Running a Setting
International Literacy Day
If you are reading this, you are one of the lucky ones, because it means you have a good level of literacy which unlocks many aspects of life that you probably take for granted, such as being able to decipher a menu, read a road sign or get the...
Migraine Awareness Week
At some point in our lives, we have all had a headache, and know how painful and debilitating they can be. But if you are one of the 1 in 7 people in the population who suffer from migraines, then you will understand the misery caused by this...
National Fitness Day
Six months ago, the state of the nation’s fitness industry was looking good. The 2019 State of the UK Fitness Industry Report revealed that 1 in every 7 people belonged to a gym, the total market value was £5.1 billion, and the number of fitness...
European Day of Languages
If someone came up to you and said “Snak med mig”, what would you do? a) Run? b) Eat what they offered you? c) Be offended? d) Answer “Jeg ville elske at” and continue with a conversation in Danish? “Snak med mig” means “talk to me” in Danish,...
Raising awareness of sepsis
When a child (or indeed adult) has an infection, the body’s immune system automatically kicks into gear to fight it off. When faced with a viral infection (like a cold or flu) or a bacterial infection (like ‘strep throat’) a child, in...
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: be bold, go gold
Imagine having to tell someone that they have cancer, and that they may or may not recover. It would be difficult, heart-wrenching and you’d know that your words would change that person’s life forever. Now imagine that person is only a child,...
The lowdown on sunscreen by the Melanoma Fund
The lowdown on sunscreen The summer is here (we think!), and naturally you are keen to spend the day outdoors. The first thing that many of us do (if we care about our skin health) is to reach for a hat and the sunscreen. However, if you are...
Hiroshima Peace Day: Sadako Sasaki and the paper cranes
Hiroshima Peace Day is held each year on 6th August, the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.Who was Sadako Sasaki? Sadako Sasaki was only two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. She developed leukaemia as a...
Eid al-Adha – The Greater Eid
This month sees Muslims around the world celebrating the end of Hajj (pilgrimage) with one of the main festivals in the Muslim calendar, Eid al-Adha, also known as The Greater Eid.Islam has many feast days and festivals, as do most of the...
World Humanitarian Day
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean, if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” - Mahatma GandhiWhat does it mean to be human? Do we define our humanity by our DNA,reportedly 99.9% the...
How to respond to accidents, injuries, and emergency situations
An accident is an adverse event that is unintended, unplanned or unexpected; it may lead to an injury or an emergency situation. But just because something happens that is unplanned, does not mean that it is unplanned for! In responding to...
National Allotments Week: growing food for health and wellbeing
Have you ever fancied a shot at “The Good Life” – following in the footsteps of TV couple, Tom and Barbara Good, dropping out of the rat race and exchanging your daily commute for some wellies, a spade and bag of seed potatoes? Maybe you’ve done...
Activities to help children understand equality and diversity
When it comes to teaching the early years, we don’t “do” equality and diversity - it’s more about how as practitioners, we set a good example with the ethos adopted in our settings. It’s our responsibility to ensure we are being inclusive, that...
How young early years workers can cut the cost of motoring
More than a quarter of all childcare workers are aged under 30 - and the number of people who have learned to drive within that age group is dwindling. Whilst in many ways that could be considered good news - fewer cars on the road has got to...
Six and a half reasons to go paperless at your nursery
The chances are, you didn’t want to work in childcare to spend hours doing paperwork. However, the reality is that many nurseries are still heavily reliant on paper-based administration to manage their data. As the number of children in your...
World Population Day
On Saturday 11th July the United Nations marks World Population Day, an initiative to focus attention on the urgency and importance of the population issues which threaten our planet, our resources and ultimately, our very survival. “All our...
More men needed in early years
In December 2018, we reported on Wright and Brownhill’s book, entitled “Men in Early Years Settings: Building a Mixed Gender Workforce” which highlighted the problem of the gender imbalance in the early years practitioners. At the time, less...
Mark-making in early years
What is mark-making? The term ‘mark-making’ refers to the creation of different patterns, lines, textures and shapes – in effect, the ‘scribbles’ - that young children make with various tools (pens, pencils, chalk, paintbrushes, crayons etc.) It...
Plastic Free July
In the children's film, "WALL-E", the waste pollution on planet earth grows so bad that it forces all the humans to evacuate on a spaceship, leaving behind robots to clear up the mess, periodically sending back probes to see if the planet has...
World Youth Skills Day
What are you good at? DIY? Cooking? Construction? Designing? Or are you great at customer service or organising things? Everyone is good at something and we all possess at least one skill or talent that we can share with the world and use to not...
How to treat burns and scalds
Burns are one of the most common accidents that can befall a child, so it is vital that the people in your setting not only know how to prevent them in the first place, but understand how to treat them with first aid if they do occur. Burns and...
Early years self-employment income funds available
Did you know about the government grant which helps the self-employed who are facing financial difficulties as a result of the coronavirus outbreak? If you are a self-employed nursery owner, you could be able to claim 80% of your monthly...
World Oceans Day
EARTH: 3rd planet from the sun, known as the ‘blue planet’ because over 70% of its surface area is covered by water, supporting the majority of the life on earth, which is still aquatic. As humans, we rely on the oceans for food, transport and...
Children’s Art Week
Let’s get creative! Lots of us may still be in lockdown or partial lockdown, but one thing we can be sure of, is that our children will still be as energetic and creative as ever. This month sees the UK celebrating Children’s Art Week – an...
Bike Week 2020
The past few months have, understandably, been frustrating for anyone who wants to go out and ride their bike. But gradually, we are being allowed to get out and about again with our families. Most people know that cycling is a fantastic way to...
Growing for Wellbeing Week
Last month we ran an article on Children’s Gardening Week and we hope that you enjoyed participating in that in whatever way you were able. This month we continue with a gardening theme (well, it is still Spring after all) as we mark Growing for...
National Writing Day
Once upon a time, in a small pre-school book corner, there lived a bookworm called Ben. Ben was short for Benjamin, the bookworm’s real name, but after discovering that he could neither pronounce it, spell it, or write it down, his parents...
Father’s Day at home
On Sunday 21st June, the nation dedicates a day to members of the family who they consider to be father-figures. This year, Father’s Day could well be a little different if social distancing measures are still in place at the end of the month....
Child Safety Week
Safety is on everyone’s minds right now with the coronavirus pandemic affecting nearly every country in the world. People are mindful of ways to prevent the spread of the virus, how to protect themselves from catching it, and handwashing, social...
Preparations for the ‘new normal’ and returning to your setting
In your early years setting, you have probably been thinking for a while about the day you will be able to welcome the children (other than those of key workers) back into your care. Hundreds of childcare settings have been open for children of...
