Pen Green Centre for children and their families

How can we build stronger connections between children’s learning at home and in nursery?
This evidence-informed resource introduces the Pen Green Loop—a practical approach to sharing knowledge between families and educators that helps children flourish across every part of their learning journey. Through research, reflection and a real-life case study, discover how following children’s fascinations can strengthen the Home Learning Environment and create meaningful partnerships with families.

What happens when practitioners are given time, space and support to truly reflect on their interactions with children? This case study shares the journey of one early years leader and the powerful impact of High Quality Interactions Training on practice, teams and children.

Childminding can often be a lone profession, with limited opportunities to reflect with others about the challenges and decisions that shape daily practice. Having a trusted space for professional supervision can make a real difference.

In this blog, childminder Katie shares how engaging in reflective supervision through the East Midlands Stronger Practice Hub helped her navigate challenges, support a child with SEND and begin to grow her setting. What started as a space to talk through practice gradually became a place to develop ideas, build confidence and plan for expansion.

Katie’s story highlights how supportive professional relationships can help childminders feel less alone, strengthen their practice and create new possibilities for their settings.

The new 2025 Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Nutrition Guidance marks an important step forward in supporting children’s lifelong health and wellbeing.
In this practical and accessible guide, registered nutritionist Catherine Jeans explores why the guidance has been introduced and what it means for early years settings. Drawing on the latest evidence, the article highlights the impact of early nutrition on children’s physical growth, brain development and long-term health, alongside the urgent need to reduce reliance on ultra-processed foods.

With a clear focus on real-world practice, the guide breaks down key changes in the guidance and offers realistic, non-judgemental strategies that practitioners can put into place straight away. Whether your setting provides one snack a day or multiple meals, this resource supports you to confidently improve nutritional provision and communicate effectively with families, helping every child to thrive.

In this blog, Felicity Dewsbery explores play as a deeply relational, emotional and developmental process. Drawing on theory, research and everyday practice — alongside EEF-aligned evidence — the blog invites practitioners to look beyond play as an activity and instead consider the conditions that allow play to flourish. It offers thoughtful reflections on emotional safety, high-quality interactions, and what children’s play may be communicating, particularly for those experiencing stress or disadvantage.

In this blog, we explore how the Pen Green Centre for Children and Families has pioneered a powerful model of parental engagement through the Parental Involvement in Children’s Learning (PICL) approach. Rooted in trust, collaboration, and shared understanding, this work demonstrates how genuine partnerships between parents and practitioners can transform children’s learning and development. Drawing on research, reflective practice, and lived experience, the blog highlights why empowering parents as co-educators is at the heart of high-quality early years provision.

At the heart of early years education lies a profound and shared commitment: to ensure that every child, regardless of need or background, has the best possible start in life. For those of us working with children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), this mission becomes even more powerful, personal, and transformative.

At Pen Green, we use a celebratory approach to working with children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), which guides both our daily practice and our assessment processes. This case study shares the journey of Victoria, a young child who joined our setting and whose story reflects the power of collaborative, responsive, and rights-based early years support.

This blog reflects on a recent webinar where emerging insights from the Baby Room Project were shared. Led by Dr. Mona Sakr and Dr. Sara Bonetti, the project highlights the need for baby-specific training, improved group size regulations, and recognition of baby room educators. Explore practical strategies, local success stories, and a shared vision for nurturing the youngest children through stronger collaboration and evidence-led practice.

High-quality interactions—backed by research and shaped by reflection—are key to young children’s learning. By combining evidence, practitioner insight, and real-life context, early years educators can create meaningful, responsive teaching that truly supports every child.

​In her thought-provoking piece, “Contain to Retain: The Power of Supervision in Early Years,” Fliss Dewsbery, Deputy Head of Pen Green, highlights the pivotal role of effective supervision in addressing the current staffing crisis in early years settings. She emphasizes that quality supervision not only supports staff well-being but also enhances professional development and retention. Fliss advocates for creating reflective spaces where practitioners can discuss challenges, receive support, and engage in continuous learning, thereby fostering a resilient and committed workforce. ​

Engaging Level 3 apprentices in the early years sector is no small feat. It requires understanding the complexities of adult learning, the unique challenges faced by those working with young children, and the broader historical and societal factors that shape their educational journeys.  But what if we could build a framework that specifically addresses these challenges and empowers adult learners in the sector?

