AI Cybersecurity
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Kill Switch! This is AI blog number four, and by now I thought I’d be off down the rabbit hole exploring…
LEYF News and CEO Blog
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
Talking Early Years: In conversation with Greg Bottrill
Are children deprived of the opportunity to play?… …is not a new question, but one that continues to be tackled on many levels. Greg Bottrill’s book ‘Can…
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.
More Great Childcare? Don’t think so…
The delayed response to More Great Childcare (or ‘More Great Childcages’ as coined by Penny Tassoni) filled me with dread. I looked and saw it was…
The role of the modern politician
It’s 100 weeks to the next election… Remember at your peril, politicians can determine our destiny. The call to roundtables is loud and the manifesto push is in…
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…
Will I be on the same list as Sir Bob ?
Last week I was awarded an MBE for services to children and young people in London. As an Irish person, I am technically a non-National so I…
A Thank You Letter to Mr Clegg
Dear Mr Clegg, Thank you for listening to us about the potential changes to the ratios. I can honestly say we were genuinely delighted that you understood our perspective and…