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...]

Update: 24th April 2018 Since we wrote and published this blog, the HSE have changed the document that is referenced in the EYFS.  The new document states that blended learning is an accepted method of training for workplace first aid.  You can view the new version on the same link below, or here.  Point 24 is the one of interest. This is obviously a fundamental change to their policy, and one that may cause us to change our position on … [Read more...]

So we are already on to the 4th and final part of our series of blogs about the content that we believe should be included in a supervision, you can find the previous articles here, here and here. If you have read the previous posts, then jump right in below, but if this is your first one, then here is what you have missed... Including moderation allows you to make sure that staff are all looking for the same things and that children continue … [Read more...]

Last year (Happy New Year everyone), I started a series of articles about the different subjects that should be covered during a supervision, you can find the previous articles here and here.  Information about what should be included in a supervision doesn't seem to be forthcoming from any of the usual sources, and that means settings are all doing it a bit differently.  We thought it was about time to get some alignment. This time, I will be … [Read more...]

A couple of weeks ago, I started writing about the different subjects that should be covered during a supervision, you can find the article here.  This information doesn't seem to be forthcoming from any of the usual sources, and that means settings are all doing it a bit differently. This week, I will be discussing why I think safeguarding should be a big part of a supervision.  This is a slightly more obvious topic than last time, so I think … [Read more...]

It still amazes me that there isn't more guidance about supervisions in Early Years.  Supervisions are an important part of what we do, yet they still seem to be done differently in every setting I go in to.  Surely this can't be the way it should be! Over the next few weeks I'm going to run down all the areas I think are important to include in supervisions and dicuss why.  This isn't a top 5 list or anything like that, everything is … [Read more...]

I'd be the first person to admit that listening to people who work in the government speak is relatively low on the list of things I like to spend my time doing.  However, last week gave us some exceptions with two speeches with at least some impact on the world of Early Years. The first of these speeches was by Ofsted's Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman, and gave us some interesting insights on the future of Early Years.  You can read the whole … [Read more...]

We have been working with schools a lot recently (mostly because of this product) and the question I wanted to get an answer to above all else was: "Nurseries spend a lot of time on each child's learning journey and report, yet they feel like the reception teacher doesn't always read them, why is this?" I asked quite a few reception teachers, and I went in with a the idea that somehow schools were letting Early Years practitioners down by not … [Read more...]