Best Mock Inspections Podcasts (2025)

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Episode #40: He's Your Son, I'm Your Mid-Life Crisis 37:35

1M ago37:35

37:35

The team at Hopscotch Early Years Consultancy are back for their weekly look at the wide wide world of Early Years! This week, Laura, Chris and Edward cover the usual housekeeping, there is a sense of desperation at the Wheel Of Chance, and we have a very special (and forthright) guest auditioning to become a regular Expert on our panel! You'll als…

1
Episode #39: We've Got Toothpaste, Do We Not Need Dentists? 40:55

2M ago40:55

40:55

It's another week and another episode of the Brunch, recorded live at Hopscotch HQ. Covering everything happening in the Early Years world every episode, the team from Hopscotch Early Years Consultancy make keeping up with the latest trends in the sector as fun as a night out with your besties! This week, Edward, Laura and Chris catch up with the l…

1
Episode #38: The Ofsted Report Card - A Nod To Nandos? 38:18

2M ago38:18

38:18

The team at Hopscotch Early Years Consultancy are back for their regular sideye at all things Early Years! This week, Laura, Chris and Edward (well, mainly Edward) talk about big boy band news (we also cover the Early Years, don't worry); there are more SERIOUS WAYS TO BE A GREAT PRACTITIONER in the EYFS Glow Up, and the Wheel of Chance throws up o…

1
Episode #37: A Sex Shop & A Sofa Fart 38:48

2M ago38:48

38:48

The team at Hopscotch Early Years Consultancy are back for their, *ahem*, weekly look at the wide wide world of Early Years! This week, Laura, Chris and Edward go deep into the latest changes mandated by our Robot Ofsted Overlords before taking you, dear listener, for your EYFS Glow Up! Finally, Edward spins the Wheel Of Chance to see what tricky t…

1
Episode #36: That's Because They've All Been Buying Biscuits For The Staff Room 38:53

3M ago38:53

38:53

Edward, Laura and Chris are back with another deep dive into the bottomless pool of the Early Years! This week, we ask whether the US election means anything at all for Early Years, Laura gets to the heart of another key issue in Early Years Glow Up, and Chris comes up with jingles at inappropriate times. Get it in your ears! The Early Years Bottom…

1
Episode #35: Twit Twatters 32:31

3M ago32:31

32:31

The team at Hopscotch Early Years Consultancy are back for their, ahem, weekly look at the wide wide world of Early Years! This week, Laura, Chris and Edward reveal where they've been since before Christmas, we hit only the freshest Early Years news, and it's back into the salon for your EYFS Glow Up! Finally, Edward spins the Wheel Of Chance to se…

1
Episode #34: There's A Whale In The Corner 40:17

6M ago40:17

40:17

Edward, Laura and Chris are back with another deep dive into the bottomless pool of the Early Years! This week is the final time that you'll have to listen despite some audio issues (sorry, at least Edward's done his best to make the whole thing listenable-to), but we've got a packed podcast, as we have the longest What's Your Week on record, our e…

1
Episode #33: TITLE HAS BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PRIVACY 33:40

6M ago33:40

33:40

Edward, Laura and Chris are back with another deep dive into the bottomless pool of the Early Years! This week, we're still dealing with some audio issues (sorry, at least Edward's done his best to make the whole thing listenable-to), but we've got a packed podcast, as Laura gives you a tune-up when it comes to complaints, Chris refreshes his vodka…

1
Episode #32: Not All The Segments Are Gonna Work 28:07

7M ago28:07

28:07

It's another week and another episode of the Brunch, recorded live at Hopscotch HQ. Covering everything happening in the Early Years world every episode, the team from Hopscotch Early Years Consultancy make keeping up with the latest trends in the sector as fun as a night out with your besties! This week, the team are beset by technical difficultie…

1
Episode #31: I Just Jingled The Ass Out Of This 40:33

8M ago40:33

40:33

The team at Hopscotch Early Years Consultancy are back for their weekly look at the wide wide world of Early Years! This week, Laura, Chris and Edward give up and finally talk about the massive changes to inspections that are looming before taking you, dear listener, for your first ever EYFS Glow Up! Finally, Edward spins the Wheel Of Chance to see…

