Beans here again! I’ll try not to rabbit on too much, but I was going to tell you about all the hopping mad things I got up to in February! (And a little bit about what’s been going on at Nursery World)

Read More »

It will be interesting to see how the CanParent scheme that David Cameron announced in May this year will develop out of the existing trials in 2013. Read More »

I found this year’s annual NDNA conference particularly thought-provoking and this sentiment was echoed by all of those I spoke to during the lunch and coffee breaks. While the state of the business always provides the context for the event, this year delegates were also encouraged to reflect deeply on the health of the nation’s children. A common theme among many of the speakers was, what role can nurseries play to give children the freedoms that enhance their mental and physical wellbeing? Read More »

The annual conference and dinner held for staff by nursery group Children 1^st @ Breedon House certainly delivered a feel-good factor. With the recent acquisition of two nurseries bringing more staff into the fold, the main hospitality room at the Hilton Sheffield Park Hotel was noticeably packed this year. It was particularly good to see the extended Mason family all in attendance, including founder Margaret Mason and her husband Hugh. Read More »

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’.

Read More »

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.

Read More »

I remember attending the Day Nursery Policy Group’s first big meeting around a year ago. There were 30 delegates, all pretty fired up about the need to influence whichever party came to power in the interests of non-maintained providers. Then shadow children’s minister Maria Miller even turned up. Read More »

The Pre-School Learning Alliance’s recent survey paints a pretty bleak picture: at least one in ten member settings expect to close if the Early Years Single Funding Formula results in a loss in funding. No surprise then that delegates at the PLA’s annual conference (in June) were hungry for hard information on how to make their money go further. Read More »