Editor's view: Countdown to the Nursery World Awards begins

June has been an exceptionally hectic month for myself and the team at Nursery World HQ. Not just in terms of producing content for the magazine and website but also when it comes to managing our many events, which are increasingly important to the way we connect with our readers.

One of the biggest events on our calendar is the Nursery World Awards, and we have been very busy since January – organising this year's categories, refining the online platform for nominations and recruiting our distinguished, and expert panel of judges.

Last Friday (16 June), we had a fantastic judging day at a venue in central London, where our judges kindly travelled in from all over the country to meet and debate the entries. They had a massive task on their hands, due to the unprecedented amount of entries – at least double the usual quantity of nominations for some of the categories such as Nursery of the Year and Nursery Manager of the Year. The judges tackled their task with enthusiasm, enjoyment and their usual professional integrity. It's always so inspiring to witness how rigorously and thoughtfully they each contribute. I'm hugely grateful to our regulars – and some new faces as well – for so generously giving up their time. And thank you to everyone who entered this year. Do look out for the shortlist, which will be published in July.

Our next upcoming event is our one-day conference in London, EYFS: Developing a Curriculum for your Children to Thrive (12 July). While so much has recently been written and debated about curriculum, the narrative around what it is (exactly), and how its quality can be articulated, remain frustratingly elusive. The experts speaking at our conference will aim to help practitioners be clear and ambitious in their aims for all children's learning – and also confident about how that learning will happen. Look forward to seeing you there.