Art
NIPPA: The Early Years Organisation is offering a short course on:
* Art and design in the early years. This course is aimed at all those working in the early years sector in Northern Ireland.
Contact NIPPA 6c Wildflower Way, Apollo Road, Belfast BT12 6TA (028 9066 2825, fax 028 9038 12790, e-mail mail@nippa.org).
The Visual Learning Foundation is running one-and two-day courses on:
* Fans, screens and neon lights, on 27 June. This is a day course for teachers working at Key Stages 1 and 2 to coincide with the Japan 2001 Festival at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. The course introduces a unit of work aimed at enriching children's responses to nature and the changing seasons through exploring the art of the Japanese folding screen.
* Planning a scheme of work for the revised national curriculum for art and design and assessing art and design, on 8 and 15 October.
* Thrones for Kings and Queens and characters in stories, on 12 November. This is a day course in sculpture for teachers at Key Stage 1 and the Foundation Stage.
* Introducing Textiles Key Stages 1 and 2, on 26 November. This day course is for teachers, nursery nurses and early years assistants (nursery, reception, year 1 and 2). It is a mainly practical course which will work through the stages of a textile project.
Contact the Visual Learning Foundation, Robert Blair School, Brewery Road, London N7 9QJ (020 7609 7155 - also fax, e-mail admin@visuallearningfoundation.fsnet.co.uk,website www.visuallearningfoundation.fsnet.co.uk).
Curriculum
Crechendo Training is holding a workshop on:
* Early Learning Goals, on 3 July. The transition from the Desirable Learning Outcomes will be fully explored and teaching guidelines clearly outlined. Practical support for individual institutions can also be given.
Crechendo Training also holds a workshop on:
* Curriculum planning.
Contact Alice Lewes, Crechendo Training, 6 Grange Mills, Weir Road, London SW12 0NE (020 8772 8169, e-mail training@crechendo.com,website www.crechendo.co.uk).
The Institute of Education is holding courses on:
* Knowledge and understanding of the world: Technology in the early years, on 1, 8 and 15 November. Aimed at all staff working in nursery and early years classrooms, this course explores how technology designing and making forms a crucial part of a child-centred early years curriculum and is an exciting vehicle for learning.
* Developments in the Foundation Stage curriculum, on 5 November. This course is for qualified nursery nurses - not teachers - working in nursery and reception class settings. It will enable participants to familiarise themselves with the new requirements for the foundation stage and reflect on its implications for practice in their own setting.
* Planning for learning through role play, on 13 November. Suitable for Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 staff, this course will consider how young children learn and why high-quality role play is an essential form of early years provision. Participants will have the opportunity to observe and analyse children learning in role play areas.
Contact the CPD/INSET Office, Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H OAL (020 7612 6589, fax 020 7612 6600, e-mail CPD.INSET@ioe.ac.uk,website www.ioe.ac.uk).
The Montessori Centre International is holding a seminar on:
* Planning a prepared environment, on 30 June. This seminar will involve a detailed look at how best to equip and organise the prepared environment in the context of the Montessori approach. It will also look at the qualities required of a teacher to be a role model for the child.
Contact the Montessori Centre International, 18 Balderton Street, London W1K 6TG (020 7493 0165, fax 020 7629 7808, e-mail mci@montessori.ac.uk,website www.montessori.ac.uk).
The National Early Years Network runs a wide range of training courses in early learning, including the following areas:
* Working with children.
* The Foundation Stage.
* Promoting equality.
* Promoting citizenship.
* Working with parents and carers.
* Early years management.
* Ensuring quality of provision.
The Network's customised in-house training workshops relating to the early years curriculum include:
* Developing a quality curriculum for the Foundation Stage. This workshop for managers, nursery and reception class teachers focuses on developing a high-quality curriculum for children in a range of settings. Participants will have the opportunity to consider the Early Learning Goals in a quality curriculum for three-to five-year-olds.
* Creative development and the early years curriculum, for managers and early years workers to illustrate how creativity can permeate the whole curriculum.
* Movement and the early years curriculum: A new perspective. This workshop stresses the relevance of movement in the development of essential skills in three areas of young children's lives, physical, social and emotional, and cognitive.
