McDonalds has long been criticised for offering free toys in its meals to entice children, but the fast food chain looks set to redeem itself as it prepares to offer books as a free gift with its Happy Meals instead.

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The euphoria occasioned by the golden performances of the Team GB Olympic athletes is starting to subside a little, hastened by news that the Government is making it easier for schools to sell off playing fields.

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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 »

It was clear last week how much admiration Pre-School Learning Alliance members have for their chief executive Neil Leitch, who shared with practitioners at the charity’s conference his difficult childhood to argue the point for spending more on intervention.

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Like any football referee, Ofsted is bound to come in for severe criticism, and over the years it certainly has done. The damning report from the Education select committee, The Role and Performance of Ofsted, is likely to lead to significant structural and operational changes. Read More »

‘There is much to be proud of …’, says Dame Clare Tickell in her eagerly-awaited review of the Early Years Foundation Stage,  reflecting the views of the majority of the early years sector about the current framework.

The first signs are that there is also much to be proud of in the work of Dame Clare and her review team in coming up with recommendations that can build on the successes of the EYFS so far. There are some suggestions for amendments that would be significant, without causing huge upheaval and disruption for a workforce that has faced much change and challenge in the past few years.

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Further pressure is being piled on the coalition Government in advance of the review of the free entitlement code of practice, with the release of a survey by the feisty Save Our Nurseries campaign.

This suggests that more than 1,900 childcare places could be lost from the free entitlement scheme by September, just from those PVI nurseries who responded to the survey, if the rules of the code are not amended to deal with funding shortfalls.
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There was great disappointment among many private and voluntary sector nurseries when the new Government decided to press ahead with the Code of Practice on the free entitlement rather than suspend it as the Conservatives had promised pre-election.
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The language of Government Bills and Acts is not what most of us would call ‘plain English’! So it is necessary to turn to the accompanying notes for illumination, and, even then, some very careful reading is required to decipher what the impact of legislative change could be.
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