A well-structured and thoughtfully delivered curriculum is at the heart of early years education. By understanding its purpose and progression, educators can create meaningful learning experiences that empower children to become confident, capable learners.

Curiosity is a cornerstone of early learning. Adults should create stimulating, open-ended environments where children feel empowered to explore, ask questions, and develop a lifelong love of learning. The goal is to nurture their ability to lead their play and embrace the spirit of inquiry.

Alice Sharp highlights an early years setting’s efforts to ignite children’s fascination and improve their fine motor skills through purposeful play and carefully selected materials. The study emphasises the importance of thoughtfully planned, sensory-rich play to support children’s physical, cognitive, and social development while nurturing their natural curiosity.

This blog discusses Michelle Thompson’s journey and experience as an Ofsted Registered Childminder in Corby, Northamptonshire, focusing on her participation in the Elklan Communication Friendly Home-Based Setting Programme. The document highlights Michelle’s proactive approach to enhancing children’s development and her continuous commitment to professional improvement.

“The Power of Play” by Ben Kingston-Hughes highlights the essential role of play in child development, emphasising its impact on brain growth, health, and emotional well-being. Play fosters experiential learning, releasing biochemicals that act as natural antidepressants and anxiety relievers. It uniquely develops human imagination, creativity, and empathy, shaping advanced social and cognitive skills. Rooted in the brain’s limbic system, play is vital for survival and lifelong health. The document advocates for valuing play as a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of childhood development.

This case study refers to a child who exhibited extremely negative behaviour and describes behaviour patterns that are some of the most challenging to address because they originate from adverse childhood experiences and a deep-rooted feeling of worthlessness in the child.

Need-focused interventions, like process-based activities and superhero role play, fostered trust and engagement. Ahmed’s confidence and behaviour improved, showcasing the power of understanding and compassionate support.

Gestalt language processors hear the flow of sounds rather than individual words. Their first unit of language is Delayed Echolalia. The language they use is copied from another source, maybe another child or adult, a TV programme, YouTube clip or a song. They often copy the intonation exactly as they have heard it, although they may not be able to copy all of the words

they hear clearly at first and it may not be immediately recognisable.

As Early Years Professionals we meet children and their parents at the start of their family’s journey. Building a trusting relationship with parents and carers is vital, particularly if their child has differences in learning which is affecting their development.

As an advocate for child-centred approaches to play and learning, Alistair aims to promote the vital importance of imagination in children’s lives and highlight our role as being ‘co-wonderers’ in their imaginative development.

In the world of early childhood education, Small World play has long been recognised as a powerful tool for supporting children’s development. By creating miniature worlds filled with engaging resources, we can invite children to explore, imagine, and create their own meaningful interpretations of the world. However, as this case study reveals, the true potential of Small World play is unlocked when we embrace open-ended materials and the unique experiences each child brings to their playing and learning space.

This blog looks at why the time from conception to two years is vital for babies’ brain development. We will look at the link to speech and language development, what factors affect this and how this knowledge can inform our practice.

Why has there been an increase in speech, language and communication difficulties post-pandemic? How does the modern world affect our youngest children? This blog will help Early Years Practitioners think about these challenges and how to support children in their settings.

The first part of this case study, in the form of a Community Learning Story, is followed by an individual Learning Story for Ruby. These formative assessments, in the context of children’s lived experiences, offer particular insight framing our intentionality to work together at Greerton Early Learning Center to nurture children’s courageous, empathic, and resourceful learning identities.

What might risky, challenging learning opportunities offer children as they build learner identities infused with courage, creativity, resilience, reflective risk assessment, and empathy – focused reciprocal social relationships? By Lorraine Sands

Anya’s early explorations of schemas or repeated patterns of action a case study by Cath Arnold

How young children develop and learn through ‘schemas’ or ‘repeated patterns’ a blog by Cath Arnold

This blog looks at the term motivation and how this can support us as practitioners to develop exciting and stimulating opportunities for children and plan to meet their learning and development.

