Leadership and management

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

Developing our emotional intelligence helps us manage our own emotions and relationships, understand what others might be feeling, and inspire other people to feel good about themselves and their work.

It's a privilege to support others to thrive in a passionate workplace. Constructive feedback offers a way to help others in their ongoing practice whilst creating a trustworthy culture in the workplace for everyone to thrive.  

Temporary staff, agency staff and members of a bank team come to our aid when ratios are compromised by staff sickness or holiday seasons. Let's explore how we can support them effectively.

Collective responses are a way to pave change, drawing upon a variety of experiences and insights to create a kaleidoscope of perspectives that encompass opinions across the team. 

Here are some top tips to help you find what you need to do to achieve a healthy work-life balance that works for you:

Being emotionally intelligent in a professional capacity means working in a different way than what we might be used to. Explore what it really means and developing emotional intelligence.

Mentors have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and increase their self-awareness through helping others and sharing their knowledge and experience.

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.

In the fast-paced and ever-changing environment of early education and care, where the demands on professionals, families and children are constantly evolving, it can be challenging to find time for those relaxation activities. Learn more about mindfulness in this article.