Talking Early Years: In Conversation with Howard Roberts
The Curiosity Code What makes people tick? Why do we care about certain brands—or causes—more than others? And how do we spark genuine emotional connection, not just polite head-nods?…
LEYF News and CEO Blog
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
Strengthening Practice Through Research – EECERA
LEYF at EECERA 2025 Wrapped up with a Bow for You! Attending an EECERA conference established by the wonderful Chris Pascal and Tony Bertram has become a LEYF ritual. …
The importance of Cultural Capital, or how every child deserves a little Water Music more than just now and again.
An invitation to speak at the Early Arts UnConference at the MAC in Birmingham led to my reflecting back on why I started to investigate cultural capital…
LEYF Magic, coming to a nursery near you soon.
Friday saw another fantastic LEYF Staff Conference, once again successfully managed with great aplomb. Like another Chocolate Orange segment…
LEYF Staff Conference: Building a better future for more of London’s Children
Every year we hold our annual LEYF conference when we celebrate our achievements over the past 12 months and present our plans…
Discovering Eva Hart and Ashley Banjo while doing Action Research in Chadwell Heath
Action research at LEYF is a key aspect of how we ensure quality. It’s all about asking questions of ourselves and checking how we can do things better to give children…
Wearing a red coat to a blue Conference
I went to the Conservative Conference because I was invited to speak at a couple of Fringe events. Having done a day and a half at the…
A fine Scottish trinity: Islands, Carnochan and Mr Gove
It was a brave move when Isabel Dunn, recently retired chair of the Scottish Preschool Playgroup Association (SPPA) asked me if I would give this year’s keynote…
Conference talk: more courage and less cliché for two-year-old childcare please
The Conference season is upon us, and so the launch of ideas for manifestos rain down upon our ears. Clichés and soundbites abound as the Party Leaders…
Who was Margaret Horn? Yep, just another modest woman quietly getting on with it…
Every year on 15 November, we hold our Margaret Horn Lecture to celebrate Social Enterprise Day. This year I want to focus on the issues facing women…
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…