Author: Ali

This blog explores the updated Early Years Nutrition Guidance, the changes it brings, and why it matters now more than ever—particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. With rising food insecurity and increased marketing of ultra-processed foods, the early years sector has a vital role to play in shaping healthy eating habits from the very start. Clearer guidance offers a much-needed opportunity to align practice across all settings and support families with consistent, realistic, and affordable messages around food. As nutrition becomes a statutory part of the EYFS safeguarding and welfare requirements from September 2025, this blog highlights how settings can respond, adapt, and lead the way.

As the impacts of climate change become increasingly visible, the work of building sustainable futures for the youngest generations has never been more urgent. Millie Colwey explains how childminders and early years settings play a pivotal role in fostering environmental responsibility and sustainable behaviours in children. This blog explores the importance of education for sustainability, practical steps you can take, and how our sector can lead the way to creating a greener, safer future for young children. Through simple changes to their environments, such as using scrap stores for resources and choosing ethical banking, settings themselves can become more sustainable. Meanwhile, activities like outdoor nature exploration and food growing help develop children’s understanding of the world while teaching them they can make a real difference to our environment.

For too long, compliance has been the only goal for children with developmental differences in education and society. In this blog post by Jenna Jefferies, she explores how teaching self-advocacy skills to neurodivergent and disabled children can empower them to communicate their needs and stand up for themselves. By presuming competence, explicitly teaching self-advocacy in early years settings, and creating spaces where children feel validated, educators can help shift societal attitudes from deficit-focused to celebratory-driven. Learn practical strategies for supporting children’s self-advocacy that will raise a generation confident in getting their needs met and create a more inclusive society that values neurodiversity.