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…
Why quality is criticial to ensure the ‘twoness of twos’
This week the chancellor announced that the government will extend the free entitlement of 15 hours of nursery education to every disadvantaged two-year-old over the next four years.
Celebrating Social Enterprise and scaling up
There has been so much for me to write about this week, it has been hard to choose! But as all blog guides say stick to one or two points,…
The Duchess, the Detective and the Rollercoaster …
I love a sense of connection and see the role of nurseries as being critical in helping to connect communities across the generations. This week the history of connection came…
The next round of applause is on me…
I have not written a blog for a week because some of you said you could not keep up with my output. Others have since asked ‘where is the blog?’…
Collecting Ministers like ‘Top Trumps’
This week has been rather a fest of networking, the most noteworthy of which was one evening and one day attending the Conservative Party Conference. A Conference virgin, I was…
Much Ado About Nothing…or is it?
Last week I went to the Globe to see my favourite Shakespearean comedy; Much Ado About Nothing. It was a sterling performance and the wit…
Musing over a cocktail in the city
I have just come back from presenting to the judges of the National Business Awards on the 27th floor of the Gherkin. It was quite daunting, so…
Street Talk has no place in nurseries
In the Evening Standard on Tuesday 16th August (Ghetto grammar robs the young of a proper voice) Lindsay Johns touched on something I have been passionate about for a long…
When the cows come up to you, just sing
Last weekend I went to Paddington Farm to help them celebrate their 25 years anniversary. A joyous occasion with…
Today’s Family is Tomorrow’s Society
Reflecting on the riots leads me to believe that the complexity of the situation which released such behaviour will need substantial intelligence, pragmatism and creativity to resolve. Like…
The Government’s ‘Fish Wish’: parenting made simple
Chatting to my sister in the car the other evening, we were whished into silence by an indignant five year old in the back seat who, demanding our attention, said…
Fairytales and true romance: reading treasure for children
I read with a sinking feeling, an article in the Telegraph March 2011 entitled “Parents who shun fairytales miss chance to teach children morality“. In essence, they…