Early Years Online Shop

A invaluable tool for the record keeping of children and staff attendance in settings as well as an important place to store emergency contact information; dietary and other health requirements; and insurance details.

It is often said that our staff are our most important asset and even though it is a cliché, it is completely true. Staff are the defining factor which marks great settings out from merely adequate ones. That is why understanding staff support and supervision is so important.

 This manual will examine all aspects of staff support and supervision from induction to appraisal with the objective of developing a system which supports the best performance possible in the interests of your setting and the children and families it serves.

 The manual covers areas such as Performance Management Systems Understanding of Support and Supervision

• Induction of New Employees

• Probation Process

• Supervision Meetings

• Appraisal Meetings

• Training and Development

This manual is designed to help settings understand the main employment issues which they are likely to encounter when they employ staff.  Staff may be the greatest cost to your organisation but they are undoubtedly also its greatest asset and are the key determining factor between successful and unsuccessful settings.  Early Years strongly believes that as well as making sure you fulfill your legal duties, you should also treat your employees in a positive manner which reflects the values of the work that you do.  We strongly believe that this in turn will help your setting produce the best possible outcomes for the children and families with which you work. 

Content includes information on the following topics: 

• Staff Terms and Conditions

• Pay

• Sick Pay

• Managing Absence and Sickness

• Health and Safety

• Working hours and breaks

• Leave

• Flexible Working

• Overtime and Time Off In Lieu (TOIL)

• Trade Union Rights

• Managing Performance

• Disciplinary Procedures

• Pensions

• Redundancy

One of the most critical roles in governance is to ensure your setting is on a sound financial footing for the short, medium and long term.  No matter how big or small your budget is, it is vital that all members of the management committee have a clear understanding of finances and that they exercise appropriate control over income and expenditure. 

This manual is designed to help groups understand the main financial considerations they should take into account when managing their settings.  Sound financial control will help ensure that your setting is solvent, well run, attractive to funders and sustainable for the long term.  An understanding of the importance of financial planning and decision-making will also help settings use their financial resources well for the delivery of the best outcomes for children. 

Content includes information on:

• Financial control

• Setting a budget

• Cash flow projections

• Reserves

• Accounts

• Keeping the books

• Income

• Expenditure

• Bank reconciliation

• What to do if you encounter problems

• Payment of salaries

• Fraud

A invaluable tool for the record keeping of children and staff attendance in settings as well as an important place to store emergency contact information; dietary and other health requirements; and insurance details.

A book full of practical play ideas to use at home with small children. Enables parents to be more confident in helping children develop and learn through play as well as to enhance the parent-child bond. A must have guide for all parents

This book outlines what parents should consider when sending their child with special educational needs (SEN) to a setting and also gives guidance to child care professionals on how to cater to the needs of the children in their setting with SEN.

This book is based upon a positive approach to managing children's behavior and deals with a vast array of issues from reluctant eaters to temper tantrums and more. (Polish Version)

This publication gives a step-by-step guide to recruitment, selection, and induction; offers advice on the legalities of being an employer and provides templates of forms required during the recruitment and selection process, such as job descriptions etc.

This useful little publication provides useful phrases for early years settings in the following languages:

• Polish

• Latvian

• Irish

• Lithuanian

• Portuguese

The publication covers a variety of topics and includes:

• Welcome

• Parental consent

• Areas of play

• Useful phrases for discussion

• Policies

• Meal times

The management team in any early years setting will have to look to the future success of their setting and to work within a strong set of values which place listening to children, ensuring a strong voice for children and those who care for them, participation, community, partnership, excellence and evidence-based innovation at the forefront of what they do.  These values will create a framework for settings to provide services consistent with a positive vision of and for children.

Management teams can be more efficient by reviewing the way in which they operate and by developing their own capacity which will equip people with skills and knowledge, identify skills they have, increase confidence and assist people in taking responsibility to plan for the future of their setting.  The concept of capacity building in the voluntary and community sector is similar to the concepts of management and organisational development in the commercial sector.

In this book we will look at financial management and planning for sustainability with a range of guides and templates for management teams.

