September complete mag

Issue 70 

SEPTEMBER 2020 

FREE 

Industry 

Experts 

Childhood Cancer 

Awareness Month: 

be bold, go gold 

Supporting new leaders 

with the capability 

learning cycle 

Nurturing shy 

children 

+ lots more 

Write for us 

for a chance to win 

£50 

page 6 

Three ways to 

greater playfulness 

There are many benefits to being a playful adult, and as someone who supports children, 

if you become more playful yourself, both you and the children will reap the benefits. 

NATIONAL FITNESS DAY • INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY • RAISING AWARENESS OF SEPSIS

hello 

welcome to our family 

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

September is here already; and a “new normal” academic year awaits the education sector. 

All children will now return to our schools and settings to lots of change which may be difficult for some. With 

this in mind, this month we take a look at different aspects of ‘attachment’ from two industry experts. Tamsin 

Grimmer shares her wealth of advice on how children learn, and the importance of using an attachment 

and trauma-based approach in teaching; and Stacey Kelly gives us invaluable guidance on how children need 

attachment and security before they can become independent. 

One of the things that lockdown has taught us is that we either ‘fit’ into the ‘keeping fit’ or the ‘not keeping fit category’! Almost 

1 in 5 children are overweight or obese when they start primary school, rising to 1 in 3 when they start secondary school. Since 

lockdown, parents have reported that 36% of children are doing less physical activity, although 30% are also doing more, so it’s 

not all doom and gloom! This year, we celebrate National Fitness Day on 23rd September – turn to page 24 for some fantastic 

ways in which you can get involved and really educate the children about the importance of fitness – it’s never too early! 

We were spoilt for choice for craft topics this month. Our cute animal bookmarks have been inspired by no less than three 

special occasions: Recycling Week, International Literacy Day and Roald Dahl Day! We hope this will help you teach the children 

about recycling and help them to choose more stories! Our little helpers had so much fun making them – don’t forget to send us 

your photos of your wonderful creations to marketing@parenta.com. 

Congratulations to one of our new guest authors, Katie White. who is our winner for July! Her article, which focuses on the 

difficult subject of how we can help children practice the skill of shifting between emotional states, really struck a chord with our 

readers. Well done Katie! 

We hope you enjoy our magazine this month – please feel free to share with friends, parents and colleagues – they can sign up 

to receive their own copy here! 

Please stay safe everyone. 

Allan 

Childhood 

cancer 

awareness 

Join in to raise 

awareness, fund support 

programmes and 

research for Childhood 

Cancer Awareness 

Month. 

Nurturing 

shy children 

12 

22 

Innately shy children 

often come into the 

world with more 

sensitive temperaments. 

Find out how to nuture 

shy children. 

National Fitness 

Day 

24 

National Fitness Day can be lots of 

things to lots of people – you may 

want to run your own event, host a 

sports day or invite a P.E. specialist 

into your unit to give a workshop in 

your setting. 

JUNE SEPTEMBER 2020 ISSUE 202067 

ISSUE 70 

IN THIS EDITION 

Regulars 

68 Write Child-friendly for us smoothie for the chance to win 

15 £50! Write for us for a chance to win £50 

615 Guest author winner winner announced announced 

20 39 Pink starf ish pancakes craf t craft 

21 Animal bookmarks craft 

News 

Preparations for the ‘new normal’ and 

4 Childcare news and views 

returning to your setting 

8 A round up of some childcare news 

stories that have caught our eye 

over the month 

Advice 

Advice 

6 Father’s Day at home 

10 Children’s Art Week 

12 World Childhood Oceans Cancer Day Awareness Month: 

20 Child be bold, Safety go Week gold 

26 16 Bike European Week 2020 Day of Languages 

34 24 Growing National for Fitness wellbeing Day Week 

36 28 National International Writing Literacy Day Day 

38 32 Diabetes Raising Week awareness of sepsis 

36 Migraine Awareness Week 

Industry Experts 

16 14 Talking Supporting about difference: new leaders behavioural with the 

difficulties capability learning cycle 

18 18 Storytelling Storytelling music: in music: using using royalty royalty and 

and 

magic 

magic part 4 

22 Nurturing shy children 

22 Furlough: The new ‘f’ word 

26 Three ways to greater playfulness 

28 Three ways to reduce meltdowns 

30 How children learn and the 

30 Promoting positive behaviour in pre-school 

importance of using an attachment 

children 

and trauma based approach 

34 How attachment leads to 

independence 

38 Building on relationships and 

communication with parents 

How children learn and the importance of using 

an attachment and trauma based approach 30 

Raising awareness of sepsis 32 

How attachment leads to independence 34 

Building on relationships and communication 

with parents 

38

Childcare 

news & views 

Here is a recap of key news stories from the past month! 

CMA issues open letter to the 

early years sector 

In response to alleged unfair practices 

caused by Covid-19 disruptions, the 

Competition and Markets Authority 

(CMA) published an open letter to the 

early years sector, on the subject of 

dealing with parents (consumers) during 

the pandemic. 

The guidance has been released so 

that childcare providers understand 

their obligations, under common law, 

towards parents. 

In summary, charging parents 

cancellation fees, retainers and usual 

fees during lockdown when nurseries 

were unable to open, are some of the 

areas addressed in the letter; and in 

conclusion, the CMA has decided not to 

take any enforcement action. However, it 

will continue to monitor the sector. 

The letter also states that the Authority 

is unlikely to challenge any voluntary 

arrangements which were agreed 

between parents and settings, providing 

parents weren’t pressured into agreeing 

out of fear that they may risk losing their 

child’s place or even that the setting 

may go out of business. 

The story on parenta.com can be found 

here. 

Refunds denied for childcare 

voucher scheme 

Parents who have paid into childcare 

voucher schemes are being denied 

refunds by their employers, despite not 

being able to use the vouchers during 

lockdown. Some say they have built up 

balances of more than £1,000. 

Although the tax-efficient scheme closed 

to new applicants in October 2018, those 

who have already signed up are able to 

continue to buy the vouchers. In financial 

terms, if two parents contribute the 

maximum, vouchers could cut the cost of 

childcare by £1,866 a year, according to 

the scheme. 

But with childcare providers closed over 

lockdown, many parents have built up 

a surplus of vouchers they now can’t 

use in the future - this could be because 

their children are starting school in 

September. It has been reported 

that when some parents have asked 

employers for their money back, they 

have been told ‘no’. 


here. 

The full story, as reported by 

thisismoney.co.uk can be found here. 

Labour warns of ‘perfect 

storm’ for working parents 

A “perfect storm” of rising childcare 

costs and providers closing down could 

make it “impossible” for some parents 

to return to work amid the coronavirus 

pandemic, Labour says. 

The opposition party says childcare 

costs in England have risen up to three 

times as fast as wages since 2010 

and is calling on the Government to 

“urgently provide targeted support” to 

the childcare sector. 

In response, the Government said 

the sector had received “significant” 

support. 

Since 1st June, when early years 

providers have been allowed to open to 

all children, the Government has said 

people who can, no longer have to work 

from home. However, Labour warns that 

many parents will struggle to return to 

workplaces without adequate childcare, 

particularly if families cannot rely on 

grandparents for help due to the virus. 

It says “long-term underfunding and 

a lack of targeted support during the 

coronavirus pandemic, will make it 

impossible for many providers to remain 

viable”. 


here. 

The full story, as reported by the BBC 

can be found here. 

Ofsted to start visits from 

September 

Ofsted has announced that from 

September this year, it will start to 

re-visit nurseries and childminders to 

ensure standards are being maintained 

and “well-run, safe and effective 

childcare is available for all who need 

it.” 

It has published its guidance on interim 

visits which details how these visits will 

work in practice and which childcare 

providers inspectors will be visiting. 

The visits are part of its phased return 

to routine inspection, details of which 

can be found here and it emphasises 

that they are not ‘inspections’ and 

will not result in an inspection grade, 

though inspectors will still be able to 

use regulatory or enforcement powers if 

necessary. 

Routine inspections of early years 

settings will not start before January 

2021. 


here. 

The news story, as published on the 

Government’s Ofsted website can be 

found here. 

Early years practitioners 

leave the industry feeling 

‘underpaid and undervalued’ 

A report out on 5th August from the 

Social Mobility Commission reveals 

that early years childcare workers are 

leaving the industry, blighted by low 

pay, long hours and poor prospects. 

The study says the workforce is 

“increasingly unstable”, with not enough 

new entrants to replace those who 

leave. The Government says it has 

boosted funding to childcare providers, 

in order to help parents get back to 

work, but the Commission urges a total 

overhaul of early years careers. 

It states that good quality early 

years provision is key to reducing the 

attainment gap between children from 

disadvantaged families and their betteroff 

peers, but this provision is at risk as 

committed professionals find themselves 

undervalued, underpaid and unable to 

make ends meet. 


here. 

The full story, as reported by the BBC 


The Social Mobility Commission Report 


Care workers to benefit from 

new childcare costs grant 

A new ‘childcare costs grant’ up to the 

value of £2,000 has been launched 

exclusively for care workers. 

This grant is available from the Care 

Workers Charity (CWC), as part of the 

charity’s Coronavirus Emergency Fund, 

launched in March for care workers 

financially hit by the pandemic. 

The grant can be used retrospectively 

covering childcare costs from 23 March 

up to the value of £2,000. 

Care workers can apply for childcare 

costs for children up to five years 

old – for up to £125 per week and for 

childminder costs for six to twelve-yearolds 

during term time – up to the value 

of £70 per week. They can also apply for 

holiday childcare costs up to the value of 

£150 per week. 


here. 

The full story, as reported in homecare. 

co.uk can be read here. 

The CMA letter can be read in full on the 

government website here. 

4 September 2020 | parenta.com 

parenta.com | September 2020 5

Write for us! 

“What’s My Child Thinking?” 

Practical Child Psychology for Modern Parents 

By Tanith Carey and clinical psychologist, Dr Angharad Rudkin 

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”. You can find all 

the details here: https://www.parenta.com/ 

sponsored-content/ 

This invaluable book uses child development 

to look at more than one hundred different scenarios 

focusing on two- to-seven-year-olds 

ON SALE NOW! 

From all good booksellers, published by DK books. 

Congratulations 

to our guest author competition winner, Katie White! 

Congratulations to Katie White who is our guest author 

winner for July! Her article which focuses on the difficult 

subject of how we can help children practice the skill of 

shifting between emotional states really struck a chord 

with our readers. Well done Katie! 

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 

Lead the Way with Success 

If you have enjoyed reading Ruth’s articles about leadership 

through a coaching approach, why not consider inviting her 

to work with you and/or your setting? 

With a career background in Early Education and Leadership, Ruth works 

as a coach and consultant across the Early Years’ sector. She can offer 

the following: 

1:1 coaching for head teachers/leaders/managers 

1:1 coaching for senior leaders 

Small group coaching for leaders/teams 

Action Learning sets 

Introductory courses on coaching and mentoring for you and 

your team 

Leadership learning course (6 half day sessions) for EYFS 

leads or nursery managers 

With Covid 19 impacting on schools and settings, 

Ruth can offer her services on a virtual online 

platform, tailored to your needs. 

