The Importance of Early Years Leadership and Effective Management

Leadership in any job role is important, as you will know those in management positions are the facilitators of the...

How to increase occupancy in my nursery business

It’s no secret that maintaining and scaling nursery occupancy is an ongoing effort. Throw in constant government changes and it’s...

The MITEY UK and other methods: how to get more men to join the EYFS

Recently Ovivio interviewed Shaddai Tembo, lecturer in Early Education and Childhood Practice at Perth College UHI. He is currently pursuing...

How to Create a Meaningful ‘Loose Parts’ Play provision in Your Setting

Loose parts play, a concept first dated to 1971, encourages curiosity and inventiveness in children by offering open-ended materials. Creating...

Promoting Health and Wellbeing in Early Years: 5 Fundamentals for Mentally Healthy Habits

It’s easy to identify factors that will likely impact children’s mental health. The difficult part is how to ensure our...

The day of an EYFS Ofsted inspection

Nursery Ofsted inspections can understandably make you and your team anxious. They aren’t designed to trip you up, your Ofsted...

How to prepare staff, parents and children for an Ofsted inspection

Ofsted inspections aren’t exactly a walk in the park- and for good reason! One thing you can do to minimise...

The Early Years Inspection Handbook, 3 I’s, reflective practice, and more

There are many factors when it comes to an Ofsted inspection. We have received an Ofsted Outstanding rating ourselves for...

How to address your nursery staffing issues by hiring the right people

Staffing issues in Early Years settings is not news to the sector, but the Covid-19 pandemic has seemed to have...

6 Meaningful Present Ideas to Appreciate Your Nursery Staff

Hiring the best nursery staff for your business is one step, but childcare settings across the UK are struggling to retain...

4 STEM Activities for Preschoolers to Try

STEM is not a new term for childcare settings. But why exactly is it beneficial for children’s learning and development,...

Plug safety at your nursery setting: ‘Free of charge’ EYFS safeguarding advice

Are you certain that your children are in a plug protected environment whilst at your setting? Not only plugs, but...

EYFS Inclusive Practice: What Might Be Missing and How to Strengthen SEND Support

Is your inclusive practice truly supporting every child with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)? Moving past surface-level efforts, true...

How to effectively implement the Curiosity Approach across your nursery

Since the invention of the iPad 12 years ago, the methods in which our children play and interact have changed....

Why the Early Learning Goals are important and 5 activities to master them

Early Years as a field is ‘definition rich’, as we have all the abbreviations and acronyms under the sun to...

What to do and when to do it: parental engagement activities to help your child thrive!

Your child hears their first sounds in the womb, which means that even before they are born into the world,...

Does Your Story Time Cut It? The Importance of Talking and Language in Developing Early Years Literacy Skills

Literacy is one of the specific areas of learning and development. Strong Literacy skills are essential for active participation in learning-...

How to Prepare for HMIE Scotland Nursery Inspections: A Complete Guide

Advice from HM Chief Inspector of Education, Gayle Gorman, and Strategic Director for Scrutiny at Education Scotland, Janie McManus. As...

19 Communication and Language EYFS Activities for outstanding early years language development

The past 2-years have been incredibly challenging, affecting our children the most. Nurseries and schools have worked tirelessly to support...

Islamic New Year 2025: 5 fun activities to celebrate Al-hijra in Early Years

Al-hijra and Muharram is just around the corner (starting on 25th June 2025). Now is the perfect time to brush...

Childcare apprenticeships: how to tackle the recruitment crisis

It may be an understatement to say that Early Years apprentices are in high demand, as nursery settings nationwide are...

Father’s Day ideas to try in Nursery Settings: crafts, gifts, and cards

Father’s Day can be a creative opportunity to celebrate the prominent male figures in children’s lives. It can also be...

Reflective practice in the Early Years: 3 activities for your next team meeting

We encourage our children to learn through experience, trial and error, discussion and then re-application. Yet, when it comes to...

How to effectively plan CPD in your nursery: examples of outstanding CPD journeys

There is a changing dynamic of children entering nurseries, with growing expectations from external agencies and making every effort to...