Early years providers are generally giving the new Ofsted inspection framework the thumbs up, although they question the consistency and collaborative approach.

Fully funded Early Years Maths Champions CPD: Boost your team's confidence and enhance children's early maths through engaging, evidence-based training.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said a Conservative government would scrap the "cliff edge" that means parents in England are no longer eligible for funded childcare hours once they earn more than £100,000 a year.

A new study from Dr Nathan Archer and the British Academy has looked at the additional services and family support increasingly offered by early childhood education settings in England, its importance and the struggles it creates. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/415081306_Nurseriesa_new_frontier_of_the_welfare_state Their report concludes that this support is not formally recognised in policy, often leaving settings short of both… Continue reading New report: the support nurseries give to families should be acknowledged and supported

Discover how autumn provides everyday opportunities for early years maths. Explore Maths Champions and build confidence in supporting children’s mathematical development.

New Vocational GCSEs have been unveiled to be introduced from 2029 and could include child development as one of the subjects.

Tackling child poverty and improving outcomes for children and families is the top area for co-operation as agreed by the Welsh and Scottish governments.

Noise is increasing around the proposal to raise the higher earnings threshold for funded places in England which has been fixed at £100,000 per parent since 2017

NDNA has submitted evidence to the Government, Treasury and ministers from the Department for Education that more needs to be done to support the PVI nursery sector. Private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nurseries deliver the vast majority of childcare places across England and yet the Department for Education continues to invest more in school-based provision.… Continue reading Ahead of the Budget NDNA submits evidence for more support for PVI nurseries

The 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results have now been released. These are reported every three years and are taken from a sample of 15-year-old students across multiple nations to assess their maths, science and reading skills. While science scores rose across England, Scotland and Wales, with the largest increase happening in England,… Continue reading PISA report: mixed picture across the UK for educational outcomes

NDNA is delighted to announce the launch of the NDNA awards 2027, which are now open for nurseries and NDNA networks to enter across the UK. Our awards celebration will return to the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool on Friday 9 July 2027.  The showpiece awards event, proudly sponsored by Hope, will highlight and celebrate the… Continue reading Prestigious NDNA nursery awards are back for 2027 to celebrate the early years sector 

Genetic cardiomyopathies caused by pathogenic variants in nuclear DNA (nDNA) that encodes contractile sarcomere proteins are among the best understood of all the cardiomyopathies. By contrast, mitochondrial cardiomyopathy is caused by a dysfunction in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation due to pathogenic variants in either nDNA or the maternal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Unlike contractile protein defects, which generally follow predictable Mendelian inheritance patterns, mitochondrial cardiomyopathy is genetically complex as a result of the distinctive characteristics of the mitochondrial genome, which influence patterns of maternal inheritance, heteroplasmy and tissue-specific variations in mtDNA variant load. Both single-gene nDNA and mtDNA variants can impair cardiac energetics, resulting in a wide clinical spectrum ranging from severe, childhood-onset to milder, adult-onset cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, the intricate metabolic demands of the heart mean that mitochondrial dysfunc

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The Government has launched a consultation into the EY funding formula, proposing among other measures that they remove the pass-through rate. Please give your views over the coming weeks, deadline is 14 September.