If you would like to know how Ruth can support you, 

please get in touch for an initial conversation: 

Email: ruthmercercoaching@gmail.com 

Website: www.ruthmercercoaching.com 



A round up of some childcare 

news stories that have caught 

our eye over the month. 

Nursery Retailer, Kiddies 

Kingdom, Donates 50 Cot 

Mattresses To Local Baby 

Bank 

Children’s book pays tribute 

to ‘health heroes’ of Covid-19 

pandemic 

Malton Montessori School 

and Nursery embraces the 

outdoors: colourful festival 

tents for classrooms 

Duchess launches Tiny 

Happy People scheme 

Children enjoy emotional 

send off from Little Peeps 

Nursery 

Thatcham’s Pied Piper 

Preschool delivers message 

bags to children in lockdown 

The much-needed donation, which 

consisted of 50 brand new cot 

mattresses, will be distributed by the 

charity to local families in need of 

support. 

A new children’s book tells the stories 

of people who have helped keep 

health and care services afloat during 

the coronavirus crisis, from paramedics 

and physiotherapists to care home 

staff and social workers. 

Within days, a tented community of 

colourful festival tents popped up 

in the new meadows, each having 

roll up and vented sides allowing for 

continuous circulating air flow. 

The Duchess of Cambridge has 

launched a new BBC programme to 

support parents and carers nurture 

children’s language development. 

The children have one last get-together 

before next chapter of starting primary 

school in September. 

Pied Piper Preschool staff created bags 

containing activities for children to help 

them prepare for school, as well as 

guidance for parents. 

Nursery goes wild for 

Chester Zoo animal adoption 

campaign 

Bracknell nursery children 

learn about outer space and 

write letters to Tim Peake 

Frugi readies next generation 

of eco-warriors 

The UK’s leading ethical and organic 

children’s clothing brand, Frugi, is 

looking towards the future with a 

new partnership with educational 

programme, Eco-Schools. 

Heyford nursery plans to 

throw belated party for 

anniversary when it’s safe to 

The Old Station Nursery Heyford, in 

Heyford Park, near Bicester had its 

second year anniversary in April, but 

has delayed the celebrations. 

Hartford nursery raffle raises 

1100 GBP for Chester Zoo 

There was a very real fear that the zoo 

would be forced to close permanently 

due to the funds required to feed the 

animals. But this donation will ensure 

the zoo can care for the animals. 

To give the zoo a financial boost, Kids 

Planet staff and children are adopting 

as many of the attraction’s animals 

as they can in a ‘Summer Stampede’ 

appeal. 

Children learned about the planets 

and made their own ones and aliens 

using paint, shaving foam and 

more. The children wrote their very 

own letters to the renowned British 

astronaut. 

Story source and image credits: NDNA, PreschoolNews.net, Oxford Mail, 

Gazette Standard, Newberry Today, Northwich Guardian, Business Up 

North, Bury Times, Bracknell News, The Guardian 



What our customers say 

My assessor is Jane 

Purnell and I have been 

really happy with the 

whole process and felt 

completely supported. 

Tracey James, Jemima 

House Day Nursery 

WAGES? ? 

WOULD YOU LIKE 

£3000* TO HELP PAY 

YOUR STAFF 

HAVE YOU HEARD THE GREAT NEWS? 

This is a personal statement to say that, I have 

finally completed my course with Parenta. But I 

feel that there is only one person to thank here. 

And that is Jane Purnell. She has been there 

through my whole experience and helped me 

constantly through tough times, has given me the 

motivation and encouragement I’ve needed 

through these hard times. And persevered with 

me. An absolute professional at her job, and an 

exceptional ability of being able to explain things 

I didn’t totally understand. Without Jane’s guidance 

and knowledge, I wouldn’t have been able to do it 

so I thank her solely for all of her help and 

support through the whole year. 

Helen McCauley, Little Lanes 

Linda (Alexander) was honestly the most helpful 

assessor - she understood the way I learn and am 

able to complete assignments and was always 

available for any help or assistance! She was 

so warm-natured and honestly cared about my 

course and progress. Couldn’t thank her enough, 

I feel like without her help I would have fallen 

really far behind. 

Kayla Cooke, Aspire Day Nursery 

I am writing you this email 

to inform you about my 

experience with Jackie 

McDowall during my course. 

Jackie has been truly amazing 

and showed so much support 

and patience, she made me 

really at ease to contact her 

about any worries I may have. 

Jackie has been an enormous 

help and I was really lucky to 

have her as my assessor. I 

am forever grateful to her for 

helping me achieve my goals. 

Many thanks. 

Safia Abdullahi 

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! 

COMPLETE THIS FORM AND 

LET US DO THE REST. 

Before you know it, you will have a new 

team member and up to £3000* to help 

pay your staff wages! 

The government is giving money to employers 

who hire new staff. Start recruiting in August 

and earn up to £3000* per apprenticeship! 

Let Parenta Training take the strain and help you 

find your perfect apprentices - completely free 

of charge. We have hundreds of candidates, 

just waiting to start their childcare course. 

DO YOU HAVE NEW STAFF STARTING IN AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER? 

We can help you get up to £3000 for each member who undertakes a 

training course, even if they are fully qualified in childcare. 


*£2,000 for each apprentice aged 16-24; £1500 for apprentices aged over 25. 

This is in addition to the existing £1,000 payment the government already 

provides for new 16 to 18-year-old apprentices, and those aged under 25 with an 

Education, Health and Care Plan – where that applies. 

0800 002 9242 

hello@parenta.com

Childhood Cancer Awareness 

Month: be bold, go gold 

Imagine having to tell someone that they 

have cancer, and that they may or may 

not recover. It would be difficult, heartwrenching 

and you’d know that your words 

would change that person’s life forever. 

Now imagine that person is only a child, 

who may not even have reached an age 

yet where they can read or write, let alone 

comprehend the larger concepts of their 

short-lived life, and potential death. Or a 

young person who’s excited because they 

have their entire life ahead of them. It’s 

not an enviable position to be in and yet, 

that’s the reality for some UK healthcare 

professionals as 12 children and young 

people receive a cancer diagnosis every 

day. And of those 12 diagnosed, two will 

not survive. 

Childhood Cancer Awareness 

Month 

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness 

Month, where cancer charities, health 

services and children’s hospitals join 

together to highlight the impact that cancer 

has on children, young people and their 

families. It was founded by former US 

President, Barack Obama, in 2010 and is 

designed to raise awareness and money 

to fund support programmes and research 

into children’s cancers such as leukaemia, 

neuroblastoma, lymphoma, brain and 

spinal tumours, and bone cancer amongst 

others. The aim is to ultimately save lives 

and keep families together. 

Be bold, go gold 

The internationally recognised symbol 

for childhood cancer is a gold ribbon, 

and campaigners encourage supporters 

to wear their gold ribbons throughout 

September to help start conversations 

about childhood cancer. Most cancer 

charities sell their own version of the gold 

ribbon to help raise funds too. 

Facts about childhood cancer 

Although childhood cancer is rare, 

accounting for 0.5% of all cancers in the 

UK, there are still around 1,900 cases 

diagnosed every year in children aged up 

to 14 years, equating to about one child in 

every 500. Leukaemia is the most common 

form, and cancer is more prevalent in 

boys than girls, but the actual rates vary 

by tumour type. Incidence rates increased 

by 38% between 1966 and the year 

2000, thought to be related to diagnostic 

improvements and data colllection 

methods although the UK has one of the 

lowest childhood cancer rates in Europe, 

though the reason for this is not clear. 

One thing that is clear, is the devastation 

that a diagnosis of cancer can have on 

families. It can disturb a child’s growth and 

development and place additional stress 

on family and friends as parents have to 

make difficult decisions about their child’s 

therapy and medications, and watch 

their little ones undertake a gruelling 

treatment regime. Cancer can have a 

negative impact on the child’s behaviour 

and their mental wellbeing too, and just 

when they should be seeing their children 

run free in the park or play blissfully with 

their friends, they instead, have to see the 

suffering that the disease, and sometimes 

the treatments, bring. And if the child 

ultimately does not survive, then the grief 

is often inconsolable. 

That’s where the cancer charities can step 

in and ease the burden to become, not 

only a ‘shoulder to cry on’, but somewhere 

to turn for information, advice and support 

when the rest of the world can seem like a 

dark and unforgiving place. 

One positive thing about childhood 

cancers is that some forms are mainly 

or only exclusively seen in children, and 

children can be much more resilient to 

treatments and the disease itself than 

adults, meaning that there are many cases 

where children recover completely and 

grow up to lead normal, healthy lives. You 

can read some of these stories on many 

of the cancer charities’ websites since they 

help to put a personal face on the statistics 

and also give hope to others facing similar 

situations. 

Cancer and Covid-19 

The pandemic that is currently sweeping 

the world has also affected cancer care: 

1. It is thought that there are 

many cancers that are currently 

undiagnosed due to people 

either not going to their doctors 

during the pandemic, or delays to 

diagnostic assessments. Healthcare 

professionals are urging people to 

come forward as soon as possible 

and not to delay treatments which 

could have a negative effect on 

survival rates. 

2. Patients who are currently being 

treated with anti-cancer drugs will find 

themselves in a high-risk group due 

to compromised immunity, so may 

be facing months of social isolation, 

affecting their mental health further. 

3. Cancer charities have seen their 

incomes greatly reduced due to 

lockdown as well as the closing of 

many of their shops, and the social 

isolation of many of their employees 

and volunteers. This affects their ability 

to continue research and help patients. 

We all know someone who has been 

affected by cancer, such is the prevalence 

of the problem, and the need to raise 

awareness of these issues at this time 

has never been greater, so Childhood 

Cancer Awareness Month needs to be on 

everyone’s calendar in some way. 

Childhood cancer charities 

There are many childhood cancer charities 

that need support right now; below is just 

a small list of those aimed primarily at 

helping children: 

• Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia 

Group 

• Children’s Cancer Research Fund 

• Children with Cancer 

• Make a Wish Foundation 

• Childhood Eye Cancer Trust 

• CLIC Sargent Cancer Care for Children 

These are just a few and you might find 

some more local charities in your own 

area set up in the memory of local children 

who may need your help. For a list of other 

relevant charities for children with cancer, 

click here. 

Ideas for marking the month in 

your setting 

1. Wear a gold ribbon to show your 

support 

2. Visit some charity websites – there are 

many which have free resources and 

fundraising packs to download and 

use 

3. Share your support on your social 

media sites 

4. Write to your local MP asking for more 

funds for charities at this time 

5. Send a card to the local children’s 

hospital/hospice thanking them for 

what they do 

6. Raise some money for a national or 

local charity of your choice 

7. Organise a donation of clothes and 

bric-a-brac and deliver it to your local 

charity shop 

8. Support your local cancer charity shop 

by purchasing something from them 

We’d love to hear what you’ve decided to 

do, so send us your pictures and stories to 

hello@parenta.com. 



Leadership learning through a coaching approach 

Supporting new leaders with 

the capability learning cycle 

I recently I had a conversation with Saima 

about the reopening of her nursery school 

for September. Saima is an excellent early 

years teacher with a highly principled 

approach to her work. She works with a 

talented and committed staff team. She 

recently became the Headteacher. 

Saima expressed her astonishment at the 

complexity of her new role. A leadership 

position certainly provided a new lens 

through which to view her work and she 

was on a steep learning curve. Just as 

she was settling into her role, the Covid-19 

pandemic hit. 

