PEDAL Research Centre
@pedalcam.bsky.social
We are the Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning in the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Education.
Reposts aren't necessarily endorsements.
Reposts aren't necessarily endorsements.
Please join us on Monday 10 November for a Trio of A Trio of Inaugural Professorial Lectures from the Psychology and Education Group at @camedfac.bsky.social.
All welcome, register here for in-person and online:
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
@michellefson.bsky.social @drjennyg.bsky.social
All welcome, register here for in-person and online:
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
@michellefson.bsky.social @drjennyg.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Please join us on Monday 10 November for a Trio of A Trio of Inaugural Professorial Lectures from the Psychology and Education Group at @camedfac.bsky.social.
All welcome, register here for in-person and online:
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
@michellefson.bsky.social @drjennyg.bsky.social
All welcome, register here for in-person and online:
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
@michellefson.bsky.social @drjennyg.bsky.social
Reposted by PEDAL Research Centre
Are you a SENCO, ALNCo, LSC, or ASN Principal Teacher working with primary-aged pupils?
Join online focus groups on supporting pupils facing barriers to learning.
🗓️Evenings, Nov–Dec 2025
✉️Voucher provided
Sign up: bit.ly/op-end
Funded by Kusuma Trust UK
#SEND #Inclusion
Join online focus groups on supporting pupils facing barriers to learning.
🗓️Evenings, Nov–Dec 2025
✉️Voucher provided
Sign up: bit.ly/op-end
Funded by Kusuma Trust UK
#SEND #Inclusion
November 4, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Are you a SENCO, ALNCo, LSC, or ASN Principal Teacher working with primary-aged pupils?
Join online focus groups on supporting pupils facing barriers to learning.
🗓️Evenings, Nov–Dec 2025
✉️Voucher provided
Sign up: bit.ly/op-end
Funded by Kusuma Trust UK
#SEND #Inclusion
Join online focus groups on supporting pupils facing barriers to learning.
🗓️Evenings, Nov–Dec 2025
✉️Voucher provided
Sign up: bit.ly/op-end
Funded by Kusuma Trust UK
#SEND #Inclusion
Did you know that PEDAL launched the Mobilise Podcast mini-series in 2024? 🎧
PEDAL's former Senior Policy Fellow @salhogg.bsky.social talks to leading UK policymakers and politicians about how research can be used in policy to improve children's lives.
www.pedalhub.net/projects/ite...
PEDAL's former Senior Policy Fellow @salhogg.bsky.social talks to leading UK policymakers and politicians about how research can be used in policy to improve children's lives.
www.pedalhub.net/projects/ite...
The Mobilise Podcast - PEDAL
Mobilise is a podcast mini-series where we talk to leading policymakers and politicians from across the UK about how research can be used in policy to improve children's lives.
www.pedalhub.net
October 27, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Did you know that PEDAL launched the Mobilise Podcast mini-series in 2024? 🎧
PEDAL's former Senior Policy Fellow @salhogg.bsky.social talks to leading UK policymakers and politicians about how research can be used in policy to improve children's lives.
www.pedalhub.net/projects/ite...
PEDAL's former Senior Policy Fellow @salhogg.bsky.social talks to leading UK policymakers and politicians about how research can be used in policy to improve children's lives.
www.pedalhub.net/projects/ite...
In this piece from the #PEDALResourceLibrary archives, PEDAL's @emmapritchard95.bsky.social, Carmen de Lemos, Katie Howard and PEDAL's @drjennyg.bsky.social focus on the experiences and perspectives of autistic people concerning the topic of autistic play:
www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/...
www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/...
Diversity in Autistic Play: Autistic Adults' Experiences | Autism in Adulthood
Background: Play is important for mental health and well-being. Descriptions of autistic play have typically focused on “deficits” and are based on comparisons to neurotypical “norms”. According to…
www.liebertpub.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:45 AM
In this piece from the #PEDALResourceLibrary archives, PEDAL's @emmapritchard95.bsky.social, Carmen de Lemos, Katie Howard and PEDAL's @drjennyg.bsky.social focus on the experiences and perspectives of autistic people concerning the topic of autistic play:
www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/...
www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/...
You can also find PEDAL on X (Twitter) LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram!
