Parents welcome men into childcare: 98% now happy to let them work in nurseries

Thursday, July 28th, 2011
Male Nursery Worker
98% of parents say they are happy with males working in childcare

Almost all parents would be happy for their children to be looked after by male nursery workers, new research shows.

There has been a “sea change” in attitudes since a survey six years ago found that only 55 per cent of parents accepted the idea of men working with their children.

The latest study, carried out on behalf of the major day nursery groups, found 98 per cent of mothers and fathers were in favour of men caring for children between the ages of three and five. Currently, less than three per cent of nursery staff are men.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-School Learning Alliance, said: “Parental attitudes have long been held to be a barrier preventing men working in childcare. Our survey suggests this is no longer the case. The vast majority of parents and female childcarers want more men as trained professionals.”
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Portico Nursery Case Study

Monday, July 18th, 2011

Portico Lodge - Nursery SettingInnovative online software provides the ideal solution

Intro: Portico Day Nurseries used to keep their data on one computer, on site, but found it too demanding and extremely inconvenient accessing and transferring data between nurseries.

A cost-effective and time-saving solution was Abacus, the market-leading online system accessible from anywhere with internet connection. This helped remove hidden costs from their previous process and provided secure, immediate access to their data from anywhere.
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EYFS Review: Early Years curriculum slimmed down to aid child learning

Thursday, July 7th, 2011
Sarah Teather talks about the EYFS Review

Government sets out reform of early learning and children’s centres

A new, slimmed down early years curriculum for 0-5s, more focused on making sure children start school ready and able to learn, will be introduced next year under changes set out by Children’s Minister Sarah Teather.

Responding to the Tickell Review of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the new framework radically reduces the number of early learning goals from 69 to 17. It also focuses on three prime areas of learning critical to making sure children have the foundations for school, and introduces a progress check for every 2 year old in early education so parents and professionals can be confident children are developing well.

As part of wider reforms to Sure Start children’s centres and early learning, the Government is looking at ways to get parents and communities more involved in running children’s centres. New plans to be consulted on will also make it easier for parents to plan and balance their working lives by making the free entitlement to 15 hours of early learning and childcare more flexible.
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Polly Anna’s Day Nursery

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

Modernising their administration system: Polly Anna’s Day Nursery Case Study

Polly Annas NurseryPolly Anna’s Nursery found that their former nursery management system had been left behind with the introduction of new procedures and practices, particularly the changes to the Early Years Free Entitlement. After researching the market, they realised that Abacus offered exactly what they wanted and more.

Equipped with a modern, time-saving administration system, invoicing demanded considerably less time, even being completed whilst on holiday in Australia!
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