January newsletter

Faculty of Education and Communities

Newsletter January 2015

Croeso/ Welcome Exciting times!

Welcome to the Faculty of Education and Communities first newsletter. We’re new, only established in September 2015 with the merging of two powerful units in the university: the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Teacher Training – and we’re a very lively bunch of staff and students.

I am hugely privileged to be part of this sparky faculty.

Who are we? There are 7 schools or centres in the Faculty:

staff and students, building understanding and knowledge from a shared approach to learning.

We are a committed to the principles of well-being and of nurturing in children and adults a disposition to learn, to succeed, to be resilient and to feel good about themselves. You’ll get a feel for who we are in this newsletter – lively is a good start.

»The » Centre for Continuous Professional Learning and Development »The » Centre for Equity in Education »The » School of Early Childhood »The » School of Psychology »The » School of Social Justice and Inclusion »The » School of Welsh and Bilingual Studies »The » South West Wales Centre of Teacher Education We are all about all about people: how we learn, how we live and how we organise ourselves in society. This is a stimulating and enquiring place with people – staff and students - asking questions, posing solutions and challenging each other and ourselves. We are rooted in values about justice, equity, democracy, human rights, citizenship and encouraging aspirations. We all learn together, Faculty of Education and Communities Newsletter | January 2015

We offer a range of programmes, from Foundation Degrees to BA and BSc programmes, MAs and MPhil and PhDs. There are programmes leading to Qualified Teacher Status, both undergraduate and postgraduate and also academic qualifications in Education Studies, Primary Education Studies, Learning Support, Early Childhood, Early Literacy, Youth and Community Work, Psychology, Counselling, Advocacy, Celtic Studies, Bilingual and Multilingual Studies, Language Policy and Planning, Social Inclusion, Inclusive Studies, and Applied Bilingualism….and a whole range of professional development courses.

Read all about us here and let us know what you think.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Dr Siân Wyn Siencyn Dean of the Faculty s.w.siencyn@tsd.uwtsd.ac.uk

On the Maes at the Eisteddfod On the Maes at the National Eisteddfod, the University of Wales and University of Wales Trinity Saint David set aside a designated space in their pavilion as an ideal forum to discuss all kinds of developments in education. The weeklong programme was varied and lively, and Tuesday afternoon saw SWWCTE’s opportunity to invite teachers and past students to enjoy a delicious strawberry tea and learn more about the centre’s direction. Together with Canolfan Peniarth we hosted a happy afternoon and were joined with Nia Parry from the television series cariad@Iaith:love4language, the Cofiadur and former student Penri Roberts, as well as many other friends, including representatives from the Celtic nations.

The discussions and tea were equally appreciated - thanks to all who helped organise the event. Remember, if you know of former students who would like to be part of our Alumni network, do ask them to get in touch via partnership@tsd.uwtsd.ac.uk.

Dr. Mererid Hopwood, Director of Strategic Partnerships

Psychology graduate receives bursary to present her dissertation at national conference Psychology graduate Rebecca Crabtree, who graduated from the School of Psychology and Counselling with a first class honours degree in Counselling Studies and Psychology received a prestigious student bursary from the British Psychology Society to present her dissertation to the Society’s Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference in York.

Rebecca research explored the links between men’s implicit attitudes, masculinity and engagement in health checks.

Rebecca, who was also awarded the prize for Best Psychology Student within her cohort, stated that “Receiving the BPS award and a bursary to present at the Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference has topped off an amazing three years at this University. I absolutely loved researching into Men’s Health and it is something I am hoping to continue in the near future. I am sad to be leaving such a great lecturing team who have supported me so much over the last three years but I am excited to have been given the opportunity to do my Masters in Health Psychology in Bath”.

