Childcare News
Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week
Children’s Mental Health Week is taking place in the week of the 7th – 13th February 2022 and is a time to not only raise awareness of mental health issues amongst children, but to also offer advice and information and showcase some of the work...
Apprenticeship Opportunities open up at Boys & Girls Nursery
Press release from: Boys & Girls Nursery The start of the new year often leads many to explore new avenues and adventures for the year ahead. With this in mind, Boys & Girls Nursery, a local, family run nursery group with settings in...
Boys & Girls Nursery help make Christmas morning special for all
Press release from: Boys & Girls Nursery Families and team members of Boys & Girls Nursery helped put a smile on the faces of women & children who were in need of the local refuge service this Christmas. An incredible number of gifts...
The “exceptional circumstance” of Covid-19 allows early years settings to relax ratios
The DfE has confirmed that all early years settings can relax their ratios - in line with the EYFS – should they struggle with staff absences, which have risen due to rising cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
ALL SAINTS CHURCH IS REOPENED
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries Last Friday saw the end of a six-year project to secure the future of All Saints church in Lymington. Services in the church ceased in 2013, but Lymington PCC were determined that this lovely building...
Ofsted report: 98% still good or outstanding but more recent inspection concerns
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman has launched Ofsted’s Annual Report 2020-21. The report covered the year to September 2021 during which the Inspectorate carried out fewer inspections than normal due to closures and restrictions....
Inequalities have worsened during pandemic: Child of the North report
A report published by the Northern Health Science Alliance, Child of the North: Building a fairer future after Covid-19 paints a bleak picture, caused by chronic underfunding in the North of England. Inequalities which were in existence before...
Toddlers struggling with sharing post-pandemic
Ofsted has revealed that observations that were made during November showed that many two- and three-year-olds are struggling with social skills, like sharing and taking turns, post pandemic. Two-year-olds - who have spent nearly 80% of their...
Ofsted releases updated Education Inspection Framework
On 15th December, Ofsted updated its inspection framework (EIF) to reflect the new EYFS framework which came into force in September. In the updated guidance, the following questions are answered in more detail: “Will Ofsted expect providers to...
Lucky nursery had visit from the National Nursery Manager of the year award winner
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries Tops Day Nurseries in Southsea had a visit from this years’ Nursery Manager of the Year award winner, Hannah Jennings. Hannah was awarded this prestigious award at the Nursery Management Today (NMT)...
Dorset Council Helps Educate Children at Local Nursery
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries Dorset Council are in the process of creating a cycle path the length of Leigh Road, Wimborne which passes across the entrances to Tops Day Nurseries Wimborne. Throughout this project Tops Wimborne and...
Parenta Training reinforces its leadership team with the appointment of a new Managing Director – a Quality & Compliance expert
The UK’s largest provider of early years vocational apprenticeships, Parenta Training, enters the next phase of its commitment to “fully embed unrivalled quality within apprenticeship programme delivery” with the addition of a new Managing...
Children encouraged to focus on speaking and listening to avoid low achievement
Early years settings around the nation have been invited to take part in ‘No Pens Day Wednesday’, which takes place on 24 November. The aim of the day, organised by the children’s communications charity, I CAN, is to encourage children to focus...
New children and families minister commits to SEND review in open letter
Children and families Minister Will Quince has written an open letter to all parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities to talk about his ambitions for them and their children. In the letter,...
Education Secretary puts climate change at the heart of education
Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi has promised to put the fight against climate change "at the heart" of education in England. During his speech at the recent COP26 in Glasgow, he spoke about plans for a new 'model science curriculum', due to be...
Lest we forget: Milton Hall Montessori Nursery School Commemorates Remembrance Day
Press release from: Milton Hall Montessori Nursery School Armistice Day was commemorated on the 11th November. Also known as Remembrance Day, it marks the day World War One ended, at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, in 1918. This year...
Diwali celebration at Milton Hall Montessori School
Press release from: Milton Hall Montessori School Every year, we celebrate the Indian festival of Diwali. The children and teachers celebrated Diwali at Milton Hall Montessori School. We began our week of Diwali celebrations on Friday 5th...
Celebrating Diwali, Festival of Lights in your setting
practiced religion in the world behind Christianity and Islam, and is considered to be the world’s oldest religion, dating back more than 4,000 years. It is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Muslims and Buddhists around the world, and...
