In this free course, Children's perspectives on play, you are asked to put yourself in the place of young children and to think about their view of play and their reasons for playing. When children have personal freedom to choose and make decisions about what and who they want to play with, as well as where they want to play, they are highly ...

This free course, Early years team work and leadership, explores aspects of teamwork and leadership for early years practitioners.

This free course, The family at the centre of early learning, focuses on the positive learning relationships that can exist in any family and how ordinary, everyday domestic activities can sustain learning. You will consider how the traditions and cultural practices of the community to which the family belongs filters through to the child’s ...

Supporting children’s development is an introductory course for anyone who is interested in children’s development, especially support staff in schools, such as teaching assistants. It builds on your knowledge and skills to develop a deeper understanding of children from the early years to school leavers. You will be introduced to some core ...

In this free course, Listening to young children: supporting transition, you will explore ways of listening to children in order to support their experiences of changes or transitions. Such transitions can involve many dimensions, including familiarisation with new cultural practices, the development of new relationships and potentially a shift ...

This free course, Attachment in the early years, covers theory and research in the area of attachment in early childhood. In the 1950s, John Bowlby was the first person to develop a theory about the significance of early attachments between caregivers and very young children. His work has stimulated a massive and very productive field of ...

This free course uses the case studies of Liam, Chloe and Lola to explore childhood development and some of the biological and psychological conditions that can affect children and young people. You will focus on asthma, intellectual and development disorders, depression and anxiety, and eating disorders.

This free course, Young children, the outdoors and nature, looks at the importance of babies and toddlers having opportunities to engage with rich outdoor environments.

This free course, Exploring learning disabilities: supporting belonging, takes the real-life cases of a number of different people to explore what it is like to have the label ‘learning disability’. The course also considers how it feels to support someone with a learning disability, as a family member, a friend, an advocate or a paid worker...

Learn about autism, one of the most challenging long-term conditions of the century. This free course, Understanding autism, introduces the autism spectrum, how it is experienced by individuals and families, and why it has become a global concern. The course explains how understanding of the autism spectrum and approaches to diagnosis and care ...

This free course, Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), explores the experience of ADHD from the perspective of those who are diagnosed with the condition, and those who care for them. It covers the contribution of scientific research to understanding ADHD, with a focus on assessing the effectiveness and mechanism of ...

In some people's eyes the development of relationships is a good end in itself, as it is in relationships that we express our humanity. Young people with few good-quality relationships in their lives often find that entering into informal relationships with adults who respect, accept, like and really listen to them is a new life experience. ...

In this free course, Working with young people: roles and responsibilities, we look at the roles that are taken when working with young people. We focus on what those working with young people actually do, starting with some analysis of roles. We show that, in the context of work with young people, the term is more than simply a statement about ...

The term 'partnership' is used to describe a wide range of organisational arrangements and ways of working: from informal networking between individuals, to more formal partnership structures. In this free course, Partnerships and networks in work with young people, you will explore a range of meanings for the word 'partnership' and see that it ...

Listening to children is a first step in the participation agenda, which is reasonably well established. By contrast, enabling children to share in decision making lags some way behind. This free course, Children and young people's participation, emphasises that the adoption of an integrated approach to participation by different sectors of the ...

This free course, Supporting children and young people's wellbeing, looks at some of the broader concerns regarding wellbeing and the idea that children and young people today are increasingly reporting feelings of unhappiness. By completing the activities, you will be introduced to different ways of understanding children and young people’s ...

Do you have a professional or personal interest in the mental health issues affecting young children? Are you working with children or are you a parent or carer? This free course, Supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing, is designed to give insight into the factors that are contributing to our youngest citizens’ poor mental health; ...

This free course provides an introduction to adolescent mental health. The course is designed to encourage a greater understanding of mental health issues as well as to explore the variety of strategies that can be employed to support young people.

What do we mean by 'wellbeing' for young people? How is it shaped by social differences and inequalities, and how can we improve young people's mental and physical health? This free course, Young people's wellbeing, will examine the range of factors affecting young people's wellbeing, such as obesity, binge drinking, depression and behavioural ...

This free course, Understanding depression and anxiety, explores the causes of these mental health issues, with a particular focus on stress. You will consider some risk and causal factors for some depression and anxiety disorders, and learn about the biology and psychology behind them.

Do you feel concerned about a lack of diversity in your workplace? Is this something you want to address? Perhaps you’d like to feel more informed on a personal level before taking it further organisationally? This free course introduces you to the benefits and complexities of developing and supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce. It ...

How should we, as a society, best respond to and prevent gang and knife crime and violent extremism?

This free course, Working with diversity in services for children and young people, will provide you with an understanding of the ways in which diverse and intersecting social identities structure the lives and experiences of children and young people, and the implications of those identities for professional practice. Although designed ...

This course will help you to develop your understanding of how to promote and support learning for all, within classrooms with a diverse student and staff population. It will encourage you to embrace your own capacity to lead at any level of an organisation. You will explore the tensions around collective responses and individualised challenges,...