Saima felt out of her depth. She said “Being 

in this leadership position has really made 

me question myself and my ability to do 

the job. With the Covid crisis, everything 

has got worse. Some of my key staff are 

rebelling! What is happening?” 

The whole world is currently responding 

to the pandemic in collective and 

individual ways. There is an emerging 

body of documentation on the impact of 

coronavirus at many levels – our physical 

and mental health, families, early years 

settings, schools, the economy, and more. 

We remain in a climate of uncertainty, of 

not knowing. 

Saima was facing something completely 

new. She was struggling to accept 

resistant behaviours of her middle leaders 

who she thought she could depend on, 

alongside emergent information about 

Covid-19. 

I introduced Saima to the ‘capability 

learning cycle’ (Schratz and Walker 1995). 

It makes the valuable distinction between 

conscious and unconscious operations – 

in other words, between actions we take 

with full self-awareness and those we take 

without consciously having to think about 

them. It is particularly helpful for leaders in 

relation to their professional development. 

Development and growth require us 

to move through the stages shown in 

figure 1. The key for leaders is being 

able to intervene, to activate ‘capability 

awakening’ rather than ‘incompetence 

panic’, with the damage associated with 

feelings of anger, guilt, shame and a 

sense of not being good enough (Pen 

Green Research Base, 2008). 

Unconscious incapability 

I am not aware of what I do not know or 

cannot do until I become aware of a need 

or deficiency; then I move to: 

Conscious incapability 

I am now aware of something I do not 

know or cannot do. I can now choose 

whether I want to gain new understanding 

or knowledge of it: develop a new skill, 

or not. If I do, then as I undertake new 

learning, I am aware of being in a state of: 

Conscious capability 

I need to concentrate and think in order to 

understand new knowledge or to perform 

the new skill. As I absorb new knowledge 

and I become skilful, I move into a state of: 

Unconscious capability 

New knowledge takes its place alongside 

other acquired knowledge and I am able 

to apply the new skill without deliberate 

attention to the techniques involved. 

Saima’s self-reflections 

on the cycle 

Unconscious incapability – Saima 

had missed that during the Covid-19 

outbreak, each of her staff would be on 

their own personal journey. She could not 

assume that they would behave as she 

would normally expect them to yet she 

couldn’t keep in mind everyone’s individual 

responses. She admitted she might have 

downplayed the sensitivity of the situation, 

especially with some genuine family crises 

and strong union intervention with her 

middle leaders. When they revolted, she 

was completely shocked. 

Conscious incapability –This situation 

offered a real test to her leadership. 

No one had time to prepare for the 

lockdown, either mentally or physically. She 

had not realised how important personal 

contact to the staff was, she had been so 

busy dealing with children, families and the 

premises, that she had not engaged the 

staff as well as she might. She found her 

middle leaders were being led away from 

the vision and ethos of the setting by a strict 

health and safety focus, to the detriment of 

everyone’s wellbeing. The demands being 

made on her were beyond her control e.g. 

the R rate in the UK. 

Conscious capability - Once she identified 

key staff who held most influence, Saima 

enlisted her trusted deputy and between 

them they made a conscious decision 

to telephone each person individually. 

She acknowledged that teams were 

using social media to create informal 

support groups and that her leadership 

communication needed to be stronger. 

Saima found out how each person was, 

what was worrying them, what they 

needed from her and ways forward. The 

direct personal communication started to 

make a difference as each staff member 

felt ‘kept in mind’ and the refocusing of the 

core purpose of their work came back into 

view. 

Unconscious capability - Saima 

recognises she is already leading and 

managing the staff much better and she 

has embedded some good practice. There 

are individual check-ins and regular online 

meetings for all staff. She has reclaimed the 

trust in the staff. Saima noticed that as they 

started to come into school as lockdown 

eased in the summer term, their confidence 

and commitment was rebuilding. 

Saima knows there is still a long journey 

ahead with both maintaining the 

confidence of the team and responding well 

to the Covid-19 guidelines. She is keeping 

in touch with her staff over the summer 

and making sure the school is open for 

practitioners to prepare their rooms for a 

full reopening in September, should they 

choose to come in. 

Top tips for new leaders: 

1 

Explore where you are on the capability 

learning cycle, every new challenge could 

put you back to unconscious capability. 

Accept this is part of your learning. 

2 

Remember to awaken your capability 

rather than dwell on feelings of being out 

of control. 

3 

Reflect on your own behaviours during the 

Covid-19 pandemic – they have probably 

surprised you at times, and it will support 

you in valuing your staff’s unexpected 

responses too. 

4 

Be transparent with staff about the 

challenges you all face – listen and learn 

from each other. Active listening is a great 

skill to prevent issues spiralling out of 

control. If people are heard, they are more 

likely to come on board. 

5 

Use consultation as an approach to moving 

your actions forward. This should be at all 

levels. Make sure your senior staff are on 

board first. Problem solving together leads 

to ownership by all involved. 

6 

Be mindful of the use of social media 

amongst staff. Rumours and inaccuracies 

can fly between informal groups of anxious 

staff and create much unsettlement. You 

may not know what is being said. Clear 

messaging from you as the leader is 

essential. 

7 

Regular checks with individuals from you as 

the leader are important. Make time and 

effort to engage with every member of staff 

before their return – this helps them feel 

valued and connected to the core purpose 

of the nursery’s work. They are worth it. 

8 

Take a break yourself – remember you 

have a responsibility to look after your own 

wellbeing, so that you can be available to 

lead others effectively. How do you relax 

Ruth Mercer 

Ruth Mercer is a coach and 

consultant, with a career 

background in early education. 

Ruth is committed to creating a 

positive learning environment for 

staff, children and families. She 

has a successful track record of 1:1 

coaching for leaders and group 

coaching across the maintained and 

PVI sector. She supports leaders 

and managers in developing a 

coaching approach in their settings 

through bespoke consultancy and 

introductory training on coaching 

and mentoring for all staff. 

Ruth is currently writing about 

coaching with a playful approach. 

Contact: 

ruthmercercoaching@gmail.com 

Website: 

www.ruthmercercoaching.com 

and have fun? Make time for this, it is an 

investment in your leadership. 

References: 

• Schratz, M & Walker, R (1995) “Research 

as Social Change”, London, Routledge 

• NPQICL booklet, “Leadership concepts 

and analytical tools” (NCSL) originally 

designed by Pen Green Research Team 

(2004-08) 



European Day of Languages 

If someone came up to you and said “Snak med mig”, what would 

you do? 

a) Run? 

b) Eat what they offered you? 

c) Be offended? 

d) Answer “Jeg ville elske at” and continue with a conversation 

in Danish? 

“Snak med mig” means “talk to me” in Danish, so the correct 

response would be d, which means “I would love to”. 

1-b, 2-True, 3-c, 4-a - ‘Kiss’ in Swedish means a pee! 5-b, 6-a, 7-a BSL evolved at Thomas 

Braidwood’s schools for the deaf in the late 1700s and later spread to Australia and New 

Zealand. 8-c, 9-a, 10-c. 


Answers: 

If you’re a little rusty on your Danish and 

didn’t know that, don’t worry, on our 

European continent, there are over 200 

languages spoken and no one could 

possibly know them all! However, every 

year on 26th September since 2001, the 

Council of Europe organises the European 

Day of Languages, an initiative to promote 

plurilingualism across the continent. The 

Council of Europe includes 47 member 

states, 27 of which are members of the 

European Union. Members extend as far 

north as Iceland, east to Russia, south to 

Cyprus and west to Portugal. The idea 

arose out of the 2001 European Year of 

Languages, and the Council believes that 

linguistic diversity can be useful in achieving 

greater intercultural understanding and is 

a key element in exploring the rich cultural 

heritage of the European continent. 

Activities on and around the 

day are designed to: 

1. Promote life-long language 

learning for all ages and for all 

purposes 

2. Raise awareness of the importance 

of language learning and diversify 

the languages learnt 

3. Encourage Europeans to speak 

more than one language 

(plurilingualism), even if only at a 

basic level 

4. Promote the rich linguistic and 

cultural diversity of Europe with the 

aim of preserving and fostering it 

The main website can be found at 

European Day of Languages and is packed 

full of useful information, games, quizzes 

and resources that are free and fun to use 

for all different levels. You can download 

images and logos, add your own events 

and find lots of ideas to promote language 

learning in your own setting. Everyone is 

encouraged to join in in some way, be 

they a national policy-maker, educational 

establishment or the voluntary sector and 

general public. 

We’ve put together some useful ideas to 

help you promote the day in your setting 

and devised a fun quiz for you to test 

your language knowledge too, so there 

are “niente scuse” or ‘no excuses’ for not 

getting involved! 

Ideas to use in your setting: 

1. Research and promote the 

languages around you 

Language is one of those topics that often 

surprises you when you get talking to 

people about it. You suddenly discover 

that your postman speaks Greek or your 

local hairdresser speaks Welsh, so you 

might find lots of people on your doorstep 

who can help you out when if comes to 

promoting languages. Ask around and 

see what languages are spoken by your 

colleagues, your children and your parents 

– you might be pleasantly surprised about 

the rich culture around you, so why not 

ask people to come and give a short talk 

or demonstration about their language or 

culture? 

2. Create a language map 

Create a map showing some local, national 

or international languages spoken around 

you. You could find different words for 

“hello”, “nursery” or “children”, for example; 

or put up simple phrases in different 

languages and practice saying them out 

loud. You can have a lot of fun practicing 

different accents too. 

3. Learn some foreign songs or 

nursery rhymes 

Learning languages is always more fun 

when there’s a song or game attached, 

so why not use this to your advantage and 

promote your language day using songs 

or nursery rhymes from around Europe? 

There’s an excellent resource at mamalisa. 

com which has nursery rhymes and songs 

from around the world too, including games 

and music to sing along with. 

4. Practise writing or mark-making in 

different languages 

Most mark-making does not start out as 

any form of language, but you could have 

some fun with the students trying to draw 

or trace in some different languages. Look 

up different alphabets and see what you 

can come up with. You could start with 

the Greek alphabet which is often used in 

maths and science such as: 

• Alpha - ɑ 

• Beta - 

• Gamma - ɣ 

• Delta - δ 

5. Learn some British Sign Language 

(BSL) 

BSL is the preferred language of around 

145,000 people in the UK. You could learn 

some basic words and teach them to the 

1. How many languages are 

spoken in the world? 

a. Between 3,000 and 4,000 

b. Between 6,000 and 7,000 

c. Over 10,000 

2. Most of the world’s 

languages are spoken in 

Asia and Africa. True or 

false? 

3. How many languages are 

spoken in London? 

a. 100 

b. 200 

c. 300 

4. If a Swedish person wanted 

a ‘kiss’ what would they 

need? 

a. A toilet 

b. A shower 

c. A cuddle 

5. Speaking several 

languages has been shown 

to postpone the onset of: 

a. Hair loss 

b. Alzheimer’s disease 

c. Arthritis 

6. Which word is a plant in 

English, but means ‘hello’ in 

Russian? 

children and staff in your setting. Other sign 

languages include Sign Supported English, 

Makaton and Social haptic communication. 

See sense.org or british-sign.co.uk/ for 

more details and an online course. You 

might also find this useful if you have 

children with sensory needs. 

