Guest essays
Here you will find all of our latest guest essays, which are updated monthly.
Latest guest essays
All guest essays
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22/10/2024Attachment and social and emotional development
Author: Emily Samuel - UKCP accredited child psychotherapist
We are born with a need to form emotional bond and these early relationships have a profound impact on social and emotional development throughout our lives.
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24/11/2023The impact of poverty on early childhood
Author: Carey Oppenheim, Project Lead - Nuffield Foundation
For most parents, bringing a baby into the world and nurturing a young child brings both great joy and intense love, but it also comes with many changes, and sometimes stress, pressure and anxiety.
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29/9/2023Embracing divergent pathways of development
Author: Kerry Murphy - Lecturer in Early Years & SEND at Goldsmiths, University of London
It is an undeniable fact that the landscape of early childhood has changed dramatically since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Along with the increasing numbers of children being identified as having Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND), developmental diversity itself has become more salient.
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25/5/2023Kinship care and the unseen children’s champions
Author: Dr Lucy Peake, CEO of Kinship
For many, many years, kinship care has been an ‘invisible force’ for good within the children’s social care system.
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9/2/2023Early Childhood – Understanding the journey
Author: Sally Hogg, Dr Christine O’Farrelly, Dr Beth Barker and Professor Paul Ramchandani, Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development & Learning (PEDAL), University of Cambridge.
This Children’s Mental Health week, Sally Hogg and colleagues from the Centre for Research on Play in Education Development & Learning at the University of Cambridge have written a guest essay on the importance of good mental health in children, and the impact that these experiences in early childhood can have on later life.
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1/2/2023How you become you: The story and science of early childhood
Author: Prof. Eamon McCrory, University College London, Anna Freud Centre
Professor Eamon McCrory, member of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood Advisory Group, explains the science behind Layla's Story and the importance of relationships in our early childhood.
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17/11/2022Supporting Child Refugees and Asylum Seekers Through Trauma
Author: Dr Sarah Davidson MBE, Head of Psychosocial & Mental Health at British Red Cross
Dr Sarah Davidson MBE, from British Red Cross, writes about the importance of psychosocial support for parents, carers and children forced to flee their homes around the world.
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31/10/2022We need to tell a new story about early childhood
Author: Kate Stanley, Executive Director of @FrameWorksUK and previously a Board Director at NSPCC, Deputy Director at IPPR, and an adviser on the Early Years Steering Group convened by the then Duchess of Cambridge
Kate Stanley, from communications and research organisation Frameworks, shares her recommendations on how to communicate about early childhood in ways that will shift hearts and minds.
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30/8/2022The urgent need to support and invest in the mental wellbeing of parents
Author: Dr Alain Gregoire, Perinatal Psychiatrist, Hon President of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance UK and Chair of the Global Alliance for Maternal Mental Health
Perinatal Psychiatrist Alain Gregoire talks about the critical importance of supporting parents and babies in pregnancy and their very earliest years
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29/7/2022Towards a Strong Foundation: Social and Emotional Development in Young Children
Author: Stephanie Jones, Professor in Child Development and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education | Joan Lombardi, Senior Fellow, Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues, Georgetown University
Experts Stephanie Jones and Joan Lombardi consider how we can support social and emotional development at an early age.
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16/6/2022Early Childhood: The Role of Public Research
Author: Kelly Beaver MBE, Chief Executive Ipsos UK & Ireland
How can research help secure better outcomes in early childhood?
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