This autumn, a tailored version of the Nature Park programme launches for early years settings. Free, quality-assured activities are designed to meet early learning and development goals, while building curiosity, empathy and confidence in the natural world. By taking part, you’ll be supporting children to develop a lifelong connection with nature and the skills to become its future advocates. 

The programme has been commissioned by the Department for Education and is led by the Natural History Museum with the Royal Horticultural Society and additional partners, and has seen more than 7,500 schools, colleges and nurseries get involved so far!

Get involved

By early years teacher we mean anyone with Early Years Teacher Status, Qualified Teacher Status or Early Years Professional Status, currently working with children aged 0-5. Any interested early years teachers should express their interest in being considered to take part in the forum by emailing EYITT.GENERALENQUIRIES@education.gov.uk with 'Roundtable' in the subject line by close of play on Friday 12 September in the first instance. We will then send them further information about this opportunity.

On 4 September, the second phase of the school-based nurseries programme was launched, which builds on the foundations of phase one of the programme and has an increased focus on supporting families in disadvantaged areas to access early years provision.

State-funded primary schools and maintained nursery schools can apply for up to £150,000 of capital funding to create or expand on-site nurseries. The online application service opens from the 22 September until 5pm on the 11 December.

This phase supports projects ready to offer new childcare places in 2026/27. Interested and eligible schools should contact their local authority for application support.

You can find out more about our involvement in the event and register for our seminar here. We look forward to seeing those of you attending in Coventry.

Louise Hannan, lecturer in Early Childhood Education and Care at University Centre Somerset, shares her own experiences and learnings as a practitioner and researcher in this case study for the Bristol and Beyond Early Years Stronger Practice Hub.

Read it here: https://www.strongerpracticehubs.org.uk/hubs/sw/bristol-and-beyond-eysph/resources/importance-self-care-strategies-staff-children-and

The report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, identifies a series of common issues and challenges around quality, equity and sustainability, and a need for strategic responses to these.

The research team are continuing to gather and analyse data, and will publish a final report in late 2025, considering how the four nations of the UK might take examples of policies that are working successfully in one, and consider why this is the case and what adjustments might be made to enable such a policy to be effective elsewhere in the UK.

The interim report can be downloaded at https://early-education.org.uk/eyw4n-interim-report/.

Using the website and resources

The Stronger Practice Hub website is a valuable tool for the early years sector. It allows educators to find their local hub and access events, webinars, networks and written resources, such as blogs, which are underpinned by research and evidence, found in the Early Years Evidence Store | EEF.  

Highlighted resources on race & inclusion:

1. Fundamentals of Inclusion – A blog that explains how inclusion is a mindset -not just policy - and the importance of belonging for all children.

2.  Reimagining Play for Neurodivergent Children – A blog by Kerry Murphy reframing how play practices can better serve neurodivergent children.

 3. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Bundle: It Starts with Us – A network series inviting early years professionals to explore their own values and how these shape inclusive practice.

4.  From chaos to hero- Ahmed’s journey shows how care, play, and feeling valued can transform a child’s world.

Find your nearest Stronger Practice Hub and resources at: www.strongerpracticehubs.org.uk/hubs

Before the strategy’s launch, the Best Start in Life Summit, convened by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), brought together around one hundred senior leaders from across the early years sector to shape the vision for improving outcomes for babies, young children and families.

All five A Better Start partnerships were present to share evidence from their decade-long work, showcasing innovative approaches to system-building, community engagement, and partnership working. There are success stories right across all the partnerships, and evidence is being published in local evaluation reports and synthesised in a national evaluation of ABS.

A Better Start, a pioneering programme funded by The National Lottery Community Fund focused on early intervention in communities which are experiencing disadvantages, has been actively sharing what it has learned over the last decade with policymakers, to make the case for targeted, community-led approaches to early years support.

Read more about the Summit and the approaches taken by the partnerships: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/news/blog/2025-08-01/learning-from-a-better-start

 Providers, childminders and schools can also access the HUB, which connects to a wide range of high-quality knowledge and learning resources that are free of charge. HUB Resources - childcareworks.org.uk.