Acorn Early Years Training, the specialist early years division of CJ Associates, runs courses on:
* Achieving the Early Learning Goals through play. This course is for all Foundation Stage practitioners and explores how the different areas of play can facilitate learning in each goal.
* Introduction to child development. This course is for practitioners new or returning to childcare.
* Using the outdoors. This course for all childcare and Foundation Stage practitioners explores how to use outdoor areas to stimulate development and as a leaning tool.
* Playwork training. This is a new series of day courses for people wanting to expand their knowledge and skills on topics such as 'But I'm not arty', 'Crafty play', 'Games and more games' and 'Drama'.
* There is also a 12-hour course, 'Making choices' and a ten-hour course, 'Take Five for play', as well as the CACHE Level 2 certificate in playwork.
Acorn also runs half-, one- and two-day staff development courses that encompass curriculum issues. These include:
* An introduction to early years.
* An introduction to the Early Learning Goals.
* How children think and behave.
* Active learning in the Foundation Stage.
* Making the Early Learning Goals work. This is a half-day course on Knowledge and understanding of the world, Creative development, Personal, social and emotional development, Mathematical development, and Physical development.
* Teaching French to young learners.
Beam Education provides one-day mathematics education training courses across the Foundation Stage on:
* Mathematics in the Foundation Stage, in London on 20 January.
* Managing differentiation within the daily mathematics lesson at Key Stages 1 and 2, in Leeds on 3 February and London on 10 June.
* Mathematics outdoors, in London on 11 March.
* Mathematics in reception, in Leeds on 16 March.
Beam also runs a number of Key Stage 1 courses on:
* Mathematics for low-attaining children, in London on 12 March.
* Teaching and learning mathematics across the curriculum at Key Stage 1, in London on 24 March.
* Raising achievement, in Leeds on 24 March.
* Mathematics for able children, in London on 25 May and Leeds on 9 June.
* Using imagery to support mental mathematics, in London on 17 June.
BEAM has a team of 40 mathematics consultants. In addition to courses, the consultants plan and deliver in-service training for early years settings and Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships (EYDCPs). The format of the training is flexible, with all-day, half-day and evening sessions, as well as longer-term support at a venue and time convenient to participants.
Bright Horizons Family Solutions Support Services is offering a number of different training courses throughout 2004 including:
* Developing children's speaking and listening skills in the Foundation Stage.
* Developing mathematical skills in the Foundation Stage.
* Developing children's knowledge and understanding of the world.
* Developing children's physical and creative skills.
* Action songs and games.
Children in Scotland is holding a series of events on topics including:
* Lantern making, on 9 February.
* Music in the early years, on 27 February and 12 March.
* Introduction to play therapy. This two-and-a-half day course is on 27 February and 10 May.
* Spring crafts and stories on 4 March.
* Positive behaviour in the early years, on 9 March, 11 May and 8 June.
* Valuing diversity in the early years, on 30 March and 20 May.
* Trash music, on 26 March.
* Creative play with young children, on 3 April.
* Therapeutic play with children with disabilities, on 22 April.
* Handmade paper techniques, on 19 May.
* Mosaic approach to listening to young children, on 10 June.
Crechendo Training runs courses in London on:
* Curriculum planning workshop. This workshop gives relevant and achievable guideline for nursery settings, as well as a holistic approach to planning a developmentally-appropriate curriculum.
* Effective communication and assertiveness workshop. This interactive workshop looks at all the different forms of communication and their effect on interpersonal relationships.
* Early Learning Goals workshop. This one-day course examines the six areas of the Early Learning Goals. The transition from the Desirable Learning Outcomes is explored, and the teaching guidelines made clear.
* Early maths workshop. This practical workshop incorporates designing a maths game for the nursery and ideas to make maths fun for children.
* Knowledge and understanding of the world. This course helps staff to resource and organise the environment to support child-initiated learning.
* Language and literacy workshop. This stimulating and fun workshop explores how children develop their language and literacy skills, and suggests active and imaginative ways to develop these skills without using too many worksheets.
* Observation and assessment workshop. This course will help practitioners explore how observations and assessment help staff in their work.
Early Education is holding a series of events on topics including:
* The Great Outdoors, on 7 February and 24 April.
* Tuning into your child's thinking, on 10 February.
* A Sure Start experience, on 3 February.
* Emotional well-being, on 10 February.
* Resolving conflict through storytelling, on 12 February.
* A closer look at the outdoor space, on 25 February.
* Developing outdoor play, on 26 February.
* Literacy in the Foundation Stage, on 26 February.
* Developing a creative approach to early years science, on 3 March.
* The freedom of outdoor low cost art, on 25 March.
* Eco schools/Healthy schools, on 11 May.
* Listening to children, on 22 May.
High Scope UK and High Scope Ireland run courses on:
* A one-day introductory course that gives an overview of the High Scope approach and introduces its guiding principles.
* A two-day introductory course that provides an overview of the High Scope approach. Issues covered include active learning, the learning environment, the daily routine and partnership with parents.
