CREC

Project funding opportunity:

📣The Ministry of Defence Early Years programme is open for applications offering funding for projects that strengthen childcare and early learning for children from serving armed forces families.

🌐 Visit our programme page for resources to help you with your application:
https://covenantfund.org.uk/programme/armed-forces-families-fund-early-years-programme

Delightful book launch event coming up next month - lunch included!
Still spaces available.

We are delighted to invite you to our experiential book launch, a unique event bringing our practice led research to life.

During the event, attendees will have the opportunity to:
• See practice led research in action within our nursery school
• Meet and hear from all of the authors
• Purchase a signed copy of the book

Refreshments, including lunch, will be provided, and the event is free of charge.

To help us with planning, please RSVP by completing the form via the link below or by scanning the QR code on the invitation:
👉 RSVP here: https://forms.office.com/e/X84UwBpHhR

We very much hope you can join us for what promises to be an engaging and inspiring event.

Places are limited so RSVP now to avoid disappointment!

Coming up tomorrow with our very own Chris Pascal:

New webinar coming this June! 🎉

To celebrate the launch of the book, Being and Becoming a Froebelian Community of Evidence Practice, co-authors, Professor Christine Pascal and Sally Cave, plus contributing educators will join us for a special online event.

📅 Thursday 4 June
🕖 7pm
💻 Zoom

The co-authors will use The Froebel Partnership Reflection with Guidance lenses in conversation with Jane Whinnett MBE to present their book. 🌿

Find out more about the event and how to book your free place on our website.

Link in comments below. 🔗

🚨 Applications close on June 30th.🚨

So I want to join the SCITT - what will my first year look like?

From September, you will gain practical classroom experience from the start, developing your confidence and skills from day one. You will be supported by experienced mentors across both EYFS and KS1, guiding you through every stage of your training year.
Alongside this hands-on experience, you will attend taught sessions, and complete online self-directed study to deepen your understanding of pedagogy and practice. The year is busy and rewarding, helping you develop into a reflective, confident early years teacher.

Interested in finding out more? Why not book an information session? Link in comments!

Sending massive congratulations to all the SCITT graduates who have secured their teaching jobs recently - you're fantastic and we are so proud of you!

If you'd like to change careers and retrain as a teacher in just one year, you can - we are currently accepting applications until June 30th.

Find out more - link in comments/bio.

We're lucky to have Debi Keyte-Hartland (Early Years Ed) on our team as MA Lecturer at CREC:

Debi Keyte-Hartland MA, BA (Hons) is an independent early childhood consultant working extensively across the UK and internationally. Debi specialises in expressive arts and design and the creative and reflective pedagogies which support young children’s thinking, enquiry and flourishing.

She is an associate consultant with Early Education and worked as part of the collaborative team developing Birth to Five Matters. Recent research includes an ESRC funded project researching participatory pedagogies as part of the Children's Participation in Schools project in Wales and she is a pedagogical coach-mentor on SPACE to Flourish - Supporting Pedagogy in Art and Creativity in Early Years - funded by the Mercers’ Company.

She undertook her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education researching young children’s approaches to graphicacy. She has written about art and ecological research with young children.

Recent publications: ‍

(2025) Foster, Gunning & Keyte-Hartland “Expressive Arts and Design Matters” in Lee, K & Veale, V. (Eds) School Readiness Matters: Embedded and Threaded Transitions. TACTYC

(2025) Keyte-Hartland & Lowings Learning to Live Well Together: Art and Ecological Research with Young Children

(2024) Keyte-Hartland Attending to Vitality and Liveliness in Learning. Innovations. Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Emilia Exchange, 31,2, Summer

(2024) Keyte-Hartland Focusing on Drawing in Early Childhood: Moving beyond realism to cultivating a dynamic engagement with art in the environment.

CREC's MA Education (early years) is designed for those working in the field of early childhood and associated services. The five taught days are spread across the year to enable ease for part-time study with gap tasks between the sessions and submission deadlines to match the natural cycle of the academic calendar.

Dates for Year 1 2026/27 have been set at:

Day 1: Thursday, 15th October 2026;

Day 2: Thursday, 26th November 2026;

Day 3: Monday, 25th January 2027;

Day 4: Wednesday, 17th March 2027;

Day 5: Monday, 26th April 2026.

Any questions? Book a chat with the programme lead

Apply now for September 2026 start.

https://www.crec.co.uk/ma-in-education

There is still time to begin your CME:EC journey. Here are some of the words used by previous students in their feedback on the course! For more details and to apply by Friday 26th June visit the link in comments.

CREC's Chris Pascal is quoted as saying: ‘For me, Vygotsky was a genius. His ideas gave us a practical way to think about the mind and how learning develops.’

Vygotsky, she adds, starts with the assumption that all children are very capable learners. They have pre-existing knowledge, an actual developmental level and a potential developmental level. She says, ‘Between these zones you've got this critical band, which he calls the Zone of Proximal Development. For educators, that's the critical zone to focus on.’

Read more in this new Nursery World article about Early Years pioneers:

https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/content/features/early-years-pioneers-part-5-lev-vygotsky-and-jerome-bruners-how-children-learn

www.nurseryworld.co.uk

SPACE to Flourish: Cultivating children’s creativity through supporting pedagogy in professional learning – interim findings : My College DEBI KEYTE-HARTLAND, EARLY EDUCATION ASSOCIATE; ARTIST-EDUCATOR, UK CATHY GUNNING, EARLY EDUCATION ASSOCIATE; EDUCATION COACH AND MENTOR, UK Introduction This article examines transformative learning at the midpoint of SPACE to Flourish – a four-year professional learning programme for Early Years...

🚨 SCITT Applications Close on 30th June 🚨

👶 Are you ready to make a lasting impact on the youngest minds in your community? CREC, in proud partnership with Teach First, offers a premier, specialist Early Years (3–7 years) route into teaching, right here in the Birmingham area.

🧑‍🏫 Our bespoke programme is designed to transform passionate individuals into exceptional educators. You will develop a deep understanding of the professional teacher's role, fully preparing you for a rewarding career across the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.

🤔 Why Choose This Route?

😃 True Community Impact: This is a fully immersive, school-centred training experience. You will be placed in a vibrant nursery or primary school local to you, working directly with pupils and experienced staff in your own neighbourhood.

💪 Beyond Teaching: This programme is tailor-made for those who want to do more than just deliver a curriculum. You will facilitate vital early development, equipping young children with the tools to thrive and conquer future challenges.

🚀 Powerhouse Partnership: Benefit from CREC’s deep-rooted early years expertise combined with Teach First’s nationally recognised leadership and support networks.

Ready to inspire the next generation?
Join a community of educators dedicated to giving children the absolute best start in life.

Find out more - link in comments.