The unknown Zabludovsky: his early years

Major health inequalities existing across the world and are often closely linked with degrees of social disadvantage. Scotland is fully committed to tackling this major challenge of health and social inequalities. One key focus is ensuring that every child and young person has equal access to opportunities and health improvements. This is supported by a series of national guidelines and ‘early years’ policy drivers. To implement these policies in practice, one National Health Service (NHS) health board (Lanarkshire) in collaboration with the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), adopted an innovative approach to develop the Best Possible Start (BPS) program of focused activity to reshape ‘early years’ services and ways of working. The foundation for the program was the national transformational initiative ‘Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC)’. This is based on the belief that the developments of the child and their experiences in the early years have a major impact on the child’s future life chances. The early nurturing environment is seen crucial in influencing emotional attachment. The BPS program focused on reshaping and streamlining the related health services in the early years between preconception and early school years. This is incorporated in the universal pathway of care encompassing all ‘early years’ services and related professionals. This universal pathway of care is underpinned with evidence based practice, workforce development, building research capacity and influencing leadership in the workplace. This paper presents a detailed overview of the BPS program including the structure, strategic aims and the rationale underpinning the pathway of care.

In the context of increasing probability of advancement in onset date of Indian Summer Monsoon during recent years, precipitation and circulation features of early monsoon onset events are investigated in detail using reanalysis data and model simulations. During the onset pentad (± 2 days from the onset day), an anomalous increase in precipitation is observed over the west coast of peninsular India and Bay of Bengal during early onset years compared to normal onset years. The monsoon low level jet (LLJ) also becomes stronger during the onset pentad of early onset years particularly over the southern peninsular India. However, after a week from the onset day of early years, precipitation is considerably decreased and the LLJ become weaker. Moreover, convection over the eastern Arabian Sea and western peninsular India suppresses during that period which in turn inhibits the systematic northward propagation of monsoon rainbands. This induces a ‘mini break’ like condition immediately after a week from the onset day during early onset years. Analysis of the sea surface temperature (SST) shows that, over the north eastern Arabian Sea, a lower value of SST exists during early onset years compared to normal onset years which may have a triggering role in the formation of ‘mini break’ like condition. This aspect is examined using sensitivity simulations with the Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting model. Simulations with reduced SST over the north eastern Arabian Sea during normal onset years exhibits considerable reduction in precipitation over the west coast of India and weakens the LLJ over the peninsular India. Whereas simulations with enhanced SST over the north eastern Arabian Sea during early onset years show increase in the convective activities over the eastern Arabian Sea and west coast of peninsular India, and the existence of ‘mini break’ like situation disappears from those years. Thus numerical simulations confirm the relation between SST over the north eastern Arabian Sea and the formation of ‘mini break’ during early onset years.

We owe a debt to our children. We have failed to prepare our students for global competiveness, especially in mathematics. As educators, we need to think about how we can support all learners at all levels, but perhaps we should begin in the early childhood years and concentrate on mathematics. This chapter is about technology in mathematics in the early childhood years. We write this because we believe that technology can be appropriately used in mathematics in the early years. We note however, that technology, like teacher quality, has profound and systemic problems with equity. We also acknowledge that technology for technology’s sake is not appropriate, particularly during the early years. We are taking responsibility for our debt, as we outline use of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) standards in conjunction with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) as a framework for mathematics in the early years. We view technology as one means of supporting those standards.

<p>This study aims to analyze the effect of social capital and husband-wife <br />interaction on marital quality among families in early years and middle years<br />marriage. The study was using cross sectional design. The selection of research<br />sites was purposively chosen in Bogor City. The location of the study was in<br />Kebon Pedes and Kedung Badak, regions of Tanah Sareal district. Samples of this<br />study were 120 families in early and middle years of marriage with wives as the<br />main participants. Data were collected through interview using questionnaire. The<br />study found that social capital in families with early marriage age in the<br />intermediate category, and in families with middle years of marriage is in the high<br />category. Different test results show only in the dimensions of gender partnerships<br />that families in middle years of marriage were higher than early years families. On<br />variable of husband-wife interaction, half of the families with early marriage years<br />were in the intermediate category and more than half of families with middle<br />years of marriage were in the high category. There wereno significant differences<br />in all dimensions of husband and wife interaction. In the variable quality of<br />marriage, half of families with early years marriage were in the intermediate<br />category, whereas more than half of families with middle years marriage were in<br />high category. There wereno significant differences in all dimensions of marital<br />quality.</p>

