the conference will consider the central role of play in the development of young children’s thinking, relationships and understanding of their world. It will share the research that underpins curriculum developments in England and Denmark and examine examples of playful learning in practice.

If you are keen to join us for this event, please ensure you book as soon as possible, as both dates are already half full.

To receive details of the conference please phone our centre on 01422 311314 or you can download the flyer and booking form by clicking below...

Places Available ... Our Spring Term Saturday Forums

There are still places available on our Saturday Forums, which offer an affordable way for staff to attend training together in our centre.
The forums this term are as follows:

	Developing an Environment for Play and Exploration - A Focus on Babies and Young Children’s Thinking in Action ...Led by Pat Brunton & Linda Thornton

	Creating a Rich Environment - A Focus on Mathematical Thinking Outdoors ...Led by Jan White

Making a Difference - Supporting Local Authority Initiatives

Over the last ten years we have developed close partnerships with local authorities, sharing a deep commitment to working together to ensure children’s interests and motivation are at the heart of quality improvement processes.

At this time of year particularly, we are asked to support local authority initiatives by providing ‘bespoke’ resources that underpin quality improvement projects including collections of:

	Treasure Baskets

	Sensory Collections

	Story Baskets

	Going Home Bags

	Outdoor Play Boxes

	Two Year Old Collections

	Stimulus for 'Letters and Sounds'

To celebrate this work and share it more widely, we have produced a small brochure entitled ‘Making a Difference’. The brochure presents case studies that illustrate the range of projects we are involved in and the diversity of our resources.

To receive our Making Difference Brochure please contact our centre on 01422 311314 or click below, which will take you through to a micro site of the brochure...

Resource Centre Developments

This term we have introduced lots of new books and some great new resources for both indoor and outdoor play. The latest additions include:

	Books and resources to support children’s interest in Winter

	A range of pads, pens and pencils with animal themes to stimulate children’s interest in literacy

More information about our resources can be found in the RESOURCE CENTRE section of our website and if you would like to arrange a visit please phone on 01422 311314.

Easter Closure

Our centre will be closed for one week over Easter from 5.30pm on Thursday 1st April, re-open on Monday 12 April 2010.