Game-based learning and gamification
Education is evolving, and over the years it has changed a great deal. Gone are the days where the teacher stands and dictates from a book whilst students write down the information word for word, and learn it by rote. Things have changed....
Are you watching me?
Cameo said it like it is. Don’t worry about anyone watching, just glide by, as it’s not about them or you. All you are thinking about is the children and what they are asking you to do and be, at that moment in time. A couple of weeks ago, I had...
Problem-solving : the foundation of all learning?
From birth, children are wired to problem-solve. At every stage of their development we observe them trying to find a way to solve a problem, whether it is by crossing the room or going down a slide, building a tower out of bricks or building a...
How to support the reluctant eater
Many children experience a level of reluctance around certain foods at some point in their development. The transition to solid foods is not always straightforward and new colours, textures and tastes can challenge familiarity. This uncertainty...
Keeping children safe in early years provision
Last month, we were privileged to welcome Yvonne Sinclair to the Parenta family when she gave us the benefit of her incredible safeguarding knowledge and took us through crucial statutory information during our monthly webinar. If you missed it,...
Egg-cellent advice: Hand over hand work
In this series of articles we are going to share his insights with you, if you are keen for more, there is an ever growing collection on my Facebook profile: come and make friends. www.Facebook.com/JoannaGraceTSP This is article 1 out of a...
World Toilet Day
There are some statistics we read that raise eyebrows, some that cause us to look twice, and then there are the ones that shock us into action – or they ought to! At Parenta, we think that the following fact is one of those statistics that we...
Road Safety Week
This is a vision of the world from Brake, the national charity who promote road safety, campaign for safer roads, and look after those who have been adversely affected by accidents on the road. Every 20 minutes, someone is killed or seriously...
Increase your occupancy levels… with a blog!
November is National Blog Posting Month – and to celebrate this, we are giving you our top tips on how having a blog can boost your ranking on search engines and ultimately increase your occupancy levels! The aim of a blog is to not only create...
Petitions Committee calls for independent review of childcare funding
A report by the Centre for Progressive Policy “Women in the Labour Market” has revealed that lack of affordable and accessible childcare is a barrier to maternal employment, resulting in billions in lost earnings.
Sector returns to pre-pandemic employment levels
A report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released on 12 October shows the numbers of employees in early years returning to pre-pandemic levels with unemployment down and vacancies growing.
New report shows increasing childcare funding rate would give economic gains
A report by the Centre for Progressive Policy “Women in the Labour Market” has revealed that lack of affordable and accessible childcare is a barrier to maternal employment, resulting in billions in lost earnings.
Supporting staff with social, emotional and mental health needs
In my September article, I talked about supporting children who have high social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH). This article will be looking at how we also need to support staff who have high SEMH needs. We need to view SEMH within a...
An introduction to supervision in the early years
Securing a robust supervision system into each settings practice is a challenge, yet it is a key component to our work for many reasons. The role of supervision in early years settings remains a requirement in the latest statutory framework for...
The hope of story
They sweep us up in the anticipation and excitement of adventure. We find ourselves intrigued by mystery or fascinated by the inner workings of complex characters, involved and invested in the actions they take and the resulting consequences....
National Adoption Week
Depending on which statistics you read, there are between 2,000 and 6,000 children in the UK who need adopting at any one time. Many are sibling groups who need to be adopted together, which often makes it more difficult to find the right...
Mackerel pate
You will need: 1 mackerel fillet (tin)½ lemon or lime12 fresh chives2 tbsp. sour cream/Greek natural yoghurt/soya yoghurt Instructions: 1. Squeeze the lemon/lime to remove the juice. 2. Flake the mackerel using a fork into the mixing...
Nutrition for learning
Children tend to be naturally inquisitive and boundless in their approach to understanding the world around them and learning new concepts. The early years setting provides an opportunity to work with children and their families/carers on the...
Fire Prevention Week
One of the things that we as practitioners worry about a lot is how we can keep the children in our care safe. You can see our Safeguarding article on page 34 for more information about how to look after safeguarding more generally in your...
Sustaining the future of the early years – and beyond
In the depths of the COVID pandemic, I wanted to (and needed to) look forward. The national narrative was depressing and hopeless, yet the children in our nurseries were alive and made the staff feel positive. I wanted to capture that sense of...
