Shows / Tapestry Talks
Tapestry Talks
Join the experienced education team at Tapestry the childhood education platform, alongside expert guests, for insightful discussions designed to enrich your practice and pedagogy in early years and primary education. Each episode delves into important topics, offering practical advice, fresh perspectives, and inspiring conversations to support children’s learning, wellbeing, and development.
Episodes
Tapestry TalksWho are we doing it for?
Stephen is joined by Jordan Tully who is the Head of Operations at Ashbourne Day Nurseries. They discuss current challenges facing the sector, as well as the…
Tapestry TalksThe Black SEND Index
Stephen chats with Emma Pinnock and Marguerite Haye about a new resource that they have created which aims to promote a more diverse range of voices and…
Tapestry TalksA place to start for trauma informed practice
Anya and Jules talk with specialist educational psychologist Jemma Carter about what trauma informed practice can look like in settings and schools, how trauma…
Tapestry TalksTeaching a love of Maths from Early Years to Secondary
Ben and Jules chat with Maths and Robotics tutor Zan Nadeem about the importance of strong mathematical foundations in the early years and how they link to…
Tapestry TalksTools to support conversations and reflexive practice in your settings
Stephen and Jules chat with Dr Prospera Tedam who developed the Mandela Model, and Professor Eunice Lumsden who designed the Unique Childhoods Workbook. They…
Tapestry TalksTeaching in a British International School
Anya and Ben are joined by Charlotte Rands, Head of Primary at the British International School of Stockholm. They discuss the joys and challenges of working…
Tapestry TalksWhy we need to value early childhood and the educators within it
Helen talks to Claire Kenyon, owner of The Children's Garden in Norwich and co-founder of Early Years Equality. They discuss Claire's experiences working in…
Tapestry TalksThe role of a nanny
Stephen and Jules are joined by expert nanny Shada Lambert to discuss how nannies become part of the ‘parenting team’, supporting families to develop routines…
Tapestry TalksThe importance of community-based centres
Jules chats with Suma Din about the support community-based centres offer families: from signposting them to services such as health or library and IT support…
Tapestry TalksAll about Metacognition
Jules chats with teacher, consultant and author, Anoara Mughal, about Metacognition. Anoara explains the connections between self-regulation, growth mindset…
Tapestry TalksA Reading for Pleasure pedagogy
Jules and Jack are joined by Kiran Satti to talk about a whole school approach to reading for pleasure, the importance of educators reading aloud to children…
Tapestry TalksNeurodiversity affirming practice in Speech and Language Therapy
In this week's podcast, Stephen chats to Ruth Jones who is a Speech and Language Therapist based in Wiltshere. They discuss how Ruth's core practice has…
Tapestry TalksThe joy and challenges of becoming a parent
Jamel Carly Campbell chats with Ben about becoming a parent, and all that a child brings to the family. If you enjoy these podcasts from the Education Team at…
Tapestry TalksUnpacking the new NPQEYL qualification
Helen and Jules chat with Gareth Conyard, Director of Education at the Teacher Development Trust. They discuss the new NPQEYL qualification, including how the…
Tapestry TalksSTEM in the early years
Jules chats with Natalie Bent and Denhue Harris about STEM in the early years. They discuss the importance of introducing STEM at an early age, how educators…
Tapestry TalksReflecting on the SEND Green Paper
Helen and Stephen chat with Dame Christine Lenehan about her role as the Director of the Council for Disabled Children, the SEND Green Paper and the current…
Tapestry TalksThe revised EYFS: one year on
Helen talks to HMIs Phil Minns and Wendy Ratcliff about the revised EYFS curriculum, observations, and monitoring children's progress. If you enjoy these…
Tapestry TalksEmbedding a culture of wellbeing in the Early Years workplace
Stephen and Jules talk with consultant and author Kate Moxley about Mental Health in the Early Years workplace. Kate shares the origins of Early Years…
