Early Years welcomes articles of up to 5000 words. Manuscripts should be original and written in clear, straightforward English. All submissions should be made online at the Early Years Manuscript Central site. New users should first create an account. Once a user is logged onto the site submissions should be made via the Author Centre.

All pages should be numbered and a total word count given at the end of the article. Please include an abstract of around 150 words, a list of no more than six key words.

Authors should prepare and upload two versions of their manuscript. One should be a complete text (the "Main Document"), while in the second all information identifying the author should be removed from files to allow them to be sent anonymously to referees. When uploading these anonymised files, authors will then be able to define them as a “File not for review.” 

The Reviews section of the Early Years journal now contains reviews of websites as well as books. Increasingly, useful information, analysis and discussion in relation to Early Years education is contained on websites, and many of us use these sites for these and other purposes on a regular basis. Click here for more information.

Articles submitted to Early Years: an international journal of research and development should not be under consideration by any other journal, or have been published elsewhere, and the letter accompanying the submission of any manuscript should contain a clear statement to this effect.

Please conform to the house-style of the journal in all respects:

• Tables, figures and artwork should not be included in the text but must be supplied as separate files in a finished form suitable for reproduction.
• Illustrations should be good contrast, black and white drawings or photographs (preferably gloss finish) or slides. If only colour photographs are available, negatives should be supplied.
• Status and placing of sub-headings should be clear, as should (pencilled) instructions about the position of tables, diagrams, etc.
• No footnotes should be included and endnotes should be used sparingly, numbered in the text and placed at the end of the article just before the list of references.

Style guidelines
Description of the Journal's article style

Description of the Journal's reference style, Quick guide

Final decisions about the inclusion of articles, illustrations, etc. are made in the light of referees' comments and rest with the Editors and the Editorial board, who may be consulted about all matters relating to the journal.

We strongly encourage you to send the final, revised version of your article, electronically, by email. More help and guidelines on submitting articles already accepted for publication. Please note that this information applies only to authors whose articles have been reviewed, revised, and accepted for publication.

Free article access: Corresponding authors can receive 50 free reprints, free online access to their article through our website (www.informaworld.com) and a complimentary copy of the issue containing their article. Complimentary reprints are available through Rightslink® and additional reprints can be ordered through Rightslink® when proofs are received. If you have any queries, please contact our reprints department at reprints@tandf.co.uk

Copyright: It is a condition of publication that authors assign copyright or license the publication rights in their articles, including abstracts, to TACTYC. This enables us to ensure full copyright protection and to disseminate the article, and of course the Journal, to the widest possible readership in print and electronic formats as appropriate. Authors retain many rights under the Taylor & Francis rights policies, which can be found at www.informaworld.com/authors_journals_copyright_position. Authors are themselves responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyright material from other sources.