profsamwass

ONE WEEK TO GO!!! ⏰ Last few places available. Book yours now. 💻 Early Years Training Day - From Insight to Impact: Turning Research into Early Years Practice After the success of our Training Day in January, exploring attention, neuroscience, and professional curiosity, we are delighted to invite you to a special follow-up event that takes the conversation further. This inspiring day will reconnect us with two of the sector’s most thoughtful voices Professor Sam Wass and Dr June O’Sullivan MBE, as we move from understanding the science to shaping everyday practice. Together we will explore what happens when research meets the real world of early years settings. How do we create environments where children’s attention can flourish? How can professional curiosity turn everyday observations into meaningful change? And how do we build teams confident enough to question, reflect and evolve their practice? This follow-on training day is designed for leaders and educators who want to deepen their thinking, strengthen their environments, and continue the journey toward truly reflective early years practice. Expect a day filled with fresh insight, practical thinking, and the kind of conversations that stay with you long after the event has finished. £120.00 ex. VAT Thursday 21st May 2026 9.30-3.30am

As technology becomes an increasingly central part of children's lives, conversations like this are vital in helping shape future research, policy, and practice. #screentime #socialmedia #earlychildhood

Pleased to share that Take Action on Distraction has been awarded Best Early Years Resource at the Education Resource Awards 2026. Developed by Prof Sam Wass and Dr Gemma Goldenberg, the resource brings together neuroscience, psychology, and classroom practice to help practitioners understand how attention works in young children and what to do about it. It translates research into practical strategies that support focus, reduce distraction, and create calmer, more effective learning environments.This recognition reflects the importance of working with children’s attention, rather than against it, by shaping environments and interactions in ways that are developmentally informed. Thank you to the practitioners, settings, parents and collaborators who continue to engage with and apply this work in practice. #earlyyears #education #neuroscience #educationresources

More stimulation doesn’t mean more learning. In a recent interview with The Times Educational Supplement, Professor Sam Wass (University of East London) outlines a simple but often overlooked point: young children’s brains are highly sensitive to overload. Too much noise, movement, and visual input can disrupt attention, slow processing, and fragment learning. Sometimes the most effective change in early years practice is not adding more, but taking things away. Full interview available on TES: /magazine/teaching-learning/early-years/what-neuroscience-tells-us-about-teaching-young-children #earlyyears #eyfs #childdevelopment #neuroscience #education

We visited the @isey_uel Baby Lab with Waterstones #ChildrensLaureate @frank_cottrellboyce to discover how reading can play a key role in children’s healthy development and learning. 🧠 It’s amazing to see the neuroscience in action. 👉 But six in ten families say they wish they’d known earlier how important reading is. 📚 So we’re calling on everyone to join our #ReadingRights campaign and work together to make sure shared reading is a reality for every child! Follow the link in our bio to find out more... — Tags: @profsamwass #ChildDevelopment #EarlyYears #Neuroscience #ReadingTogether #SharedReading #SharingStories #ChildrensBooks #StoryTime

The science behind sharing stories with babies is truly amazing! We went to @isey_uel to hear from @profsamwass about the rhythms we create when we read to young children. Babies latch on to these rhythms, helping their brains to learn - and supporting speech and language development! That’s why our #ReadingRights report with Waterstones #ChildrensLaureate @frank_cottrellboyce calls for shared reading to be available to every child from the earliest moments. Find out more by following the link in our bio! — Tags: #Neuroscience #ChildDevelopment #SpeechAndLanguage #CommunicationSkills #ReadingTogether #SharedReading #SharingStories

Want smarter insights into how babies and kids actually learn and grow? At ISEY (Institute for the Science of Early Years & Youth), we turn cutting-edge brain science into real-world strategies for parents, educators, and product creators. Here’s what we’re learning: * Babies get overwhelmed easily—slow it down. * Shared play builds empathy + emotional bonds. * Relationships are the #1 driver of early learning. * Self-regulation starts way earlier than you think. * Science should shape the tools we use every day. Follow us for science-backed ideas that actually make sense in real life. #ISEY #EarlyYears #BrainScience #ChildDevelopment #PlayMatters #ParentingTips #EarlyChildhood

