By Margaret Sutherland (Sage, £18.99, ISBN 1412946328)
Reviewed by Rachel Feneck (Education director, National Association for Able Children in Education)
This book explores the complex area of understanding and meeting the needs of more able pupils. It is easy to read and suitable for use by classroom practitioners and senior leaders alike. It would also be of interest to parents.
The content addresses areas such as identification and what constitutes day-to-day challenge in learning. It is set out in an easily accessible, yet structured way that helps the reader to digest information and to try to test out ideas, and supports the reflection and evaluation of impact for learners.
Key points are summarised at the start of each chapter; then themes are explored in more depth and connections made with underpinning research and theory. There are many practical suggestions and photocopiable pages so ideas can be easily applied. The case studies provide powerful 'real life' examples that could be used as the basis for review and discussion. Chapters conclude with a 'summary of learning' and prompts for further thinking and reflection, modelling the learning practices set out in the book.
This book could serve as an essential resource for all those in early years settings, providing invaluable information about addressing the challenge of developing effective provision for able learners.
First Aid Manual
Written and authorised by St John Ambulance, St Andrew's Ambulance Association and British Red Cross (Dorling Kindersley, £12.99, ISBN 978-1-4053-3537-9)
The ninth edition of this comprehensive manual has been published to coincide with this week's First Aid Awareness Week (2-9 February). It is packed full of step-by-step guides, photographs and diagrams showing how to deal with a whole range of emergencies from asthma attacks to eye injuries to dehydration. It is ideal for refreshing practitioners' knowledge after first aid training.
Recapturing Childhood: Positive Parenting in the Modern World
By Mildred Masheder (Green Print, £10, ISBN 978-1-85425-095-7)
Mildred Masheder, former primary teacher and lecturer in child development, has drawn on her years of knowledge and experience of working with children to write this guide on raising children in today's society. She draws on many parents' stories to address issues such as positive behaviour, happy schooling, feelings and emotions, and positive parenting. Her wisdom includes, 'There is no such thing as a bad child, only a "sad" child.'