Here's a selection of published reviews about some of Siren's productions.
Marion Dowling, July 2011.
The three DVDs provide spectacular insights into the opportunities that the outdoor environment offers for children in their earliest years. At a time when budgets are restricted spending choices have to be made carefully. These high quality resources are a must for any trainer to purchase.
Caroline Cope (Environmental Education Consultant) - 2011
A fantastic set to inspire practitioners of the magic of the outdoors. It shows children in different settings exploring their environment and how the outdoors provides young children with the opportunity to indulge their schemas.
Wendy Thompson (Early Years Professional Programme Leader) - The University of Hull ( 2010)
All About the Outdoors is to be highly recommended to those delivering programmes and courses which have a focus on the early years. It provides an excellent resource for demonstrating children's learning in action through outdoor play.
Sue Bailey, Early Years Consultant, Connect2Consultancy, February 2011.
We found the dvd to be an extremely useful and powerful resource when used in our 'Every Child a Talker' training programme recently.
Anne O'Connor reviews 'Babies Outdoors'. January 2011
I love the scope of it all, ranging from all the physical movement and brain building stuff to the attachment, emotional, cognitive and communication information.
Jennie Lindon - Toddlers Outdoors January 2011
The filming really brings out the value of the outdoors for this age range. I like the mix of ages, showing an effective build up over the toddler year.
Jennie Lindon - Babies Outdoors Review, January 2011
The footage is excellent as always. The DVD works very well in that it offers a good range of under ones, some of whom we see more than once...
Jennie Lindon - Two Year Old's Outdoors Review January 2011
The DVD really promotes the power of the outdoors and the learning potential for children of simple, natural materials.
Anne O'Connor reviews 'Two year Old's Outdoors'. January 2011
I like the way the film brings in so many different and important aspects in each sequence -it really hammers home the message that quality play covers so many different aspects of learning..
Marion Dowling reviews 'Two Year olds outdoors' January 2011
Two year olds can offer a challenge as they have moved on from being a toddler but are not yet understanding and behaving as nursery age children....
Marion Dowling Reviews 'Toddlers Outdoors' January 2011
This beautiful DVD shows six children in their second year of life enjoying playing outside and making new discoveries....
Marion Dowling reviews 'Babies Outdoors' January 2011
The images depict a world of wonder for these babies in ordinary, everyday events outdoors...
Early Years, Vol.29, No3., October 2009.
THE WONDER YEAR: FIRST YEAR DEVELOPMENT AND SHAPING THE BRAIN & ATTACHMENT AND HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT: This material is a set of two videos, accompanied by two manuals, focused on the amazing first year in children's life and their parents...
Marion Dowling, Author and Vice President of Early Education
ATTACHMENT IN PRACTICE is of extremely high quality - some beautiful shots of expressions of babies and young children.
Early Childhood Practice: The Journal for Multi-Professional Partnerships
THE TWO YEAR OLD AT HOME AND NURSERY is an invaluable resource, as the filming is skilled in showing Ava, her family and the staff in the group setting in natural ways, and apparently not overwhelmed by the camera upon their every movement and interaction
Megan Eccleson Primary Mental Health Under 5's Specialist - Bristol
LIFE AT TWO:ATTACHMENTS, KEY PEOPLE AND DEVELOPMENT follows on beautifully from the 'Attachment in Practice' film by the same company, reviewed in the last issues of this newsletter.
Marjorie Ouvry March 2010
I really am delighted with the 'Toddlers Outdoors' DVD and used extracts in a presentation at a conference yesterday. What really powerful images!
Valeska Grau Cardenas, Catholic University of Chile, July 2009
This material is a set of two DVDs, accompanied by two manuals, focused on the amazing first year in children's lives and on their parents, viewed through a particular baby and his family: Orson, his parents and brother.
Marion Dowling, Author and Vice President of Early Education
THE WONDER YEAR. This film is of extremely high quality and matches the very good standard of other Siren productions.
Dorothy Selleck - Early Years Consultant
LIFE AT TWO is a delightful study of Ava with her family and in her nursery taken over time.
Sara Rance, Consultant Child Adolescent Psychotherapist
ATTACHMENT IN PRACTICE is a wonderful and much needed resource for clinicians, teachers and trainers, which was made in conjunction with Dr P.O. Svanberg, from the Sunderland Infant Program.
Jean McAleer, Teacher, Seaton Burn Community College
LIFE AT TWO. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the film and I am looking forward to using it as a teaching aid with my GCSE Health and Social Care group next term.
