August 2021 Parenta magazine

Issue 81 

AUGUST 2021 

FREE 

Industry 

Experts 

The significant role 

of co-regulation in 

the early years 

12 important life 

lessons to teach 

children 

Using music to develop 

listening, attention and 

understanding as an 

Early Learning Goal 

+ lots more 

Write for us 

for a chance to win 

£50 

page 8 

The importance of hugging 

in child development 

Hugging comes naturally to most of us, and is one of the things that we have all missed so much in the pandemic. 

But do you know why hugs are important and the science behind their role in child development? 

A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO SEND • BIRTH TO 5 MATTERS • MEETING MYELIN • CYCLE TO WORK DAY

hello 

welcome to our family 

JUNE AUGUST 2020 2021 ISSUE ISSUE 67 81 

IN THIS EDITION 

Regulars 

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

With all COVID-related restrictions now lifted, the subject of hugging is on many people’s minds! So, what better 

month than August to take a look into the importance of appropriate hugging in child development? Turn to 

page 10 to find out the science behind just how much difference hugging can make to a child’s physical and 

emotional progress. 

We were lucky enough in May to have an exclusive interview with early years expert, Tamsin Grimmer, on the eagerly 

awaited Birth to 5 matters guidance. Tamsin was part of the Steering Group and a member of the Inclusive Practice 

and Equalities Working Group. 

Despite Birth to 5 matters being warmly received by so many across the sector and being hailed as a great resource, settings continue 

to seek guidance through these unprecedented times; and we are so pleased to be able to bring you another exclusive interview on 

this very hot topic; this time with Dr Kathryn Peckham, early childhood consultant, researcher and author, who headed up the Birth to 5 

matters Learning Environments Working Group. Turn to page 20 for her comprehensive guide. 

We have so much fantastic advice this month from many industry experts, specifically about early child development: Helen Garnett 

talks to us about the significant role of co-regulation, Gina Bale teaches us about the pivotal role that myelin plays in our brain, Stacey 

Kelly gives us her 12 important life lessons to teach children, Tamsin Grimmer looks at mark-making in relation to school readiness, and 

Frances Turnbull explores how music can be used to develop listening, attention and understanding as an Early Learning Goal. 

As always, everything you read in our magazine is written to help you with the efficient running of your setting and to promote the health, 

happiness and well-being of the children in your care. 

Please feel free to share the magazine with friends, parents and colleagues – they can sign up to receive their own copy here! 

Please stay safe, everyone. 

Allan 

8 Write for us for the chance to win £50! 

8 Guest author winner announced 

19 Congratulations to our learners 

34 Brain box 

35 Pineapple fried rice 

News 

4 Childcare news and views 

6 A round-up of some news stories 

that have caught our eye over the 

month 

Advice 

10 The importance of hugging in child 

development 

14 A holistic approach to SEND 

18 Top 5 holistic development activities 

26 The art of mentoring in the early years: 

part two 

30 The importance of sensory bags 

38 Cycle To Work Day 

The art of mentoring in the early years: part two 26 

Meeting myelin 28 

Celebrating difference and neurodivergence: part 5 32 

The significant 

role of 

co-regulation in 


Co-regulation is vital for 

young children because it 

provides crucial support. 

12 

Birth to 5 

Matters - an 

exclusive interview 

with Dr Kathryn 

Peckham 

20 

Kathryn covers the scope 

and quality of the Birth to 

5 matters materials. 

Using music to develop 24 


understanding as an Early 

Learning Goal 

Listening is a skill that is fundamental 

to learning. 

Industry Experts 

12 The significant role of co-regulation in 


16 12 important life lessons to teach 

children 

20 Birth to 5 Matters - an exclusive 

interview with Dr Kathryn Peckham 

24 Using music to develop listening, 

attention and understanding as an 


28 Meeting myelin 

32 Celebrating difference and 

neurodivergence: part 5 

36 Making their mark! 

Making their mark! 36

Childcare 

news & views 

Use snack breaks to teach 

maths: Education Endowment 

Foundation 

The Department for Education has 

advised Nursery staff to use everyday 

activities like snack times and story time 

to teach children about counting, addition, 

subtraction, time and sharing. 

Early years staff need well-being 

policies and more transparency 

in the workplace 

The Anna Freud Centre has published 

its findings from a survey about staff 

well-being, alongside NDNA’s sample 

well-being policy. 

Key points from the survey are: 

- Nursery staff love their work, and many 

feel their settings are actively engaging 

with staff mental health and achieving 

positive results 

- However, less than half (47%) were 

aware of whether their nursery had a 

mental health and well-being policy in 

place, and where no known policy was 

reported, staff stress levels were also 

found to be highest 

- Nursery staff also said that the pandemic 

had taken its toll on their mental health, 

with 50% reporting that they felt unwell 

as a result of work-related stress during 

the past year and 66% reporting that the 

pandemic had impacted their well-being 

and mental health 

Stella Ziolkowski, NDNA’s Director of 

Quality and Training, said: “We welcome 

this report because nursery practitioners 

are the lifeblood of the setting and 

make all the difference to the quality of 

a child’s early learning experiences. The 

relationships between a child, their key 

person and parents are absolutely crucial 

and based on trust and affection. 

Read the full story on the Parenta website 

here. 

Updated early years guidance 

and rules from DfE ahead of 

lockdown restrictions easing 

The Department for Education has 

updated its guidance for early years 

providers on operating during the 

pandemic ahead of Step 4 of lockdown 

easing, which will happen on 19th July. 

In an updated version of Actions for early 

years and childcare providers during 

the COVID-19 pandemic, which sets out 

what will be possible once Step 4 of the 

roadmap has started, some restrictions 

have been removed, including those on 

children attending more than one setting, 

parental drop-offs and pick-ups, trips to 

indoor and outdoor spaces and messy 

play. 

The guidance also states that there is 

no longer a requirement for children to 

be kept in small, consistent groups – but 

this may need to be introduced if local 

outbreaks happen. 

Settings will no longer need to carry 

out contract tracing – as from 19th July, 

close contacts will be identified via NHS 

Test and Trace. 

Face coverings will no longer be 

recommended for staff and visitors in 

communal areas, although this may 

be recommended in instances of local 

outbreaks. 

The guidance also confirms that parent 

and toddler groups will be able to operate 

as normal, with no restrictions on attendee 

numbers, or the number of people who 

can sing, when Step 4 of lockdown easing 

takes place. 

The government has confirmed that from 

Monday 16th August, children under 18 

years old and adults who are double 

vaccinated will no longer be required 

to self-isolate if they are identified as a 

close contact of someone who has tested 

positive. Instead, close contacts of a 

positive case will be informed by NHS Test 

and Trace and advised to take a PCR test. 


here. 

A report published by the Education 

Endowment Foundation (EEF) recommends 

early years settings and schools boost the 

maths skills of three to seven-year-olds. 

The report says early years practitioners 

should ‘take advantage of such time to 

support mathematical development’ in a 

bid to close the numeracy attainment gap 

particularly for disadvantaged children. 

Professor Becky Francis, Chief Executive 

of the Education Endowment Foundation 

(EEF) said: ‘It is crucial, then, that we start 

early and make sure that all young people 

- regardless of background - have access 

to great mathematics teaching in the early 

years and at primary school. 

‘Not all children learn the skills they 

need to succeed. In 2018, just 66% of 

disadvantaged children achieved at least 

the expected level of development for 

numbers at the end of the Early Years 

Foundation Stage compared to 82% of 

their peers.’ 

‘Once children fall behind, it is hard for 

them to catch up and they are likely to fall 

further behind throughout school.’ 

Early years staff are encouraged to use 

storybooks, games, songs and rhymes 

to help young children with maths. For 

example, the guidance urges staff to 

ask children to count the feet of different 

animals in a picture book and show them 

with their fingers. 

The report recommends seizing chances 

to reinforce children’s mathematical 

vocabulary. Staff are encouraged to 

use everyday objects as well as maths 

resources, to help children develop their 

understanding of concepts like addition. 


here. 

Boris Johnson urged to ‘level up’ 

for young children by 2030 

Thousands of children are “falling behind 

in their first five years of life”, are not ready 

to learn and struggle with their health 

and well-being, reveals an early years 

manifesto that urges Prime Minister Boris 

Johnson to “level up” for young children 

with post-lockdown support. 

The stark truth facing the early years 

sector ‘obstructs’ England’s path to a more 

prosperous future and “we will never truly 

level up if we don’t recognise this”, states 

the cross-party Early Years Commission’s 

manifesto, published by think tank the 

Centre for Social Justice and the Fabian 

Society. 

Almost all (99%) of the 3,023 adults polled 

in England last December believed that the 

early years sector has not been prioritised 

by the Government during the pandemic, 

and the Early Years Commission calls for 

post-COVID-19 support for young children 

and their parents with action taken by 

2030. 

More than two million families with children 

under five live in poverty, and poverty is 

rising fast in young children, according to 

the Department for Work and Pensions. 

At three years old, children in poverty are 

almost one and a half years behind their 

more affluent peers when it comes to 

language development. 


here. 

Department for Education’s 

latest figures show fall in 

demand for ‘free childcare’ 

The DfE has released figures which reveal a 

fall in demand for ‘free childcare’ places. 

- The number of eligible two-year-olds 

registered to receive funded early 

education entitlements has fallen by 13% 

to 124,500 in 2021 

- The number of three and four-year-olds 

registered to receive from funded early 

education has fallen by 5% to 1,212,000 in 

2021 

- The number of three and four-year-olds 

registered to receive from extended early 

education has fallen by 5% and is 

now similar to the number in 2019 

The decrease in the number and proportion 

of children registered to receive funded 

entitlements reflect the impact of COVID-19 

uncertainty on supply (providers) and 

demand (parents) for early years provision 

in January 2021. 

Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive of 

National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) 

said: “These newly released statistics are 

really worrying, not least because of the 

substantial drop in numbers of eligible 

two-year-olds taking up places. 


here. 

4 August 2021 | parenta.com 

parenta.com | August 2021 5

A round-up of some news stories that 

have caught our eye over the month 

Source and image credits to: 

Government website, Nursery World, The Standard, 

Daily Echo, Day Nurseries, Bishops Stortford 

Independent, In Your Area 

Parenta FREE webinar - 

Clarification and navigation 

around the new EYFS 

All the changes in the new EYFS have led 

to quite a bit of confusion despite all the 

advice and guidance available. In this 

month’s webinar, our guest speakers 

discuss what the changes mean for 

practitioners. Click here to watch their 

experience and advice for navigating 

around the new EYFS. 

HMRC are offering a childcare 

top-up for working parents 

HM Revenues and customs are 

sending out reminders that working 

parents can use Tax-Free Childcare to 

pay for childcare costs over the 

summer holidays. 

Top tips for early years 

potty training 

Children seem to be wearing nappies 

for longer. Annette Rawstone explores 

the reasons for the trend and tips to help 

children become fully potty trained. 

Little Explorers Nursery use 

several fundraising events to 

help fund future events 

The nursery raised £2,460 by taking part 

in a fun run and by selling football cards. 

The money will be used towards a 

well-deserved nursery graduation party. 

Dean Park Day Nursery raise 

£1,500, for the Round Table 

charity, Children’s Wish 

100 pupils from babies to pre-schoolers 

all took part by walking 100 laps of the 

field over four days. 

Chief Executive of London Early 

Years Foundation shares planet 

friendly tips for settings 

Co-author of ‘50 Fantastic Ideas for 

Sustainability', June O’Sullivan, claims 

“we are not asking people to become 

eco warriors". 

