Pebbles Childcare

EYFS Explained: PD

As explained in our previous post on CL, in this series of our blogs, we will be taking an in depth look into each area of the seven areas of learning and development and talking about and demonstrating how we support the children’s learning and development in each area and the benefits this has. We will…

Christmas

Christmas is an exciting time of year; particularly for children in the Early Years; the learning opportunities and experiences are endless and the magic and wonder that can be created for the children are truly heartwarming. However, Christmas can also be a particularly challenging time for both practitioners and parents alike; but how much of…

Business Excellence

Some of you may be aware, we recently attended the Business Women Excellence Awards for Sussex as Bridgit was shortlisted for two awards; ‘Business Woman of The Year’ and the ‘Woman In Education’ award, both nominations took Bridgit completely by surprise and she was overwhelmed to be shortlisted. The evening was wonderful to be a…

EYFS Explained: CL

As explained in our previous post on PSED, in the next series of our blogs, we will be taking an in depth look into each area of the seven areas of learning and development and talking about and demonstrating how we support the children’s learning and development in each area and the benefits this has. We…

EYFS Explained: PSED

In the next series of our blogs, we will be taking an in depth look into each area of the seven areas of learning and development and talking about and demonstrating how we support the children’s learning and development in each area and the benefits this has. We will look at each area from a…

Enabling Environments

As childcare professionals, we are all aware of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and how each of these basic needs need to be met in order for an individual to reach the top of the hierarchy and achieve self-actualisation which enables an individual to become ‘everything one is capable of becoming’ (Maslow, 1987, p64). As early…

Multilingual Children

As Early Years Professionals we all know how important it is to adequately support children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) in order for them to not only develop fluency in their mother tongue, but encourage and support their understanding and English speaking too. After intense research it has now been proven that by…

Home-Based Childcare

The Early Years Sector as a whole at the moment is full of uncertainty due to the introduction of the Government’s 30 hours funding scheme and the financial implications this is causing provisions across the sector; forcing many larger settings into closure as well as having a significant financial impact on home-based childcarer’s, making this…

An ‘Outstanding’ Announcement

It is with great pleasure we can share with you the reason we are celebrating this week; following our first Ofsted inspection last week, we have been deemed ‘Outstanding’ in all areas. We have been operating our home-based childcare setting in Worthing since 2015 and this was our first inspection. To to be deemed ‘Outstanding’…

Gender

As society becomes significantly more aware of issues, troubles and confusion around the subject of gender for children and within the Early Years Sector, we take a look at how we as practitioners (and parents) can support children in exploring their feelings towards their gender and to ensure that we are not promoting or advocating…

Schematic Play

In the Early Years sector, the term ‘schema’ or ‘schematic play’ is frequently used, but rarely understood. Schemas are described as patterns of repeated behaviour which allow children to explore and develop ideas and thoughts through play and exploration. These repetitive actions of schematic play allow children to construct meaning in what they are doing. As practitioners it is important that…

Emotional Resilience and Intelligence

As practitioners we know only too well how important supporting children’s personal, social and emotional development is, particularly in today’s soceity where children’s mental health (and mental health in general) is so prevalent. There are staggering statistics from the Mental Health Foundation that say at least 1 in 10 children (aged 5 – 16 years)…