We're @PEDALCameverywhere, or you can click the icons at the top of the LinkTree in our bio:
linktr.ee/pedalcam
We're @PEDALCameverywhere, or you can click the icons at the top of the LinkTree in our bio:
linktr.ee/pedalcam
October 22, 2025 at 3:23 PM
You can also find PEDAL on X (Twitter) LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram!
We're @PEDALCameverywhere, or you can click the icons at the top of the LinkTree in our bio:
linktr.ee/pedalcam
We're @PEDALCameverywhere, or you can click the icons at the top of the LinkTree in our bio:
linktr.ee/pedalcam
In this talk from the #PEDALConference2025, Dr Nikhit D’Sa shares lessons from four years of research with communities in Haiti including lessons for similar initiatives in other contexts around the world:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RvB...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RvB...
Dr Nikhit D’Sa: Leveraging alternative systems to support children’s development amid crisis
YouTube video by Play in Education, Development and Learning
www.youtube.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:58 PM
In this talk from the #PEDALConference2025, Dr Nikhit D’Sa shares lessons from four years of research with communities in Haiti including lessons for similar initiatives in other contexts around the world:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RvB...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RvB...
How to communicate with hospitalised children, according to Health Play Specialists:
www.pedalhub.net/resource-lib...
www.pedalhub.net/resource-lib...
How to communicate with children, according to Health Play Specialists in the United Kingdom: A qualitative study - PEDAL
Paulina Pérez-Duarte Mendiola
www.pedalhub.net
October 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM
How to communicate with hospitalised children, according to Health Play Specialists:
www.pedalhub.net/resource-lib...
www.pedalhub.net/resource-lib...
Past and present PEDAL colleagues Janina Eberhart, Carolyn Mazzei, Dina Fajardo Tovar, Zhen Rao and Sara Baker together with Allison Haack have published a paper in the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
October 1, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Past and present PEDAL colleagues Janina Eberhart, Carolyn Mazzei, Dina Fajardo Tovar, Zhen Rao and Sara Baker together with Allison Haack have published a paper in the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
How do children’s personality traits - especially callous-unemotional (CU) traits like seeming less sensitive to others’ feelings - affect how teachers see their behaviour, and how do these traits change how much children enjoy school?
Understanding how certain personality traits impact children’s enjoyment of school and teachers’ perceptions of children’s behaviour - PEDAL
Read a summary of this recent paper published by Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties which used data from the Healthy Start, Happy Start study.
www.pedalhub.net
September 26, 2025 at 9:21 AM
How do children’s personality traits - especially callous-unemotional (CU) traits like seeming less sensitive to others’ feelings - affect how teachers see their behaviour, and how do these traits change how much children enjoy school?
Reposted by PEDAL Research Centre
"It is our collective responsibility to understand how toys powered by artificial intelligence impact young children."
@drjennyg.bsky.social and @ejgoodacre.bsky.social in The Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
@drjennyg.bsky.social and @ejgoodacre.bsky.social in The Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
How will childhood be changed by AI toys? | Letter
Letter: Our study is looking into how toys powered by AI can affect children’s development and their right to privacy, write Dr Emily J Goodacre and Prof Jenny Gibson
www.theguardian.com
September 19, 2025 at 7:27 AM
"It is our collective responsibility to understand how toys powered by artificial intelligence impact young children."
@drjennyg.bsky.social and @ejgoodacre.bsky.social in The Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
@drjennyg.bsky.social and @ejgoodacre.bsky.social in The Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Reposted by PEDAL Research Centre
More about @drjennyg.bsky.social and @ejgoodacre.bsky.social's research on AI toys and children's development here: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/new-...
September 19, 2025 at 7:29 AM
More about @drjennyg.bsky.social and @ejgoodacre.bsky.social's research on AI toys and children's development here: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/new-...
