Local Authorities covered:
Leicester, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, North Northamptonshire, Rutland, West Northamptonshire
Overview:
The East Midlands Early Years Stronger Practice Hub exists to ensure that every child can thrive, regardless of background, starting point or individual need. Rooted in Pen Green’s nationally recognised strengths in relationship-based practice, reflective pedagogy and community engagement, our mission is to equip early years practitioners with the knowledge, confidence and support they need to improve outcomes for all children across the region.
We achieve this by:
- Championing evidence-informed practice, signposting settings to accessible, high-quality professional development, expert advice and resources aligned with the latest research.
- Strengthening pedagogy and practice, helping practitioners make informed decisions that nurture each child’s curiosity, wellbeing and early learning.
- Promoting equity and inclusion, supporting settings to identify and address barriers to learning — with a strong commitment to children and families experiencing socio-economic disadvantage.
- Building collaborative networks, where childminders, nurseries, schools and early years professionals can learn together, share insights and grow as a community.
- Fostering a culture of continuous improvement, enabling staff to reflect deeply on their work, draw on evidence, and develop their practice over time.
- Supporting the sector to address post-COVID developmental challenges, particularly in areas the research shows have been most impacted such as communication, language, social development and self-regulation.
Together with Kingswood Community Nursery, Charnwood Nursery & Pre-School and experienced childminder Leona Smith, we work to ensure that early years professionals across the East Midlands have the tools, training and networks they need to provide high-quality, inclusive early education — laying strong foundations for lifelong learning.
Lead setting:
Pen Green Centre
Partners:
- Pen Green Centre for Children and Families
- Kingswood Community Nursery
- Leona Smith (Childminder)
- Charnwood Nursery and Pre-school