Whatever you do - spraoi a bheith agat 

(“have fun”...in Irish!) 

Try our fun quiz to test your 

language knowledge 

a. Privet 

b. Pansy 

c. Packera 

7. There are many different 

sign languages. Which 

country’s sign language 

is closest to British Sign 

Language? 

a. Australian 

b. American 

c. Irish 

8. A Dutch child making the 

sound of a cow would say: 

a. Moo! 

b. Meh! 

c. Boeh! 

9. There are 3 broad groups 

of European languages: 

Germanic, Slavic and 

Romance. Which group 

does English belong to? 

a. Germanic 

b. Slavic 

c. Romance 

10. Which is the only European 

language in the Afro-Asiatic 

family (which includes 

Arabic, Hebrew, Berber, 

and Hausa)? 

a. Russian 

b. Turkish 

c. Maltese 


using royalty and magic part 4 

We finish up our royalty and magic storytelling in music series this month by 

introducing the last of the characters in the Magical Musical Kingdom, and their related 

rhythms. The follow-up activities are suggestions of ways that help to reinforce these introductory 

concepts of music, helping to establish this natural activity in the most natural way! 

And as always, all songs are available on www.youtube.com/musicaliti. 

Recap 

As a quick reminder, our 

background planning to the 

Magical Musical Kingdom 

included: 

Time: 10 parts, 10 characters, 10 

musical skills 

Rhythms: movement-based (gross 

motor), progressively halving or 

doubling note lengths 

Melodies: pentatonic-based (5 

notes), progressively using more 

notes 

Ages: non-walkers, toddlers and 

walkers (broadly, birth to 7) 

8 

Character: Flying Fairy 

Music note: Semiquaver-dotted quaver/ 

sixteenth note-dotted eighth note 

Skip (long-short steps): long-short, 

long-short, long-short, long-short 

Physical warm-up: 

Shoes off, calmly (no talking) listen to 

instrumental music while skipping (skip-ty, 

skip-ty) around the room, any direction, 

either holding baby, or holding hands with 

our new walker or pre-schooler. 

Vocal warm-up: 

Warm up our voices: Do you have 

your whispering voice? Yes, I have my 

whispering voice. Do you have your 

speaking voice? Yes, I have my speaking 

voice. Do you have your fairy voice? Yes, 

Storytelling in music: 

I have my fairy voice! Do you have your 

singing voice (singing like an ambulance 

tune)? Yes, I have my singing voice 

(ambulance tune). Ready to sing! 

Song 1: Goblin (game) 

Scatter scarves, pages, small things that 

can easily be gathered around the room, 

and take 2 slow steps to reach them and 

collect them up as you sing the song. 

Song 2: Goblin Protector (instruments) 

Use instruments with a long sound, like 

bells, and tap them as you sing the song. 

Story part 8: 

Queen Quaver and Lady Minim asked 

Knight Quaver-Crotchet to please find 

the Jewels so Knight Quaver-Crotchet 

left immediately to search every tower in 

the land to find the hidden jewels. While 

Knight Quaver-Crotchet was searching 

every tower in the land, he came across 

Flying Fairy, who flew everywhere. He 

searched her tower, but the jewels just 

were not there. When he told Flying Fairy 

what Goblin had done and how sad Frog 

Prince was, Flying Fairy got very cross 

indeed. She never spoke, but played music 

because she was surrounded by every 

instrument in the world. She wanted to 

play a trick on Goblin so using her special 

magic, she flew to his dark cave and saw 

all the broken instruments. Right at the 

back of the cave was a very shiny pot of 

gold, hidden behind a tree stump. Flying 

Fairy picked it up and flew right to the 

moon and hung it on a moon beam as 

punishment! 

Craft: 

Make and decorate a paper pot of gold. 

Find somewhere to hang/stick it, singing 

the song! 

Activity: 

Make a pot of gold out of shiny things to 

give to someone special! 

9 

Character: Dragon 

Music note: Semibreve/whole note 

1 slow step equivalent to 4 walk steps: 

very slow walk 



instrumental music while taking long, slow 

steps (very long step) around the room, any 

direction, either holding baby, or holding 

hands with our new walker or pre-schooler. 






voice. Do you have your dragon voice? Yes, 

I have my dragon voice! Do you have your 




Song 1: Dragon (game) 

Choose a spot in the room to be the tower, 

and take turns being the big, slow, strong 

dragon, and trapping everyone in the 

tower, as you sing the song. 

Song 2: Do, Do Pity My Case (instruments) 

Use instruments that you rub or scrape as 

you sing this song, and make up jobs that 

the dragon must do when he gets home, 

like “my food to cook when I get home”, or 

“my floor to clean when I get home”, or “my 

toys to clear when I get home”! 

Story part 9: 

Now Knight Quaver-Crotchet was getting 

further away from the Kingdom, the castle 

was far away because he was getting 

nearer to the lair of Dragon Semibreve. 

Everything Dragon Semibreve did was 

slow because he was so big. He opened 

his eyes slowly, he walked slowly and 

even blew fire out slowly. When Dragon 

Semibreve blew fire out, everything would 

start shaking altogether, his arms and legs, 

tummy and tail, until he stopped. Dragon 

Semibreve didn’t like things that moved 

fast, so when Goblin took the jewels to the 

tower, he had to creep very quietly. Knight 

Quaver-Crotchet moved very quickly and 

before he knew what had happened, 

Dragon Semibreve had trapped him in the 

tower with the jewels and Goblin. 

Craft: 

Make and decorate a paper tower. Walk 

around the room with it, singing the song! 

Activity: 

Place toys around the room to knock down 

with a big ball, like the dragon! 

10 

Character: Unicorn 

Music note: 3/4 waltz timing 

(crotchet/quarter note) 

Waltz feel: step-tip-toe, step-tip-toe, steptip-toe, 

step-tip-toe, 



instrumental music while taking waltzing 

steps (step-tip-toe, step-tip-toe) around the 

room, any direction, either holding baby, 

or holding hands with our new walker or 

pre-schooler. 






voice. Do you have your unicorn voice? Yes, 

I have my unicorn voice! Do you have your 




Song 1: The Dragon and the Unicorn (game) 

March in one direction as the dragon, then 

change direction as you march as the 

unicorn. Keep changing direction as you 

march around the town, singing this song. 

Song 2: Song 2: Beautiful Unicorn 

(instruments) 

Tapping sticks or cups together like unicorn 

or horse hooves, sing the unicorn song. 

Story part 10: 

The dreadful news travelled over the 

Magical Musical Kingdom until a beautiful 

dancing Unicorn, alone in a field, heard the 

sad tale. She always played on her own, 

dancing every single day, but when she 

heard the news, Unicorn’s horn began to 

glow, which meant that she was very cross. 

Shaking out her golden wings, she flew 

straight to Dragon Semibreve’s tower and 

very quickly, Knight Quaver-Crotchet took 

the jewels and jumped on her back. Goblin 

took so long to creep to the window that he 

could only hold onto Unicorn’s tail, as they 

flew through the fiery mountains and back 

to the castle. King Crotchet was so pleased 

to have his Magical Musical Kingdom 

restored that he threw a huge party. There 

was so much music that Goblin crept away 

back to his cave and sometimes, when 

the sky is right, you can see that the moon 

still looks a little golden, where Flying Fairy 

hung Goblin’s gold on the moonbeam. 

Craft: 

Make decorations for the Magical Musical 

Kingdom party. Decorate the room with 

them! 

Activity: 

Have a party to celebrate! 

Hoping this has inspired you to start 

your own series! 

Frances Turnbull 

Musician, researcher and author, 

Frances Turnbull, is a selftaught 

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 “A choir in 

every care home” within local care 

and residential homes, supporting 

health and well-being 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 



Pink Pancakes 

Animal bookmark 

13th September is World Sepsis Day. If you download the sepsis awareness toolkit from 

www.worldsepsisday.org/toolkits you can find out why you should wear pink for the day and 

even hold a pink picnic! To raise awareness we are making pink pancakes! 

Our craft is inspired by three occasions happening this month: Recycling Month, 

International Literacy Day and Roald Dahl Day! 

This is why we are asking you to use scraps of paper and anything you already have to hand! 

As you can tell from our photos, we have created a Fantastic Mr Fox and The Enormous Crocodile. 

We hope this craft will teach the children about recycling and will encourage them to 

read more fantastic stories! 

You will need: 

• Construction 

paper (or any 

thicker paper) in 

different colours 

• Scissors 

• Glue 

• Black marker 

• Sticky tape 

Instructions: 

You will need: 

• 175g plain flour 

• 1 tbsp cornflour 

• ½ tsp baking powder 

• 1 beetroot cooked, not in 

vinegar 

• 300ml dairy-free milk 

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil plus 

more for frying 

• 1 tbsp maple syrup 

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 

• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

Instructions: 

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and mix until you have a smooth 

batter. 

2. Heat a little oil in a frying pan over a low-medium heat and add a 

spoonful of the batter. Move the pan around to spread the batter to 

your desired size. 

3. Cook the pancake until you start seeing bubbles on the surface then flip 

the pancakes and do the same on the other side. 

4. You are done! 

5. Serve the pancakes with your favourite toppings. We used maple syrup 

and fresh raspberries. 

1. Prepare your paper by cutting 

it in your desired shapes. We 

decided to create our animals 

by using simple shapes like 

a triangle, a rectangle and a 

circle. 

2. Firstly, cut the long 

rectangular shape for the 

body in your chosen colour 

which will be the base of 

your animal. Then cut out 

two small triangles to create 

ears. You will then need to cut 

two smaller triangles for the 

inside of the ears (we used 

white paper for that, so there 

is a nice contrast between the 

colours). You will then need to 

make a circle and then cut it 

in half to create sides of the 

mouth. 

3. Using our photos as 

examples, glue all the parts in 

the right places. 

4. To finish the head, use a black 

marker and add dots to create 

eyes and the nose. 

5. Turn the head around and put 

the body underneath it. Using 

sticky tape, connect the two 

parts together. 

6. Flip the head back to front 

and there you have it, a cute 

animal bookmark! 

7. You can create different 

animals and add loads of 

decorations to the body if you 

would like to! 



Nurturing shy 

children 

The image of a shy child has long been of 

a youngster hiding behind an adult’s legs, 

barely looking up and being excused for 

their timid behaviour. 

But a growing body of research is now 

challenging the idea that shyness is a 

negative trait that will hold a child back in 

life. 

It is true that innately shy children often 

come into the world with more sensitive 

temperaments. 

Even in the womb, scientists have found 

that the hearts of children who turn out 

to be temperamentally shy tend to beat 

faster than those of other babies. 

Between 10 to 20 percent of infants are 

born with these more aroused nervous 

systems, which can make them jumpier in 

new situations. 

These may be the babies who are not as 

quick to smile at strangers and who, as 

they grow, are more hesitant with people 

they don’t know. 

In these children, it’s been found that the 

amygdala, the brain’s antennae for threat, 

is more easily aroused and triggers more 

response. 

But further research has found that 

far from being a problem to ‘fix’, these 

children tend to grow into good observers 

who are just slower to warm up with new 

people. 

While these youngsters may have ‘a 

slower take-off’ when they meet new 

people, over time, they can be shown how 

to get used to unfamiliar situations. 

