Parenta Magazine March 2020

Issue 64 

MARCH 2020 

FREE 

Industry 

Experts 

The power of 

an apology 

Narrowing the ‘word 

gap’ in the early years 

The importance of 

storytelling in music 

+ lots more 

Write for us 

for a chance to win 

£50 

page 38 

Talking about difference: 

Down’s syndrome 

In the first of a four-part series, Joanna Grace explores how we might talk to 

young children about difference through the lens of disability. 

FAMILY SAFETY WEEK • EYFS ACTIVITIES • BRITISH SCIENCE WEEK • NATIONAL OLD STUFF DAY

hello 

welcome to our family 

Hello and welcome to the March edition of the Parenta magazine! 

March is the month many of us have been waiting for since last October… the clocks ‘springing’ forward, giving us lighter 

evenings! 

This is also the time of year when people start thinking about their annual spring clean; and wanting to get rid of the old 

stuff in their homes and businesses. Taking part in ‘National Old Stuff Day’ on 2nd March is a great reason to get started 

with the spring cleaning in your setting! Turn to page 10 for some ecological and sustainable ideas for “out with the old and in 

with the new”. 

We honour the mother of the family in March too, as well as celebrating motherhood as a whole. We explore how it all began on page 23; 

and if you turn the page, you will find a delightful Mother’s Day craft for you to make with the little ones in your setting that will be sure to 

make mothers’ hearts melt! 

In Tamsin Grimmer’s article this month “Keep on talking and mind the gap”, she reveals that almost half of year one children lack the 

vocabulary they need to access the curriculum. Using a holistic approach, we have chosen some activities that you can implement in your 

setting that will help expand the children’s vocabulary, but at the same time covering many areas of learning and development in the EYFS. 

Congratulations once again to Joanna Grace, our guest author of the month for January. Her article “Multisensory room magic?” questions the 

relevance of some elements of sensory rooms and was very popular with our readers. If you’ve got a topic you’d like to write about, why not 

send an article to us and be in with a chance of winning a £50 voucher! 

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. 

Have a great month and please don’t forget to put your clocks forward by one hour at 1am on Sunday 29th March! 

Allan 

Storytelling 

34 

Frances Turnbull 

discusses the importance 

of storytelling in music 

and shares the origins 

of some popular nursery 

rhymes. 

Apology 

12 

Stacey Kelly explains 

why it is so important 

to apologise to children 

properly and shares her 

5 steps to apologising to 

a child. 

Independence 

30 

Gina Smith shares some great tips for 

ways you can encourage the young 

children in your setting to develop their 

independence.

MARCH 2020 ISSUE 64 

IN THIS EDITION 

Regulars 

20 EYFS activities - Mind the (language) gap! 

24 Mother’s Day tissue paper flowers 

25 Delicious chocolate cupcakes recipe 

38 Write for us for a chance to win £50! 

38 Guest author winner announced 

Is your website Ofsted-ready? 14 

News 

4 Early years news & views 

6 Summer-born children struggling with basic key 

skills 

7 An extra year given to schools for Ofsted’s new 

EIF 

8 Standards are here - register on Government 

Gateway to secure funding now! 

Mother’s Day - where did it all begin? 25 

Advice 

10 National Old Stuff Day 

14 Is your childcare website Ofsted-ready? 

18 Time for a Cuppa - 1st–8th March 

National Careers Week 36 

23 Mother’s Day – where did it all begin? 

28 Family Safety Week 

32 British Science Week 

36 National Careers Week 

Industry Experts 

12 The importance of an apology 

16 Talking about difference: Down’s syndrome 

26 Keep on talking and mind the gap! 

30 Encouraging independence in young children 

34 The importance of storytelling in music 

British Science Week 32

Early years news & views 

Early years 

news & views 

Online toolkit 

available to help 

settings become more 

sustainable 

Early Years Eco Wheel is a new online 

toolkit available to help settings 

become more sustainable and tackle 

the climate emergency. 

The toolkit was launched at the 

Nursery World Show, London in 

February 2020 at the first-ever Green 

Early Years Choices Champions 

Organisation (GECCO) Early Years 

Eco-Sustainability Conference. 

The aim of The Eco Wheel is to 

promote ‘spreading the message’ 

about climate change and 

sustainability by educating children, 

parents, employees and the wider 

community. 

One of the creators of the not-forprofit 

scheme, and co-owner of 

Natural Choice Nurseries, Nicky 

Edwards, said: “We need to not panic 

about the climate emergency, but 

rapidly shift to ”emergency mode”. 

We need to take action as a sector, 

and to do that, we need a clear 

framework for success. 

Petition for British sign language to be taught in 

all schools 

A teenager’s petition calling for all schools to teach basic sign language has been 

signed by over 100,000 people. 

Jade Kilduff launched the campaign after seeing how her brother’s life was 

transformed by sign language. The Kilduff family were told that Christian, who has 

cerebral palsy and brain damage, would never be able to communicate, so Jade 

spent 2 years teaching him sign language. 

“Christian communicates by using sign language, and a lot of people when talking to 

Christian would have to talk through me,” Jade told Sky News. 

“And I thought it was unfair that he could only communicate to me and a few of our 

family members and I thought if everybody just knew a little bit of sign, then it would 

make the world more inclusive.” 

Very few mainstream schools teach British sign language. There are 12 million 

people in the UK with hearing loss, 50,000 of those are children. Jade’s petition 

could have a wide impact on many 

people’s lives. 

Sign the petition here 

Read more here. 

“As part of an NDNA Network for 

Bristol, South Gloucestershire and 

Gloucestershire, we recognised 

that settings need help; they need 

a pathway to be successful in the 

changes required to become more 

sustainable. The Eco Wheel scheme 

maps out what to do and gives clear 

support.” 


4 March 2020 | parenta.com

Early years teachers 

should be paid the 

same as primary 

school teachers 

In February 2020, Tes reported that 

greater value needs to be placed 

on roles within early education. A 

new study found that some people 

have the opinion that jobs in the 

early years sector are “unskilled” 

or “easy”. Paying early years 

educators the same as primary 

school educators would go some 

way to combat those opinions, 

according to the report. 

The government is being urged 

to “counteract a perception of the 

early years as a ‘springboard’ for 

teaching in primary education” by 

bringing pay across the sectors in 

line, and creating a “qualification 

equivalency” between Early Years 

Teaching Status (EYTS) and Qualified 

Teaching Status (QTS). 

Early Years Teaching Status and 

Qualified Teaching Status differ in 

that EYTS only allows practitioners 

to work with children up to the age 

of five. 

Those that want to obtain EYTS 

need to have a degree and at least 

GCSE grade C/4 in English, Maths 

and Science. They are also required 

to complete early years initial 

teacher training and prove that they 

have met the Teachers’ Standards 

(Early Years). 

Early years teachers in nurseries 

do not have QTS and are not on 

the same pay scale as teachers in 

schools. Early years teachers’ pay is 

set by their employers. 

The study involved lengthy and 

detailed interviews with nursery 

managers, staff and childminders, 

and was funded by the Nuffield 

Foundation and produced with the 

Education Policy Institute (EPI). 


Fears that changes to 

EYFS could result in 

“box-ticking” exercise 

In February 2020, Children & Young 

People Now reported that childcare 

leaders have warned that reforms to the 

EYFS could result in early assessments 

becoming a “box-ticking” exercise. 

In a response to the government’s EYFS 

consultation, the Early Years Alliance has 

voiced serious concerns over the 

plans which would see the existing 

early learning goals become a 

“series of bullet point statements”. 

This would risk “moving children’s 

learning and development, and 

the early years practice that supports 

it, from an art to a science”, the Early 

Years Alliance said. 

The proposed changes also risk a lack 

of support for children who are learning 

English as a foreign language and 

children with disabilities and additional 

needs. 


Report calls for 

independent SEND 

inspections 

According to a report published on 

19th February 2020, schools and local 

authorities should face new independent 

inspections that are specifically focused 

on pupils with special educational needs. 

The idea for a new inspection and 

resolution service has been developed 

by Great Minds Together, an organisation 

that works to support families of children 

with SEND or social, emotional and 

mental health needs (SEMH). 

The inspections would give 

schools one of four ratings: 

bronze, silver, gold or platinum 

and would be carried out annually. 


parenta.com | March 2020 5

Summer-born children 

struggling with basic key skills 

Summer-born children struggling 

with basic key skills 

Although not a new notion, early years experts have said that there is 

now a “wealth of evidence” that a child’s month of birth has an impact 

on academic grades and sporting achievements. 

The latest Department for 

Education (DfE) data shows 

that in 2019, 62% of children in 

England born between May and 

August had a “good level of 

development” based on teacher 

assessment at the end of their 

first year at school – meaning 

38% did not reach this level. 

A “good level of development” 

means they were reaching the 

level expected of them in their 

communication and language 

skills, physical development, 

personal, social and emotional 

development as well as literacy 

and maths. 

In comparison, 81% of their 

classmates born between 

September and December had 

a good level of development – 

a 19 percentage point gap. 

The statistics also show that 

61% of summer-born children 

were achieving the expected 

level in all the early learning 

goals, compared with 79% of 

those born in the autumn (a 

gap of 18 percentage points). 

A Department for Education 

spokesman said it is “perfectly 

normal to see younger children 

performing less well in early 

years”, adding that evidence 

shows these children make 

faster progress, with the gap 

narrowing as youngsters move 

up through primary school. 


An extra year given to schools for 

Ofsted’s new EIF 

An extra year given to schools for 

Ofsted’s new EIF 

Schools have been told they have an extra year to bring their 

curriculum into line with Ofsted’s new inspection framework, after it 

announced an extension to its transition period. 

The new framework, which places 

greater emphasis on curriculum 

content and less on outcomes, 

came into effect in September 

2019. But Ofsted allowed for a 

12-month transition period so 

that schools can be judged on 

the fact that they are currently 

in a phase of implementing the 

curriculum changes, as opposed 

to being judged on being fully 

ready. This means that school’s 

which have plans in place to 

review their curriculum in line with 

the new EIF, and can demonstrate 

“genuine action” to do so, are not 

penalised. 

Ofsted’s national director of 

education, Sean Harford, has 

now revealed that this ‘grace’ 

period will be extended for 

another year, meaning schools 

will have this protection until 

July 2021. 

Schools can still adopt the 

revised early years goals 

(EYG) in the EYFS a year before 

early years settings – from 

September 2020. 

In his blog post on 13th 

February, he wrote: “We know 

that a great curriculum does 

not just appear perfectly 

formed overnight. It takes 

a great deal of thought, 

preparation and work to plan 

it. I’m also aware, through 

conversations with the 

Association of School and 

College Leaders, and the 

National Association of Head 

Teachers, that some heads and 

senior leaders are concerned 

about getting their curriculum 

to where they want it to be by 

this coming September. Some 

schools are further along their 

curriculum journey than others. 