Early years chief states 

nurseries must be included in 

plans to scrap self-isolation 

Grove Cottage presented 

with £800 donation from 

Hertfordshire Freemasons 

Tribute to inspirational nursery 

owner, Kath Winstanley 

Co-op Childcare are opening two 

new settings in early 2022 based 

in Bristol and Cheltenham 

Marston Day Nursery receive 

‘bear-illiant’ donation from local 

housebuilder 

Click here to send in 

your stories to 

hello@parenta.com 

Early Years leader, Mr Williamson, is 

calling for the government to include 

nurseries in the easing and removal 

of COVID restrictions. 

The donation was given to Natasha 

Rayner, Deputy Manager of the special 

needs nursery. The nursery heavily rely on 

donations due to lack of central funding. 

Tributes have been paid for Kath, owner 

of Overndale Nursery, Bristol after 

dedicating 40 years of her life to her 

family-run setting. 

Little Pioneers brand start £1.5 million 

builds to provide two new childcare 

settings after seeing how important 

nurseries are to their communities. 

The nursery received 88 teddy bears for 

their picnic from David Wilson Homes. 

The children enjoyed the outdoors and 

felt lucky to have large green spaces. 



Write for us! 

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insightful articles for our 

monthly magazine. 

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what we can do to model this. Well done Stacey! 

A massive thank you to all of our guest authors for 

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The importance of hugging 

in child development 

“Hi, I’m Olaf, and I like warm hugs!” 

Remember the little snowman from “Frozen”, who, contrary to his cold exterior, admits freely that he 

loves the feeling that a warm hug gives? Hugging comes naturally to most of us, and is one of the 

things that we have all missed so much in the pandemic. But do you know why hugs are important 

and the science behind their role in child development? 

Research on hugs is not as bounteous as 

we might expect, perhaps because we 

feel it’s a natural thing that most of us do 

without thinking. However, recent research 

is now deepening our understanding of 

the role of hugs in child development, and 

early years practitioners need to be aware 

of this and use it in a practical way. 

We all know how comforting it is to receive 

a hug, especially if we are upset or are 

physically hurt. Having someone else take 

some of the strain, and physically wrap 

you up in a safe, warm genuine hug is like 

nothing else. Our stresses melt away and 

somehow, it calms our mood and puts us 

into a better state of mind. But researchers 

have recently revealed that children who 

get more hugs, also have more developed 

brains, compared to children who receive 

fewer hugs. 1 

As long ago as the 1950s, John Bowlby’s 

research pointed to the importance of a 

mother’s touch, and his experiments were 

fundamental in forming his theories of 

attachment, showing the negative effects 

that being deprived of physical affection 

can bring. 2 

Touch is one of the first senses we use. 

Our sense of smell, taste, sight, and 

hearing function, but we need time to 

understand what the inputs mean for us, 

for example recognising the difference 

between our mother and a stranger. 

However, the sense of touch can have a 

calming influence from birth. 

In an article on the benefits of hugging 1 , 

Dr Susan Crowe, an obstetrician from 

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, 

explained that as soon as it is physically 

safe for the mother and baby following 

birth, doctors and midwives place the 

baby on the mother’s chest, often with 

skin-to-skin contact, guiding the baby 

towards the breast to start the process 

of breastfeeding. However, regardless of 

whether breastfeeding is possible at this 

stage, the fact that the baby is being held 

by its mother within the first hour, can help 

normalise the baby’s body temperature, 

heartbeat and breathing pattern. The 

mother’s body releases hormones that 

cause more relaxation for her too after the 

exertions of birth. 

This is the beginning of parental bonding 

and is not confined to the mother. If other 

partners hold the baby at this time, then 

their bonding with the infant starts too. The 

article also explains some of the benefits 

of infant massage for babies and how 

this can bring a wide range of benefits 

including: 1 

• Better sleep patterns for the baby 

• Baby appears more aware of being 

loved, secure, and accepted 

• Improved digestion and bowel 

movements 

• Babies demonstrate more comfort by 

less fussy behaviour 

• Weight gain improves 

• Mother and baby appear more 

relaxed 

• Neurological function in babies is 

improved 

Another review published on PubMed, 

outlining the results from various studies, 

showed that children in orphanages who 

had been deprived of positive touch, had 

detrimental effects, but when they received 

only 20 minutes of daily tactile stimulation, 

over 10 weeks, they increased their 

developmental scores. 3 Premature babies 

who had their limbs stroked and mild limb 

movement, gained weight, had longer 

alertness, and more mobility. After one 

year, these premature infants scored high 

on growth and motor skills. 4 

One reason that researchers believe that 

positive touch and hugs are beneficial is to 

do with the release of oxytocin, which is a 

hormone and neurotransmitter produced 

in the hypothalamus and released from 

our pituitary gland. Oxytocin is responsible 

for the bonding between mother and 

baby. During breastfeeding, orgasm, and 

hugs, the levels of oxytocin rise leading 

to participants feeling trust, a maternal 

instinct and care, and it has sometimes 

been dubbed the ‘love’ hormone. Oxytocin 

has complex physiological interactions, and 

other physical effects in the body (such as 

aiding contractions in labour), but in the 

brain, is now thought to have beneficial 

effects on our emotional and social 

behaviours, affecting in some way, who we 

trust and see as safe. So hugging children 

can help them to feel safe and cared for by 

people they trust. 5-11 

This link between development and 

positive touch sensations extends into 

early childhood too, and children who 

have less tactile contact with their mother 

(either through a touch aversion on the 

part of the mother or the child), can lead 

to a condition known as ‘failure to thrive’ or 

FTT. 12 However, when the children receive 

more hugs and positive touch, (which 

could be through interactions during play 

sessions such as a hand on an arm or 

a touch on a shoulder), the children can 

move from having FTT to being healthy and 

thriving, very quickly. Again, this is thought 

to be a result of the complex interactions 

of oxytocin which can also stimulate the 

release of growth hormones. 

As well as affecting physical development, 

children’s emotional development is 

affected by hugs too as hugging has 

been shown to stop tantrums 13-14 . Many 

adults think that hugging a child having a 

tantrum will reinforce unwanted behaviour 

but as we understand the reasons 

behind children’s emotional outbursts 

better, and are beginning to see them 

as communication, this view is being 

challenged. 

Children who are hugged when they are 

upset and cannot express their feelings, 

need reassurance and to feel safe again. 

A hug can be the quickest way to calm 

their fears and help them regain a balance 

in their emotions that they have not yet 

learned to control in other ways. Outbursts 

and temper tantrums are a sign that the 

child is stressed, which releases cortisol into 

the body. Too much cortisol has negative 

implications but a hug in difficult times can 

trigger the release of oxytocin, to counteract 

this. A hug will also teach them that you are 

there as a trusted adult, so can help them 

develop trust and resilience, knowing that 

ultimately ‘everything will be alright’. 

So appropriate hugging is important in 

child development and can really make 

a difference to a child’s physical and 

emotional development. 

References 

1. The benefits of touch for babies and 

parents. https://med.stanford.edu/ 

news/all-news/2013/09/the-benefitsof-touch-for-babies-parents.html 

2. Origins of attachment theory. 

https://cmapspublic2.ihmc.us/ 

rid=1LQX400NM-RBVKH9-1KL6/the%20 

origins%20of%20attachment%20 

theory%20john%20bowlby%20and_ 

mary_ainsworth.pdf 

3. Casler L. The effects of extra 

tactile stimulation on a group of 

institutionalized infants. Genet Psychol 

Monogr. 1965;71:137-175. https://www. 

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14279691 

4. Preterm Infant Massage Therapy 

Research: A Review. https://www. 

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ 

PMC2844909/ 

5. https://www.exchangefamilycenter. 

org/exchange-family-centerblog/2020/4/2/the-science-behindhugging-your-kids5-benefits-for-youand-your-child 

6. Smith AS, Wang Z. Salubrious effects 

of oxytocin on social stress-induced 

deficits. Hormones and Behavior. 

Published online March 2012:320-330. 

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.11.010 

7. Uvnas-Moberg K, Petersson M. 

[Oxytocin, a mediator of anti-stress, 

well-being, social interaction, 

growth and healing]. Z Psychosom 

Med Psychother. 2005;51(1):57-80. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ 

pubmed/15834840 

8. Cohen S, Janicki-Deverts D, Turner 

RB, Doyle WJ. Does Hugging Provide 

Stress-Buffering Social Support? 

A Study of Susceptibility to Upper 

Respiratory Infection and Illness. 

Psychol Sci. Published online 

December 19, 2014:135-147. https:// 

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ 

PMC4323947/ 

9. Saphire-Bernstein S, Way BM, Kim 

HS, Sherman DK, Taylor SE. Oxytocin 

receptor gene (OXTR) is related to 

psychological resources. Proceedings 

of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Published online September 6, 

2011:15118-15122. doi:10.1073/ 

pnas.1113137108 

10. Buchheim A, Heinrichs M, George 

C, et al. Oxytocin enhances the 

experience of attachment security. 

Psychoneuroendocrinology. Published 

online October 2009:1417-1422. 

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.04.002 

11. Kosfeld M, Heinrichs M, Zak PJ, 

Fischbacher U, Fehr E. Oxytocin 

increases trust in humans. Nature. 

Published online June 2005:673-676. 

doi:10.1038/nature03701 

12. Role of the Mother’s Touch in Failure 

to Thrive: A Preliminary Investigation: 

https://www.jaacap.org/article/S0890- 

8567(09)64114-9/fulltext 

13. The science behind your child’s 

tantrums. https://www.nytimes. 

com/2020/10/15/parenting/kidstantrums-advice.html 

14. Infants Show Physiological Responses 

Specific to Parental Hugs. https://www. 

sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ 

S2589004220301802 



The significant role of 

co-regulation in the early years 

“Developing self-regulation, like many elements of development and learning, is not 

something children do by themselves. It is a process that grows out of attuned 

relationships where the caregiver and baby or child are closely attentive to each 

other and engage in sensitive, responsive exchanges.” 

I love this. The truth is that co-regulation 

– our attuned, attentive, and loving 

exchanges with children - are key to their 

emotional growth and ultimately support 

children in growing and strengthening 

their self-regulation skills over the years. 

On the other side of the coin, those 

children who are not adequately coregulated 

may well become overwhelmed 

by their feelings. Where does this leave 

them? Unregulated, they struggle to cope 

with the daily challenges of life, unable to 

navigate the feelings or behaviours that 

are so intrinsically linked. 

Co-regulation is vital for young children 

because it provides the crucial support 

that helps them to understand powerful or 

unpleasant feelings and return to a place 

of calm. It makes sense that co-regulation 

is placed firmly at the heart of our practice 

in the early years. 

Brain development and co-regulation 

Co-regulation is the warm interaction 

between adult and child (or between 

adults!) where adults help children to 

understand their feelings and behaviours. 

Co-regulation needs to be tender, 

intentional, and focused. As early years 

practitioners, we must pay the closest of 

attention to children’s emotional cues, 

understanding their body language, 

and responding swiftly, consistently, and 

sensitively to these. Part of co-regulation’s 

complexity is giving the right amount of 

support at the right time and knowing 

what each child needs at any given time. 

Promptness and consistency are key. 

Birth to 5 Matters 2021 

Jack is 2. He is playing at the water tray 

with another child. He cannot reach a 

bucket on the other side of the water 

tray. He shows small signs of frustration, 

banging the spoon he is holding. A 

teacher is sitting a short distance away 

and is observing his cues. She waits to 

see what he will do next, not jumping in 

straight away. 

Jack tries to reach the bucket again, but it 

is too far away. He drops the spoon on the 

floor and is beginning to look distressed. 

