Come and Celebrate ‘Creative Connections’ at our Event this Thursday
Some weeks are pretty gloomy but this one had some really lovely highlights. The first was midweek when I gave a keynote speech to Essex County Council…
LEYF News and CEO Blog
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
Next steps in The #OfstedBigConversation
DISCLAIMER:(!) I know that today is not my usual ‘blog day’ but we wanted to pass on the latest developments with Ofsted. Normal blog service will resume on Monday… …
Welcome to the Institute of Early Years: A Global Portal Connecting EY Colleagues – Help us shape it to meet your interests
For the past year, a small group of us have been mulling over how to create an international open-source space which connects people involved in all aspects of Early Years…
Fly Me To the Moon….’Dunoon!’
It was a good omen when we were told our plane to Glasgow was a long haul plane and we would be upgraded to business class. As this was my…
The London Men in Childcare Network Wins its First Award
Yesterday I woke up late, nursing a heavy head; a combination of a rotten head cold, three glasses of red wine (that’s one too many for me!) and dancing into…
The #OfstedBigConversation: Consistency, transparency and easy access to information
On Friday, 50 lively people came to Marsham St, the headquarters of the London Early Years Foundation, to kick off the #OfstedBigConversation and share their time, expertise and stories. Colleagues…
A Trip to the Farm and an Incident with a Chicken
I have the privilege of being the Chair of Paddington Farm Trust. This is a 43 acre organic farm in Glastonbury Somerset, set up with legacy funds…
Get on Board Ofsted: Listen and Respond to the #OfstedBigConversation
I came back from holiday last week to a bunch of emails which included one from Ofsted asking for feedback on their performance. I laughed out loud and went straight…
In Support of Childminders: You are not a Lone Voice Calling from the Wilderness.
On last week’s blog a LINK childminder made an impassioned appeal to the sector to support childminders. She was feeling that we were less engaged with the argument against childminding agencies.
It was raining on men and about men all week
Last week men featured quite highly on the agenda. Along with Jai Patel and Paul Spinks, co-chairs of the London Network of Men in Childcare, I attended the APPG on…
Get on the train to Brussels and make new friends.
Reading documents from the European Commission require some preparation: firstly a cup of tea and a packet of Fig Rolls; secondly some good music…
Be Prepared: 100 Days and counting… and don’t forget the torch.
On Wednesday this week we hosted the sector’s first ever Pan London Olympic strategy meeting. It was our way of helping London’s childcare industry consider how it…