Early years & childcare news & best practice

EYFS best practice: All about… imaginary friends

Why do some children have imaginary friends, when do they have them and what purpose do they perform, asks Meredith Jones Russell
Enabling Environments - Hit or miss?

Removing toys from a nursery school in Bristol for a month resulted in the two-year-olds not wanting them back. Nicole Weinstein reports
Managing Equality and Diversity, Part 6: Language and Culture - Culture club

How can settings be understanding of and open to children and staff’s different cultures, asks Gabriella Jozwiak
Inspection - The handbook for schools

In the first of a two-part series looking at the new Ofsted handbooks, lead teacher for Bristol Early Years Kate Irvine examines what’s in the schools version

Latest News & Analysis

Children attempt to break cuddly toy hugging record

More than 370 children and adults turned up to school with their favourite stuffed animal in a bid to beat the word record for soft toy hugging.

Nursery groups growing through investment and acquisition

Kids Planet has secured more funding, while Cherubs Day Nurseries and Safari Kid have both bought new settings.

Nursery rhymes may help to develop children's maths skills

Singing songs and rhymes with children may help early numeracy more than counting, a new study suggests.

Childminder numbers continue to drop, while early years quality remains high

The number of childminders is continuing to fall and has dropped by 9,000 in less than four years, the latest Ofsted figures show.

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Advice to get children physically ready for school

A new website offers tips for early years practitioners and parents on delivering physical development opportunities to children, helping them complete tasks like sitting still, holding a pencil, putting...