1
Episode #30: I Feel Like You've Put The Chili On My Breakfast 32:29

8M ago32:29

32:29

We're back! After a well-earned summer break, Edward, Laura and Chris return to the Brunch Bar to catch up with everything Early Years. On our first episode of Season 2, we talk about a truly ludicrous summer before doing the bidding of our sales and marketing overlords to make everyone excited about NMC '24, before tackling a BRAND NEW SEGMENT of …

1
Episode #29: Sh*t, They're Talking About Fisheries Or Something 42:41

10M ago42:41

42:41

It's Brunch o'clock again! The dream team of Edward, Chris and Laura are back for another slice of news, views, mirth and righteous anger, covering all things Early Years. There's definitely an end of term feel to the Brunch this week as we prepare for our school holidays break - but fear not, we've got Chris feeling particularly inspired, Laura re…

1
Episode #28: The Pecking Order Of The Food Chain 38:47

10M ago38:47

38:47

Edward, Laura and Chris are back with another deep dive into the bottomless pool of the Early Years! This week, we're not mentioning the General Election at all, Laura comes in strong with a Top Five Worst Things Ever, and there's probably way too much about carpets. The Early Years Bottomless Brunch podcast is brought to you by the team at Hopscot…

1
Episode #27: You Have A Picture Of Ave Maria & Jesus At The Front 35:44

10M ago35:44

35:44

It's another week and another episode of the Brunch, recorded live at Hopscotch HQ. Covering everything happening in the Early Years world every episode, the team from Hopscotch Early Years Consultancy make keeping up with the latest trends in the sector as fun as a night out with your besties! This week, the team tackle the rest of the political p…

1
Episode #26: As A Space Enjoyer, I'd Love To Go To The Moon 37:06

11M ago37:06

37:06

The team at Hopscotch Early Years Consultancy are back for their weekly look at the wide wide world of Early Years! This week, Laura, Chris and Edward tackle party manifestos as the election race heats up, we hear how the Hopscotch team are fighting fires in every corner of the country and we have a very special (and forthright) guest who turns up …

1
Episode 25: No-One Ever Said "You Don't Have Good Face Cream" 46:48

11M ago46:48

46:48

The Bottomless Brunch team get together again to give a bombastic side-eye to everything Early Years! This week, Laura, Chris and Edward get their teeth into the first chunk of election manifestos to work out what it means for the Early Years. They also discuss bribery and corruption (honestly, it's funnier than it sounds), and as always there's a …

1
Episode #24: You've Only got Six D*cks 42:41

11M ago42:41

42:41

Edward, Laura and Chris reconvene around the Brunch table with a couple of bottles of fizz for your weekly dose of all things Early Years! This week, the gang came here for two things - to chew gum and kick ass. And they're all out of gum. Edward tries to inject some animal-based fun into proceedings, whilst Laura sheds some light on how Ofsted's b…

1
Episode #23: He's Been On A Journey And Now He's Singing With Children 38:18

11M ago38:18

38:18

It's an X-Factor special here on the Brunch as Chris somehow transforms into Simon Cowell for a bit. Meanwhile, Edward and Laura try to keep the show on the road despite the fact that Laura spent last week on a hen do in Spain. We dip into a little General Election talk in News News News before Laura takes her turn to regale us with another classic…

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Episode #22: She's Saying 'Vroom Vroom' To An Empty Room 43:47

11M ago43:47

43:47

It's Brunch o'clock again! The dream team of Edward, Chris and Laura are back for another slice of news, views, mirth and righteous anger, covering all things Early Years. This week we've got auditions for a movie, some fairly serious political discussion and a joke about Mr Steven Mulhern, so I would say that we've covered all the bases. Settle in…

1
Episode #21: After Birth, Replenish Your Body With A Chinese Takeaway 36:44

12M ago36:44

36:44

We're back! After an unscheduled two-week hiatus, the Brunch returns with all guns blazing to get you up to speed with everything happening at Hopscotch Early Years Consultancy and of course in the wider world of early education. This week we've got a new customer offering something absolutely mindblowing for new mums, a story about possibly the od…

