Onwards And Upwards Consultancy

04/10/2026

🚨 Managers: can we stop giving teams weekly Microsoft Forms tests and expecting practice to improve?

There’s nothing wrong with a quiz.

It can be useful for checking understanding or revisiting key information.

But getting 10/10 on a form doesn’t necessarily mean someone can apply that knowledge in practice.

If the issue is inconsistent interactions, weak professional judgement, safeguarding practice, planning, observations or anything else — another multiple-choice question may not be what changes it.

Consider:

👀 Observation
💬 Reflective discussion
🎭 Scenario work
🤝 Peer feedback
🧠 Coaching
📋 Reviewing real practice
🔄 Revisiting changes over time

The question shouldn’t only be:

“Do my staff know the answer?”

It should also be:

“Can they apply it, explain their thinking and adapt their practice?”

That’s where professional learning starts to translate into real change.

03/10/2026

02/10/2026

🧠 Words can accidentally shut down professional thinking.

Think about how often we hear:

❌ “That’s just how we’ve always done it.”

❌ “The children love it.”

❌ “We’ve never had a problem before.”

❌ “That’s just what they do.”

These statements aren’t necessarily wrong.

But they can bring professional reflection to an end.

What if we changed the conversation?

💭 Why do we do it this way?

💭 What tells us that?

💭 What have we noticed?

💭 Could we approach it differently?

💭 What else might we need to understand?

Professional curiosity isn’t always about knowing the answer.

Sometimes it’s about being willing to ask a better question.

01/10/2026

🗑️ If you could remove ONE piece of paperwork from your setting, what would it be?

I’m not suggesting paperwork doesn’t have a purpose.

But we should be brave enough to question the paperwork we ask practitioners to complete.

Does it help us understand children?

Does it improve practice?

Does it keep people safe?

Does it help us demonstrate impact?

Or are we completing it simply because we’ve always completed it?

There is a difference between evidence of quality and paperwork about quality.

Sometimes we don’t need another form.

We need to simplify, combine, change the purpose of something — or stop doing it altogether.

So, practitioners and managers…

What’s the piece of paperwork you’d happily never see again? 👀

29/09/2026

💡 The darker mornings are coming — but have you thought about your lighting?

We often talk about environments in terms of resources, furniture, displays and room layouts.

But lighting can have a huge influence on how a space feels.

Could you use lamps or softer lighting in appropriate areas such as reading spaces, quiet areas, small-world play or home-corner environments?

Of course, lighting must still support safe supervision, visibility, accessibility and children’s individual needs.

But creating an enabling environment doesn’t always mean buying something new.

Sometimes it’s about changing how the space feels.

What could you do with your lighting this autumn? 💡

27/09/2026

📋 If everything is a priority, nothing is.

Your QIP doesn’t need to contain every single thing you would like to improve.

When we put dozens of actions onto an improvement plan, we can create the illusion of progress while making it incredibly difficult for teams to know what actually matters most.

Instead, ask:

What will make the biggest difference to children’s experiences, wellbeing and outcomes?

Then make that your focus.

A strong improvement plan should be clear about:

➡️ What we’re improving
➡️ Why it matters
➡️ What will change
➡️ How we’ll know
➡️ Who is responsible
➡️ When we’ll review it

Simple doesn’t mean superficial.

Sometimes the most effective QIP is the one that has fewer priorities — but much greater depth.

25/09/2026

🎂 Should children be allowed to bring birthday cake into nursery?

At first glance, this feels like a straightforward yes/no question.

But when we really think about it, there are layers underneath:

Allergies. Dietary requirements. Food safety. Inclusion. Equality. Family preferences. Setting policies. And, importantly, the child’s experience.

Because perhaps the most useful question isn’t simply “Can we allow cake?”

It’s:

“What are we trying to achieve for the child, and how can we do that safely and inclusively?”

There doesn’t have to be one universal answer for every setting.

What matters is that the decision has been considered, communicated and can be explained by the team.

I’d love to hear how your setting approaches birthdays. 🎂

22/09/2026

🍂 Autumn isn’t an activity theme.

There. I said it.

Autumn can provide some amazing opportunities for children to explore the world around them.

But that doesn’t mean every child needs to make a hedgehog.

Or print with an apple.

Or create a paper plate tree.

Or complete a leaf collage.

Or have every resource in the room suddenly become brown, orange and yellow.

Instead, look at what the children are actually noticing.

Are they fascinated by puddles?

Explore puddles.

Are they collecting leaves?

Investigate them.

Are they watching worms?

Follow that interest.

Are they building dens because it’s getting colder?

Explore that.

Use autumn as a context for learning — not a theme that children have to work their way through.

The season is already happening.

We don’t need to manufacture it.

We need to notice what it offers.

21/09/2026

“We know the family well.”

I’ve heard versions of this many times.

And while strong relationships with families are incredibly valuable, familiarity should never replace professional curiosity.

Because familiarity can sometimes lead to assumptions.

“They’re always like this.”

“We know what that’s about.”

“They wouldn’t do that.”

“That’s just normal for them.”

But circumstances change.

Families change.

Children change.

Needs change.

Risks change.

Professional curiosity means being willing to pause and ask:

“Is there something different here?”

Even when you’ve known a family for years.

In fact, a strong relationship should make it easier to have those conversations — not make us less likely to have them.

Knowing someone well should create trust, not assumptions.

19/09/2026

The emotional labour of being an early-years practitioner isn’t talked about enough.

You’re regulating yourself while helping children regulate themselves.

You’re staying calm when the room is anything but calm.

You’re reassuring a parent while carrying your own concerns.

You’re remembering the child who needs extra reassurance today.

The child who hasn’t been themselves.

The child who needs a quieter space.

The child whose morning didn’t go well.

You’re constantly noticing, anticipating, adapting and responding.

And yet sometimes the profession is reduced to:

“You’re only playing with children.”

No.

You’re supporting emotional development.

You’re observing behaviour.

You’re communicating with families.

You’re creating security.

You’re managing risk.

You’re building relationships.

You’re regulating your own emotions so you can support someone else’s.

That emotional labour is part of the skill of early years practice.

And it deserves to be recognised.