Ask anybody who worked in Early Years through the pandemic if they have noticed a difference in the speech and language abilities of the children and you will hear a resounding yes. Amongst the many pieces of research being undertaken since the hight of the pandemic, the one that alarms me the most is concerning the state of children’s speech which, according to a survey by ICAN (now Speech and Language UK) in 2021, has impacted over 1.5 million children of all ages.I think we can agree that the lockdowns had a huge impact on the way children socialised, and this social isolation (if you will) has had a huge…

Many of you who follow me here and on my other social media outlets will know that I have recently lost my Mum to cancer. As I’m sure you’ll understand, this has been devastating, particularly as I live many hundreds of miles away from my parents. However, I didn’t want to focus on the negative aspect of losing my Mum, but rather celebrate her influence in my pedagogy of play. Growing up my mum was my constant companion (I’m an only child) but rather than send me to my room to play, she would co-play with me. She introduced me to play dough and messy play and encouraged my imagination.…