Rebecca has been accepted on to the Masters in Health Psychology programme at Bath University. Dr Ceri Phelps, Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Rebecca’s dissertation supervisor said “Rebecca has completed some really exciting research in the area of men’s health, taking her research into the local community and clearly having potential to take this research further in the future. We are delighted that we will have the opportunity to keep working on this research with Rebecca over the coming months” Faculty of Education and Communities Newsletter | January 2015

Rebecca Crabtree (right) receiving her BPS award for Best Psychology Student with Dr Ceri Phelps (School of Psychology)

2014 Welsh branch BPS conference at Aberystwyth University Six psychology undergraduate students from University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Swansea presented their dissertation research at the Welsh branch BPS conference held at Aberystwyth University in May 2014.

School of Psychology

uwtsd.ac.uk/psychology-counselling

L-R: Rebecca Watkins, Aislyn Watts, Bruce Spence, Rebecca Crabtree, Alecia Cousins, Katie Sullivan

AHRC Project on The Cult of Saints in Wales: International Conference on the Carmarthen Campus

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David is collaborating with the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies on a major research project on Saints in Wales which has succeeded in attracting funding of £774,582 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Led by Principal Investigator (Project Leader) Dr David Parsons at CAWCS, with Co-Investigators Dr Barry Lewis (CAWCS) and Dr Jane Cartwright (UWTSD), this digital resource will take the form of a number of online editions

of the gathered texts, with extensive bilingual notes and full translations into English (and also, in the case of the verse, into modern Welsh). There will be digital images of many of the manuscripts and separate discussions of the more important codices.

In September 2014 we held a three-day conference on the Carmarthen campus of The University of Wales Trinity St David. This attracted participants from around Wales and the British Isles, plus Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia! Members

of the project team presented some of the first fruits of their research: Alaw Mai Edwards discussed some of the difficulties of teasing out the distinct traditions of similarly named saints who became conflated; Eurig Salisbury introduced the hitherto neglected work of a Glamorgan poet, Rhisiart ap Rhys; Barry Lewis considered the challenges posed by, and insights that could be drawn from, the labyrinthine manscript-tradition of the genealogical text Bonedd y Saint. Other speakers addressed various aspects of saints’ cults, both inside Wales and from comparable traditions. Our two keynote lecturers were drawn from our Advisory Board: Professor Padraig Ó Riain spoke on ‘Hagiographical exchanges between Ireland and Wales: new questions and old answers’, while Dr Katherine Olson’s lecture, ‘All Christendom’s saints: the cult of saints, manuscript culture, and Catholicism in the sixteenth century’, was heroically delivered on behalf of a sick wife by Dr Craig Owen Jones. In 2015 we shall begin a sequence of oneday events around Wales describing our work and discussing the literature of saints local to the areas we visit.

Professor Jane Cartwright BA, PhD, School of Welsh and Bilingual Studies j.cartwright@tsd.uwtsd.ac.uk

Down to Earth BA Early Childhood Tutors and third year students had another fun and informative visit to Down to Earth in the Gower. Greening Childhood module students have been visiting Down to Earth over the last three years and the event always succeeds in making Education for Sustainability and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) fun, interesting and relevant.

Lecturers provide professional training for Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin Carys Richards and Nanna Ryder recently delivered training on the Foundation Phase for the trainers of Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin. The trainers had opportunities to explore resources and gain information on the latest developments regarding the Foundation Phase. Participants were given hands-on experiences of how to support young children’s development and learning.

Carys Richards, leader of the Foundation Phase, said: ‘The professional development was deemed a success by the participants. Within their feedback they spoke of how they enjoyed the training and the opportunity to discuss and engage in experiential activities was most beneficial.”

Carys Richards and Catherine Morgan delivered First Steps in Music to trainees who were following the ‘Cam wrth Gam’ course across Wales. The days were fun filled and included activities that would enthuse and inspire young children.

Opportunities were given for the participants to view new and innovative Welsh-medium and bilingual resources developed by Canolfan Peniarth.