The teacher comes over immediately, and 

gently speaks to Jack, ‘You look sad. Do 

you want the bucket? Shall we get it?” 

Jack says nothing but allows her to take 

his hand and lead him to the other side 

of the water tray where he is able to pick 

up the bucket for himself. “Good lifting!” 

says the teacher. Jack smiles and fills the 

bucket with water. The teacher continues 

to observe Jack carefully as he plays. 

Jack was frustrated and unable to 

help himself. He needed an adult to 

acknowledge his powerful feelings, 

suggest a solution, and help him to move 

towards that solution. 

Through the teacher observing, waiting, 

modelling and coaching, Jack learns that 

his frustrations will be supported and that 

there are ways of achieving what he wants 

to do, even when there are difficulties 

involved. 

The more confident children are at 

understanding their emotions and 

challenges, the more likely they are to 

make sense of their environment and 

pursue their goals. 

Co-regulation, then, is an ongoing cycle of observation, interaction and 

collaboration: 

Solution reached together, 

with feelings acknowledged 

and supported 

3 

4 

Adult observes and reaches out 

promptly to support and model 

1 

Child is helpless, overcome 

with difficult feelings 

2 

Child cannot find a solution 

to the difficulty or challenge 

A pedagogy of connection 

Settings that put co-regulation at the heart of their pedagogy will significantly support 

children in developing self-regulatory skills. 

We can best achieve this through: 

• Connectivity – a culture of tenderness 

towards children builds warm, 

responsive relationships. Such a 

culture has a powerful impact on 

children’s capabilities, helping them to 

feel loved and comforted, as well as 

supported and respected 

• Predictability – when we are 

consistently and reliably kind, children 

An environment of connection 

feel able to meet challenges and 

difficult feelings more readily, feeling 

supported in each circumstance 

• Enablement – supporting children 

through observing, modelling and 

suggesting strategies helps children to 

build their emotional intelligence and 

practice their self-regulation skills 

There needs to be a solid framework into which co-regulation sits comfortably. This means 

that each day we provide: 

• A predictable and enjoyable daily 

routine and schedule 

• Careful observation of children’s 

emotional cues - any child in a place 

of tension and anxiety will clearly 

find it more difficult to find solutions to 

everyday challenges 

• Plenty of fresh air and physical activity 

– research demonstrates over and 

over that fresh air and exercise helps 

children’s self-regulatory abilities (and 

adults!) 

• Time and place for adults to 

encourage each other – supporting 

children is rewarding but draining 

Helen Garnett 

Helen Garnett is a mother of 4, and 

a committed and experienced early 

years consultant. She has a wealth 

of experience in teaching, both in 

the primary and early years sectors. 

She co-founded a pre-school in 2005 

where she developed a keen interest 

in early intervention, leading her into 

international work for the early years 

sector. Helen cares passionately 

about young children and connection. 

As a result, she wrote her first book, 

“Developing Empathy in the Early Years: 

a guide for practitioners” for which she 

won the Professional Books category 

at the 2018 Nursery World Awards, and 

“Building a Resilient Workforce in the 

Early Years”, published by Early Years 

Alliance in June 2019. She also writes 

articles for early years magazines, such 

as Nursery World, Early Years Teacher 

Organisation, QA Education, Teach Early 

Years, and Early Years Educator. 

Helen is the co-founder and Education 

Director at Arc Pathway, an early years 

platform for teachers and parents. 

Helen can be contacted via LinkedIn. 

Co-regulation has a vital role because it helps grow children’s emotional competence, self-direction, and executive function. And yet 

co-regulation isn’t just about building self-regulation skills. It is about building capable and confident children. Children become 

increasingly more capable the more we understand them, and progressively more confident the more we show them the exciting 

possibilities and options in their world. And the wonderful thing is that any child can become an expert in their own world when adults 

understand their needs, observe their emotional cues and support their search towards solutions or goals. 

Through co-regulation, children can become powerful learners and competent thinkers. 



Consider: 

A holistic 

approach to 

• Are there ways to combine 

interventions to get the best outcome? 

• Are you considering health issues? 

• Are you considering social issues? 

• How will your work impact on other 

areas of the child’s life? 

• Can you involve others to help? 

SEND 

Partnering with others 

The first thing you learn when working with SEN children it that there 

is never a ‘one-size fits all’ approach and it is important that all your 

efforts are focused on the very individual needs that each child has. 

Just because they have a diagnosis of dyslexia, for example, doesn’t 

mean that you can get away with giving them a coloured overlay 

and hope it will solve all their problems. It won’t, and only a poorlyinformed 

practitioner would think it could. 

Special educational needs are just that 

– they are special and unique to the 

individual child and need to be tailored 

accordingly. A lot of settings and schools 

talk about promoting holistic education, 

but what does that actually mean, and 

how can you deliver this in your setting? 

The term ‘holistic education’ is much more 

than just offering some extra-curricular 

trips once in a while, or a token attempt at 

inclusion every term, but it is often what 

a lot of places suggest counts as ‘holistic 

education’. 

According to one online dictionary, 

holistic has two meanings: 

1. In philosophy - 

characterised by the belief that the 

parts of something are intimately 

interconnected and explicable only by 

reference to the whole. 

2. In medicine (and education) - 

characterised by the treatment of the 

whole person, taking into account 

mental and social factors, rather than 

just the symptoms of a disease. 

This means really understanding that 

there are many contributing factors that 

affect all of our lives, and you cannot easily 

separate them out if you want to improve 

the whole person. You need to think 

differently and consider how each one 

impacts on others. 

In the SEND Code of Practice: A guide for 

health professionals, it states: 

‘Our vision for children and young people 

with special educational needs and 

disabilities (SEND) is the same as for all 

children and young people – that they 

achieve well in their early years, at school 

and in college and make a good transition 

to adulthood, to lead contented and 

fulfilled lives. This hasn’t always been the 

case. The SEND reforms introduced by 

the Children and Families Act 2014 aim 

to change this, with a focus on two key 

themes: greater cooperation between 

education, health and social care and a 

greater focus on the outcomes which will 

make a real difference to how a child or 

young person lives their life. For too long, 

health has been the missing partner in the 

SEND system. These reforms change that 

– they implement a holistic approach to 

supporting children and young people with 

SEND in all aspects of their life.’ 

Taking a holistic approach means looking 

at the person as a whole and trying to 

balance any interventions that are offered 

in a way that benefits that person’s entire 

being and how they live their life, not just 

in nursery or at school, but beyond into 

adulthood. It means considering various 

other factors in conjunction with their SEN, 

and which may be in addition to those 

factors listed in the EYFS, including: 

• Social situation and family life 

• Community issues 

• Mental health 

• Confidence and self-esteem 

• Emotional intelligence 

• Physical development 

• Social confidence and friendships 

• Creativity and self-expression 

• Empathy and appreciation 

• Individuality 

• And many more – the list will be 

endless! 

As early years practitioners, we understand 

that 90% of brain development occurs by 

age 5, so it is vital that our settings provide 

experiences that support the whole child, 

including the above bullet points, and it is 

why we should provide multiple areas of 

stimulation through enriched and diverse 

environments, but understand how each 

affects the other. 

In many educational settings, children 

with special needs are often taken out of 

subjects they do well at (such as Art or 

Drama), in favour of studying Maths or 

English, but this can impact negatively on 

their self-esteem when they feel they are 

missing a subject that supports them in 

other ways. This is just an example, but it 

raises questions about whether the child’s 

preferences could be taken into account 

in a more holistic approach, that doesn’t 

impact negatively on their mental health to 

serve an academic outcome. In early years, 

we may fall into the trap of focusing on one 

small thing at the expense of a larger other. 

Many children with special needs also 

have more than one learning difficulty - 

people with autism can also have sensory 

issues, and people with dyslexia may have 

dyspraxia. The challenge here is to try to 

try to meet all of the needs in the best way 

possible. This is where good planning and 

communication are vital. 

To provide a holistic approach to SEND, it 

is vital you form partnerships with other 

people and agencies. When information is 

shared appropriately, instead of having just 

one piece of the jigsaw, everyone will begin 

to see the whole picture. 

Parents are obviously the first port of call 

and will have insights that you do not, and 

vice versa, so setting up regular sessions to 

talk to the parents will help you understand 

what their child needs; you can also tell 

parents what is working well in the setting, 

so they can continue the practice at home. 

Remember too that many parents of 

special needs children are under enormous 

stress themselves, which can impact their 

own mental health and wellbeing, and 

subsequently, that of the child. Offering 

help and support to parents via advice/ 

support groups, meetings or just passing 

on relevant information that could be useful 

to them, will have an impact. 

You should also develop partnerships with 

health and social care services, and they 

should be contacting you for updates, 

reviews and progress reports. By working 

together, plans such as EHCPs can be 

drawn up effectively to really support the 

whole child, but ensure they are regularly 

reviewed and amended to grow with the 

child. 

Supporting your SENCo 

Your SENCo will have ultimate responsibility 

for the outcomes and provision for 

children with special needs, but could 

you support them better by training your 

staff or increasing cooperation between 

colleagues? There are many CPD courses 

which raise awareness of SEND issues and 

there is no substitute for regular meetings 

with colleagues to check on a child’s 

progress across the board to consider 

holistic issues. 



12 important life lessons 

9. To use positive traits as a 

superpower 

to teach children 

When I became a parent, I knew that I wanted to help my children as much as I could to use each 

and every challenge they faced as a lesson, to see each failure as a stepping-stone to success 

and to know their worth so that from a young age they learned to love, accept and believe in 

themselves in a way that many of us struggle to do. 

I started writing and illustrating stories when my first baby was just 4 months old and as time went by, I realised how powerful 

books could be to not only teach children about different moral concepts but to also plant positive seeds in their minds that can 

then contribute to their inner beliefs and values. 

As a former teacher, I know how important a child’s early years are, and because of this I wanted to do everything I could to support my 

children to cope with their emotions, to believe in themselves, and to be the best that they could be. Knowing how powerful stories are 

and how much children absorb the key messages, I decided to create storybooks to help them through different developmental stages 

and to teach them values that will help them to step into their brilliance and to most importantly, be happy in their own skin. 

Here are the 12 key messages of the Memory Box Collection storybooks 

that I think will help every child to thrive: 

1. Most of the things that we 

worry about never happen 

How many times have we felt anxious 

about situations and played them up in 

our minds to then realise that we had 

nothing to fear in the first place? In a 

child’s early years, their imagination is 

developing, which gives them the capacity 

to anticipate bad things happening. It is 

important for us to acknowledge children’s 

worries and to show them that although 

we understand how they feel, that 

everything will be okay. 

2. Things don’t have to be 

perfect to be brilliant 

Many of us struggle with perfectionism 

and often our self-worth can take a hit 

when we get things wrong. Things are 

rarely perfect because we live in an 

imperfect world and trying to live up to this 

standard is exhausting. How many people 

are held back from their brilliance because 

they wait for perfection before they take 

the leap into something new? We need 

to teach children that there’s beauty 

in imperfection, to enjoy the imperfect 

journey that is life, and to take each flaw 

as a lesson leading us to greatness. 

3. To talk about feelings 

Sadness, anger, and frustration need to 

be accepted and normalised. We all have 

moments when we feel this way, yet as a 

society, we tend to struggle to see these 

emotions in ourselves and others. It’s not 

the anger, sadness, or frustration that is 

the problem, it’s how we manage them 

that contributes to the outcome. How 

many times have we bottled something 

up and then taken it out on someone 

who doesn’t deserve it? We need to teach 

children that it’s okay to feel this way, 

but that by talking about our feelings we 

dilute the intensity and give ourselves the 

opportunity to work through them without 

unintentionally hurting anyone else. 