What Is Early Attention? A downloadable tip sheet that explores how infants and young children first learn to focus and why it matters! Through early attention (the ability to tune in to one thing while filtering out distractions), children build foundational skills for learning, communication, and self-regulation. Over the course of early childhood, attention shifts from the world around them to things that matter—shaped by relationships, their environment, and developmental stages. Learn more about how families, caregivers, and educators can support this essential skill. 👉 See comment below for link to tip sheet. Key takeaways you’ll find inside: • How attention develops from babyhood to toddlerhood • Simple language to explain this to families • Environment and relationship-based supports • Practical strategies you can use right now #teachersofinstagram #parents #attention #socialemotionallearning

Project Overview: As screen media becomes increasingly dense with information—through changes in light, volume, and pitch—our brains constantly generate predictions to make sense of it all. But younger brains, which are still developing, may struggle to keep up with rapidly changing stimuli. What happens when the information flows too fast? Surprisingly, this question has barely been studied. Using advanced techniques like EEG, fNIRS, and wearable recordings, we aim to measure in real time how babies and children track information content in screen media. What we’re looking for: - Experience with advanced data analytics and coding (Matlab/Python desirable) - Experience collecting neuroimaging or wearable data from infants/children is a plus - Passion for neuroscience, early development, and innovative research methods Details: - Based at the Institute for the Science of Early Years (ISEY), University of East London - Supervised by Prof Sam Wass, alongside Prof Davidson (UEL), Prof Rachel Barr (Georgetown), and Dr Sarah Jessen (Lübeck) Start dates: Sept 2025 or Jan 2026 Fully funded studentship covering tuition fees (UK Home rate) and maintenance grant (£21,237/year for 3 years) Additional funding available for conferences, fieldwork, and more 📩 Interested or want to learn more? Contact our Technical Director Muhammad Ehatisham Ul Haq at [email protected] Find out more about ISEY here:

The Dream of Wearing Shorts Forever - by Les Murray

Read the report here: .uk/about-us/reading-rights-books-build-a-brighter-future/��� References:� Christakis, D. A., Ramirez, J. S. B., Ferguson, S. M., Ravinder, S., & Ramirez, J. M. (2018). How early media exposure may affect cognitive function: A review of results from observations in humans and experiments in mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(40), 9851-9858.�� Kennedy, A., Heller, D., Pynte, J., & Radach, R. (Eds.). (2000). Reading as a perceptual process. Elsevier.�� Köster, M., Kayhan, E., Langeloh, M., & Hoehl, S. (2020). Making sense of the world: Infant learning from a predictive processing perspective. Perspectives on psychological science, 15(3), 562-571.�� Müller, E. J., Munn, B. R., & Shine, J. M. (2025). The brain that controls itself. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 63, 101499.�� Murray, L., Rayson, H., Ferrari, P. F., Wass, S. V., & Cooper, P. J. (2022). Dialogic book-sharing as a privileged intersubjective space. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 786991.�� Primativo, S., Spinelli, D., Zoccolotti, P., De Luca, M., & Martelli, M. (2016). Perceptual and cognitive factors imposing “speed limits” on reading rate: a study with the rapid serial visual presentation. PloS one, 11(4), e0153786.�� �#hayfestival #readingrights #booktrust #neuroscience #youngbrains #earlyyearsreading #screenfree #literacy #education #raisingreaders�

Our #ReadingRights report with Waterstones Children’s Laureate @frank_cottrellboyce is out today, because early shared reading is vital. Frank and our CEO Diana Gerald joined @profsamwass at the @isey_uel Baby Lab to find out what a difference it makes to children in their earliest moments! Thanks so much to children from @childeric_early_years and mum @ashleighhj_ for taking part ❤️ Watch the full video by following the link in our bio... — Tags: @childeric_primary_school #EarlyYears #ChildDevelopment #ReadingTogether #SharedReading #SharingStories #StoryTime #BenefitsOfReading