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Risky play goes against the most basic instinct of a professional working in early education and care: to keep children safe is paramount to our job. But, paradoxically, risky play actually promotes everything best practice in early education and care stands for too: creating engaging and stimulating environments that test boundaries, sustain and expand confidences in individual ability and provide opportunities to grow. 

Mealtimes in an early education and care setting can often be busy for children and professionals alike. For children, it’s an exciting time of the day, exploring new tastes and filling their hungry little tummies. For professionals, it’s a time of acute observation to ensure safety and hygiene. But, for all involved, mealtimes are also a highly social situation and an opportunity to cultivate positive relationships with food, that value the benefits and enjoyment of a healthy balanced lifestyle. 

Emotional intelligence is considered a core skill for an effective working culture and many employers will value it especially for roles of leadership and management. But it's not just about leading others – recognising your own emotional capacity and understanding ways to develop calm ways to respond to challenging emotional situations is also of benefit for your own wellbeing and leading yourself.

Play-based learning is an essential aspect of early childhood development and a core way to engage children in a satisfying and stimulating environment. But another valuable way to continue to promote this necessity for play-based learning is to seek out even more opportunities to learn about the power of play!

Going for an internal position – a new position within your current workplace - is an excellent way to achieve this growth while building on the relationships and knowledge you've already established.

Formative assessment is a powerful tool in early education and care, providing professionals and families with fascinating insights into a child’s learning and development.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways to promote healthy eating in the home environment. These can be shared with parents and carers to support a consistently positive approach to healthy appetites for little tummies! 

When you think of research, what springs to mind? Colourful labs with all sorts of experiments whirring and hefty reports stacked with charts and graphs. White lab coats and dusty observation books in overflowing libraries. But it’s so much more… 

Seasonal changes are a dynamic aspect of understanding our ever-changing world, which makes them a great topic for engaging with the outdoors in different ways on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis.  

Strengths can be tricky to identify when thinking about ourselves which is why this handy learning workout aims to support you with finding your forte and highlighting the skills you possess to use throughout your career and beyond.  

Effective leadership requires a combination of various skills and a willingness to constantly develop. Explore seven great qualities of a great leader

The STAR method is a widely acknowledged way to express our skillsets and provide a tangible example to the skills we highlight in applications. 

The natural environment is ever-changing. Every interaction we have is unique and allows us to explore new opportunities we never knew possible… much like working with babies!