Quality education
Our children experience wonderful learning opportunities every day, no matter where they live or whatever their family circumstances or challenges.
At LEYF, our Pedagogy (our teaching and learning model) and practice is based on international research, which consistently outlines that knowledgeable and highly skilled teachers are key to promoting the best outcomes for our children. We also call all our nursery staff ‘teachers’ to recognise their important role in children’s learning and development.
Recruitment and safeguarding
We have a rigorous recruitment process, which includes all of the relevant screening required by law, as well as our own additional criteria. We ensure safeguarding for our children at every level.
Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is at the heart of what we do across LEYF. From recruitment to internal career progression, we are proactive in our inclusivity. Many of our staff are multilingual. This is reflected in our teaching and learning – both giving children role models with a shared language and culture, and helping children learn about other cultures living in their local communities.
Many of our staff live in the communities they work in and have extensive experience in childcare.
Training
At LEYF, we recognise that all staff are leaders in their area of expertise. The LEYF leadership model comprises six elements and forms the basis of an effective structure for staff at every level – from managers who lead the nursery to apprentices, who often bring fresh, new approaches to their nurseries.
We believe that reflecting on our practice and the service we provide to children and families helps us maintain a continuous cycle of improvement to drive excellence within our nurseries. This is often informed by action research, led by teachers and staff across the organisation.
Our staff appreciate the importance of learning from each other and this is a theme that runs across everything we do – from daily pedagogical conversations between colleagues to our programme of learning offered by the London Institute of Early Years.
London Institute of Early Years
LEYF staff receive an average of eight training days per year and through the award-winning London Institute of Early Years, we offer our teachers a range of training sessions to develop their skills and confidence.
Our continuous professional development (CPD) workshops include dialogic reading, the art of teaching and the science of play. We also offer our nursery managers and leadership teams specific programmes to help them to develop their pedagogical leadership.
Teachers are supported to develop their leadership skills by sharing their newly acquired knowledge with colleagues and embedding it into their practice.
We invest in our staff
Find out more about your path to development at LEYF
London Institute of Early Years
Our London Institute of Early Years is a registered CACHE and ILM centre, and offers staff opportunities to obtain formal qualifications, including Level 3 apprenticeships in Early Years and a Level 3 Diploma in Building Health in Early Years for our chefs.
LEYF also works in partnership with the University of Wolverhampton to offer our teachers the opportunity to obtain a degree in Early Years Education.
Our team of pedagogy coaches work in our nurseries and alongside our teachers, providing coaching, mentoring and guidance, to support our teachers to put their skills and knowledge into practice.
