Baby Talk
While I was at the Labour Party conference last week, I listened to Maya Ellis MP talk about why it was important to establish an APPG for Babies (Pregnancy to…
LEYF News and CEO Blog
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
Talking Early Years: In conversation with Peter Moss
The Early Years as a Political Space Early childhood education is not a neutral or technical service—it is a deeply political space and this is the focus of…
Dear Justine Greening MP
Congratulations on your appointment as Secretary of State for Education. It is quite a Brief so l hope that those of us who have been grappling with it for a…
Men in Childcare, why are we still debating this?
Just when you think that you are beginning to open people’s eyes and ears as to the benefits of having men working in childcare settings, along comes the ill- informed and…
I’m Alright, Jack
Last Thursday was a day of momentous historical significance. It may be linked but the weather also decided to create havoc on that day. Determined not to be beaten, I…
What’s Brand Got to Do with the Early Years?
I seem to be visiting the homes of great Early Years pioneers at the moment. Last month to Keilhau home of Froebel and last week a short holiday…
Cleaning my teeth with Laura Henry & other surprises from a Trip to Froebel’s Birthplace
Recently, I wrote about the importance of visiting other nurseries so I was delighted when I was given a “golden ticket” by Community Playthings to visit…
Visiting Each Others Nurseries Brings Many Benefits – From Social Enterprises to Fairy Gardens
Recently, I was lucky enough to enjoy the company and conversation of a number of Early Years colleagues; I met colleagues from OMEP Ireland and…
Balancing Good Intentions with Reality? Another Challenge for Childcare.
The Government wants to upgrade the calibre of staff entering the Early Years profession. So indeed does the sector, so what’s the problem?…
Why we need to learn from the past and become Black Box Thinkers
It’s been a while since I went to a sector event so I decided to attend an event hosted by PACEY last week to hear if our Minster had anything…
Baby You’re Amazing
Action research is very important for quality improvement and at LEYF it’s the basis of self reflection. We believe that practitioner led research is an often underused method of ensuring quality…
Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves…
March is women’s month. Starting with Mother’s Day on the 6th and International Women’s Day on the 8th – it means that we can look forward to enjoying and participating…
Aspiring Leaders; Can you afford to ignore this opportunity?
‘If you want to be an emotionally intelligent leader you need to do the aspiring leaders course.’ Mursal Great leadership is an essential ingredient to making an organisation, whether it’s outstanding nurseries…
London Ofsted Big Conversation
London Ofsted Big Conversation – 19th January 2016 (Hosted by Ofsted at Aviation House & Chaired by June O’Sullivan) In attendance from Ofsted Mike Sheridan Regional Director…