* Encouraging language and literacy skills in the early years.
* Language development and communication skills.
* The art of storytelling: Developing communication and creative skills in young people.
* Muscles and minds: Outdoor play in the early years.
Contact the National Early Years Network, 77 Holloway Road, London N7 8JZ (020 7607 9573, fax 020 7700 1105, e-mail neyn.org@virgin.net).
The Pre-school Learning Alliance is introducing a new series of training courses in September. Areas to be covered include:
* Play and learning.
* Managing learning.
* Behaviour.
* Under-threes.
* Equal opportunities.
* Management.
* Health and safety.
The Alliance is also running:
* Kick-off: Working with Early Learning Goals. This course is designed for workers from pre-schools and playgroups who are new to funding or who want to develop their care and education provision.
Contact the Pre-School Learning Alliance, 69 Kings Cross Road, London WC1X 9LL (020 7833 0991, fax 020 7837 4942, e-mail pla@pre-school.org.uk,website www.pre-school.org.uk).
The Riverside Early Years Centre runs courses on:
* Providing a quality curriculum in the early years. This course for early years staff will promote the use of observation/ assessment to inform planning in meeting children's needs.
* English as a second language.
Contact the Riverside Centre, Minton Lane, North Shields, Tyne and Wear NE29 6DQ (0191 200 5200, fax 0191 200 5300, e-mail riverside.centre@northtyneside.gov.uk,website www.northtyneside.gov.uk/ riverside/index.html).
The Wales Pre-school Playgroups Association runs courses on:
* What children learn in playgroup. This eight-part course for playgroup workers with little or no training and parents covers language and literacy, personal and social development, mathematics, creativity, knowledge and understanding of the world.
* Diploma in Playgroup Practice provides underpinning knowledge and understanding for NVQs in childcare and education Levels 2 and 3.
* Planning for learning, for those who have completed the Diploma in Playgroup Practice or equivalent. The 20-part course 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 short-, medium-and long-term balanced curriculum, and taking account of the Early Learning Goals.
Contact the Wales Pre-school Playgroups Association, Ladywell House, Newtown, Powys SY16 1JB (01686 624573, fax 01686 624577, e-mail annea@wales ppa.org, website www.walesppa.co.uk).
Language and literacy
Crechendo Training is holding a workshop on:
* Language and literacy, on 19 July. It will explore how children develop their language and literacy skills.
Contact Alice Lewes, Crechendo Training, as above.
The Montessori Centre International is holding one-day seminars on:
* Supporting children with English as an additional language, on 23 June. This practical seminar for all early years practitioners will explore the introduction of English as an additional language in a Montessori setting. Participants will look at establishing children's vocabulary through practical life, and sensorial and creative activities.
* Drama in the nursery, on 14 July. This participatory seminar will explore the use of books to develop children's own drama abilities. Characters, settings and storylines will be used to help children develop their communication and co-operation skills, and their self-confidence. Participants should bring favourite books to the seminar.
* Grammar in the nursery, on 28 July. This seminar will introduce a range of activities to support the Montessori language curriculum. Those taking part will be encouraged to devise their own activities based on the needs of children.
Contact the Montessori Centre International, as above.
The National Early Years Network runs workshops on:
* Encouraging language and literacy skills in the early years. Designed for staff in early years settings, this workshop will consider a range of activities to foster the development of language and literacy skills and interpret early learning goals in an appropriate way.
* Language development and communication skills. This workshop will explore how children learn to communicate through language. It will discuss theory relating to language development, relate it to the experience of children and understand the mechanisms through which children receive remedial help for language delay.
* The art of storytelling: Developing communication and creative skills in young people. The workshop will show how storytelling can introduce the world to young children and analyse stories and their teaching potential for individuals and groups of children.
Contact the National Early Years Network, as above.
The Reading Language and Information Centre runs a range of day courses and workshops at the centre, which is at the University of Reading. These include:
* Dramatising stories for children with the Mirage children's theatre company, on 21 September. Aimed at primary teachers and school librarians, this interactive course provides practical ways to bring storytelling to life. It will show how imaginative and exciting storytelling is an excellent way to introduce young children to new ideas, cultures and languages.