The group played games and investigated the site to find out ways of promoting sustainability and global citizenship with young children. While visiting we found out about the ancient tradition of building with mud and straw and how this can be used to develop different aspects of the ESDGC curriculum in Wales. We also used large maps, debates and quizzes to make global citizenship meaningful and fun. The day also highlights the importance of children’s rights and outdoor learning which are at the heart of the School of Early Childhood’s values.

We are looking forward for to our next visit!

School of Early Childhood uwtsd.ac.uk/early-childhood/

Faculty of Education and Communities Newsletter | January 2015

South Wast Wales Centre of Teacher Education uwtsd.ac.uk/teach swwcte.ac.uk

Primary PGCE trainees developing ideas to promote LNF & ESDGC through out-of-classroom learning During their induction week, the Primary PGCE trainees visited the Discovery Centre at Margam Park. The aims of the day were for trainees to value the importance of out of school learning experiences in supporting understanding of the Welsh dimension and /ESDGC. Feedback from staff and students was very positive, and the ideas the visit generated were very valuable. After the visit, a wiki was set up on Moodle to encourage the students to share their ideas. Here are some of their comments:

‘In the “Maps” activity, we were asked to figure out distance with our paces and in turn, label and scale a map with missing aspects. This could be reproduced for children - they could measure parts of the castle and label them on blank maps. Vocabulary could be expanded upon and children could learn about compass points, grid references and GPS coordinates’.

The rare Pere David’s deer at the park, almost extinct and only living in captivity, can promote ESDGC by encouraging children to think about what other animals are extinct, why animals become extinct and the effect that humans have on the natural world. This can lead to activities on climate change, waste and conservation, both in their own community and the wider world.

‘You could use the Farm trail to help children consider the importance of taking care of other human beings and animals; question children about where they think milk, cheese, yogurt, meat and eggs come from – links to organic farming, local foods, fair trade’.

The park could also be used to promote mathematical skills. For the “Numeracy” activity, we were given acetate protractors and asked to find angles of certain degrees. This could be a fun activity for children who could also discuss how these and different shapes Could relate to the structure of castles, for example, walls at 90° angles and concentric circles.

South Wast Wales Centre of Teacher Education uwtsd.ac.uk/teach swwcte.ac.uk

Welcome to Lammas: Sustainability and Social Inclusion BA Social Inclusion Students in the final year of the BA Social Inclusion degree undertake the module ‘Sustainability and Social Inclusion’.

This module allows students to consider sustainability and sustainable communities through both a theoretical and practical lens. Students are asked to explore a range of Green philosophies associated with the sustainable agenda including techno-centric and eco-centric through a range of theories including social ecology, eco-feminism, eco-socialism and deep ecology. These theories allow for a critical engagement with how social justice is positioned within environmental and sustainability debates.

To ensure that such debates are not just sterile ‘academic’ discussions the students are taken on a visit to the Lammas Project an Eco-village at Tir y Gafel, in North Pembrokeshire where the members have created a pioneering

‘alternative model for living on the land. It empowers people to explore what it is to live a low-impact lifestyle. It

demonstrates that alternatives are possible here and now’ (Lammas, 2014).

but also widened their understanding of the potential of sustainable living. Students commented that:

During the day students were engaged with a variety of workshops which explored:

‘It’s nice to experience with your own eyes rather than learning about it on paper’

• • • • • •

‘seeing it in real life helps; books and all are good but doing it yourself helps you understand it a lot better’

Introduction to Permaculture Cob Building (Natural Building) Off Grid Renewable Energy (hydro and solar) Wild Food Workshop Village Green Management Willow Craft

The students found that this visit not only allowed them to engage with the assessments associated with this module

‘We would definitely recommend the course. We are fortunate to be going on trips and the University and lectures are good; they give us lots of help and we enjoy going on trips like these!’

Hafan Cymru Staff and students from the School of Social Justice and Inclusion are currently engaged in a second phase of an evaluation with Hafan Cymru.