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
It’s hard to imagine but in this day and age, there are still two women each week who are killed by a partner or former partner in England and Wales. In the Northeast, the area with the highest recorded rate of domestic abuse, there are an...
Developing movements to improve physical literacy in the early years
Movement is for ALL children and sometimes they just need a little extra assistance, and their goals and level will vary/ and that’s OK! So, with this in mind here is your super-fast, 3-minute guide Let’s get back to basics Before children can...
Safeguarding children
The safeguarding of children comes before all other requirements in childcare and education and should not only be a fundamental part of your practice, but embedded throughout everything you do as childcare practitioners. Safeguarding is not an...
Hearing “No”
“Put your coat on” “No” “Put your coat on, you have to, it is cold outside.” “No!” What do you do next? “Eat your vegetables” “No” “Eat your vegetables, you have to, they are good for you.” “No!” What do you do next? “Get down from there.” “No”...
6 ways to ease children’s worries
Children worry about lots of different things. At times, it can be hard to understand why something so trivial can cause so much distress. However, it is important to remember that worries are relative. Cast your mind back to when you were...
New features for Footsteps 2 for web and app
We have released a new version of Footsteps 2 for both web and app – we hope you like the new features: New Progress 2021 report A new progress report for the 2021 curriculum is now available. New Statement Gaps 2021 report This new statement...
Don’t underestimate the power of high-quality imagery on your website!
Your fabulous new website is built, you have the back-office login details in your hand, and now you can access your site to make changes yourself… hooray! But… when you’re making these changes, are you giving enough thought to the quality of...
Double Award Finalists for Watermead Nursery!
Press release from: Watermead Nursery Staff are bursting with pride at Watermead Nursery as they become finalists in two categories for two separate national award ceremonies. Nursery Manager, Kyla Fory said: We so absolutely thrilled to...
Parents’ relationships with children improved during lockdowns
Research has shown that parents feel that the Covid lockdowns have improved their relationships with their children, due to them being able to spend more quality time with them at home. Academics at the University of Essex have found that...
Government to provide early years funding for language and numeracy
The government is to provide funding for specialist training to help 2 to 4-year-olds with language and mathematic skills, as part of the early years recovery plan. The government announced on 6th September that the early years professional...
New children and families minister appointed
During Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle on 15th September, Will Quince, MP for Colchester, was appointed Children and Families Minister, taking over the helm from Vicky Ford, MP for Chelmsford – now junior minister at the Foreign, Commonwealth...
A GOOD result for Tops Day Nurseries Yeovil
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries A GOOD result for Tops Day Nurseries Yeovil Staff and Children at Tops Yeovil are pleased to be celebrating a GOOD rating from Ofsted following their recent inspection. According to the Ofsted report,...
Welcome to the family Topsies Yeovil!
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries Topsie’s Yeovil is the latest nursery to join the Tops Day Nurseries family. This new addition brings the total number of nurseries owned by Tops Day Nurseries to over 30, providing Early Education and...
A local Nursery Manager Selected For The Final Nursery Manager Awards 2021
A local nursery manager has been selected for the final for the Nursery Manager Award category in the NMT Nursery Awards 2021. Hannah Jennings is a Nursery Manager at Tops Day Nurseries - Newport She was nominated for the Nursery Manager Award....
Nursery Managers clock up 37 years’ service of cherishing children
Press release from: Shenfield Day Nursery Shenfield Day Nursery where children are cherished is definitely a special place and it certainly has some milestones to celebrate this summer. Not only is it the nursery’s 20th anniversary year but...
A GOOD result for Tops Day Nurseries Efford
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries Staff and Children at Tops Efford are pleased to be celebrating a GOOD rating from Ofsted following their recent inspection. According to the Ofsted report, children feel safe and secure as they confidently...
Self-isolation and ‘pingdemic’ causes nearly half of all early years settings in England to close
Nearly 50% of childcare providers in England have had to either fully or partially close at least once since 1st June, due to self-isolation requirements, according to a new survey. The survey, published by the Early Years Alliance polled more...
Education minister urges parents to seriously consider apprenticeships over university for their children
Education minister, Gavin Williamson, has urged middle-class parents not to rule out apprenticeships for their children as figures reveal that apprentices could be £50,000-plus better off than the average degree student after three years of...