Why are two-year-olds so unpredictable? Why can’t they wait, take turns and share? Why do they touch everything, find transitions hard and need reassurance regularly?

Delve into the world of two-year-olds and travel into their minds, bodies and emotions to answer some of these baffling questions.

Ahead of the series of three webinar sessions on Supporting Two Year Olds, Louise Hannan has written a blog outlining her research on to find out how the emotional environment is structured within daycare, what creates this environment and how can we support it within practice.

As an introduction to the movement sessions I am running at Pen Green I am visiting the nursery setting to meet the children. My aim is to develop a connection with the children who are due to take part in movement sessions.

There is a substantial and significant body of knowledge from neurologists, health specialists, movement analysts and therapists about the importance of physical activity. Moving does matters! There are so many physical, social and emotional reasons why we should all move, more often.

Lauren Grocott, EEF Early Years Specialist, presents a new, downloadable summary of the evidence on Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) from the Early Years Evidence Store.

Carly Polak has worked in the Early Years sector for over 20 years. Carly has worked in various roles including, working in a special educational needs school, as a childminder, for a childminding agency and with Ofsted.

Carly currently works for Charnwood Nursery and Pre School as Head of Education.

Curriculum, Curriculum, Curriculum! There’s that word again. We hear it ‘thrown’ around everywhere in education and over the last few years it has become a word everyone is using, and it has become a firm favourite with Ofsted, but what does it actually mean? This blog looks at the word curriculum, what it is and what it means for us as early years professionals.

Dr Christine Parker was a Teacher and Headteacher in primary and nursery schools for over 35 years. Her specialist interests are early childhood education, school leadership and multilingual childhoods. Christine spent a number of years working in Karachi, Pakistan. She found early years teachers to be very receptive to ideas of experiential learning and this experience made a significant impression on how she approached working with children and their families in multi-ethnic contexts in the UK.

We live in a multilingual society, a multilingual world, yet it can still feel an enormous challenge when children in early years settings don’t speak English

What I’m hoping to achieve here is to present another way of looking at this concern.

Felicity Dewsbery is the Deputy Head of the Pen Green Centre for Children and their Families. She has been working in the field of Early Years for 32 years in various roles. She has two Masters from two different disciplines, both of which have deepened her theoretical underpinning to support her to work and lead within Early Years.

Gillian Isaac-Lovett has worked within early years for nearly 30 years with many of these being in a leadership role. She currently works as an Operations Manager for the Charnwood Nursery & Pre-school group and is also supporting settings through the Covid -19 Recovery Expert and Mentor Programme. She has recently completed a MA in Integrated Working with Children and their Families in the Early Years and has undertaken training in the Solihull Approach which is where her interest and deeper understanding of supervision began, having a greater understanding of theories has enabled her support other practitioners within her roles.

Colette Tait is the programme lead for the BA for Early Childhood and Education as well as teaching across the other degree courses offered at Pen Green Research Base. Colette also engages with the nursery teams onsite at Pen Green Centre to offer consultancy observations and undertake research alongside practitioners.

Leona Smith has been working in childcare for 26 years, with the last 10 years working as a childminder. Leona believes communication and language play an integral role in the development of young children. As a childminder, one of the best ways to give children in the Early Years fantastic outdoor opportunities to build these skills is to make use of the space around them.

This July, the pioneering Pen Green Centre in Corby, Northamptonshire, celebrates its fortieth year of responsively and innovatively supporting children and families, through collaboration with and celebration of the local community. In this case study Emma Hewitt, a Senior Education Tutor/Researcher at the accompanying Pen Green Research Base, explores how parents and practitioners across the centre confidently and consistently utilise schema theory to support young children’s developing speech, language and communication.

Emma Hewitt is a Senior Education Tutor/Researcher at the Pen Green Research Base, part of the pioneering Pen Green Centre in Corby, Northamptonshire. This July the centre celebrates its fortieth year of responsively and innovatively supporting children and families, through collaboration with and celebration of the local community. Through this blog she gives an example, from her own MA studies (one of the many courses on offer at the Pen Green Centre), of how schema theory might help us support children’s speech, language and communication development.

Schemas are ‘repeated patterns of action’ that children demonstrate when they are exploring the world and trying to find out how things work.