Online self study courses

Once a course is purchased, teams will be able to follow the materials at a time and pace that suits them. We will check in when you have finished the course to see if you wish to follow up with further support. Each course will provide approximately 3 hours of content, including information, links to online videos and articles and some have additional documents that are downloadable.

The self-study materials can be delivered as an inset or could be split over several sessions, for example, in bite size chunks in staff meetings.

Letters and Sounds Phase 1 

By the end of this course practitioners will be able to:

• Clearly articulate the importance of developing children's early phonological awareness
• Plan and apply the 7 aspects of Phase 1 Letters and Sounds in their practice
• Incorporate incidental teachable moments to support early phonics across all areas of the curriculum  

Creative Desires – Art

A course to reflect on approaches to teaching art in the early years. By the end of this course practitioners will be able to:

• Articulate the difference between art and creativity
• Explain a range of approaches to teaching art in the early years
• Provide a range of exciting and inspirational creative experiences throughout the learning provision

Creative Desires – Block play

Engaging children’s hands, minds and imaginations. By the end of this course practitioners will be able to:

• Articulate the importance of block play in the learning provision and link this to theory and research
• Plan and deliver inspirational block play sessions to support cross curricular learning
• Explain the role of the adult in supporting the learning arising from rich engagement in block play 

Creative Desires – Music 

By the end of this course practitioners will be able to:

• Recognise, support and extend young children's musicality
• Provide an environment rich in music and sound making opportunities
• Explain the key components in children's musical learning as identified in the guidance document Musical Development Matters 2018:
  • Hearing and Listening
  • Vocalising and Singing
  • Moving and Dancing
  • Exploring and Playing  

Just imagine – Providing rich role play experiences within the Early Years  

By the end of this course practitioners will be able to:

• Articulate their knowledge around the importance of providing rich role play opportunities for children’s learning 
• Identify and promote children's characteristics of effective teaching and learning as children engage in role play
• Plan a range of exciting role play based learning opportunities incorporating literacy links 

One, Two, Three, Recite with me - Show ‘em a poem!

This course provides an exciting opportunity for practitioners to use poetry to support the learning of all children, both indoors and outdoors. By the end of this course practitioners will be able to:

• Explain the integral role poetry plays in enhancing young children’s learning experiences
• Use poetry as a valuable tool to develop and expand children’s vocabulary and language competency skills
• Use practical ideas to integrate poetry into an inclusive curriculum and embed it within daily routines

Growing Little Authors

By the end of this course practitioners will be able to:

• Understand the developmental stages of children’s mark making and early writing
• Identify practical ways to ensure that children develop into confident and competent writers
• Develop an enabling environment which promotes mark making and early writing

I wonder why? Scientific enquiry in the Early Years

By the end of this course practitioners will be able to:

• Reflect on the purpose and role of early science education and how it fits in with the Early Years Foundation Stage
• Consider pedagogical approaches, processes and skills involved in teaching science in the early years
• Plan practical and exciting science experiences for young children
• Ensure their learning environment is a provocation for wonderment and discovery

The Early Reading Experience

By the end of this course practitioners will be able to:

• Understand the essential building blocks leading into reading
• Understand the different ways to give young children a high-quality daily reading experience
• Understand the adult role in developing language, communication, and vocabulary
• Understand how the learning environment supports early reading 

An Enabling Environment for children 0-3

By the end of this course practitioners will be able to:

• Explain what an enabling environment is for children aged 0-3
• Understand how to enhance the emotional and physical environments
• Understand the role of treasure baskets, heuristic play and schematic play in your continuous provision offer

Effective planning and provision for Schemas and Heuristic Play

Have you ever noticed a child make a beeline for an area of learning and then be so deeply engaged in the same play everyday? Or a child who usually likes to throw toys whether they’re inside or outdoors or a child who spends most of their time transporting toys from one place to another? What you are observing are a few examples of schematic play. In this course practitioners will:

• Further their understanding of many different schemas, schematic play and heuristic play
• Develop an understanding of the role of the adult in identifying and planning opportunities that use schemas to develop and extend children’s learning and development
• Consider the ways in which parents can be supported to understand schematic play
• Deepen understanding of the many benefits of heuristic play, the many different objects that can be used and how a successful heuristic play session can be organised

Delving deeper into Past and Present

The importance of discussing ‘the past’ is invaluable in helping children understand the world. In fact, the revised EYFS framework specifically features ‘past and present’ as a new early learning objective.

Early history skills help to nurture curiosity in young children, especially when asked questions like ‘what do you think?’, ‘what will happen if?’, and ‘why do you think that?’; this allows children to delve beneath the surface level, and places their own experiences at the centre of history.

By the end of this course, practitioners will:

• Develop an understanding of different historical concepts that can be taught from an early years perspective
• Deepen understanding of how stories, poems and nursery rhymes can be used to teach various historical concepts
• Further deepen knowledge of the various cultural capital experiences Islington has to offer young children
• Further understand how learning about the past and present can enrich and widen children’s vocabulary and in turn support other areas of learning