The decision follows a fierce 

backlash against the new 

framework, which heads say 

penalises schools that have 

difficult intakes. 


Standards Standards are here - register are here on 

Government Gateway to secure 

funding now! secure funding now! 

register on Government Gateway to 

We want to help you get ready to plan ahead – because Apprenticeship 

Standards are here. To secure funding to train your staff or even 

to recruit a new apprentice, you need what’s called a ‘Government 

Gateway Apprenticeship Account’ to be able to request funds to pay 

for your training requirements. 

Set up your Government Gateway Account without delay! Follow our simple 

steps here which will help you through the process. 

• Go to HMRC’s website here 

• Click the GREEN sign-in 

button 

• Click “Create sign-in details” 

• Enter your email address 

where asked 

• You will now be emailed a 

confirmation code. Use this 

code to confirm your email 

address 

• You will now be issued with a 

User ID for your Government 

Gateway account 

• Please save this and keep 

it somewhere safe because 

losing it can create a lot of 

work in the future 

Once you receive your 

Government Gateway ID, please 

create an account to manage 

your apprenticeships 

You’ll use your account to: 

• Get apprenticeship funding 

• Find and save 

apprenticeships 

• Find, save and manage 

training providers 

• Recruit apprentices 

• Add and manage 

apprenticeships 

Set up your Government Gateway 

Apprenticeship Account here. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact our training team on 

0800 002 9242 if you have any questions. 

Why are Standards replacing 

Framework? 

• Standards are replacing 

framework across all 

apprenticeships which is a 

requirement from both ESFA and 

Ofsted and affects all training 

providers. 

• The main purpose is to place 

greater emphasis on the teaching 

and learning (T&L) time between 

apprentice and tutor and to involve 

the employer in a greater capacity. 

What are the key differences 

between Standards and Framework? 

• The employer is more involved 

in the learning plan of their 

apprentice. 

• The key focus is based around 

skills, knowledge and behaviours 

(SKB) of an apprentice, which 

they acquire throughout their 

apprenticeship. 

• The entire learning plan is set out 

to prepare apprentices for their 

End Point Assessment (EPA). 

• Course duration will increase 

to potentially 18 months, which 

includes a 3 month allocation for 

(EPA) End Point Assessment. 

• The EPA includes a knowledge 

test as well as a professional 

discussion underpinned by the 

learner’s portfolio. 


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A social media page will 

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Training 

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Our recruitment team 

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National Old Stuff Day 

National Old 

Stuff Day 

Have you ever heard the expression: “Out with the old 

and in with the new? Or how about; “Old ways won’t open 

new doors”? If you have, and appreciate their aims, then 

National Old Stuff Day on March 2nd will be right up 

your street! 

Contrary to how it may sound, National Old Stuff Day isn’t actually about celebrating 

‘old stuff’, but rather a day when you get rid of the old stuff and start something 

new. However, in today’s society, we now have to ask ourselves whether that is a 

sustainable and responsible attitude to have, or whether there is a better way of 

doing things? 

Sure, no one wants to end up with a house or work place that looks like it should be 

the subject of a TV hoarder exposé, and we all like it when we acquire bright and 

shiny new things, so how can we make Old Stuff Day a fun and relevant part of our 

annual spring clean? 

We think that it would be great to tackle this from 2 standpoints: one from the ‘get 

rid of the old stuff in the most ecological way possible’ standpoint; and one from the 

‘let’s start something brand new” viewpoint. So here goes! 

PART ONE: Getting rid of old 

stuff in an ecological way 

We are probably all guilty of hanging 

on to too much stuff; that broken coat 

hanger we’ve kept just in case we 

find the missing roll of fabric tape we 

intend to fix it with; the dilapidated 

handbag we had when we were a 

teen; and all the clothes that we’ve 

grown out of, but are keeping because 

we know the time will come when we 

can fit back into them!!! The time has 

come to get real and follow some rules 

to help you declutter. 

Take action! 

1. Go through your house, your 

setting and your life, and work out 

what you no longer use, love or 

have space for. 

2. Once you have a pile of things 

you need to get rid of, decide 

how you are going to get rid of 

them. In the UK, we currently 

recycle approximately 45% of our 

waste, but other countries such 

as Germany and South Korea 

recycle between 60% and 70%. To 

be more ecological with old stuff, 

there are several options: 

• Donate it to charity – many 

charities like clean cloths, brica-brac, 

home furnishings and 

even furniture 

• Sell it at a car boot sale – this 

takes a bit of effort but they’re 

usually great fun and you can 

make some money as well 

• Sell things online – sites 

such as wish, eBay, Etsy and 

many others are useful for 

selling things that are still 

useable but which you no 

longer need, like high-chairs or 

buggies for instance 

• Upcycle – this is a great 

way to turn something old 

into something fun and new. 

You can paint old furniture, 

repurpose everyday items, 

or make new tops from old 

dresses. You are really only 

limited by your imagination but 

if you need some inspiration, 

see the websites listed at the 

end of this article 

• Make something new – have 

a go at making a patchwork 

quilt with some old clothes; 

or an apron, some napkins, 

cushion covers or cleaning 


cloths. You could also get the 

children in your setting involved 

in some creative crafts using 

your old material as resources 

• Create some recycled 

artwork – everyday junk 

is great for creating your 

masterpieces, but make sure 

you wash out old cartons 

and ensure everything is safe 

first. Get some ideas for some 

models and ideas to use in 

your settings here 

• Organise a jumble sale in 

your setting – another great 

way to pass on some of your 

old things and have a bit of fun 

too 

• Visit your local tip or 

recycling centre – even 

things that you think are 

beyond repair may find a loving 

home at your local tip 

Whatever you do with your ‘old stuff’, 

make sure the bin is the last option 

and use the principles of reduce, 

reuse and recycle instead. We all 

need to take action on a small scale 

to create a more sustainable society, 

so think carefully before you reach for 

the bin bag! 

PART TWO: Bring in the new 

Once you have dealt with the build-up 

of old stuff and cleared some lovely 

space in your house or setting, try 

not to fill it up with more junk straight 

away! Instead, think about the second 

part of Old Stuff Day, and bring in 

some new ideas and practices into 

your life – but it doesn’t have to be 

actual, physical things! That’s just 

more ‘stuff’! Better to look at this more 

philosophically and start with changing 

some old or out-dated habits that you 

have. 

Some ideas to try 

1. Sit in a completely different 

position on the bus, in your house, 

or your office and see what a 

different perspective (literally) can 

do for your mindset. 

2. Take a different route to work and 

notice at least 5 new things 

3. Listen to a different radio channel 

4. Make yourself a different breakfast 

– if you usually eat a cooked 

breakfast, try some fruit, or vice 

versa and continue experimenting 

with new food throughout the day 

5. Wear your hair in a different style 

– practice an ‘up-do’ prior to the 

day, or try a wash-in, wash-out 

fun hair colour tint for a change 

6. Make a phone call instead of 

texting people - phone up 3 

friends and wish them a ‘Happy 

Old Stuff Day’ 

7. Switch off your TV for the whole 

day and read a book instead 

8. Go without your mobile phone or 

electronic device for the day 

9. Take up a new hobby you’ve 

always wanted to try 

10. Learn to play a musical instrument 

Whatever you do, have fun, and 

remember to send us your National 

Old Stuff Day pictures too. 

Ideas for arts and crafts from 

sustainable resources: 

• www.upcyclethat.com 

• www.myrepurposedlife.com 


The importance of an apology 

The importance of an 

apology 

To children, we are always the people 

who have the answers. They look to 

us for guidance and acceptance and 

everything they become depends on 

what they see and learn from us. For this 

reason, it can sometimes feel like we need 

to always have it together and that in 

order for children to feel safe, we need 

to show strength in front of them and 

avoid vulnerability. However, as much 

as we do need to give children a safe and 

stable environment, we need to remember 

that we are only human and therefore, 

imperfect by nature. 

Everybody has flaws and 

has times when they get 

things wrong. Mistakes are 

not the issue. It is how we 

deal with them that matters 

and if we want children to 

understand this, we need 

to lead by example. We are 

constantly reinforcing the 

importance of an apology 

when children get things 

wrong, but how often do 

we actually say “sorry” 

ourselves when we make a 

mistake? 

As parents, practitioners 

and teachers, we don’t 

have all the answers and 

let’s face it, when we finally 

feel like we are in control, a 

new challenge or situation 

comes our way and the 

learning curve starts again. 

There are days when we 

are on form and get things 

right and there are others 

when we know we could 

have been a better version 

of ourselves. In these 

moments, it is important for 

us to own our mistakes and 

apologise to the tiny people 

that are watching our every 

move. Apologising will not 

lessen a child’s respect for 

us. If anything, it will do the 

opposite and make them 

feel safer with us, knowing 

that we tell the truth and 

own up to our mistakes. 

It was only last week that 

my little boy (who is four 

years old) shouted at me 

and stamped his feet. I 

told him that I felt a little 

sad that he was doing 

that as I was only trying 

to help him. I then gave 

him space to calm down. 

Two minutes later, he 

came and patted me on 

the back and said, “Sorry 

Mummy, I didn’t mean 

to shout at you, I’m just 

having a bad day and feel 

a bit grumpy”. His words 

were my words. The week 

before I had apologised 

to him in the same way. 

Our own behaviour is 

never going to be perfect, 

but by owning that and 

apologising, we teach 

children the importance 

of this, and give them an 

opportunity to do the same. 

We cannot hold anyone to 

a higher standard than we 

can live up to ourselves. If 

we expect children to say 

“sorry” when they make a 

mistake, we too should be 

prepared to do the same. 

Here are 5 steps to 

apologising to a child: 

Give an unconditional 

1 

apology 

Focus on why we are sorry 

without making it the 

child’s fault. By saying “I 

am sorry for….. BUT you 

were…..” it devalues the 

apology. Always own your 

behaviour, rather than 

pointing the finger. 

2 

Own your feelings 

We are always telling 

children that it is okay to 

be sad, angry or frustrated. 

However, it is not okay to 

take these feelings out on 

others. However, we are 

only human and sometimes 

make this mistake 

ourselves. When we do, it 

is important to own how we 

feel, explain this to children 

and then follow it up with 


did this” or “You did that”… 

we start pointing the finger 

and that is not what an 

apology is about. 

Change your 

4 

behaviour 

Make sure that you amend 

your behaviour after that. 

There is nothing worse than 

someone who apologises 

but keeps doing the same 

thing. Children need to see 

that an apology results in a 

change of actions. 

something like “But even 

though I felt... it was not 

okay for me to…” 

3 

Explain your behaviour 

It is important to explain 

our behaviour so that 

children can gain a deeper 

understanding. For us, 

it is often obvious why 

we did what we did, but 

children are not always 

developmentally-equipped 

with the ability to join 

the dots. By explaining 

our behaviour to them, 

we help them to gain 

an understanding of the 

bigger picture: 

• I was late because I 

didn’t expect there to 

be so much traffic 

• I shouted because I am 

having a bad day and 

feel a bit grumpy 

• I wasn’t listening 

because I was 

distracted by……. 

