Lewis Fogarty

The conversation around professional confidence is gaining momentum, but what does it actually look like in practice, and how does it enable change? It is important to connect these questions to a broader argument: that professional confidence is not an outcome, but a mechanism for improving practice and strengthening the sector. These ideas are explored in more depth in a new book, 10 Principles for Professional Confidence in Education – The Transformative Power of Believing in Yourself,...

The article argues that headlines claiming men shouldn’t work in nurseries reflect a persistent, harmful bias that frames male early-years educators as outsiders or threats, undermining their professionalism and depriving children of diverse role models. It calls on the sector to actively challenge this “groupthink” and hate speech, especially if ambitions like increasing the male workforce share by 2030 are to be met through better support, inclusion, and solidarity. Please see the link to...

In this reflective blog, John Siraj-Blatchford, newly appointed President of TACTYC, shares key insights from the 2025 Annual Conference on “Children and Adults Playing Together in the Digital World.” The event marked the passing of the presidential mantle from Wendy Scott after more than 45 years of influential leadership. John highlights TACTYC’s vital role in connecting research with practice and emphasises the importance of reflective, context-aware professional development in early...