ISEY

👶🔬 Calling all baby scientists!

Is your little one 8-13 months old? We'd love to invite you and your baby to take part in an exciting research study at ISEY, UEL Stratford Campus!

Join us for a fun, engaging session where your baby gets to explore a virtual reality environment — helping our researchers discover what captures babies' attention and interest at this fascinating stage of development.

🎁 What's in it for you?

💰 Earn £15 for your time
🎮 See your baby enjoy our fun VR environment
🧠 Discover what your baby finds most interesting
🌟 Help contribute to real research on infant learning

📩 Interested? Email us at [email protected] to find out more and take part!

Every baby has a unique way of exploring the world — help us understand it a little better! 💙

We are delighted to have contributed to the development of the Department for Education new guidance on screen use for early years providers.

As digital technology becomes an increasingly common part of children's lives, it is important that guidance is informed by the best available evidence. We were pleased to support the Department for Education in developing this resource, helping to ensure that early years professionals have access to clear, evidence-informed guidance.

A big thank you to everyone involved in bringing this together.

You can read the new guidance here:

https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/health-and-wellbeing/screen-use 

At ISEY, we are continuing our research exploring screen use in early childhood. By working with families and early years settings, we hope to build a clearer understanding of how children engage with digital media in everyday life and how this relates to their attention, learning, development and wellbeing.

We're still recruiting participants to take part in the study. If you're a parent of a young child or work in an early years setting and would like to find out more, we'd love to hear from you - Take part link in our bio.

A fantastic day at Sense about Science Evidence Week in Parliament. ISEY attended to represent one of the research programmes at the The University of East London, showcasing evidence that is helping to shape more inclusive learning environments.

Dr Gemma Goldenberg, Dr Katie Daubney and PhD researcher Conor Bathgate had the opportunity to share insights with MPs and policymakers on outdoor learning and acoustic environments. Drawing on Dr Goldenberg's research, the team presented key findings and recommendations while also highlighting ongoing work exploring how learning environments can better support children and young people.

We are actively advocating for acoustics to be explicitly recognised within the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework, early childhood teacher education and qualification programmes, and the Ofsted Inspection Framework.

It was wonderful to hear from colleagues and policymakers, with valuable discussions about how these universal approaches intersect with the ongoing education and SEND reforms. The conversations were a strong reminder of the importance of evidence-informed policy and collaborative working.

We're looking forward to continuing these discussions and building on the momentum from the day. Thank you to everyone who took the time to engage, ask questions and share perspectives.

Would you like your child to take part in early years research?

At the Institute of Science for Early Years and Youth at the University of East London, we run a range of child-friendly research studies exploring early childhood development.

Our studies cover many different topics, including how young children learn, communicate, pay attention, interact with the world around them and respond to different environments.

We are currently inviting families with children aged 9 months to 7 years to register their interest in taking part.

Taking part is designed to be:

Safe and child-friendly

Flexible around your schedule

Engaging and enjoyable for children

Led by experienced researchers in a supportive environment

Families who take part help us build stronger evidence around early development and shape better guidance for parents, educators and policymakers.

Register your interest to take part in current or future ISEY studies.

https://www.isey.org/take-part

Is there a "just right" sensory environment for young children?

At the ISEY Imaginarium, our researchers are exploring what happens when babies experience different sensory environments. Some environments may be overwhelming, others may not provide enough stimulation, while some may offer the right balance to support attention, engagement and regulation.

Using a combination of eye tracking, heart rate monitoring, brain activity measures and behavioural observations, we are building a richer picture of how young children experience the world around them.

A key aim of this work is to better understand the mechanisms that underpin regulation and dysregulation. What happens physiologically when a child becomes overwhelmed? What supports a return to a calm, engaged state? How do these processes change as children grow and develop?

By understanding the biological and behavioural foundations of regulation, we hope to identify practical ways to support children across a range of environments and contribute to the design of spaces that help young children thrive.

What better way to spend International Day of Play than by playing? 🎈

Today, children and families joined us in the lab as part of a research project with TTS, exploring how young children interact with a range of new glow resources.

Through play, children explored, created, experimented, and shared their ideas, while helping us better understand how different resources support engagement and interaction.

A huge thank you to all the children and families who took part. We had a brilliant day celebrating play and learning together.

Play is something we are deeply passionate about at ISEY. It is a fundamental right for every child and a core pillar of early childhood development, supporting learning, communication, creativity, wellbeing, and social connection.

No single profession can fully understand the whole child in isolation. That's why collaboration matters.

This week, we hosted our first Special Policy Forum to explore a challenge hiding in plain sight: the impact of everyday noise on early learning.

Researchers, educators, speech and language specialists, acousticians, policymakers and sector leaders came together to share perspectives, challenge assumptions and discuss how we can better understand the environments in which young children learn.

Complex challenges require more than one perspective. By bringing together expertise from across research, practice and policy, we can build a stronger evidence base and develop solutions that make a meaningful difference for children, families and educators.

A huge thank you to our funders, expert advisory panel and everyone who took the time to contribute to the discussion. Meaningful change happens when research, practice and policy come together with a shared commitment to improving outcomes for children and creating a fairer start in life.

Want to see where the research leads?

Scan the QR code to follow our work on noise, communication and early learning, and to access our policy briefing.

SpeechAndLanguage SocialMobility NuffieldFoundation

🧠✨ What is the science behind socialising in groups?

Researchers at the University of East London are looking for adults aged 21+ to take part in an exciting study exploring social interaction and human connection.

Participants will take part in fun weekly social activities while contributing to important psychological research.

📍 Stratford, East London�
⏱️ 1 hour/week for 6 weeks�
🛍️ Receive up to £100 in shopping vouchers

Deadline to enrol: Thursday, 4th June 2026, 4 pm.

Interested? Scan the QR code in the flyer, email [email protected], or visit isey.org for more information.

Feel free to share with friends or anyone who may be interested 👇

Interested in helping shape the future of early childhood research? ✨

At the Institute for the Science of Early Years and Youth, we are currently recruiting families for a range of exciting research studies exploring early development, sensory environments, screen media, play, attention, and learning.

Our studies involve fun, child-friendly activities both in the lab and at home, helping us better understand how young children experience the world around them.

Families who take part receive thank-you vouchers or gifts, and most importantly, contribute to research that could help improve understanding and support for children and families.

Scan the QR code or visit the link in our bio to find out more and register your interest 💫

Hello all🙋🏻

Only a few more days to sign up for our study on how group socialising affects the brain!🧠

We’ve got fun activities planned, and you’ll be contributing to some very important science. What’s not to like?

So, if you're interested or want to know more, please email [email protected] or scan QR code below.👇🏻

Have a lovely week!🙂