• I was frustrated 

because I felt that I 

wasn’t being listened to 

Always use sentences that 

start with “I” so that you are 

owning your apology. The 

minute we start saying “You 

5 

Give them space 

This can be hard, but we 

need to understand that 

children, like us, have 

feelings and even though 

we have apologised, 

they might still feel upset 

with us. Explain that you 

understand this, that you 

will give them space and 

that you are there for them 

when they are ready. It’s 

not always easy to do this 

part but it is necessary. An 

apology doesn’t always 

magically fix the problem. 

As adults we understand 

this, and it is important to 

acknowledge that children 

are no different. They too 

sometimes need space and 

to come around in their 

own time. 

Children model what they 

see. They are never going 

to be perfect because no 

human being ever is. If we 

want them to learn the art 

of taking responsibility and 

giving sincere apologies, 

we need to model this 

when we inevitably get 

things wrong ourselves. It 

doesn’t make us weak in 

their eyes, it makes us real 

and gives them permission 

to not only make mistakes 

and learn, but to own 

them and become a better 

version of themselves as a 

result of them. 

Stacey Kelly 

Stacey Kelly is a former 

teacher, a parent to 2 

beautiful babies and the 

founder of Early Years Story 

Box, which is a subscription 

website providing children’s 

storybooks and early years 

resources. She is passionate 

about building children’s 

imagination, creativity and 

self-belief and about creating 

awareness of the impact 

that the early years have 

on a child’s future. Stacey 

loves her role as a writer, 

illustrator and public speaker 

and believes in the power of 

personal development. She is 

also on a mission to empower 

children to live a life full of 

happiness and fulfilment, 

which is why she launched 

the #ThankYouOaky Gratitude 

Movement. 

Sign up to Stacey’s premium 

membership here and use the 

code PARENTA20 to get 20% 

off or contact Stacey for an 

online demo. 

Website: 

www.earlyyearsstorybox.com 

Email: 

stacey@earlyyearsstorybox.com 

Facebook: 

facebook.com/earlyyearsstorybox 

Twitter: 

twitter.com/eystorybox 

Instagram: 

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LinkedIn: 

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Is your childcare website 

Ofsted-ready? 

Is your childcare website Ofstedready? 

If you have a childcare website, by the time you receive notification that you will be 

having an inspection, there’s a good chance that Ofsted may have already reviewed it. 

With such short notice of a visit, keeping your website up-to-date could save valuable 

time and hassle during that all-important visit countdown... Ofsted’s website findings 

do contribute to your final assessment. 

By keeping your content, images and information current, you can feel confident your website is always 

Ofsted-ready… whenever your inspection! 

Here is all you need to know to ensure your childcare website is Ofsted-ready 

The “essentials” 

✔ It may sound obvious, but it’s critical to have the following contact information on your website, 

displayed clearly: 

• Setting name 

• Postal address 

• Telephone number 

• Name of Nursery Manager 

• Named deputy in the Nursery Manager’s absence 

• Details of the SENCo (if applicable) 

✔ A copy of your current Ofsted report (or a link to the report on the 

Ofsted website) together with your Ofsted registration number. 

✔ The age range of children 

accepted at your setting 

“The current inspection 

cycle is from 1 August 2016 

to 31 July 2020. Providers 

on the Early Years Register 

will normally have their 

setting inspected at least 

once within this four-year 

cycle. Newly-registered 

providers will normally be 

inspected within 30 months 

of their registration date.” 

Ofsted 


Ethos, aims and statement 

A statement of your setting’s ethos, aims and 

values is something that inspectors will be sure to 

look for. If you don’t have a statement prepared, 

you can make a start by thinking of your ethos as 

your morals, values and beliefs for the setting – a 

set of attitudes. Each setting is different and will 

be passionate about different learning styles or 

methods of teaching: e.g. Montessori, Forest School, 

or a particular religion - and these should be the 

focus for creating your ethos. It’s also important to 

include your mission i.e. what you intend to achieve 

and what goals you have in mind – almost like a 

‘motto’. Nowadays, most nurseries try and include 

key words and phrases like ‘resilience’, ‘emotional 

intelligence’, ‘wellbeing’ and ‘holistic approach’. Use 

key words that you relate to and aspire to, and your 

mission or motto will form! 

Policies 

Having your key policies clearly laid out and easy to 

find on your website will show Ofsted that you take 

the governance of your setting seriously. You could 

consider having a dedicated page which includes 

policies on such things as health & safety, food 

safety, child protection, welfare and safeguarding, 

as well as complaints, whistleblowing, and the 

PREVENT duty/radicalisation. 

Curriculum 

A thorough understanding of the EYFS curriculum 

is something that your website should reflect, 

together with an explanation of how parents can 

access further information on the EYFS if they want 

to discover more about their child’s learning. Ofsted 

does need to see that you are able to identify the 

children’s starting point - and also that you’re 

ensuring they make progress in learning through 

effective planning, observation and assessment. 

Using an online EYFS tracker like Footsteps 2 will 

enable you instantly identify where each child is in 

their development path. 

Here would also be a good opportunity to 

showcase what you do to promote British Values 

in your setting. We’ve created a guide which gives 

invaluable information on how intrinsic British 

Values are within the EYFS curriculum, and also 

gives you some great ideas for activities to promote 

British Values in your setting. You could post on 

the website images of the children participating 

in some EYFS activities to demonstrate your 

understanding. 

Best practice for your website: 

✔ Ensure all your setting information is upto-date 

✔ Check that all links are working 

✔ Have a simple and clear navigation to all 

sections 

✔ Add a blog and update your news 

section… weekly if you can! 

✔ Always use high resolution photography 

Here at Parenta, we have built hundreds of 

childcare websites - so we know what Ofsted 

is looking for when it views your website 

for inspection. We can help you ensure you 

include everything you need. Talk to our team 

of experts who are on hand to help and can 

build you your perfect website, whatever your 

budget! 


Talking about difference: 

Talking about difference: Down’s 

Down’s syndrome 

syndrome 

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 part of life; a very wonderful part. 

I live in a rural location lacking in 

ethnic diversity. From time to time, 

I have heard parents and childcare 

professionals mutter something 

along the lines of “what’s the point 

of them learning about X, there is 

none of that around here?” It is an 

understandable point of view, one 

focused on children learning that 

which is immediately relevant to them. 

However, it is flawed. Difference 

is always immediately relevant to 

children, because all children are 

different. When we learn to recognise 

and understand difference in others, 

we are better equipped to recognise 

and understand our own differences. 

Teach children to embrace difference 

and you teach them to embrace 

themselves. 

Often in settings, we are trying to get 

children to conform, to all sit down, to 

all listen, or to all line up. These edicts 

serve practical purposes but they also 

install a subconscious message, that 

to be the same is desirable. Children 

can grow to be ashamed of their 

differences and to try and hide them. 

Upfront, frank conversations about 

difference gives children permission to 

be authentically themselves and are 

great for everyone’s wellbeing. 

In this series of four articles, we are 

going to explore how we might talk 

about difference through the lenses 

of disability, neurological divergence 

and social and emotional wellbeing 

with the children in our settings. We 

are starting with Down’s syndrome. 

As we discuss differences of any kind, 

we model for children how they should 

respond to difference and talk about 

it. When you talk about children with 

Down’s syndrome say “with Down’s 

syndrome” not “A Down’s child.” This 

indicates that you understand that 

Down’s syndrome is not definitive of 

that person, it is something they have, 

and there is much more to them than 

just Down’s syndrome 1 . 

You can start a conversation about 

difference by asking children to look 

around at each other and describe 

some of the differences they see. You 

are looking for them to notice hair 

colour, skin colour, eye colour etc. 

Help them to make their descriptions 

factual, not judgemental. For example, 

if a child says “her hair is a yucky 

colour,” change that to a simple 

statement of what colour the hair is. 

Continue until they are confidently 

factually describing difference. You 

can ask them what they think the 

world would be like if we all looked the 

same, hopefully they will agree that it 

would be very boring. 

Next look at a picture of someone 

with Down’s syndrome, if a child in 

the setting has Down’s syndrome 

16 March 2020 | parenta.com 

1 

Of course if a particular person wishes to be referred to differently, we should always respect that 

person’s preferences.

“ 

Ask the children 

to think about 

whether they are 

different inside. 

This will be a tricky 

concept for them, 

so be ready to help 

them out. 

” 

then you do not need a picture as 

they will already have been part of 

the differences spotted during the 

first section. Ask the children what 

differences they can see. State these 

differences as factually as you did the 

first set of differences, be very matter 

of fact about it. This is not shocking, or 

saddening, or strange, (or cute): it is 

just difference and difference is very 

normal. 

Explain to the children that the facial 

features they are observing mean that 

the person they are looking at has 

Down’s syndrome and that having 

Down’s syndrome means they are a 

little bit different inside as well. When 

I have talked to young children about 

this, I have found that revealing it 

as if they have discovered a secret 

really captures their attention. At an 

age, where discovery is fascinating, 

learning that a visual clue tells you 

about an unseen thing, is really 

exciting. 

Ask the children to think about whether 

they are different inside. This will be 

a tricky concept for them, so be ready 

to help them out. Perhaps a child in 

your setting can speak a different 

language, perhaps one child is really 

good at counting. Use these children 

as examples, so let’s say Martha 

speaks Spanish and English, you might 

ask Martha to stand up. “We all know 

Martha can speak another language, 

don’t we?” The children nod. “Can 

we see that?” This might be tricky 

for them as they visually recognise 

Martha. You could show them a photo 

of someone they do not know and ask 

them whether they think that person 

can speak Spanish. Help them to 

understand that some differences are 

visible and some are hidden. 

Go back to looking at the picture of the 

person with Down’s syndrome, explain 

that they have a difference inside that 

we cannot see; some of them to do 

with Down’s syndrome, some of them 

to do with their personality. Tell the 

children that having Down’s syndrome 

can mean that your brain will take 

longer to learn new things. Seek 

examples from them of things they 

have learned quickly and things it took 

them a long time to learn. How did 

they learn the things that did not come 

easily to them? 

Do not shy away from identifying things 

children have struggled with or are 

struggling to learn. If we talk openly 

about these things, it gives the children 

the permission to be open about it too, 

to ask for help and to not feel guilty that 

they do not understand yet. 

