As demands for racial justice continue to expose the structural inequities embedded in education systems, the early years cannot be left out of the conversation. Achieving true inclusion and equality in early childhood education requires a serious engagement with anti-racist practice from the start. Yet in many settings, it is still seen as ‘too political’, ‘too divisive’, or ‘not relevant’ for our youngest children.

Series 8, hosted by Dr Shaddai Tembo, aims to highlight the importance of language and communication – otherwise referred to as ‘oracy’ – and provide practitioners with strategies for the classroom.

Each week, Shaddai will be joined by guest experts and early years practitioners to explore language and communication in detail.

I had the privilege of visiting a Kindergarten in China during my trip in November 2024. It is a small county-level city in Hunan Province, China. The staff and children were incredibly welcoming and I thank them for the opportunity to understand their practice and pedagogy.

This paper presents findings from our project entitled ‘Diversity in Unity: Developing an anti-racist framework within Froebelian pedagogy’. We apply an ethnography by proxy approach informed by the work of Jones and Okun on colonial and decolonial habits

Music and early childhood are deeply intertwined. Research tells us that, even before birth, singing to babies in the womb can foster language acquisition and holistic development. As children grow, music continues to be an essential part of their learning journey, from songs and patterns to rhymes and rhythms, all of which help them develop a sense of self and connection with others. Music moves children in deeply embodied ways, helping them make sense of the world through rhythm and sound. In this article, I share a few reflections on musicality from my experience.

This is a short article I wrote for the Early Education Journal back for their Autumn 2023 issue. It’s a piece I like as it outlines some key aspects of a critical pedagogy, drawn from Paolo Freire’s work.