When You’re Great at Football… But They Keep Moving the Goalposts!

In Early Years, just when you find your rhythm, the goalposts move again. New regulations, new documents, new expectations — often overnight and with immediate effect. But this sector has never been a solo sport. It’s a team effort built on resilience, humour, and collaboration. Despite the constant curveballs, Early Years professionals show up every day ready to adapt, support one another, and keep the children at the centre. Whistle blown. Game on.

Shelley Aguilar

Nursery Director . Dubai United Arab Emirates

Anyone who works in Early Years knows this feeling: you finally get into a good rhythm, everything is flowing, routines are smooth… and suddenly bam, a new update, a new requirement, or a brand-new document from a government authority that seems to rewrite half your week.

It’s honestly like being really good at football, but every time you’re about to score, someone picks up the goalposts and casually moves them three metres to the left.

Or shrinks them.

Or replaces them with a hoop.

Or decides the match is now happening on a completely different pitch.

And the funniest part? We still show up every day ready to play.

But let’s be honest, none of us could do this alone. Early Years is a team sport. We depend on each other constantly. When regulations change (usually overnight… with immediate effect, of course), we all scramble together:

one person printing new forms,

another updating the curriculum map,

someone calming a parent who “saw something on Instagram,”

and someone else trying to figure out which version of the guideline is actually the latest one.

And that’s exactly why having a strong team matters, because when you’re running around trying to keep up with the moving goalposts, you need people who will pass the ball back, cover your position, shout encouragement, and occasionally remind you to breathe.

The Early Years community is honestly one of the best parts of the job. Whether it’s your own staff, colleagues in other nurseries, or parents who genuinely appreciate what you do, having people around you makes the chaos feel manageable and even (sometimes!) a bit funny.

Despite the constant changes, the curveballs, the new rules, and the never-ending updates, we somehow always make it work. We adapt, we laugh, we learn, and at the end of the day, the children are happy, and that’s our win.

So yes, they’ll keep moving the goalposts. Yes, there will always be a new regulation just when you think you’re finally on top of everything.

But Early Years people?

We’re professionals at finding a way to score anyway.

Whistle blown.

Game on.

See you at kickoff tomorrow. ⚽❤