Opinion

Editor's view - A year of change and challenge

Another new year begins – and one that is certain to be critical for the future of the early years sector in many ways.

You can read about the hopes and fears of a selection of experts and practitioners here.

The progress of the 30 hours’ free childcare policy will be top of the agenda for many, of course, with questions over the allocation of funding and the pilots starting this September.

The recruitment crisis that shows few signs of abating is a huge headache for lots of nursery owners and managers, however. A combination of factors is contributing to this, including the new GCSE requirements and the derecognition of some equivalents.

As ever, the Nursery World team will be doing our best to bring you news, opinion, analysis and lots of management and practice advice and information to help you through the changes and challenges.

A new collectible, pull-out series on child development by Julia Manning-Morton starts in this issue. This is one area where nursery managers often find that less senior staff need support, and the series should prove invaluable as a training resource.

As schools play an increasing role in early years provision, we will have lots on offer to promote best practice: a new series looking at the work of the National Teaching Schools kicks off here and a special supplement ‘Early Years in Schools’ will be published with the next issue of Nursery World on 25 January, with authors including Anna Ephgrave, Jan Dubiel, Dame Alison Peacock and Helen Moylett. And don’t forget our early years in schools masterclass led by Professor Tina Bruce and Julian Grenier at the Nursery World Show on 5-6 February. Sign up now!