1
Episode #20: We Need A Three-Way 44:54

1y ago44:54

44:54

Another week and another chance to check in with all things Early Years courtesy of the Brunch team! This week, the gang have gathered at Hopscotch HQ after a week where News News News has made us angry and sad, but we try to keep smiles on our faces with another cracking Story from the Archives from Chris and the first Would You Rather that the tw…

1
Episode #19: People Who Speak Swahili...I'm Coming To A Nursery Near You 46:56

1y ago46:56

46:56

It's another week and another episode of the Brunch, recorded live at Hopscotch HQ. Covering everything happening in the Early Years world every episode, the team from Hopscotch Early Years Consultancy make keeping up with the latest trends in the sector as fun as a night out with your besties! This week, Edward and Laura make a brazen pitch for ne…

1
Episode #18: We're Going On A Bear Hunt...The Answer Is 'Breast Ironing' 44:51

1y ago44:51

44:51

After an unscheduled week off, the Hopscotch team is back together to catch up on all things Early Years! Edward tried to hold everything together amid a maelstrom of clutter, Laura gets extremely passionate about something that isn't wine, and Chris tells a story from the archives that makes us all cry happy tears! The Early Years Bottomless Brunc…

1
Episode #17: Creme Eggs, Followed By Caramel Eggs, Followed By Mini Eggs 34:50

1y ago34:50

34:50

There's no such thing as an Easter break when it comes to the Brunch! Edward, Laura and Chris are back in the studio to podcast about everything happening in the world of Early Years (and quite a lot about food this week too). In this episode, we talk more about our Nursery Managers Conference, Chris gets angry at the prospect of more closures in t…

1
Episode #16: We've Got This Nursery...But We Can't Quite Put Our Finger On Where It Is 39:04

1y ago39:04

39:04

The Easter holidays may have started for schools and nurseries across the country, but our intrepid trio are still smashing out podcast content as well as travelling the country in search of the most memorable Early Years experiences! This week, Edward, Laura and Chris discuss withholding safeguarding judgements at inspection, Chris tells another s…

1
Episode #15: You've Just Twanged My Wire 42:31

1y ago42:31

42:31

Edward, Laura and Chris have somehow managed to be in the same place at the same time for a completely unplanned and unscripted episode this week. Listen along as Edward tries desperately to keep some kind of consistency and order in the Brunch while Laura and Chris are suffering some sort of hyper-exhaustion-caused delerium that actually results i…

1
Episode #14: Can We Send Little Chris In? 45:28

1y ago45:28

45:28

The team at Hopscotch Early Years Consultancy are back for their weekly look at the wide wide world of Early Years! This week, Laura, Chris and Edward tackle everything the DfE and Ofsted can throw at them, the Hopscotch team are fighting fires in every corner of the country and Chris has another tale of woe and misery from the archives. Luckily, E…

1
Episode #13: The Room Leaders Don't Even Know Who They Are 47:44

1y ago47:44

47:44

It's time for a rare Sobercast here at the Brunch, as the team convene with mugs of tea rather than gallons of prosecco. That doesn't dampen the mood, however, as the mood has already been completely soaked by the worst combination of train cancellations and tough days in the field for both Laura and Chris. Nevertheless, Edward is here as the host …

1
Episode #12: The Jalfrezi Was Graded Outstanding 48:00

1y ago48:00

48:00

It's a special week for the Brunch this episode, as not only do we go on tour for the first time, setting up camp in Chris's kitchen, but also welcome our first actual live guest onto the pod, in the form of educator and SEND expert Lyndsey. The guys grill her on all things SEND-related while Edward keeps the wine flowing. Also this week, we've got…

1
Episode #11: But We've Already Cut Up The Fish Fingers 49:17

1y ago49:17

49:17

Edward, Laura and Chris are back with another deep dive into the bottomless pool of the Early Years! This week, Laura has incredibly come prepared with three discussion pieces she found on Google, Chris relates a traumatic experience inspecting a nursery who preferred to cherry-pick which regulations that wanted to follow, and Edward tasks the two …

