The importance of getting the length of activities right When deciding on activities to complete with the children, there are often many things to take into consideration such as the child’s age, stage, abilities, next steps, interests and the topic or theme; it could also be suggested that at the
UK early years settings are the most expensive in the world Recent studies have displayed childcare costs across many different countries and childcare settings in the United Kingdom have come out on top. This may not come as a surprise to many parents who are already paying large childcare bills
Encouraging children in the early years to get protected against flu Healthcare professionals are urging early years practitioners to educate parents and encourage them to take their children between the ages of 2 and 5 to go to their local GP’s and get protected against flu. Flu can have many
World nursery rhyme week World nursery rhyme week is happening from the 7th – 11th November and is a fun filled week celebrating the benefits of singing rhymes and songs with children in the early years. Many early years settings choose to incorporate singing into every day routines already so
Should early years settings celebrate Halloween? Halloween is something which is often debated in the early years as some have strong beliefs that it should not be celebrated whereas others feel it should be celebrated within settings. There is no right or wrong choice and it is often left down
Children are not developing the fine motor skills they need This was an issue which was highly discussed last year as many primary school teachers found that children were starting reception class without the fine motor skills they needed or should be achieving by that age. This has again been
Why early years settings should sign with children daily Children in the early years often develop cognitive thinking before speech meaning they know exactly what they want; yet because their language skills are not yet at the same level are often unable to communicate these. This can cause frustration and
Communication with parents of SEND children is crucial! Creating strong parent partnerships has always been a major part of the early years and the EYFS because many of the children are too young to communicate with the parents themselves about their day or any events taking place. Some of the
Early years recruitment in crisis Many early years settings feel they are experiencing a recruitment crisis and are finding it increasingly difficult to hire new practitioners. Not only is hiring practitioners becoming difficult for some settings, but also keeping practitioners on the payroll as many are leaving childcare or moving to
Funding could lead to an increase in fees for paying parents The increase to the nursery education funding has been high on the childcare agenda since its proposal was first made. The government have decided to go ahead with the increase in doubling the hours, however there are serious concerns