Hafan Cymru run a Personal and Social Educational Programme in Schools across Wales from the Foundation Phase through to A level students. The Spectrum project was established by Hafan Cymru in order to: ‘work with children and young people in Wales, to raise awareness of domestic abuse and its effects on children and young people, and to provide young people with the information they need to seek help should they experience domestic abuse’.

The evaluation aim is to critically assess the work of Spectrum in order to ensure that the project ‘remains current and effective in informing, educating and in changing attitudes’.

Dr Nichola Welton and Dr Caroline Lohmann-Hancock are project managing the evaluation with further academic support from Associate Professor Sue Davies and Alison Baggott Gwawr Williams as well as two level 6 students studying BA Social Inclusion, Philip Morgan and Gwawr Williams. All working on the research are from the School of Social Justice and inclusion.

This research project is therefore offering both staff and student professional development and students particularly an opportunity to engage with ‘real life’ research.

Hafan aims of raising awareness of ‘domestic abuse’ and ‘gender based violence’ are in line with current Welsh Government objectives. As such the School of Social Justice and Inclusion is at the forefront of current research in this area; the evaluation of this educational programme with Hafan Cymru enables both staff and students to develop research with organisations that are in line with the schools values.

School of Social Justice and Inclusion

uwtsd.ac.uk/social-justice-inclusion/

Achievement for All Brings its Award Winning Schools Programme to Wales The Wales Centre for Equity in Education was set up by the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and University of Wales. It represents a commitment by the universities to develop policy, applied research and innovative practice that will contribute to improving equity within the Welsh education system.

Since January 2014, Achievement for All Cymru has been successfully piloted with the Central South Consortium in 14 Pathfinder schools in the region, supported by the Welsh Government, the Wales Centre for Equity in Education, regional education consortia and Welsh schools.

Data from Pathfinder schools indicates significant progress in reading, writing and maths. Pupils on the programme made one sub-level of progress per term, which would lead to one National Curriculum level of progress per year – that’s higher progress than made in schools in England.

Faculty of Education and Communities Newsletter | January 2015

The Achievement for All programme runs over two years and is delivered in partnership by a school’s nominated ‘Champion’ and an ‘Achievement Coach’. The framework links four key elements of school improvement: • Leadership – with a strong focus on school-led improvement to transform outcomes for vulnerable pupils • Teaching and learning – including assessment and data tracking, planning and delivery • Parental engagement – structured conversations with parents focusing on educational outcomes • Wider outcomes and opportunities – improving behaviour, attendance and participation in school life Sonia Blandford, founder and Chief Executive of Achievement for All said: “We are thrilled to be embarking on this exciting new chapter of our work to narrow the gap and improve outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people in Wales. Our Schools Programme has a profound impact

on the children and schools involved, with many children making faster progress in reading, writing and maths than their counterparts in other schools. I’m delighted that we are introducing Achievement for All Cymru into schools in Wales to help improve childrens’ life chances.”

Thursday’s event will take place in the Pierhead Building and will celebrate the hard work of the pathfinder schools.

There will be a musical performance from students from Barry Comprehensive and a film from Cadoxton Primary School. Brian Lamb OBE, Chair of Achievement for All, Sonia Blandford, and David Egan, Director of the Wales Centre for Equity in Education will attend and speak, and we will also hear from Mary Davis, Assistant Head at Bryn Hafren School about how the programme has helped them improve outcomes for their pupils.

Primary, Secondary and Special schools and PRUs in Wales can register now to join the Achievement for All Cymru Programme. For further information, visit: www.afa3as.org.uk or email enquiries@afa3as.org.uk

New programme in bilingualism The School of Welsh and Bilingual Studies has validated an innovative new programme which will start in September 2015. One of the unique features of the BA in Applied Bilingualism (Welsh with English) is that it will only be available to Welsh Second Language students – a decision made following research which showed that students from a second language background often felt uncomfortable learning alongside first language students at university.

