Inspiring Early Years across the UK: a reflection on the May 2022 National Conference

Cathy Nutbrown, President of Early Education The twelve sessions of the May Annual National Conference 2022 left me reflecting on a strong thread which I felt wove, in different ways, through every contribution. I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts here. Slowing down is very important, slowing down and being patient. These […]

Ofsted’s new strategy and focus on the early years

Ofsted has today launched a new five-year strategy. Elements of this which affect the early years include commitments to “simplify the regulatory regime for childminders” “develop the evidence base about early years education, including curriculum and pedagogy, and act on it… develop the evidence base around the early years learning and development curriculum through our […]

Government’s new sustainability and climate change strategy

We welcome the government’s new Sustainability and climate change strategy for education and children’s services, and that early years is reflected through a range of strands including commitments to: provide opportunities to develop a broad knowledge and understanding of the importance of nature, sustainability and the causes and impact of climate change and to translate […]

Funding pressures put at risk early years education for children with SEND

A survey of maintained nursery schools carried out by Early Education in June 2021 has found increasing demand from children with SEND in the current school year, or for September entry.  However, funding constraints were expected to affect most schools’ ability to support children with SEND in due to additional funding for children with SEND […]

Early Years Census 2021 update from DfE

The DfE have issued documents to support schools and settings to understand how to report to the Early Years Census in the context of the pandemic.  The guidance states: “The intention is to ensure parity of approach to counting of funded entitlements across both the School Census and the Early Years Census.” Coronavirus-related support for […]