Children's early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influence many aspects of wellbeing. Children's tastes and eating habits are also formed early in life with consequences for growth, development, health and academic achievement in later life.1-4 Promoting the initiation and optimal duration of breastfeeding and good nutrition in the early years can reduce the prevalence of later obesity and associated chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers.5 Hence, the most cost-effective nutrition interventions focus on this window of opportunity.6 With over 1.3 million registered early years places in England7 and an increasing number of full day-care places,8 early years settings provide an invaluable opportunity to help children to eat well and engage with families to encourage development of healthy eating habits at home. All regulated early years settings in England are required to follow the mandatory standards for learning, development and care of children from birth to five years as set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework.9 The framework includes a welfare requirement for the provision of 'healthy, balanced and nutritious' food and drink, but until recently, there was no national guidance in England to explain what this meant in practice.10Development of the 'Eat Better, Start Better' programmeIn April 2011, the Children's Food Trust11 was awarded a Department for Education grant to develop and deliver the 'Eat Better, Start Better' programme. This programme evolved from two recommendations made by the Advisory Panel on Food and Nutrition in Early Years,12 the development of national food and drink guidelines for early years settings and food and nutrition training for the early years and health workforce. The main aims of the programme are to support healthier food provision in early years settings and in families with young children, and increase the food, nutrition and healthy cooking knowledge, skills and confidence of early years and health practitioners and parents.The programme has been implemented over two phases. As part of Phase 1 (2011-2012), the trust developed the Voluntary Food and Drink Guidelines for Early Years Settings in England13 and practical support tools, and worked collaboratively with five local authority areas to develop and pilot an integrated food and nutrition training and evaluation package. Following successful delivery in Phase 1,14 the programme was rolled out to a further 20 targeted local authorities across England between April 2012 and September 2013.The 'Eat Better, Start Better' programme has been designed to support early years and health professionals to confidently cascade age-appropriate, nutrition advice to early years settings and families, helping to ensure that children and parents receive consistent messages around healthy eating.The programme includes two trainthe- trainer courses (how to use the food and drink guidelines; healthy cooking with families), dissemination of guidance and resources, and regular monitoring of impact using standardised evaluation tools. The Trust's training, accredited by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH),15 acknowledges the unique role health and early years practitioners have in delivering health and education services.Monitoring the impact of the 'Eat Better, Start Better' programmeEvaluation is an integral part of the programme. Following the training, each local authority undertakes baseline and follow-up audit visits in early years settings to assess the impact of the food and drink guidelines and practical tools on settings' approach to and provision of food. To assess the impact of the cooking sessions delivered to families, early years settings report what food was prepared, the skills developed and how many families were involved in the cooking sessions. This information informs an evaluation report for commissioning in local authorities and can be used as evidence of impact for health and wellbeing boards. …

Objectives: Compiling the portfolio in the early years of medical study is considered an important educational instrument for fostering change in the medical education curriculum in Egypt. This study assumed that adding the mentorship may boost the effectiveness of this program. This study was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University in early years of medical study with the following objectives: assessing the effects of mentoring portfolios on students and staff, exploring how mentors and students perceived the mentorship/ portfolio program, and determining any suggestions to improve the program Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study, sample included a total comprehensive sample of year 1 students (n=260 students) and Seventeen mentors. Two questionnaires were used: Students' perception questionnaire and Mentors' perception questionnaire. Results: Mentorship has helped in the implementation of the portfolio as all mentors agreed that mentorship improved the final product of the portfolio and facilitated the process of the portfolio. The twining has supported the students academically and professionally. Academically as students agreed that their mentors assist in portfolio understanding, 68.3%, provide constructive feedback 67.4%, and follow the fulfilment of all the portfolio inputs 65.6%. It helped them to develop personally and professionally through the development of their reflective skills, 59.6% and the concept map 64%. Conclusion: The study concluded that the mentorship may help improvement of the final product of the portfolio in the early basic years. Moreover, it assists the academic support to the students and helps them to develop their reflective skills.

