Early Years Practice

With a strong focus on practice this is a guide for anyone becoming Early Years Teacher or Educator.

I would recommend Early Years Practice as essential to students and trainees who wish to extend their knowledge and understanding of early years practice beyond level 3. This book is accessible, up to date and focuses on theory into practice incorporating the essential higher order skill of reflection. The pedagogical foundations within place children firmly at the centre, whilst acknowledging the highly influential Early Years Practitioner in the wider context of family, community and inclusive practice."


This is very much aimed at students working towards early years qualifications, especially early years degree courses...[it] features stories from real life practice and questions for reflection, as well as links to the Teachers′ standards, helping you to understand how children learn and develop; engage with the curriculum; develop ways of reflecting on practice, and develop skills needed to take a leading role. This is a valuable book that has much to offer students working at all levels.

Dr Elaine Hallet has been involved in educating children, practitioners, educators, teachers and students over a career of thirty-six years and during this time has developed an understanding of how to nurture, scaffold and support children’s and adults’ learning and professional practice through meaningful contexts. She has worked as an early years teacher, advisory teacher and leader in a range of schools and nurseries, as a lecturer and leader with students in further and higher education, teaching on a range of early years initial training, post-qualifying, undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral programmes and sector-endorsed professional awards in early years and integrated centre leadership. Elaine’s research includes, foundation degree graduates’ continuing professional development through work-based reflective learning, the development of professional identity, the role of graduate early years leaders in the leadership of learning. She is committed to continuing professional learning for development of professional practice and to supporting practitioners, educators and teachers on their reflective learning journeys of knowledge, understanding and discovery.    Elaine has recently retired from her role as Lecturer in Early Childhood at the Institute of Education: University College London. With a background in early years education and practice, Elaine is an established author, with a special interest in the education of young children and, practitioners, educators and teachers’ reflective continuing professional learning.