Natalie CanningNatalie Canning is a Lecturer in Education - Early Years at The Open University. Her background is in playwork and social work, particularly in supporting children to explore personal, social and emotional issues through play. She ha published a number of articles relating to professional development and the early years and has presented at national and European conferences. Her main research is in the area of children's empowerment in play and she is currently involved in research on developing children as autonomous learners. She has taught across a variety of Early Childhood undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.