All Work and No Play? Busting the Binary in Majority World Settings
In this Play Piece, Stephen discusses whether work and play are different, and the value of play as distinct from work.
Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2023: Understanding Infant Mental Health
In this short animation for Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2023, PEDAL’s Senior Policy Fellow Sally Hogg explains what we mean by ‘mental health’ in infancy and early childhood. You can also find more information and useful resources for supporting children’s mental health in the early years by clicking here.
Exploring play in hospitals in Spain, Australia and England
In this article, Paulina reflects on her travels and what she has learned about Health Play Specialists and their importance to children in hospital.
INSAR 2023: Professionals’ perspectives on strengths-based autism diagnostic assessment
Neurodiversity-informed approaches enable us to move away from simply understanding autism in terms of difficulties. In this video, PEDAL PhD student Emma Pritchard-Rowe presents a summary of her research on professionals’ perspectives of holistic, strengths-based approaches to diagnostic assessment – which can have a positive impact on autistic people’s wellbeing and enhance the support available […]
INSAR 2023: Autistic adults’ perspectives and experiences of play-based assessments
Neurodiversity-informed & strengths-based approaches can help enrich our understanding of autistic play and the diverse array of strengths that autistic people have. In this video, PEDAL PhD student Emma Pritchard-Rowe presents a summary of her research on autistic adults’ experiences of play-based assessments. This poster was originally presented at the International Society for Autism Research […]
Play in South African autism schools: why are formalised ethical processes important?
Why are culturally sensitive approaches to research ethics so important?
Understanding and supporting mental health in infancy and early childhood: A PEDAL and UNICEF UK Toolkit
There is widespread concern about babies’, children’s and young people’s mental health in the UK, particularly after the pandemic. Surveys of children, young people, parents, grandparents and teachers all reveal worries about mental health. Significant evidence shows us that the foundations for lifelong mental health are laid during pregnancy and the earliest years of life. Thankfully, this is more widely […]
Play, physical activity, and physical health
How can active play help improve children's access to physical activity and their physical health?
ITAKOM Conference 2023: Moving towards a strengths-based approach to autism diagnostic assessment
Neurodiversity-informed approaches enable us to move away from simply understanding autism in terms of difficulties. In this video, PEDAL PhD student Emma Pritchard-Rowe presents a summary of her research on holistic, strengths-based approaches to diagnostic assessment which centre autistic voices & have a positive impact on autistic people’s wellbeing and self-esteem. This poster was originally […]
Early Years Library
Learn more about these free resources designed to help early childhood education practitioners support young children’s development of essential skills.
An Introduction to the TRAIL (Teachers Reflecting on Agency in Learning) Programme
Teachers Reflecting on Agency in Learning (TRAIL) is a professional development programme designed to support early years and primary educators in implementing rigorous, child-centred practices that promote agency in children. Many educators are unsure how to balance their role as a guide in children’s learning with children’s exploration and curiosity. In TRAIL, we support educators […]
Ruptured school trajectories: understanding the impact of COVID-19 on school dropout, socio-emotional and academic learning using a longitudinal design
Stephen Bayley, Prof Paul Ramchandani, Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre, Addis Ababa University, RISE Ethiopia
Narrative Matters: ‘Encanto’ and intergenerational trauma
Read a summary of Sydney Conroy's publication about how themes in Encanto might support children's mental health.
The Links Between Play and Children’s Mental Health
In this presentation, Professor Helen Dodd from the University of Exeter explains how play has changed over time, and explores how adventurous play might be considered a protective factors when it comes to children’s mental health. This talk formed part of the PEDAL Play Conference 2022, an event which brought together play researchers interested in […]
Using LEGO Bricks to Support Social and Emotional Wellbeing in Neurodivergent Children
Play Included is a social enterprise on a mission to create effective play-based development programmes for children – empowering professionals, enabling parents and families and building community. In this presentation, Dr Gina Gomez de la Cuesta introduces the Brick-by-Brick® programme, which provides opportunities for neurodivergent children to develop their social and emotional skills through collaborative […]