Another feature which makes this programme different to traditional

degree courses in Welsh is the focus on bilingualism. The intention is to improve students’ English language skills at the same time as their Welsh skills, using their knowledge of their mother tongue to help them better understand their second language.

Two thirds of the modules are offered through the medium of Welsh and one third through the medium of English.

Students will also have opportunities to learn new skills such as subtitling and simultaneous translation.

After completing the programme, the hope is that graduates will be

able to function confidently in both languages, and understand that there is a relationship between them, which sees the one influencing the other.

This relationship will be introduced in a global context, which will look at the future of the world’s linguistic diversity in the twenty-first century, and the interaction between majority and minority languages.

If you’d like more information, please contact Andrew Currie (01267 67 6846) a.currie@tsd.uwtsd.ac.uk

Staff Profile trainees in Swansea and Carmarthen. They are eager to learn and willing to listen to ideas and cannot wait to get ‘out in the field’. It has been frightening though. From teaching in a warm colourful lively classroom, full of little faces, eager to please and participate - to the scary Rhosilli Room, faced with almost 170 adults. I stood there wondering ‘how did I get here?’ and, ‘is this what I want to do?’

Yet the trainees are the reason I am enjoying my new role.

They have the same enthusiasm for teaching as I had, many years ago when I studied my PGCE in Bristol. They like to ask questions about all the information they are finding out and they are keen to do well, to become that great NQT that schools so desperately need. Yes they complain about the workload and the demands but as yet they are unaware of the huge workload that they, as teachers, will be exposed to. They still have that passion to teach, to make a difference and to care about the pupils, not seeing them as figures that make up their ‘data’.

I was recently privileged to spend the day in Gwyrosydd Primary School when the PGCE trainees taught their microlessons.

They were frightened, inexperienced and nervous but also remarkably well prepared, professional and their delivery was of a consistently high standard. I was impressed by the amount of work they had completed and the research they had undertaken to provide a session that was interesting, well paced and challenging for the young pupils.

‘I always said that I would never teach anyone taller than myself…’

Still regarding myself as a relatively new member of staff I thought that I would use this newsletter to express some thoughts and recent experiences.

Firstly, a little bit about me. For those that haven’t met me, I have worked in throughout Swansea and Carmarthenshire as a Foundation Phase Teacher, and more recently the Foundation Phase Training and Support Officer. I am married to a local Headteacher, have four children (still in school), two cats and two dogs. So life is fairly busy!

Joining the University, working on the BAEd course and the Primary PGCE course has been a huge change for me. I wanted to ‘make a difference’, and to make a contribution in moulding the ‘newly qualified teacher’. From a school’s point of view some NQTs amazed us with their creativity, their enthusiasm and understanding of teaching and learning.

Others, unfortunately, did not make the same impression.

These were unprepared for the demands of the profession and relied heavily o the school to guide and aid them with lessons, planning, evaluations and other million other tasks that teachers now face.

I have, to date, enjoyed every session I have had with the

Faculty of Education and Communities Newsletter | January 2015

Working for the University has, to date, definitely proved to be the right move. I still have an enormous amount to learn and I am constantly preparing sessions and resources to share with the trainees. I have never used a laptop and email so much and I have to make an effort to ensure that, when my young son asks me to play a game with him, I turn it all off and concentrate on other things, just for a while.

Mrs Gail Parker BA, ECON, PGCE Senior Lecturer – Foundtion Phase Lead (CPLD) E-mail: gail.parker@uwtsd.ac.uk

Widening Access – A student profile invaluable. It helped to hone time management and organisational skills, whilst allowing for new perspective on legislation and theoretical topics being studied via the course.

During my final year of my degree I continued to develop my organisational skills through a mixture of individual and groups assignments required for study, and arranging my wedding for the coming summer. This again proved to be both challenging and rewarding experience, resulting in both an unforgettable wedding day followed by my course graduation day where I graduated with Upper Second Class Honours twodays later. I gain a lot from the course personal and academically and felt it help me to not only find my passion but also expand my knowledge and academic skills.