1
Episode #10: I Couldn't Care What An Ant Thinks 51:54

1y ago51:54

51:54

We're back after an enforced break of a week (Chris and Laura were just too busy south of Finland but north of Spain) with a fun-packed show taking in not only precisely ZERO scanning but an absolute ton of opinions on some major changes to the inspection process as well as our first ever non-Early Years-related Would You Rather? There's also quite…

1
Episode #9: Rrrrrr...I'm A Lion 46:56

1+ y ago46:56

46:56

This week's pod starts with the best of intentions, but after we give the floor to Chris to give us an update on how his week's been, the entire format is turned on its head. Chris takes us on a harrowing - and yet hilarious - journey through a day in the life of a practitioner in 2024, which takes up approximately 80% of the episode, meaning Edwar…

1
Episode #8: Chicken Balala Fish 40:29

1+ y ago40:29

40:29

We're fully back in the swing of things as January rolls on - this week we try not to make Laura angry when talking about the status of Early Years inspections, the grand reveal of hardly any of the LA funding, and just general incompetence in the industry. Meanwhile, Chris tells a wonderful story from the archives that I still can't quite deal wit…

1
Episode #7: Wet & Warm 44:10

1+ y ago44:10

44:10

Happy 2024 everybody! After a well-earned Christmas break (not because of the podcast, but because of the actual real work we do), Edward, Chris and Laura are back to continue the Early Years mirth into the New Year. This week the dynamic duo tell us all about their first joint-visit of the year, we discuss the latest news from the sector and there…

1
Episode #6: The Golden Egg Of Inadequate 39:28

1+ y ago39:28

39:28

It's our Christmas special episode before we go off for a couple of weeks to recharge the batteries and definitely stay sober through the festive period! This week, Chris tells a story that will undoubtedly get signed up to be made into a major Disney Pixar motion picture, Edward apologises for last week's sobercast, and Laura tries to make scannin…

1
Episode #5: Just Get Through December 42:05

1+ y ago42:05

42:05

Edward, Chris and Laura are feeling 50% festive, 50% completely destroyed by the unique demands of December in the Early Years! This week, we discuss some VERY EXCITING NEWS from Hopscotch HQ, and it's Laura's turn to tell another story from the archives. So tune in, uncork a bottle of something Christmassy, and laugh along with us!…

1
Episode #4: Outstanding Isn't Good Enough! 46:47

1+ y ago46:47

46:47

Edward, Laura and Chris are back in the studio for the latest slice of news, views and giggles from the Early Years! This week we discuss writing and delivering training, there's some strong advice and the start of a discussion that will run and run around 30 hours funding, and Chris gives us a Top Of The Pops-style rundown of the craziest day he's…

1
Episode #3: I've Definitely Got My Pants On 47:51

1+ y ago47:51

47:51

Edward, Laura and Chris are back in the Brunch Bar for another episode! This week, Laura tells all about her grilling by Ofsted while Chris takes it back to basics as a room practitioner. The team discuss the latest news on Early Years funding and the minimum wage, before Laura tells us all a story from the archives with a spicy conclusion! Finally…

1
Episode #2: But...You've Got A Shower Cap On Your Head 37:22

1+ y ago37:22

37:22

Edward, Laura and Chris are back with more tales from the trenches in the Early Years, discussion on what's happening in the sector, sage advice on outstanding practice and hilarious stories that will make your jaw drop and your areas of learning tingle. This week we discuss navigating through WRNs, supporting a toddler room, the frankly ludicrous …

1
Episode #1: That's Not My Clown! 51:08

1+ y ago51:08

51:08

Edward, Laura and Chris are around the EYBB brunch table to welcome you to the funniest, most informative and life-affirming slice of the Early Years going! In this episode we tackle the dangers of a site visit to a new nursery, the challenges of recruiting staff without resorting to TikTok and when childminding goes BAD. We also discuss the latest…

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