Ask the children what they would 

need to do if their brain took longer 

to learn. They may say “ask for help, 

try again, practice” etc. Reinforce that 

these are good ideas and that people 

with Down’s syndrome may need to 

employ these strategies too. Ask them 

how they can help a friend who is 

struggling to learn? They might say, 

“tell them the answer, show them how 

to do it, help them to do it” etc. Praise 

their ideas and tell them that these 

would be great to do for a friend who 

had Down’s syndrome too. 

This conversation will take a few 

minutes of your day. It will help 

children to think about the strategies 

they use when they learn and remind 

them how to cope when they are 

struggling to learn. And for children 

with Down’s syndrome and their 

families, having Down’s syndrome 

understood as a fact not a tragedy, 

could make all the difference! 

You could end the chat by watching 

some videos of children and adults 

with Down’s syndrome doing fun 

things, so that the children can see 

more differences and similarities – 

“they like football like me”, “he likes 

cats but she doesn’t” and so on. 

For more information about Down’s 

syndrome look at www.downssyndrome.org.uk 

or follow bloggers 

like www.downssideup.com 

Joanna Grace 

Joanna Grace is an 

international Sensory 

Engagement and Inclusion 

Specialist, trainer, author, TEDx 

speaker and founder of The 

Sensory Projects. 

Consistently rated as 

“outstanding” by Ofsted, 

Joanna has taught in 

mainstream and specialschool 

settings, connecting 

with pupils of all ages and 

abilities. To inform her 

work, Joanna draws on her 

own experience from her 

private and professional life 

as well as taking in all the 

information she can from the 

research archives. Joanna’s 

private life includes family 

members with disabilities and 

neurodivergent conditions and 

time spent as a registered 

foster carer for children with 

profound disabilities. 

Joanna has published four 

practitioner books: “Multiple 

Multisensory Rooms: Myth 

Busting the Magic”, “Sensory 

Stories for Children and Teens”, 

“Sensory-Being for Sensory 

Beings” and “Sharing Sensory 

Stories and Conversations with 

People with Dementia”. and 

two inclusive sensory story 

children’s books: “Voyage to 

Arghan” and “Ernest and I”. 

Joanna is a big fan of social 

media and is always happy 

to connect with people 

via Facebook, Twitter and 

LinkedIn. 

Website: 

thesensoryprojects.co.uk 


Time for a 

Cuppa 

Time for a Cuppa - 1st–8th March 

1st–8th March 

We all love a cup of tea and a chat. But talk to anyone 

these days about life after 65, and you will probably 

discover that we are all slowly coming to terms with the 

fact that as we live longer, we might not all necessarily 

be living better. The number of people in the UK living 

with dementia is rising 1 , as advances in general physical 

healthcare keep us alive longer, but mental degeneration 

is becoming more of an issue for many people, and that 

means dementia. 

What is dementia? 

According to dementiauk.org, dementia 

is “an umbrella term used to describe 

a range of progressive neurological 

disorders, that is, conditions affecting 

the brain.” 

There are over 200 different subtypes of 

dementia, although most of us will be 

familiar with the five most common: 

• Alzheimer’s disease, 

• vascular dementia 

• dementia with Lewy bodies 

• frontotemporal dementia 

• mixed dementia 

Sadly, most of us nowadays know 

someone whose lives have been 

touched by the condition, be it as a 

sufferer themselves, or as friends and 

colleagues caring for elderly relatives. 

Dementia is tough on everyone, 

affecting physical health, everyday 

living and causing stress and strain 

on emotional relationships that none 

of us ever thought we would have to 

deal with. If you’ve ever sat with your 

parent or life-long partner trying to 

explain to them who you are and why 

you’ve come to see them, then you’ll 

understand what we mean. It’s heartbreaking! 

Causes, statistics and risk factors 

The causes of dementia are still 

largely unknown, but dementia causes 

damage to the neurons (nerve cells) 

in the brain which prevent messages 

being sent from the brain to other 

parts of the body, affecting everyday 

functions. Each person affected may 

experience different symptoms and be 

impacted differently. 

Dementia impacts people all over the 

world and although it mostly affects 

older people, there is a type of early 

onset dementia which affects people 

under the age of 65. The Alzheimer’s 

Society reports over 850,000 people 

living with dementia in the UK, with 

these figures expected to rise to over 

one million by 2021 2 . Perhaps the most 

startling prediction is that “1 in 3 people 

born in the UK this year, will develop 

dementia over their lifetime” 3 . 

There are a number of risk factors for 

dementia, but age is the largest one 4 

and there are things that you can do to 

reduce your risk, such as improve your 

cardiovascular health, stop smoking, 

eat a nutritionally-balanced diet and 

get plenty of exercise. 5 

Time for a Cuppa 

During the first week of March each 

year, Dementia UK run a fund-raising 

campaign to raise money for their 

Admiral Nurses, specially trained nurses 

who can provide the dementia support 

that families need. It’s an annual tea 

party that is easy to get involved in and 

lots of fun too. 

The money raised supports the work 

of Admiral Nurses who work with 

people who have dementia, and also 

with their families, offering oneto-one 

support, practical solutions 

to everyday problems, as well as 

invaluable guidance and advice. They 

work in a variety of settings including 

people’s homes, the community, care 

homes, hospitals and hospices. You 

don’t need to raise thousands either; 

£50 is enough to pay for 20 families 

to call the free helpline for support on 

0800 888 6678; £110 funds an Admiral 

Nurse for 4 hours to visit a new family 

facing dementia. 


Here’s an action plan of things to do: 

1. Decide where and when you want 

to hold your event. You might need 

to check with the boss or setting 

if you are not the one with the 

authority to authorise events. 

2. Invite family, friends and 

colleagues to attend and to also 

support your event by baking some 

cakes. You could design, or get 

your older children to design, an 

invitation and/or poster to use, or 

use the free downloadable ones on 

the Dementia UK website. 

3. Bake your cakes – there are free 

recipes on the website too, and if 

all else fails, you can always buy 

some cakes for your sale – this isn’t 

about being the best cook! 

4. Get ready for your day by printing 

off some bunting, flags and 

information to use or give out to 

guests. 

5. Decide on your pricing strategy – 

50p/£1 per cake or cup of tea – it’s 

up to you. 

6. Plan extra activities such as: 

a. Guess the weight of the cake 

b. Raffle – ask people to donate 

prizes 

c. Bring and buy stall 

7. Enjoy your event catching up with 

friends, family and colleagues; sell 

off any unsold cakes at the end of 

the day too. 

8. Send your money to Dementia UK 

knowing that you have made a real 

and positive difference to people’s 

lives. 

The week officially runs from 1st–8th 

March, although you can hold your 

event at any time during the month, or 

even, during the year. If dementia is 

something that is particularly close to 

your heart, you could make it a regular 

monthly or bi-monthly event too. 

The first event was held in 2009 and 

raised £8,000, but since then, there 

have been over 8,664 tea parties, 

with an average 173,280 slices of cake 

being eaten with 21,660 gallons of tea! 

But they have also, more importantly, 

raised £760,966 and supported 6,000 

people affected by dementia. 

So get your aprons on and get 

involved! 

Hosting an event is simple. You can 

register here for a fund-raising pack 

which is full of information, including 

tea party tips and tricks, recipes, 

invitations and posters, but more 

downloadable items are also available 

online too. 

If you need more information, you 

can call the Time for a Cuppa team 

on 020 8036 5379 or email them on 

timeforacuppa@dementiauk.org. 

Dementia UK say, “every cake you 

bake, every cuppa you make and every 

pound you raise can make a huge 

difference to families facing dementia”. 

So what have you got to lose? Start 

planning your event for your setting 

today and let us know how you get on 

by sending your pictures and stories to 

marketing@parenta.com. 

References 

1. bit.ly/2vPxv1E 



4. bit.ly/2SMbNof 

5. bit.ly/2V8jTsO 


EYFS activities 

EYFS activities - Mind the (language) 

Mind the (language) gap! 

gap! 

In Tamsin Grimmer’s article this month, “Keep on talking and mind the gap” (on 

page 26), she reveals that on average, 49% of year one children are lacking the 

vocabulary they need to access the curriculum, which, in turn, negatively impacts 

their learning. 

Dedicating time for organic ‘serve and return conversation’, paying attention and meaningful communication – is 

more important than just continually trying to add words to the children’s vocabulary. As Tamsin points out in her 

article; “words are important, but they are only part of the story of language and communication development.” 

Here are some activities that you can implement in your setting that will help expand the children’s vocabulary in a 

more holistic way, and at the same time covering many of the areas of learning and development in the EYFS. We 

hope you enjoy them! 

Communication and Language 

Personal, Social and Emotional 

Development 

Literacy 

Understanding the World 

Role-play 

One of the wonderful 

things about role-play 

is that we can “set the 

scene” for the children 

but then allow them to let 

their imaginations (and 

therefore speech) flow, 

but we can also roleplay 

with them. This is a 

great way of supporting 

their language and 

coaching them to use 

the correct terminology 

for whatever props or 

resources you are using 

within the scenario. By 

doing this, we naturally 

extend children’s 

knowledge of different 

‘sets’ of words, e.g. words 

associated with going to 

the doctors (ill, poorly, 

sick, stethoscope, tongue 

depressor, medicine, 

bandage, plaster etc.) 

Reading and rhyming 

An old favourite and a 

wonderful way to engage 

children of all ages in your 

setting, is to introduce the 

concept of rhyming words. 

The great thing about this 

activity is that it covers 

all the learning goals 

of the communication 

and language criteria. 

Matching and rhyming 

words is the perfect 

way to start with even 

the youngest of children 

and guarantees much 

excitement in the room! 

It’s never too early to start 

reading to children and 

the more rhyming and 

facial expressions you 

use, the more interaction 

you are likely to get back. 

Storytime with a 

difference 

Gather the children in the 

reading corner for storytime 

with a difference. 

Divide them up into small 

groups and let each 

group decide between 

them, what the ending 

will be! Each group may 

take it in a completely 

different direction, but 

the important thing 

is that they will learn 

different words from each 

other and there is no 

right or wrong. 

Get messy! 

Child-led messy play 

fits in perfectly with 

open-ended exploration 

and offers so many 

opportunities for the 

children to experiment 

with language. You can 

start the ball rolling by 

talking about the various 

textures of what they 

are touching, and then 

introduce alliterations 

such as slippery, slimy, 

sloppy etc. This is certain 

to get the children all 

talking enthusiastically 

and learning new words. 


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DON’T MISS OUT ON THE 

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To be a part of this adventure, register today at parentatrust.com 

WHY? 

Our mission is to raise funds 

to build pre-schools in the most 

deprived areas of the world. 

Register today, to help us allow young 

children to break out of the cycle of poverty 

and look forward to a bright future. 