4. It’s okay to ask for help 

So many people don’t like asking for help 

because they don’t like to be seen to have 

weaknesses. However, the truth is that we 

all have different abilities and can achieve 

so much more when we pull together. 

How many times have we struggled 

alone and stayed stuck or in pain, rather 

than asking for help? We need to teach 

children that it’s okay to ask for help if they 

need it and that they never need to isolate 

themselves in a problem and feel alone. 

5. That we all have our 

unique strengths and shine 

in our own way 

How many times do we compare 

ourselves to others? The problem with 

this is that we are all completely different 

and shine in our own way. In the words 

of Albert Einstein ‘If we judge a fish by its 

ability to climb a tree, it will live it’s whole 

life thinking it is stupid’. We need to teach 

children that it’s okay to not be good at 

everything and to focus on and harness 

their own unique strengths. 

6. To keep trying when things 

get tough 

Quite often, the feeling of wanting to quit 

comes right before a big breakthrough. The 

reason not everyone reaches huge success 

is because they give up when things get 

too much. What they don’t realise is that 

brilliance lies just around the corner from 

an overwhelming challenge. How many 

times in life have we quit because we 

haven’t seen the results we want? We need 

to teach children that failure is a steppingstone 

to success and that resistance brings 

opportunities to learn and grow. 

7. To accept differences in 

themselves and others 

Every single one of us is unique and our 

differences make us who we are, yet so 

many people struggle to accept themselves 

and strive to fit into a false ‘norm’ created 

by a society driven by perfection. How 

many people struggle to accept themselves 

fully or subconsciously judge others for 

being different in some way? We need to 

teach children to see the beauty in their 

differences and to accept themselves (and 

others) for who they are. The world would 

be a kinder place if we all saw greatness in 

uniqueness. 

8. To believe in themselves 

The actions of others can have a huge 

impact on us and can often affect how 

we feel about ourselves. How many of us 

have had the wind knocked out of us by 

someone we care about or have allowed 

someone else’s opinion to make us doubt 

ourselves? We need to teach children that 

their actions do impact others and that as 

much as other people can impact them 

too, their own confidence and self-belief 

will always give them the strength to 

overcome it. 

Politeness, kindness, honesty, patience, 

and positivity cost nothing. Can you 

imagine a world where everybody had 

these attributes? We need to teach children 

that these simple traits can have a huge 

impact on the world around us and the 

people in it. 

10. Gratitude and appreciation 

In this fast-paced, digital world that we live 

in, it can be easy to forget to appreciate 

the small things in life. How many people 

search for happiness in external, material 

objects? We need to teach children that 

happiness comes from within and to be 

grateful for the simple things. In times of 

darkness, there are always things to be 

grateful for if we look for them. If children 

are taught to look for these things from a 

young age, they will be more able to see a 

light in dark times when they are older. 

11. That the word ‘sorry’ 

means nothing if we don’t 

change our actions 

How many of us know someone who 

always says ‘sorry’, but then does the same 

actions repeatedly? We need to teach 

children that ‘sorry’ is a meaningless word if 

our actions don’t change. 

12. To be brave and to try new 

things 

Our brilliance is rarely found inside of our 

comfort zone. Trying new things can be 

scary. However, it can also lead to amazing 

opportunities and experiences. How many 

people have held themselves back through 

fear of the unknown? We need to teach 

children to be brave and to try new things 

because in the words of Jack Canfield 

“Everything you want is on the other side 

of fear”. 

Stacey Kelly 

Stacey Kelly is a former French and 

Spanish teacher, a parent to 2 beautiful 

babies and the founder of Early Years 

Story Box. After becoming a mum, Stacey 

left her teaching career and started 

writing and illustrating storybooks to help 

support her children through different 

transitional stages like leaving nursery 

and starting school. Seeing the positive 

impact of her books on her children’s 

emotional wellbeing led to Early Years 

Story Box being born. Stacey has now 

created 35 storybooks, all inspired by her 

own children, to help teach different life 

lessons and to prepare children for their 

next steps. She has an exclusive collection 

for childcare settings that are gifted on 

special occasions like first/last days, 

birthdays, Christmas and/or Easter and 

has recently launched a new collection 

for parents too. Her mission is to support 

as many children as she can through 

storytime and to give childcare settings 

an affordable and special gifting solution 

that truly makes a difference. 

Email: stacey@earlyyearsstorybox.com or 

Telephone: 07765785595 

Website: www.earlyyearsstorybox.com 

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/ 



Top 5 holistic 

development activities 

Holistic learning, together with mindfulness practices, develops children’s memory and focus skills. 

The creative practices enable children to exercise their imagination and problem-solving skills. 

Here are 5 of our top holistic development activities that you can do with the children in 

your setting – we hope you enjoy them! 

They can have some fun and explore with 

poses such as downward dog, using their 

leg to wag their tail and practice their 

balance. As children advance their poses 

and physical strength towards tree pose, 

they can try standing on one leg and using 

their arms to create their chosen tree form 

and counting their breath to 10. 

Congratulations 

to all our Parenta learners! 

Congratulations to all these Parenta learners who completed their apprenticeship 

in June and have now gained their qualifications. 

These range from Childcare Level 2, Childcare Level 3 and Team Leading 

to Level 3 and Level 5 Management – that’s a huge achievement in the 

current climate. 

All that hard work has paid off – well done from all of us here at Parenta Training! 

1. Sensory play 

Using clay (or play doh, or even bread 

dough) is a fantastic activity to do for a 

sensory experience. Children learn how to 

mould and manipulate the mixture, which 

has calming effects. As children develop 

their fine motor skills and dexterity, they 

can go on to form shapes and letters, 

and even create clay characters! Children 

will explore how to use new tools when 

moulding and shaping, which taps into 

their lateral thinking. 

2. The sound of music 

Singing and music, combined with 

movement, develops a child’s 

self-confidence, and allows them to 

express themselves through the sound 

of their own voice. Encouraging children 

to participate will help them develop mind 

and body co-ordination and stimulate 

brain development, giving them a strong 

sense of self-belief. 

3. Mirror, mirror on the wall 

Mirroring is a firm favourite with most 

children because they can really express 

themselves without even realising it! It’s 

a music and movement technique which 

is also used to grow a child’s self-esteem 

and communication skills. With mirroring, 

children can lead - or follow - a sequence 

of sounds or movements to express an 

area of their life and is a wonderful activity 

to do with children who otherwise have 

difficulty with self-expression. 

4. Yoga: not just for adults! 

Practicing yoga regularly will help the 

children develop their concentration skills, 

gross-motor skills, hand-eye coordination 

and of course, their balancing skills too! 

5. Being at one with nature 

Nature is used as an exploration for 

learning and is often described as our 

‘best teacher’ By discovering everything 

they can about nature and the seasons, 

children are exposed to change, growth 

and the cycle of life. Summer and autumn 

are the perfect seasons to explore and 

connect with nature. The bright colours of 

flowers and fruits around us at this time 

of year; and in contrast, when the leaves 

start to change their colour before falling 

off the trees give children a wonderful 

opportunity for exploring different textures 

and following the life cycle of the flowers 

and plants! 

Source: SensationalTutors.co.uk 

Did you know?... Parenta has trained over 20,000 apprentices within the early years sector! 

Our Level 3 success rate overall is almost 10% higher than the national average. 

That’s down to great work from you, our lovely Parenta learners! 

If you have a learner with us who has recently completed their apprenticeship, please send in 

a picture to hello@parenta.com to be included in the magazine. 

A. Sandulescu 

A. Thantrige 

B. Burdett 

C. Faulkner 

C. Grimsey 

C. Hogue 

C. Gibbons 

E. O’Loughlin 

June’s wall of fame! 

E. Stewart 

L. Fox 

F. Fryett 

H. Wilkes 

C. Hollinshead 

J. Chenot 

K. Hilton 

K. Lamb 

L. Pearce 

L. Alexander 

L. Ellam 

R. Munro 

S. Devlin 

H. Tum 

V. Amos 



Birth to 5 Matters 

-an exclusive interview with Dr Kathryn Peckham 

On 31st March, the eagerly awaited Birth to 5 Matters curriculum guidance was launched. 

Despite being warmly received by many across the early years sector, this is a very unusual 

time for us all. As settings and practice seek to continue through these unprecedented times, 

we can all use a little extra guidance. So for those of you who have yet to find this great resource 

or the time to get to grips with it, please read on as I share with you some of the scope and 

quality of the materials that have been produced. 

You will know the tagline… “Created by 

the sector, for the sector”. But having been 

part of the writing team producing the 

Birth to Five documents, I experienced firsthand 

the benefit that came from drawing 

on the wealth of expertise and experience 

we have in the early years. Heading up the 

working group on Learning Environments, 

it was my privilege to work with and 

coordinate experts, academics, and 

practitioners. Drawing together a collection 

of materials that are both underpinned 

with expertise and packed full of robust 

evidence, whilst at the same time, being 

exactly what practitioners in busy settings 

told us they need. 

While we have a statutory framework, 

the guidance offered within the EYFS is 

intentionally thin. A skeleton that needs 

filling out and bringing alive through our 

practice. We have Early Learning Goals 

that the government are clear we have a 

duty to “support children to work towards,” 

however these are not intended to shape 

the curriculum, and many practitioners are 

left confused, requiring some additional 

level of guidance. 

Birth to 5 Matters is then a non-statutory 

guide to practice, intended to offer up-todate 

support that reflects recent research 

and the current priorities of the industry. 

Unlike the EYFS, there is no expectation for 

you to follow it. Instead, as with previous 

non-statutory guidance, it runs alongside 

the statutory framework, familiar in layout 

and focus to avoid confusion or add 

additional burden. 

A core part of the development of Birth 

to 5 was to ask practitioners what 

they would want from a new source of 

guidance. And through consultations 

and reviews of the early drafts, requests 

and recommendations were sought and 

heard. The industry wanted support with 

observation, assessment and planning 

that avoided the use of checklists. Help 

with ongoing assessment of progress, 

avoiding prescriptive age bandings 

or expectations. More support and 

information for SEND, EAL and recognition 

of the importance of wellbeing. And 

all of this can be found within the new 

documents. 

But this guidance was not just intended 

“For the sector” – but also “By the sector”, 

drawing on the wealth of expertise within 

the profession. Sharing in the experiences, 

beliefs and training of the industry, a 

central bank of CPD, rooted in the shared 

values and understanding gained, has 

then been created. 

So with all that said – what is it, where is it and how can 

you use it? 

Firstly there is the ‘Practice guidance’ – the core document that you can download for free. 

In addition to this are a wealth of materials available on the website. Presented using the 

familiar layout of the EYFS, you will find guidance on the ‘Principles of the EYFS’, along with 

additional sections offering the support and guidance practitioners told us they would 

benefit from. 

• Play 

• Characteristics of effective learning 

• Inclusive practice and equalities 

• Care 

• Child development 

• Self-regulation 

• Attachment and the role of the key 

person 

• Quality improvement and leadership 

• The wider context – communities, 

sustainability 

• Technology 

• Holistic development and learning 

Each of these sections offers information 

and materials at a series of different 

levels, allowing you to access and 

engage with them at the depth of detail 

you need. Whether you are supporting a 

new practitioner, speaking to a parent or, 

developing setting-wide training. 

One of the key areas requesting more 

support was in understanding child 

development. This is then a key section 

within the materials, offering explanations, 

illustrations, and practical tools. Along 

with guides you can use them to support 

parents or inexperienced practitioners. 