Tapestry TalksSupporting children and families who are English Learners
Anya and Jules chat with Ana Elisa Miranda, who shares her own experience of learning new languages, what educators can do to welcome children and families who…
Tapestry TalksA closer look at phonics and pre-phonics
Ben and Jules chat with early years and phonics specialist Emma Spiers about the important developmental steps that support children’s phonics, looking at the…
Tapestry TalksReflecting on the first year at school
Ben and Jules chat with Jannah Hayah, looking back at the first year of school for her son, Musa, who has Down Syndrome. Jannah shares how it felt during those…
Tapestry TalksDevelopmental play with babies and young children
Stephen and Jules chat with developmental play specialist Carly Budd about what early play looks like, the link between physical development and social and…
Tapestry TalksWriting stories for children
Jules chats with children’s author Maisie Chan about where she starts with a new story, the intergenerational relationships in her books Danny Chung Does Not…
Tapestry TalksReflecting on representation and language about disability
Ben and Jules chat with disability lifestyle blogger Gem Hubbard about her lived experience as a disabled person, the impact of representation and the power of…
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Developing a loving pedagogy in early years settings
Jules is joined by Tamsin Grimmer to discuss love in early years practice. They chat about why we sometimes hold back from using the word ‘love’ in relation to…
Tapestry TalksThe importance of an oracy rich learning environment
Jules and Ben chat with education consultant Sejal Payne about oracy: its link with literacy, how it supports children’s learning across their development and…
Tapestry TalksA look at the bigger picture for SEND
Jules and Stephen are joined by teacher, senior leader, and consultant Audrey Pantelis to talk about some of the challenges for children, families and…
Tapestry TalksThe Reflection Toolkit
This week Stephen chats to Ann Lowe, an EY Inclusion Officer at Doncaster Council. They discuss the new Reflection Toolkit they have worked on together and how…
Tapestry TalksPractice and provision in reception
Helen talks to Laura Bimson about how she's adapted her curriculum, learning environment and observations system this year, in the light of the revised EYFS…
Tapestry TalksReflecting on the role of support staff
Anya and Jules went to see Aimee Durning, MBE, at the University of Cambridge Primary School where Aimee is Director of Inclusion and Community. They discussed…
Tapestry TalksReflecting on the Early Years
Ben and Jules are joined by David Wright, co-founder of PaintPots Nurseries. They talk about meeting the challenges in early years education; developing a…
Tapestry TalksOpening up outdoor learning
Jules talks with writer, educator and parent Naomi Clarke about what outdoor learning offers children, how it has evolved, the representation children see in…
Tapestry TalksBlack male teachers – wanted, needed or both?
Ben and Jules talk with teachers Johnoi Josephs and Albert Adeyemi, founders of Black Men Teach. They discuss the importance of mentoring, creating support…
Tapestry TalksFrom early years to young adults – transitions and representation in education
Jules talks with Adam Vasco, who leads the Early Years Post Graduate route at Liverpool John Moores University, about the importance of the Reception year…
Tapestry TalksReflecting on Ableism
This week Stephen chats with Emily Lees and Kerry Murphy about the importance of the language that we use, everyday examples of ableism and how we can be an…
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Reflecting on how we can be more open and accepting within our teams and workspaces.
This week, Jules and Anya reflect back on four podcast episodes, exploring how we can take care of ourselves and each other, to create a community where…
Tapestry TalksReflecting on early years learning environments
Ben and Jules chat with early years teacher and consultant Anneka Russell, founder of JEKA Play. They talk about physical and emotional learning environments…
Tapestry TalksSupporting children with SEND, their families and their educators.
