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This study explores the place of play in KS1 classrooms and the perspectives of teachers and headteachers in adopting play-based practices at the start of primary schooling. Data were collected from a survey of KS1 teachers asking for their views of play as an integral part of KS1 pedagogy. This was followed by interviews with eleven headteachers of schools where a play-based approach is embedded. Findings revealed that whilst teachers were in favour of play in KS1, policy constraints and, in particular, the beliefs of their own headteachers, very often acted as a barrier to the implementation of play in their school. The interviews with the headteachers of schools where a play-based approach is encouraged, reveal the influences on their thinking and beliefs, which include the advocacy of their own teachers.

The cause of the pregnancy condition preeclampsia (PE) is thought to be endothelial dysfunction caused by oxidative stress. As abnormal glucose tolerance has also been associated with PE, we use a fluorinated-mimic of this metabolite to establish whether any oxidative damage to lipids and proteins in the erythrocyte membrane has increased cell membrane permeability. Data were acquired using 19F Dynamic-NMR (DNMR) to measure exchange of 3-fluoro-3-deoxyglucose (3-FDG) across the membrane of erythrocytes from 10 pregnant women (5 healthy control women, and 5 from women suffering from PE). Magnetisation transfer was measured using the 1D selective inversion and 2D EXSY pulse sequences, over a range of time delays. Integrated intensities from these experiments were used in matrix diagonalisation to estimate the values of the rate constants of exchange and membrane permeability. No significant differences were observed for the rate of exchange of 3-FDG and membrane permeability between healthy pregnant women and those suffering from PE, leading us to conclude that no oxidative damage had occurred at this carrier-protein site in the membrane.

This article presents a reflective analysis of an outreach programme called the Digital Divas Club. This curriculum-based programme was delivered in Australian schools with the aim of stimulating junior and middle school girls' interest in computing courses and careers. We believed that we had developed a strong intervention programme based on previous literature and our collective knowledge and experiences. While it was coordinated by university academics, the programme content was jointly created and modified by practicing school teachers. After four years, when the final data were compiled, it showed that our programme produced significant change to student confidence in computing, but the ability to influence a desire to pursue a career path in computing did not fully eventuate. To gain a deeper insight in to why this may be the case, data collected from two of the schools are interrogated in more detail as described in this article. These schools were at the end of the expected programme outcomes. We found that despite designing a programme that delivered a multi-layered positive computing experience, factors beyond our control such as school culture and teacher technical self-efficacy help account for the unanticipated results. Despite our best laid plans, the expectations that this semester long programme would influence students' longer term career outcomes may have been aspirational at best.

This article reports the development of the first two years of a three-year project that examines the effectiveness of adult-child interactions in the early years, and tracks the development of teachers' thinking and practice as they engage in practitioner-led action research. The Adult-Child Interaction Project involves practitioners who work with children from six months to six years in one local authority in England as they aim to develop their practice. On the basis of action research cycle, the methods include systematic video observation and stimulated recall; individual, paired and collaborative reflective dialogue; project logs and critical engagement with research. A distinctive feature is continuous engagement with an early years expert as a co-researcher and reflective partner in the processes of change and development. This article focuses on the impact and effectiveness of the project methodology, specifically the strategies that support critical reflection, dialogue and change processes.

The Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum and the independent Cambridge Primary Review both highlight the need to re-think children's educational experiences in English classrooms between the ages of five and seven. Recent government initiatives have led to experiences in these early primary years being adult-directed and often in whole-class groups, with little place for the play and self-initiated learning familiar in the Early Years Foundation Stage, which regulates education from birth to five years. This discontinuity in pedagogy has led to concerns at national and local levels. This article describes the efforts of teachers in one English local authority to develop practice in their classrooms which was less formal and teacher-led and which responded more to the needs and interests of individual children. It describes the reasons for teacher participation in the project, the barriers that they faced and the outcomes for both teachers and children. (Contains 1 figure.)

In English schools, transition from the Foundation Stage (at age five) into Year 1 (the first year of "primary school") has been identified as lacking continuity. A range of government initiatives has led to marked differences in the pedagogy that underpins classroom practice in these two consecutive year groups, which, in turn, has raised concerns at both local and national level. This paper explores the reason for these pedagogical differences and the impact they have had on children's experiences of being a learner. Drawing on a research project undertaken in one local authority, it examines the feelings of children, parents and teachers leading up to the transition into Year 1 and considers what impact the differing pedagogies in the Foundation Stage and Year 1 may have on children's feelings about and confidence in themselves as learners. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)