Running a Setting

The UK is an island - an area of land surrounded by sea, and the sea has been instrumental in shaping modern Britain. Whether it’s brought Viking invaders, or helped Elizabeth I’s ships see off a Spanish invasion, or allowed Victorian explorers...

You may hear the word ‘pedagogy’ in educational circles, and there are many research articles which assess the effectiveness/importance of one pedagogy over another. But how do you know which ones are really relevant to the early years? In this...

Learning is a life-long activity and the old adage that ‘you learn something new every day’ is true – it could be something you read, heard on the news, or something from a more formal learning activity such as a course or book. If you undertake...

The so-called ‘freedom day’ of June 21st may have recently been postponed until July 19th, but one thing that nurseries and pre-schools should be aware of is that there are no more postponements of graded Ofsted inspections, which restarted...

Whatever experiences we’ve had in the last 18 months during the pandemic, one thing we can all agree on, is that we have missed out on seeing our friends and family, and that we will never take everyday acts, like being able to hug a loved one,...

Most of us have suffered during the pandemic in one way or another: we’ve been in lockdown, perhaps lost some income and have been prevented, temporarily, from seeing friends, and family. But what if that was a permanent change? What if we had...

Death has been in the headlines continually in the last year. However, one statistic you might not have heard, is that on average, 402 UK and Irish citizens die each year of accidental drowning, deaths which the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS)...

June is the month of the year when we all look forward to enjoying some warm weather, lighter evenings, and a long-awaited summer holiday. It is also the month of the Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year which officially marks the start...

Dyslexia and dyscalculia are two separate learning difficulties that can cause children to have problems with literacy and writing, or with numeracy, and are relatively common in children. It is estimated that 10% of people have some degree of...

Children undergo so much physical development from birth to age 5 that clearly, we are not able to cover all these changes in one article. We have therefore narrowed it down and focused on how you can work on an important physical attribute...

It’s June, which means we’re already nearly halfway through the calendar year and are drawing to the end of the academic year, with all the changes, transitions, goodbyes, and hellos that that brings. In schools, children usually sit exams and...

In our February magazine, we covered Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week and looked at what nurseries and early years settings could do to help promote good mental health for the children in their care. This month we are looking at the...

In the film, “Inside Out”, every time the main character had an experience, a memory ball was created and sent to the memory store in her ‘brain’. Memories were made several times a day and when she needed them, they were retrieved from the...

In this series so far, we have looked at the main changes in the new EYFS, including the curriculum changes and changes to Development Matters and the Early Learning Goals. The new framework will be a statutory requirement in September 2021. In...

17th May is a day that many people in England are looking forward to this year as it marks the earliest date that ‘Step 3’ of the ‘Roadmap out of lockdown’ will be implemented in England. Provided that the conditions are met, indoor hospitality...

This May is National Walking Month and is the perfect time to get outside, get some exercise and make a positive difference to your health. And if you swap your local car journeys for walking, you can help promote a greener environment too.  Why...

With the changes to the EYFS, the Literacy part of the Early Learning Goals have gone from 2 items to 3, with ‘comprehension’ being added. In last month’s article on International Children’s Book Day, we gave you some ideas on how to use books...

Understanding the World (UW) empowers children to explore their learning environment. We can help by encouraging them to investigate, communicate, interact and talk about what they want to do, and what they see and feel around them. In doing so,...

Last month saw many of us celebrating World Book Day in our settings, with the traditional dressing up as our favourite book characters. This month, we have International Children’s Book Day, (ICBDO) which his similar, but different in that the...

Have you ever moved from the living room to the kitchen to get something, only to find that when you get there you have forgotten what you wanted? Or have you ever struggled to find the words to finish your sentence, express yourself clearly or...

In this article we look at the upcoming changes to the specific areas of the Early Learning Goals, those for: Literacy Mathematics Understanding the world Creative art and design Literacy The main change here is the addition of “Comprehension”...

As spring dawns, are you kicking up your heels in delight, rushing out into the garden, gloves on and secateurs in hand? Or are you one of the millions of people who are instead, reaching for the tissues and the antihistamines, staring out...

On April 4th, many countries and communities around the world will celebrate Easter Sunday, a day which serves as a reminder of the Christian belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ nearly 2000 years ago. The date of Easter changes...

“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.” - Dale Carnegie Do you know what makes you happy? Is it your family and friends? Your new phone or your garden? Perhaps it’s pampering your pets, creating a culinary...

Tuesday 2nd March is National Old Stuff Day, a great opportunity to educate your little ones on how to be greener, more energy conscious and reduce the amount of waste that we generate. It’s not really known how Old Stuff Day started, but it’s...

Last month, we looked at some maths activities to help you develop your EYFS curriculum. This month we have part one of “Understanding the World”, focusing on some cross-curricular work with the help of some creative and expressive...

When you think of eating disorders, what images come to mind? People who can’t control themselves, or people who can? Men, women, teenagers or adults? Chances are, unless you are an eating disorders specialist or know someone who has an illness,...