Parenta Magazine
Every month we bring together a collection of articles relating to the childcare industry, utilising experts in the form of our guest authors who provide an insight into their specialist topics. Give it a read, share it with colleagues and friends. We hope you enjoy it.
Welcome to the July edition of the Parenta magazine!
We’re not quite sure how it can be July already, but the summer solstice has happened; we’ve had the longest day – and so summer is officially declared!
After five months of the coronavirus being in the UK, the pandemic may be just starting to wane – finally – and the last few weeks have revealed some unexpected benefits for our planet. Air pollution levels dropped during lockdown and nature seemed to breathe easy for a short while as we stopped travelling and polluting the air. In the hope that we will continue with this trend (at least as much as is feasible) Plastic Free July is one initiative which aims to get everyone around the world doing their bit to help the environment, however small. Turn to page 24 for some ideas to help you get involved both at home and in your setting.
As we go through July, parents will be turning to you, as practitioners, to advise them on how they can help with their child’s transition if they are due to start primary school in September. Bearing in mind they may have not been to nursery since March, many parents will be anxious that they may have lost valuable pre-school hours since lockdown. Industry expert, Tamsin Grimmer, gives some reassuring advice in her article “What does school readiness mean during a pandemic?”
We also take a look at the subject of male practitioners (or the lack of) in early years which highlights the continuing problem of the gender imbalance in the sector – less than 3% of the early years workforce are male, and despite various initiatives to try to recruit more male staff, statistics show little improvement so far. We spoke to a few of our Parenta male learners to find out how they came to choose childcare as their career; and what they think about the lack of men in early years.
Turn to page 32 for some super crafts for you and the children to do this month! To celebrate National Don’t Step on a Bee Day on 10th July, we’ve done a cute bee craft which will be fun to make and will also help raise awareness of these little hard workers! Those who have a sweet tooth will love our food craft this month – dark chocolate bark to celebrate World Chocolate Day on the 7th. As well as being delicious (we’ve tried it and it really is!) this tasty treat highlights the benefits dark chocolate has.
All the news stories, advice, and craft activities in your free Parenta magazine have been written to help you with the efficient running of your setting and to promote the health, happiness and wellbeing of the children in your care.
Please feel free to share with friends, parents and colleagues – they can sign up to received their own copy here!
Please stay safe everyone.
Allan