The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World
On the 17th of November, I was invited by the Royal Foundation, Centre for Early Childhood to a lecture by Professor Robert Waldinger from Harvard University, who co-wrote the letter…
LEYF News and CEO Blog
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
Margaret Horn Debate 2025
Is the government’s offer of childcare from nine months truly in the best interests of babies or more about boosting the economy? The annual Margaret Horn debate always tries to…
What About The Baby?
Why now is the time for national leadership and a rescue, recovery and repair plan for the nation’s youngest children. I have long reluctantly accepted that any child…
Talking Early Years with June O’Sullivan: in Conversation with Sonia Pombo
Child Obesity, Hunger, Allergies and Fads: How Do We Respond to these Challenges? We all agree that child obesity is a complex issue and addressing it can seem overwhelming.
Is the Early Years sector doing enough to tackle childhood obesity?
Is the Early Years sector doing enough when it comes to helping young children maintain a healthy weight and tackle childhood obesity? Tell us what YOU think. Did you…
Time to Level ALL the Way UP
The Chancellor had some tough decisions to make today to drive the Government’s Levelling Up agenda and prepare the country for a post-Covid “age of optimism”. Whilst we know…
Talking Early Years with June O’Sullivan: in Conversation with Bikeworks
Pedal Power to the Children and their Families It was a chance conversation with Jim Blakemore that led to the beginning of what has now become a strong relationship…
Don’t Keep Quiet about the Menopause Fairy
Gosh, isn’t it great to have permission to talk about menopause. Thank you whoever pushed for World Menopause Day. Personally, I think it should be a week. There is…
Raise the Alarm and Stop Changes to Children to Staff Ratios
In 2013, I wrote a blog to raise the alarm on an ill-considered plan to reduce staff to child ratios and reduce the cost of childcare. I was not…
Ofsted has a Big Conversation with the London OBC
One of the few benefits of COVID-19 was that we learned that we could manage big meetings using technology and there was less reason for people to complain about not…
Talking Early Years with June O’Sullivan: in Conversation with Gill Jones
Listen and Listen Well is Gill Jones’ Mantra Gill and I became friends under the most usual circumstances. I was very fed up with Ofsted and the attitude…
London OBC is next week
It was about five years ago, when things with Ofsted were not positive, I started the Ofsted Big Conversation (OBC). Supported by many in the Early Years sector…
Inspector Ofsted – Get Ready, Be Ready and Join the OBC
Last week, when the weather was still warm and summer made a brief appearance, we piled onto Zoom to engage with Ofsted as part of their termly Consultative Forum. While…
Leading by Social Purpose
What does it mean to be awarded Social Enterprise Leader of The Year? A prize, a party, a badge, a sense of confidence about what you do, a picture…