Another area receiving a great deal of 

debate and revisions was in the linking of 

ages to observations of children and what 

they can and cannot do. And what this 

might be saying about progression and 

development. This has been sensitively 

handled within the materials, with 

explanations and guidance placing the 

child – not an expectation – firmly at the 

core. 

More support was also requested for 

the ‘Characteristics of effective learning’. 

Highlighted using a familiar layout, you 

will be able to jump right in, however, 

additional layers of support are included. 

And with information and guidance 

included in a variety of formats, including 

case studies and films, there is so much for 

you to explore as a staff team. 

Although the EYFS divides development 

and learning into three ‘Characteristics’ and 

seven ‘Areas of Learning and Development’, 

it does this to clarify what is a complex 

subject. This is one way of looking at things 

– there are many others. If you are familiar 

with my work, you will know of the 16 

features of lifelong learning that I work with. 

However you frame children’s progress, 

it is important to remember that learning 

is not compartmentalised within any 

child’s experience of it. Within the Birth to 5 

document, you will find the inter-connected 

nature of development and learning 

presented within a wheel, recognising 

learning as a constant process. Influenced 

by everything and everyone around the 

child. 

Building on previous guidance, observation, 

assessment, and planning still resides at 

the heart of early years practice. Within 

Birth to 5 we expanded this to include 

additional factors that must be considered 

when making professional decisions, such 

as interactions and wellbeing. 

There is then so much to be learnt and 

utilised within these free materials, so do 

check out my interactive Birth to 5 course on 

MyCPD where I will take you through these 

documents in more detail. With activities 

and materials to support your ongoing 

practice and training, we will explore the 

different layers of support and the many 

types of resources available to you. 

All of my training on MyCPD is certified 

by the DfE Standards for professional 

development, and comes with a certificate 

for your completion. Along with the 

opportunity to join a dedicated community 

group, these courses are designed to be 

used within your CPD and appraisal cycles, 

as well as in guiding continuous reflection 

and development of practice at all levels. 

However you work with children during 

these highly formative years, and whichever 

guidance you reach for, you must be 

Kathryn Peckham 

As a passionate advocate for children’s 

access to rich and meaningful experiences 

throughout their early years, Kathryn 

delivers training, seminars and short 

courses for local councils, private 

nurseries and schools. Seeking to identify 

and celebrate the impact of effective 

experiences on children, as preparation 

for all of life’s learning, she guides 

practitioners, teachers and parents in 

enhancing the experiences they offer 

through her consultancy, research, 

writing, teaching and conferencing. A 

highly acclaimed author and member 

of parliamentary groups, Kathryn also 

teaches a Masters at the Centre for 

Research in Early Years (CREC) and is 

currently gaining her PhD. 

For more information and practical 

guidance on developing the features of 

lifelong learning, Kathryn has published 

a book: “Developing School Readiness, 

Creating Lifelong Learners”. 

Get in contact at www.kathrynpeckham. 

co.uk or email info@kathrynpeckham. 

co.uk. 

mindful of the lasting impressions of every 

experience. Along with any learning goal 

or characteristic they might be gaining 

from you, children are learning so much 

about themselves and what it means to 

be a learner during these formative years. 

With a huge bearing on their progression 

to school and throughout their lives. This 

is a special interest of mine, and the focus 

of much of my research, and I really look 

forward to working with you soon. 



3 

£ 

Paediatric First Aid Course 

Parenta is always looking at new ways to support the Early Years Sector. We 

are pleased to announce that we now offer Paediatric First Aid training to all 

those who work in early years, in partnership with Co-operative Childcare. 

The course meets the requirements of 

Ofsted, under DfE’s guidance (April 2017), 

complying with the framework for the Early 

Years Foundation Stage 

The certificate is valid for 3 years from 

date of issue 

This course offers a blended approach 

(6 hours online + 6 hours face to face 

training) 

It costs only £120 per learner 

Nationwide training venues are 

available. Alternatively, we can 

deliver the training in your setting 

(minimum 6 students) 

PARENT PORTAL 

FREE 

Parent Portal is a FREE APP that works hand-in-hand with Parenta’s other 

software solutions. Used in conjunction with Parenta’s software, 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! 

Support your staff by ensuring they 

have the right skill sets and training 

to maintain the safety of all children 

within your care. 

We’ve worked with thousands of settings, so we 

know exactly what tools you need to make your 

business successful. We believe delivering great 

childcare means working closely alongside 

parents; and with Parent Portal, they can stay 

involved in their child’s day. 

Book your Paediatric First Aid Training today 

For as little as £120 + VAT you can get the qualification you need to be Ofsted ready and 

maintain the highest level of safety within your setting. 

Interested? Speak to our team to find 

out more on 0800 002 9242 or email 

us at hello@parenta.com. 

0800 002 9242 hello@parenta.com

Using music to develop 


understanding as an 


Listening is a skill that is fundamental to learning. It is 

necessary to develop listening before speaking, writing, 

and reading skills can be introduced, so this is especially 

important in the pre-school years. The ability to listen 

covers a variety of skills beyond hearing, including the 

ability to pay attention and understand. These skills all 

work together when taking in information in order to react 

with a suitable response. Music often involves a wide variety 

of listening aspects. Music from pop to classical pieces 

combine different musical instruments and multiple voices 

that come in at different times. Musicians must be able to 

not only hear but also respond appropriately to musical cues. 

The ability to follow different voices or timbres of musical 

instruments helps musicians to follow printed music, and studies 

have shown that musicians are often able to hold successful 

conversations in the busiest, most distracting situations. 

In a study published last year, Hashim et 

al (2020) used the Fuzzy Delphi Technique 

with experienced teachers and lecturers 

to identify the most important skills 

needed in order to successfully develop 

listening skills in pre-schoolers. Fifteen 

expert teachers were asked to assess a 

number of skills involved in the delivery of 

teaching listening in the early years. Using 

a questionnaire and Likert scale (rating 

level of agreement to statements from 1-5), 

the scores given indicated the sequence of 

important factors involved in listening. 

The most important skill was identified 

as the clarity and volume of the adult’s 

voice. The clearer the adult’s voice, the 

more effectively children were able to 

engage their attention and listen to the 

adult. The next was making the activities 

fun and exciting. By doing this, children 

were more likely to take part, take risks 

and retain information more successfully. 

The third element involved using actions 

and expressions through body language, 

as children are naturally adept at reading 

body cues. Finally, the use of ageappropriate 

language allowed children to 

more easily understand their adult. 

The following traditional children’s songs 

and rhymes reference listening: 

A Wise Old Owl 

A wise old owl sat in an oak 

The more he heard the less he spoke 

The less he spoke the more he heard 

Why can’t we all be like that bird? 

This lovely rhyming poem is a traditional 

children’s verse with a clear message: 

listening can be more useful than talking 

for the sake of talking. Learning verse by 

rote has benefits including remembering 

story sequences using rhyme as cues, 

getting to know the rhythm and pace of 

different words, as well as the ebb and 

flow of sentence formation. 

Three Little Kittens 

Three little kittens they lost their mittens, 

and they began to cry, 

“Oh mother dear, we sadly fear that we 

have lost our mittens.” 

“What! Lost your mittens, you naughty 

kittens! 

Then you shall have no pie.” 

“Meeow, meeow, now you shall have no 

pie.” 

“Meeow, meeow, now we shall have no 

pie.” 

The three little kittens they found their 

mittens, and they began to cry, 

“Oh mother dear, see here, see here for 

we have found our mittens.” 

“Put on your mittens, you silly kittens, and 

you shall have some pie” 

“Meeow, meeow, and you shall have 

some pie.” 

“Meeow, meeow, now let us have some 

pie.” 

The three little kittens put on their mittens 

and soon ate up the pie, 

“Oh mother dear, we greatly fear that we 

have soiled our mittens.” 

“What! Soiled your mittens, you naughty 

kittens!” then they began to cry, 

“Meeow, meeow,” then they began to sigh. 

“Meeow, meeow,” then they began to sigh. 

The three little kittens they washed their 

mittens and hung them out to dry, 

“Oh mother dear, do you not hear that we 

have washed our mittens.” 

“What! Washed your mittens, you are 

good kittens, I smell a rat close by,” 

“Meeow, meow, I smell a rat close by.” 

“Meeow, meow, we smell a rat close by.” 

This little ditty is another traditional song 

with a moral, and mentions listening in the 

context of the story. This could be used to 

introduce listening to animal sounds, and 

what animal behaviours may mean. 

http://nurseryrhymesforbabies.com/thehistory-of-three-little-kittens/ 

Little Bo Peep 

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep 

And doesn’t know where to find them. 

Leave them alone and they’ll come home, 

Bringing their tails behind them. 

Little Bo Peep fell fast asleep 

And dreamt she heard them bleating, 

But when she awoke, she found it a joke, 

For they were all still fleeting. 

Then up she took her little crook 

Determined for to find them. 

She found them indeed, but it made her 

heart bleed, 

For they left their tails behind them. 

It happened one day, as Bo Peep did stray 

Into a meadow hard by, 

There she espied their tails side by side 

All hung on a tree to dry. 

She heaved a sigh, and wiped her eye, 

And over the hillocks went rambling, 

And tried what she could, 

As a shepherdess should, 

To tack again each to its lambkin. 

This traditional song appears to have 

originated in the 18th century about a 

short shepherdess who lost her sheep, 

hoped they’d return, and then went to find 

them. One reference to the verse links it 

to wool smugglers in Chelsfield, Kent – 

another to the stocks where criminals were 

said to be “playing bo-peep through a 

pillory”. However, there are references in 

Shakespeare to a 16th century children’s 

game called ‘Bo Peep’: saying “Bo” and 

placing a blanket over baby’s head, 

and then saying “Peep” when lifting the 

corner. In fact, in the northwest of England, 

many parents still play “Peep-Bo”, more 

commonly known as peek-a-boo. 

• http://www.dover-kent.com/2014- 

project-b/White-Hart-Chelsfield.html 

• http://nurseryrhymesforbabies.com/ 

history-little-bo-peep-2/ 

• https://interestingliterature. 

com/2018/10/a-short-analysis-of-thelittle-bo-peep-nursery-rhyme-originshistory/ 

Listening attentively is a personal skill that, 

like many others, develops best within the 

home environment. Being aware of ways 

that can allow us to create an appropriate 

environment to encourage listening gives 

adults an ongoing opportunity to allow 

children to succeed. 

Frances Turnbull 

Musician, researcher and author, 

Frances Turnbull, is a self-taught guitarist 

who has played contemporary and 

community music from the age of 12. She 

delivers music sessions to the early years 

and KS1. Trained in the music education 

techniques of Kodály (specialist singing), 

Dalcroze (specialist movement) and Orff 

(specialist percussion instruments), she 

has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology 

(Open University) and a Master’s degree 

in Education (University of Cambridge). 

She runs a local community choir, the 

Bolton Warblers, and delivers the Sound 

Sense initiative “A choir in every care 

home” within local care and residential 

homes, supporting health and wellbeing 

through her community interest 

company. 

She has represented the early years 

music community at the House of 

Commons, advocating for recognition 

for early years music educators, and her 

table of progressive music skills for under 

7s features in her curriculum books. 

Frances is the author of “Learning with 

Music: Games and activities for the early 

years“, published by Routledge, August 

2017. 

www.musicaliti.co.uk 



The art of mentoring in the 

early years: part two 

In the first part of this short series, we looked at how mentoring can help in early years settings and how 

different staff members may need mentoring, be they new starters, apprentices or more established 

staff taking on new roles. We also looked at the quality of the feedback that mentors give and how 

that can be improved by being more targeted to the situation and more specific for the person. 

