We were delighted to attend the Nursery Management Today (NMT) Owners Club at Sopwell House, St Albans, one of the early years sector’s most respected events for nursery owners, directors and senior leaders. It was a day packed with honest, relevant conversation. The topics covered, from safeguarding leadership and raising finance, to AI in the…
Continue reading "dot2dot at the NMT Owners Club"Tag: nursery insurance
Focus on safeguarding
In a recent article for Nursery Management Today, we described the pressures facing nurseries as a perfect storm. Since writing that piece, the conversations we have had with nursery owners and senior leaders have only reinforced that view and nowhere more so than on the subject of safeguarding. It is the area where external scrutiny is sharpest,…
Continue reading "Focus on safeguarding"A Perfect Storm: Emerging Risks in the Early Years Sector
Insights from Jackie Hyde The early years sector is on the crest of a wave, facing a perfect storm of risks. From safeguarding challenges to cyber threats, extreme weather, and increasing medical needs among children, nursery owners must navigate a complex landscape. Jackie Hyde, Managing Director of dot2dot nursery insurance, explores these emerging risks in…
Continue reading "A Perfect Storm: Emerging Risks in the Early Years Sector"One Policy, One Partner
Nursery Insurance for Your Needs Running a nursery is hugely rewarding, but it comes with lots of responsibilities. Keeping children safe, supporting your staff and looking after your premises, equipment and data can feel like a full-time job. Then you have lots of different insurance policies on top of that? It can quickly become overwhelming….
Continue reading "One Policy, One Partner"Case Confidential – Recruitment
Recruitment of staff can be a time consuming activity; finding the right person with the relevant experience and qualifications who will fit in with the rest of your team can take time. It is also important to get the administration aspects of this completed in a timely matter, as one nursery manager found out to…
Continue reading "Case Confidential – Recruitment"Mum's Agony for Blind Toddler
A Mum told how her toddler son was left blind and deaf by an attack of E.coli. Lucy Cox said little Bo, three, has to feed through a tube since he was floored by the bug. He has had 19 operations and needs dialysis treatment four times a week after he caught the infection at…
Continue reading "Mum's Agony for Blind Toddler"Separate registration for two-year-olds to discontinue
Forthcoming legislation is expected to remove the requirement that schools register early years provision for two-year-olds separately with Ofsted. It is anticipated that, subject to the approval of parliament, this will come into effect in September 2015. In an open letter on reforms, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Childcare and Education Sam Gyimah said:…
Continue reading "Separate registration for two-year-olds to discontinue"Childminder agencies get a handbook … and the go-ahead
Ofsted has published a handbook offering guidance to prospective childminder agencies, on registration applications and regulation. Childminder agencies can start operating as of yesterday. As well as for providers, the handbook provides guidance for inspectors, setting out legal background, enforcement and extent of power. Ofsted has promised to publish more information about the inspection of…
Continue reading "Childminder agencies get a handbook … and the go-ahead"Citizens Advice reports on lack of quality childcare for low earners
The Citizens Advice service says self-employed parents or those in jobs with “irregular hours” have a hard time finding high-quality childcare. In its report, The Practicalities of Childcare: An Overlooked Part of the Puzzle, surveying 400 childcare providers across the country, it found that provisions rated as outstanding and good require more notice to change…
Continue reading "Citizens Advice reports on lack of quality childcare for low earners"No More Baby Steps: A Strategy for Revolutionising Childcare
A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) suggests that universal childcare could be made available for all parents. No More Baby Steps: A Strategy for Revolutionising Childcare makes recommendations that include extending the two-year-old offer to all families and increasing funding places for three-and four-year-olds from 38 to 48 weeks per year….
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