Typically small charities (including those in the Early Years sector) have to go through the burden of dual registration with both the Charity Commission and Companies House in order to retain charitable status and at the same time gain the protection offered by incorporation. This has required additional registration fees, and the submission of returns…
DfE funding to support 30 hours business skills
The DfE has just announced The Delivery Support Fund (DSF) to support local authorities in creating additional 30 hours places in the summer term. This is a very flexible pot of funding which can be used in a variety of ways including training for providers and for local authority staff to develop the business skills…
Surviving 30 Hours – Nursery World Business Summit 2017
It was a great pleasure and privilege to speak to members of the Early Years business community at last week’s Business Summit about my thoughts on developing change-ability and surviving 30 hours. The Minister got a rather cool reception (to be expected as he had nothing new to say about the 30 hours, but reckoned…
Childminders – Taking Care Of Business
I was recently interviewed by Childcare Professional Magazine about the business skills that childminders need to develop in order to survive and thrive at a time of enormous change. You can read the article here Taking Care Of Business Childcare Professional is the magazine of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY). Their recently launched…
Why Childminding Is Like a Three Legged Stool
Recent Ofsted statistics indicate that the number of childminders in the UK has dropped from almost 60,000 in 2012 to 43,500 this year. I suspect that if you asked those who have left what was behind their decision, it’s not because they don’t love looking after children, it’s because of the challenges they’ve encountered dealing with…
Maximise income, minimise expenditure
Balancing the books as a childminder is likely to involve a combination of reducing costs and increasing income. My recent blog post for PACEY – Maximise Income, Minimise Expenditure as part of their Business Toolkit for Childminders, focuses on some of the steps that you could take to help you to operate sustainably.
Darwin’s Lessons Can Help Early Years Settings
Charles Darwin once said that “It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, but the one most responsive to change”. This is likely to be true for the early years and childcare sector over the coming years. “Change-ability” should perhaps be considered our most essential business skill. In my recent Nursery World article –…
Flourishing People at the NEyTCO Conference
I was delighted to exhibit at the National Early Years Trainers & Consultants Organisation conference – With Early Years In Mind. The conference provided an in-depth look at the use of neuroscience to develop a brain-based approach to early education. The speakers were excellent and entertaining and I even managed to get my book signed…
Are they really self employed?
Once again today the headlines has been full of news about the extent to which employers are avoiding tax by declaring that their staff are self employed. I come across this a lot and so recently, following the Uber court case, wrote a short article on this subject for IQ Magazine. You can take a read…
Flourishing People at the Nursery World Show
I was delighted to have the opportunity last weekend to share the NEyTCO Training & Consultancy Zone at this year’s Nursery World Show with fellow consultants and NEyTCO Members to introduce our services to visitors to the show. The NEyTCO presence there included some amazing people. Mine Conkbayir was launching her book on Early Childhood and Neuroscience, dieticians Foodtalk were selling their…
It’s here! – Building Your Early Years Business
I am pleased to announce that Building Your Early Years Business is now available from my online shop
Harness the energy of the Olympics
Who will ever forget the buzz, the excitement, the energy and the sheer joy created by the 2012 London Olympics! So with the 2016 Rio Olympics fast approaching, what can employers do to manage the engagement of their staff during this period? Here are a few questions you might like to consider over the next…
First student completes Professional Consulting Skills Award
We were absolutely delighted this week to be able to present a certificate to the first of our learners to pass on our new Professional Consulting Skills Programme. Hilary Preece, who is an experienced Early Years Consultant specialising in supporting settings to improve their Ofsted grade, achieved the Award and received really positive feedback from…
Past student receives award for early years business support
It is always a pleasure to hear that one of our past students has been recognised publicly for the work that they do. Maureen Askew of AskAskew Early Years and Childcare Business Consultancy has just been recognised as the UK’s Most Outstanding Early Years Support Provider for 2016 through Corporate Livewire’s Innovation & Excellence Awards.…
Report on our 2016 Childcare Business Advisers Conference
2nd March saw over 30 Early Years Business Advisers gather together in Central London for our 2016 Childcare Business Advisers Conference. Here are some highlights from the day. The morning opened with a presentation by Neil Blumsom, CPD Lead for Achieving for Children. As many members of the audience were representatives from Local Authorities currently…
T is for trends in people management for 2016 – HR A-Z
It’s always good to think ahead and anticipate some of the things that we will need to focus on during the coming year. Fortunately People Management magazine, the leading publication for HR professionals, has helped us by doing some analysis for us. Here is the list that they have produced of key HR trends to…
Playing with Jigsaw – Early Years Business Magazine
Discover ‘the real you’ as Jacqui Burke of Flourishing People gets personal with the effectiveness of your team by pulling the pieces together. To read more click here
New Tax-Free Childcare Scheme vs Childcare Vouchers
This post is aimed at Childcare providers but also at parents with pre-school age children. Major changes are taking place this Autumn, with the existing Childcare Vouchers Scheme closing to new entrants and a new Tax-Free Childcare Scheme taking its place. As with all such changes there will be winners and losers. The critical thing…
Exploring Emotional Intelligence
If IQ measures your intelligence, then what is EQ and is it important to childcare business leaders? In this short article for EYB Magazine article – Exploring Emotional Intelligence I lift the lid on why EQ is critical to business leadership. If you are interested in exploring your emotional intelligence why not try our Emotional…
Secure A Flourishing Future With The Childcare Business Advisers Programme
A recent Practical Pre School article reports on how the Childcare Business Advisers Programme (CBAP) offered by Flourishing People in partnership with Silver Pebble, is providing practical benefits to early years business advisers and the settings they support. More information about the Childcare Business Advisers Programme can be found here.