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Essex Early Years and Childcare Charter
What the Charter means to you as a parent or carer! If your child attends childcare or primary school, the setting may be a Charter member. Their membership supports Essex County Council’s Early Years and Childcare Strategy to ensure every child in Essex gets the best start in life. Since its launch in November 2022,…
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Navigating Change
Change champions! Small children are constantly growing and developing, whilst life around them is continually changing. From taking their first steps, to welcoming a new sibling or starting at school, your child will encounter so many new environments, different people and new experiences. All these come with new language, rules, expectations and emotions. Some children…
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Homemade Pancakes
Perfect pancakes made easy! Cooking pancakes is a great activity to encourage lots of talking with your child! New words you can introduce: What you need: Allergy Disclaimer: Always check the label of each ingredient for allergy warnings What to do: Recipe Source: Delia Smith, BBC Food – Kid’s Pancake Recipes Top tips:
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Screen Time
Smart parenting in a digital world! The first 1,001 days are a critical period for a child’s development. Research shows us that babies and young children achieve the most development when an adult engages with them through playful learning on a regular basis – chatting, playing, and reading. This will help them build strong emotional…
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A Christmas Adventure
Merry and bright delight! The weeks leading up to, and during, Christmas can get very hectic. There is lots you can do with your little one to ensure you have quality time together this season with some magical moments! Top tips: Leading up to Christmas During and after Christmas
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Best Start in Life
Giving every child the best start in life! Best Start in Life was launched in September 2025 and is the UK Government’s strategy to ensure that a child’s background does not determine their future success, and that all children develop well by: learning to communicate, building relationships, managing their emotions, playing and learning. This is…
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Managing Emotions
Feelings and emotions matter! Learning to manage emotions is a really important skill for your child and will help them to build positive relationships with others, adapt their behaviour to different situations, enjoy trying new challenges, and explore learning as they grow. Children learn how to manage big emotions through feeling safe and secure in…
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Going to the Seaside
We do like to be beside the seaside! For young children, a trip to the seaside can provide opportunities for learning and development as part of the The Prime Areas of Learning – TLC. All the new experiences that come with a visit to the beach support your child’s personal, social and emotional development, helping…
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Box Play
Thinking inside the box! With the popularity of online shopping, cardboard boxes are a regular feature in many homes. So, before you add these boxes to the recycling pile, consider how they can be used in play! With a humble cardboard box, the opportunities for imaginative play, vocabulary development, and fine motor skills practice are…
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Bedtime Routines
Lights out for little ones! Sleep is essential for your child’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being as it supports growth, learning and memory, as well as impacting their behaviour. For some babies and young children sleep comes relatively easily, but for others good sleep habits (known as sleep hygiene) can take longer to establish. All…
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Essex Family Information Service
The Essex Family Information Service (FIS) is a free and impartial service for parents and carers. The FIS includes lots of information to help you find out about local services for babies, children and young people. There are also links to extra help and services that are available if your child has a Special Educational…
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Developing Language in Nature
Nattering in nature! The best thing about being in nature is it instinctively promotes language! Firstly, being in nature helps your child develop their listening skills. They learn to tune in to the sounds around them, like birds chirping, leaves rustling, or waves lapping. This careful listening is crucial for language development, as it helps…
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Nature Play
Wild and wonderful! Young children love to be outdoors and they usually head to a garden, playground, or park. These places are well-kept, with trimmed grass, cleared weeds, and tidy equipment. These spaces are great for children to play, run around, take risks, and develop their senses. But ‘outdoor play’ isn’t always the same as…
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Small World Play
It’s a small world! Small world play is a type of imaginary play that uses small toys and props to help your child to act out scenes from their daily life, or create fantasy worlds of their own! This type of play provides your child with opportunities to develop ideas, concepts such as size and…
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Talk, Listen, Cuddle Top Ten Talking Tips
10 top tips to help your child become a confident communicator! 1. Say your child’s name first as this will gain their attention 2. Get down to your child’s level so they can see your face when you speak 3. Use gestures when you are talking as this will give your child extra clues to…