The EduNest Blog

Childminder Business Tips

How to Set Your Childminding Fees: A Guide to Pricing, Deposits, and Late Payment Policies

Setting your childminding fees is one of those things nobody warns you about during training — yet get it wrong and you'll spend years undercharging, chasing invoices, and wondering why the business never quite adds up. This guide covers everything from working out your hourly rate to deposits and late payment policies, drawn from over a decade of hard-won experience.

4 Mar 2026 8 min read

Parent Communication

How to Have Difficult Conversations with Parents: A Practical Guide for Early Years Practitioners

Difficult conversations with parents are an unavoidable part of working in early years — and the longer you put them off, the harder they tend to get. This guide offers straightforward, practical advice for approaching those moments with honesty and confidence, without needing a perfect script.

3 Mar 2026 8 min read

EYFS Activities & Planning

Seasonal EYFS Activity Planning: A Month-by-Month Guide for Childminders

The seasons give childminders a ready-made planning framework that children genuinely respond to — cold air, wet leaves, and conkers from the park beat any bought resource hands down. This month-by-month guide helps you plan ahead, link activities to the seven EYFS areas of learning, and stop reinventing the wheel every term.

2 Mar 2026 8 min read

Key Stage Teaching

Assessment for Learning Strategies That Actually Work in KS3 Classrooms

Most teachers can describe assessment for learning in theory; far fewer can say what it actually looks like when a restless Year 8 class is sitting in front of them on a wet Tuesday. This article cuts through the CPD jargon to focus on formative strategies that give you usable information in the moment — and change what you do next.

1 Mar 2026 9 min read

Safeguarding & Welfare

How to Write a Safeguarding Policy for Your Childminding Setting in 2026

A safeguarding policy that's been copied from a template and left to gather dust is worse than useless — if something goes wrong, it needs to hold up under scrutiny. This guide walks through exactly what your policy must cover in 2026, how to make it genuinely reflect your setting, and the common mistakes that leave childminders exposed.

28 Feb 2026 7 min read

SEN & Inclusion

Adapting the Early Years Environment for Children with Sensory Processing Differences

When a child walks into nursery and heads straight for the quietest corner, hands clamped over his ears before the singing starts, that's not behaviour to manage — it's communication. This article looks at what sensory processing differences actually look like in early years settings, and what practitioners can do with the real, imperfect spaces most of us are working in.

27 Feb 2026 8 min read

Outdoor Learning

Seasonal Outdoor Activities for EYFS: A Practical Guide for Childminders and Nursery Staff

Children learn things outdoors that no indoor setting can replicate — real risk, unpredictable sensory experiences, and the kind of open-ended discovery that happens when you hand a three-year-old a stick and step back. This guide cuts through the Pinterest ideal to offer practical, season-by-season activities for real early years settings, complete with the wellies that don't fit and the children who eat mud.

26 Feb 2026 9 min read

Child Development

Speech and Language Milestones: A Practical Guide for Early Years Practitioners in the UK

Early years practitioners are often the first to notice when a child's speech and language development isn't quite following the expected path — but knowing what's typical, what warrants concern, and how to navigate referral pathways isn't always straightforward. This guide sets out the key milestones clearly and gives practitioners something practical to act on, whether they're supporting a child in the setting or talking to a worried parent.

25 Feb 2026 8 min read

Childminder Business Tips

Childminder Tax Returns: What You Can and Cannot Claim as a Business Expense

Getting your tax return right as a childminder is harder than it sounds — HMRC's guidance wasn't written with us in mind, which means many childminders are quietly either leaving money on the table or claiming things they shouldn't. This article breaks down exactly what you can and cannot claim as a business expense, from shared household costs to your car, in plain terms.

24 Feb 2026 8 min read

Parent Communication

How to Write a Nursery Newsletter Parents Actually Read

Most nursery newsletters get a quick scan for the child's name and nothing more — not because parents don't care, but because the writing wasn't meant for them. This guide cuts through the Ofsted-speak to show you what parents actually want to read, and how to say it in a way that sticks.

23 Feb 2026 8 min read

Key Stage Teaching

How to Plan Differentiated Lessons for Mixed-Ability KS2 Classes

Most primary teachers know the reality: thirty children, five attainment levels, and the clock ticking on Sunday evening. This article cuts through the theory to explain how differentiation actually works in a real KS2 classroom — not the Ofsted-ready version, but the one that's genuinely sustainable.

22 Feb 2026 8 min read

EYFS Activities & Planning

How to Plan EYFS Activities Around the Seven Areas of Learning

Planning EYFS activities across all seven areas of learning is one of those things that looks straightforward on paper but quickly becomes a tangled mess of sticky notes and good intentions. This article cuts through the noise and explains how the prime and specific areas actually fit together — so your planning works with children's development rather than alongside it.

21 Feb 2026 7 min read