Chapter 1: Introduction: Young Children Learning and Early Years Teaching David Whitebread PART A: Basic Principles and Approaches Chapter 2: 'Our classroom is like a little cosy house!': Organising the early years classroom to encourage self-regulated learning David Whitebread with Rebecca Dawkins, Sue Bingham, Harriet Rhodes & Kate Hemming Chapter 3: 'My mum would pay anything for chocolate cake!' Organising the Whole Curriculum: Enterprise Projects in the Early Years Penny Coltman, David Whitebread & Jayne Greenwood Chapter 4: 'When the chicks hatch a man will come and bring them yolk to eat': Assessment in the early years Amy Arnold Chapter 5: This is the best day of my life! And I'm not leaving here until it's time to go home!: The Outdoor Learning Environment Christine Parker PART B: Play & Language Chapter 6: 'Listen to my idea!' Communication and Language in the Early Years Nancy Stewart Chapter 7: 'It is only a story, isn't it?' Interactive Story-making in the Early Years Classroom Lesley Hendy Chapter 8: can write... on my own! Writing in the Early Years Helen Bradford Chapter 9: 'What's that dog thinking, Mrs. Bromley?' Picture Books and Learning to Read Helen Bromley PART C: The Wider Curriculum Chapter 10: 'We are passing the smile around' Personal, Social, Health and Emotional Education in the Early Years Sue Bingham Chapter 11: 'How do I do this better?' From Movement Development into Physical Literacy Trish Maude Chapter 12: I've got a song to sing: Creating a Musical Environment for Children in their Early Years Linda Bance Chapter 13: 'Once there was someone who walked on the sky.' Creativity in the Early Years Kate Cowan & Miles Berry Chapter 14: 'How many toes has a newt?' Science in the Early Years Penny Coltman Chapter 15: 'How many shapey ones have you got?' : Number and Shape in the Early Years Sue Gifford & Penny Coltman Chapter 16: 'But what does it do?' Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the Early Years: An Emergent Approach John Siraj-Blatchford Chapter 17: So what is long ago and where is far away...? A sense of time and place Jayne Greenwood & Holly Linklater Chapter 18: Why is she all yellowy Miss? Why have you got two mums You can't use the pink - you're a boy! : Embracing diversity & difference in the Early Years Natalie Heath PART D: The Way Forward Chapter 19: Whatever Next? Future Trends in Early Years Education Mary Jane Drummond Index

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to consider the opportunities and difficulties in developing health-promotion work in early years settings in the UK. Design/methodology/approach – As the first study of its kind conducted in the UK, a multi-method approach was adopted involving: an overview of health-related guidance and of effective interventions in early years settings to promote health among young children; 26 interviews with key informants in the early years and health fields, regional coordinators for the National Healthy Schools Programme (NHSP) and Foundation Stage regional advisers; a survey of 145 local Healthy Schools Programme coordinators with a response rate of 75 per cent; and six case studies of early years settings representing promising practice in the promotion of health and wellbeing. Findings – There is considerable enthusiasm for health promotion work within early years organisations, and interest in developing such work in early years settings. The study suggests that building on existing early years curriculum frameworks, developing partnerships between health and early years professionals, engaging both parents and practitioners, and adequate national and local resourcing will facilitate development of health promoting work in the early years sector. Practical implications – This paper and the outputs from the study offer useful evidence for health and early years professionals who are developing health-promoting work in early years settings. Originality/value – The paper reports on the first study of its kind in which the perceptions of both early years and health professionals are brought together to consider the issues involved in developing healthy early years practice.

Aim/Purpose: This paper aims to explore whether having state Computer Science standards in place will increase young children’s exposure to coding and powerful ideas from computer science in the early years. Background: Computer science education in the K-2 educational segment is receiving a growing amount of attention as national and state educational frameworks are emerging. By focusing on the app ScratchJr, the most popular free introductory block-based programming language for early childhood, this paper explores if there is a relationship between the presence of state frameworks and ScratchJr’s frequency of use. Methodology: This paper analyzes quantitative non-identifying data from Google Analytics on users of the ScratchJr programming app. Google Analytics is a free tool that allows access to user activity as it happens in real time on the app, as well as audience demographics and behavior. An analysis of trends by state, time of year, type of in-app activities completed, and more are analyzed with a specific focus on comparing states with K-12 Computer Science in place versus those without. Contribution: Results demonstrate the importance of having state standards in place to increase young children’s exposure to coding and powerful ideas from computer science in the early years. Moreover, we see preliminary evidence that states with Computer Science standards in place support skills like perseverance and debugging through ScratchJr. Findings: Findings show that in the case of ScratchJr, app usage decreases during the summer months and on weekends, which may indicate that coding with ScratchJr is more often happening in school than at home. Results also show that states with Computer Science standards have more ScratchJr users on average and have more total sessions with the app on average. Results also show preliminary evidence that states with Computer Science standards in place have longer average session duration as well as a higher average number of users returning to edit an existing project. Recommendations for Practitioners: Successful early childhood computer science education programs must teach powerful ideas from the discipline of computer science in a developmentally appropriate way, provide means for self-expression, prompt debugging and problem solving, and offer a low-floor/high-ceiling interface for both novices and experts. Practitioners should be aware in drops in computer science learning during the summer months when school is not in session. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should consider the impact of state and national frameworks on computer science learning and skills mastered during the early childhood years. Researchers should look for ways to continue engaging students in computer science education during times when school is not in session. Impact on Society: Results demonstrate the importance of having state CS standards in place to increase young children’s exposure to coding and powerful ideas from computer science in the early years. Moreover, we see preliminary evidence that states with Computer Science standards in place support skills like perseverance and debugging through ScratchJr. Future Research: Future research should continue collecting Google Analytics from the ScratchJr app and track changes in usage. Future research should also collect analytics from a wide range of programming applications for young children to see if the trends identified here are consistent across different apps.

