Useful content from Early Years education consultant, Penny Tassoni in EY smart – the online learning platform from PACEY

PACEY’s President, Penny Tassoni, MBE, is renowned in her field and spoke at the Childcare & Education Expo virtual summit about the future of education. If you missed Penny talking on Saturday at the panel, or were inspired by her and want to know more about great practice in childcare and early years, check out EY smart, from PACEY. These self-reflective, online courses cover a multitude of topics, and feature experts and real practitioners, sharing great practice and offering inspiration. Get involved now at https://eysmart.pacey.org.uk.

We have a selection of courses in our Transitions theme within EY smart, supporting children and their parents through the hellos, the goodbyes, and some of the other challenges we all face when things change.

⭐ Course: Transitions and settling in
PACEY President and early years expert Penny Tassoni talks about settling in, for younger children in particular. In a short video, Penny addresses how children may feel about being left at a setting, and the importance of the settling in process.

⭐ Course: Transitions and parents
In this course, Penny talks to childcare providers about how to work with parents to make the settling-in process for children a positive experience.

Penny comments: “Our research shows how heightened anxiety is for parents when they return to work and what an incredibly stressful time it is. With the increasing pressure on mothers to achieve the perfect work/life balance, feelings of guilt, anxiety and worry are all-consuming and separation anxiety is increasingly commonplace amongst parents and children. The childcare setting is central to mums successfully returning to work, and getting this right will have a positive impact on both mother and child. ”

⭐ Course: The language of feelings; supporting the development of emotional literacy
Penny Tassoni highlights the importance of supporting children to name their feelings in this course. “Emotion can run through a variety of shades, and one of the things that practitioners, as well as parents need to do is to help children learn to name all those different shades. Because when children are able to talk about their feelings and are able to recognise their feelings then this will help them with their self-regulation and self-control, and there are many ways in which adults can support that process.” Find out more in our EY smart course.

⭐ Course: Supporting the development of self-regulation skills
Penny, leading Early Years education consultant, author and trainer, presents a picture book in this course, with simple words and delightful full-colour illustrations that encourages children to share in a positive way.

There are also a variety of other courses within EY smart, where Penny talks about cultural capital, provides her top tips on how to develop your storytelling skills, as well as talking about food and drink, and providing children with a nutritious, balanced and portion appropriate diet.

These can all be found in the themes, Rules and Regulation, The communication station and Fit and healthy! Sign up to EY smart and start your learning journey today.