Indeed, start from the position of seeing a 

shyer child’s qualities more positively. 

Shy children often grow into thoughtful, 

empathetic adults who like to listen more 

than they talk. They also end up with just 

as many friends. Their friendship circle 

may just take a bit more time to grow. 

How to nurture shy 

children: 

Avoid the label 

If a child is fearful in a new situation, don’t 

excuse them as ‘shy’ to others. Labelling 

them as such will sound like it’s a negative 

fixed character trait which they cannot 

change. 

Reframe shyness 

Adults will often label a child shy too, 

to explain away the reason they are 

not friendly. If you feel the need to say 

something, reframe it by saying this is a 

child who likes to take their time observing 

new situations first. 

Tell shyer kids you 

understand how they feel 

Rather than try and force a child out of 

their shell, show your understanding. You 

can tell them that sometimes joining in 

and talking to new people takes practice 

and in some new situations you feel shy 

too, but the feeling always eases after 

you’ve said a few words. Stress that lots of 

other children feel the same way, so they 

do not feel isolated. 

Teach basic introduction 

skills 

Shyness is only a barrier to forming 

friendships when a child first meets a new 

person. To help a child work around it, 

show them easy ways to look friendly - like 

smiling, using open body language, and 

introducing themselves by name. 

Role play 

Shy children are particularly worried about 

saying or doing the wrong thing. Help your 

child feel more confident by role-playing 

games with toys about meeting new 

people at school or going to a birthday 

party. 

Be a good role model 

Children learn social skills by watching 

their parents and caregivers. Mirror 

neurons in your child’s brain are especially 

adapted to help her copy what she sees. 

Give a good example by being friendly to 

new people and using manners to show 

your consideration for others. 

Encourage a shy child to 

practice being sociable 

Without implying there’s something wrong 

with being reserved, explain that being 

social is like a muscle. It gets stronger each 

time you use it. 

Help them reciprocate 

When meeting new people, show a child 

how to respond to friendly overtures by 

asking questions back and learning how 

to join in games, by showing interest, and 

offering to help. 

“What’s My Child Thinking: Practical 

Child Psychology for Modern Parents” 

is published by DK, https://amzn. 

to/2UdN0aG . 

By Tanith Carey, author of “What’s My Child 

Thinking? Practical Child Psychology for 

Modern Parents”, with Dr Angharad Rudkin. 

Tanith Carey 

Tanith Carey writes books which 

offer a lucid analysis of the most 

pressing challenges facing 

today’s parents and childcarers – 

by looking at the latest research 

and presenting achievable 

strategies for how to tackle them. 

Her books have been translated 

into 15 languages, including 

German, French, Arabic, 

Chinese and Turkish. Her 2019 

publications are “What’s My 

Child Thinking? Practical Child 

Psychology for Modern Parents” 

and “The Friendship Maze: How 

to help your child navigate their 

way to positive and happier 

friendships”. 

An award-winning journalist, 

Tanith also writes on parenting 

for the Daily Telegraph, The 

Times, the Guardian and the 

Daily Mail, in which she also 

serialises and promotes her 

books. She is also a regular 

presence on TV and radio 

programmes, including the NBC 

Today Show in the US and Radio 

Four’s Woman’s Hour and You 

and Yours. 

Her full bio can be found on her 

website at www.cliomedia.co.uk 

and you can follow her on social 

media channels @tanithcarey. 



National Fitness Day 

Six months ago, the state of the nation’s 

fitness industry was looking good. The 

2019 State of the UK Fitness Industry 

Report revealed that 1 in every 7 people 

belonged to a gym, the total market value 

was £5.1 billion, and the number of fitness 

facilities in the UK was up from 7,038 to 

7,239. The future looked rosy – at least for 

the fitness industry. 

Statistics about personal fitness told a 

slightly different story - in the 12 months 

to November 2019, only 67% of adults 

were considered active according to 

government guidelines and 21% were 

classed as ‘inactive’ doing less than 

30 minutes physical activity per week. 

Perhaps more alarmingly, in the academic 

year 2018/19, only 47% of children 

and young people were meeting the 

guidelines for 1 hour taking part in sport 

and physical activity each day, although 

that figure was up from only 43% in 

2017/18. 

Then came Covid-19, lockdown, and most 

recently, a new initiative to tackle rising 

obesity….the picture is no longer quite 

so rosy! Physical activity levels have been 

affected - one site suggested that adults 

spent more time on the toilet each week, 

than exercising! Since lockdown, parents 

report that just over one third of children 

(36%) are doing less physical activity, 

although 30% are also doing more as 

reported by NHS data sources. We are 

facing an activity crisis as lack of 

physical activity leads to more than 

20 long-term health conditions such 

as Type-2 diabetes, some cancers 

and osteoporosis. 

But it’s not all doom and gloom! One 

encouraging thing to emerge from 

lockdown however, is that parents are 

valuing the time at home, and are doing 

more activities with their children; 53% 

of parents reported doing more physical 

activity with their children than they did 

prior to lockdown and 61% felt that playing 

sport and keeping fit was helping maintain 

their family’s physical and mental 

wellbeing. 

That’s where National Fitness Day can 

help, by highlighting issues concerned with 

the nation’s fitness and raising the profile 

of fitness campaigners and the fitness 

industry in an attempt to improve our 

general health. The NFD website describes 

the day as: 

“ the most active day of the year and 

the day to celebrate the role that physical 

activity plays across the UK. It is a day 

when people of all ages, backgrounds 

and abilities come together to 

celebrate the 

fun of fitness.” 

This year, National Fitness Day will be 

celebrated on Wednesday 23rd September 

and fitness providers will be encouraged to 

offer free events to get everyone involved in 

their local communities. The theme for this 

year is ‘Fitness Unites Us’ and the aim is to 

celebrate the inclusive power of physical 

activity and the ability it has to bring whole 

communities together. 

What can you do in your setting? 

National Fitness Day can be lots of things to 

lots of people – you may want to run your 

own event, host a sports day or invite a P.E. 

specialist into your unit to give a workshop 

or demonstration. You are only constrained 

by your imagination…(and any Covid-19 

restrictions in your area) but don’t let those 

stop you doing something for the benefit 

of your physical and mental health! As the 

saying goes….”where there’s a will, there’s 

a way!” 

Here are a few suggestions to 

get you started: 

1. Hold a socially-distanced sports day 

and set up some individual activities 

which you can do against the clock; 

how about an egg and spoon 

race, or a long-jump or a squat 

challenge? You can get the staff 

to join in the fun too! 

2. Join an online fitness event such 

as a Joe Wickes workout, a yoga 

class or a virtual dance class. 

3. Go for a power walk or a run – start 

slowly and work your way up. You 

can do ‘scout’s pace’ too, where 

you alternate between running and 

walking. 

4. Set up a contact-free obstacle course 

in your setting. You can use tape on 

the floor rather than real obstacles and 

ask the children to jump over the lines, 

balance whilst walking on them, or 

zigzag between crosses on the floor. 

You can run team relay events 

against the clock if you’re 

feeling competitive or just do 

everything for fun! 

5. Make a fitness diary 

with the children to show 

them what they are actually 

doing over a week. You can 

create some visual stickers to use 

such as running, jumping, playing or 

participating in different sports. 

6. Create a fitness bingo or dice game. 

Choose 6 different activities and 

allocate them a number. When the 

dice lands on that number, the children 

have to do that activity. 

7. Encourage parents to do some 

physical activity with their 

children at home and send 

in a short video or photo to 

show what they’ve done. It 

could be anything – from 

a walk in the park to some 

major footballing action. 

8. Use the hashtag #Fitness2Me 

on your social media channels, 

saying what fitness means to you and 

how it’s helping you unite and come 

together with others! 

What are the Government 

recommendations for activity? 

In 2019, new guidelines recommended: 

• Adults (aged 19 and over) should aim 

to be active daily. Over a week, activity 

should add up to at least 150 minutes 

(2.5 hours) of moderate intensity 

activity or 75 minutes (1 hour, 15 

minutes) of vigorous intensity activity 

per week, or a combination of both, 

with strength building on at least 2 

days. 

• Children and young people (aged 5 to 

18) should aim to be physically active 

for at least 60 minutes per day across 

the week. 

• Pre-schoolers should spend at least 

180 minutes (3 hours) a day doing a 

variety of physical activities spread 

throughout the day, including active 

and outdoor play. The more the better. 

• Toddlers should be physically active 

every day for at least 180 minutes 

(3 hours). The more the better. This 

should be spread throughout the day, 

including playing outdoors. 

There’s something out there for everyone, 

so make sure you get out there and find it! 

You should always check with your 

doctor before starting any physical 

activity if you are concerned about 

your health or have not exercised for a 

while. 

Data sources and useful links 

• https://www.nationalfitnessday.com/ 

• https://www.sportsthinktank.com/ 

research.html 

• https://digital.nhs.uk/ 

• https://www.youthsporttrust.org/ 

• https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/ 



Three ways to 

greater playfulness 

probably going to be more effective than 

sitting at your desk and trying to fight 

your way through it. Play isn’t outcome 

dependant, which is one of the reasons 

it is so useful for gaining a better 

perspective of a problem and finding 

solutions for it. 

We all know play is a wonderful thing, and more than just fun it is important for our 

cognitive development and our wellbeing. As children, play helps us to learn social signs 

and signals, through playing we build an active imagination, we make sense of our 

surroundings and we strengthen ourselves both physically and emotionally. But play does 

not need to stop in childhood! There are many benefits to being a playful adult, and as someone 

who supports children, if you become more playful yourself, both you and the children 

will reap the benefits. Play is fundamental for a healthy brain, so why do we tend to stop 

playing when we become adults? 

When you are tasked with a 

never-ending list of responsibilities, 

and you’re busy keeping everyone clean, 

meeting assessment targets, managing 

staff, or simply managing a shopping list, 

its hard to feel playful. Flopping on the 

sofa in front of Netflix often seems more 

inviting than the effort of doing something 

playful. Whilst remembering to be playful 

as an adult can be another thing on the 

to do list, play itself is not effortful, it is 

energising! 

I take play very seriously. On Thursday 

evenings I can be found, come rain or 

shine, in the grounds of my local university 

alongside a small group of people from 

all walks of life making up a game to play. 

It is silly, ridiculous, joyful, fun and I love it. 

Each week we make up and play a new 

game. Normally there is an object to start 

us off, we’ve had a ladder, a melon, even 

scented candles, all can be inspiration for 

a game. Since the start of lockdown we 

have adopted social distancing into our 

games, there’s always lots of wacky 

rules so keeping two meters distance 

just adds another element to our 

play. 

I recognise that the exuberance of my 

Thursday nights is not everyone’s cup of 

tea, but I know from experience that even 

the most serious of people, if willing to give 

a playful approach a go, will reap physical 

and mental benefits from an investment in 

being playful. 

I have turned being playful into a 

profession; one of the ways I do this is 

through running laughter workshops. In 

my workshops I teach people techniques 

for generating laughter. I do explain the 

science behind my approach, but nothing 

is a more powerful than the experience 

itself. I’m always excited to witness the 

transformation in participants from the 

start to the finish of a workshop. People 

arrive uptight, sceptical or anxious, 

and leave with a huge smile on their 

faces, feeling lighter, relaxed and 

more connected with one another 

and with themselves. I was once 

candidly told by a participant “I 

did not want to do this, I felt 

awkward doing it, but I feel 

SO much better now.” 

