The Nursery World team were joined by a pink, fluffy cuddly rabbit this week, who helped them out in their West London office, answering phone calls and doing some photo-copying before being briefed on the Nutbrown Review.

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It’s easy to become immune to stories of nurseries closing, there seems to be so many of them. But it’s now happening in my ‘back yard’, which I admit has made me sit up and take notice.

I’m shocked to hear that the nursery at South Bermondsey Children’s Centre has been earmarked for closure by the council (along with Bishop’s House Children’s Centre, also in the London borough Southwark – Nursery World, 2 April). I understand that money is tight and cuts need to be made but closing a ‘jewel in the community’ – and this is a socially deprived area that needs all the assets it can get – has surely got to be the wrong choice.

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So, apparently some parents are banning their children from watching every child’s favourite cartoon pig – Peppa – because she and her brother George Pig are ‘a bad influence’.

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There are several reasons why it might be better to avoid London’s world-famous toy store Hamleys near Christmas- time, but it seems that its sexist approach to the store layout is no longer one of them.

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In 2010 the Pre-School Leaning Alliance seemed to be under a very real threat from the financial squeeze – with a poll of its members revealing that one in ten would be forced to close if the free entitlement continued to lose them money.  However, in this, its 50th anniversary year – and despite the ongoing economic climate – it is good to see the mood is positive. Read More »

A bedtime book with a difference has topped the Amazon bestseller chart a month before its publication. Forget lullabyes and cuddles, this one’s entitled, ‘Go the F*ck to Sleep’ and comes with the publisher’s warning that it’s, thankfully, ‘definitely not a book to read to your child’. Read More »

It’s happened, the buggy has broken the £1,000 price barrier with the anticipated UK launch of the Bugaboo Donkey. It’s predicted to be the latest ‘yummy mummy’ status symbol in parks and coffee shops around the country. But are the smug parents and carers going to be the ones who have found out the delights of baby slings and carriers rather than those who have broken the bank while purchasing a pram? Read More »

Organising fundraisers can be hard work for early years settings. First there’s the decision of what to do, sponsored walk, dressing up day, tea party? Then there’s the issue of approaching parents for money, when everyone is feeling the pinch.

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