Oh yes, that dreaded word… Recruitment! It has really been a tough few years for Early Years when it comes to recruitment. The sector has been struggling to recruit and the reasons are vast. When I worked in settings, we regularly celebrated team members being in post for 10 [...]

International Play Iceland – October 2022 Well, what can I say… I have been blown away by the experience of International Play Iceland 2022. It all started with a little apprehension as I don’t particularly like being away from home, but I packed my suitcase and travelled up to [...]

Schemas are certain types of behaviours that children go through when trying to explore the world around them and figure out how things work. A child may show various schemas and identifying these can have a huge impact on supporting the child with their development. There are many types [...]

It’s not very often that I rant in a public space, but after the last few months, I feel like I need to get this off my chest... and why you may ask? On top of being a former Ofsted Inspector, I am also a qualified safeguarding instructor; I have [...]

What? These are standards that can suitably guide you to be able to demonstrate a professional approach and continually deliver best practice. A policy needs to ensure that it covers the beliefs and values of your setting and shows how you deliver best practice in our sector. They need [...]

Training is by far one of the most important things to keep on top of within your setting. When you have an inspection, your inspector will want to check the details of the training that's attended by you and your staff and also see the impact that this has had [...]

What Did We Find? So, what I want to talk to you about today is my findings from what I've been doing when I go out and do my quality improvement audits. So, these are my findings this week, and I just thought I’d give you some insight. Because we [...]

Can you see the invisible child? Let me take you back to many years ago when I was nearing the end of my training as an Ofsted inspector. It's a day I will never forget! We arrived at the setting lovely and early (as inspectors often do). We were [...]

We go behind the scenes of Joint Observations It's been a crazy few months here at JIGSAW EYC, and we have been out and about doing Quality Inspection Audits (QIA'S). Already wondering why we call them QIA'S rather than mock inspections or what the difference is between the two, [...]

It may be many years, even decades, since you registered with Ofsted. At that point, Ofsted carried out a range of suitability checks based on the information you provided about your setting and the people connected with it. Over time things change, but it is crucial to keep Ofsted updated [...]

Walking the Talk It has been wonderful to be back out and about in nursery settings. The last two years have been challenging, and it is vital to draw a line and get back into good habits. There has been so much change that we now need to go back [...]

Four strategies to overcome your team’s Negative Nancy. How to deal with Negative Nancy or Debbie Downer is one of those topics that come up time and time again, especially when talking with Nursery Managers. Apologies in advance if your name is Nancy or Debbie, Claire, or Susan; this [...]