Their willingness to 

give it a go was 

what made 

the difference 

for them. 

The difference between 

a stressed person and a 

person at ease is palpable. I am 

often told by workshop participants 

that the effect of an hour’s play 

lasted for days. Some insomniacs have 

told me they have been able to sleep 

more soundly, others report a release of 

physical pain or tension in their bodies. Of 

course, just as lockdown has adjusted my 

Thursday night games, so it has changed 

the way I run workshops and I’m currently 

offering workshops online via Zoom. 

Play aids creativity; if you’re struggling 

with a mental block about a piece 

of work, taking a break to play is 

Playing with others strengthens 

our relationships. You will 

know how true this is for 

children, but it is equally true 

for adults. When we play, we 

have to let down certain barriers; 

I love it when a manager of a 

team really throws themselves into 

the activities on my courses; you can 

see the people they manage looking at 

them in a new light and the team goes 

away with a better understanding of one 

another. It’s like a night out but without the 

messiness of alcohol. 

So how can you play more? Well you could 

turn up to your local park with a melon 

and some scented candles and see if 

someone wants to make up a game with 

you! Or you could logon to one of my 

online Playful Presence workshops. Or, if 

you want to approach play a little more 

gently, try adding in one or two of the 

following into your day: 

1. Movement 

Getting out of your head and into 

your body is a great way to feel 

more playful. When we connect 

with our body we remind ourselves 

that we are a living thing, not just a 

collection of worries. You can add 

movement into your day in small 

doses, just getting out of your chair 

now and jumping up and down 

a few times counts. Or dancing 

whilst you wait for the kettle to 

boil, lunging to open the door for 

the delivery person, celebrating a 

finished task with a click of your 

fingers, a punch in the air of a high 

five with someone! 

2. Novelty 

Be alert to novelty in the world 

and revel in it. I saw a dog 

wearing a baseball cap earlier 

this week! Try to spot the 

peculiar things and delight in 

them. 

3. Change 

Take an aspect of your routine, like 

putting your shoes on or making 

your toast and do it differently. I am 

currently getting out of bed differently. 

I’ve been rolling onto my tummy, 

scooting my legs out of the blanket 

and standing up like that, or I’ll get 

out of the bottom of my bed instead 

of the side, I’ll roll the blankets up 

like a sausage and do a kind of 

crowd surfing move over them. 

You cannot start your day stressed 

if you’ve just crowd surfed your 

own duvet! Taking ourselves too 

seriously is one of the biggest 

dangers in adulthood. 

Katie White 

Katie Rose White is a Laughter 

Facilitator and founder of ‘The 

Best Medicine’. She works 

predominantly with carers, 

teachers and healthcare 

professionals - teaching playful 

strategies for boosting mood, 

strengthening resilience and 

improving wellbeing. She provides 

practical workshops, interactive 

talks and training days - fusing 

therapeutic laughter techniques, 

playful games and activities, and 

mindfulness-based practices. The 

techniques are not only designed 

to equip participants with tools 

for managing their stress, but can 

also be used and adapted to the 

needs of the people that they are 

supporting. 

thebestmedicine@outlook.com 

www.twitter.com/bestmedicine1 

http://www.facebook.com/ 

thebestmedicinecornwall 

Play is even more important 

in a time of crisis; we need 

to build our emotional 

resilience in order to 

endure difficult periods in 

life. Being around playful 

adults helps children to 

feel safe and secure. So why 

not join me in a workshop, or 

give my playful tips a go? You’re 

bound to feel the difference! 



International 

Literacy Day 

If you are reading this, you are one of the lucky ones, because 

it means you have a good level of literacy which unlocks 

many aspects of life that you probably take for granted, such 

as being able to decipher a menu, read a road sign or get the 

news headlines from a paper or magazine. 

Literacy is the ability to read, write, 

speak and listen in a way that lets us 

communicate effectively and make sense 

of the world. Unfortunately, 16.4% of 

adults in England can be described as 

having ‘very poor literacy skills’, which 

equates to about 7.1 million people who 

may find themselves locked out of the job 

market, struggling to claim benefits they 

are entitled to, and if they are a parent, 

they will be unable to effectively support 

their children’s learning. Lacking these vital 

literacy skills holds people back at every 

stage of life. 

But having poor literacy can also affect life 

expectancy. A report from 2018 found that: 

“A boy born in Stockton Town Centre 

(which has some of the most serious 

literacy challenges in the country) has a life 

expectancy 26.1 years shorter than a boy 

born in North Oxford (which has some of 

the fewest literacy challenges)”. 

Figures related to girls showed a 20-year 

difference. Even people within 2 miles of 

each other showed a significant reduction 

in life expectancy related to differing 

literacy levels - 11.6 years for boys and 9.4 

years for girls. 

Reports from KPMG suggest that low 

levels of literacy can also undermine the 

UK’s economic competitiveness, costing 

the taxpayer approximately £2.5 billion 

each year. With a third of businesses 

complaining about the literacy skills of 

young people entering the work place, 

and another third organising remedial 

training for new recruits to increase their 

literacy and communication, successive 

governments inevitably ask what can be 

done to improve the situation? 

It’s not just the UK though – literacy levels 

vary across the world although progress is 

being made generally. From 1985 to 2018, 

the number of illiterate youths (ages 15 

to 24) decreased from 177 million to 100 

million. But that’s still a significant amount 

of people. There are regional differences 

and literacy rates are higher among males 

than females with women accounting for 

59% of the illiterate youth population. 

Interestingly though, in developed 

countries such as the UK, boys perform 

less well than girls by an average of nine 

months of schooling. 

So literacy matters, which is why the 

United Nations Educational, Scientific 

and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, have 

been promoting the 8th of September 

each year as International Literacy Day 

(ILD) since 1966. The day is now part of 

the UN’s sustainable development goals 

programme, adopted in 2015, which aims 

to raise global awareness of child and 

adult literacy issues, and highlight the 

changes and improvements being made 

in literacy worldwide. 

In the UK, literacy skills are embedded 

into the curriculums followed by England, 

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, 

although their means of delivering and 

testing these skills vary since education 

is one of the devolved powers - meaning 

each country is responsible for its 

own educational policies, laws and 

assessments. 

• In England for example, the Early 

Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 

framework identifies the standards 

that all providers must meet 

across 7 key areas of learning 

and development, which include 

standards for reading and writing 

(literacy). In 2018, 77% of five-yearolds 

met the minimum standard for 

reading, 74% for writing, 86% for 

speaking and 86% for listening. 

• In the same year, 64% of students 

achieved a good grade in their English 

language GCSE or equivalent (grades 

A*-C or 9-4) 

And whilst these figures are broadly in 

line with other developed nations, there is 

clearly still room from improvement. Due 

to lockdown, almost all our young people 

have already missed out on months of 

their education, from early years to key 

stage 5, so it is more important than ever 

that we start to help our children catch up. 

This year, the focus on ILD will be on 

“literacy teaching and learning in the 

Covid-19 crisis and beyond” with a further 

emphasis on the role of educators and 

changing pedagogies to highlight the need 

for greater support for lifelong literacy 

learning. If 64% of GCSE students passed 

their English language paper in 2018, that 

leaves 36% who did not ‘make the grade’ 

for whatever reason, leaving them at a 

serious disadvantage at the tender age of 

just 16! 

At the same time, it must not be forgotten 

that we live in a digital age, and our 

recent home-schooling experiences have 

perhaps made each one of us appreciate 

our nursery and teaching professionals a 

little more. Lockdown saw a burgeoning 

of online learning platforms and a myriad 

of virtual lessons, but if you can’t read a 

sentence, what hope is there of reading or 

accessing material online? 

The problem is a complex one and more 

research needs to be done to weigh up the 

benefits of technology as a learning tool 

versus concerns about language gaps, 

mental health and safeguarding associated 

with digital platforms. 

But what can you do in your settings to 

encourage literacy, digitally or not? The 

answers are remarkably simple for early 

years. You will have your own ways of 

introducing literacy into your curriculum, but 

perhaps the best thing you can do at this 

time is to encourage parents to take up the 

baton and really set their child on the road 

to success at home. 

Small-talk.org.uk is a pilot project from the 

National Literacy Trust and the DfE to help 

parents encourage literacy at home. It has 

advice, games, songs and stories online to 

help parents and nursery professionals too. 

Both these websites are full of resources 

which are all free to download. They don’t 

need lots of specialist equipment or fancy 

programs since their advice is very simple: 

chat, play and read with children as much 

as possible. 

And sometimes the best advice is the 

simplest. We have all gone through a 

very difficult time in the last 6 months, and 

who knows what the future will bring? So 

perhaps, for the time being, the advice 

should be as simple and easy to manage 

as possible – chat, play and read – seems 

like something that we, as professionals, 

can all do every day, to improve the 

prospects for our children. 

References 

• https://literacytrust.org.uk/researchservices/research-reports/literacy-andlife-expectancy/ 

• https://data.unicef.org/topic/ 

education/literacy/ 

• https://literacytrust.org.uk/information/ 

what-is-literacy/how-does-englandsliteracy-compare-other-countries/ 



How children learn and the 

importance of using an attachment 

and trauma based approach 

While the world is still in the grip of a pandemic, children are returning to our schools and 

settings to lots of change which will be very difficult for them. Some of these children will have 

faced traumatic times over the past six months and all of them have lived through the biggest 

upheaval society has seen for decades. We need to ensure that we are ready to offer them the 

nurture and support that they need. Children need to feel safe and secure and have a positive 

sense of wellbeing before they are ready to learn. 

What is going on in our 

brains? 

To help us support children’s emotional 

development and wellbeing, it is helpful 

to know what is happening in our brains. 

When we feel calm the thalamus sends 

the information from our senses to the 

thinking part of our brain, which Dan 

Siegel calls the ‘upstairs brain’. We are 

calm and able to make decisions, be 

resilient, and stay in control of our body 

and mind. However, when we feel very 

stressed or anxious, the thalamus sends 

the information straight to our amygdala 

and our ‘downstairs brain’ takes over. We 

are overpowered by our emotions, have 

an increase in the stress hormone cortisol 

and are unable to think clearly (Siegel & 

Bryson, 2012). You may have heard this 

referred to as ‘Freeze, Fight or Flight’ mode. 

This response is designed as a survival 

technique to save us from threat or 

danger, but many children (and adults) 

live in this state of red alert all of the 

time leading to long term physical and 

mental health problems. Children need 

to grow up with healthy attachments 

and educators who can help them to 

co-regulate their emotional states, so 

that they can be resilient when they face 

danger, threat, anxiety or even a possible 

local lockdown. 

Many of our children will have had 

increased cortisol during the past few 

months and as Mine Conkbayir says, “In 

small doses, it is very useful in helping 

children and adults alike to cope with 

threatening or stressful situations by 

preparing the mind and body to fight 

or flee” (2017, p.46) however, if a child 

is exposed to too much cortisol on an 

ongoing basis, they will “develop a 

hyper-reactive stress response” (2017, 

p.47). Even if there is no longer any 

danger, their brain will react as if there 

were, resulting in children who may be 

irrational, overly-emotional, fearful or 

withdrawn. 

