Parenta Blog
Preparing for the new year in your setting
New Year is traditionally a time of discarding the old and bringing in the new. It is a time to reflect on what has gone well in the last year and to bring your dreams and goals for the incoming year to the forefront. New Year’s resolutions abound as we promise...
Everyone’s a reader -10 top tips to create engaging-rich literacy environments for all
I remember when my son was three months old, and I had a conversation with my friend about books that she was reading to her son who had just been born. She asked me which books my son enjoyed and I panicked! I realised that although we had books in his nursery and...
What does leadership look like when … you notice room for improvement? – part 1
One of the most important aspects of leadership is recognising when, where and how things could be improved. In the context of a nursery, leaders are constantly assessing what is happening in the setting and how there might be room for improvement. Over this...
The individual and collective nature of learning stories
The content of this article was inspired by personal experience which is often the encouragement one needs to put pen to paper. Having observed and listened to people close to me whose children started at new settings this past September, I’ve been struck by the...
Guest Authors
The importance of developing healthy self-esteem
Self-esteem is something we often hear talked about, but it is a complex issue that can be difficult to unpack, to quantify, or to really know about ourselves. Self-esteem is then our personal evaluation of how good or bad we feel about ourselves. It is steeped in...
The importance of movement: gracious circulation
Have you ever watched competitive ballroom dancing where there are ten or twelve couples who are all twirling and swirling around the floor at the same time? Have you ever wondered just how they move about the space without bumping into each other? Perhaps it’s a...
What does leadership look like when you notice room for improvement? – part 2
Leaders in early years see how the practice around them could be improved. They notice what is not going as well as it could and think carefully about the changes needed to make a positive difference for children, families and staff in a setting. This is the second...
