The government’s education committee is to launch an inquiry into primary assessment following what the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has called “chaos and confusion” around the topic. Earlier this year, the government abandoned reception baseline assessments and later, a security breach led to the cancellation of the key stage 1 spelling, punctuation […]

Small button batteries – found in a range of domestic items – can burn a hole through the lining of a child’s oesophagus should they accidently swallow them, surgeons have claimed. London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital said it is now treating approximately one child every month with this condition, a sharp rise from 10 […]

The Pre-school Learning Alliance has said that the government must “come clean” about the problems with the funding of the 30-hours free childcare scheme. The Department for Education ran a consultation on early years funding reforms in September, but many providers have still threatened to pull out, stating that even with the proposed changes […]

Researchers in Finland have claimed that a healthy diet has a significant impact on children’s literacy skills. The universities of Eastern Finland and Jyväskylä studied 161 children between the ages of six and eight, analysing the quality of their diets using food diaries. Nordic and Finnish dietary guidelines recommend an increased consumption of […]

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has called on the government not to implement the 30-hours offer, in a report titled, ‘We can solve poverty in the UK’. Released yesterday, the report proposes that the existing 15 hours of free childcare for three- and four-year-olds is retained, and that this be extended, over time, to two-year-olds. […]

The number of childcare providers going bust has nearly doubled in the last year due to the “soaring costs” of childcare, accountancy firm Moore Stephens has claimed. 29 providers closed down in England and Wales in 2015/16, compared to 16 in 2014/15. Factors involved in these decisions included the introduction of the national living […]

Pilots of the 30-hours free childcare scheme are due to start next month, but Neil Leitch, chief executive at the Pre-school Learning Alliance, is concerned about its viability. The government launched a consultation into three- and four-year-old funding earlier this month which Neil said is a welcome first step, but he added that more is […]

The Home Affairs Committee report, ‘Radicalisation: the counter-narrative and identifying the tipping point’, published today, makes no mention of the early years. The report called for an independent review of The Prevent duty, requiring teachers and other public sector workers to monitor and report people they believe may be at risk of radicalisation. […]

A survey from Mencap, which reviewed 316 parents, found that 56% are struggling to access short breaks due to the lack of childcare available to them. Mencap said that parents of children with learning disabilities are being pushed “to breaking point” by the lack of support during the holiday period, calling the provision “insufficient” […]

David Hoare has resigned from his position as Ofsted chairman having described the Isle of Wight as a “ghetto” where there has been inbreeding. David made the remarks in an interview with the Times Educational supplement, where he said of the island: “Most people go there for sailing for two weeks a year…but within inches […]

The childhood obesity strategy – published today by the Department of Health – has been criticised by health experts and campaigners for not having tougher targets. The strategy lays out a number of intentions, including plans to ask that the food and drink industry cut 5% of the sugar in popular children’s products over […]

Ofsted has today released its first inspection report for childminder agency Leap Ahead. Childminder agencies have been widely scrutinised since their implementation two years ago and the report outlines a number of recommendations, including sharpening the new management role for the head of the early years, as well as ensuring that the agency’s safeguarding […]