The Friendship Quilt: Sewn with Stories, Kindness and Belonging
The year 2023 marked our 120th anniversary, celebrating a long and fascinating history that began in 1903 when a group of doctors and almoners came together to tackle poverty in…
LEYF News and CEO Blog
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
Rights, Relationships and Respect: A Timely Book for EY Professionals
There are some books that arrive at exactly the right moment, and Babies’ and Toddlers’ Rights in Practice by Mary Moloney,…
The W Factor: In Praise of the Nursery Practitioner; Ordinary Women doing Extraordinary Things
On the 8th of March we celebrate International Women’s Day which is increasingly turning into a month. In London, the WOW (Women of the World) festival shines…
Coaching us into the Year of the Sheep
Popping into our nursery in Soho which neighbours Chinatown I couldn’t help but notice the preparations to welcome the Chinese Year of the Sheep. Since my…
International Random Acts of Kindness Week
I just came across The International Random Acts of Kindness Week and was rather intrigued by the campaign. It stuck a chord for two reasons: Firstly, LEYF recently…
A Trip to Ireland to Meet a New Baby
On St Brigid’s Day, I took to the skies courtesy of Aer Lingus (under threat of being sold at the moment, another icon in…
A celebration fit of a Queen… or at least Her Majesty’s representative
On Friday the 23rd of January, a date that will now be forever embedded in my memory, I received my MBE from Her Majesty’s Representative The Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London, Sir David Brewer…
Doing Business by Doing Good
Last week was a cold and wet week to head to Manchester but I was warmed by the company of social entrepreneurs from across the UK. We come together as…
Let’s Start the Year Together
When I first submitted this blog to Jenny, she read it and then sidled up to me and said, “I see your point but could you not start the year with…
2014 : Blogging Through the Year (on a one horse open sleigh, o’er the field we go laughing all the way…)
Can we have whizzed through another year? Can you remember it all? I can’t remember the beginning of the week let alone the previous months, although with old age comes…
Creating Social Enterprises
Last week I was awarded the Social Enterprise Women’s Champion Award. I was completely shocked as my nomination was as surprising as the win. The award was…
There is Nothing as Practical as a Good Theory
This week we are hosting the launch of a book written by an ex LEYF staff member Mine Conkbayir and her co-writer Professor Chris Pascal CBE, who has been a…
The Ofsted National Consultative Forum: Read, Rage and Respond
Ofsted held its National Consultative Forum on the 12th of November and I was invited. This was my second meeting and I am there (in my mind anyway) to represent…
What Can We Do to Stop the Childhood Obesity Catastrophe?
Food and unhealthy eating is a regular feature on my blogs because what is happening is really scary. One in five children are obese and apparently 11% of toddlers are…