One small step is not enough!

06 August 2019 | by Steve McCabe MP, chair, APPG on a Fit and Healthy Childhood; Helen Clark MP; and Dr Vicky Randall, Winchester University

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on A Fit and Healthy Childhood has given a cautious welcome to the Government’s long-awaited School Sport and Activity Action Plan.

Helping parents earlier

04 August 2019 | by Christine Farquharson and Sarah Cattan, Institute for Fiscal Studies

How a home-visiting programme could help prevent inequalities in child development and health by supporting families early on

Literacy and play for all

08 July 2019 | by Catherine Gaunt

The developmental importance of play needs to be recognised beyond the EYFS and into children’s subsequent years at school

Take an upfront approach to childcare costs

03 July 2019 | by Kevin Watkins, CEO, Save the Children UK

There is an obvious solution to help parents struggling with childcare costs under Universal Credit, argues Kevin Watkins of Save the Children UK.

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