The Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub is one of 36 DfE designated Stronger Practice Hubs across England. The Liverpool City Region Hub will cover the Liverpool City Region Local Authorities , offering bespoke support, EEF evidence informed training opportunities as well as conferences and opportunities to network with others working in Early Years. Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Hub Home Events Newsletters Blogs Programmes Documents Subscribe Childminders Recruitment The Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub is one of 36 DfE designated Stronger Practice Hubs across England. The Liverpool City Region Hub will cover the Liverpool City Region Local Authorities , offering bespoke support, EEF evidence informed training opportunities as well as conferences and opportunities to network with others working in Early Years. The hub is fully funded, meaning the offer will always be free to those who take part. The team running the hub are all working within the schools/settings currently and want to offer support across the whole Early Years sector. If you are a childminder, working in a PVI or school/maintained nursery class and would like more information and to join our network, please sign up to the hub here: Subscribe >Visit the National Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs Website< Events Watch this space for future events Learn More Programmes Communication, language and literacy programmes Learn More Blogs Learn More Childminders Free advice, support and training for childminders Learn More Subscibe Liverpool City Region Stronger Practice Hub Sign Up Page Learn More Newsletters Providing practical information from educators across the Liverpool City Region Learn More Recruitment Recruitment opportunities at the Liverpool City Region Stronger Practice Hub. Learn More Documents Hubs working with the Education Endowment Foundation Learn More The early years stronger practice hubs programme has supported early years practitioners across England since its launch in November 2022, sharing evidence-informed best practice and offering professional development to improve outcomes for young children. Initially there were 18 early years stronger practice hubs, with two in each government office region. In summer 2025, the government published its Giving every child the best start in life paper, confirming that the network will expand to 36 hubs from September 2026. From April 2026, Ambition Institute has taken on the role of delivery partner for the programme, appointed by the Department for Education as part of the government's Best Start in Life strategy. You can find the up-to-date list on all stronger practice hubs here: Early years stronger practice hubs - GOV.UK Hubs support other nurseries and childminders in their area to adopt evidence-based practice improvements by: * establishing local networks of early years educators to share knowledge and effective practice * sharing information and advice on evidence-based approaches – for example, through newsletters, blogs and social media * acting as a point of contact for bespoke advice * signposting to other funded support * working with the Education Endowment Foundation to select evidence-based programmes to fund and make available to nurseries and childminders Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs will support other early years settings in the designated areas to improve outcomes for children in their local area across the EYFS, but specifically focusing on areas of development that research informs us have been most impacted by COVID-19: personal social and emotional development (PSED); communication and language, and early literacy and maths. Each Hub is led by a group-based (school-based, private, voluntary, or independent) early years provider. The Department’s ambition is for Hubs to be evenly distributed across England, within each of the government office regions. Everton Nursery School and Family Centre lead the Liverpool City Region Stronger Practice Hub supporting Local Authorities surrounding the Liverpool City Region. There will also be an opportunity to gain coaching and mentoring with early years specialists through the Stronger Practice Hubs as well as CPD and workforce development opportunities. Relevant links to settings and Strategic Partners: Everton Nursery School and Family Hub www.evertonnurseryschoolandfamilycentre.liverpool.sch.uk East Prescot Nursery School https://www.eastprescotroad.co.uk/ Tracie Dowling Childminder https://tracies-treasures.com/ Kids Planet Nurseries https://www.kidsplanetdaynurseries.co.uk/find-a-nursery/wallasey/ Early Years Sustainable Hub https://www.evertonnurseryschoolandfamilycentre.org/early-years-sustainable-hub Ganneys Meadow School and Family Hub https://ganneysmeadow.co.uk / Rainhill Community Nursery https://www.rainhillnursery.st-helens.sch.uk/ National Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs Website Email: SpHubNW@evertoncentre.liverpool.sch.uk Strategic Partners Stronger Practice Hub Privacy Notice

The Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) is additional funding for all early years settings to improve the education they provide for disadvantaged 2,3,4 year olds. From the 1st April 2025 the national funding rate for EYPP is £1.00 per eligible child per hour for the first 15 hours (£570 per year). Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Hub Home Events Newsletters Blogs Programmes Documents Subscribe Childminders Recruitment Are you looking to spend your Early Years Pupil Premium strategically? Kaya Doyle (Programme Manager) has put a short webinar together to support you when considering what to spend your Early Years Pupil Premium, titled 'Maximising the Impact of Pupil Premium in the Early Years'. For the link email: sphubnw@evertoncentre.liverpool.sch.uk Strategic Partners Stronger Practice Hub Privacy Notice