Mostly, these conversations are pleasant, consisting largely of ‘even better if’ suggestions. However, 

occasionally, you may have to have a more serious, or difficult conversation with the mentee, and 

we’ve given you some pointers below about how to do this successfully. 

3 

Do they just need more practice to 

master the skill? 

If this is the case, then remember that 

everyone is different and learns in different 

ways and at different rates. Remember to 

praise their effort rather than focus solely 

on the outcome and tell them what they do 

well first, not just that they put the nappy on 

the wrong way round. Did they do a good 

job of building rapport with the child first, 

putting them at ease? Did they clean the 

child well and follow your procedures for 

nappy disposals etc? If they did, then you 

can praise that, then ask them to practice 

what they need to do better – perhaps on 

a doll so that they feel more confident. 

Each of these approaches recognises 

that there is something missing from the 

trainee’s knowledge or skills, but all are 

couched in terms that also offer a solution, 

and a solution that you can work through 

together. It will not feel like you are pointing 

the finger of blame at them, which can 

cause a lot of distrust, ill will and ultimately, 

a breakdown of the relationship. 

a better job and to work together to find a 

solution. Even if you feel that the solution 

is that the person would be better suited 

to working in a different job entirely, your 

approach should be that you are helping 

them, in a similar way that you would help 

a child to manage their poor behaviour 

from a place of compassion, not revenge. 

3 

Take time to understand the facts in the 

full situation and collect information from 

colleagues if you need to. 

4 

Listen to all sides of the story and really 

seek to understand what went wrong 

without jumping to conclusions and 

looking at your own actions too – were 

there policies that were missed, not fit for 

purpose, or was your training inadequate 

in some way? 

6 

Depending on the situation, you may want/ 

need to have another neutral observer 

in the room as a witness to what is said 

and/or to record the details for your 

records. In certain circumstances, the other 

person may request or have a right to 

this too, such as having a union or legal 

representative with them. 

7 

Make sure you follow your own policies 

and procedures for any disciplinary action 

you need to take, which means you should 

already have robust and appropriate 

policies in place for dealing with staff, 

complaints, or disciplinary procedures in 

advance. 

Hopefully, mentoring will be a positive and 

productive working relationship for early 

years settings that benefit everyone, and 

with good training, effective mentoring, 

and support, difficult situations will be rare. 

What is the problem? 

Inevitably, even with the best trainees, 

there will come a time when you 

need to address an issue, correct a 

misunderstanding, or draw something to 

their attention that you or they may feel is 

a negative or serious issue. Safeguarding 

issues cannot be left to resolve 

themselves, for example, and need to be 

picked up straight away and dealt with 

properly. But there are many reasons why 

trainees may get something wrong or 

not do it exactly as you would like, and 

the trick here it to try to understand the 

whole situation so that you can unpick any 

misconceptions and redress any lack of 

knowledge before wading in with a tirade 

of everything they did wrong! People don’t 

start apprenticeships knowing everything 

you need them to know – they are on a 

learning journey with you. 

So, if you need to deal with a 

delicate issue, consider these 

questions first: 

1 

Was the trainee’s actions/ behaviour 

due to a lack of knowledge? 

If you put someone in a car and tell them to 

drive, but you haven’t told them which is the 

brake, clutch, or accelerator, you can’t expect 

them to stop at a red light! If this is the 

case, then you can approach this from the 

standpoint of “I think we may have a slight 

misconception here that we need to clear 

up” or “We may need to go over some of 

our previous training again to make sure 

that you have remembered all the relevant 

things here.” 

2 

Was the intention behind the 

unwanted action a good one? 

A lot of us do things from time to time 

with the right intention, but the way we 

go about doing them is perhaps not the 

best one. If this is the case, then you can 

approach the situation from the point of 

view of “I can see what you were trying 

to do here, and that was good, but 

perhaps you might consider XYZ 

instead because ...” 

How to handle serious 

misconduct 

If there has been a serious breach and the 

apprenticeship or the person’s employment 

is in jeopardy, then you should still use the 

above criteria, but think also about the 

following: 

1 

Do you need to include other people in the 

discussion, such as a line manager, setting 

owner, or Designated Safeguarding Lead? 

Make sure you are prepared to answer 

questions about your own role as mentor, 

as well as that of your mentee. 

2 

Remember the reason you need to have 

the conversation is to help the person do 

5 

Keep your composure and remain 

professional, using a calm tone of voice 

and choosing your words carefully. Avoid 

emotive language and talk about the 

behaviour rather than attacking them as 

a person. 

Mentoring is always about helping 

someone get from where they are 

currently, to where they want to be, 

whether that is about their skills, 

experience, or knowledge, and good 

mentoring will undoubtedly play a large 

part in determining the successful outcome 

for the mentee. 



Meeting myelin 

Did you know how much of a pivotal role myelin plays in the early years of child development? 

At birth the brain 

has 200 billion cells 

(Neurons) 

The cells communicate at 

their fastest accross 

different regions of the 

brain during the first 2 yrs 

At the age of 2 yrs, the brain 

has more than 100 trillion 

cell connections (synapses) 

the most it will ever have 

develop physical literacy. The feedback 

included improved speech and language, 

relationship building, knowledge and the 

world around them, well-being and of 

course, physical literacy. Little did I know 

at the time, that I had actually developed 

the sessions in a way that helped to build 

myelin. 

Grows 1.7 grams a day 

At 2 yrs is 75% of 

adult weight 

At 2 yrs the structure looks 

like an adult brain 

0 - 1 1 - 2 2 + 

The big question “What is 

myelin?” 

The best way to describe myelin is as 

insulation (electrical tape) that tightly 

wraps around and around our nerve 

fibres. Each time we practise something, 

it wraps the myelin, like electrical tape 

to prevent any leaks, around that part of 

the circuitry we used in the brain. Myelin 

increases the speed and accuracy of the 

signal strength in our brain i.e. the upload 

and download speed of our brain. 

Some people talk about ‘muscle memory’ 

but they are actually talking about myelin. 

myelin has been attributed as the key “to 

talking, reading, learning skills and even 

being human.” 

Would you have ever thought that 

something that looks like a humble 

sausage (I know it really has been 

described like that) around our nerve 

fibres is so important? 

When you put it into context with early 

years, you will see how important it is. 

For example, we all know when a child is 

engaged and focused through play on the 

learning process, they develop their skills, 

and the reason for this is they are building 

and laying down myelin around the circuit 

for that activity. 

Q. Why is targeted, mistake-focused 

practice so effective? 

A. Because the best way to build a 

good circuit is to fire it, attend to the 

mistakes, then fire it again, over and 

over. Struggle is not an option: it’s a 

biological requirement. 

Coyle, D, (2009); The Talent Code, page 34 

If myelin was part of our town, it would be 

the tarmac on our roads and pavement 

getting you from A to B. I admit, that does 

seem really dull, as to be honest, have 

you ever stood in awe admiring tarmac? I 

know I certainly don’t, but we really should 

be admiring and nurturing the myelin in 

our own circuitry while helping to develop 

it in our little ones. 

Did you know? 

Myelin initially builds on the sensorimotor 

white matter and the Heschl gyrus (the 

structure containing the human primary 

auditory cortex in the brain) and then 

extends to the language-related areas. 

The vital aspect of physical literacy in the 

early years is that it helps with speech 

and language, and this is looked at in the 

‘Myelination of language-related areas 

in the developing brain’ by J. Pujol, et al, 

2006. 

My personal lightbulb moment 

with myelin 

When I created the Littlemagictrain 

sessions, I was intrigued by the feedback 

from nurseries and pre-schools especially 

as it had originally been created to 

When I attended a teaching course in 

2016, focusing on physical movement, 

our reading list included Daniel Coyle’s 

book “The Talent Code”. He describes the 

importance of myelin in training athletes, 

dancers and musicians and the book 

concludes that it’s not about practice but 

“good practice”. 

Q. Have you ever wondered why passion 

and persistence are the key ingredients 

for success and talent? 

A. Wrapping myelin around a big circuit 

requires immense energy and time. If 

you don’t love it, you’ll never work hard 

enough to be great. 

Coyle, D, (2009); The Talent Code, page 34 

“Good practice” is vital in early years as 

everything the children do, and learn, 

is creating all those amazing neural 

connections in the brain and myelin is 

working overtime to wrap itself around their 

nerve fibres. 

When a neural pathway is made and 

fully myelinated (covered in electrical tape 

without any leaks), your brain doesn’t 

change the pathway or make amends, it 

just rebuilds elsewhere. For example, if you 

have made a connection going from ‘A to 

B’ and you need to correct this mistake, 

your body has to create a totally new neural 

pathway and start again. Unfortunately, 

this means the brain has to find a new way 

of getting from ‘A’ to ‘B’ and to get there it 

may have to go via ‘W’. A lot of extra work 

for the child and you! 

This very simple graphic shows how hard 

the brain is working in the early years, 

growing connections and pathways and at 

the same time wrapping myelin around all 

those pathways. 

‘Meeting our hero, Mr Myelin’ 

Mr Myelin is in fact Professor George 

Bartzokis (1956-2014), a neuroscientist 

and Professor of Psychiatry. Bartzokis 

originated the theory that the degeneration 

of the brain’s myelin contributed to many 

developmental and degenerative diseases, 

such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s. 

This research shows the importance of 

myelin in the brain and how it ensures 

everything runs smoothly. 

‘If you don’t use it you lose it!’ 

This phrase says it all, as the brain will 

prune away pathways that aren’t used. The 

brain is continually growing and pruning 

neural pathways. To help children learn, we 

need to ensure the correct neural pathway 

is built so they don’t have to relearn, rebuild 

and prune. I always visualise a gardener 

attacking a rose, that has grown along a 

wall in the wrong direction. The gardener 

must prune the poor rose which then has to 

find all that energy and make the effort to 

grow all over again in the right direction. 

‘Something to think about’ 

Q. “Why can’t monkeys – which 

have every neuron type and 

neurotransmitter we have – use 

language the way we do?” 

A. “Because we’ve got 20% more myelin. 

To talk like we are now, takes a lot of 

information-processing speed, and 

they have no broadband. 

Q. “Why can horses walk immediately 

on being born while humans take a 

year?” 

A. “A horse is born with its brain fully 

myelinated, online, and ready to go. 

Coyle, D, (2009); The Talent Code (p 67- 

68) 

How to help myelin building in 


• Chunk it up (small bites) 

Movement skills and vocabulary are 

developed in small, bite-sized chunks. 

• Model correctly 

Correct modelling from the grown-ups to 

help with learning. 

• Slow it down 

The speed of your actions/development 

will depend on your little one’s needs. 

• Repeat it 

Engage them to allow for repetition with 

the fun of ‘what next?’ 

Click here to get a FREE 

‘Picnic on the moon’ session 

pack with the code: LMTFREE 

Gina Bale 

Gina’s background was originally 

ballet, but she has spent the last 27 

years teaching movement and dance 

in mainstream, early years and SEND 

settings as well as dance schools. 

Whilst teaching, Gina found the time to 

create the ‘Hi-5’ dance programme to 

run alongside the Australian Children’s 

TV series and the Angelina Ballerina 

Dance Academy for Hit Entertainment. 

Her proudest achievement to date is her 

baby Littlemagictrain. She created this 

specifically to help children learn through 

make-believe, music and movement. 

One of the highlights has been seeing 

Littlemagictrain delivered by Butlin’s 

famous Redcoats with the gorgeous 

‘Bonnie Bear’ on the Skyline stage. 

Gina has qualifications of teaching 

movement and dance from the Royal 

Ballet School, Trinity College and Royal 

Academy of Dance. 

