As we approach the period when children begin their transition to primary school, we know many of you will already be...

Offering 15-hour funded places for two‑year‑olds can be a rewarding and sustainable part of your early years business model. Many providers...

The Assess–Plan–Do–Review cycle (graduated approach) supports practitioners to respond to children’s needs in a structured...

A new series of short videos celebrating the work taking place across our eight Best Start Family Hubs. Each video features families from our local...

Early years settings are expected to formally prioritise sustainability, with a key requirement being the appointment of a dedicated...

Our Lewisham Early Years training for Summer term 2026 is now available to book. Please note - more sessions will be added and we will email...

We’re excited to launch the Lewisham Early Years Virtual Library

A UK-wide ban on the sale and use of wet wipes containing plastic is being introduced.

The DfE has released updated national guidance on screen time for children aged 0–5.

Lewisham’s new Best Start Local Plan outlines priorities for babies, young children and families

Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP) describes the high-quality inclusive practice that should be in place for all children.

For childminders, the outdoors isn’t just an optional extra — it’s one of the richest, most flexible learning environments available.

Under 2s

Working Parent Entitlement - Up to 30 funded hours per week are available to children from the term after their 9^th month birthday (or ‘the term after they turn 9 months’)

The Parental Declaration form has now been updated and must be used for all new parents/carers going forward.

The National Literacy Trust has recently shared updated practitioner guidance on supporting reading in the early years,

Makaton Taster sessions are designed to provide general information about Makaton and how it can help develop language and communication skills.

The Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENIF) is designed to help settings include children with additional needs within high‑quality, inclusive early education.

Spring brings lighter days, milder weather, and endless opportunities for outdoor learning. You could include:

The Maths Champions programme is a national early years initiative developed by the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) to strengthen the quality of mathematics...

The Department for Education has published the schools white paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving.

At the end of December the DfE confirmed the overall hourly rates that Lewisham will receive for the delivery of the full range of EY entitlements.

See all details here...

The National Children’s Bureau (NCB) is delighted to offer two “open to all” sessions of the evidence-based natural thinkers training...

We are excited to announce that the Lewisham Early Years Service has set up a WhatsApp Community to share relevant...

Attention Autism Programme Foundation Level Course 2-day Training. This 2 day course equips attendees with the skill to set up and run the 4 Stage Attention to Autism™ Programme...

We are pleased to share with you the launch of the new Best Start in Life campaign along with the new tool kit which can be used to support the campaign. The campaign aims to increase...

The Best Start in Life website (beststartinlife.gov.uk) has officially replaced the Childcare Choices website as a main source of information for early education...

MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) used to be the name for Lewisham’s central point of contact for concerns...

During the summer we informed you of the new changes to the early years foundation stage (EYFS) safeguarding requirements...

Please see a message below from Michelle, Advance Speech & Language Therapist...

To mark this beginning of the new childcare expansion milestone, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has written to parents reaffirming his Plan for Change promise to..

Ofsted inspections are changing from September for all early year’s providers.  In September 2025, Ofsted will publish its revised inspection framework...

We want to share the following documents below from Lewisham Family Hubs about the parenting programmes on offer for parents and carers living...

On the 14th July 2025, the Department for Education (DfE) published the revised EYFS statutory frameworks alongside the current frameworks...

On Tuesday 8th July 2025, the Council for Disabled Children published guidance and training designed to support all those working in the early years in understanding...

The Department for Education has updated the Easy Explainer: Early Years Funding Rates which is designed to support providers to understand the early years funding system...