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I’ve binned a lot of ‘could be handy’ bits of wood and chopped down cardboard boxes that he had stashed - actually filled the large paper recycling bin with those - it was quite cathartic wielding the Stanley knife to reduce them down to flat bits that would fit tidily in the bin

Newark air museum and Elvington air museum have been fabulous. The former took a load of books and well over 250 unmade aeroplane kits - many no longer produced. Elvington took a bomb rack, the machine gun rack from a Lancaster, various cockpit instruments from wartime planes and loads of books and ancient magazines. Cumbrian Railways association have taken a van load of track chairs, signs and signalling boards and diagrams, and North Yorkshire Moors Railway have taken railway track maintenance equipment, signal levers and the like, so the big stuff is largely gone. It’s down to books and research paperwork mainly now, well over 100 full ringbinders of research on the various old railways of Cumbria. They will go to the CRA eventually - there’s folk rubbing their hands to get hold of it, but our son very much wants to go through it all first.

Oh Cait 😥 that's hard going... I do sigh when Mr S 'scrounges' yet more 'stuff' - usually wood and tools - knowing that (almost certainly) I will be faced with sorting at some point. If it helps, my late brother-in-law had loads and loads of 'specialist' books which my sister was able to give to Oxfam - she contacted them, told them (roughly) what was available and a very nice young man came and took two car loads away - they wouldn't be displayed in any shops but would be advertised and sold online... Good luck with it all x

I take your ‘declutter’ and raise to you my late husband’s workroom, still to be tackled almost a year on 😕. There’s a double garage like this too, an attic and a loft, although that’s largely sorted except for the humongous LP collection. IMG_1693.mov

That is the kind of thing that always happens with me! Yep! I aways seem to be 'just moving stuff', either that or I have everyting spread out on the spare bed - then suddenly need it cleared so I quickly put it all in a big bag and out of sight!

All ok here! Enjoy your me time Sunnyday and hope you get your printer sorted. Louby - I feel your pain, I am still decluttering my spare room. Some days it just feels like I move stuff around. Nothing in particular planned this weekend so a quiet one for me(more time for decluttering! 😉😂)

Oh yes I know all about that a case of 'why did I even start this'! 🙃 At our singing group/choir on Tuesday the leader was telling us that her lap-top wasn't 'speaking to' her printer - I said "just let me know what you need, I can easily run off some song lyrics" - famous last words - my blessed printer has now thrown a hissy fit and at the moment I can't fulfil my promise - arrghh

Hi there, I think the theorist perspective highlights how we generally reflect on our practice. It helps us to reflect to a higher standard giving depths to our reflection. Johns five stage model ( 2000) helps us to understand the stages of our reflection and helps us to better our thoughts into the subject matter. I think Atiqua your research is well done.

Amost forgot it's Friday already! Nice balanced week for me activity wise, and off for a late lunch with my old school friend this afternoon. I'm trying to declutter the house - that's not acutally working out though.... I think I'm just adding to it! 😂 Have a good weekend everyone xx

Good morning - 'tis Friday! How is everyone? I have had another really busy week and am now looking forward to a bit of 'me time' today and over the weekend. Weather seems to be 'hotting up' again ☀️ Wishing a happy weekend to all x

Hi there , I have joined this forum as I am doing my Cache level Early years Educator course. I feel it is very important to develop our professionalism and this applies to any field you work with. By engaging in professional development you are using your skills to impact everyone in the setting. It helps you to go forward the best way possible. I am studying unit 23 and one of the questions relates to discussing theories in relation to professional development. In my research I have looked into theorists Kolb and Gibbs . Here is what I have found in my resaerch. unit 23 question 3Theories in Relation to Professional Development.docx

Lovely - thank you always good to have a recommendation

I’m reading a lot more now I’ve finished at school and I’ve just finished ‘The List of Suspicious Things’ by Jennie Godfrey. Really good - definitely recommend if you haven’t already read.

EYFS pink folder - that's a blast from the past! 🙃

Hello all, The elbow is a little better - I'm trying to do things for just short periods of time and give it lots of stretches and rests. Have made lots of progress on sorting the room of doom this week - including rediscovering the EYFS pink folder! A couple of walks round the park and a day catching up with a friend - nothing in particular for the weekend! Louby - you reminded me of when my nephew (now looking at universities) was little and I would have to play 'stories' with him and I was invariably the big bad wolf/giant/villain of the moment!

Good afternoon gentle folk louby loo I feel quite exhausted after reading all that lol Survived my fun but very busy weekend last week so looking forward to a much quieter one this weekend. Have fun whatever you end up doing and hope the sun shines for you although the thunderstorm and big rain we had yesterday made hubby happy as he got a night of watering the veggies ⛈️

Morning all, Busy day so far, had the GD for a sleep over. therefore already today- I have delivered 5 babies, given the full beauty treatment to 5 customers (including a bunnycorn, had various beauty treaments and hairdoos , been on hoilday twice.... and finished of with a trip to the (Real) vet! This does now mean I shall now be playing 'vets' all afternoon 😂 Have a good weekend all. 😊 PS. I did remember to take all the slides, clips and bows out before leaning the house!