* Open evening, on 26 September.
* Forays into phonics, on 3 October. This course offers a chance for primary teachers and classroom support staff to reconsider the different approaches to teaching phonics and to evaluate recent teaching resources.
* Celebrations!, on 8 October. This course is for anyone working with children from nursery up to Year 6. It explores ways of celebrating major religious festivals through writing, artwork and paper technology.
* Teachers' day in Children's Book Week, on 4 October. This focuses on children's literature and its place in teaching reading in the literacy hour and beyond.
* A Storysacks workshop, on 11 October. This workshop for teachers, class assistants and librarians will show how books can be brought to life.
* Multi-sensory teaching and learning, on 18 October. This course for teachers will consider sensory experience and neural networks, the stresses that inhibit learning and how language integrates body, mind and emotions.
* Keeping up with children's books, on 7 November. This course will give ideas for promoting books in schools.
* Let's talk about it, on 9 November. The course considers aspects of speaking and listening in the primary curriculum and how to organise circle time.
* Texts for teaching literacy, on 21 and 22 November. This two-day course aims to provide primary teachers with a clear rationale for the selection of resources, information on how to find them and the role of the school library.
Contact the Reading Language and Information Centre, University of Reading, Bulmershe Court, Earley, Reading RG6 1HY (0118 931 8820, fax 0118 931 6801, e-mail reading-centre@ reading.ac.uk, website www.ralic.reading.ac.uk).
Mathematics
BEAMathematician runs a day course on:
* Mathematics in the Foundation Stage, in nursery and reception classes. This course for nursery and reception teachers, early years practitioners and teaching assistants will explore practical ways of implementing the early learning goals in a numeracy-rich environment.
BEAM also runs training sessions for schools, nurseries and local education authorities throughout the country. These sessions are tailored to the needs of the school or nursery setting.
BEAM is holding two conferences on: l Reviewing the impact of the National Numeracy Strategy, on13 October in London and on 24 November in Leeds. These conferences will also offer a wide selection of workshops on aspects of mathematics teaching in primary schools.
Contact Graham Barker or Mark Allen, BEAM Education, Maze Workshops, 72a Southgate Road, London N1 3JT (020 7684 3324, fax 0207 684 3334, e-mail info@beam.co.uk,website www.beam.co.uk).
The Institute of Education is holding courses on:
* Mathematics in the early years, on 17 October. This day course is for nursery and reception teachers, nursery nurses and others working in the Foundation Stage. It will offer practitioners support in developing appropriate activities and resources and consider how children develop mathematical understanding, skills and language.
Contact the CPD/INSET Office, as above.
The Montessori Centre International is holding a seminar on:
* Golden beads: Introducing the decimal system to the nursery, on 11 August. This day seminar will explore how easily children can be introduced to the decimal system in an enjoyable way, once they understand the concept of one to ten.
Contact the Montessori Centre International, as above.
Music
The Institute of Education is holding a course on:
* Music in the nursery curriculum, on 14 November. The course is aimed at nursery and reception teachers, nursery nurses and other practitioners in under-fives settings, who are not confident in music making with young children. The course will explore manageable ways to organise music areas for independent music making and sound exploration.
Contact the CPD/INSET Office, as above.
The Northern Ireland Childminding Association offers a course on:
* Music therapy for children, in Belfast.
Contact the Northern Ireland Childminding Association, 116-118 Mill Street, Newtownards, Co Down BT23 4LU (028 9181 1015, fax 028 9182 0921, e-mail info@nicma.org,website www.nicma.org).
Play
Children in Scotland offers a course on:
* An introduction to play therapy. This series of three workshops will combine theory, discussion and experiential work and are designed for professionals interested in therapeutic ways of working with children.
Contact Alison Rowan, Children in Scotland, Princes House, 5 Shandwick Place, Edinburgh EH2 4RG (0131 222 2405, fax 0131 228 8585, e-mail arowan@ childreninscotland.org.uk, website www.childreninscotland.org.uk).
Early Education is holding seminars on:
* Developing outdoor play in early years settings, on 28 June.
