Messy Articles Childcare

17/04/2026

06/09/2025

We do children a disservice when we reduce early childhood to colors, numbers, shapes, and letters. These concepts will come, but when we fixate on them too early or too narrowly, we risk turning learning into pressure, rote drills, and forced lessons that dampen curiosity. Instead of opening children up to the joy of discovery, this approach can make learning feel like a performance or a checklist to get through.

What often gets overlooked are the skills that matter most for long-term cognition: problem-solving, persistence, self-regulation, creativity, language, and the ability to connect ideas across experiences. These are the foundations that make colors, numbers, shapes, and letters meaningful later on. When early childhood is reduced to surface-level academics, we rob children of the chance to build the deeper capacities that allow true learning to stick.

Early childhood is about so much more. It is about building the brain through play, strengthening the body through movement, wiring for empathy and regulation through relationships, and developing a love of learning that lasts far beyond preschool. When we allow concepts like numbers, letters, shapes, and colors to be discovered in meaningful, everyday contexts, children connect with them naturally and deeply.

01/08/2025

Friday morning bliss bowls for the Messy Crew’s snack today; full of scrummy goodness.

The link between gut health and emotional wellbeing cannot be overstated and even more so in children.

When we eat well, we feel well and it shows in our mood, our ability to function, focus and flourish.

Today’s bowl contained the following ingredients:

Blueberries 🫐 rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and fibre. Good for the ❤️ and supporting our tummies. They may also aid in improving cognitive function.

Dried coconut 🥥 packed with healthy fats which can provide quick energy. It also contains essential nutrients like fibre, manganese, copper, and antioxidants, contributing to digestive health and overall well-being.

Chia seeds are highly nutritious, packed with fibre, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants, which can support heart health, improve digestion, and aid in weight management.

Bananas 🍌 full of essential nutrients like potassium, vitamin C, and fibre, all contributing to supporting heart health, improving digestion, and boosting the immune system. These food superheroes help manage blood pressure and provide a quick source of energy too.

Greek yogurt, a rich source of protein, helping you feel fuller for longer, and providing essential nutrients like calcium and probiotics that support bone and digestive balance.

And finally, a couple of Milky Way Magic Stars just for fun!! 🤩

Why not try your own variation of this easy and yummy friendly meal idea with your little ones 💖

04/05/2025

21/04/2025

Weekend prep for a colourful sensory treasure hunt. 💎

These colourful rices will be set into delightful little sweetie jars for the children to scoop, pour, tip as much as they wish helping to develop their gross motor skills and hand eye coordination. Adding funnels and a variety of containers and utensils will help develop their fine motor skills; using tweezers for example to collect the items buried within the rice.
The children will learn new concepts such as weight, volume, more, less and comparative relationships.

Once they’ve done this I intend to add an array of gems, curiosities, letters and numerals to extend the learning, encourage language acquisition as we talk about their finds.

Sensory play is such a wonderful way to calm and occupy the child’s nervous system in order to allow their brain to process new information and build on their existing knowledge.

For added sensory stimulation I will add essential oils to the rice to encourage the curiosity of the children, all the while adding to their expanding vocabulary as we discuss the scents and smells. 👃

A very easy and inexpensive activity to set up for your own child with just a few kitchen cupboard ingredients.

15/04/2025

A valued member made us aware of their local authority’s charging guidance, including what can and can’t be charged for. DfE expects providers to deliver all of the ‘not permitted’ for £1.37 which is where we know the shortfall figure of £2.13 per hour comes from for this particular local authority.

From our survey results, we know that 69% of providers said higher NIC costs would mean cutting back on resources.

See our charging guidance page here: https://ndna.org.uk/updated-charging-parents-guidance-april-2025/

04/04/2025

03/04/2025

Keir Starmer and Bridget Phillipson have promised thousands of new nursery places from September 2025 as part of the first wave of 300 school-based nurseries.

02/04/2025

💚 Dear Parents 💚

Over the past few months, the private Early Years sector has been floored by new funding restrictions brought out by the Department for Education. For years, we have been chronically underfunded, but regardless, existing EY settings have pushed on to offer outstanding care and education for your children, despite crippling financial difficulties. Thousands were forced to close their doors for good.

Today, Keir Starmer and the DfE announced that 300 nurseries are opening in schools as an initial stage of a mass rollout. It is beyond frustrating; had they funded the PVI’s honestly, there would already be enough spaces for children without them needing to attend school at the age of 2 or 3.

There is something more today though that has really angered me; the marketing campaign that rolled out alongside it - the one where the DfE and our Prime Minister claim that these settings are a higher level of service and education than existing nurseries and childminders.

Let me make it clear, every private childcare setting is offering exceptional early education and care for your children. This Government are not ‘saving the day’ or creating better opportunities for your children. They are pushing them into school and deflecting from the funding scandal that is currently taking place. They want both parents back to work as early as possible to boost the economy and they want state-run nurseries.

Hear me when I shout it loud; your child does not need to be in school at 2 or 3. These nurseries are not offering anything above and beyond that of a private setting. They too will be underfunded, and they too will struggle to recruit enough staff. They will follow the EYFS just like the rest of us. The social media posts that I have read from MPs today are shameful, misleading and dishonest.

Your existing workforce are highly skilled in educating and caring for children in the first 5 years of their life. This is what we do, and we do it well. Your child will be more than school ready in a private setting and they do not need to attend a pre-school before starting in Reception.

Parents, I implore you to look further than the propaganda that has been rolled out today. Trust in your PVI settings, the passionate and skilled practitioners who care for your children each day - please support them at a time when they need you most.

Signed,

A very frustrated and disappointed childcare professional.

😔