Care-experienced children and young people are likely to experience early adversities that place them at increased risk of developing physical and mental health difficulties. Physical activity can help address the varied needs and interests of care-experienced children and young people and become a tool to manage mental health and well-being…

The first five years of a child's life is a period of great opportunity, and risk. The cognitive and social-emotional skills that children develop in these early years have long-lasting impacts on their later outcomes throughout schooling and adulthood. The International Early Learning and Child Well-Being Study was designed to help countries…

Specialized preschool programs can enhance the development of vulnerable young children at risk of special educational needs (SEN). Less is known about the potential of early childhood education and care (ECEC) provided for the general population. This study includes 2,857 children attending 141 ECEC centres in England and 310 with no ECEC. ECEC…

The paper focuses on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which sets standards for children's care, development and education in England from birth to five years old. Analysing the EYFS, as comprised of knowledge and discourses that inform, and are informed by broader cultural understandings of childhood and development, we argue that the way…

This article focuses on the beliefs of primary school children aged 7-11 years in England concerning the impact of adult-led after-school extended provision (EP) on their development of non-cognitive skills (NCS). In responses to a questionnaire survey and focus group interviews, children were more positive than parents, teachers and school…

This paper engages with the question of how ethnographers in the field of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) can respond to the ontological turn in the social studies of childhood. Against the background of ECEC's deeply sedimented orientation towards the uniqueness of the individual child, the paper wishes to complicate the rationale of…

OECD countries have established statistical collections to ensure quality within Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). Focusing on one part of ECEC -- preschool 'childcare services' -- this paper critically reviews statistical collections specifically designed to measure childcare patterns in England alongside UK data collected for other…

A wealth of research evidences the positive impact of the outdoors for young children. Yet there is little relating to the experiences of babies and toddlers who attend daycare settings. This paper offers new knowledge about outdoor provision for under twos in the English context where there is a lack of explicit policy support for outdoor…

This study considered the influences of socioeconomic status (SES), home learning environment, and age of enrollment in early childhood education and care (ECEC) on early literacy and numeracy development of 5-year-olds in England (N = 2,577), Estonia (N = 2,110), and the United States (N = 2,234) by leveraging data from the International Early…

Neoliberal rationalities predicated on consumer choice and market forces have increasingly positioned parents as consumers in early childhood and care markets. In this context, providers jostle to attract clientele by providing pathways through and around a milieu of parental anxieties and ambitions for their children. This article examines a…

This study examines the perspectives of a group of 10 UK undergraduate students and one Master's student on a residential field trip to four Danish forest kindergartens. Two dimensions are examined: the impact of collaborative reflection and co-construction of knowledge on student learning; and the influence of cultural assumptions on…

Technocratic accountability, which is impacting ECEC practices in England, is where the government favors evidence-based knowledge to work with children. As a result, the emotional aspect of ECEC work and emotional labor have become increasingly complex and are sometimes unrecognized. In this paper we highlight the importance of more relational,…

The number of children in poverty looks set to rise and the gap in outcomes between the most disadvantaged children and their peers is likely to widen. Many families will face challenges of poverty, ill health, bereavement and unemployment, with knock-on effects for children's health and wellbeing. There are fears that children will miss out on…

In this conceptual article, the authors examine the context of early childhood education and care in England and the underpinning predominant ideologies to explore how these impact on the framing of leadership. The English context entails several contradictions (antinomies) at ontological, epistemological and axiological levels, and is heavily…

The number of preterm births is increasing globally and in England, yet professional knowledge about the short- and long-term developmental consequences and the psycho-social effect on parents is limited amongst the early years workforce. Using a social-ecological systems theory approach, this paper reports on a mixed-methods study that aimed to…