Hello and welcome to the February edition of the Parenta magazine!
There is much to think about and discuss this month surrounding the welfare, well-being and safety of our colleagues and the children in our care. Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week (6th – 12th) gives us a perfect opportunity to learn more and engage in the debates and activities surrounding this incredibly important topic, while Safer Internet Day on 7th arms us with resources and tips to ensure our colleagues and younger members of the team are aware of online dangers. We also take a good look at stress-coping mechanisms for ourselves and our teams – turn to page 26 for more on this.
We celebrate all things fantastic about apprenticeships during National Apprenticeship Week from 6th – 12th - turn to page 12 to find out how you can support and get involved in such a crucial part of early years childcare. We spoke to our Parenta learners to find out what they love about doing an apprenticeship and what life skills they are learning, and we feature some of their ideas inside the magazine!
Also featured in this month’s edition – Dr Sarah Moseley poses the question; “Why is learning to write so difficult for so many learners?”, Frances Turnbull gets us singing and working out at the same time (not an easy task for some!), Gina Bale talks ‘self-love’ to mark Valentine’s Day, and Dr Kathryn Peckham continues to show us how to help develop self-esteem in children. Joanna Grace is exploring the “terrific” twos and really helps us with the children’s ‘timing transitions’, Pam McFarlane continues with the sensitive topic of dealing with the death of a staff member (focusing on parents and children), and Dr Mona Sakr begins a fascinating new series about ‘organisational culture’ in nurseries.
As usual, everything you read in the magazine is written to help with the efficient running of your setting and to promote the health, happiness and well-being of the children in your care.
Please feel free to share the magazine with friends, parents and colleagues – they can sign up to receive their copy at www.parenta.com/magazine.
Allan