I had great support not only from my lecturers but also from student support. I sometimes found certain things diffcuit due to my dislexia and found them to be very understanding.

I felt they and the lecturers gave me the correct support, e.g with consent I could voice record the lectures as it can be frustrating if you cannot spell a word correct.

I did a BA Honours Degree at University of Wales Trinity Saint David, where I studied Educational Studies and Social Inclusion, a mixture of both careers that I have a great interest and passion for. My time at university gave me both a wide variety of educational knowledge and life experiences.

During my second year of the Degree I gave birth to my first daughter, taking 4 weeks out from the course to recover but continuing my studies from home and ensuring all assignments were submitted on time electronically. I felt I had great support from my lecturers to enable me to achieve this and to finish my degree.

Although that year was full of challenge both academically and personally, the experience gained from it has been

Following my graduation I resumed employment within the residential care sector, working for Mencap as a support worker within learning difficulties and challenging behaviour for the last 3 years. This period of work has allowed me to both support my husband as he continued with studies which he is finishing this academic year, and the opportunity for our family to expand.

I am now applying to do a Masters Degree in Social Work and feel that my degree will help me to get closer to my passion and become a Social Worker.

Kimberley Snellgrove B.A.

Good news: SWWCTE Estyn report The South West Wales Centre of Teacher Education has received its final report from Estyn following 18 months of activity in which the Centre sought to address the recommendations arising from the ITET Centre Inspection of 2011-12. The hard work of the SWWCTE staff was rewarded with recognition of the change in culture, working practices and ITET student outcomes in the report.

Literacy is a critical issue in Welsh education; the following comments from Estyn’s report indicate how SWWCTE succeed in preparing students to address this issue in the classroom:

The Centre staff have worked hard to improve students’ planning and reflective skills: ‘There has been a strong focus on improving trainees’ skills of planning and reflection over the past year... Tutors have high expectations of trainees’ planning and they have communicated these expectations clearly to mentors in schools. This helps to ensure that trainees receive consistent messages and good support in relation to lesson planning’ Y Cwricwlwm Cymreig is central to our work with ITET students, this is an area in which we hope to become sector leading in the future: ‘The identification of examples of best practice in Y Cwricwlwm Cymreig is a strong feature of this work and demonstrates the centre’s pro-active work to develop its partnership with schools’ The strategic planning and monitoring processes undertaken on an annual cycle across SWWCTE have also been recognised: ‘The strategies and procedures also include a clearly communicated vision of high expectations of all staff and an aspiration to deliver high quality teachers to the teaching force in Wales and beyond. Tutors, mentors and trainees understand the vision well and subscribe to the aspiration’ This last statement summarises where we are now. SWWCTE fully intends to lead the sector in ITET in the future and become a Centre of excellence regarding ITET provision; The University’s work with schools, local authorities and regional consortia will further this aim in the coming months and years’.

Dr Jane Waters BSc (Hons), PGCE, MA(Ed), PhD Head of South West Wales Centre of Teacher Education (SWWCTE) E-mail: jane.waters@uwtsd.ac.uk ‘Trainees on all programmes are aware of the need to develop pupils’ literacy across the curriculum and they have a good understanding of the requirements of the Literacy and Numeracy Framework. The centre provides good practical support and guidance to help trainees to develop pupils’ literacy skills and this has improved trainees’ practice across all programmes... The centre’s data shows that targeted compulsory literacy interventions have substantially improved the literacy skills of this group of trainees’

Faculty of Education and Communities Newsletter | January 2015

Lecturer becoming a Geography Champion!

Dr Sioned Hughes, a senior lecturer in SWWCTE, recently became an honorary Geography Champion for the Geographical Association. The criteria for being a Geography Champion includes being passionate and knowledgeable about high quality teaching and learning geography, ability to share this passion and knowledge with a network and will and able to support others.