Curriculum Resources Everything from how you manage energy and waste, through to the food you serve and the resources you use, can have a huge impact on both the environment and your business costs. Na Harmony Curriculum resources Na Harmony Liverpool sitere n'ike mmụọ nsọ nke Venezuela's El Sistema ma na-eji egwu egwu egwu na-eme ka ahụike, agụmakwụkwọ na ọchịchọ nke ụmụaka na ndị ntorobịa nọ na Everton. N'ịbụ onye guzosiri ike na 2009 na Faith Primary School na ụmụaka 84, Na Harmony Liverpool agbasawanye nke mere na ihe karịrị ụmụaka 700 na ndị na-eto eto dị afọ 0-18 na ezinụlọ ha na-ekere òkè ugbu a na egwu orchestral-eme nke kachasị mma kwa izu, n'efu. n'ime na n'èzí ụlọ akwụkwọ. Ime egwu na-ewere ọnọdụ na Faith Primary School, The Beacon CE Primary School, Everton Nursery School na Family Center, All Saints Catholic Primary School, Anfield Children's Center na Liverpool Philharmonic na Friary, ebe mmeghari anyị na West Everton._cc781905-5cde- 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ Role of the adult supporting Environmental Awareness Anchor 1 Story Planning Anchor 2 Anchor 3 Anchor 4 Home | Climate Action Strategy | Case Studies | Curriculum Resources | Blog and Video Logs

Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Hub Home Events Newsletters Blogs Programmes Documents Subscribe Childminders Recruitment CONCEPT CAT By Alex Gower-Jones. Dr Diane Boyd talks to Tracie Dowling about the role of the Strategic Childminder Lead at Liverpool City Region Stronger Practice Hub Strategic Role Are you looking to spend your Early Years Pupil Premium strategically? See our Resource 'Maximising the Impact of Pupil Premium in the Early Years' Reddish Vale Nursery School Blog Becoming physical development champions and beyond…. Let’s talk about books: A case study on interactive reading By Alex Gower-Jones. The benefits of outdoor play How childminders use outdoor spaces to enhance children’s learning outcomes. By Tracie Dowling. Exploring Understanding the world By Michelle Bennett. A Reflective Conversation By Emma Louise Scott, Maria Edge and Dr Diane Boyd The Garden Classroom ENGAGING GROWTH WITH ‘THE GARDEN CLASSROOM’ By Tracie Dowling Lost Words ‘Lost words’ reflected through the three pillars of sustainability and the SDGs. By Diane Boyd NELI Preschool programme Craig Bolton, Headteacher at East Prescot Road Nursery School, Liverpool, introduces the NELI Preschool programme. East Prescot Road Nursery School is a partner of the Stronger Practice Hub. Supporting self-regulation in the early years By Amanda Quirk Childminder Case Study By Julie Ellis Deysbrook Childminding Network By Tracie Dowling Autumn the time of apples and apple Juice! By Dr Diane Boyd Sharing gifted resource bags Childminding Network Video blogs 1. Everton Nursery Teacher Kate Doyle and Dr Diane Boyd present The Authentic development of a Sensory Garden through the 17 SDGs 2. Dr Diane Boyd talks to Everton Nursery School teacher Kate Doyle about Homelessness young peoples awareness and understanding of others Strategic Partners Stronger Practice Hub Privacy Notice

Sensory Garden Blog Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Hub Home Events Newsletters Blogs Programmes Documents Subscribe Childminders Recruitment Sensory Garden Video blog Everton Nursery Teacher Kate Doyle and Dr Diane Boyd present The Authentic development of a Sensory Garden through the 17 SDGs 1. The 'otherness' of the non-human world - highlighting worms! 2. Agency in Action – Children voicing their thinking through mark making. 3. Discovering recycling waste and contamination through a community visit. 4. Understanding Construction and Positioning of a Bug hotel in our garden. 5 Sparking interest through visiting Everton Park Nature Garden in our neighbourhood 6. The Fix-it Shop! Shopping lists, money, decision – making in action. 7. Sensory cognitive explorations using recycleable sustainable resources through tyres, hurricanes and the rain! Strategic Partners Stronger Practice Hub Privacy Notice

Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Hub Home Events Newsletters Blogs Programmes Documents Subscribe Childminders Recruitment Liverpool City Region Stronger Practice Hub Sign Up Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs will support other early years settings in the designated areas to improve outcomes for children in their local area across the EYFS, but specifically focusing on areas of development that research informs us have been most impacted by COVID-19: personal social and emotional development (PSED); communication and language, and early literacy and mathematics. Each Hub is led by a group-based (school-based, private, voluntary, or independent) early years provider. (Please check your inbox Junk folder for blocked correspondence). * Indicates required question Email Name Local Authority your setting is based in: School / Setting name Setting Postcode Setting URN number: What best describes your role in the Setting Choose an option What best describes your Setting Choose an option Which area would your setting like support with? * Required Communication and Language Literacy Mathematics Other Which Social Media channels would you like to see our information on? * Required Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Whatsapp Other Would you like to subscribe to our monthly newsletter? * Required Yes No I understand that by signing up on this form, my contact details will be kept by Liverpool City Region Stronger Practice Hub at Everton Nursery School and Children's Centre. Your details will be kept for the purpose of sending emails and newsletters. I agree Submit Thanks for subscribing! Please check your inbox Junk folder for blocked correspondence Strategic Partners Stronger Practice Hub Privacy Notice

Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Hub Home Events Newsletters Blogs Programmes Documents Subscribe Childminders Recruitment Sign-up to receive our Newsletter on the second week of each month. Will aim to provide practical information from educators across the Liverpool City Region as well as information from the Department for Education and Education Endowment Foundation. See below for previous editions. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR LIVERPOOL CITY REGION EARLY YEARS STRONGER PRACTICE HUB MAILING LIST Sign-up to receive news from our Hub by email, including upcoming courses and events, links to additional resources, and more! Subscribe LCR Newsletter April 2026 LCR Newsletter Jan 2026 LCR Newsletter Oct 2025 LCR Newsletter July 2025 LCR Newsletter April 2025 LCR Newsletter Jan 2025 LCR Newsletter Oct 2024 LCR Newsletter July 2024 LCR Newsletter April 2024 LCR Newsletter Jan 2024 LCR Newsletter Mar 2026 LCR Newsletter June 2026 LCR Newsletter Dec 2025 LCR Newsletter Sept 2025 LCR Newsletter June 2025 LCR Newsletter March 2025 LCR Newsletter Dec 2024 LCR Newsletter Sept 2024 LCR Newsletter June 2024 LCR Newsletter Mar 2024 LCR Newsletter Dec 2023 LCR Newsletter Feb 2026 LCR Newsletter May 2026 LCR Newsletter Nov 2025 LCR Newsletter August 2025 LCR Newsletter May 2025 LCR Newsletter Feb 2025 LCR Newsletter Nov 2024 LCR Newsletter August 2024 LCR Newsletter May 2024 LCR Newsletter Feb 2024 LCR Newsletter Nov 2023 Strategic Partners Stronger Practice Hub Privacy Notice

Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Hub Home Events Blogs Childminders Programmes Documents Subscribe Early Years Professional Development Programme Newsletters Recruitment Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYDP) https://www.earlyyearspdp.com/ I cannot recommend the Early Years Professional Development Programme enough to any early years practitioner whether they are new to the sector or have many years of experience. Being able to adapt ideas from the training and talking to colleagues on the webinar has been invaluable. Understanding children’s depth of knowledge in Early Maths has allowed me to enhance activities allowing me to see the immediate, positive impact on their learning. Ten simple hints and tips could make any setting become “language rich” and the ability to spot and fix communication “cold spots” personally I am so glad I signed up. June Cargill Ofsted Registered Outstanding Childminder Strategic Partners Stronger Practice Hub Privacy Notice

Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Hub Home Events Newsletters Blogs Programmes Documents Subscribe Childminders Recruitment CONCEPT CAT By Alex Gower-Jones Strategic Partners Stronger Practice Hub Privacy Notice

Sensory Garden Blog Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Hub Home Events Newsletters Blogs Programmes Documents Subscribe Childminders Recruitment Homelessness Video blog Dr Diane Boyd talks to Everton Nursery School teacher Kate Doyle about young peoples awareness and understanding of others 1. Homelessness Part 1 2. Homelessness Part 2 Strategic Partners Stronger Practice Hub Privacy Notice

Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Hub Home Events Newsletters Blogs Programmes Documents Subscribe Childminders Recruitment Literacy Blog, written for Childminders By June Cargill (Childminder) As an Ofsted Registered Childminder with 29 years of experience in the Early Years Sector I know we are unique, being flexible for parents, with a development rich opportunity to offer life experiences and activities in readiness for children to attend school and become adults. Experiences in the first years of a child’s life are crucial and it is an honour to have that in our hands every day, nurturing, caring and sparking children’s imagination, interests and passions…… seeing them flourish and grow is a privilege to behold and we should, quite rightly feel proud. I also appreciate that working with the under-fives can sometimes be intuitive. We know what stages children should be at their expected development ages and that the diversity rich activities and experiences we give children encourage future skills for their next steps. Understanding in depth why we do what we do can be crucial to be able to reflect and review on our own setting as well as working with parents when we identify possible challenges and development delays. Our ongoing personal development is key to broaden our understanding of children’s development, learn new key findings from research undertaken for the early years and broaden our depth of understanding on children’s learning outcomes. There is an absolute wealth of evidence based information, videos, case studies and examples for best practice available you can read at your own pace, but did you know that researching, investigating and using the Education Endowment Foundation EEF Evidence Store shows that you are reflecting on your setting so make sure you add these to your personal development record. What does the evidence say? The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework - GOV.UK refers to The Development Matters document, a non-statutory curriculum guidance…… ”It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together. Skilled word reading, taught later, involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing)” Development Matters - Non-statutory curriculum guidance for the early years foundation stage The Education Endowment Foundation Evidence Store also highlights the definition of Early Literacy Early Years | EEF “Literacy describes a range of complex skills. It includes the word-level skills of both word reading and spelling and the text-level skills of reading comprehension and writing composition. The overall aim of these skills is for an author to effectively communicate their message and for a reader to understand it. These literacy skills (word reading, spelling, reading comprehension, and writing composition) rely, to some extent, on the same underlying processes and are therefore linked. Learning to be a reader and writer relies on three broad underlying skills or areas of learning: speech, language, and communication skills; physical development, particularly fine motor skills; and executive function skills, including working memory and speed of retrieval from memory. The extent to which these processes are involved differs between aspects of reading and writing and at different points during literacy development. Educators working with early years children play a pivotal role in laying the foundations for literacy by facilitating the development of the skills above, helping children learn how to engage these processes so they work together and, in the latter part of the early years phase, teaching knowledge specifically for literacy (for example, letter-sounds and features of books). EEF | Early Literacy Approaches that support communication and language are fundamental to supporting children’s early literacy. Children with language weaknesses may need more support with such skills to facilitate their literacy learning. Children with language weaknesses include those with a language impairment and may include children with English as an additional language or those from lower income families. Educators should use their own professional judgement and seek additional guidance when applying early literacy approaches to these groups of children. These approaches that the Evidence Store referred to are as follows; I have added examples from my own practice to help unpick what may be unfamiliar words or reference: 1. Interactive reading: actions within the context of shared reading that encourage children to become an active participant in ‘reading’ the book; “Seeing children who are eager lead their own story time, we must recognise this is such an important part of their development. Seeing proof that our story times are fun, interactive and having an impact on their love of books is so rewarding. Having books accessible to children as a continuous provision and making “quiet areas” so children can take the opportunity to sit and look through books is an essential part of any setting. Try and identify a favourite book that children return to which can then assist planning for children’s next steps in Literacy and other development areas” 2. Teaching sound discrimination: supporting children to identify sounds and notice similarities and differences between individual sounds and groups of sounds; “My minded children love interactive sessions when we explore sounds, from their first letter of their name to practice pronunciation or rhyming words that extend their vocabulary but can end up made up words eg Bee, Me, Pee, Fee or Honey, Funny, Punny, Tunny. Satisfaction knowing you can not only extend children’s word knowledge but hear evidence when children giggle at words they understand are not real”. 