AI: Are We Being Left Behind or Led Up the Garden Path?
AI is everywhere, apparently. Every conference, every policy announcement and every other LinkedIn post tells us it will transform how we live and work. Depending on who you listen to,…
LEYF CEO Blog and Podcast by Dr June O’Sullivan OBE
Read the latest news and updates from our CEO and the wider LEYF team.
Child Poverty in the UK: What Does It Really Mean for Children?
Child poverty is about more than household income. In this conversation, Baroness Ruth Lister explores how poverty affects children's dignity, belonging and participation, and why their experiences should help shape policy.
Do We Need an Early Years AI and Digital Childhood Advisory Group? And If So, Why?
Technology is already shaping our nurseries, whether we consciously design for it or not. Some of it is obvious: Wi-Fi, tablets, digital observations, secure entry systems, communication…
Get on Board Ofsted: Listen and Respond to the Ofsted Big Conversation
Back in 2013, I set up the Ofsted Big Conversation (OBC) because, frankly, the relationship between Ofsted and the Early Years sector had become pretty awful. There was frustration,…
Sustainability in the Early Years: An Essential Guide
Zoe Raven’s Sustainability in the Early Years: An Essential Guide for Educators, written with Santa Svike and Becky Watanabe, felt very familiar to me because much of their approach reflects…
Early Years Is Politics: What South Africa Can Teach Us About Children’s Rights
There was something rather serendipitous about how I came to read Children, Our Future, Barbara and Terry Bell’s account of the struggle for early childhood care and education in…
What are our children breathing?
We spend a great deal of time in Early Years thinking about what children eat, what they drink, how much they move and whether they spend enough time outdoors.
Nursery photography in Early Years: Rethinking how we tell children’s stories
Nursery photography plays an important role in how families choose an Early Years setting. Photographs help parents understand a nursery’s environment, values and approach to learning. For many providers, childcare…
Birth to Five Matters, Still Matters
I recently received the second edition of Birth to Five Matters: Guidance for the Sector, by the Sector. I read the whole book, but inevitably found myself particularly interested…
Digital Literacy in Early Years: It’s About Pedagogy, Not Screens
Even in a digital age, nobody goes to a good conference without a notebook. I spent three days at the 34th EECERA Conference at the University of Madeira…
Getting Away to Learn: Why Conferences Still Matter
I have always liked a good conference. Not necessarily because I want to sit in a chair all day being talked at. In fact, that is probably my definition of…
From Awareness to Action: Building Sustainability-Informed Educators
One of the great pleasures of our Action for Sustainability Community of Practice is that it brings together educators, researchers and leaders from across the world who are asking…
What Does Quality Really Mean in Early Years? A Conversation with Chris Pascal OBE and Tony Bertram
Quality in Early Years education is a term used constantly by policymakers, inspectors, leaders and teachers. But what does quality actually mean for children, families and educators?…
People Under Three: Why Belonging Must Be at the Heart of Baby Care
Thirty years ago, Elinor Goldschmied and Sonia Jackson chose a title that still resonates today: People Under Three. Three simple words that quietly transformed the way many of us…