EYFS Learning 

Journey Software 

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Footsteps 2 is designed to make EYFS 

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Here are some of the great features: 

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Photo Tagging & Blurring Technology 

Group Observations 

Characteristics Of Effective Learning 

2 Year Check Assessment 

Parent Portal With Newsfeed 

Approval Process 

Individual & Group Progress Report 

Learning Journey Report 

Flagging Overachievers & Underachievers 

Suggested Next Steps 

Next Steps Report 

Report Emailing 

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Mother’s Day 

Mother’s - where Day did it – all where begin? 


did 

(also known 

it all 

as Mothering 

begin? 

Sunday) is a celebration honouring the mother 

of the family, as well as motherhood as a whole. It’s an annual event when members of 

the family show their gratitude and love for their mothers, as well as the role that other 

maternal figures, such as mothers-in-law and grandmothers, hold in family life. 

When does Mother’s Day 

take place? 

The actual date of Mother’s Day in the 

UK is not fixed each year. It always 

falls exactly three weeks before Easter 

Sunday, which itself changes yearly, 

depending on the date of the full moon. 

Around the world, it falls on different 

days. In many countries - USA, Canada, 

most European countries, Australia, 

New Zealand, India, China, Japan, the 

Philippines and South Africa, it is held 

on the second Sunday in May. In 2020, 

the UK will celebrate Mother’s Day on 

Sunday 22nd March. 

How did it all start? 

The stories of how it began vary, 

depending on whether you’re in the 

UK or the USA. In the UK, Mother’s Day 

was originally a day where domestic 

servants were given the day off to 

visit their “mother” church. These 

servants would typically return to their 

hometown and worship in church with 

their families. On the way home, it was 

common for people to pick wild flowers 

to give to their mothers. This was 

around the 17th century. 

In America, the story of its origin is 

very different. The day of celebration 

stemmed from a lady called Anna 

Jarvis, who held a memorial service for 

her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. 

She gave away carnations, her mother’s 

favourite flower, to all who attended the 

service. Red and pink carnations were 

given to those with living mothers and 

white for those whose mothers had 

passed away. Anna wanted everyone 

to attend church, and afterwards, for 

children to write a note of appreciation 

to their mothers. 

It had been Anna’s late 

mother’s wish that a Mother’s 

Day would take place, 

and this is something that 

she had even prayed for. 

Following her mother’s death 

in 1905, Anna took steps to 

ensure this would happen. 

Creating a legacy 

for mothers 

everywhere 

As part of her late mother’s 

wishes, Anna campaigned to 

make Mother’s Day a recognised 

holiday in the US in 1905. The very 

first Mother’s Day in America 

was celebrated in 1908 and, 

just three years later, all 

US states had started to 

observe the holiday. Whilst Anna 

Jarvis was successful in realising her 

mother’s dream, she was resentful of 

how commercialised the day quickly 

became. By 1920, card companies such 

as Hallmark had started making massproduced 

Mother’s Day cards. Anna 

argued that people should honour their 

mothers through handwritten letters, 

instead of buying pre-made cards. 

Today, people choose to celebrate 

this day in a way which is personal 

for them. It may be that they buy their 

mother a bunch of flowers and a card, 

go for afternoon tea, or just choose to 

spend quality time together. 

Did you know… it’s estimated that, as 

a nation, British consumers will spend 

£1.4 billion on Mother’s Day cards, 

flowers, gifts and other treats? 

However, you really don’t have to spend 

money to show your appreciation. 

Making a home-made card using the 

card from an empty cereal packet or old 

greetings cards and covering with left 

over tissue or wrapping paper or even 

flowers from the garden are just as 

effective and will mean a lot, knowing 

that so much effort has gone into it! 

Handprint (or even footprint!) cards 

are also fun (not to mention messy!) to 

make and are so personal too – a firm 

favourite with the children! 

We have the most delightful 

Mother’s Day craft on the next 

page for you to make 

with the little ones in your 

setting that will be sure 

to make mothers’ hearts 

melt! 


Mother’s Day tissue paper flowers 


tissue paper flowers 

You will need: 

• Colourful tissue paper (we used different 

colours for the petals, but you’ll also need a 

green one for the stem) 

• Sticky tape 

• Child-friendly scissors 

• Pipe cleaners 

Instructions: 

1. Take two pipe cleaners and wrap them around each 

other, then cut in half. 

2. Pick up the desired tissue paper and cut about 2-inch 

high full-length pieces of the paper. 

3. Fold the paper into a square and cut the top part into 

a crescent shape, making it looks like a petal, then cut 

them up into individual pieces. 

4. Pick up the pipe cleaner and start adding petals to one end of 

it. Halfway through attaching them, use sticky tape to secure 

them to the pipe cleaner. It can be quite fiddly, so it takes 

some patience to get it to work, but it’ll be worth it in the end! 

5. Once you use all your petals, use some more sticky tape to 

secure them to the pipe cleaner stem. 

6. Cut out a thin strip of green tissue paper and attach it to 

the bottom part of the petals to hide any imperfections and 

secure it with a tiny piece of tape. 

7. Take another pipe cleaner and cut it in half. Use the cut piece 

to create leaves. Wrap it around the ‘stem’ and using your 

fingers, create a leaf shape. 

8. You have now created a beautiful tissue paper flower for 

Mother’s Day! 


Delicious chocolate cupcakes recipe 

Delicious chocolate 

cupcake recipe 

You will need: 

For the cupcakes: 

• Warm water (a few 

tablespoons) 

• 40g cocoa powder 

• 3 eggs 

• 175g unsalted butter (room 

temperature) 

• 165g caster sugar 

• 115g self-raising flour 

• 1 teaspoon baking powder 

Instructions: 

For the icing: 

• 60g unsalted butter 

• 30g cocoa powder 

• A few tablespoons of milk 

• 250g icing sugar 

You will also need: 

• Cupcake cases 

• Mixing bowl 

• Mixing spoon 

• Decorations 

• Baking tin 

This is a delicious yet simple cupcake recipe, perfect for baking 

for fundraising events or just for fun. Our little chef is 5-years-old 

and very proud of his yummy chocolate cupcakes! 

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. 

2. Place cupcake cases on a baking or muffin tin. 

3. Put cocoa powder into a bowl and 

mix it with water to create a thick 

paste, then add all the remaining 

ingredients and mix them together. 

4. Divide cupcake mixture equally 

between the cases and bake 

them for 12-15 minutes until 

risen. 

5. Let the cupcakes cool on a 

wire rack while you prepare the 

buttercream icing. 

6. Melt the butter and pour it into a 

bowl. Stir in the cocoa powder and mix, 

then gradually add the icing sugar and milk, 

constantly stirring to create a beautiful and glossy 

buttercream. 

7. Add the buttercream icing on top of your cupcakes and 

decorate to your liking. 

8. You are done - enjoy your cupcakes! 


Keep on talking 

Keep on talking and 

mind the gap! 

and mind the gap! 

Many of you will have heard of the Oxford Language Report, which is the published 

report detailing the findings of an Oxford University Press (OUP) online survey with over 

1,300 primary and secondary school teachers from across the UK surveyed. They found 

that there is indeed a word gap that exists within the UK – with on average 49% of year 

one children lacking the vocabulary that they need to access the curriculum, so that it 

negatively affects their learning… 

This gap only slightly closes with age 

as the same survey found that a large 

43% of children still have a limited 

vocabulary to the extent that it affects 

their learning in year seven, which 

is the first year of secondary school. 

It makes interesting reading, but is 

perhaps not surprising to us in early 

years settings, who have anecdotally 

noticed a decline in children’s speech, 

language and communication 

abilities over the past 10 years or so. 

I regularly meet practitioners who tell 

me that more and more children are 

entering their settings with a very poor 

vocabulary, and poor communication 

and language skills. 

This hasn’t gone unnoticed by the 

government either. Justine Greening, 

when she was the Education Secretary, 

stated that to “close the word gap in 

the early years” was one of her four 

ambitions in the Social Mobility Plan, 

Unlocking talent, fulfilling potential. 

Now I have a problem with this phrase, 

although I welcome any attention 

that the early years receive from 

the government if it is linked with 

government spending, the phrase 

‘close the word gap in the early years’ 

implies to me that the problem lies 

within the early years itself and could 

even suggest that there is no word 

gap at other ages, which is not true. 

This problem is not confined to the 

UK either, a US study found that by 

the age of 3, children from poorer 

backgrounds have heard 30 million 

fewer words than those from more 

affluent backgrounds. So I welcome 

the idea that we need to improve our 

communication with young children. 

Within those first few years, children 

are just beginning to learn how to 

communicate. We look after children 

during the vital stage from birth to 

5 years, when the vast majority of 

language learning happens. We 

know that children’s brains develop 

fastest between the ages of birth 

and three, so let’s put our efforts into 

supporting children in this phase of 

education, let’s encourage investment 

in the early years to provide timely 

help and intervention and prevent 

the word gap from happening in the 

first place. Instead of starting with 

a deficit model of finding a problem 

and wanting to fix it, let’s put more 

preventative plans into place which 

will support children from birth, or 

even better, from before birth. 

In an article entitled Keep on talking 

one would imagine that I am wanting 

us to encourage children to talk more. 

However, if we focus too heavily 

on over-emphasising vocabulary, 

we may not spend enough time 

focusing on other factors such as 

paying attention, serve and return 

conversation and meaningful 

communication. Words are important, 

but they are only part of the story 

of language and communication 

development. 

So let’s think about how we learn 

to communicate and use language. 

Usually, children begin with a stage 

of preverbal communication in which 

babies use sounds and gestures to 

get their message across to others. 


As children learn words, they begin to 

take over, but they do not replace other 

forms of communication. In fact, the 

way we communicate and the gestures 

we use can reiterate what we’re saying, 

emphasise it or even contradict it. For 

example, my husband sometimes plays 

a game with our children at the dinner 

table, where he takes a mouthful of 

food and makes extremely unpleasant 

faces, implying that he really doesn’t 

like the food, to which our children ask, 

“Do you like it?” and he replies, “Yes, 

it’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever 

tasted!” They find this incredibly funny 

and sometimes play the inverse game. 

We started playing this game when 

they were younger to support them to 

understand the well-known phrase it’s 

not what you say, it’s the way that you 

say it…! 

Babies are born eager to communicate. 

They are hard-wired to seek out others 

and interact with them. However, 

just because developing language 

is innate, it doesn’t mean that it’s an 

automatic process. If a child had no 

experience of being talked to or few 

opportunities for social interaction, they 

would not develop healthily and learn 

to communicate. Learning language 

depends upon children hearing 

language in order for them develop 

their own communication methods, and 

using language is important to develop 

their understanding. Through talk, 

children are making connections and 

they use talk to extend, make explicit 

and reshape what they know. Talk 

also enables children to play and build 

relationships with others, which is vital 

for their social development. 

