Walk The Walk
Ofsted Big Conversation
In 2013, I set up the Ofsted Big Conversation #OBC because I was so dismayed at how our relationship had deteriorated with our regulator. I was beyond angry at what was happening and I was prepared to stand up and make this public. I was furious at what I saw was Ofsted behaving badly, allowing inspectors to behave in high-handed and arrogant ways and make damning judgements. Ofsted had lost its centre and had become patronizing and scathing about the Early Years sector…
Talk The Talk
Tackle Poverty Head On
It struck me then that I had to do something different – a business hybrid between the commercial and the state. I wanted to build a social model of great nurseries which could operate in poor neighbourhoods and be truly outstanding.
Academic Papers
Understanding parent and staff perspectives on bicycle usage in nurseries and at home
This paper describes how eight London nurseries examined whether better use of bicycles would strengthen children’s physical activity as a step to reducing child obesity. The nurseries are part of a social enterprise which offers one-third of the 4200 nursery places to children from poor and disadvantaged families/communities where rates of child obesity are high and increasing.
Replacing a reading scheme with dialogic reading: an action research case study in 15 London nurseries
This paper examines how 15 London social enterprise nurseries undertook a short pilot study to ascertain how to successfully replace a formal reading scheme with the Whitehurst and Lonigan dialogic reading (DR) approach. DR has shown to work very successfully with children from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds, which is the focus group of the nurseries which also use a specific social pedagogy framed within the cultural capital of language and literacy to support children's longer term educational success.
Home learning: an exploration of parents perspectives
Much home learning research explores the benefits from the perspectives of the child or staff. Less is written about how parent’s view home learning. This became more noticeable recently when nurseries closed because of Covid-19 lockdown. Staff had to design digital home learning activities at speed to help parents support their children’s learning and development while maintaining their relationships with parents.
Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Isolation in London Neighborhoods
This profile highlights the various intergenerational initiatives tested by a charity and social enterprise named Westminster Children’s Society (WCS) to unify the generations within the community. Based in poor and deprived areas of London, WCS was set up in 1903 to support local families by providing community nurseries, training, employment and family support. These nurseries are a focal point in the community and serve as a possible vehicle for community cohesion.
Dialogical conceptualisations of leadership in social enterprise early years group
The article presents an investigation of how Early Years leadership is conceptualised by frontline staff in the context of a social enterprise nursery group in London, England. Moving beyond academic splits in the conceptualisation of Early Years leadership, it considers how those in practice make sense of leadership in the complex and fragmented Early Years sector in England.