This free course, Exploring equality and equity in education, considers the complexity of social justice as applied to education and reflects on the different purposes of, and value ascribed to, education in different countries and cultures. It discusses different conceptions of 'justice' and the distinction between equity and equality.

This free course, The impact of technology on children's physical activity, explores the impact of technology on children’s physical activity levels. It examines the different types of technology that children have access to and the ways in which they engage with it. As part of this discussion this course looks at information from a range of ...

This free course, Childhood in the digital age, delves into the lives of children and discuss the potential benefits and limitations of technology in their lives.

Communication and digital collaboration skills are now essential for new ways of working and thriving in a digital world. As more organisations move to permanent hybrid working, being able to connect with others, manage your digital persona and use the digital tools and understand expectations is becoming more important.

This free course, Digital skills: succeeding in a digital world, will develop your confidence and skills for life online, whether study, work or everyday life. It explores a range of digital skills and practices, including digital identity, digital well-being, staying safe and legal, finding and using information and online tools, and dealing ...

This free course, Introduction to cyber security: stay safe online, will help you to understand online security and start to protect your digital life, whether at home or work. You will learn how to recognise the threats that could harm you online and the steps you can take to reduce the chances that they will happen to you.

This free course, Children’s experiences with digital technologies, is an introduction to how children use digital technologies, such as mobile applications, digital games and computers, and what they learn from these experiences. The course draws on debates about screen time to critically examine and present evidence about the effects of ...

Ever since the very beginning of humanity, tools have played a pivotal role in who we are and what we do. Tools for recording, processing and communicating information have a time-honoured history – from the clay tokens used in Mesopotamia to mechanical calculating machines. The invention of the digital computer has boosted the scale, speed and ...

This course will give you an opportunity to reflect on who you are as a hybrid leader and how you want to develop. It will help you understand how to empathise with your workforce and how to adapt your communication skills when working in the office and when working remotely. It will prompt you to start thinking about how you can encourage your ...

This free course, Developing leadership practice in voluntary organisations, provides an opportunity for people who work within voluntary organisations, as paid employees or staff, to develop energetic, practical and thoughtful leadership practice.

This free course, Collaborative leadership in voluntary organisations, will help you to reflect on and develop collaborative leadership practices that will make a difference. The course is aimed at people who work within voluntary organisations as paid staff or as volunteers or for people who work regularly with voluntary organisations, such as ...

This free course, Leadership and followership, will help you to explore what makes a good leader, recognise common leadership challenges, and identify the skills you need to develop if you want to enhance your own leadership experience.

Welcome to Leadership challenges in turbulent times, a free course offered by the Open University. We are excited to join you on your journey to explore leadership in the turbulent times that we live in.

This free course, Exploring educational leadership, provides an overview of the field of educational leadership and management. You will explore: the relationships between management and leadership; the scope of the field; different world views that underpin educational leadership research and practice; and some key concepts such as agency, ...

This free course will enable leaders and aspiring leaders in a range of educational settings to reflect on key concepts for inclusive leadership. They will be introduced to the influence of values and emotions in leadership and consider how underpinning principles of social justice can change leadership relationships and interactions. Students ...

This free course will enable leaders and aspiring leaders in a range of educational settings to consider different approaches to leading inclusive professional development. Students will be introduced to concepts and practices for collaborative enquiry and contextually relevant professional development. They will be encouraged to reflect on how ...

This free badged course, Working in diverse teams, will help you consider your experience of working in teams and the different roles you play in them. It will increase your confidence in marketing this key skill to employers as well improve your ability to perform well in teams you are currently part of.

This free course, Effective communication in the workplace, explores the importance of communication as a skill in the workplace. It aims to increase your understanding of communication skills and to help you to consider how your communication could be perceived by others. You'll cover areas such as verbal and non-verbal communication, written ...

Do you sometimes wish you were more resilient when faced with changes at work? Do you have career plans but feel unsure about progressing with them? If you do, then this free course, Developing career resilience, will help you to build your resilience and approach career-related change with greater confidence and motivation.

This free course, Personal branding for career success, considers what a personal brand is and whether you currently have one. You’ll look in detail at theories and examples of personal branding, and relevant marketing processes and practices. You’ll identify the values, skills, knowledge and expertise that you want to promote to employers, and ...

This free course, Exploring career mentoring and coaching, will explain what mentors and career coaches do and how a colleague or expert who can ask the right questions, challenge assumptions, and help an individual to find the best solutions for themselves, can make a significant difference in a wide range of situations and contexts.

The course covers why it is important to include children and young people in research about their lives. It explores what it means to carry out research with children and young people. The course gives an insight into the fundamental rights of children and young people contained in the UNCRC, it provides a framework which can underpin all ...

In this free course, Engaging with postgraduate research: education, childhood & youth, you will build on your understanding of how to evaluate research by thinking about a fundamental part of the research process: research perspectives and approaches. Some of the different ways of researching situations that can arise when working in education ...