Talking Early Years: In conversation with Frank Cottrell-Boyce
If you have been frog marched through books, why would you ever read for pleasure? The award-winning author and screenwriter Frank Cotterell-Boyce is the 13th Children’s Laureate of…
LEYF News and CEO Blog
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
Lessons We Must Learn to Better Protect Our Children
In Memory of Genevieve Meehan Tonight, BBC One North West and Yorkshire will air an investigative programme titled How Safe Are Our Nurseries? It follows the heartbreaking story of Genevieve…
Creating Social Enterprises
Last week I was awarded the Social Enterprise Women’s Champion Award. I was completely shocked as my nomination was as surprising as the win. The award was…
There is Nothing as Practical as a Good Theory
This week we are hosting the launch of a book written by an ex LEYF staff member Mine Conkbayir and her co-writer Professor Chris Pascal CBE, who has been a…
The Ofsted National Consultative Forum: Read, Rage and Respond
Ofsted held its National Consultative Forum on the 12th of November and I was invited. This was my second meeting and I am there (in my mind anyway) to represent…
What Can We Do to Stop the Childhood Obesity Catastrophe?
Food and unhealthy eating is a regular feature on my blogs because what is happening is really scary. One in five children are obese and apparently 11% of toddlers are…
An Open Letter to the Minister, Sam Gyimah MP
Dear Minister I was sorry to miss your Policy Exchange lecture last week but maybe that was a good thing as it’s often better to read the script in…
Welcome To A Pioneering Qualification for Early Years Chefs
Last week I gave a speech to the Scottish Pre School Play Association in a hotel which was also full of Liberal Democrat delegates who had come…
A Trip to the Home of Democracy to Discuss the Democratisation of Childcare
Last week a colleague and I travelled to Greece to the annual EECERA Conference. I like to attend such conferences because I believe that if we do…
Baby Look into My Eyes…
This week I attended the 5th Annual Baby Room Conference organised by Kathy Goouch and her team at Canterbury University. The keynote speaker Annette Karmilof- Smith reflected…
The Shared Language of Childhood.
“If we do not keep on speaking terms with children, we become merely machines for eating and earning money” John Updike, Quoted in Arnold 2014 pg.
A Trip to Wales, where Plant has more than one meaning.
My family and I have been visiting Wales for many years including many of the countries beautiful gardens open to the public such as Bodnant. We had…
Worry less about what a Minister can do for us; it’s what we can do for the Minister that should matter
There is a cry from some parts of the sector, about a yet to be appointed Childcare Minister. Why? As a sector the meddling of politicians who are uninformed (except…
Reading and Writing Float on a Sea of Talk: So Lets Ensure More Conversations
Last week I spoke at the UK National Literacy Conference. My role was to share how we support children to become literate in LEYF nurseries.