AimsPaediatrics teaching at is usually reserved for the penultimate year of the undergraduate course. Early education in various specialties is not only vital for a well-rounded student but in an...

Reading Success in the Early Primary Years is a step-by-step guide to structured literacy instruction for teachers working in the early years of primary school. Written by a teacher, for teachers, this book supports teachers to understand the evidence base of reading instruction and how to successfully implement it. Structured in three parts, the book breaks down complex concepts in a concise, accessible manner, guiding teachers on eight key actions to take to get every child on the path to reading proficiency. These include instruction in phonics, phonological and phonemic awareness, integrated reading and spelling opportunities, and the use of decodable texts. Highly practical, Reading Success in the Early Primary Years offers over 20 explicit instructional routines that teachers can implement in their classrooms and guidance on how to get the most out of instructional time. These practical elements are further supported by a summary of relevant research and theories about how reading develops, including an outline of high impact, explicit teaching that draws on cognitive load theory. Rich with sample lesson plans, tools, and examples from real classrooms, this book allows teachers to get on with the business of teaching reading. This is a must-have resource for all who are responsible for children’s reading instruction in the first three years of school.

The impact of the early years on a child’s chances at success later in life is indisputable. Thanks to advanced understanding of the relationship between early experience, brain development and outcomes, we now know that the first years of life offer a unique opportunity, both for individual children and families, and for our society (1). Neuroscience has shown us that children’s early experiences are critical to future health, learning and behaviour. What happens to children during this time can set them on a lifelong course – for better or for worse. The Globe and Mail recently reported that 25% of all health care costs are devoted to caring for patients in their final year of life (2). End-of-life care is an indisputable marker of a compassionate society, but what do we give up to pay for this? Do we inject the same amount of economic energy into the first years of life? In January, the Canadian Paediatric Society released its biennial status report on public policy affecting children and youth (3). The report examines how effectively provincial/territorial and federal governments are using their legislative clout to promote the health and well-being of kids. We conclude that both levels of government could be doing much more, much sooner – and for a relatively modest investment – to protect and nurture the health of our youngest citizens, and to promote a more prosperous and secure society. Our standing among the world’s richest countries lays bare this neglect: Canada has not fared well in international comparisons of child health and well-being. In a UNICEF report on early learning and care (4), for example, Canada was at the bottom of the list among 25 wealthy countries, meeting only one of the 10 benchmarks for protecting children in their most vulnerable and formative years. Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman argues that early learning begets later learning, and that waiting until children reach school age to intervene may be too late (5). Many children start school with unidentified speech, vision, hearing or other problems, and more than 25% are considered ‘vulnerable’ in their physical, social/emotional or language/cognitive development (6). Much of this disparity can be traced back to the quality of children’s early experiences and environments. In other words, these are things we can change. Investing early has far more economic benefit than spending money after children start school. Estimates of the return to society on dollars spent in the early childhood years vary, but they are impressive – from $4 to $8 for every $1 spent (7). Dan Trefler, an economist at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management (Toronto, Ontario), argues that high-quality early childhood development initiatives all but pay for themselves. Not only do early childhood interventions enhance adult employability and generate billions in tax revenues, he says, they also reduce the need for expensive remedial programs such as special education and medical treatment (8). What is the cost of doing nothing? It’s huge. Studies from other countries have shown that adverse early experiences can have negative implications throughout life – ranging from school problems and teen pregnancy in adolescence, to obesity, high blood pressure, depression and heart disease in the later years (7). Add to this the costs of the criminal justice system. And consider all the vulnerable children who are capable of making positive contributions to our country, but are destined to languish as adults on the margins of our society. Nearly every struggling parent wants a better future for their children. And whether you’re a scientist, a social activist or a fiscal conservative, investing wisely in our youngest citizens makes sense. Neither an ageing demographic, an uncertain economy nor willful policy neglect should undermine such investments. Parents need both our direct and social policy supports. In addition to enhanced investment in the early years, Canada’s paediatricians propose new national measurement tools to monitor our children’s progress, so governments can implement the most effective policies and interventions. We also propose that every province and territory have a robust poverty reduction strategy, a child and youth advocate who reports directly to their respective legislatures, and enhanced well-child visits with a health professional for all 18-month-olds. The evidence from our scientists and economists tells us we can do a much better job to close the early years policy gap with modest, cost-effective investments. Young, vulnerable children, without a voice but full of potential, need our leadership.

