Last week we had a look at the benefits of training from the point of view of a nursery owner or manager. Today I'm taking a look at why practitioners should be a lot more excited about their next training course than they think (maybe). As a practitioner it can feel like you get sent on training rather than choosing to be there, but that shouldn't make you less keen to go. That small amount of time given up could have a huge impact on your … [Read more...]
How does training benefit me? Part 1
October 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Having wandered around Childcare Expo Midlands 2018 something hit me: there is a lot of different things to spend our small amount of money on in Early Years. Which got me thinking, why should we expect you to spend your money on training? Because it's the best option of course! But don't take my word for it, over the next two weeks I'll be taking a look at the reasons from two directions, that of the owner/manager and that of the … [Read more...]
STEM at Madresfield Early Years Centre
May 24, 2018 by Leave a Comment
I promised that in my next blog (here and then here for the previous two) I would start to give some suggestions of how I would incorporate STEM subjects into Early Years. I've not quite finished that off yet, and something exciting came along that makes an exciting interlude. I was lucky enough to be invited to speak (about STEM of course!) at Madresfield Early Years Centre during their special event to celebrate 25 years of being open on … [Read more...]
STEM – Why is it important in Early Years?
May 3, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Not that long ago, I wrote a brief blog explaining what STEM meant, you can find it here. Today I'm going to list the reasons why I think it is an important area to work on in Early Years. I'm going to make a special effort not to waffle on for ages, so I'm going to keep it to shortish bullet points! STEM subjects are criminally under represented in the EYFS. For subjects that give children a greater understanding of the world around … [Read more...]
STEM – What’s it all about?
April 18, 2018 by Leave a Comment
I've been very excited recently as something important to me has started turning up in Early Years. And by turning up, I mean I have started to see the term used in Ofsted reports and Early Years publications. So what is it? (You should be able to guess from the blog title!) STEM in Early Years Settings STEM is simply an abbreviation for four subjects; Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. It's a term that has been used in schools for … [Read more...]
