The Childhood and Education site was launched in February 2007 as one of a collection of blogs produced by University College Birmingham. The purpose of these sites is to provide students with details of research information that is relevant to the courses which the College teaches, although outside visitors are very welcome to make use of them too.
When the site was first launched it consisted of a fairly simple alerting service, with a handful of links to some useful research pages. Since then it has developed into a more interactive information service, including a customised search engine, graphic representations of the site content, a Twitter stream and more. Occasionally visitors can also vote in polls to gauge readers' opinions on an issue which has made the news.
When the site was first launched it consisted of a fairly simple alerting service, with a handful of links to some useful research pages. Since then it has developed into a more interactive information service, including a customised search engine, graphic representations of the site content, a Twitter stream and more. Occasionally visitors can also vote in polls to gauge readers' opinions on an issue which has made the news.
In the time that the site has been running, the children's sector in the UK has undergone some very dramatic changes. At the time of Childhood and Education's launch, a Labour government was in power and details of Every Child Matters, Sure Start, and the Children's Plan were often the subject of headlines. Numerous research reports on child poverty, inclusion and healthy eating (following the Channel 4 series Jamie's School Dinners) were also featured regularly on the site.
Following the election of the coalition government in May 2010, it is certain that the sector will continue to see further changes, with the setting up of the new Department for Education, and the budget cuts that are affecting all areas of the public sector. This site will continue to highlight relevant news stories and research from a neutral standpoint.
The page on this site that has attracted the most hits from search engine users in recent months provides information about the new EYFS which took effect on September 1st 2012. To save you the trouble of looking for it, here's the link.