This week, Catherine McLeod MBE, CEO of Dingley's Promise, returns to the FSF /Tapestry podcast, covering current issues within the early years sector for…
Tapestry TalksWelcoming a Persona Doll into your setting’s community
Jules chats with Persona Doll trainers and consultants Meeta and Robb Johnson about how persona dolls can create spaces for discussing diversity and inclusion…
Tapestry TalksKeeping early years and primary educators well-informed through a highly respected magazine
This week, Jules and Helen talk to Nursery World editor, Karen Faux, about the strengths and challenges within the early years sector, and how key stage 1…
Tapestry TalksSupporting children and parents through transition periods
This week, Jack and Jules talk with Jo Fitzgerald about the impact and importance of different transitional periods, strategies to help support the process and…
Tapestry TalksAlternative Fairy Tales and reimagining the cannon of ‘classics’ in children’s literature
Jules and Jack chat with primary teacher Kiran Satti about why we need to diversify the narrative in our classrooms from an early age, the alternative fairy…
Tapestry TalksThe important work of a children's hospice
Ben and Jules chat with Jack, Activity Team Leader at Chestnut Tree House, a children's hospice in West Sussex, about the experiences for the children during…
Tapestry TalksDeveloping a unique, progressive early years curriculum
Helen talks to N Family Club's Chief Strategy Officer, Sarah Mackenzie, about N's innovative early learning programme which prepares children for our…
Tapestry TalksWonder wobbles in the Learning Pit
Helen and Jules chat with Jill Nottingham, co-author of 'School’s Out, Learning’s In: Home-Learning Activities to Keep Children Engaged, Curious and…
Tapestry TalksWhat we can learn from Froebel
Stephen and Jules chat with Dr Stella Louis about Friedrich Froebel and how his understanding of child development and the role of the adult is hugely relevant…
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Our 100th Episode!
To celebrate our 100th episode the education team got together to reflect on some memorable moments from conversations with previous guests. You can find links…
Tapestry TalksThe importance of representation in our resources
This week Stephen is joined by the owners of 3 companies who create resources with the aim of increasing diversity and representation for our young children -…
Tapestry TalksStep away from the assessment criteria
This week, Helen and Ben talk to Tilly Browne about the revised EYFS and new Development Matters and how she has implemented a much-reduced assessment system…
Tapestry TalksThe Happy Mums Foundation
In this episode Helen talks to Katherine Dalgliesh and Sarah Penn about the variety of support they offer to mothers who are at risk of, or are experiencing…
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Language Development - A look back at what our guests have discussed
In this episode Helen and Stephen reflect on some previous conversations on language development.
Tapestry TalksReflecting on identity, diversity and inclusion
Jules is joined by Dr Chandrika Devarakonda, author of Promoting Inclusion and Diversity in Early Years Settings. They discuss layers of identity, visible and…
Tapestry TalksHow we can support young children through transitions and change
Anya and Jules talked with Sonia Mainstone-Cotton about everyday transitions, how educators and families can help very young children build resources to manage…
Tapestry TalksBuilding communities of practice
Jules is joined by Angelica Celinska, editor of EYE to talk about what it means to be a critical consumer of research, how we access CPD, and building…
Tapestry TalksWorking with SLT to build a deeper understanding about Early Years
Ben and Jules chat with Varinder Kaur Johal, who has taught across Early Years to Key Stage 2. They discuss why it is important for SLT to understand Early…
Tapestry TalksCPD - A look back at what our guests have discussed
This week, Ben and Jack look back at some previous podcasts and reflect on some valuable conversations around CPD. If you enjoy these podcasts from the…
Tapestry TalksWhy do we need to expand our definition of CPD?
Stephen and Jules chat with Kerry Payne about how we consume CPD, how educators can take responsibility for their own professional development and build their…
Tapestry TalksA conversation with Ofsted on the revised EYFS
This week Helen speaks with HMI Phil Minns and HMI Wendy Ratcliff. With the revised EYFS becoming statutory from September 2021, we wanted to clarify some…
Tapestry TalksChallenging gender stereotypes
Jack and Jules chat with Bilkis Miah, founder and CEO of You Be You, an organisation working with schools and parents to break down gender stereotypes. Bilkis…
Tapestry TalksThe other side of the door
This week Jules talks with Suma Din. Suma is the author of the book Muslim mothers and their children’s schooling, and was a speaker at the Tapestry Education…