As a Geography Champion, Sioned will be involved in the National Moderation Team for the Geographical Association, supporting with assessing the Primary Geography Quality Mark (PGQM) and ensuring its relevance for Wales.

Dr Sioned Hughes with Dr Russell Grigg holding their recent publication: Teaching primary humanities

International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) the confidence I have gained as a researcher in delivering this paper, from a research point of view it has really enabled me to articulate my research.

From a professional point of view it enabled me to make wide reaching contacts and since the conference Steve and I have been approached to write a chapter in a new book entitled “Debates in ICT and Computing” due to be published next year. I have also been invited to become an associate member of IFIP, I will need to present again at another conference to obtain full membership – Vilnius next year…I can dream!!

July 2014, I was lucky enough to present a paper entitled “Teacher perceptions of key competencies in ICT” at the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) conference in Potsdam, Germany.

The paper was co- written with Dr. Steve Kennewell and was generated from my research regarding how specialist ICT teachers in secondary school perceive their specialist subject,

and further more whether their practice supports their perceptions.

The paper was received really well, with many of the more established researchers and key names within ICT being very complimentary, particularly about the focus of the innovative use of Activity Theory within the research.

There have been a number of benefits from this experience, including

From a personal perspective, I had the opportunity to visit a beautiful city and network with some key names in the global educational arena for my subject area.

Jan Barnes Secondary PGCE Assessment Officer/ Senior Lecturer South West Wales Centre of Teacher Education janine.barnes@uwtsd.ac.uk

A book by one of the Faculty’s lecturers awarded two prizes Professor Jane Cartwright’s volume Mary Magdalene and her Sister Martha: An Edition and Translation of the Medieval Welsh Lives which was published by the Catholic University of America Press in 2013 has recently been awarded two prizes. In June 2014 it won the Association of Washington Publisher’s design award in the United States and in July 2014 it won the Vernam Hull Memorial Prize for its contribution to the study of medieval prose. Jane’s photograph of a medieval wall painting of Mary Magdalene taken at Llantwit Major was used on the book’s cover which was designed by Anne Kachergis. According to Professor Dafydd Johnston: ‘Cartwright’s scholarly edition and translation makes the two Middle Welsh Lives accessible to an international audience for the first time, showing Wales to have participated fully in European hagiographic traditions.

The early development of the sources of these legends is traced in an informative introduction, and detailed comparison of manuscript versions of the Welsh texts from the midfourteenth century onwards shows how they were used and adapted into the early modern period. The introduction sets the Lives in the context of the rich native culture of veneration of saints in Wales.’

engagement with outdoor spaces nationally and internationally. The book offers theoretical perspectives from which to consider the, often thorny, practical issues facing those who work with young children outside in a variety of different contexts. The international perspective allows us to ‘think otherwise’ about, for example, child initiated play, risk-taking and the conceptualisation of ‘effective’ outdoor environments.

Exploring Outdoor Play in the Early Years “The outdoor environment matters to young children. This book not only makes the case for outdoor play, it considers what that actually looks like in the UK and internationally, and asks us to reflect on the implications for our own working practices. Maynard and Waters set out to provoke critical reflection and inspire practitioners; they have certainly achieved their aim and this book is a welcome addition to the debate about outdoors in the early years.”

Gail Ryder Richardson, Early Years Consultant and Trainer, Outdoor Matters!

New Book publication: Exploring Outdoor Play in the Early Years Dr Jane Waters is co-editor for this international collection of work related to young children’s play and learning in outdoor spaces published by McGraw Hill. Working with Professor Trisha Maynard to co-edit the book, Jane also authors the introduction and a chapter, related to her doctoral research.

The book is intended as a text that has relevance for those working with, and interested in, young children’s Faculty of Education and Communities Newsletter | January 2015