Toilet training – Time for Clarity, Not Blame
Why Are So Many Children Starting School Not Toilet Trained? More than a decade ago, I wrote about toilet training after the Association of Teachers and Lecturers reported that 71%…
LEYF News and CEO Blog
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
Less Screen, More Story: Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever
Last week, we were delighted to welcome Helen Hayes MP to the Upper Norwood Library Hub, where I have the privilege of serving as a Trustee. Helen is our local…
Cuba, philosophy and Angelina Jolie’s exposed right leg
In stark contrast to last Sunday when I sat in a warm Havana, sipping cocktails and enjoying live Cuban music, today I could only…
Don’t read this if you have a hangover
Apparently recent research called Lessons for leaders from the people who Matter undertaken by Harris Interactive found that employees from across the globe think…
Loneliness is the scariest thing we have to face.
According to Downing St, isolation and loneliness are more dangerous to our health than smoking. Well as the saying goes, tell me about it! But why do…
Failure of the Free Entitlement? No way.
The National Audit Office report Delivering the free entitlement to education for three- and four-year-olds has sent the press into pessimism overdrive, telling us the…
Growth in a downturn: a big ask, but the right question.
Where has the month gone? I am scared by the speed by which our lives pass; it seems we have so little time to make any real, lasting difference. As…
Ofsted is like Marmite, you either love it or hate it
Ofsted gets a mixed reaction from the sector. It can bring you out in a rash or a hot sweat, but it can also be a very helpful…
Using ‘Little Women’s Christmas’ to begin a post modern feminist debate on motherhood
On 6 January, Irish women – especially those in Cork – celebrate Little Women’s Christmas (Nollaig na mBan). It is the last day of Christmas and the…
RiRi, Bedouin Tents and the I Ching: Welcome to 2012
Happy New Year and welcome back to my blog. (Thank you in advance!) As I recover from cooking, eating, talking, reading and watching TV (little different there then, except this…
When Santa got stuck up the chimney… what did he actually say?
Half way up and unable to move, Santa shouted out that from now on he was prepared to eat his five a day, give up chocolate teacakes and large glasses…
Do we really need men in childcare?
There appears a general agreement that men in childcare are a good thing: the government has set a target to increase the number of men working in childcare; at LEYF…
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,…