‘Help educate parents to sign up for Government’s Healthy Start Scheme’: Marcus Rashford
In an open letter published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), footballer and child food poverty campaigner Marcus Rashford has urged more low-income families to sign up for the government’s Healthy Start Scheme. He is calling on health...
A GOOD result for Tops Day Nurseries Devonport
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries Staff and Children at Tops Devonport are pleased to be celebrating a GOOD rating from Ofsted following their recent inspection. According to the Ofsted report, Children feel safe and secure and confidently...
Updates to the NEW EYFS-compatible Footsteps 2!
Last month we reported on our customer and industry research into the imminent EYFS Framework changes and how these will affect our Footsteps 2 EYFS tracker, advising that we would be incorporating the new Development Matters framework into...
5 Ways to Ensure You Have Strong Branding
Your brand is arguably one of the most important assets of your childcare business. It gives it an identity; one that is recognisable, which can connect with existing parents/carers, that can encourage new customers, and can bring your...
Tops Day Nurseries Awarded the ‘Top 20 Top Rated Nursery Group 2021’ Award
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries Tops Day Nurseries, were awarded the ‘Top 20 Top Rated Nursery Group 2021’ Award from daynurseries.co.uk. This award recognises Tops Day Nurseries as one of the 20 top rated Nursery Groups in the UK based...
Milton Hall Montessori summer project – Around the World in 55 days
Press release from: Milton Hall Montessori This year has been a trying year full of restrictions and rules for all of us. Milton Hall Montessori Nursery School we decided to take a different approach to the restrictions and have taken the...
Department for Education’s latest figures show fall in demand for ‘free childcare’
The DfE has released figures which reveal a fall in demand for 'free childcare' places. The number of eligible two-year-olds registered to receive funded early education entitlements has fallen by 13% to 124,500 in 2021. The number of three...
Boris Johnson urged to ‘level up’ for young children by 2030
Thousands of children are ‘falling behind in their first five years of life’, are not ready to learn and struggle with their health and wellbeing, reveals an early years manifesto that urges Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “level up” for young...
Use snack breaks to teach maths: Education Endowment Foundation
Nursery staff have been advised to use everyday activities like snack times and storytime to teach children about counting, addition, subtraction, time and sharing. A report published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) recommends early...
Updated early years guidance and rules from DfE ahead of lockdown restrictions easing
The Department for Education has updated its guidance for early years providers on operating during the pandemic ahead of Step 4 of lockdown easing, which will happen on 19th July. In an updated version of Actions for early years and childcare...
Early years staff need well-being policies and more transparency in the workplace
The Anna Freud Centre has published its findings from a survey about staff well-being, alongside NDNA’s sample well-being policy. Key points from the survey are: Nursery staff love their work, and many feel their settings are actively...
Award winning nursery chain aims to promote the importance of educating children about the world around them
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries. The 1st June marked the start of Pride Month, a month dedicated to celebrating LGBTQ+ communities all around the world. Tops Day Nurseries, an eco-sustainable Early Education and Care nursery group,...
Portsmouth Nursery bring back re-usable nappies… and the results have been amazing!
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries Tops Day Nurseries based at 1000 Lakeside Business Park in Cosham have recently piloted a ‘Real Nappy Scheme’ in a bid to reduce the amount of disposable nappies and baby wipes being used in day to day...
NDNA backs petition calling for independent review of early years childcare sector
The NDNA has added its support to a petition which is calling for the government to commission an independent review of childcare funding and affordability. The petition is open to all parents, providers and staff working in early years and has...
“Apprenticeship wages should be paid in full by Government”: Halfon
Robert Halfon, chair of the education select committee and former skills minister is calling on the government to pay apprentice wages and fund their full cost of training “for at least a year” if they work for a small or medium-sized employer...
Government announces £1.4bn in additional ‘recovery’ funding
The government has pledged an additional £1.4 billion for the next stage of its ‘education recovery’ plans. Approximately £1 billion of this will be allocated to 6 million tutoring courses for disadvantaged schools and an expansion of the 16-19...
Tops Day Nurseries unveil their refreshed identity!
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries Tops Day Nurseries are delighted to unveil their official new logo! Over the years the changes within the learning environments at Tops Day Nurseries have reflected their ongoing efforts to become as...
Free sports class for all children attending a nursery in England
A £1 million ‘early years sports fund’ has been launched by the government to give every child attending nursery in England the chance to have a free sports and activity class. With many early years settings facing financial challenges during...
