The last couple of weeks we have started preparation in earnest for our next conference - Childcare Expo Midlands 2017! This included learning how to properly box a tablecloth - if you're not sure how to do that (or, like me, what it even is) then you should absolutely stop by our stand to see (and probably laugh at) my efforts! We're always excited about a conference, but having one on our own doorstep is always the highlight of the year. … [Read more...]

Many nurseries are starting to run training days for their staff teams.  The opportunity to get staff together at a time when they are not already tired from a day at work, is both a positive team building exercise but also a fantastic time to introduce new practice to the nursery.  However, in order to have all staff present you have two choices: run the training on a Saturday (or in the holidays) or close the nursery for a day.  Which of these … [Read more...]

As a Paediatric First Aid trainer, I get asked a lot of questions.  Sometimes the questions are easy "Can I let a child sleep after a head injury", sometimes hard "How should we store asthma inhalers in the nursery to allow them to be accessible but also prevent theft?", and sometimes just weird "Why do children with food stuck up their nose smell?".  I often get asked about what First Aid training courses people actually need to attend, in fact … [Read more...]

Almost two whole years ago Jo wrote this article about Fundamental British Values, it remains the most read post on our website.  Despite the time passing, understanding and guidance of this subject are clearly still lacking.  With the recent events across the country and politicians using British Values in their election campaigns, we thought it might be a good time to look again at just what we need to be doing. Fundamental British Values … [Read more...]

This is the second part of a guest blog by Marie Smith. Click here for the first part. Or you can view her courses, Developing a SEND Friendly Environment and Supporting Children with SEND. I finished last time by encouraging staff to look at the specific area of difficulty for each individual child... Once you have a handle on where a child is functioning, then track back to the appropriate developmental stage and start to choose small … [Read more...]

Marie is a new (to MBK) trainer that specialises in Children with Send.  We have a selection of upcoming dates for her courses, Developing a SEND Friendly Environment and Supporting Children with SEND. Until then we have some of her wise words to keep you going... I am very excited to be writing my first blog for MBK and have sat for some time thinking about the topic. One of the questions I get asked most by staff when working in settings … [Read more...]

Early Years Foundation Stage Profile With the EYFSP being retained for at least another year, the results give us a chance to see how well the sector as a whole has performed.  This always makes an interesting read, and this year is no exception. The results are in! The latest information from Early Years is in, and it's good news all round really - a 3 percentage point increase in the number of children achieving a good level of development … [Read more...]

Wow!  A hectic few days and it's over.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the Childcare Expo experience, so much so we just couldn't resist letting you know that we will be there again next year! It's a bit soon for that though, so we just wanted to thank all the lovely people that came over and spoke to us.  We had a really great reception and there was so much praise for the work we do it was quite humbling!  We will try to keep up the hard … [Read more...]

As you are hopefully aware, the Childcare Expo will be happening at the Ricoh Arena this coming weekend.  We just wanted to let you know that we will be there, our stand is B37.  If you're not already going you really should - it's free and a fantastic event. Tricia will be attending the Breakfast Summit with a conversation point of 'What does the future of early years look like?' and I will be 'managing the shop' with some help from Victoria … [Read more...]