As an early year’s practitioner, your role is pivotal in creating a warm and welcoming environment for young children as they embark on their journey into Early Years Education. Supporting children and parents during the settling-in period is crucial for building trust, fostering a sense of security, and facilitating [...]

While the benefits of male role models in early years are evident, it is important to acknowledge that not every child will get to experience a male role model in their life. This could be due to a variety of reasons and it is important that we are proactive [...]

Today I want to chat about something that's super important in Early Years: staff supervision and setting SMART targets. Now, you might be wondering, "What on earth does that mean?" Don't worry; I've got you covered! Your staff team are what makes the wheels go round in your setting. [...]

Early years settings have long relied on circle time as a staple practice for group interaction and learning. However, in today's evolving educational landscape, there is a growing realisation that circle time may no longer be the most effective approach. In this blog, we will explore why circle time [...]

Motivating an unmotivated early years team can be a challenging task, but with the right approach and strategies, it is possible to reignite their enthusiasm and dedication. Here are some steps you can take to motivate an unmotivated early years team: Identify the root causes: Take the time to [...]

Safeguarding Blog Safeguarding is something we must get right; it should always be at the forefront of leaders' and practitioners' minds to ensure that children are protected and safe. It begins right at the start of a member of staff’s journey into the setting. Do you cover information on [...]

The importance of having a 'room intent.' From recent audits that I have done, it has been highlighted to me the importance of having a 'room intent'. I have seen this being delivered extremely successfully, and children have flourished, but I have also seen the impact on children when the [...]

Professional LoveI did an audit of an incredible setting and was inspired by them in many ways.During the learning walk the Manager mentioned their ‘Professional Love Policy’. I had so many questions, so we stopped and chatted, which resonated with me. I have always had the same approach and [...]

Schoolification - Should phonics be taught in Early Years? It is an interesting question that may cause great debate! I have seen lots of group teaching times on audits recently, with staff seen teaching letter sounds, writing names, writing letters and much more. Children are sitting down and an [...]

What are loose parts? The original theory, proposed by Simon Nicholson, an architect, in 1971, simply states that in any environment, ‘the degree of inventiveness and creativity, and the possibility of discovery, are directly proportional to the number and kind of variables in it’ So, any resource or environment [...]

Conversation around this topic is very much at the forefront of people's minds and has been in the media a lot recently and yet some still struggle to get their heads around the terms and right/wrong things to say. What is our role in Early Years? We need to [...]

I have chosen the word ‘promoting’ as opposed to ‘supporting’ as we should be encouraging children to value the languages used at home and be proud to be able to speak different languages. As early years practitioners we have a vital role to work with both the child and [...]