* A pre-school curriculum implementation course for people working with children aged between two and six, whether in social services, education, private, community or voluntary settings who wish to use the High Scope approach. It is delivered over a 10-month period to enable participants to introduce the approach gradually into their settings.
* A curriculum implementation course for people working with babies and toddlers.
* Education through movement. This is a series of one-day workshops covering the development of music and movement with children.
* Conflict resolution workshop. This two-day course covers recognising conflict situations and teaching pre-school children important social skills.
* Cluster group training sessions. This is a chance to further extend knowledge and understanding of the High Scope approach.
* Trainer of trainers course. This is an intensive, in-service one-year course for experienced practitioners with a recognised qualification in early childhood care and education or a related professional discipline. It comprises seven weeks of participatory workshops delivered over nine months plus a comprehensive range of assignments.
The Institute of Education runs a number of courses in London for early years staff. They include:
* Science in the Foundation Stage, on 22 January. This course looks at how to encourage young children to work in a scientific way. The emphasis will be on the processes of science that can be applied to any activities.
* The teaching and learning of literacy in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, on 28 January, 4 and 11 February, 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 March. By the end of the course early years teachers will understand the literacy process, be able to monitor the child's developing literacy competence in all its complexity, be able to decide which records of assessment are most usefully kept at child, class and school levels, and design appropriate literacy experiences for their pupils, based on individual assessments.
* Storytelling in the early years, on 29 January. This day course for teachers, classroom assistants and nursery nurses focuses on the art, techniques and educational value of storytelling with young children.
* Developing an observation-based approach to assessment and curriculum planning in the Foundation Stage, on 3 February and 7 May. This day course is for reception teachers who wish to develop their approach to assessment following the introduction of the Foundation Stage profile.
* Teaching in the Foundation Stage, on 3, 10 and 24 February, and 2 March.
This course is for teachers working in the Foundation Stage, but who are either not trained for this age group, or need time to reflect on and refresh their practice. It is also suitable for teachers planning to move to the nursery or reception class.
* Learning through block-play, on 5 February. This day course focuses on promoting learning and thinking in children in the Foundation Stage through the use of blocks to develop mathematical awareness and problem-solving skills.
* Developing a Foundation Stage unit, on 5 February and 20 May. This day course gives participants the chance to explore the reasons for integrating nursery and reception provision, and consider a variety of models.
* Planning and learning through role play, on 11 February. This day course for Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 staff gives participants the chance to consider how young children learn and why high-quality role play is an essential form of early years provision.
* Music in the early years, on 10 March. This day course for Foundation Stage staff who are not confident in music making with young children will give them opportunities to become more confident in singing and using instruments with young children.
* Maths in the early years, on 29 March. This day course will offer early years practitioners support in developing appropriate activities and resources to enhance young children's mathematical learning by considering how they develop mathematical understanding, skills and language.
* Personal, social and emotional education in early years, on 31 March.
* Outdoor play in the early years, on 1 April. This course looks at why outdoor play is so important for children's all-round development.
* Communication, language and literacy in the early years, on 27 April.
* Developing an observation-based approach to assessment and curriculum planning in the Foundation Stage, on 7 May.
* Developing the Foundation Stage curriculum through play, on 14 June. This course considers the role of play in learning (with reference to guidance from QCA) and how to plan to enable children to gain access to Foundation Stage curriculum through play.
Learning Curve was set up in 2000 by a group of local colleges in Lancashire that were keen to make good quality distance learning material more widely available. It is now run as a separate education provider. A range of specialist distance learning courses are offered, each of which has been written and developed by subject experts. Courses offered are:
* Childcare and education Level 2. This Level 2 certificate course introduces students to key aspects of childcare and education, providing all the necessary underpinning theoretical knowledge for NVQ in Early Years Care and Education.
* Childcare and education Level 3. This course is for those who have completed an introductory level in this area or have substantial practical experience. It provides the necessary underpinning knowledge for the NVQ Level 3 in Early Years Care and Education.
Montessori Centre International offers full-time and part-time early childhood training for both teachers and postgraduates. In addition the centre offers distance learning courses so students can work from home. The distance learning topics include:
* Early childhood teaching, which includes Child development, Observation and assessment, Contemporary issues, Health, Nutrition, Safety and First Aid, Exercises of practical life, Sensorial education, Literacy skills, Mathematics, Cultural subjects, and the Creative curriculum.
* Infant toddler, which includes Child development, Language acquisition, Child care and health, Developmental activities for infants and toddlers, The child in society, and School administration.
The National Centre for Language and Literacy at the University of Reading, is holding courses and events in Reading, Berkshire on:
* Connecting with creativity, on 20 January.
* Let's investigate non-fiction texts for children, on 2 February.
* Drama, ICT and children's literature, on 4 February.
* Effective Library: Effective Learning, on 10 March. During this one-day course you can expect to gain extra strategies for supporting information literacy and new ideas for promoting reading skills and enjoyment.
* Story sacks workshop, on 17 May. This session is highly recommended for anyone who works with young readers, especially teachers, class assistants and librarians.