Here are some ways that we can support early communication: 

• Tune in to the child’s signals and cues to engage in meaningful talk 

• Make sure the babies and toddlers can see your face when you talk with 

them 

• Listen and respond to their language play 

• Copy the facial expressions, sounds and words made by babies and 

toddlers 

• Play turn-taking games, sing and coo to babies, encourage sound play 

and babbling 

• Share pictures and objects when you talk so that a child can link objects 

with words 

• Use labelling techniques and games, for example show me your fingers, 

nose 

• Use clear speech and simple phrases, role model appropriate and 

accurate language 

• Use strategies such as motherese/parentese (high pitched voice & 

simple words/phrases), recasting (rephrase things), expanding (add to) 

and repetition to enable children to identify and decode meanings 

• Use non-verbal communication alongside talk, role model facial 

expression, body language, gestures and intonation 

• Learn a few signs in Makaton or British Sign Language and use them 

every day and value all attempts at communication 

• Use expressive language which include rhythm and patterns 

• Maximise opportunities to develop children’s problem solving skills 

through talking whenever they arise 

• Model the ‘rules’ of language – e.g. turn-taking, serve and return, 

listening 

• Introduce new vocabulary when appropriate 

• Ask open-ended questions to stretch the child 

• Set up role-play and other environments which encourage talk 

• Have real, genuine and respectful conversations with children 

• Read stories every day 

Tamsin Grimmer 

Tamsin Grimmer is an 

experienced early years 

consultant and trainer and 

parent who is passionate about 

young children’s learning and 

development. She believes 

that all children deserve 

practitioners who are inspiring, 

dynamic, reflective and 

committed to improving on their 

current best. Tamsin particularly 

enjoys planning and delivering 

training and supporting 

early years practitioners and 

teachers to improve outcomes 

for young children. 

Tamsin has written two 

books - “Observing and 

Developing Schematic 

Behaviour in Young Children” 

and “School Readiness and 

the Characteristics of Effective 

Learning”. 

Website: 

tamsingrimmer.com 

Facebook: 

facebook.com/earlyyears. 

consultancy.5 

Twitter: 

@tamsingrimmer 

Email: 

info@tamsingrimmer.co.uk 

What you are doing really makes a 

difference for the children in your care 

and closing the word gap won’t just 

happen overnight – it is a reflection of 

the support, love and attention given 

to children from birth. So remember 

to keep on talking because we are 

supporting children to become the 

skillful communicators of tomorrow. 


Family Safety Safety Week 

Week 

29 th February - 4 th March 

29th February is a special day because it only happens every 

4 years. Due to the orbit of the earth around the sun, (which 

actually takes 365.25 days and not 365 days exactly), every 4 

years we have to add another day to our calendar, hence 29th 

February. Leap Day is usually a day for celebrations, marriage 

proposals and fun, but if you’re not careful, it could be your last! 

Accidents are the biggest killer of 

children and young people. Every year 

there are approximately 6,000 deaths 

as the result of a home accident, 

and on the roads, 5,838 children 

aged under 15 were injured in 2017 

alone. Accidents happen, yes, but 

many of them are preventable with 

a bit of thought, training and applied 

knowledge. So, in order to address 

the issues, the Royal Society for the 

Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), has 

been raising awareness and offering 

safety advice for over 100 years, and 

on 29th February 2020, their annual 

Family Safety Week begins. 

RoSPA’s vision is for people to live 

a life “free from serious accidental 

injury” and their mission is to offer 

life-enhancing skills and knowledge 

to people in order to reduce these. 

Children and over 65s are the most 

likely groups to suffer from home 

accidents, so Family Safety Week is the 

perfect opportunity to raise the topic 

with the children, young people and 

families in your care. 

If you haven’t visited the RoSPA 

website recently, then the first 

step is to familiarise yourself (and 

your colleagues) with the myriad 

of information and free resources 

that they offer. There are posters, 

training packs, videos and a wealth of 

information and advice to help people 

prevent injuries and accidents, much 

of it aimed specifically at the under-5s 

and the people that care for them. 

This year’s focus is on road safety 

for young people. Many adults will 

remember growing up with the Green 

Cross Code as it was launched in the 

1970s, but it is still relevant today with 

its simple message. 

One of the problems that RoSPA 

want people to understand, is the 

link between the ‘school-run’ and the 

number of child pedestrians who are 

killed or seriously injured between the 

periods of 8–9am and 3–4pm. They are 

also increasingly concerned that due 

to cuts to the number of road safety 

officers provided by local councils, more 

and more of our children are receiving 

little or poor pedestrian training. And 

it’s too late to think about it when a 

child excitedly runs suddenly into the 

road – there has to be action taken to 

prevent the accidents in the first place. 

So, what can you do in your 

setting? 

The safety and safeguarding of our 

children is everyone’s responsibility 

and it would be advantageous to start 

from the premise that some children 

in your setting may not have received 

any pedestrian training and make sure 

that you tell children how they can 

keep themselves safer when walking. 

Practical training is also extremely 


useful, and you should remind children 

about safety issues every time you 

travel outside your setting. 

There is a free, downloadable and 

practical pedestrian training pack for 

teachers of children in years 3 and 4 

who can’t get access to a road safety 

officer, to help them deliver training in 

this vital life skill. But the information 

is still relevant to early years and it’s 

better to receive more training than 

nothing at all. 

One way you could celebrate Family 

Safety Week is by focusing on a 

different safety area each day. 

You could think about other times 

and areas around the home where 

accidents happen that are particularly 

relevant for under 5s, including: 

• Bath time 

• Bedtime 

• Mealtimes 

• Playing 

• Stairs 

• Cupboards and storage areas 

• Doors 

• Going outside the home on roads 

and pavements 

• Playgrounds 

• Swimming 

Make it fun 

It’s important not to scare children 

when talking about safety issues, as 

we still need to encourage risk-taking 

and adventure too. But it’s vital that 

you get the message across and the 

risks are minimised. Talking about 

health and safety issues is not about 

eliminating risk because that is not 

real life, but it is about minimising 

risk through education, being well 

prepared, and taking responsibility. 

RoSPA also have a lot of information 

about how to prevent common 

accidents such as: 

• Burns and scalds 

• Carbon monoxide poisoning 

• Choking 

• Drowning 

• Injuries from fires 

• Poisoning 

• Falls 

• Strangulation and asphyxiation 

The new Keeping Kids Safe campaign 

aims to end the tragic toll of 0–4-yearolds 

needlessly killed or injured each 

year and there is more information 

online about this too with lots of videos 

and practical advice to follow. 

Involve your children’s 

families 

It’s not called Family Safety Week for 

nothing. In your setting, make sure 

you include events, activities and 

promotions which you can invite the 

whole family to. Read through the list 

of ideas below or come up with your 

own ways to get the messages across. 

•• 

Raise awareness and spread 

the word by letting parents and 

friends know that your setting 

is supporting Family Safety 

Week using your own social 

media and use some of the free 

downloadable social media 

resources on the website. Use the 

hashtag #FSW. 

•• 

Raise some money for the 

Brighter Beginnings Appeal which 

is raising money to provide new 

parents with life-saving tips and 

tools at a time when they need it 

most. The money goes towards 

providing parent packs, giving 

more children a brighter and safer 

future. 

•• 

Run an event for families in your 

setting or community. Be inventive 

about what the event could be. 

•• 

Create a display or 

performance to raise awareness 

in your setting. There are posters 

to download, colouring sheets to 

colour and you could create some 

emergency scenarios using drama 

to help teach the children the key 

messages. 

•• 

Phone the helpline to ask 

questions or at least let your 

staff and parents know that the 

helpline exists so that they can 

use it for any questions they have 

about keeping everyone safe. The 

number is 0808 801 0822. 

Whatever your situation, mark the 

week in a fun, exciting and above all, 

SAFE way! 

For more information, visit the RoSPA 

website. 


Encouraging independence in young 

children 

Encouraging 

independence 

in young children 

As children progress through your setting, it is important that they grow in their 

independence, so that they can grow in confidence, and so that they are ready 

for future steps such as school. A child that is independent is far more likely to 

have the confidence to attempt new things and learn new skills than one that still 

depends on adult help for most day to day tasks. 

Whether it is getting 

dressed, putting shoes 

and coats on, toileting by 

themselves or seeking 

their own activities, 

independence can’t help but 

build self-esteem. Below are 

some tips for encouraging 

early years children to begin 

to become independent 

with every day tasks. 

Teach them how to 

do each thing – don’t 

assume they will 

know. We take for granted 

the things that we can 

do and that some more 

independent children can 

do, and forget that at 

first, children just don’t 

know how to do things 

independently – you need 

to teach each and every 

skill just the same as we 

teach a child to read and 

write. Tidying up is a great 

example of this – many 

adults get frustrated when 

children don’t tidy up but 

often they don’t know how. 

They don’t remember where 

everything came from, so 

they can’t put it back. You 

need to help them learn the 

right place for the things 

they play with. 

Make sure children 

can physically manage 

the task. Sometimes 

the thing preventing a 

child doing something by 

themselves is the fact that 

they can’t physically do it, 

despite knowing what they 

need to do. Take wiping 

their bottom, for example. A 

lot of children aren’t able to 

do this successfully because 

they are unable to reach 

behind them. It’s the same 

skill needed to be able to 

put on a coat – putting your 

arms behind you. You can’t 

expect a child to become 

independent at this until 

they can physically manage 

it, therefore throughout each 

day, schedule opportunities 

for children to develop 

these physical skills. So, for 

reaching behind their back 

children need to practise 

clapping behind their back, 

passing a bean bag and 

pulling off pegs that are 

attached to the back of their 

clothing. This way, there is 

nothing holding them back. 

Likewise with tidying up – 

can they physically reach 

the places that they need 

to, to put things away? Can 

they manage to open the 


“ 

If you finish a task for a child then you 

are teaching them that you can do it 

better than they can. Have patience and 

let them figure it out for themselves. 

“ 

drawer? Is there room in 

the drawer? If children can’t 

physically do the task that is 

expected of them, then they 

won’t become independent 

at it and you are setting 

them up to fail. 

Don’t do it for them! 

I know this seems obvious 

but us adults are always in a 

hurry. As a parent I certainly 

am. If you finish a task for a 

child, then you are teaching 

them that you can do it 

better than they can. Have 

patience and let them figure 

it out for themselves. 

Model it. We all know that 

children watch everything 

we do. Show them that you 

can do things for yourself 

and encourage them to do 

the same. You can do this 

both in real life situations 

and in role-play. 

Use visuals. If a child 

is still learning a skill, 

then giving them verbal 

instructions is great, but it 

may be difficult for some 

children to process these 

instructions, especially if 

you are using too much 

language. Plus, the words 

have gone as soon as 

they have been spoken, 

so the child is left trying 

to both remember as 

well as process what was 

said. If you display these 

instructions visually using 

visual symbols or photos, 

then a child can take their 

time to process them, follow 

them and keep checking 

back if they need to. 

