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…
Déjà vu, all over again.
I am a nervous passenger generally, but my anxiety rises to a whole new level when we go on the motorway. My coping mechanism is to work on my…
A lesson from Her Majesty the Queen: be nice, look nice, act nice.
Unsurprisingly, there is not a single LEYF nursery that hasn’t been joining in the Jubilee Celebrations this week in one way or another –…
Mr Mayor, please take an interest in the childcare sector and build a London fit for the next generation
When I started working with children many many years ago, I never envisaged talking about children and the economy in the same breath. These days, I never give it a…
Parents finally get what they deserve: free text alerts and relationship advice (well, it’s a start)
Clearly everyone thinks parents have lost the ability to parent, but don’t worry – the Government which so despises the nanny state is rushing to save parents everywhere: Parents are…
The Queen, the Prime Minister, the Mayor and three Romans
London has a new Mayor – or a recycled one, depending on your point of view. Boris cycled back into office with a much…
Cultural capital. The secret ingredient at the heart of effective early intervention.
Two ever-popular and increasingly connected topics of debate, child poverty and social mobility have been high on my own agenda this week. Starting on Monday…
Leadership elections or popularity contest, you decide.
On Friday, I was delighted to be able to give the keynote speech to the staff of Rainbow Trust, a children’s charity led by their energetic and…
Be Prepared: 100 Days and counting… and don’t forget the torch.
On Wednesday this week we hosted the sector’s first ever Pan London Olympic strategy meeting. It was our way of helping London’s childcare industry consider how it…
Do you really need GCSE Maths grade C to have a laugh or do a sum?
I am very pleased to be able to represent LEYF as a member of Professor Cathy Nutbrown’s Expert Panel. The…
Life can be perfect, so raise a glass of Bollinger to a world of Social Enterprises.
It wasn’t Big Society or social value that got Mr. Cameron out of Downing St to celebrate social businesses, it was money; or at least the draw…
Agent provocateur: leadership or lingerie?
I have been called many things, but being invited by the National College for School Leadership to be a provocateur was a novel invitation. I certainly know…
Budget 2012: baby steps for parents, but much more is needed
You know you have grown up when you know the date of the budget, the Chancellor’s name and that of the…