Did you miss our recent Early Years Network seminars?
If the answer to this is yes then we are pleased to let you know that we have just added the recording of two of our Early Years network seminars from 2021 to our site. You can view both below or on our SERA YouTube page:
Seminar 1: Racism and wellbeing in the early years
Wednesday 24th February 2021
This presentation will consider how the impact of living through the pandemic of COVID-19 and racism has affected the emotional wellbeing of children, families and practitioners in minoritised groups. We will explore how the culture of our EY spaces enable and foster an anti-racist approach particularly during this time with regards to interactions, language and resources.
SPEAKERS: Jamel C. Campbell and Liz Pemberton
Seminar 2: Children are not like cakes: disentangling “school readiness” from research and practice in Scottish education
Tuesday 14th September 2021
“School readiness” is a concept on many minds as we move out of the pandemic, whether it be parents worried about whether their child will cope with school or politicians debating the need and scope for “catching up” in education. In Scotland, the national practice guidance on early years, Realising the Ambition, encourages a move away from thinking of the transition to school in terms of readiness. We will propose a way of understanding school readiness and its influences using actor network theory to explore what school readiness offers the education system, and what it demands in return. This makes the simple solutions, such as simply not talking about readiness, or raising the school starting age, more problematic and less attractive. We will then invite reflection on the question, “what does school readiness mean for me as a child, a parent, a practitioner or a researcher?” to highlight tensions between research and practice to indicate a way forward for both.
SPEAKERS: Dr Marion Burns and James McTaggart