Reposted by PEDAL Research Centre
Today in our Guardian letter, @drjennyg.bsky.social and I call for a greater public discourse on how AI toys are interacting with young children and the impacts on their development. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
How will childhood be changed by AI toys? | Letter
Letter: Our study is looking into how toys powered by AI can affect children’s development and their right to privacy, write Dr Emily J Goodacre and Prof Jenny Gibson
www.theguardian.com
September 18, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Today in our Guardian letter, @drjennyg.bsky.social and I call for a greater public discourse on how AI toys are interacting with young children and the impacts on their development. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
PEDAL's @ejgoodacre.bsky.social & @drjennyg.bsky.social have had a letter published in The @theguardian.com which responds to Arwa Mahdawi's article about her family's experience with an AI toy:
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
How will childhood be changed by AI toys? | Letter
Letter: Our study is looking into how toys powered by AI can affect children’s development and their right to privacy, write Dr Emily J Goodacre and Prof Jenny Gibson
www.theguardian.com
September 24, 2025 at 4:42 PM
PEDAL's @ejgoodacre.bsky.social & @drjennyg.bsky.social have had a letter published in The @theguardian.com which responds to Arwa Mahdawi's article about her family's experience with an AI toy:
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
The long-term follow up findings of our Healthy Start, Happy Start study have been published in the @acamh.bsky.social Journal Of Child Psychology And Psychiatry this week.
Read a quick-read summary by @camedfac.bsky.social: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/heal...
Read a quick-read summary by @camedfac.bsky.social: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/heal...
September 18, 2025 at 1:06 PM
The long-term follow up findings of our Healthy Start, Happy Start study have been published in the @acamh.bsky.social Journal Of Child Psychology And Psychiatry this week.
Read a quick-read summary by @camedfac.bsky.social: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/heal...
Read a quick-read summary by @camedfac.bsky.social: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/heal...
This animation provides an update on the long term findings of the Healthy Start, Happy Start study testing a relationship-based parenting programme.
@nihr.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk @ihealthvisiting.bsky.social @acamh.bsky.social @camedfac.bsky.social
@nihr.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk @ihealthvisiting.bsky.social @acamh.bsky.social @camedfac.bsky.social
September 17, 2025 at 11:18 AM
This animation provides an update on the long term findings of the Healthy Start, Happy Start study testing a relationship-based parenting programme.
@nihr.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk @ihealthvisiting.bsky.social @acamh.bsky.social @camedfac.bsky.social
@nihr.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk @ihealthvisiting.bsky.social @acamh.bsky.social @camedfac.bsky.social
Reposted by PEDAL Research Centre
New research from @pedalcam.bsky.social shows that a short, relationship-based programme for families can protect against children developing behaviour problems years later.
Quick-read summary here: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/heal...
...or take a look at the full paper in the attached post!
Quick-read summary here: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/heal...
...or take a look at the full paper in the attached post!
September 17, 2025 at 11:17 AM
New research from @pedalcam.bsky.social shows that a short, relationship-based programme for families can protect against children developing behaviour problems years later.
Quick-read summary here: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/heal...
...or take a look at the full paper in the attached post!
Quick-read summary here: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/heal...
...or take a look at the full paper in the attached post!
Reposted by PEDAL Research Centre
This is one of very few long term studies of a brief early intervention to improve mental health in young children. The news is positive - we can make sustained improvements for children early in their lives. Something that early years practitioners know - now there is more research to back it up.
The long-term follow up findings of our Healthy Start, Happy Start study have been published in the Journal Of Child Psychology And Psychiatry: doi.org/10.1111/jcpp...
@camedfac.bsky.social @nihr.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk
@camedfac.bsky.social @nihr.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk
<em>Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry</em> | ACAMH Pediatric Journal | Wiley Online Library
Background Behaviour problems are common in childhood and are associated with higher rates of mental health problems, educational and relationship difficulties throughout life. This study assessed w...
doi.org
September 17, 2025 at 9:32 AM
This is one of very few long term studies of a brief early intervention to improve mental health in young children. The news is positive - we can make sustained improvements for children early in their lives. Something that early years practitioners know - now there is more research to back it up.
The long-term follow up findings of our Healthy Start, Happy Start study have been published in the Journal Of Child Psychology And Psychiatry: doi.org/10.1111/jcpp...
@camedfac.bsky.social @nihr.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk
@camedfac.bsky.social @nihr.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk
<em>Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry</em> | ACAMH Pediatric Journal | Wiley Online Library
Background Behaviour problems are common in childhood and are associated with higher rates of mental health problems, educational and relationship difficulties throughout life. This study assessed w...
doi.org
September 17, 2025 at 9:22 AM
The long-term follow up findings of our Healthy Start, Happy Start study have been published in the Journal Of Child Psychology And Psychiatry: doi.org/10.1111/jcpp...