Being trauma and 

attachment aware 

An important first step for us as educators 

is to become more aware of the impact 

that trauma can have on our children 

and families. We cannot become trauma 

and attachment aware overnight but we 

can begin to reflect upon these issues 

and adopt an approach informed by this 

growing area of neuroscience. Here are a 

few ideas of how we can encourage our 

settings to grow in awareness: 

• Ensure all members of staff 

understand about Adverse Childhood 

Experiences (ACEs), trauma and 

attachment through engaging in 

professional development. 

• Include being trauma and attachment 

aware in policies and procedures. 

• Get to know children and families and 

be aware of their backgrounds, whilst 

avoiding making assumptions about 

their upbringing or ACEs. 

• Re-frame ‘attention-seeking’ children 

as ‘attachment-seeking’ children 

(Brooks, 2020). 

• Use strategies like emotion coaching 

and problem solving. 

• Offer times in the daily routine to checkin 

with children. 

• Prioritise wellbeing for staff and 

children. 

• Provide calming areas, e.g. a den or 

pop-up tent filled with cushions and 

blankets. 

• Use sensory resources and engage in 

sensory play, like bubble blowing. 

• Have calming strategies up your sleeve 

and get to know which work well for 

specific children. 

• Provide a visual timetable and Now/ 

Next boards to help children to 

understand the routine of the day. 

• Be a role model by having a calm 

attitude and demeanour. 

• Use natural consequences for children 

when possible. For example, if a child 

has deliberately broken a toy, do not 

replace it immediately, instead let them 

play without it for a while. This helps 

them to develop an understanding of 

cause and effect. 

• Avoid public praise or reward systems 

built on social compliance, instead use 

labelled praise and encouragement. 

Looking to the future 

Where do we go from here? Well, for me 

it’s not about a recovery curriculum for our 

returning children, it’s about a nurturing 

environment keeping children central to 

our provision, planning around them and 

focusing on their wellbeing. It’s about being 

trauma and attachment aware and also 

keeping the characteristics of effective 

learning in mind. These skills will help our 

children to be good learners and become 

more resilient. 

So start with the child: what they know 

and can do. Spend time getting to know 

them really well, consider their emotional 

development and attachment needs, 

keeping transitions to a minimum and 

routines consistent. Practice empathy and 

offer additional support to those who need 

it, whether children, families or staff. Ensure 

that, regardless of how confusing our own 

guidance from the government can be, we 

offer clear guidance to the families and 

children ourselves. If we adopt a more 

trauma and attachment aware approach 

this will prioritise wellbeing and ensure that 

our children feel nurtured, safe and secure 

and ready to learn. 

Getting back to the new 

normal: 

• Avoid the deficit model of ‘catching 

up’ for everyone. Instead start with the 

child and what they know and can do. 

• Spend time getting to know each other 

again and learning any new routines. 

• Consider emotional needs – plan staff 

rotas around key children and their 

attachment needs. 

• Offer security and safety by keeping 

routines consistent and limiting 

transitions during the day. 

• Practise empathy – it has been a 

difficult time for everyone. 

• Offer additional support and time for 

settling in and re-introducing children 

to our settings. 

• Offer clear guidance to families and 

explain any changes to children. 

• Remember that all behaviour is 

communication – what are your 

children and families trying to tell you? 

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 three books 

– “Observing and Developing 

Schematic Behaviour in Young 

Children” , “School Readiness 

and the Characteristics of 

Effective Learning” and “Calling 

all Superheroes: Supporting and 

Developing Superhero Play in the 

Early Years” and is working on a 

fourth looking at “Developing a 

Loving Pedagogy in the Early Years”. 

You can contact Tamsin via Twitter 

@tamsingrimmer, her Facebook 

page, website or email info@ 

tamsingrimmer.co.uk 

References / Further reading 

• Brooks, R. (2020) The Trauma and Attachment Aware Classroom: A Practical Guide 

to Supporting Children Who Have Encountered Trauma and Adverse Childhood 

Experiences. London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers 

• Conkbayir, M. (2017) Early Childhood and Neuroscience: Theory, Research and 

Implications for Practice. London: Bloomsbury Academic 

• Siegel, D. & Bryson, T. (2012) The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Proven Strategies to Nurture 

Your Child’s Developing Mind. London: Robinson 



Raising awareness 

of sepsis 

When a child (or indeed adult) has an infection, the body’s immune system automatically kicks 

into gear to fight it off. When faced with a viral infection (like a cold or flu) or a bacterial 

infection (like ‘strep throat’) a child, in particular, may experience symptoms like fever, sore 

throat, body aches and a headache. In your experience as a childcare practitioner, you will 

have probably seen these symptoms many times; and know that they are usually manageable; 

and that a healthy immune response in the child would ensure full recovery within a few days. 

• Low temperature (below 36 o C – check 

three times in a 10-minute period) 

The statistics 

Sepsis affects between 27–30 million 

people each year, and of those, between 

6 and 9 million people die as a result. But 

the most worrying statistic is that sepsis 

is the most preventable cause of death 

worldwide. Unfortunately, only between 

7% and 50% of people are aware of sepsis 

globally. This varies, depending on the 

country and education level, but many are 

unaware of the simple measures that can 

be undertaken to prevent it, and many also 

do not know that the risk of death can be 

significantly reduced by early recognition of 

the symptoms and early effective treatment. 

The best way to prevent sepsis is to prevent 

infections in the first place through the use 

of vaccinations and good hygiene practices 

- plus for some countries where sanitation 

is an issue, having access to clean water 

and hygienic birth situations. 

How can we learn more and 

raise awareness? 

September 13th each year is recognised 

as World Sepsis Day - an initiative formed 

in 2012 by the Global Sepsis Alliance. You 

can find so many useful resources on their 

website, including a toolkit which enables 

you to run educational sessions for parents 

and a very informative short video, plus 

lots of ideas on how to get involved to raise 

awareness. 

• Cycle in fancy dress and share your 

photos online! 

• Cycle food to vulnerable people 

– again, taking care of the social 

distancing guidelines. 

Here’s what you can do in your 

setting: 

1. Download the toolkit from www. 

worldsepsisday.org/toolkits and run 

an education session for your parents 

and staff. There is a comprehensive 

toolkit on the website consisting of 

information, resources and a “What 

is sepsis?” video which runs for just 3 

minutes, which you can use to get the 

main messages over. 

2. Sign the Sepsis Declaration and 

share the link to it on your social media 

channels asking your parents to sign 

it too. 

3. Wear pink for the day and tell 

everyone why you are doing it. 

4. Hold a pink picnic with the children 

and serve all manner of pink food 

such as fairy cakes, raspberries, pink 

grapefruit and watermelon. You can 

always make some pink bread for 

sandwiches using some pink food 

colouring – the children will love it! 

5. Participate in the photo challenge 

and share your photos on social media 

using the hashtag #WorldSepsisDay. 

Keep parents engaged 

Getting involved in World Sepsis Day and 

Cycle4Sepsis is a great way to keep that allimportant 

engagement going with parents 

and lets them know that you are aware of 

and thinking about key health issues. 

Why not ask them to send you their photos 

from their activities so you can upload on to 

your website, your social media pages or 

even include in a newsletter? 

Download our handy “how to avoid 

spreading germs in your setting” poster 

here. 

For the month of September, get 

30% discount on our CPD online 

learning course for your staff - 

Infection Prevention Control 

However, on occasion, when the 

immune system releases chemicals into 

the bloodstream to fight an infection, 

those particular chemicals can attack 

normal organs and tissues. This immune 

overreaction is called sepsis and can 

cause inflammation, blood flow problems, 

low blood pressure, breathing problems 

and vital organ failure. Sepsis in 

children – and adults – can be 

life-threatening. 

We know that sepsis is rare - but it 

can be extremely serious if not treated 

immediately and much work is still to be 

done to raise awareness of this potentially 

fateful infection. If you suspect a child in 

your care has sepsis, then you should seek 

medical help immediately, as it could be 

life-threatening. 

Here are the symptoms to look 

out for in children under five 

years old 

• Mottled, bluish or pale complexion 

• Very lethargic - or difficult to wake 

from a nap 

• Abnormally cold to the touch 

• Fast breathing 

• A rash that does not fade when you 

press it 

• Fit or convulsion 

Additional symptoms can 

include: 

• Temperature over 38 o C in babies 

under three months 

• Temperature over 39 o C in babies 

aged three to six months 

• Any high temperature in a child 

who cannot be encouraged to show 

interest in anything 

On a national level, the UK Sepsis Trust is 

marking World Sepsis Day with a campaign 

called Cycle4Sepsis – and is asking the 

nation to cycle for the duration of the month 

– either fundraising or just for fun - and this 

year it’s a virtual challenge for everyone to 

take part! More information on this can be 

found here. 

Here are some ideas that you 

can share with parents and on 

your social media channels: 

• Head out on a cycling picnic, taking 

care of the social distancing guidance. 

• Go on a cycling ‘treasure hunt’ – round 

the garden or outdoor space in your 

setting. 



How attachment 

leads to independence 

and inspired and there will be others who 

make you doubt yourself and feel less than 

your best. Which of those people are more 

likely to make you feel confident and like 

you can take on the world? Those closest 

to us have a big impact on us. If we want 

children to fulfil their potential and live 

a happy life, it is crucial that they have 

positive and strong attachments with the 

people around them. If we focus on making 

a child feel safe and secure, instead of 

trying to make them independent, we will 

automatically give them the foundation 

they need in order to step into their own 

brilliance. Independence comes in time. 

However, it is the strong attachments 

that we have in early childhood and 

beyond that contribute to our ability to 

metaphorically spread our wings and fly 

into a happy and fulfilled future. 

When my children were born it always 

amazed me how many people were 

of the opinion that you could spoil a 

baby or ‘make a rod for your own back’ 

by cuddling them too much. I never 

understood it. Imagine being inside your 

mother’s womb where you felt warm and 

safe. You were never hungry and every 

need you had was met on demand. You 

could hear her voice and would fall asleep 

to the sound of her heartbeat. Then all of 

a sudden you were born. The feeling of 

her around you vanished and for the first 

time you were a separate being. There 

were new sounds and smells that were 

unfamiliar, you felt hunger and the cold 

for the first time and you no longer had 

the safety of your mother’s body around 

you. It was scary. You yearned for human 

connection and to be on your mother’s 

chest because that is where you felt the 

safest. The familiar sound of her heartbeat 

kept you calm, and the warmth of her 

body made you feel safe again, like you 

did before you entered the world. At 

first, you needed that physical contact all 

of the time. However, after a while, the 

unfamiliarity of the world became a little 

bit more normal and you felt safer in your 

environment. 

Over time, your confidence grew, and you 

would feel secure knowing that at any 

moment the people closest to you would 

scoop you up if you needed them to. This 

gave you the confidence to try different 

things and to step out into the world 

because you knew there was always a 

safety net if you fell. You felt accepted and 

loved, which made you feel empowered 

and confident, but sometimes you doubted 

yourself and needed to be back in your 

mother’s arms. You would return there 

for a while knowing that it was okay 

to feel this way and then once your 

confidence was restored, you 

would give things another try. 

You see, independence comes in time. 

Children need attachment and security 

before any of that. A person who feels 

safe and loved, will show up in the world 

very differently to someone who doesn’t. 