Praise, praise, praise. 

I’m sure you do this anyway, 

I hope you do! I can’t stress 

this enough. Children 

love attention, especially 

positive attention so give 

lots of it when they achieve 

something new. 

Give positive and 

constructive feedback. 

If a child is trying hard 

but not just managing a 

new skill independently, 

it’s helps to give them 

constructive feedback 

amongst positive feedback. 

In teaching, there is a 

marking method called ‘star, 

star, wish’ where you say 

two brilliant things about 

a child’s piece of work and 

then one thing they could 

work on next time – the 

thing that you ‘wish’ them to 

do next. There is no reason 

that this can’t be applied to 

verbal feedback. 

Peer support – elder 

children supporting 

younger children. We 

know that young children 

love to watch, and be like, 

older children. What better 

way to teach new skills than 

by having other children 

model it? Get them involved! 

Gina Smith 

Gina Smith is an 

experienced teacher with 

experience of teaching 

in both mainstream and 

special education. She 

is the creator of ‘Create 

Visual Aids’ - a business 

that provides both homes 

and education settings with 

bespoke visual resources. 

Gina recognises the fact 

that no two children are 

the same and therefore 

individuals are likely to 

need different resources. 

Create Visual Aids is 

dedicated to making visual 

symbols exactly how the 

individual needs them. 

Website: 

www.createvisualaids.com 

Email: 

gina@createvisualsaids.com 

Encourage parents 

to share what 

children are doing 

independently at 

home. It may be that the 

child is able to do more 

than you had realised. You 

could get parents to share 

achievements as a ‘wow’ 

observation, so that you 

can both celebrate it, and 

have the same levels of 

expectation both at home 

and in your setting. 

So there we have a few tips 

for encouraging children to 

do things by themselves. 

They don’t just apply to 

practical things such as 

getting dressed, but also 

apply to just ‘being brave’ 

and having a go at new 

things by themselves. Teach 

children that it is ok to go 

wrong – the important thing 

is that we tried! 

Good luck and have fun! 


British Science Week 

When you think about science lessons, what do you think of? Crusty old chemistry labs, blueflamed 

Bunsen Week 

burners and impossible physics equations? Or green-powered racing cars, 

destructive robot wars and space exploration? If you answered the first set, then its been a 

long time since your last science lesson, because things have changed a lot. 

In the last century, most students 

studied science as separate subjects 

(physics, chemistry and biology) but 

one resulting problem was that in 

many schools, girls tended to drop 

physics and boys dropped biology 

in their GCSE options so, often, they 

did not get a broad spectrum science 

education. This affected the take up of 

many science subjects in universities 

and so strategies were developed to 

give students a more comprehensive 

science education at GCSE level. In 

2006, combined science GCSEs were 

introduced where students studied 

approximately 2/3rds of the content of 

the single subjects, and were awarded 

2 GCSEs, known as ‘double science’. 

‘Triple science’ as it’s known now, is 

still available. 

Strategies were also developed to help 

support and revolutionise the teaching 

of science throughout all educational 

years, as well as promoting STEM 

(science, technology, engineering and 

maths) projects and careers. British 

Science Week is one such initiative to 

highlight and promote a very broad 

view of science in the curriculum. 

What is British Science Week? 

British Science Week celebrates 

anything and everything related to 

STEM and is a programme of exciting 

events running throughout the whole 

of the UK. It actually runs for slightly 

longer than a week, from the 6–15th 

March, and is coordinated by the 

British Science Association, and funded 

by the Department for Business, 

Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). 

One of the best things about British 

Science Week is that there are no 

restrictions on who can organise events 

or the topics they choose, as long 

as there is an underlying element of 

science, technology, engineering, or 


maths. This means that the subsequent 

programme is full of amazingly diverse 

and varied events which are suitable 

for people of all ages and abilities, 

limited only by the imagination of the 

organisers. Thousands of people get 

involved every year, from teachers, 

parents and community groups to large 

organisations and industry. In 2019, 

there were over 82,000 downloads 

of the free activity packs, 700 media 

posts, 35,000 tweets, reaching an 

estimated 68.5 million people, which 

is approximately the number of people 

in the UK - so British Science Week is a 

big deal! 

How can you get involved? 

The BSW website has lots of 

information and advice on how to get 

involved and 3 specially designed 

activity packs aimed at early years 

pupils, primary pupils and secondary 

school pupils, based around the 

theme of ‘Our Diverse Planet’. You 

can download them here. There’s 

also a “Fun, Family Science” pack that 

parents, carers and grandparents can 

use if they want to do some science 

outside of an educational, nursery or 

school setting. And you can still access 

packs from previous years too, so 

there’s plenty to choose from. 

The packs include lots of activities 

based around the ‘Our Diverse Planet’ 

theme, including word searches, 

crosswords, factsheets and colouring 

sheets as well as information about 

future career choices for older students. 

Science is all about experimenting, 

so you could also undertake a few 

simple experiments in your setting, or 

attend some organised events – the 

choice is yours. If you want to find out 

about local events in your area than 

you can use the Science Live area of 

the website or volunteer in Operation 

Weather Rescue, an ambitious project 

aimed at digitising old, handwritten 

weather records to preserve them. 

If you are organising your own event, 

there is a lot of information to help 

you as well including downloadable 

‘how-to’ guides, posters, logos and 

marketing materials. Although it may 

be too late for this year, small grants 

are available for some projects, so you 

can always read the funding guides 

and plan ahead if you’d like to apply 

for some funding for an event next 

year. Contact the organisers by email 

bsw@britishscienceassociation.org at 

any time for help too. 

Get your community involved 

We don’t often remember, but the 

impact of STEM is all around us and we 

often take it for granted without really 

thinking about how much science we 

rely on all day, every day. One way to 

get your children interested in science 

is to invite local community members 

into your setting to talk about or show 

how science has influenced them. Do 

you know any parents who are: 

• Doctors 

• Dentists 

• Nurses 

• Engineers 

• Architects 

• Builders 

• Chefs or cooks 

• Pharmacists 

• Accountants 

• Researchers 

• Data analysts? 

You could also partner up with your 

local primary school to deliver events 

as well which can help with crosscurricular 

work and forging new 

partnerships. 

Science, STEM and the EYFS 

There are obvious links to the EYFS 

when you try different STEM activities. 

Maths is an area of learning in its own 

right, but under the “Understanding the 

world” heading, you can do lots of STEM 

activities based around investigation 

and experimentation including growing 

things, building things and researching 

things. The internet is full of pre-school 

STEM activities, but we like some of the 

ideas here which are simple to set up 

and do. 

Some easy science 

experiments anyone can do 

You don’t need lots of money or 

resources either to make British 

Science Week fun. The website has a 

guide to “Science on a shoestring” for 

those on limited budgets, where the 

most important thing is to remember 

to have fun and be creative! 

Think about investigating some 

everyday things in your setting, and 

you’ll be well on the way to making 

British Science Week a success: 

• Solids, liquids and gases using ice, 

water and steam 

• Setting up a weather station 

• Growing some plants 

• Searching for mini beasts 

• Making slime 

• Working out how and why things 

float or sink 

• Growing crystals 

• Thinking about geology by looking 

at different stones 

• Going on a nature walk and 

spotting some wildlife 

• Building different towers to see 

which ones stay upright 

• Looking at the properties of 

different materials e.g. wood, 

cotton wool, wire 

• Investigating magnets 






Skills-based or theme-based? Which method is more effective when sharing music in 

the early years? Should it matter? Why? Since 2006, I have done both – and even been 

criticised. For both. However, my students (of all ages!) responded best to theme-based 

sessions. And from what I have read, this is why: people love stories. 

My articles in the next few months will 

cover theme-based ideas for early 

years music sessions, and because it 

can and has been so hotly debated, I 

am using this opportunity to explain 

my reasons. And to further illustrate 

my point, interspersed in the article, I 

have included popular nursery rhymes 

– with their originating stories. 

Baa baa, black sheep, have you 

any wool? 

Yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full 

One for the master, one for the 

dame 

One for the little boy who lives 

down the lane 

Some thought it was a comment on 

racism – it was actually about unfair 

English taxes on wool in 1272! 

Stories allow new ideas to travel 

through time and space; give us 

choices as we navigate the world; 

develop our imagination; allow us 

to dream about the impossible. 

Historically, people have been 

expressing themselves creatively to tell 

stories before formal records began. 

People with musical skills created 

tunes for words, movements or events, 

enhancing meaning. People copied 

these songs, initially from memory, 

and the lack of accuracy led to many 

variations until music began to be 

written down and ultimately, recorded. 

But were we taught or were we born 

to tell stories? We still don’t know. 

Neither do we know why some stories 

and songs seem to have more impact 

than others. Creating them may have 

something to do with leaving a legacy, 

and music therapists have found that 

song-writing can be incredibly effective 

because even when people are at their 

lowest, loneliest points, they still want 

to tell their stories. They value music 

that reflects them, or helps them to 

better understand themselves. 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall 

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall 

All the king’s horses and all the 

king’s men 

Couldn’t put Humpty together 

again 

Some thought it was about an egg 

on a wall – it actually tells the story 

of a great cannon that was used 

to defend the English king against 

Parliamentarians, until it literally 

fell off the castle walls into the mud 

below, in 1648! 

Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple 

intelligences, argued that we can 

all be “clever” in different ways, so 

he recommended that it was best 

to present the same information 

in different ways. One example is 

learning a scientific principle and then 

using it to solve real-world problems: 

e.g. “the volume of a non-uniformshaped 

object is calculated by the 

amount of water that is displaced”. 

Alternatively, the story of Archimedes 

could be used where, after being 

challenged by the king, supposedly 

in his bath of water that night, he 

shouted, “Eureka!” as he realised 

that he could measure the volume of 

a non-uniform-shaped object by the 

amount of water it displaced. 

Honestly, I am more likely to remember 

the story – in fact, I actually do. It was 

the stories in history that reminded me of 

factual dates and sequences of events; 

I had to invent tricks for theorems in 


geometry; even the order of the planets 

had a trick (now a breeze, after I put them 

to a familiar song, and created a whacky 

“story” using their first letters!). 

Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie 

Kissed the girls and made them 

cry 

When the boys came out to play 

Georgie Porgie ran away 

Some thought it was about 

simple bullying – it was actually a 

commentary on a rather large king 

who could not be with the woman 

he loved and hated the woman he 

married, making both of them cry. He 

then went to watch an illegal bareknuckle 

boxing fight, and when one 

fighter was killed, the king ran away 

to avoid being implicated! 

Thinking back, stories were used when 

I was in primary school (in the 80s!) to 

teach language and humanities skills, 

unlike my daughter’s GCSE English 

books, which are split by skills. 

She will never get to remember to 

write and break paragraphs as 

we did, based on witch’s spells 

written in the form of haikus. 

