Running a Setting
Staff health and well-being
In many jobs, the staff are central to the success of a business, but nowhere is this more important than in the caring and education sectors where there would be no business without the dedication and commitment of the staff on the front line....
Workplace challenges – what they are and how to overcome them
No matter where you work or what job you do, everyone at some point will face some workplace challenges. Whether you are a firefighter or an early years professional, there is no getting away from the fact that we all face challenges every day....
The Summer Solstice (Midsummer’s Day)
The summer solstice (or Midsummer’s Day) in the UK is the day when the northern hemisphere experiences the longest period of daylight and the shortest night of the year. It usually occurs on June 21st of each year. During this day, the sun...
Nurture your children’s ‘lifelong learning’ in the baby room
The features of ‘lifelong learning’ are present in every child, but they need validating, encouraging and nurturing during these early days. And this begins in the baby room. As you engage with your youngest children, take care not to lose their...
Musical beasts – singing about animals in the early years
Most children are naturally drawn to animals, insects and fish from a young age – we see this in the pre-school shows and stories available. Unless there has been a significant negative experience, even the youngest child seems to see animals as...
New and newly qualified managers – how can we support them?
How do the best managers get to be the best managers? What is it that they do that makes them the best? Were they born that way, or did they learn through trial and error? And how can we emulate this if we have only just qualified as a manager?...
Preparing for an Ofsted visit
Ofsted visits are part of a necessary inspection programme for all nurseries, schools and childminders in England. Other parts of the UK are inspected as well, but by other inspection bodies. Nursery managers and school leaders often dread the...
Teamwork and collaboration
Effective teamwork and collaboration are crucial in early years, as the learning and development of the children in your care are reliant on you and your colleagues striving to work in harmony to deliver the best outcomes possible. In this...
World Day for Health and Safety at Work
Health and safety are things we all talk about – whether it is to do with keeping ourselves healthy so that we can go to work and look after our children; or whether we mean keeping our home and environment protected using fire alarms and smoke...
Ofsted strategy 2022-27 – what you need to know
Introduction In April 2022, Ofsted published its new five-year strategy for 2022–2027 in which it set out its aims, values and priorities for its work in the next few years. You can access the whole strategy document, as well as a one-page...
Collaboration over competition: how leadership development can support collaboration across the sector
With early years (EY) leaders working double time to keep their doors open in the midst of economic crisis, it’s easy to see other nurseries as competitors in business instead of partners in education and care. However, connecting with others in...
S.P.A.C.E for music – musical skills
What are the essential ‘ingredients’ of an early childhood music session? As an early years music specialist with a particular interest in movement in learning music, I love the concept of SPACE, so used it as an acronym for the skills that...
How early years leaders can sustain a positive team culture over time: using secondary embedding mechanisms
How it feels to work in an organisation makes all the difference to whether employees join in the first place and whether they stick it out over time. Retention in early years is – as we all know – a huge challenge at the moment. So the pressure...
Funding constraints in the early years childcare industry
We know, of course, that the early years childcare sector plays a vital role in the development of children, providing them with essential skills and nurturing their cognitive and emotional growth. However, none of this is possible without...
How to avoid spreading infection in your setting & the importance of vaccinations
It’s inevitable that wherever young children are together in a group, there will be a high chance that infections will spread. When working in early years, it’s an occupational hazard; with the children touching each other and the toys – often...
Safety and safeguarding: IICSA summary
Introduction The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was established in 2015, following serious concerns where some organisations in England and Wales had failed their duty to safeguard children and the aftermath of the highly...
How early years leaders can make a positive workplace culture stick: the power of embedding mechanisms
We know that a positive workplace culture matters. It’s a huge player in why people join particular nurseries and why they choose to stay. In a time when recruitment and retention are such huge challenges for the sector, and when pay and...
Stress management – coping mechanisms for you and your colleagues
In our November magazine, we talked about Stress Awareness Week and ways to help you a) notice the signs of stress, and b) combat stress, particularly in the workplace. As we move into February, with people feeling the pinch after Christmas, the...
Celebrate all things apprenticeships this month during National Apprenticeship Week!
Now in its 16th year, National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) returns this month from 6th to 12th February. The week provides such a great way to bring together businesses and apprentices across the whole of the UK to showcase how apprenticeships...
Dealing with the death of a staff member – focus on parents and children
When a staff member dies, colleagues, children and parents are impacted. This impact is felt in varying ways and in differing levels of understanding. Our last article focused on the loss of an early years staff member called Mandy, how this...
Organisational culture in nurseries: what is it and why does it matter?
They say that culture eats strategy for breakfast. What this means is that without an intentional and strong culture in your nursery, it doesn’t matter what action plans you have in place – it will be impossible to implement the improvements and...
Grief and loss in early years; dealing with the death of a colleague
It was a normal Monday morning at the nursery. Staff members came in to do the early morning shift; they prepared breakfast, opened the windows to let the autumn breeze refresh the rooms, set up tables that would capture the children’s interest...
Are you ready to sprinkle some magic on your STEM in the New Year?
Following on from the November article “Putting the ‘A’ in STEM”, I thought we could start the New Year together with some creativity and roleplay to engage your little ones in learning with a little bit of magic! Don’t worry as we have done all...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Salaries or toys?
I have had many conversations with managers and childminders and one recent conversation has really stuck with me. The manager of a nursery informed me that she was having to choose between salaries and purchasing toys and resources for the...