Megan Eccleson Primary Mental Health Under 5's Specialist - Bristol
LIFE AT TWO:ATTACHMENTS, KEY PEOPLE AND DEVELOPMENT follows on beautifully from the 'Attachment in Practice' film by the same company, reviewed in the last issues of this newsletter.
Community Practitioner July 09 Volume 82 Number 7
THE WONDER YEAR: FIRST YEAR DEVELOPMENT AND SHAPING THE BRAIN follows a newborn baby called Orson and his family through his first year of life in his home environment..it conveys how important his experiences are to brain development...
Early Years Update (Issue 58 May 2008)
THE WONDER YEAR follows the first 12 months in the life of a young baby, Orson, focusing on his physical, emotional, social and cognitive development.
Professional Association of Nursery Nurses Review
LEARNING THROUGH PLAY is a very useful tool to use with students and staff training. It strikes the right balance of being easy to understand and informative without overloading.
Early Talk 2007 3 Star Rating
LEARNING THROUGH PLAY PACK: It is often difficult to find footage to use in training sessions and these films would be a useful supplement to training and information packages. The commentary is both accessible and interesting...
Early Childhood Practice: The journal for Multi-Professional Partnerships
I have now viewed ATTACHMENT IN PRACTICE, LEARNING THROUGH PLAY AND CHILD OBSERVATON NO.8 developed by Siren Films, and have found them to be an invaluable addition to my library.
Marian Whitehead, Language & Early Years Consultant
LEARNING THROUGH PLAY (THE 3 TO 4 YEAR OLD) is cutting-edge stuff...The observations are beautifully integrated and the lengthy section on personal, social and emotional development sets the right priority.
Marion Dowling, Author and Vice President of Early Education
THE TWO YEAR OLD AT HOME AND NURSERY is of extremely high quality and matches the very good standard of other Siren productions.
Helen Edwards - The Foundation Stage Forum
ATTACHMENT IN PRACTICE. I have just watched this film with my nursery colleagues and it provoked much discussion about our current children, some of whom are finding it very difficult to settle in a new environment.
The Foundation Stage Forum
LEARNING THROUGH PLAY is a valuable resource, both for colleges offering early years courses, and for local authorities providing continuous professional development for their early years workforce.
Early Years Update Resource Review
LIFE AT TWO emphasises the role of the key person in helping Ava to make a successful transition from her home to her early years setting, and is supported by an interview with Peter Elfer....
Early Years Update (Issue 64 December 2008 / January 2009)
ATTACHMENT AND HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT is the latest DVD to be released by Siren Films as part of their observation series. It follows the first year of baby Orson's life. starting with a sequence filmed just after birth.
Nursery News May/June 2010
Jo Baranek, Childcare Quality Manager at NDNA reviews a DVD and resource booklet form Siren Films designed to help practitioners understand the importance of the outdoors
Community Care
THE WONDER YEAR provides an interesting visual study of a baby's early development in a caring and emotionally warm family environment. It illustrates the importance of such a nurturing climate to support and promote a baby's general well-being.
Early Years Update (Issue 69 June 2009)
FIRM FOUNDATIONS FOR EARLY LITERACY & SUPPORTING EARLY LITERACY 0-5 continue [Siren Films] well-established tradition of producing high-quality training materials exemplifiying young children's development for use with students, practitioners and parents
Child Care June 2009
FIRM FOUNDATIONS FOR EARLY LITERACY & SUPPORTING EARLY LITERACY aim to show the important events in early development that secure foundations for early literacy....
Phil Stringer, Principal Educational Psychologist, Hampshire County Council
ATTACHMENT IN PRACTICE. The importance and potential value of this film cannot be sufficiently emphasised. Sensitively observed and well-produced films about child development are few and far between
Professor Tina Bruce (Early Childhood Practice:Volume 11, nos.1&2-2010)
Siren films are second to none in their quality. I use these in training courses more than anything else.
Early Years Update (Issue 77, April 2010)
TODDLERS OUTDOORS DVD and notes can be used for personal study, as part of a staff developmental programme or to share with parents to build their understanding of how very young children think and learn..
Barbara Isaacs, Academic Director at Montessori Centre International, June 2010
Once again Siren Films have produced a resource of high quality...
Child Care
THE WONDER YEAR is a good tool for all childminders and parents of newborn babies, helping to educate and enlighten them about the input their baby needs. It covers aspects of the personal, social and emotional development stepping stone in the EYFS.
