Toilet training – Time for Clarity, Not Blame
Why Are So Many Children Starting School Not Toilet Trained? More than a decade ago, I wrote about toilet training after the Association of Teachers and Lecturers reported that 71%…
LEYF News and CEO Blog
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
Less Screen, More Story: Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever
Last week, we were delighted to welcome Helen Hayes MP to the Upper Norwood Library Hub, where I have the privilege of serving as a Trustee. Helen is our local…
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.
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…