Biographical note

Michael Reed is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Early Childhood, within the Institute of Education at the University of Worcester. He teaches on undergraduate and postgraduate courses related to child development, practice based research and leadership.  He is a qualified teacher and hold advanced qualifications in Educational Inquiry, Educational Psychology and Special Education.  He was a member of course development and writing teams at the Open University and an experienced author. He has a particular interest in practice based inquiry and research evaluating ways to improve quality in practice. He has co-edited a number of books including  Reflective Practice in the Early Years (2010), Quality Improvement and Change in the Early Years (2012)  and Work Based Research in the Early Years (2012), all published by SAGE. Natalie Canning is a Lecturer in Education – Early Years at The Open University. Her background is in playwork and social work, particularly in supporting children to explore personal, social and emotional issues through play. She has published a number of articles relating to professional development and the early years and has presented at national and European conferences. Her main research is in the area of children’s empowerment in play and she is currently involved in research on developing children as autonomous learners. She has taught across a variety of Early Childhood undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.