Category Archives: Children

Wagging the Dog

Posted on January 8, 2020 by suecowley

In 1992, the same year that I started my teaching degree, a new organisation was established to inspect standards in education. The national inspectorate known as Ofsted replaced the previous system of inspections, which were carried out by HMIs within … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Bold Beginnings, Children, EYFS, Ofsted | 2 Comments

Growing Weather

Posted on February 23, 2019 by suecowley

You have to time it right, sowing. Start too early and your seedlings will become leggy and soft as they wait to be planted out. Sow seeds outdoors in cold sodden soil, and you might as well throw them in … Continue reading →

Posted in Behaviour, Children, Learning | Leave a comment

In Partnership

Posted on December 2, 2018 by suecowley

One of the key elements of being in EYFS is that we work in partnership with our parents and families. This phase is about the care, learning and development of the children who attend our settings. Small children have many … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, EYFS | Leave a comment

Navigate the World

Posted on October 25, 2018 by suecowley

It’s muddy in the forest So we have to wear our boots. That’s the way you do it! First right foot and then left foot. The forecast is for rain So we’ll wear coveralls for luck. And pack up our … Continue reading →

Posted in Behaviour, Children, Early Years, Poetry, Self Regulation | Leave a comment

Life in the Sandpit

Posted on January 17, 2018 by suecowley

If you spend any length of time working in the early years sector, you start to get the feeling that you are not seen to be quite as intellectual or rational as those working in other phases. This doesn’t come … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseline, Bold Beginnings, Children, EYFS, Play | 10 Comments

Tread Softly

Posted on January 13, 2018 by suecowley

But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. W. B. Yeats In the summer of 2016, we were staying at the children’s grandparents’ house … Continue reading →

Posted in Behaviour, Children, Writing | Leave a comment

Boycott Baseline

Posted on November 24, 2017 by suecowley

There has to be a baseline test Your school must outdo all the rest No matter that they’re only four No time to waste, we must do more. There has to be a baseline test For only some can be … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseline, Children, Testing | 1 Comment

Complicit

Posted on October 18, 2017 by suecowley

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good (wo)men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke Erm, so what's the thinking behind this? Anyone seen this before @MaryMyatt @nancygedge ?? pic.twitter.com/Ucxf8I9Aqv — Cath Murray (@CathMurray_) October 17, 2017 … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Mental Health, Testing | 3 Comments

A Tale of Two Cities

Posted on September 28, 2017 by suecowley

Once upon a time there were two cities, which sat on either side of a wide river plain, with a yellow river running like a cross of gold between them. The city on the south side of the river was … Continue reading →

Posted in Behaviour, Children | Leave a comment

Special

Posted on February 23, 2017 by suecowley

Jaz had always found learning easy. She had a sneaking suspicion that she was special. Her parents had always told her so. They told her brother the same thing too, but he was special in a different way. He was … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, SEND | 5 Comments