@camedfac.bsky.social @nihr.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk
@camedfac.bsky.social @nihr.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk
Learn more about how PEDAL research can improve maths outcomes and think more creatively about how to achieve this goal:
www.pedalhub.net/resource-lib...
www.pedalhub.net/resource-lib...
September 11, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Learn more about how PEDAL research can improve maths outcomes and think more creatively about how to achieve this goal:
www.pedalhub.net/resource-lib...
www.pedalhub.net/resource-lib...
Reposted by PEDAL Research Centre
🌍 From Cambridge, UK!
Our Digital Child team had the pleasure of meeting with Professor Paul Ramchandani, Director of the PEDAL Research Centre and with Emily Goodacre, RA at PEDAL.
PEDAL’s mission: discovering how play can spark change in families, schools, and communities.
Our Digital Child team had the pleasure of meeting with Professor Paul Ramchandani, Director of the PEDAL Research Centre and with Emily Goodacre, RA at PEDAL.
PEDAL’s mission: discovering how play can spark change in families, schools, and communities.
September 9, 2025 at 10:00 PM
🌍 From Cambridge, UK!
Our Digital Child team had the pleasure of meeting with Professor Paul Ramchandani, Director of the PEDAL Research Centre and with Emily Goodacre, RA at PEDAL.
PEDAL’s mission: discovering how play can spark change in families, schools, and communities.
Our Digital Child team had the pleasure of meeting with Professor Paul Ramchandani, Director of the PEDAL Research Centre and with Emily Goodacre, RA at PEDAL.
PEDAL’s mission: discovering how play can spark change in families, schools, and communities.
Starting a new school or a new school year can produce feelings of anxiety in children of all ages. Play and movement can help our bodies to recognise that we are safe and reduce our anxiety level.
www.pedalhub.net/resource-lib...
www.pedalhub.net/resource-lib...
Four playful ways to help with anxiety - PEDAL
How can we use play to help our bodies recognise we are safe and reduce our anxiety level?
www.pedalhub.net
September 4, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Starting a new school or a new school year can produce feelings of anxiety in children of all ages. Play and movement can help our bodies to recognise that we are safe and reduce our anxiety level.
www.pedalhub.net/resource-lib...
www.pedalhub.net/resource-lib...
Have you watched the #PEDALConference2025 recordings yet? Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter presented “Children’s risky play: Thrilling experiences and developmental benefits":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTdh...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTdh...
September 4, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Have you watched the #PEDALConference2025 recordings yet? Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter presented “Children’s risky play: Thrilling experiences and developmental benefits":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTdh...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTdh...
Most of us can remember our first day of school or have an embarrassing photo to remind us! 🏫 Uniform too big, an onrush of emotions, nerves, and excitement. It’s not surprising that starting school is so memorable; it is one of the biggest changes a young child will experience.
T: Transitions: Play and the transition to school - PEDAL
How can we use play to support children in their transition to school?
www.pedalhub.net
September 1, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Most of us can remember our first day of school or have an embarrassing photo to remind us! 🏫 Uniform too big, an onrush of emotions, nerves, and excitement. It’s not surprising that starting school is so memorable; it is one of the biggest changes a young child will experience.
Have you watched the #PEDALConference2025 recordings yet? Dr Catherine Draper, Associate Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa presented “Early childhood development and the ‘next 1000 days’: youtube.com/watch?v=vm41...
August 28, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Have you watched the #PEDALConference2025 recordings yet? Dr Catherine Draper, Associate Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa presented “Early childhood development and the ‘next 1000 days’: youtube.com/watch?v=vm41...
How can Disney movies like Encanto be used by therapists to help children experiencing intergenerational trauma? Former PEDAL PhD student @drsydneyconroy.bsky.social explores this in an open access research paper published by Child & Adolescent Mental Health in 2022:
Narrative Matters: ‘Encanto’ and intergenerational trauma - PEDAL
Read a summary of Sydney Conroy's publication about how themes in Encanto might support children's mental health.
www.pedalhub.net
August 22, 2025 at 9:21 AM
How can Disney movies like Encanto be used by therapists to help children experiencing intergenerational trauma? Former PEDAL PhD student @drsydneyconroy.bsky.social explores this in an open access research paper published by Child & Adolescent Mental Health in 2022: