As we approach the half term break (some might be lucky enough to already be kicking back and relaxing), it seems like an opportune moment to reflect on everything the tutor2u ECD team has achieved so far this academic year!

In September we launched our first ever print resources for Early Childhood Development: Student Knowledge Books. Many of my Health & Social Care teaching colleagues had requested these, as they have come to rely on the equivalents for HSC, and the ECD Unit 1 and 2 books are proving to be popular.

We quickly followed this up with two Exam Practice Paper packs, which contain two practice papers and accompanying mark schemes per examined unit. These are proving to be in particular demand as we continue to wait for additional sample assessment material from Pearson. Rest assured when those AdSAMs are released myself and the team will be unpicking them and making any necessary changes or enhancements to our own practice papers (or possible releasing more of our own).

We have released a steady stream of high quality, free resources to support your classroom practice, which include a Student Guide to the qualification, as well as Knowledge Organisers, Glossaries of Key Terms, and Command Word resources for:

• Unit 1 Children's Development
• Unit 2 Keeping Children Safe
• Unit 3 Play and Learning

We have scheduled a series of student livestreams for the new year, which are hugely popular across the tutor2u subject portfolio. Students join us on our YouTube channel for live and interactive sessions in the early evening. We have planned topic Q&As, Exam Clinics and Exam Warm-Ups for both Unit 1 and 2.

Our student focused Instagram is featuring daily content on Unit 1 and Unit 2 key terms, concepts and legislation, and in the spring will switch things up to include daily revision questions and content. Please do recommend it to your students as a way for them to absorb and consolidate knowledge whilst scrolling!

Perhaps most exciting of all, is that this week myself, Lynne Fountain and Claire Sayce (regular ECD contributors and team members) commenced the planning for our first professional CPD day for teachers of ECD: Success in AAQ BTEC National Early Childhood Development Unit 1 and 2 External Exams. Our CPD days are a fantastic opportunity to network with colleagues, take part in professional discussions, and sharpen your skillset, all whilst relaxing in a 4 star central London hotel with incredible cakes and refreshments! Oh, and you get plenty of freebies and exclusive resources too. You can read more about why this is such an important day here: Beyond the Textbook: Why Explicit Exam Skills are the Key to BTEC Success

Please help us to spread our message and make our ever expanding range of resources available to more Early Childhood Development teachers by sharing this blog post with your colleagues.