A novel heterogeneous polymerization process for synthesizing particulate with a wide range of properties has been developed. This process, which is called semi ‐ suspension polymerization (SSP), consists of two steps. In the first step a mixture of monomer, polymer, initiator, and other required ingredients is prepared by means of a non‐ suspension polymerization process. In the second step, this mixture is suspended in the continuous phase and is polymerized to complete conversion. The properties of the semi‐polymerized mixture prepared in the first step as well as the rate of polymerization in the second step can be used to control inter‐droplet and/or intra‐particle mass transfer. This unique capability allows control of the mass transfer between and within particles during the suspension polymerization, thereby enabling synthesis of particulate with a wide range of molecular properties and morphologies unattainable by conventional suspension polymerization. The characteristics of this process and its advantages/limitations will be discussed.

After many years of teaching across Early Years and Key Stage 1 in Liverpool and Cheshire, and as a Deputy Head teacher, Naomi led Early Childhood and the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Early Years Teacher Education programme at Liverpool Hope University. Most recently Naomi is at Liverpool John Moores University teaching across Early Childhood and Education Studies and leading the MA in International Approaches to Early Childhood Education. Her doctorate focused on developing pedagogical participation for young children and Continued Professional Development for teachers and early years professionals across the sector. This continues to be a research interest evident in her published work and in the working partnerships she has developed with educators and creative professionals in the field of Early Years, creativity and participation. Naomi is currently working with Family curators at Tate Liverpool nurturing a sense of self through artwork as a provocation for philosophical enquiry. She also engaged in the initial stages of a collaborative comparative study involving 4 universities looking at the 'multiple identities of Early Childhood students for a quality workforce'. Denise Wright As a teacher, consultant and artist in residence in the Liverpool community for more than 15 years, Denise uses a range of creative approaches to engage children across a variety of settings, including residential settings for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, mental health services and more recently working with very young children and their parents in different early years settings. As part of her PhD, Denise has been working closely with Tate Liverpool, liaising with organisations and supporting nursery practitioners, children and families. In this role Denise has supported the gallery to better understand the needs of young children and families visiting the gallery, particularly children and families from marginalised communities. Recently Denise has been commissioned by Tate to develop and lead the Tate Family Collective, a new initiative for engaging families. Denise also lectures in Early Years and Inclusive Education at

Beyond Words: Engaging Young Children and Families in Gallery Education at Tate Liverpool, is a three-year ethnographic case study that explores what happens when preschool children, parents and nursery practitioners from a Sure Start Children's Centre, visit Tate to participate in an extended series of gallery visits and workshops with artists. This article explores the potential value and tensions of those creative and cultural experiences, particularly for young children and families, by critically examining different perspectives, discourses and possible constructs of effective creative engagement. This research contributes to the debate on ways of engaging children and families from marginalised communities in cultural visits and creative practices by opening up existing discussions on poverty, matters of inclusion, negative stereotypes and dominant educational discourses. Insights from parents are included and their feelings are related to the 'symbolic violence' often felt by parents and children throughout their education from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This research explores how Tate Liverpool developed relationships with a diverse family audience, through developing relationships with children and adults over repeated visits, as an important way for offering continuity and a sense of belonging, particularly for families who may not traditionally visit art galleries. In doing so, it makes a case for galleries to be considered as democratic, inclusive and rhizomatic learning environments, where artist educators act as 'dreamkeepers'. Dreamkeepers can offer the space for extra emotional, social and intellectual support needed for healing from educational injury and for restarting a learning journey.

Although years of research efforts have investigated learning benefits from museum visits, relatively less attention has been paid to young children's experiences in these settings. Drawing on contextualist perspectives of learning, this paper seeks to address this gap, using two case studies to explore the experiences of children ages three to five who spent extended periods of time attending school in a museum setting. We draw on qualitative data from the evaluation of two museum-school partnerships, to investigate potential learning benefits of such experiences and elements that may have facilitated the outcomes observed. These two exploratory case studies indicate considerable potential for supporting language and communication skills in young children, as well as personal, social and emotional development. These outcomes appear to be linked to the rich nature of the experience, as well as its extended duration, which allowed it to be deeply child-centred, allowing for valuable learning from the museum environment.

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