We have found a handy video that maybe of use to you for sharing with your staff! Following on from this week’s story about the frustrations of EYFS targets, we would like to share a video we discovered regarding communicating with children.
Train staff how to encourage children to talk with a free video resource for early years practitioners! The video provides ten handy tips on practical approaches for encouraging communication with children.
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The Parenta team swapped the office for the sports field last Friday in aid of raising money for Marie Curie Cancer.
Parenta directors, Nick Williams and Allan Presland, tackle the mammoth task of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this September as they aim to raise £10,000 for Marie Cure Cancer.
To support their intensive training schedule, the Parenta team organised a ‘Sports Day’ event to raise further donations for the cause.
Fun games included ‘Wheelbarrow’, ‘Caterpillar’ and ‘Bowls’ as two teams made up of Parenta Staff battled it out for bragging rights!
Nick Williams, part of the winning team commented, “It was clear that we are in peak physical condition heading into next month’s challenge (cough)! Allan and I are very excited about attempting Kilimanjaro and hope that we can continue to raise more money for the Maire Curie foundation.”
If you would like to sponsor the boys on their climb up Kilimanjaro and help reach their £10,000 target for Marie Curie Cancer Care, head over to their donations page and leave your comments and support!
Working mothers have to fork out more for childcare in Britain than in any other country in the developed world.
A third of UK family income goes towards nurseries and childminders – almost four times the cost in Germany and three times that of France.
Charities say the exorbitant costs – which can reach £20,000 per child – are down to the fact that the Government targets state help for childcare towards those on lower incomes, pushing up costs for others.
It means the middle classes are bearing the brunt of spiralling costs, leaving them with bills of more than £160 a week on average for nursery places.
One third of British families will take grandparents on holiday with them this summer to save on childcare costs, new figures suggest.
Some 3.75 million grandparents regularly holiday with their children to provide childcare assistance.
A study by insurers RIAS suggests that holiday ‘nannies’ are part of a growing trend that sees families holidaying in larger groups.
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Concern is mounting over plans to limit the reach of Sure Start children’s centres, with key figures fearing the policy could have an adverse impact on social mobility.
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg claimed the previous government had relied too heavily on “universal solutions” rather than targeted support, in his speech about the government’s ambition to improve social mobility. His words came after Prime Minister David Cameron had claimed children’s centres were dominated by “sharp-elbowed middle-classes”.
But Oxford University research fellow Naomi Eisenstadt, former director of the government’s Sure Start unit and the first chief adviser for children’s services, told CYP Now that ministers would be wrong to scrap universal Sure Start services.
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After the abrupt U-turn by David Cameron to scrap free milk in schools, Helen Crawley from the Guardian writes about why milk is so essential in childcare settings.
The image of milk as a wholesome drink for children, promoting growth and strong bones and teeth, remains rooted in our images of child health – which is largely why the idea of taking away free milk for under-fives was quickly vetoed by David Cameron. Milk is still recommended for young children, despite controversies over the fat and saturated fat content of whole milk and arguments over hormone contents, lactose intolerance, milk allergy and a range of other suggested health disadvantages.
In the UK in the pre-school years, milk is still a major provider of energy and nutrients: children under three obtain about a quarter of their energy and protein from the milk they drink, two-thirds of their intake of calcium, at least half of their intake of the B vitamins riboflavin and vitamin B12 and the mineral phosphorus, a third of their intake of vitamin A and significant amounts of folate and vitamin D.
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