Use the code ‘PARENTA’ for a 20% 

discount on Littlemagictrain downloads 

from ‘Special Editions’, ‘Speech and 

Language Activities’, ‘Games’ and 

‘Certificates’. 

References: 

• Coyle, D., 2010. The Talent Code. Crawley: 

Arrow Books (ISBN 9780099519850) 

• Pujol. J, Sorian-Mas. C, Ortiz. H, 

Sebastian Galles. N, Losilla. J.M. & 

Deus.J., 2006. Myelination of languagerelated 

areas in the developing brain’. 

March 2006. Neurology 66 (3): 339-43; 

PubMed. 



The importance of 

sensory bags 

A sensory bag is really an umbrella term that means a collection of items that children can either 

use to stimulate their senses, isolate them or soothe children in distress, and within this article, we 

have used the term ‘bag’ to encompass other objects such as jars, bins, or even whole rooms. You 

could use a cardboard/plastic box that is full of items that children can touch or play with; it could 

be things that make different noises at different levels, or it could be ways that children can learn 

how to manage their balance and motor skills such as objects to climb or crawl under. 

All children need sensory input to develop 

fully, but for some, these objects can be a 

lifeline. 

In recent years, you may have noticed a 

burgeoning of information about sensory 

play, sensory issues, and the importance 

of meeting the challenges of children who 

have sensory needs. There is no doubt 

that there is more awareness of the issues 

such as sensory processing disorder, 

which according to The Sensory Processing 

Disorder Foundation, affects at least 1 in 

20 children’s daily lives in the US 1 . There 

is little incidence data and research in the 

UK but another population-based study 2 

suggests that 1 in 6 children experiences 

sensory challenges sufficient to disrupt 

their academic, social, and/or emotional 

development. 

The concept of Sensory Processing 

Disorder (SPD) has been talked about in 

clinical circles since it was first described 

in the 1960s by occupational therapist, A. 

Jean Ayres, PhD, although it took until the 

late 1990s and the publication of Carol 

Stock Kranowitz’s “The Out-of-Sync Child” 

before clinicians really started to diagnose 

the condition. 

What is sensory processing? 

Sensory processing is how we all make 

sense of the world – our senses take in 

information from the world around us and 

our brains then translate the data allowing 

us to respond and react accordingly. It is a 

“subconscious and automatic neurological 

process that occurs in every person at all 

stages of life”. If you touch something hot 

for example, your sense of touch will relay 

this, along with a pain signal to your brain, 

which will then respond telling you to pull 

your hand away quickly. It usually happens 

in milliseconds and for most people, 

this process works well, keeping them 

protected and feeding them the information 

they need to move on and process other 

more intellectual or conceptual ideas. 

Our eight senses are: 

• Visual (sight) 

• Auditory (sound) 

• Taste (gustatory) 

• Smell (olfactory) 

• Touch (somatosensory) 

• Proprioception (muscle and joint 

movement) 

• Vestibular (balance and head 

movement) 

• Interoception (our sense of basic 

primary functions like needing the toilet 

or feeling hungry 

People with sensory processing 

impairment/disorder, may have difficulty 

with one or more of these, and their 

sensory processing may not develop as 

efficiently as it should. The child can then 

develop behavioural and social difficulties 

that can affect many daily activities such as 

getting dressed or walking down a street, 

which can then affect their experiences 

at nursery, school, and their academic 

achievement. 

For sensory modulation disorders, children 

struggle to tolerate the level of sensory 

input that others do, so they may be 

oversensitive to some things, or actively 

seek out other sensory feelings to fulfil a 

sensory need. Many people who have 

normal sensory processing often find it 

hard to understand or empathise with 

people who have disorders, dismissing 

their distress as them being ‘fussy’ or 

unreasonable. However, most of us can 

understand the distress of hearing nails 

scraping down a blackboard, or having an 

itch that we just can’t scratch. Everything 

else seems to take second place, and if 

we wanted to focus on other things (like 

learning or schoolwork), we would have to 

either stop the input (i.e. the nails on the 

blackboard), or be soothed and satisfied 

(like the itch). Now imagine your world 

was full of things you either couldn’t stand 

or couldn’t be satiated by, and you will go 

some way to understanding the problems 

that children with sensory disorders face 

every day. 

This is where sensory bags, bottles, jars, 

and bins can help as they can provide 

stimulation or be soothing to the child. 

The important thing to remember here 

is that the individual needs of the child 

should always be taken into account 

and practitioners must have a good 

understanding of each child’s particular 

needs in order to meet them. That said, 

children with sensory needs may not 

have all received a full diagnosis or have 

a sensory activity profile/plan in nursery, 

so there is something to be said for 

experimenting and seeing what works best 

with each child. 

Remember that sensory stimulation is not 

just for the children with sensory disorders 

too. All children need sensory inputs from 

a variety of different items and they will 

need you, the practitioner, to help them 

understand them. 

Benefits of sensory bags 

Using sensory items, children can: 

• Build neural connections within the 

brain 

• Develop fine motor skills handling and 

manipulating objects 

• Learn social skills by sharing or playing 

• Be calmed and soothed 

• Fulfil sensory needs 

• Maintain their focus and attention 

• Practise skills (mark-making e.g. in 

sand, paint) 

• Develop language skills and 

vocabulary – especially if they receive 

input from early years practitioners 

who can label objects, adjectives and 

feelings 

• Develop maths/science skills by 

manipulating objects, measuring or 

counting for example 

Sensory play 

Sensory play is any activity that also 

stimulates a child’s senses, and can help 

them find their own sensory regulation 

levels but it doesn’t need to be limited to 

items you can put in bag. Playing music 

counts too, as would messy play or playing 

in the sandpit, and an all-time favourite of 

jumping in muddy puddles also engages 

many senses. 

Make your own sensory bags 

We have run different articles over the 

years that give you advice on how to make 

sensory bags, bottles, pathways and even 

sensory corners, rooms, and outdoor areas, 

some of which are relatively expensive 

and some of which are very cheap or can 

be made from recycled materials. They 

can be anything that is filled with items 

that stimulate any of the 8 senses. What’s 

important is that the children in your care 

have access to a range of sensory things 

to ensure that they develop their senses 

well or have therapies and interventions 

that can address any needs that they have, 

and remember, it is often the practitioners 

interacting with the child that brings the 

most benefit. 

More information: 

• https://www.spdfoundation.net/index. 

html 

• https://www.nhslanarkshire.scot.nhs. 

uk/services/occupational-therapy/ 

learning-disability/sensory-processingand-learning-disabilities/ 

• https://otsimo.com/en/sensoryprocessing-disorder-definition-types/ 

• https://www.thechaosandtheclutter. 

com/product/sensory-bins 

• https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/ 

sensory-bags-for-children-importanceand-easy-diy-crafts/#What_Are_ 

Sensory_Bags 

References 

1. Ahn, Miller, Milberger, McIntosh, 2004 

2. Ben-Sasson, Carter, Briggs-Gowen, 

2009 



Celebrating difference and 

neurodivergence: part 5 

Different brains mean different skills 

This article is the fifth article in a series of six from Sensory Engagement and Inclusion Specialist, 

Joanna Grace. The activities described in each article build up to form a toolkit for celebrating 

difference and neurodivergence within your setting in a way that will benefit both the children and 

the adults. Joanna runs online training courses focused on strategies for supporting differently-abled 

children and promoting inclusive practice. Click here for more information. 

Through these articles, we have been 

approaching conversations about 

differences in our physical appearance 

and differences in the way we think and 

feel in a non-judgemental way. I know 

it’s been a challenge but you’ve been 

doing well! At first, the small adjustments 

in language can seem pretty pointless, 

but once you start and realise the power 

of it you find yourself combing through 

the minutia of your daily exchanges to 

find what else you could tweak. You are 

creating a culture that understands and 

accepts difference and that is empowering 

to the children and the adults….but… 

But I expect there is one difference that 

is still taboo in your setting. Even with all 

the activities, we have explored, and how 

open and non-judgemental we have 

been. I bet there is still one difference you 

avoid mentioning! And there is a reason 

for this too. But it is important we talk 

about it. So, what is it? 

The difference I am thinking of is that 

of perceived educational failure. So 

whilst we are very likely to publicly 

praise a child who achieves in 

an educational landscape we 

are very unlikely to speak 

about the child who fails 

to achieve. “Look Sia has written all her 

numbers to 10, well done Sia!” Meanwhile 

Jake hasn’t managed to write any of his 

numbers. 

Of course, I am not suggesting we hold 

up failure in the same way as we hold 

up success “Sia has written her numbers, 

Jake hasn’t!” No that would cause harm. 

But actually, the harm is still there as we 

speak about Sia and do not mention Jake. 

It is implied. It is felt. 

We used to shame children who failed 

academically. Children were once sat in 

corners of classrooms and made to wear a 

dunce hat. The idea being that the shame 

of failure would drive them to succeed next 

time. The idea didn’t work, and thankfully 

we have moved on. But we have not 

moved on as far as we might think. 

We have moved from shame to taboo. 

We do not shame them for failing, but we 

also do not mention it. And we do mention 

the success, so if you are not being 

mentioned, if you are not a part of the 

conversation, you are very likely to feel left 

out, rejected, to feel you have failed. 

The narratives around educational success 

and failure are usually about concentration 

and effort. Sia was able to write all her 

numbers because she concentrated and 

tried. Jake was not because he didn’t 

concentrate, he didn’t try hard enough. 

What about if we considered a different 

starting point to our narratives? What if we 

said all children try equally hard. 

All children want to succeed as much as one 

another. If we start from this presumption of 

equality what do we say next? 

“Sia has written all her numbers, you’re 

brain must be so good at numbers Sia, well 

done” 

“Jake you haven’t written all your numbers, 

your brain must find numbers tricky, I can 

help you.” 

Now Jake is a part of the conversation too. 

And actually, it’s not just Jake this benefits, 

it’s Sia too, because it is unlikely that she is 

good at everything, so the patterns we are 

establishing through using language like 

this will inform her too. When tomorrow she 

tries to skip with her friends but her feet get 

tangled in the ropes perhaps she will think 

“My friends are good at skipping but my 

body finds it hard maybe someone can help 

me.” You can see the power in these stories 

we create! 

In articles two and three we made 

reveal pictures to give children a handson 

experience of hidden difference. In 

conjunction with this article you can make 

brain boxes,(page 34) not only are these 

great for fine motor development they are 

once again the opportunity to have a 

hands-on experience that relates to 

something abstract we are talking about. 

Each child’s brain box will look the same 

from the outside, but when explored they 

will respond in different ways. What we 

can do is determined by the brain we 

have. How much we achieve is in part 

determined by the brain we have and in 

part determined by how we use it. If we can 

understand our differences then we can 

each play to our own unique strengths. 

Joanna provides in-person and online 

training to settings looking to enhance their 

inclusive practice for more information visit 

www.TheSensoryProjects.co.uk where you 

can also find resources to help you include 

children of all abilities. Jo is active on social 

media and welcomes connection requests 

from people curious about inclusive 

practice. 

Joanna Grace 

Joanna Grace is an international 

Sensory Engagement and Inclusion 

Specialist, trainer, author, TEDx speaker 

and founder of The Sensory Projects. 

Consistently rated as “outstanding” by 

Ofsted, Joanna has taught in 

mainstream and special school settings, 

connecting with pupils of all ages and 

abilities. To inform her work, Joanna 

draws on her own experience from her 

private and professional life as well as 

taking in all the information she can 

from the research archives. Joanna’s 

private life includes family members 

with disabilities and neurodiverse 

conditions and time spent as a 

registered foster carer for children with 

profound disabilities. 