Parent and Toddler Groups often form the first community development activity by young parents who identify the need to develop support systems for themselves and their young children in their local community.

Parent and Toddler Groups can be as formal or informal depending on the needs of parents at a particular point in time.  The important thing is that Parent & Toddler Groups meet the needs of children and their families in an enjoyable, inclusive and safe manner.

The aim of this booklet is to help all those involved in managing and running a Parent and Toddler Group to organise their activities in a way that suits them and the children and families they serve.

Contents include:

• Room layout

• Children and play

• Providing for play

• Administration and effective management systems

• Safety, health and hygiene

• Sample forms

This comprehensive publication is devised as a tool to support settings in writing and developing practice policies and procedures. The templates outlined in this publication can be downloaded from a CD contained within the publication. A range of key types of policy templates are contained within this useful guide including:

• Accident and Incident Policy

• Children with Additional/Special Needs Policy

• CCTV Policy

• Complaints/Comment Policy

• Safeguarding Children/Child Protection Policy

This Manual compliments the Governance Manual 1: Management Policies and Procedures publication.

This resource covers such areas as:

• Why self-evaluation is important

• Why to get involved in the self-evaluation process

• Who should be involved in the self-evaluation process

• Using external published standards or indicators to allow comparisons

• Evidence to support judgements

• Getting the views of others

• Differences between development plans and action plans

In The Three Rs of Leadership, Dr. Julie K. Biddle, PhD, redefines the concept of leadership in early childhood education, proposing a model of shared responsibility among school stakeholders. In this revised perspective, leadership is not tied to a single leader but is instead a quality of organizations that can be exerted by anyone. When educators enter into supportive relationships with each other; engage in reciprocal learning with students, parents, and colleagues; and reflect on their practice, they contribute to the evolution of leadership thinking and leadership action.

Drawing on her 30-plus years of working in and with schools, Dr. Biddle explores the three Rs of leadership in the context of developmentally appropriate programs that promote and support meaningful learning. Chapters in this book examine:

• Strategies for building and supporting relationships within early education programs

• Practices that encourage reciprocal "give-and-take" learning in schools in both formal and informal ways

• Guidelines for reflective practice with colleagues and students

Examples drawn from specific curriculum models and early childhood programs illustrate the ways in which The Three Rs of Leadership can positively impact teacher knowledge, student learning, and program effectiveness.

Supporting your workforce through induction, support, supervision and appraisal has a significant role to play within any workforce.

This publication will complement the work of management teams and will provide better information and practical resources which will support those involved in the support, supervision and appraisal process.  It provide templates which offer a format for recording details of the induction, support, supervision and appraisal processes, as well as provide tools which can assist management teams review and manage poor performance through ongoing support and supervision meetings.

‘All About Me - Before I Am Born to Three Months’, has been designed in recognition that every baby is unique and they grow and develop at their own pace.  It aims to assist in the understanding of key physical and brain development messages in a user friendly way.

The book also illustrates how parents, carers and family members can support these key messages, in reflection of the vital role that they play in the optimal development of their babies.

This is the second book in the All About Me series, and looks at the stages of development from four months to one year. It aims to assist in the understanding of key physical and brain development messages in a user friendly way.

The book also illustrates how parents, carers and family members can support these key messages, in reflection of the vital role that they play in the optimal development of their babies.

We live in a data-driven world. Almost every transaction and interaction you have with organisations involves you sharing personal data, such as your name, address and birth date. You share data online too, every time you visit a website, search for or buy something, use social media or send an email.

Sharing data helps makes life easier, more convenient and connected. As an individual, you have a right to expect your data to be handled properly by organisations because your data belongs to you. As an organisation, you must respect individual rights with regard to personal data and handle data in a way which complies with regulation and law.

The manual is designed for early years settings. It contains practical advice and examples of how to make sure data protection policies and procedures are in keeping with best practice. It contains templates which you can adapt for your needs. In addition, Early Years – the organisation for young children provides training in the GDPR and data management.

The service design manual for the Eager and Able to Learn Programme.

(Only available to practitioners who have completed EAL).