Maintained nursery schools: the eye of the funding crisis storm

14 June 2019 | by Dr Rebecca Webb, lecturer in Early Years and Primary Education at the University of Sussex


A very worrying report out this week from the Early Years Alliance indicates many childcare providers in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector find themselves in a funding crisis.

The importance of Dad

10 June 2019 | by Merle Davies, director, Centre for Early Child Development

How a programme in Blackpool is engaging fathers in order to improve child outcomes and support dads in their parental role

Calling practitioner researchers! Take a first step into publication

07 June 2019 | by Rory McDowall Clark

It's been a long time since those in the early years sector could patronisingly be dismissed as 'nice ladies who love children' (Stonehouse, 1989). Nowadays we recognise the crucial...

Putting the curriculum at the heart of inspection

28 May 2019 | by By Gill Jones, Ofsted early education deputy director, @GillJonesOfsted

The way we inspect childcare provision is changing.

Our nursery schools are on the brink

24 May 2019 | by Jack Dromey MP

Europe sees our nursery schools as the best, but underfunding means that they are in danger, says Jack Dromey, MP for Birmingham Erdington.

Changing the game

12 May 2019 | by Catherine Gaunt

What do we know about the science behind learning through play in early childhood development? And how can we use it to move the field forward for all our children, asks Dr. Jack P. Shonkoff, the 2019 LEGO Prize winner

PVI nurseries should be exempt from music licences like schools

01 May 2019 | by Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA)

Nurseries should be considered 'educational establishments' in law, in line with schools, argues NDNA chief executive Purnima Tanuku

Language unlocks reading

30 April 2019 | by Andrea Quincey, head of primary English at Oxford University Press

Andrea Quincey is head of primary English at Oxford University Press, which has today published a policy report, Language unlocks reading, with the National Literacy Trust and the APPG on Literacy. This highlights the crucial link between children’s early language skills and life chances.

No more excuses

28 April 2019 | by Professor Sally Holland, children's commissioner for Wales

Wales has introduced a Bill to abolish the ‘reasonable punishment’ defence for hitting a child – and the rest of the UK will hopefully follow

Act now to ensure childhood mental health problems don't 'blight a life'

12 April 2019 | by Helen Clark, spokesperson for the Child Mental Health Charter Campaign

Helen Clark explains why new mental health legislation for children should be made a priority and how readers can get behind it.