Early Years
These CPD activities are suggested for people working in, or with an interest in, early years settings or reception/foundation classes in primary schools.
Building early number sense
Number sense is important because it is the foundation of later number skills such as addition and subtraction (Way, 2011). This training aims to increase practitioners understanding of some of the basic principles of how children develop early number sense. It begins to consider how a practitioner may respond to the skills in number that children bring to their activities and provides links to further resources so that practitioners can develop their understanding further.
Play (Part 1): What is play?
The purpose of this CPD relating to play is to encourage practitioners to think more deeply about the definition of play and how it differs from - or is similar to – work, so that they can provide more targeted and appropriate play-based activities. The CPD is suitable for anyone working with - or wanting to work with - young children and/or anyone who simply has an interest in play. It has been separated into parts, you can undertake all parts in turn as they can build on each other, or you can just undertake the particular part that is of most interest to you. In part 1 of this CPD you will be introduced to play, what it is and how it might be defined.
Play (Part 2): Play and learning
The purpose of this CPD relating to play is to encourage practitioners to think more deeply about the definition of play and how it differs from - or is similar to – work, so that they can provide more targeted and appropriate play-based activities. The CPD is suitable for anyone working with - or wanting to work with - young children and/or anyone who simply has an interest in play. It has been separated into parts, you can undertake all parts in turn as they can build on each other, or you can just undertake the particular part that is of most interest to you. In part 1 of this CPD you were introduced to play, what it is and how it might be defined. In this section, part 2, you will be encouraged to explore how play may support children’s learning.
Play (Part 3): Limitations of play
The purpose of this CPD, part 3, is to continue to explore play in more depth and focus on potential limitations of play that you may encounter. This CPD is suitable for anyone working with or wanting to work with young children and/or anyone who simply has an interest in play. It has been separated into parts. You can undertake all of the parts in turn as they can build on each other, or you can just undertake the particular part that is of most interest to you.
Play (Part 4): Dark play
The purpose of this CPD, part 4, is to continue to explore play in more depth and focus on the more unique aspects of ‘dark’ or ‘cruel’ play. This CPD is suitable for anyone working with or wanting to work with young children and/or anyone who simply has an interest in play. It has been separated into parts. You can undertake all of the parts in turn as they can build on each other, or you can just undertake the particular part that is of most interest to you.
Reflective practice
Research shows that reflection is an important way of supporting effective practice in a number of settings including education and health. Most settings have some form of performance management which requires reflection i.e. strengths and areas for development. Also, most roles in education and health entail supporting others to reflect on their learning and their practice. This CPD task seeks to support practitioners by helping them to understand some key principles of effective reflection and how a model of reflection can be applied.
Why work together? The benefits and challenges of multi-agency/multi-disciplinary working
The 2004 Children’s Act identified the need for a wide range of professionals, organisations, schools and other agencies to work together to support children, especially those with multiple or complex needs. A knowledge and understanding of how this works in practice, and the ingredients that make it successful, are important for all professionals working with children and young people, regardless of whether they are directly involved with this kind of collaborative working.
This CPD will therefore introduce you to some of the key professionals and their roles, and to explore what makes this kind of collaborative working successful.