Bumble Tots

As many of you are aware, HMRC confirmed that childminders under Making Tax Digital (MTD) will no longer follow the childminder agreement for allowable expenses meaning unique allowances such as the blanket 10% allowance for wear and tear will no longer apply.

Alongside our lobbying for this decision to change, Coram PACEY has been speaking directly to childminders about the impact this will have on childminders’ businesses and their ability to continue supporting children and families.

Georgina is a childminder in North Yorkshire who will come under the 2027/28 wave of MTD. In this case study, she explains how the removal of the 10% wear and tear allowance places her in an impossible position – being faced with either increasing her fees or absorbing the costs personally. She reflects on how this is more widely having an impact on morale in the sector and how the government should provide reassurance to childminders and make them feel valued and considered in policy decisions that affect them.

"The removal of the wear and tear allowance, alongside the introduction of MTD, places additional financial and administrative pressure on already stretched home-based providers. Its removal means that these costs must now either be absorbed personally or reflected in increased fees (which again is difficult, with most families using funding entitlement and these hourly rates set by the local authorities). In the current climate – neither option feels sustainable.

Read more👉: https://www.corampacey.org.uk/childminder-case-studies-the-impact-of-making-tax-digital/

This impacts everyone in Dartford and surrounding areas so please read and sign the petition along with the consultation and share 🙏🏼

Don't let Labour cut Dartford in half:

Safe to say we've been blown away by the plan to divide Dartford between two separate councils (with the boundary running through Wilmington, Darenth, Bean, Hawley, and Southfleet).

We don't want this; you don't want this; it has to be stopped.

Please take two minutes to help us stop it with these two simple steps.

1) Take 30 seconds to sign our petition against the plans:

https://www.dartfordconservatives.org.uk/dont-let-them-divide-dartford-only-you-can-stop-them

(Please note - we can only update you on the issue if you tick 'subscribe' at the end, we won't share your data with anyone)

2) Take a minute to complete the official consultation, and register your opposition to Option 4D:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/local-government-reorganisation-in-kent-and-medway/proposals-for-local-government-reorganisation-in-kent-and-medway?fbclid=IwdGRjcAQSiatjbGNrBBKJpmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHkYaxW-WNpo-vy0H7qQqZuNjTIEM_fzlXG2R2Cah1moBC_LCT6fvSN4qqGVP_aem_AElDU8ZXSOKgM4Rx0LT1qw

For those who missed it, here is some context:

As you may have heard, the government has begun the process of abolishing Dartford Borough Council and replacing it with a much larger “super council” that would stretch well beyond our community, reaching across Medway and possibly into Sittingbourne.

One of the proposals on the table, known as Option 4D and put forward by Medway Council, would draw a boundary along the A2. In practical terms, that means cutting the borough of Dartford in two. The line would run directly through many of Dartford's villages, such as Wilmington, Darenth, Hawley, Southfleet and Bean. Meaning one community would be dependent on two separate councils for the same set of services

P.S - for those wondering what our alternative is, whilst I've been hoping the government will drop this whole thing, I think the only option that's even close to acceptable is Option 5A (Dartford + Gravesham + Swanley + Hextable + Strood)

Blossom on the trees is one of my favourite things 😍😍😍

🌸🌿🐝 Hello March 🐝🌿🌸

So looking forward to the clocks going forward at the end of the month so we get more daylight hours 🩷 We already have our first Spring flowers of the year in the house too - gorgeous daffodils 🌼

Image credit: _somethingbeginningwith_

Exactly this, not everything we want them to be fits into a tick box. All of these things makes our little ones well rounded little humans ready for not only school but the life ahead of them 🥰

What Is the EYFS not saying? 💛

We talk a lot about the Prime Areas. We plan carefully for the Specific Areas.

We track. We assess. We evidence.

And rightly so.

The Early Years Foundation Stage gives us important structure. It highlights communication, physical development, personal, social and emotional growth.

But lately I’ve been thinking about what is missing from the EYFS. I was talking to my Level 2 and Level 3 students about what we want children to learn and to "be" at nursery. We discussed how important our role is and how we are not just supporting their foundations for learning but foundations for life.

Because when I think about the children in our care, I find myself asking a different set of questions. ❔

Beyond the goals and checkpoints, what do we truly want children to leave us with?

🌿 A Love of Nature
Not just knowing the seasons — but feeling connected to them.
Not just naming a minibeast — but caring that it lives.
We want the next generation to enjoy getting outside, being in nature and having a respectful and caring attitude towards it.

🤝 Respect for Others
Not because it’s on a behaviour chart — but because empathy has been modelled and experienced.
We want children to be respectful and caring for others. Understanding differences and show empathy towards others near us and in the wider world.

💛 Care
Care for friends.
Care for adults.
Care for their environment.
Care for themselves.

🧠 Curiosity
The confidence to ask “why?”
The security to explore.
The resilience to keep trying.

🌍 A Sense of Belonging
To a community.
To a place.
To the wider world.

These things don’t sit neatly in an assessment folder. 📁

They don’t always show up in data.

But they show up in how a child treats a worm on the pavement. In how they comfort a friend without being prompted. In how they persevere. In how they speak about themselves.

The foundation years are exactly that — foundations.

Not just for academic learning, but for values. For dispositions. For ways of being.

The EYFS gives us a framework.
But it does not limit us.

It doesn’t stop us from nurturing awe. From modelling kindness. From creating spaces where children learn to slow down, notice, respect and care.

Perhaps the most important things children learn with us are not always the loudest or most measurable.

They are quieter. Deeper. Longer lasting.