Even as an adult we sometimes need an 

arm around us and some reassurance 

from the people we love. Children are 

no different. They need to build up their 

confidence and feel safe before they step 

out into the world. They need to know 

that there is someone in their corner who 

they can rely on and trust. Once they have 

this, they will then naturally become more 

independent. Every child is unique though. 

Some children are innately more cautious 

and that’s okay. We are all different and 

shouldn’t be made to feel like there is 

anything wrong with that. Once a child 

feels secure, they can be encouraged to try 

new things in the knowledge that there is 

always someone there for them who has 

their back. 

The early years in a child’s life shape who 

they are and how they respond to the 

world and themselves. A consistent, 

loving environment is crucial in 

a child’s development and 

has a physical impact on 

the wiring of their brain. 

We know as adults that the quality of our 

relationships has a huge impact on our 

life. When we feel loved and supported by 

the people around us, we automatically 

feel more confident in who we are. As 

much as we shouldn’t care what other 

people think, we often do. Think about 

your own life. There will be people who 

make you feel 

energised 

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. 

Email: stacey@earlyyearsstorybox. 

com or Telephone: 07765785595 

Facebook: https://www.facebook. 

com/earlyyearsstorybox 

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ 

eystorybox 

Instagram: https://www. 

instagram.com/earlyyearsstorybox 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin. 

com/in/stacey-kelly-a84534b2/ 



Migraine Awareness Week 

At some point in our lives, we have all had a headache, and know how painful and debilitating 

they can be. But if you are one of the 1 in 7 people in the population who suffer from migraines, 

then you will understand the misery caused by this disabling lifetime condition. Migraine is the 

third most common, and sixth most disabling disease in the world although the understanding 

of the condition is still low. 

Migraine Awareness Week is held 

every year to try to raise awareness of 

the condition, highlight its impact and 

the understanding of it in the general 

population, and raise funds for the 

Migraine Trust, an organisation committed 

to helping support the millions of people 

affected. One of the main aims of 

the week is to “work together to raise 

the profile of migraine as a complex 

neurological condition and dispel any 

ideas that it is ‘just a headache’.” 

This year, the week runs from the 6th 

to the 12th September and everyone is 

encouraged to get involved in some way. 

Below are some ideas about things you 

can do to help out, and some facts and 

information about the condition to help 

increase everyone’s understanding. 

What is migraine? 

Migraine is a complex neurological 

condition with a wide variety of symptoms. 

A migraine is usually a moderate or severe 

headache felt as a throbbing pain on one 

side of the head although many people 

also have symptoms such as feeling sick, 

being sick and increased sensitivity to light, 

smells or sound. Many people need to lie 

still for several hours in darkened spaces, 

and attacks can last from 4 to 72 hours. 

The symptoms vary with individuals and 

can be very frightening for them. 

Types of migraine 

There are several types of migraine, as 

listed on the NHS migraine webpage, 

which include: 

• migraine with aura – where there 

are specific warning signs just before 

the migraine begins, such as seeing 

flashing lights 

• migraine without aura – the most 

common type, where the migraine 

happens without the specific warning 

signs 

• migraine aura without headache, also 

known as silent migraine – where an 

aura or other migraine symptoms are 

experienced, but a headache does 

not develop 

Who suffers from 

migraines? 

Anyone can be affected although there is 

a higher incidence in women than men. It 

can begin at any age but usually begins 

early. Children as young as 18 months 

have been reported with it, and about 

10% of school-aged children and 28% of 

adolescents aged 15 to 19 are affected by 

it. Half of all sufferers experience their first 

migraine before they are 12. 

What causes migraine? 

The causes of migraine are not fully 

understood as it differs widely between 

individuals. There may be some genetic 

involvement since it seems to run in 

families, and many people think that 

their migraines are caused by a trigger 

such as a food/drink, stress, or changes 

in their hormones. A good way to help 

identify triggers is for people to keep a 

detailed diary of what they eat/drink, any 

mood swings, external factors such as the 

weather and the room temperature which 

can be used to build up a detailed picture 

of how these things affect their migraine. 

How can you treat 

migraine? 

There is no cure for migraine, but many 

people treat the symptoms of pain and 

headache with over-the-counter painkillers 

such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or 

codeine. Another class of drugs called 

triptans work to reverse the changes in 

the brain causing migraine. They quieten 

down overactive pain nerves and work 

in a similar way to the brain chemical, 

serotonin. However, they are not suitable 

for everyone due to their vasoconstrictor 

properties (narrowing of the arteries) and 

everyone should check with their doctor 

or pharmacist first before taking any 

medications since some medications such 

as codeine are also age-restricted. 

How can you raise 

awareness in your 

setting? 

1. Talk about it – hopefully, the very 

fact that you are reading this article 

means that you will have a little more 

knowledge about the condition at 

the end of it, than you had at the 

beginning. Do you know anyone who 

suffers from migraines? Have you ever 

just thought they are ‘putting it on’ or 

dismissed it as ‘another headache’?! 

Why not instigate a conversation 

about migraines and try to find out 

how things really are? There is a lot 

of negative stigma around migraines 

and many sufferers literally do ‘suffer 

in silence’ because they do not 

think other people will understand. 

This is where talking openly and 

honestly about it can help. If you 

know someone who suffers from 

migraines, you could tell them about 

the Migraine Trust, or other relevant 

charities and the work they do. 

2. Follow the Migraine Trust on 

Facebook and Twitter and use the 

hashtags #letsbeatmigraine and 

#migraineawarenessweek on your 

own social media sites to show that 

you are supporting the week. There 

is also a Migraine Trust YouTube 

channel which you could share via 

social media to help get people 

talking and thinking more about 

migraine. 

3. Help others by sharing your own 

story – if you have migraines, then 

the Migraine Trust would love to hear 

your own personal story – you never 

know how many people might be 

inspired by your experiences to either 

get help themselves or understand 

the condition more. 

4. Raise some funds – money allows 

the charity to continue with their 

important research and support work. 

There many fun charity activities you 

can do to help raise some pennies (or 

some pounds!) Things like sponsored 

walks, cake sales, art events might 

be your expertise, or you could tackle 

more strenuous activities such as the 

2021 London Marathon. 

5. Give something up – a lot of people 

with migraine believe their migraine 

is triggered by certain things, such 

as hormones, alcohol, stress or 

certain foods and drinks. They 

often avoid these things to prevent 

their migraine. The idea behind the 

#GiveUpForMigraine campaign is 

that people give something up for a 

month to help raise money – it should 

be something they like (chocolate and 

alcohol are usually good candidates) 

and then they donate the money they 

save to the Migraine Trust. 

Whatever you do, the next time someone 

says they have a migraine, you can show 

empathy and support. 

References and further 

information 

• https://www.migrainetrust.org/ 

• https://www.nationalmigrainecentre. 

org.uk/ 

• https://migraineresearchfoundation. 

org/ 

• https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ 

migraine/ 



Building on 

relationships and 

communication 

with parents 

Our world has changed a lot in the last few months. It’s hard 

enough being a parent or carer but now that life has changed 

somewhat, parents may have lots of additional concerns 

about leaving their child in childcare. There is no doubt that 

you already work hard to build relationships with parents - 

life is always going to be much easier if everyone gets along. 

But how can we build on the partnership even further? 

What are the benefits of 

strong relationships with 

parents? 

Some of a child’s most important cognitive 

development happens during their 

pre-school years. If parents and carers 

take an active role in their child’s early 

education, they are helping to give the 

child the support they need to reach their 

full potential. 

Parents that are the most in tune with what 

is happening in their child’s setting are 

able to establish a connection between the 

learning that takes place in your setting 

and learning that takes place at home. 

They can then extend the learning that 

has taken place into real-life experiences, 

further boosting the child’s learning. 

Looking beyond the child’s days at your 

setting, research shows that family 

engagement in a child’s education can 

lead to them achieving better at school, 

having better social skills, and improved 

behaviour. 

On a more day to day note, a child is 

likely to settle a lot better where there is 

a strong relationship between home and 

your setting. Furthermore, getting parents 

involved boosts their confidence in you, as 

they see you do what you do best. 

This will help build a positive reputation for 

your setting. 

As you can see, parents, families and 

educators need to work together in 

partnership to give a child the best 

possible experience. 

How can you build your 

relationships with 

parents to make them ever 

stronger? 

In order for a child to really thrive the 

responsibility for the parent/setting 

relationship belongs to both sides. 

However, the parent may not recognise 

this so it may be down to you to 

encourage it. 

Firstly, take time to find out about the 

child’s past. Talking to parents about a 

child’s early experiences can help you 

plan for effective learning, plus it helps you 

offer support to parents in continuing their 

children’s learning at home. 

Continue with daily communication. 

You are probably already using a daily 

diary or communication book, but you may 

be tempted to stop this as the child gets 

older. Consider keeping it going for those 

hard-to-reach parents that perhaps have a 

grandparent or friend collect. 

Collect ‘wow’ observations from 

home (either on paper or on an online 

system such as Tapestry). The children 

at your setting are going to have other 

experiences outside of your setting that 

you can’t offer, such as swimming. Allow 

parents to share any achievements 

with you. Not only does this keep 

communication open and help you get to 

know each child, but it will also help add to 

your assessment of them. 

Encourage contributions from parents 

by really valuing anything they have to 

offer. They may be able to help out, talk to 

the children about their job or a skill they 

have, or share information about their 

culture. By welcoming them in, the children 

in your setting will benefit from what they 

have to share, the child of the parent will 

get a massive boost, you show the parent 

that you have nothing to hide, and they get 

to see what a brilliant job you do. Win win! 

Set goals with parents and work 

together to help their child achieve them. 

This is particularly important if a child is 

struggling with something particular such 

as separation anxiety. 

Make resources available to parents. 

Many parents may want to continue the 

fantastic learning that you do at home but 

simply don’t have the tools to do so, or just 

don’t know what to do. Consider a lending 

library so that parents can see the sort of 

thing you do and so that the link between 

your setting and home can be as strong as 

possible. If you don’t think lending things 

out is feasible, then how about suggesting 

a list of activities for parents to do at home. 

You could put these out on your social 

media which gives you lots of content ideas. 

Consider home visits. Where you may 

have a particularly tricky situation such 

as a child that is extremely anxious or 

a child with additional needs, it may be 

worth offering a home visit. Home visits are 

widely used to help settle children into their 

reception class at school and have brilliant 

positive effects. If you are going, don’t go 

alone and make sure your colleagues know 

exactly when you’re going. 

Cater for ‘hard-to-reach’ parents. In 

any setting you are going to find that some 

parents are easier to reach than others. 

You might find that fathers, parents who 

live apart from their children, and working 

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: 

https://www.createvisualaids.co.uk 

Email: 

gina@createvisualsaids.com 

parents are included in this group. You will 

need to use different strategies for involving 

them – talk to them to find out what works 

best for them. Don’t forget to provide 

information in a way that is accessible to 

all. Some of your parents may not be able 

to read, or struggle to read English because 

it is an additional language. You may need 

to go that extra mile to make any contact 

accessible for all. 

Make a strong effort to involve parents and 

carers and you will go a long way to having 

children that reach their full potential. If both 

parent and setting recognise and respect 

what the other does, then a child can really 

thrive in the best possible way. 



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.

September complete mag

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?