Education & Gender

There is a very important issue of gender balance among ECEC staff. Almost all of them are women. This has been a matter of concern for a long time [ … ] There is a pressing need to make a career in the ECEC sector more attractive to men in all EU countries. (EC 2011, 7)

If you are studying the topic of gender in education, you might be interested in the latest publication of the 'European Early Childhood Education Research Journal'; this special issue explores the debate on men in early child education today from a gender perspective. The contents can be viewed here and the fulltext articles can be found via USearch.

While you were away....

Over the summer, there have been a number of changes in the early years and childcare arena - here goes!

Back in June, The government introduced the Childcare Bill to bring in 30 hours of free childcare for employed families of 3 and 4 year olds. Plans are being drawn up to introduce the changes for some families a year earlier than planned, with pilots in some areas offering 30 hours worth of free places from September 2016. The DfE has announced a call for early implementers to pilot the scheme; organisations who would like to register their interest can do so by emailing the DfE here by Monday 28th September.

The new Common Inspection Framework came into effect on the 1st of September. Ofsted has published the first edition of the Early Years Inspection Update newsletter which provides key messages, relevant publications and updates to inspection documentation.

A new report from the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) study has been published which highlights the key factors distinguishing the quality of care provided by childminders.

Ofsted has published its annual report for the early years. Accompanying the report is a detailed survey exploring teaching and play in the early years which includes links to videos of good practice and detailed exemplification. Also by Ofsted are published statistics on childcare inspections and outcomes covering childcare in England. 

A very warm welcome to all!

I'm Manjeet Dhillon, the Subject Librarian for Education and Community subjects. 
My role is to direct you to an appropriate range of resources for your course work - gain invaluable research skills to help improve your grades!

Come and see me at Summer Row Library or email me your query.