Why We Need More Men in Childcare
A Reflection and Call to Action I’ve long been an advocate for getting more men into childcare (MiC). It simply seems absurd to write off half the human population as…
LEYF News and CEO Blog
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
Stephen Morgan MP visits LEYF Soho Nursery and Pre-School
Minister for Early Education, Stephen Morgan, visits LEYF Soho Nursery and Pre-School to meet the men working in childcare as the government ramps up efforts to grow and diversify the early years workforce.
Make Our Practice Part of the Praxis Triangle
Every year I try and get LEYF staff to attend and present at the annual EECERA conference. I have been doing this since 2004 , although we have not…
Wake Up, Rethink the Funding
Last week I was contacted by national radio and TV to do an interview about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and how this will affect both parents and…
An Invitation to Debate a Change to the Ratio of Staff Qualifications with Ofsted
The recruitment and retention issue continues to drag us down and there is no immediate end in sight. Worse still, I doubt if Liz Truss, the darling of the Tories,…
Engage in the Consultation and Stop Changes to Children to Staff Ratios
Do you want the best for our children? I have been campaigning to protect the ratios since 2013 as our then Minister, Elizabeth Truss decided to pursue a plan to…
Talking Early Years with June O’Sullivan: in Conversation with Mona Sakr
From a conversation to a book “Without doubt, social leadership makes a fundamental difference to the quality of early childhood education and society a fairer place.” The first strand of…
Let’s Hear it for the Early Years Teacher!
I am always happy to support Early Years Alliance and NDNA campaigns but, right now, I think they are both missing a trick. They want to raise the…
50 Fantastic Ideas to Encourage Diversity and Inclusion
When we started to think about writing a book on diversity, Nausheen and I agreed that inclusion begins from the premise that if you build an inclusive approach you will…
Zoom Zoom to the OBC
Thank you to everyone who attended the Zoom OBC on Monday 6 June. It was a great turnout given so many of you were still recovering from eating a…
Refugee Day – Giving Everyone the Right to Safety and an Education
When the war in Ukraine started, many LEYF staff were really upset about the children. In fact, one conversation which stuck in my mind was: “June, they could be at…
It’s time for a post-pandemic OBC
In preparation for this meeting and because time is simply speeding past, I looked over all the minutes of the previous Ofsted Big Conversation (OBC) blogs. The OBC kicked…
Talking Early Years with June O’Sullivan: in Conversation with Karen Lynch
Do you enjoy listening to an honest, funny, down to earth conversation? That sums up my chat with serial social entrepreneur Karen Lynch. I met Karen many…
Save Our Staff: Child Ratios
In 2013, then Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education) Elizabeth Truss decided to pursue a plan to reduce staff:child ratios. It was very unpopular and was roundly rejected by the sector…