Regional events include:
* The creative spark in young children's learning: Inspirations from research and Reggio Emilia, on 10 November in Bath. l Current issues in the Foundation Stage, on 13 October at the Cambridge University School of Education.
A national day conference on creative learners is also planned for late autumn.
Contact Early Education, 136 Cavell Street, London E1 2JA (020 7539 5400, fax 020 7539 5409, e-mail office@early-education.org.uk,website www.early-education.org.uk).
Kinderquest Support Services is holding courses on:
* Play, planning and the Early Learning Goals, on 4 July in Sunderland. This course looks at how a play-based approach can be used in aiming for the Early Learning Goals.
* Celebrating cultures and anti-bias curriculum, on 14 July in Stockport.
* Imaginative play, on 19 and 20 September in Plymouth.
* Treasure baskets and heuristic play, on 6 October in Stockport.
* Policies and practice, on 17 and 31 October in York.
* Developing children's physical skills, on 12 and 13 November in Plymouth.
Contact Emily Wrenn, Kinderquest, 9-10 Sheep Street, Wellingborough, Northants NN81BL (01933 440 166, fax 01933 442320, e-mail emily. kinderquest@dial.pipex.com).
The Montessori Centre International is holding a seminar on:
* Sand and water play, on 7 July. The seminar will explore how sand and water play are essential development tools for the young child. It will look at their value, particularly for toddlers, and discuss how best to have access to this resource within a Montessori nursery.
Contact the Montessori Centre International, as above.
The National Early Years Network runs a workshop on:
* Muscles and minds: Outdoor play in the early years. Aimed at all practitioners working with under-fives, workshop participants will explore the theoretical and practical justifications for outdoor play and the need for it to be rigorously planned as part of the whole learning environment.
Contact the National Early Years Network, as above.
Play Scotland provides a central information and resource base for playworkers and play organisations in Scotland. It is open to any individual or organisation interested in play and playwork matters, and addresses issues such as recommendations from the feasibility study, training for playwork, information and statistics, funding for play, good practice, play policies, and research.
Contact Play Scotland, Cramond Campus, Edinburgh EH4 6JD (0131 312 80880 - also fax).
The Wales Pre-School Playgroups Association runs courses including:
* Introduction to children's play. This course comprises 12 two-hour weekly sessions and is aimed at new playgroup staff and parents. It will look 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 will involve eight two-hour weekly sessions with the aim to enable participants to work effectively with children in a playgroup setting and encourage positive behaviour. It will focus on how the environment, rules and routines affect children's behaviour, challenging behaviour, children and choice, reward and punishment, managing unwanted behaviour, and promoting acceptable behaviour.
* Playing together. This course comprises six two-hour weekly sessions and aims to promote good practice in the integration of children who have special needs in a pre-school setting. It will explore the benefits of integrated play for all children, giving advice and support for best practice.
* Planning for play. On this day course participants will learn the importance of planning in an early years setting.
* Level 2 Certificate in playgroup practice. Students for this course will be working in a supporting role in an early years setting. It will enable them to gain recognition for their practical work so they can progress to CACHE Level 3.
Contact the Wales Pre-school Playgroups Association, as above.
Kidsactive, formerly HAPA, is a national charity which provides and promotes inclusive play and leisure opportunities for disabled children and young people. It offers a national training programme, entitled Including Everybody, to assist childcare and play providers in their aims of including disabled children in their services, as required by the latest disability legislation, Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships (EYDCPs), Sure Start programmes, and so on.
The training includes disability awareness and the significance of inclusive practice, promotes disability equality in play and leisure, and enables groups to plan their work to include all children. The course is adapted to address the learning needs of each group.
Kidsactive has a network of experienced trainers based throughout the UK, who come to you to deliver the one-and two-day training courses (offering participants an attendance certificate and course workbook), workshops, seminars and consultancy. The Training Service works with a wide range of groups to promote access to the same range of services for all children and young people. Publications to support this work include Let's Play! magazine and Side-by-Side: Guidelines for inclusive play projects.
Contact Joanna Ryam, Kidsactive Training Service, Pryor's Bank, Bishop's Park, London SW6 3LA (020 7731 1435, fax 020 7731 4426, e-mail ktis@kidsactive.org.uk,website kidsactive.org.uk).