Doctor Foster went to Gloucester 

In a shower of rain 

He stepped in a puddle right up 

to his middle 

And never went there again 

Another rhyme, another king, this 

time around 1100. Being very clever, 

he was nicknamed Dr Foster, and he 

went to Gloucester because of the 

town’s strategic position near Wales. 

Riding his horse through a storm, he 

rode through what he thought was a 

puddle, but both he and the horse fell 

into a deep ditch. Embarrassed about 

having to be rescued, he vowed never 

to return! 

Education research shows that we learn 

most successfully if we can relate new 

knowledge to what we already know, 

so singing about stories develops 

musical skills in a natural way. Other 

recreational activities like music, such 

as film, books, theatre, opera, all use 

storytelling. 

Practitioners continue to debate the 

merits of skills-based sessions or 

thematic sessions; whether we should 

keep the original song words or change 

them to suit the game, purpose or 

culture. I, however, have made my 

peace with storytelling. I have found 

that it is powerful when introducing, 

exploring and consolidating ideas. I use 

themes that are familiar, change song 

lyrics if appropriate, and repeat skills 

often and in different ways. The next 

articles will cover the themes that I have 

successfully used in my music sessions, 

from babies through to 7-year-olds. 

Jack and Jill went up the hill 

To fetch a pail of water 

Jack fell down and broke his 

crown 

And Jill came tumbling after 

No kings in this one, as far as we 

know, but a sad tale nonetheless! 

A young couple often went up a hill 

for privacy, and soon Jill became 

pregnant. Before the baby was born, 

Jack was killed by a rock that fell from 

their hill, and as the legend goes, Jill 

died in childbirth. 

To conclude this article … my whacky 

order of the planets rhyme (circa 1990, 

before Pluto was recategorized as a 

minor/dwarf planet) … think of the tune 

to My Fair Lady’s “On The Street Where 

You Live”: 

Order of the planets by size: 

“I have often walked down this street before, but the pavement always stayed be-” 

Mexico Pies Make Very Easy Ugly Noticeable Steak Joints 

Mercury Pluto Mars Venus Earth Uranus Neptune Saturn Jupiter 

Order of the planets from the sun: 

“-neath my feet before, all at once am I several stories high, knowing I’m on the street where you live” 

Many Very Energetic Mon...keys Jump Scarily Under Neptune’s Planets 

Frances Turnbull 

Musician, researcher and 

author, Frances Turnbull, is 

a self-taught guitarist who 

has played contemporary 

and community music from 

the age of 12. She delivers 

music sessions to the early 

years and KS1. Trained in the 

music education techniques 

of Kodály (specialist 

singing), Dalcroze (specialist 

movement) and Orff (specialist 

percussion instruments), she 

has a Bachelor’s degree in 

Psychology (Open University) 

and a Master’s degree in 

Education (University of 

Cambridge). She runs a local 

community choir, the Bolton 

Warblers, and delivers the 

Sound Sense initiative aiming 

for “A choir in every care 

home” within local care and 

residential homes, supporting 

health and wellbeing through 

her community interest 

company. 

She has represented the 

early years music community 

at the House of Commons, 

advocating for recognition for 

early years music educators, 

and her table of progressive 

music skills for under 7s 

features in her curriculum 

books. 

Frances is the author of 

“Learning with Music: 

Games and Activities for the 

Early Years“, published by 

Routledge, August 2017. 

www.musicaliti.co.uk 

Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto 

References: 

www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/More-Nursery-Rhymes 


National Careers Week 

National 

Careers 

Week 

The first week in March, or the 2–7th 

March to be precise, is National 

Careers Week, when educational 

institutions, employers and careers 

advisers across the country will be 

shining the spotlight on the manyfaceted 

nature of our working lives, 

and helping young people and those 

looking for career changes later in life, 

to make important career choices. 

In the last millennia, careers 

advice was often limited to a 

few traditional professions, 

and many people thought 

they would do what their 

parents had done, start at 

the bottom and work their 

way up to the top of their 

chosen profession over the 

course of a working lifetime. 

But the reality nowadays is 

very different. People, and 

especially young people, 

are more mobile in career 

terms than their parents; 

they move sideways, 

diagonally and seldom stay 

in one industry for their 

entire working life. The world 

has changed, industries 

have changed, and the 

aspirations and desires of 

young people have changed 

accordingly. 

Technological advances 

account for many of the 

differences – the advent 

of the internet has had 

a massive effect on the 

way we shop; high streets 

are declining, and service 

industries are taking their 

place. Predictions about 

future jobs include the 

increased use of computers 

and artificial intelligence 

(A.I.) to replace a lot of 

manual labour. In a speech 

given by Amber Rudd in 

2019, on “The future of the 

labour market”, she said: 

“Automation is driving 

the decline of banal and 

repetitive tasks. So the jobs 

of the future are increasingly 

likely to be those that need 

human sensibilities, with 

personal relationships, 

qualitative judgement and 

creativity coming to the fore.” 

This bodes well for the 

childcare industry. However, 

the challenge for all 

industries is how to meet 

these changing needs and 

make sure that the young 

people coming into the 

workforce are well informed, 

well prepared and able to 

adapt to the changes going 

forward. 

What is National 

Careers Week? 

National Careers Week 

(NCW) is a not-for-profit 

company which was set up 

to promote the importance 

of good careers education 

in schools and colleges. 

It was founded by, and is 

supported by, volunteers 

with a wealth of experience 

and backgrounds in 

education, business and 

careers guidance. It is 

financially supported by 

industry sponsors such as 

RBS, Burberry, the NHS and 

The Royal Society to name 

but a few. 

The week itself is dedicated 

to celebrating careers 

information and guidance to 

help support young people 

as they leave education. 

It encourages educational 

establishments to provide 

focused careers guidance 

and activities across all 

ages to help students make 

appropriate choices, and 

start planning for their 

chosen careers. 

NCW aims to empower the 3 

key stakeholders, as follows: 

• Students – by providing 

them with access to 

resources and by linking 

the world of education 

to the world of work. 

• Educators and 

advisors – by 

providing them with 

free, quality resources 


mapped against the 

Gatsby Benchmarks - 8 

guidelines defining the 

best careers provision 

for secondary schools. 

• Organisations – 

encouraging them to 

promote their training 

and career opportunities 

to the next generation to 

help engage and inspire 

them. 

How you can get 

involved – join the 

Pledge Campaign 

The Pledge Campaign 

encourages individuals and 

organisations to make a 

pledge to support National 

Careers Week, using the 

hashtag #NCW2020. As 

an early years setting, it 

may be a little early to 

start talking to the children 

in your care about their 

chosen careers, but you 

can absolutely get involved 

in talking to teenagers 

and young people about 

the early years sector, 

encouraging them to ask 

questions and showing 

them what it means to be 

an early years professional. 

Some ways you could do this include: 

• Promoting NCW with the families and colleagues 

within your setting. You may know parents who 

have an older child who is interested in joining the 

childcare sector, who might appreciate knowing 

where to go for more information. 

• Allowing staff who may be interested in furthering 

their career, to visit a school, college, training 

provider or university; or giving them time off, or 

time at work to complete some CPD courses which 

can improve their career prospects. Parenta can 

assist with low-cost, online CPD courses which you 

can access from our website here. 

• Offering your experience and knowledge to local 

education institutions during a break or lunchtime, 

or as part of an organised and structured lesson. 

An hour of your time talking to students about early 

years education can give them an insight into the 

industry and some valuable insider knowledge, 

so they have a better idea what to expect. A lot of 

secondary schools now run Health and Social Care 

GCSEs where your input could be welcome too. 

• Attend a local career event either as a recruiter 

or an adviser. Talk to young people about the 

industry and remember to ask questions about 

their expectations too, so that you can better 

match your needs to theirs. 

• Provide some work experience for a young 

person. Schools and colleges often struggle to 

find work experience placements for students, so 

offering your setting as a venue will be one way to 

make a difference. 

Alternatively, you can make your own pledge to help 

with the overall aims of National Careers Week. You 

can make a pledge on the NCW website here. 

The NCW website is full of advice and information 

for educational establishments which are free to 

download too, so if you have children of secondary 

school age who need some careers advice about the 

childcare or other industries, you can always direct 

them (and their teachers) to the website too. 

Childcare apprenticeships 

Another way you can help young people get into the 

childcare industry is by offering an apprenticeship to 

a school leaver. Parenta train over 3,000 childcare 

professionals every year and can offer advice 

and training for you and your staff from level 2 

qualifications right through to CPD and management. 

If you are interested in apprenticeships or recruitment, 

contact Parenta for more information. 

parenta.com hello@parenta.com 0800 002 9242 


Write for us for a chance to win £50! 

Write for us! 

We’re always on the lookout for new authors to contribute insightful articles for our 

monthly magazine. 

If you’ve got a topic you’d like to write about, why not send an article to us and be in with a chance of winning? Each 

month, we’ll be giving away a £50 voucher to our “Guest Author of the Month”. 

Here are the details: 

• Choose a topic that is relevant to early years childcare 

• Submit an article of between 800–1,000 words to marketing@parenta.com 

• If we choose to feature your article in our magazine, you’ll be eligible to win £50 

• The winner will be picked based on having the highest number of views for their article during that month 

This competition is open to both new and existing authors, for any articles submitted to feature in our Parenta 

magazine. The lucky winner will be notified via email and we’ll also include an announcement in the following month’s 

edition of the magazine. 

Got any questions or want to run a topic by us? Get in touch via marketing@parenta.com 

Guest author winner announced 

Congratulations 

Joanna Grace 

Congratulations to our guest author 

competition winner, Joanna Grace! 

Joanna’s article in the January edition of the 

Parenta magazine, “Multisensory room magic?” 

was very popular with our readers. 

Well done, Joanna! 

A massive thank you to all of our guest authors 

for writing for us. 

You can find all of the past articles from our 

guest authors on our website: www.parenta. 

com/parentablog/guest-authors 


PARENT 

PORTAL 

FREE 

Parent Portal is a FREE APP that works 

hand-in-hand with Parenta’s other software 

solutions and it gives parents: 

A newsfeed of their child’s day 

including photos and videos 

Their account balance and invoice 

breakdown 

The ability to download invoice and 

payment receipts 

A calendar view of past, present and 

future sessions booked 

View and request changes for 

information about their child including 

allergies, illnesses and medication 

+ lots more! 

We’ve worked with thousands of settings, so we 

know exactly what tools you need to make your 

business successful. We believe that delivering 

great childcare means working closely alongside 

parents; and with Parent Portal, they can stay 

involved in their child’s day. 

Interested? Speak to our team to find 

out more on 0800 002 9242 or email us 

at hello@parenta.com.

Come and find us on stand C32! We’d love to speak to you about... 

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Parenta Magazine March 2020

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