Early Years

Friday

22nd Aug 2025

Early years needs funding to cope with free childcare expansion
The rollout of 30 hours of funded childcare for nine-month-olds is welcome news for parents, but providers need financial help to meet rising demand
Why early years providers need more government funding

Thursday

8th May 2025

Why early intervention is crucial for children with a visual impairment 
Supporting children with a visual impairment in the early years helps with their transition to school, explains Lucy Chetty
Baby looking through heart shape

Wednesday

9th Apr 2025

Why early years CPD is the key to boosting maths attainment
Early engagement in maths is linked to better outcomes in the subject later on – and CPD is the way to embed research-informed practice in EYFS, says Sue Evans
Why games can be better than tests for primary maths assessment

Thursday

3rd Apr 2025

Why the end of the early years training programme is ‘troubling’
Labour’s decision not to renew funding for the Early Years Professional Development Programme will have a huge impact on children’s development, warns Jane Harris
Young children reading with a teacher

Tuesday

27th Aug 2024

3 ways to tackle the early years staffing crisis
With bold targets for increasing EYFS provision falling to the new government, an EPI researcher explains the scale of the challenge – and three pilot projects that could offer solutions
3 Early Years pilots that could solve staff shortages

Wednesday

10th Jul 2024

How Labour can put learning at the heart of its nursery plan
Avoiding the ‘baby blindspot’ and recognising the value of early years educational theory could ensure that Labour’s plan for more nursery spaces has wider educational impact, says this academic
Nursery school

Friday

3rd May 2024

EYFS: Sure Start wasn’t perfect, but lessons can be learned
Despite new research highlighting the positive impact of Sure Start, there are reasons why the scheme shouldn’t simply be relaunched, says the chair of the Social Mobility Commission
Early Years: Pining for Sure Start’s return ignores new social realities

Sunday

3rd Mar 2024

Reception pupils in nappies reveals societal challenges
More children are starting Reception not school-ready, creating added pressures for early years staff – and this is a symptom of a wider issues in society, says this MAT leader
Children's scooters

Monday

29th Jan 2024

How trusts can turn the tide for early years
With the early years sector in crisis, one multi-academy trust that has started running EYFS settings says its approach could offer a solution
Early years erosion

Monday

15th Jan 2024

Improving early years inspection in Scotland
With consultation on a draft early years inspection framework closing on Friday, two ELC experts lay out what needs to change to make it work for the sector
Keys to improving early years inspection in Scotland

Friday

12th Jan 2024

The slow erosion of EYFS and why it matters for all schools
Despite expansion in funded provision, early years providers are struggling in a post-pandemic world – and schools need to pay close attention, finds Hannah Fearn
EYFS closure

Wednesday

26th Jul 2023

‘Early years report must spur the DfE into action’
Early Years Alliance chief urges the government to act on findings in the Commons Education Select Committee’s report on the early years sector
'Early years report must spur the DfE into action'