ABSTRACT
In recent years, many developments have taken place in England, where government policy is embodied by the belief that every child deserves the best possible start in life as in the above quotation taken from the new Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage: Setting the Standards for Learning Development and Care for children from birth to five (EYFS) (DfES, 2007). As a student embarking on the study of early years you are part of an exciting and challenging period in the history of childhood education and practice. The last decade has seen a domestic political shift in thinking on child development. There has been an increased emphasis placed on learning contexts, in terms of the quality (see Chapter 2) and place of early education and childcare; this has been at the forefront of research and government policy in many western European countries. Many policy organisations (e.g., Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), Sure Start, ContinYou, etc.), theorists and practitioners have contributed to the journey.
