D is for Disadvantaged: What Does that Mean?
“Disadvantage” is one of those terms we bandy about in policy papers and conference keynotes, but what do we mean by it? Do we understand the lived reality behind the…
LEYF News and CEO Blog
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
The Power of Intergenerational Nurseries
Talking Early Years: June O’Sullivan and Sue Egersdorff The world is changing fast. Technology is accelerating how we live, work and even care, but in that rush, you…
Don’t look at me, look at my hands.
Job descriptions for leaders and managers always stipulate a need to communicate. And as a CEO, I am expected to be able to talk to many different…
Get off the diet kicks and learn to eat, serve and advise on nutritionally sound food.
Admit it, you’re either going on a diet, thinking about a diet or have just given up a diet and busy trying to accept your muffin top or your beer…
A LEYF approach to Men in Childcare: not quite as quick as saying Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Not so long ago, David Stevens, Manager of the Angel Nursery, which for a while had 4 male staff out of a team of five,…
Olympic legacy should begin with the Early Years and leave politics on the side-lines
I must admit that I was slightly worried about the Olympics. Not quite a naysayer but wary all…
Parent engagement: research tells us to avoid being a shrinking violet.
At the recent summer NDNA conference,…
Camp beds, James Bond and Pandemonium: the Olympics have arrived.
I was going to blog about babies and business which hit the headlines last week – namely how the newly appointed pregnant CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer will not take…
The Angels’ Share: a film that turns whiskey into a political metaphor. Drink Up!
When the weather is raining and grey, I often like to go to see a film in the afternoon. It beats drinking tea in front of the box, watching the…
Having a customer conversation with Tesco
The influence of the modern supermarket on our daily lives is remarkably powerful. We take the big five for granted, rarely questioning their hold on how we shop, eat and…
The price of leadership: sharing a couch with Robert de Niro
Getting comfy in Noah’s Ark The other morning, I watched The Record , a programme on BBC Parliament which gives a daily run-through of key…
Diamond in the rough: a tale of banks, culture and high performance
Well the bankers are in trouble again. Is it a case of money corrupts? Poor Bob Diamond (former CEO of Barclays Bank). Last year he proudly announced…
LEYF report: NDNA Conference makes trip to ‘Brum’ worthwhile
This was a busy week for Early Years with the announcement of the Government’s Childcare Commission, the publication of the final report from the Nutbrown…
Read your two year-old a bedtime story, and start to slowly peel off the label of disadvantage before it sticks
This week has just disappeared, and that is partly because I had meetings every evening. I was flagging by Thursday and was keen to just go home, put my slippers…