Change is in the Ofsted air
The London OBC is coming on the 8th April 2025 We will be hosting it at Bain where we can take up to 100 people in person. This time…
LEYF News and CEO Blog
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
AI in Early Years: A Helping Hand or Hype?
This blog is No.3 in the AI suite This week, I want to examine how, or indeed, if AI can help with daily office tasks. I am coming at this…
An Early Years Conference – A platform for play and a good craic!
It’s been a while since I attended a two day conference where I could participate. My recent pattern has been to attend a conference as a presenter and if possible…
First Thoughts on June’s #EYManifesto : Let’s start the Next Big Conversation
We have just had the party conferences and watched as each party started to position itself in readiness for the next election. They are all hard at work shaping their…
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…
Ofsted want to join the Big Conversation; so let the mediation begin…
The sector met last weekend and everyone uploaded their solutions onto the #OfstedBigConversation website. They also kindly sent their feedback to me and I was amazed at…
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…
Ofsted a go go….
The #OfstedBigConversation kicks off around the country on Friday. Here is the plan: So far, each group has between 30 and 40 people signed up and a great many unable…
#OfstedBigConversation: On your marks, get set…!
Charles Handy identified three attributes, ‘difference, dedication and doggedness’ as the mark of successful entrepreneurs. He quoted the poet Keats view on doggedness, “… as…
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…
Is the current Ofsted strategy masking something far more sinister?
Sir Michael Wilshaw was no doubt promoted to lead Ofsted because he successfully turned around a failing school. It would seem he is taking the same approach to the Early Years…
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.