And whilst the EYFS may not explicitly name these things, we can still create a curriculum that holds them at its heart. 💚

For the next 2 weeks a new Changing Place Toilet is being installed at Trosley. This is funded by the DEFRA access for all fund through the Kent Downs National Landscape team. These toilets are fully accessible facilities designed for people with specialist needs. They are already in place at Shorne Woods Country Park, Brockhill Country Park and Lullingstone Country Park already as part of a wider programme if access improvements funded by the Kent Downs National Landscape.

This fund has also enabled the path surfacing improvements at Trosley to enable better access for all throughout the year.

Trosley Country Park and Shorne Woods provide accessible access to the North Kent Woods and Downs National Nature Reserve so more people can enjoy this nationally important landscape.

We apologise for any disruption during these works.

Why would anyone in their right mind want a 9 month old baby in a “school based” nursery. Easier maybe, the right thing to do for your child - 💯 not 😔

And now the DofE have put their post out… and honestly, I feel devastated.

I can’t help but feel the government are pushing hard for all children from just 9 months old to be in school nurseries. And it breaks my heart.

Sorry if it feels like I’m ranting a lot at the moment — but this is what’s happening right now, and it genuinely saddens me.

Because childminders offer something completely different. Something deeply human. Something that cannot be replicated in a large institutional setting.

🌿 Flexible, responsive care
🌿 Individual attention
🌿 Small, calm groups
🌿 Secure attachment relationships
🌿 Real-life experiences in the community
🌿 Play-based learning rooted in children’s interests
🌿 A home-from-home environment where children feel safe and truly known

I don’t understand why this isn’t being celebrated — why it feels like the agenda is to funnel every child into a school-based nursery. But I do have suspicions.

Many schools are under-subscribed. Funding is tight. And with more families choosing to home educate — or being forced to because the system doesn’t meet their child’s needs — it feels like early years is being reshaped to prop up a system that’s already struggling.

Two teachers have told me recently how sad they are that even our youngest children are under pressure. That the emphasis on play has been pushed aside. That the school system hasn’t changed in decades, even though our children have.

I’m glad these conversations are happening in government. Truly. But I don’t hold much hope that it will lead to real change in how our children are taught or cared for.

So I’ll keep speaking up.
I’ll keep advocating for childminding.
And I’ll keep fighting for the children who need something quieter, smaller, more relational.

Because they deserve better than a one-size-fits-all system.
And we won’t stop saying so.

✨The time has come . . . ✨ We couldn’t be more excited to introduce Gruffalo Granny to you all! Arriving in the deep dark wood on 10th September 2026 - welcome to the family. ➡️ Find out more and pre-order your copy of Gruffalo Granny now: https://www.gruffalo.com/authors/julia-donaldson/gruffalo-granny/9781035065516/

There’s something happening quietly in the UK that should be making every single person stop and pay attention.

We are losing childminders.

Not slowly. Not “a few here and there”.

In England, registered childminders have dropped to around 25,000.
That’s 1,000 fewer in the last year alone.
And the long-term picture is even worse - we’ve gone from around 60,000 childminders in 2009 to under 25,000 today.

That isn’t a “shift in childcare trends.”
That’s a collapse of a whole part of the sector.

And what makes it heartbreaking is this:

Childminders aren’t leaving because they don’t care.
They’re leaving because they’ve been pushed to the edge.

These are the people who:
* provide a genuine home-from-home experience
* offer the flexibility families rely on
* know children inside out (their interests, their triggers, their routines, their confidence levels)
* build bonds that aren’t just “professional” - they’re secure and life-shaping
* support families through the hardest moments, not just the easy ones
* teach, nurture, guide, comfort, protect… and somehow still manage paperwork, admin, learning journeys, safeguarding, training, risk assessments and inspections on top

Childminders don’t do this job for the money.
They do it because they believe in giving children the best start.

So why are they disappearing?

Because the sector is being stretched to breaking point by:
constant change,
more demands,
more accountability,
more financial pressure,
…and honestly? not enough respect.

And while this is happening, it genuinely feels like the direction of travel is: children being “placed” into childcare that looks more like school, from as young as 9 months.

I’m sorry but… 9 months old.

That should make us all pause.

Because childcare isn’t just about getting parents back to work (as important as that is).
It’s about babies and toddlers being cared for in ways that are developmentally appropriate, nurturing, responsive, and safe.

And homebased childcare has always offered something incredibly special - yet it still isn’t valued the way it should be.

Parents choose childminders because they want:
✅ a smaller setting
✅ familiar routines
✅ stability
✅ flexible care
✅ a caregiver who knows their child deeply
✅ an environment that feels like home - not a production line

And yet… the people providing this essential care are being forced out.

Not because they don’t love the job.
But because loving the job is no longer enough to survive it.

If we lose childminders, families lose choice.
Communities lose support.
Children lose a beautiful, nurturing early experience.

And the early years sector, already on its knees loses even more of its foundation.

This matters.
More than most people realise.

❤️❤️

❤️

Rhythm clapping builds reading brains! 👏📚

When young children clap, tap, and move to rhythms, they’re strengthening the same brain skills needed for reading — hearing sounds, remembering patterns, and noticing how words break apart.

Try these simple ideas:
✅ Clap the syllables in children’s names
“Ma-ri-sol” → clap-clap-clap
“Alex” → clap-clap
Then let the child try.
Why it matters:
This builds phonological awareness — hearing how words break into parts. Children who can hear syllables learn to decode words more easily later.

✅ Tap the sounds in words like cat (c-a-t)

✅ Copy and repeat simple clap patterns
Rhythm Copy (Auditory Memory)
Clap a short pattern:
👏 👏 — pause — 👏
Children repeat it.
Then increase the pattern.
Why it matters:
Reading requires holding sounds in working memory long enough to blend them into words. Rhythm copying builds this same brain pathway.

These playful rhythm games help pre-readers build the foundation for phonics, decoding, and early reading — all through joyful movement and music! 🎶