ObjectiveWe set out to test whether the early years foundation stage profile (EYFSP) score derived from 17 items assessed by teachers at the end of reception school year had any...

We employed machine learning approaches to (I) determine distinct progression trajectories in Parkinson's disease (PD) (unsupervised clustering task), and (II) predict progression trajectories (supervised prediction task), from early (years 0 and 1) data, making use of clinical and imaging features. We studied PD-subjects derived from longitudinal datasets (years 0, 1, 2 & 4; Parkinson's Progressive Marker Initiative). We extracted and analyzed 981 features, including motor, non-motor, and radiomics features extracted for each region-of-interest (ROIs: left/right caudate and putamen) using our standardized standardized environment for radiomics analysis (SERA) radiomics software. Segmentation of ROIs on dopamine transposer - single photon emission computed tomography (DAT SPECT) images were performed via magnetic resonance images (MRI). After performing cross-sectional clustering on 885 subjects (original dataset) to identify disease subtypes, we identified optimal longitudinal trajectories using hybrid machine learning systems (HMLS), including principal component analysis (PCA) + K-Means algorithms (KMA) followed by Bayesian information criterion (BIC), Calinski-Harabatz criterion (CHC), and elbow criterion (EC). Subsequently, prediction of the identified trajectories from early year data was performed using multiple HMLSs including 16 Dimension Reduction Algorithms (DRA) and 10 classification algorithms. We identified 3 distinct progression trajectories. Hotelling's t squared test (HTST) showed that the identified trajectories were distinct. The trajectories included those with (I, II) disease escalation (2 trajectories, 27% and 38% of patients) and (III) stable disease (1 trajectory, 35% of patients). For trajectory prediction from early year data, HMLSs including the stochastic neighbor embedding algorithm (SNEA, as a DRA) as well as locally linear embedding algorithm (LLEA, as a DRA), linked with the new probabilistic neural network classifier (NPNNC, as a classifier), resulted in accuracies of 78.4% and 79.2% respectively, while other HMLSs such as SNEA + Lib_SVM (library for support vector machines) and t_SNE (t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding) + NPNNC resulted in 76.5% and 76.1% respectively. This study moves beyond cross-sectional PD subtyping to clustering of longitudinal disease trajectories. We conclude that combining medical information with SPECT-based radiomics features, and optimal utilization of HMLSs, can identify distinct disease trajectories in PD patients, and enable effective prediction of disease trajectories from early year data.

In April 2015, the Early Years Inspection Handbook instructed inspectors to make a judgement on the effectiveness of leadership and management to actively promote British values in the settings. This contribution discusses the paradoxical position of fundamental British values within the cultures of education underpinning the curricular framework for early years education in England, the early years foundation stage. The introduction of education to fundamental British values as a statutory requirement for early years settings will be discussed within its historical background, linked to the arduous journey of citizenship education to its inclusion in English curricula. This historical review aims to position education to fundamental British values in early years within a much broader cultural process within education, towards the reconceptualisation of the citizenship as one of the outcomes of successful educational planning. Having positioned education to fundamental British values in early years in a powerful cultural movement within the education system, this contribution will interrogate the Early Years Inspection Handbook, early years foundation stage and other education policies via the methodology of document analysis. The aim of the analytical procedure is to explore the intersection between education to fundamental British values and the cultures of education in the early years foundation stage, to advance an assessment of the possibilities and implication of the inclusion of citizenship as an object of early years education. Such assessment suggests that the concept of child-initiated pedagogy introduced in the early years foundation stage has the potential to address children’s meanings and experience of citizenship as practised and experienced, with obvious implication for the empowerment of children’s agency. However, this requires the support of a pedagogy and analysis allowing children and young people to develop skills for critical thinking and political change.