Leadership and management

Child-initiated play is an essential part of early years practice, allowing children to explore, make choices, develop independence and follow their own interests. Practitioners play a key role in creating an environment where children feel confident to investigate, be creative and learn through meaningful experiences. Here are our top tips for facilitating effective, child initiated play.

Every child arrives in your nursery with their own way of making sense of the world — their own pace, sensory needs, communication style and play preferences.

Effective team meetings are essential. Well-structured meetings help staff stay informed, feel valued and work together more efficiently. By making meetings purposeful and engaging, leaders can strengthen teamwork and improve daily practice.

Children learn best when they are motivated, curious and deeply engaged. By following children’s interests, practitioners create meaningful learning experiences that build on what children already know and care about.

A supportive start for new staff can help them feel confident and valued and know your expectations from day one. Consistent guidance helps practitioners settle faster, follow routines more accurately and build stronger relationships. This early support, boosts quality of practice, improves teamwork and can help to reduce stress and staff turnover. Here are some tips to support you.

Effective time management helps the team stay calm, responsive and focused on what matters most: the children. As a nursery manager, leading good practice in prioritising tasks supports staff well-being and the effective running of the nursery.    

Educating and caring for young children is an incredibly rewarding role, but it can also be demanding and exhausting. Just as we nurture the children in our care, it’s important to look after our staff and support their well-being at work. Explore our top tips for caring for your team.  

As we get ready to step into a new year, it’s a perfect opportunity to embrace fresh beginnings, renewed energy and exciting possibilities. A new year offers a chance for reflection, growth and inspiration. These tips are designed to help leaders support their staff in feeling motivated, valued and empowered, while also prioritising their well-being.  

Bonfire Night is a traditional celebration, filled with the excitement of fireworks, sparklers and bright colours lighting up the sky. For young children, this can feel magical, but it may also be a little overwhelming.

Creating a truly inclusive environment means making sure every child feels seen, valued and celebrated. The resources we select play a big role in shaping children’s understanding of themselves and others. By offering diverse, authentic and accessible materials, you can help children build respect, empathy and a sense of belonging from the beginning of their journey with you. See our top tips for building belonging through resources.

Considering the needs of others is one of the building blocks of empathy and pets in a nursery setting can enable children to learn about caring for others while helping them to talk about their feelings and emotions.

Teaching children about recycling can help them to develop lifelong skills for sustainability and caring for the environment. Review our top tips to encourage children and families to take part in recycling projects in your setting and the local community. 

This ‘focus and choose’ exercise is designed to pull you back from emerging feelings of anxiety and stress, aiming to keep you calm and centred, especially in situations that could trigger these unwanted feelings.

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… 

Staff recruitment and the retention of a high-quality, professional workforce is a challenge faced by most leadership teams across the sector. It’s a problem entrenched in public spending and policy formation.

Arranging our own continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities is one thing, but planning moments for professional development within a team is another! The benefits of CPD are well-documented and well-established, but ensuring that these opportunities are accessible to everyone and effective for practice can be challenging. 

The five senses exercise is a mindfulness exercise that helps you slow down and feel more grounded

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