This free course explores the term 'motivation' and factors affecting motivation. This includes looking at the most influential theories of motivation that contribute to understanding the causes of motivation. The motivation of sports people and people working in sport and fitness environments are used to help understand the theories presented.

This free course explores different aspects of learning and teaching in primary education. It gives opportunities to engage with different types of activities that are designed to develop an understanding of learning and teaching in primary education.

Understanding the experiences of previously home-educated adults.

It is widely recognised that supporting children to become capable and engaged readers plays an important role in their future success. Reading empowers; it facilitates education and employment, and it enriches one’s personal life and growth. Learning to read is therefore a key goal of primary or elementary education, and high-quality literacy instruction is fundamental to any literacy curriculum. An effective literacy curriculum not only teaches children how to read, it also inspires them to want to read.

Developing the skill to read and the will to read are interrelated, however, this course focuses on the latter; it is an exploration of Reading for Pleasure and its significance for children’s lives and development. You will consider current research, debates and challenges that impact on children’s reading and gain knowledge and strategies to help you promote reader engagement across schools, homes and communities.

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 self-motivated and active in their engagements with everything around them. In this course you will think about how you listen to children’s perspectives, why it is important and also consider the choices children make about where they play and why.

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 who does what: it also says something about the kinds of relationships we form with young people and the values we bring to our work. We then move on to discuss roles in relation to the 'bigger picture' of organisations and projects that are concerned with young people.

Are you a parent? Do you work with young children? We've put together a variety of FREE fun tasks to share with your children to help aid them in their learning and development.