Early years education in England has become increasingly significant as research highlights the crucial role of the first five years in a child’s life. These early years are foundational for lifelong learning, development, and well-being. Early years professionals play a critical role in this process, making it a rewarding yet demanding career. With the growing […]
As educators and leaders in the Early Years sector, we understand the profound challenges that come with nurturing young minds. With 20 years of experience in this field, I recognize the stress and anxiety that can arise from the demands of our roles—managing diverse needs, ensuring compliance with regulations, and supporting our teams while striving […]
As an Early Years consultant and trainer with over 25 years of experience, I’ve come to understand one essential truth: a manager’s ability to stay connected with what is happening on the ground can make or break a setting. In the whirlwind of administrative duties, paperwork, and unforeseen issues, it’s easy to lose sight of […]
As a nursery owner, you’ve got enough on your plate with managing staff, overseeing day-to-day operations, and providing quality care for children, but with the Labour Government’s 100-Day Pledge and the 60 upcoming changes to employment law, staying compliant may feel like yet another challenge. At Gateway HR, we’re here to help you stay informed […]
Music and movement are not just fun activities for children; they are foundational elements of early learning that support a range of developmental areas. But have you ever considered how your team’s personal experiences with these activities, both as children and as educators, shape their confidence and creativity in the classroom? Understanding these experiences is […]
On September 2nd, 2024, Ofsted made a significant change to its school inspection framework by removing single-word judgements for schools and maintained early years settings. Previously, schools have been given an overall rating like ours Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, or Inadequate. These terms will no longer be used; instead, a new rating system will be introduced, which will still […]
Risk assessments are crucial for ensuring safety in early years environments, but too often they become just another box to tick. Understanding their true purpose is essential for protecting children, staff, families, and the business itself. A robust risk assessment process not only identifies potential hazards but also provides actionable steps to mitigate them, making […]
The Aesthetics: More Than Just a Pretty Picture In the early years, we often find ourselves creating visually appealing activities, whether it’s a beautifully arranged tuff spot or an inviting table-top setup. These attractive displays can certainly capture the children’s attention and spark their interest, and there’s nothing wrong with that! However, we must be […]
What are schemas? Put simply, schemas are repeated patterns of behaviour that children display as they explore and make sense of the world around them. As experienced practitioners we often observe children engaged in play that they revisit time and time again and we wonder why that is. Chris Athey, who has studied these extensively […]
The human brain is an amazing organ. Research into how the brain works is very new. Thanks to new technologies we are continually learning more and more about it and that knowledge can be transformational to our nursery practice. The brain contains over 100 billion neurons, each of which can connect to over 7,000 other […]
Whether you’re in England and dealing with April’s new funding changes, or you’re a setting in the rest of the UK exploring how funding works for you, it can be a lot to get your head around. You might be working on paper, or spreadsheets with clever formulas, but both of these can become easily […]
As we approach the end of this school year and we consider our children who will be making the transition to primary school, the topic of school readiness has again become a keen focus for many parents and practitioners. The concept of school readiness, however, is not uniform across the board. Parents and early years […]
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