Specialist training available to help children falling behind in language and communication
All state schools in England that have a Reception class are now able to apply for training and resources to help Reception-aged pupils who are struggling with language and communication skills, due to the pandemic. Government-funded early years...
Ministers urged to focus on preschools during Covid recovery
Leading education charity, The Sutton Trust is urging the UK government to put early years at the forefront of the post-Covid education recovery programme; warning that schools in England “will pick up the pieces if early years are not...
Welcome to Corfe Mullen, Shaye!
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries Tops Day Nurseries Corfe Mullen, on Blandford Road, have recently welcomed Shaye Jaques, as nursery manager to their setting. Before joining Tops Corfe Mullen, Shaye was the nursery manager at Tops Yeovil...
Special delivery from Watermead Day Nursery
Press release from: Watermead Day Nursery. Watermead day nursery staff and children were saddened by the news of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. To pay our respects a group of children created a masterpiece with our resident artist to send...
Award winning chain of nurseries first in UK to achieve Eco Green Flag Awards at all settings
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries In December 2020, Tops Day Nurseries were announced as the UK’s first family of early years education providers to be awarded a “Green Flag” status from Eco-Schools at all of its settings across the South....
Urgent funding review needed: Early Years Alliance
Following the findings of a recent survey, the Early Years Alliance is urging the government to undertake an urgent review of early years funding in England. Its latest survey revealed that just one in ten parents believe that early years...
Early years settings fear they will have to turn parents away due to staffing crisis
A recent report from Nursery World shows that many early years settings fear they will need to turn parents away due of staff shortages, caused by an increased lack of qualified level 3 child practitioners. The DfE temporarily disapplied some...
COVID funding crisis causes cut in services at state-funded nurseries
A survey by leading unions and charities has revealed that government-funded nurseries are facing a survival-threatening crisis due to COVID funding. They are losing an average of £70,000 of income but have to spend an extra £8,000 for...
Tops Day Nurseries Back ‘100 Challenge’ in Honour of Captain Sir Tom Moore
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries Award winning Early Years Education provider Tops Day Nurseries, honoured Captain Sir Tom Moore by taking part in their own ‘Captain Tom 100’. Second World War veteran Sir Tom raised more than £32 million...
The grand opening of Bright Little Stars Nursery in Stratford with special guests from Newham council, councillors Joshua Garfield and Terry Paul
Press release from: Bright Little Stars Nursery On Saturday 24th April 2021, Bright Little Stars Nursery officially opened the doors to their newest, purpose-built nursery in Stratford during a small ribbon-cutting ceremony in line with the...
More2Childcare Nursery host outdoor party with the Mayor of Greenwich to celebrate 5 year anniversary
Press release from: More2Childcare Nursery More2Childcare Nursery in Greenwich celebrated its five-year anniversary on Wednesday 21st April, with the Mayor, in an outdoor event. Using grant money obtained from Greenwich Council, the newly...
“Expert on play and early childhood will be hugely missed”: Cambridge University
Cambridge University has paid tribute to expert on play and early childhood, Dr David Whitebread, who has died. Dr Whitebread championed learning through play and was an influential academic and researcher in developmental psychology and early...
Ofsted blog: Early Years Inspection Handbooks: what you need to know
Ofsted’s Gill Jones, Deputy Director, Schools and Early Education has posted a new blog on the update of the education inspection framework (EIF) handbooks. In the blog, she sets out some of the main changes to the early years handbook, and...
Labour party launches programme of early years engagement events
On Friday 23rd April, the Labour Party launched a programme of early years events – the aim of which is to engage families and demonstrate the importance of early education and childcare services. This is as a result of new data which reveals...
Tops Winchester’s Senior Nursery Manager selected as a finalist for Children’s Champion 2020
Press release from: Tops Day Nurseries - Winchester Simon Evans, Senior Nursery Manager at Top Winchester, based at Royal Hampshire County Hospital, was selected as one of the ten finalists for the Famly Children’s Champion 2020 out of the close...
Early years underspend from LEAs rises to an ‘alarming’ £62 million
A new report by the NDNA has revealed that LEAs have underspent £62 million of early years government funding. The report states that 55 councils, representing 51%, reported an underspend totalling £30m - and more councils used their unspent...