3. Teaching sound manipulation: supporting children to break down, combine, and change sounds; Again like sounds, using rhyming word string is helpful and I enjoy using clapping to help identify syllables not only during adult let activities but throughout the day to help them “decode” words but I have found the children enjoy this approach and are eager participants. Children love the fact that I only get one clap for my name! Not only will you extend and introduce words like Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus and Tyrannosaurus instead of Rhino, Hippo or TRex but the opportunities to explore syllables are limitless. 4. Teaching sound-letter mapping: learning the written letters (graphemes) that go with particular letter-sounds (phonemes); “This is difficult to map the impact with mapping as evidence shows that children must have a good understanding of sound discrimination and manipulation but in my experience word labels, a self -registration board, name tags and resource labels are an important part of my setting. I can reflect that children that then move to pre-school can all recognise their printed name and are good at recognising printed words in their community 5. Teaching mark-making and letter formation: adults support children to use tools to make marks that represent their thoughts and ideas: “Communication, Language and Physical Development play a huge role in mark making, letter formation and Interactive writing. We all know that a young child who is unable to use palmar, tripod grip or with limited gross movements effectively can impact on all areas of Literacy in their future development. 6. Teaching sound-letter mapping: learning the written letters (graphemes) that go with particular letter-sounds (phonemes); “This is difficult to map the impact with mapping as evidence shows that children must have a good understanding of sound discrimination and manipulation but in my experience word labels, a self -registration board, name tags and resource labels are an important part of my setting. I can reflect that children that then move to pre-school can all recognise their printed name and are good at recognising printed words in their community What can we do? Given literacy’s reliance on other areas of learning, practitioners should be aware of a child’s development in all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) essential to Early Literacy. We recognise that most of a child’s learning is in their home, we support and observe their development so working with parents is a major part of our role. Difficult conversations can take place when we identify a possible delay and parents do not agree or may be reluctant to see an issue. This can be difficult if as practitioners, we refer to development delays in a negative way. To inform parents that their child cannot use palmar grip effectively to hold a crayon in mark making, use one handed tools in play or mealtimes can counterproductive for their support at home. Negative communication with parents can be detrimental to parents understanding. Instead of stating what a child cannot do something use positive communication, saying that you are concentrating on palmar grip in all areas of play, independence and for meal times explaining, in turn this will develop the child’s ability to use one handed tools effectively, which in turn give them the hand strength abilities to start using mark making and writing skills…. helping parents see the goal you are supporting their child for. Offering suggestions for activities for example nursery rhyme bags, story sacks and books, suggest practical examples how parents can correct or encourage for example how the child holds a spoon and turn pages in a book. Send photographs during the day to see the activities first hand, offer information sheets or resources to borrow. Childminders are unique in knowing not only our children but their families too and can draw on this knowledge to adapt our strategy for home learning support. We know our families and in March 2025 the Government published “18% of children in working families were in low income” Households Below Average Income: an analysis of the UK income distribution: FYE 1995 to FYE 2024 - GOV.UK Knowing our families so well we can understand that buying resources and books could be difficult as well as finding “free” time outside of their working days so by way of sharing resources and ideas as well as embedding an Early Literacy rich environment in our setting is crucial. We also need to be aware of our community and the impact that can have on our minded children from English as an additional language, Areas of Deprivation, poverty and local areas of learning from parks, museums, places of interest and their accessibility for your minded children. I have added some further reading, evidence based practical information and Personal Development suggestions I hope you find useful and remember, log on your personal development 😊 References Early Years Foundation Stage Framework for Childminders EYFS statutory framework for childminders Development Matters Development Matters - Non-statutory curriculum guidance for the early years foundation stage Government Help for Early Years Providers Help for early years providers : Areas of learning The Education Endowment Foundation Evidence Store Early Years | EEF https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/early-years/evidence-store/early-literacy The Governments Free Early Years Child Development Training with 7 modules to access at your own pace Early years child development training : Home page Strategic Partners Stronger Practice Hub Privacy Notice

