Margaret Horn Debate 2025
Is the government’s offer of childcare from nine months truly in the best interests of babies or more about boosting the economy? The annual Margaret Horn debate always tries to…
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 Professor Sam Wass
We’ve Got It the Wrong Way Round I’ve just finished recording a podcast with Professor Sam Wass, and I’m still buzzing. He is Director of the Institute for 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…
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…