Good morning - 'tis Friday How is everyone? Young Froglet - ouch 'Crochet Elbow' - hope it's improving with rest. Busy week here so now looking forward to a quieter weekend🤞 Have a good one x

Erm, because to get into government you actually have to be clueless about your given area 🤭

The stupid thing about this is that it is supposed to keep costs down for parents but in our case it will rise for most to cover those that are funded only. The government are still not paying us enough to cover our increasing costs. And if anyone quotes me the funded two year old rate again i will scream.....it still brings in less for 5 x 2 year olds than 8x 3 year olds....i don't get why anyone in the government hasn't worked that out!!!

Hello everyone I'm Zuzanna, I’m currently completing the CACHE Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Workforce (Early Years Educator), and as part of the final stages of the course, we are required to explore theoretical perspectives on reflective practice and engage in professional discussion with peers. Joining this forum allows me to take part in that requirement by exchanging ideas with other early years professionals, deepening my understanding of reflective models, and learning how others use them in real settings. This discussion supports both the qualification’s emphasis on reflective development and my own goal to become a more thoughtful, responsive practitioner. In this post, I’ll summarise several key theories of reflection I’ve researched, explain how they relate to practice in EYFS settings, and share which models I find most effective in supporting my professional growth. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (1984) shows reflection as a continuous cycle of doing, observing, thinking, and trying again. This fits well in early years work, where we often plan an activity, see how children respond, reflect on what worked or didn’t, and adjust our approach for next time. Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (1988) helps break down reflection into clear steps, including how I felt during a situation and what I’ve learned. I like how it supports thinking about emotional responses, which is so important when working closely with young children and families. Schön’s theory (1983) introduced the idea of reflecting during an activity (in-action) and afterwards (on-action). I often find myself making quick changes mid-activity to meet children’s needs in the moment, then later reflecting more deeply on what happened and why. Rolfe’s ‘What? So What? Now What?’ model (2001) offers a simple but useful structure. It’s helpful when I don’t have much time but want to quickly process an event or a moment in my practice. Driscoll (1994, 2007) built on this idea and added more focus on what action to take next. I’ve used this in my written reflections during the course to make sure I’m not just thinking about what happened but also what I will do differently. Brookfield’s Four Lenses (1995) encourages looking at my work through different perspectives, such as my own experience, feedback from colleagues, how children experience the activity, and what theory says. It has helped me broaden my thinking and take on other people’s viewpoints more often. In relation to the EYFS, reflection is essential for planning, assessing, and responding to children’s individual needs. It’s not something we do once in a while—it’s part of the ongoing process of adapting and improving what we offer. Reflection also helps ensure that our practice stays up to date and high quality, which is important for the children and families we work with. The models I personally connect with the most are Kolb, Gibbs, Rolfe, Driscoll, and Brookfield. Kolb gives me a strong structure to build learning on. Gibbs helps me explore my emotions and plan practical changes. Rolfe and Driscoll are useful for writing quick reflections during a busy week. Brookfield encourages me to include other perspectives in my thinking. I’ve used all of these throughout the course, especially when writing observations or evaluating activities, and I feel I’ve grown more confident in identifying what’s working and what could be improved.

Sorry, late to the party. The whole thing is a nightmare! Can you imagine any other business putting up with the c**p we have to!!!! We have to sign our contracts in March- very often without a confirmed hourly rate... Can you see the head of the Bank on England working with those terms. We have started a breakfast club - non funded, and now close earlier to cover the lunch break for the 15 hours funded. Currently we allow 30 hours funding to cover this 15 mins - and this actually attracts the '15 hours' parents to pay for the extra 15 mins. We too are a not-for-profit graoup, if i'm honest i can't see us lasting beyond Christmas. I am now far to old for all this messing about having to justify every last penny they give us!! Rant over.

Yes, but as finleysmaid says- the parents/carers have to pay.

I went to the leavers concert dress rehearsal at my old school this morning and then spent a quick 10 minutes catching up with my old class. Most of them seemed to want to ask me to guess how old they were or to tell me how many sleeps it was until their birthday! I have been trying to arrange for jobs like gutter clearing and I also want to make a 'snagging' list for my house - all those little jobs that need doing. I'm not good at this kind of thing so I really have to make myself! I think that all the knitting and crochet I've been doing whilst it's been good for my head hasn't been good for my arm - my elbow is painful when I move it and all the googling I've done tells me I need to rest it but it's really hard to know what to do with myself! There is tons of building work happening in my road at the moment so I'm looking forward to a peaceful weekend without it and with the opportunity to actually park outside my house!

That sound fun too!