Liverpool City Region Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Hub Home Events Newsletters Blogs Programmes Documents Subscribe Childminders Recruitment Exploring Understanding the world By Michelle Bennett. (Childminder) My Name is Michelle Bennett and I am an OFSTED Registered, outstanding childminder which I have undertaken for eleven years. I am based in the Morecambe area of Lancashire and one of the Lancashire leads for childminders in my area. I am the childminding representative for the Morecambe Bay curriculum and have worked previously in numerous Nurseries and as a teaching assistant in a local primary school. I am very passionate about the work we all do, as we are, in my opinion, very lucky to support education. We develop the young people that come to us, with their learning and understanding of the world that we live in. I believe that our actions will enable and encourage their knowledge for learning of the prime areas and specific area of learning: Communication and language, Physical development, Personal, social and emotional development Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the world and Expressive arts and design I am passionate about the freedom of childminding, and creating awe and wonder every day. For me play is so important in so many ways as this supports children to learn and develop and as a childminder I can plan for the children’s interests as individuals. In this blog I will share with you how the children gained knowledge of the circus theme and scarecrows and increased their vocabulary from a visit to a local village. What did our children find on the visit to a local themed experience? Our visit was to the annual Wray scarecrow display. This is the oldest running scarecrow display in the UK, since 1992 and is run by a committee of local people from the village of Wray, Lancashire. The display of scarecrows has a different theme each year, and most of the local community of Wray will make a scarecrow for this event. The children that come to me, on the week leading up to the visit did talk about the theme and what they knew about scarecrows and the theme. This year the theme was circus. We had numerous conversations between myself and the children, as well as conversations between child to child, and the topic of the conversations they were having was about what type of activities / acts that you would see in a circus? The vocabulary included: strong man, jugglers, tightrope walkers, acrobats, clowns. Where do the circus people live? What nationality or country do the circus people come from? What is a circus tent made from? How are the scarecrows at Wray made? Who makes them? Why do they make them? Who chooses the theme and what scarecrow they would make if they lived in Wray? The day of the visit to Wray…. We were armed with cameras for the children to take photos of what they wanted to. As we were going around Wray there was lots of conversations of what the children could see, what they like and why they liked the scarecrows and displays. We spoke about favourite colours, the different sizes of scarecrows, the role of the scarecrow made and what their role is in a circus theme. The children spoke with local people and asked why they had made their scarecrow and what was the reason for the ones they made. Two of the children that were present had come the last three years with me, and they could remember the last year’s theme (which was magic) and spoke about that, with the current children. They spoke about the previous children that had come on the previous visits and what they liked and where they were now. While we were having our lunch, the children had conversations between themselves, about which scarecrows were their favourite and why they were. When we return back home, this continued the theme and children decided to demonstrate Circus skills, drawings, role play games and ask numerous questions. The following week after the visit…. The week after we had visited Wray, the children were keen to make some scarecrows, so we made smaller ones and a big one, using sticks and decorated them using the fantastic box of crafts I won after attending the recent Stronger Practice Hub conference, which all the children loved using these crafts. The scarecrows where then placed around the garden and the children made their own pretend village scarecrow display. The children began role playing at being the local people of their pretend village. We also dressed up as scarecrows with a circus theme with items we purchased from local charity shops. When we purchased these items of clothing from the charity shops, we talked about what charity shops do, the reason behind the purpose of the shop. Why local people donate and buy from them, and about sustainability and my children have really been understanding all about recycling. What does the evidence say for Understanding the world? Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. In addition, listening to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems will foster their understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words that support understanding across domains. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary will support later reading comprehension. Taken from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670f8c0f366f494ab2e7b93d/EYFS_statutory__framework_for_childminders.pdf The https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/early-years/evidence-store references Communication and Language which became part of our focus within the visit as the children spoke to each other, with myself and grew in their understanding of new vocabulary connected with the circus. This resulted in the children knowing more and remembering more through their visit from last year and this year. Exploring the DfE module 4 on supporting language development in the early years enabled me to appreciate even more the importance of a language rich approach where interactions are promoted. I consider the circus theme visit supported both the children in their learning and development which in turn supported my continuous professional development (CPD) in researching the theme and the learning opportunities for the children in communication and language, physical development and Understanding the world. The children and I are looking forward to our next visit out to extend learning further within Understanding the world and the other Early Years Foundation Stage areas of learning. References: https://www.evertonnurseryschoolandfamilycentre.org/strongerpracticehub https://www.strongerpracticehubs.org.uk/hubs/nw/liverpool-city-region-and-beyond-eysph https://wrayscarecrows.wordpress.com/ https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/early-years/evidence-store https://birthto5matters.org.uk/ https://www.ncfe.org.uk/media/xbcbjrfj/early-years-sustainability-resource.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670f8c0f366f494ab2e7b93d/EYFS_statutory__framework_for_childminders.pdf https://child-development-training.education.gov.uk/about/module-4 https://child-development-training.education.gov.uk/about/module-5 Strategic Partners Stronger Practice Hub Privacy Notice