* Dramatising stories for children, on 25 May.
* The creativity connection in language and literacy, on 16 June.
The Early Childhood Unit of the National Children's Bureau has taken over the National Early Years Network's training programme of high-quality courses specifically for the early years sector. They include:
* The Foundation Stage curriculum.
* Language development and communication.
* Outdoor play in the early years.
The National Day Nurseries Association runs courses on:
* Planning a developmental play-based curriculum for children fromn birth to two.
* Planning a developmental play-based curriculum for three- to five-year-olds.
* Creating a learning environment for children from birth to two.
* Creating a learning environment for three- to five-year-olds.
NIPPA: The Early Years Organisation, runs courses in Northern Ireland on:
* An introductory 20-hour course in play and care for young children.
* Promoting children's learning through adult and child interaction. A six-hour course to enhance early years' workers interaction with children.
* Observation and recording tools. This course is particularly suitable for early years professionals working with children aged three to five. It is also a preliminary to the NIPPA curriculum planning and evaluation course.
* Curriculum planning and evaluation. This course covers the development of short-, medium- and long-term plans, the use of observation notes to inform planning, and how resources can be collected and utilised to support children's learning.
* Developing children's creativity: Art and design. This 15-hour course combines practical ideas with knowledge of art principles.
* Practical workshops in developing the curriculum. A series of workshops lasting a total of 15 hours covering knowledge and appreciation of the environment, science and technology, early maths, physical play, outdoor play environments and compiling play props and resources.
The Pre-School Learning Alliance runs courses and workshops on:
* Kick off: Working with Early Learning Goals. This course is most appropriate for people new to nursery education, funding and inspection.
* Storysacks. This workshop will give practical information on how to make storysacks.
* Building strong foundations. These 12 six-hour workshops are designed to enable early years practitioners to achieve successful outcomes in the delivery of Foundation Stage education.
The Riverside Early Years Training Centre has courses on:
* Working towards the Early Learning Goals. This four-day course aims to familiarise staff with the planning and delivery of the Foundation Stage curriculum.
* Developing a creative learning environment. This half-day course is an opportunity to rethink the learning space in the light of children's needs and entitlements in the Foundation Stage, with practical ideas on minimising the indoor and outdoor learning environments.
* Co-operative games workshop. This half-day practical workshop looks at how co-operative games develop children's emotional well-being and social skills.
* Numeracy in nursery. This half-day course looks at a variety of contexts for mathematics.
* Children's early speech and language development. This half-day or one-day course covers how children's language develops, how to identify problems, and strategies for promoting listening and attention skills.
* Making books. This half-day course looks at ways of enabling children to present their ideas and stories.
* How to screen and intervene. This half-day or one-day course looks at how to support communication development and developing skills in areas of identification and intervention of children who have speech and language delay.
* Effective reception class practice. This day course looks at current thinking from the Department for Education and Skills, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and Ofsted.
* Here's one I made earlier. This course is a chance for playworkers to experience a variety of creative crafts.
* English as an additional language.
The Scottish Independent Nurseries Association (SINA) runs courses on:
* A celebration of story.
* English in children from birth to three.
* Creating a positive environment: Guidance on how to plan the early years curriculum.
* Motivation for the future.
The Visual Learning Foundation runs courses in London on:
* Art in the Foundation Stage and at Key Stage 1. This two-day course for teachers, nursery nurses and early years staff shows the developmental stages of children's art making and how they learn through art.
* Planning and implementing a scheme of work for the national curriculum for art and design at Key Stages 1 and 2. This is a two-day course for co-ordinators of art and design at primary school, many of whom are also nursery teachers. It examines issues such as planning a unit of work, an introduction to assessing art and design, and examining the QCA scheme. The second day is practical.
The Wales Pre-school Playgroups Association runs courses on:
* What children learn in playgroup. This eight-part course is for parents and playgroup workers with little or no training.
* The CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Playgroup Practice, which provides underpinning knowledge and understanding for NVQs in childcare and education at Levels 2 and 3.
* Planning for learning. This 20-part course is for people who have completed the Diploma in Playgroup Practice or equivalent. It aims to improve practice in early years groups and to enable students to plan a developmentally appropriate curriculum. Topics include how children learn, observation and assessment, planning a short- medium- and long-term balanced curriculum, and taking account of the six areas of learning.
* Introduction to children's play. This course comprises 12 two-hour weekly sessions, and is aimed at new playgroup staff and parents. It looks at a range of aspects, including physical play, communicating with children, books and stories, food and cooking, music, songs and rhymes, child-centred creativity and imaginative play.
* Managing behaviour. This eight-part course aims to enable participants to work effectively with children in a playgroup setting and encourage positive behaviour. Topics include how rules, routines and the environment affect children's behaviour, children and choice, reward and punishment, managing unwanted behaviour, and promoting acceptable behaviour.
* Playing together. This six-part course aims to promote good practice in the integration and inclusion of children who have special needs in a pre-school setting. It explores the benefits of integrated play for all children, as well as giving advice and support for best practice in the setting.
