Play, access and opportunity: Game-changing action for children
In this presentation from the PEDAL Conference 2025, Dr Julian Grenier, Senior Content and Engagement Manager for Early Years at the Education Endowment Foundation, draw on his experience of working in early education and care for more than three decades.
Leveraging alternative systems to support children’s development amid crisis
Dr Nikhit D’Sa, a developmental psychologist and applied education researcher, share lessons from four years of research with communities in Haiti at the PEDAL Conference 2025.
AI, toys and the future
These recordings formed the “AI, toys and the future” session, presented by Prof Rosie Flewitt and PEDAL’s Dr Emily Goodacre.
Children’s risky play: Thrilling experiences and developmental benefits
Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter, Professor at the Department of Physical Education and Health at Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education, Norway, attended the PEDAL Conference 2025 to give the David Whitebread Memorial Lecture.
Building a community for change
Sally Hogg, Eleanor Ireland and Amy McNaughton share how they’re building collaborations to drive change for children of the future.
Early childhood development and the ‘next 1000 days’
Dr Catherine Draper, Associate Professor in the SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, attended the PEDAL Conference 2025 to present her work on ‘the next 1000 days’ (2-5 years).
Play: The future of learning and thriving
Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Head of Educational Impact at LEGO Education, attended the PEDAL Conference 2025 to discuss how play can be more deeply integrated into education, work, and society.
Delivering on the Plan for Change to give every child the best start in life
Stephen Morgan MP, Minister of Early Education at the Department of Education attended the PEDAL Conference 2025 to speak about the Plan for Change and giving every child the best start in life.
Early Years Library Introductory Workshop
On this page you will find all the resources needed for the Early Years Library Introductory Workshop. Start with the welcome video below, which will give you a brief introduction to the workshop. Then watch the videos in order. Leaders and champions should watch videos 1 to 7. Other members of staff only need to […]
PEDAL’s new report for the Starlight Children’s Foundation
This literature review explores the connection between play and children’s health in healthcare contexts.
Trusting play to be meaningful data: using sand tray as a play-based research method with an adapted interpretative phenomenological analysis
PEDAL PhD student Sydney Conroy explores using play itself as data for the purpose of research.
PEDAL’s new report for The Centre for Emotional Health
Our new report investigates how employers’ can support parents’ emotional health and their parenting.
Fostering the psychological wellbeing of children diagnosed with cancer: Multidisciplinary insights in paediatric oncology
PEDAL PhD student Paulina Perez-Duarte Mendiola contributed to this paper which was published last month in the Psycho-oncology section of Frontiers in Psychology.
It’s a Pandemic in the Playborhood: An International Perspective of Play Therapists on the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns and beyond, impacted many professions and workplaces, including therapists and their therapy rooms.
Supporting Learning Through Play
A Play Commission Submission by Dr Soizic Le Courtois, Manogya Sahay and Qiming Liu