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Cheryl Plant — Helping Young People See What’s Possible

In this episode of the Muddy Puddle Teacher® Podcast, Sarah is joined by Cheryl Plant, Pathways & Progressions Manager within Sheffield City Council’s Lifelong Learning and Skills Service and lead for the See It Be It team.

Cheryl’s work focuses on helping young people make successful transitions from education into employment, working with schools, employers, parents, carers and partners across Sheffield. Her background also includes designing programmes for vulnerable young people, giving her a strong perspective on inclusion, aspiration, social mobility and the importance of giving young people meaningful experiences beyond the classroom.

In this conversation, we explore how schools can help children and young people develop confidence, discover opportunities, connect learning to the wider world and begin to imagine futures they may not yet have considered.

We also talk about Cheryl’s own learning journey and why practical, applied learning has played such an important role in her development.

Find Cheryl and her work:
Cheryl Plant on LinkedIn
See It Be It Sheffield

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In this episode of the Muddy Puddle Teacher® Podcast, Sarah is joined by Caroline Eaton and Leslie Patterson, authors of Learning on Your Doorstep: Low-cost and no-cost ideas for Early Years adventures.

Their book is a practical guide for Early Years practitioners who want to make greater use of the learning opportunities already sitting just outside their setting. From parks and local streets to buses and laundrettes, Caroline and Leslie show how everyday places can support language development, confidence, cultural capital, physical development and curriculum learning without requiring expensive trips or elaborate planning.

In this episode, we talk about why ordinary places can offer extraordinary learning, how adults can slow down and notice what children notice, and whether we have sometimes made outdoor experiences more complicated than they need to be.

It is a conversation about curiosity, local communities, affordable experiences and recognising that some of the richest learning opportunities may already be right on our doorstep.

Find their book and work:
Learning on Your Doorstep — Bloomsbury Education
Read Caroline and Leslie’s Bloomsbury article

And just to correct my earlier wording: it is Caroline Eaton, not Carol Eaton, and the book title is Learning on Your Doorstep.

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Sarah Emerson has worked in early years education since her early twenties and focuses particularly on children experiencing big feelings and behaviours.

Through Childhood Understood, Sarah works with parents, schools and local authorities to help adults understand why children behave in particular ways.

Her work emphasises emotional safety, regulation, compassion and understanding the root causes of behaviour.

Sarah is also the author of Childhood Understood: Keys to Behaviour and Big Feelings in the Early Years, which provides strategies for parents and professionals supporting children with complex emotions and behaviour.

Learn more : Childhood Understood

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