Health and Well-being
Talking to children about war
Recent events have reminded me of times from my own childhood. Growing up during the cold war, I remember hearing about the hostility between the then Soviet Union and the USA in particular and lying in bed at night worrying about the things I’d...
Road Safety Week
This is a vision of the world from Brake, the national charity who promote road safety, campaign for safer roads, and look after those who have been adversely affected by accidents on the road. Every 20 minutes, someone is killed or seriously...
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
It’s hard to imagine but in this day and age, there are still two women each week who are killed by a partner or former partner in England and Wales. In the Northeast, the area with the highest recorded rate of domestic abuse, there are an...
The National Veg Pledge
This year we have included some articles on the benefits of gardening with children, growing for health and wellbeing and most recently on the benefits of having an allotment associated with your nursery. This month, with the harvest completed...
Malnutrition Awareness Week and the need for better nutrition
When we think about malnutrition, what comes to mind often are images from news reports of starving children across the world. We automatically think about those harrowing images in which children appear little more than ‘skin and bone’ as their...
Migraine Awareness Week
At some point in our lives, we have all had a headache, and know how painful and debilitating they can be. But if you are one of the 1 in 7 people in the population who suffer from migraines, then you will understand the misery caused by this...
National Fitness Day
Six months ago, the state of the nation’s fitness industry was looking good. The 2019 State of the UK Fitness Industry Report revealed that 1 in every 7 people belonged to a gym, the total market value was £5.1 billion, and the number of fitness...
Raising awareness of sepsis
When a child (or indeed adult) has an infection, the body’s immune system automatically kicks into gear to fight it off. When faced with a viral infection (like a cold or flu) or a bacterial infection (like ‘strep throat’) a child, in...
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: be bold, go gold
Imagine having to tell someone that they have cancer, and that they may or may not recover. It would be difficult, heart-wrenching and you’d know that your words would change that person’s life forever. Now imagine that person is only a child,...
The lowdown on sunscreen by the Melanoma Fund
The lowdown on sunscreen The summer is here (we think!), and naturally you are keen to spend the day outdoors. The first thing that many of us do (if we care about our skin health) is to reach for a hat and the sunscreen. However, if you are...
Mental Health Awareness Week
According to the Mental Health Foundation: • 1 in 6 adults experiences a common mental health problem • Common mental health problems include stress, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and bipolar • 1 in 5 adults have considered taking their own...
Take yourself from ‘distress’ to ‘de-stress’ during stress awareness month
Stress. n. “A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances”. A definition that almost certainly resonates with many – particularly during this unprecedented period of dealing with the outbreak...
Talking about difference: profound disability
In our settings, we explore many differences with the children we support: we talk about the changing seasons, we explore different cultures and ethnicities, we celebrate festivals and we talk about growing up and growing old. Difference is a...
Children’s Mental Health Week
Children’s mental health has been the subject of a lot of news coverage in recent years, and there is increasing concern about children’s mental health which has been deteriorating according to statistics. In 2018, the NSPCC reported that over...
What is Blue Monday?
January 20th – argh! Christmas is over, you can’t get into your new jeans because you put on a half a stone; you’ve maxed out your credit card; it’s still 10 days till payday, and to top it all, it’s freezing and the trains are cancelled due to...
Cervical Cancer Prevention Week
Cervical cancer is not something that many people talk about, yet around 3,200 women (9 people per day) are diagnosed with the disease in the UK every year1. Whilst incidence rates have been falling since the early 1990s, in the last decade,...
Wellbeing of staff
Last year, we published an article on “How to improve the wellbeing of your staff”, focusing on ways that you could promote their physical, mental and emotional health. In Ofsted’s recently introduced Education Inspection Framework, the...
Yoga, meditation and mindfulness for toddlers
In a busy world, where time always seems to be ‘of the essence’, we are all straining to be effective parents, productive professionals, and happy to boot, it’s no wonder that sometimes our patience snaps and our tolerance wanes. But who then is...
How to deal with bereavement
The only thing we know that is certain about life, is death. We are all going to die, we just don’t know when. Different people and cultures have different attitudes towards death; some see it as a transition, some see it as a finite end, and...
Give us a smile: the importance of oral health and World Smile Day®
What does it cost to smile? Nothing! And yet a smile can set the world alight, right? On Friday 4th October, people across the globe will be trying to spread some good cheer, engage in an act of kindness and make each other smile to celebrate...
Dyslexia Awareness Week
Richard Branson is one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs: his Virgin brand operates over 60 companies in 35 countries; he has written 8 books and has over 41 million followers on social networks, and his net worth in 2019 was reported at...
National Eye Health Week
What would you do if you lost your sight? How would it affect your lifestyle, your independence and income? And what impact would it have on your dependents, family and friends? Most of us don’t think about this often, but once a year, National...
Eczema – nutritional advice and lifestyle tips for your setting
Throughout your career as an early years professional, it is very likely that you will have at least one child in your care that suffers with eczema. It can be distressing for many children, and for some - in severe cases - painful. You and...
World Sepsis Day
Sepsis is a major health problem which negatively impacts the lives of many people across the globe. It affects between 27–30 million people each year, and of those, between 6 and 9 million people die as a result. But the most worrying statistic...
National Simplicity Day
When was the last time you stopped to smell the roses?Yesterday? Last week? Or so long ago you can’t really remember? Have you EVER stopped to smell the roses? Or is the thought of switching off from daily life, unplugging from the internet and...
7 tips for nystagmus success in the classroom
Having just released my book “Can I Tell You About Nystagmus?” I jumped at the chance of being able to raise the awareness around the condition, in support of Nystagmus Awareness Day, 20th June 2019. For those who don’t know, nystagmus is an...
Diabetes Week 2019
What comes to mind when you think of diabetes? Older and more obese people? Insulin injections? Poor eyesight? A life without chocolate?All these things have been associated with diabetes in the past, and some still are today; but is this all...
Viral Meningitis Awareness Week
The first full week in May (6th – 12th) is Viral Meningitis Awareness Week. It’s run by the charity, Meningitis Now, as an annual event aimed at “stopping lives being lost through meningitis and to make sure that sufferers and survivors get...
The London Marathon and the importance of charity
How do you fancy running 26 miles around the streets of London, dressed as a giant chicken, in whatever the British weather has to throw at you? For thousands of people, that is what they will be doing on Sunday 28th April this year, as the...
Sensory Nature Adventures and Play with the Sensory Trust
written by Madeleine Amos For children with disabilities and their families, going out and being in nature can seem a daunting prospect. In response, Sensory Trust, a charity that creates accessible and engaging outdoor experiences, have...