Joanna has published four practitioner 

books: “Multiple Multisensory Rooms: 

Myth Busting the Magic”, “Sensory 

Stories for Children and Teens”, 

“Sensory-Being for Sensory Beings” 

and “Sharing Sensory Stories and 

Conversations with People with 

Dementia”. and two inclusive sensory 

story children’s books: “Voyage to 

Arghan” and “Ernest and I”. There is 

new book coming out soon called ‘”The 

Subtle Spectrum” and her son has 

recently become the UK’s youngest 

published author with his book, “My 

Mummy is Autistic”. 

Joanna is a big fan of social media and 

is always happy to connect with people 

via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. 

Website: 

thesensoryprojects.co.uk 



BRAIN Box 

Pineapple fried rice 

This activity is great for developing fine motor skills as well as for providing the hands-on 

experience that links to the topic of discussing hidden differences. 

You will need 

A box with a closure 

mechanism (that isn’t 

immediately obvious to the 

children) or a plastic tub with 

a lid that you can screw on. 

Rope, cord, ribbon, wool. A 

selection of different small 

items to stimulate the child’s 

curiosity. 

This recipe has been 

kindly supplied by 

Katherine Houghton, from 

her wonderful cookbook 

“Early Years Recipes for 

Children”, available to 

purchase here. 

What do you need? 

• Pineapple 

• 3 eggs 

• 1/2 bowl of frozen peas 

• 1/2 bowl of cooked rice 

• Garlic 

• Soy sauce 

• Chinese 5 spice powder 

1. Make holes in the side of 

the box, thread the ribbon, 

cord, rope or wool through 

the holes, and knot together 

on the inside. I tied all of 

mine onto a curtain ring 

to make it easier for me. 

On the outside of the box 

fasten a different curiosity 

inducing object on the end 

of each thread. 

2. Prepare several boxes and 

vary the lengths of the 

different threads, so that, 

for example, if on one box 

Instructions: 

the large button is on a 

long thread, on another 

box the large button is on a 

short thread. 

3. Before sharing the activity, 

open the box and pull all 

the threads from the inside 

so that all of the curiosity 

objects are pressed against 

the outside walls of the box. 

4. To share the activity: 

Simply offer the boxes 

for exploration. Allow the 

children to discover for 

themselves that the boxes, 

although appearing similar, 

have different properties 

inside which means 

that they get a different 

experience on the outside. 

5. Decorate the lids of the 

boxes with pictures of 

brains. Talk about how all of 

our brains work differently 

on the inside, meaning that 

some of us are good at 

some activities and others 

of us are good at other 

activities. 

Instructions 

1. Heat some oil, crack 3 

eggs and add into a wok 

2. Mix the eggs, then leave 

to cool until it forms an 

omelette 

3. Remove onto a board and 

chop the omelette into 

small pieces. Leave this to 

one side for now 

4. Ask an adult if they can 

prepare the pineapple 

ready for you to chop 

5. Chop the pineapple 

fingers into pieces. Then 

leave the pineapple to the 

side 

6. Cut the ends off the garlic 

and crush the segments 

into a garlic crusher 

7. Put the garlic into the wok 

and fry on a medium heat 

8. Add one teaspoon of 

Chinese 5 spice powder 

9. Pour in a tablespoon of 

soy sauce and add to 

cooked rice 

10. Add the frozen peas then 

mix 

11. The rice should be a lovely 

brown colour. Mix and put 

on the hob on a high heat 

and keep stirring 

12. Add the chopped 

pineapple and the 

chopped omelette 

13. Mix it all together and 

cook on a high heat for 

around 5 minutes 

14. Serve this into a bowl 

34 August 2021 | parenta.com parenta.com | August 2021 35

Making their mark! 

Thinking about mark-making in relation to school readiness 

Being school-ready is about being ready to learn, even during a pandemic. For me, the practical 

application of the term ‘school readiness’ is summarised within the characteristics of effective 

learning. Children who are interested, excited and motivated to learn will be more ready for school 

because we know that children’s future success in school and beyond is directly linked to their 

learning to be a learner. 

Interestingly, I don’t like the phrase school 

readiness! You may think it strange that 

someone who has written a book called 

“School Readiness and the Characteristics 

of Effective Learning” would write this but 

it is the emotional response people have 

when they hear the phrase that spurred 

me on to choose this title. Although using 

the contested phrase might have put many 

people off reading the book, I wanted 

to spark a debate and claim the phrase 

‘school readiness’ in an appropriate way 

for young children and defining it within 

the context of them being ready to learn. 

There is no nationally recognised definition 

of school readiness in England, yet school 

readiness regularly hits the headlines 

and is stated as one of the purposes of 

the EYFS. It also means different things 

to different people. If you are a reception 

class teacher the most important skills and 

abilities that you want children to have on 

entering school may be very different from 

others. For example, a child who can take 

themselves to the toilet independently is 

worth their weight in gold in those first few 

weeks of term and may be the difference 

between cleaning up a puddle on the floor 


or not! For a parent, a child who is school 

ready might be a child who can separate 

from them for the whole day, whereas 

policy makers might consider a child to be 

school ready if they can write their own 

name or count reliably to 10. A childminder 

or early years practitioner might consider 

a child to be school ready if they are able 

to be independent in their learning or 

perhaps have good social skills. 

You may have come across this analogy 

before – we’re all in the same storm 

but not all in the same boat - and this 

is particularly true when thinking about 

mark-making. All our children are from 

different backgrounds and cultures and 

will have had very different experiences 

over the past eighteen months. If we think 

about their writing experiences, some may 

not have seen adults writing, whilst others 

may have. Not everyone will have had the 

opportunity to mark-make and we may 

find this to be a particular issue for boys. 

Girls still outperform boys in all areas of 

learning and development in the EYFS 

Profile, which is the assessment at the end 

of the reception year in England, writing 

being the largest gap, although the gap is 

closing slightly. We know that boys are not 

any less clever than girls at this age, it’s 

just that girls are better suited to the ways 

that schools teach and assess children 

and may enjoy sitting and mark-making 

more than boys. In addition, boys’ spoken 

language and fine motor control develops 

slightly later than girls and they tend to be 

more active and find sitting still harder. Of 

course, I am generalising here, but this 

makes a huge difference to their ability to 

sit still and concentrate, a skill which, sadly, 

many schools require young children 

to master! With this in mind, schools 

need to be ready for children and think 

about making their expectations more 

developmentally appropriate. 

So in order to create a more even playing 

field for our children, and in particular our 

boys, we need to focus on developing 

an environment that is so engaging and 

inspiring, we can’t stop our children from 

mark-making and writing! We need to 

offer them writing materials and access 

to different media that will start the ball 

rolling in relation to mark-making. Put 

simply, they need to want to write! 

Here are some ideas of 

how we can encourage 

mark-making and 

writing in our settings: 

• Create a language-rich environment 

and support speaking and listening 

• Provide lots of opportunities for fine 

motor skill development, for example, 

using tools, locks and keys, tweezers 

• Role model being a writer and explain 

why we write on a daily basis 

• Offer opportunities for mark-making in 

every area of our continuous provision 

• Think about how children can 

mark-make with media other than 

pencils and pens, for example, 

charcoal, sticks in mud, cars in gloop, 

paintbrushes on walls, chalk on 

tarmac… 

• Ensure that our role-play area always 

has a writing element within it 

• Offer plenty of mark-making 

opportunities outside 

• Create a writing or graphics area 

which includes interesting resources 

and media, for example, cards, 

notelets, exciting pens, and shaped 

paper 

• Demonstrate that we value children’s 

mark-making by displaying it in our 

setting 

• Provide opportunities for large scale 

mark-making projects inside and 

outside 

• Consider offering opportunities for 

children to mark-make on different 

surfaces; wood, stone, paper, card, 

brick, mud 

• Offer messy mark-making 

opportunities - the messier the better 

as this is often very attractive to our 

children 

• Think about opportunities to write 

whilst lying down, standing up, under 

tables, or on the move 

• Create ‘writing on the move’ 

resources, for example, clipboard/ 

pens, backpacks, toolkits, lunchboxes 

(Cigman, 2014) 

• Provide examples of writing for 

exciting purposes, for example, secret 

messages, invisible writing, codes to 

crack, maps, stories, and books that 

link with children’s interests 

So let’s encourage our children to markmake 

in whatever format they can 

throughout the day and, as children 

leave our settings and move onto school, 

encourage our children to really make their 

mark! 

Tamsin Grimmer 

Tamsin Grimmer is an experienced early 

years consultant, author 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 loving. Tamsin particularly enjoys 

planning and delivering training and 

supporting early years practitioners and 

teachers to improve outcomes for young 

children. 

Tamsin has written four books – 

“Observing and Developing Schematic 

Behaviour in Young Children”, “School 

Readiness and the Characteristics 

of Effective Learning”, “Calling All 

Superheroes: Supporting and Developing 

Superhero Play in the Early Years” 

and “Developing a Loving Pedagogy 

in the Early Years: How Love Fits with 

Professional Practice”. She is currently 

working on her next two, “Supporting 

Behaviour and Emotions” and “Self- 

Regulation in Early Childhood”. 

You can connect to Tamsin via Twitter 

@tamsingrimmer, her Facebook 

page, earlyyearsconsultancy, website 

www.tamsingrimmer.com or email 

tamsingrimmer@hotmail.co.uk. 


Cycle To Work Day 

Summer’s here and it’s time to ‘get on your bike’ – literally. Yes, Thursday 5th August is Cycle 

To Work Day where everyone is encouraged to cycle to work… or round the park, or in their back 

garden! It doesn’t matter where you are, how old you are or if you are a complete beginner, a 

‘cycling-rememberer’, or Tour de France veteran, this day is for you. It’s about getting in the 

saddle, keeping yourself fit, helping the environment and having some fun! 

Cycle To Work Day is officially promoted 

at cycletoworkday.org where you can 

find lots of useful information and advice. 

There are posters to download to help 

advertise the day to your staff and parents 

as well as advice and information on 

how the Government’s cycle-to-workscheme 

works which allows employees 

to get a discount on cycling equipment 

through their workplace. You can also find 

a handbook for employers here which 

explains the benefits, eligibility, equipment 

and how it works. Employers can set up 

their own scheme or work with a thirdparty 

to administer the scheme. 

What are the benefits of 

cycling? 

The Government recommends that cycling 

and walking should be the natural choices 

for shorter journeys, or as part of a longer 

journey by 2040. The “Cycling and Walking 

Investment Strategy”, published in 2017, 

sets out the Governments goals, and the 

strategies and finance needed to achieve 

them. The benefits include: 

• Better health 

• Reduced air pollution 

• Cheaper travel 

• Increased productivity for businesses 

• Increased footfall near shops 

• Vibrant and attractive environments 

designed for healthy living 

The health benefits of cycling for 

individuals are well understood as it can 

increase fitness, improve mental health 

and help people maintain a healthy 

weight. Physical inactivity is estimated 

to cost the NHS up to £1 billion per year, 

with further indirect costs calculated at 

£8.2 billion 1 – a substantial amount of 

the NHS budget, yet many of us remain 

largely inactive but could easily increase 

our activity by cycling or walking to work/ 

school. 

According to government research 2 : 

• Two out of three personal trips are 

less than five miles 

• Over 90% of school children live within 

15 minutes of a primary school on 

foot or by public transport 

• Three-quarters of children live within 

15 minutes cycle of a secondary 

school 

If we want to improve our health, our 

lifestyles and look after the planet, then 

cycling (and walking) more is one way that 

we can all help. 

Top tips for Cycle To Work Day 

1. Be prepared and check your bike for 

safety following the ABCD code: 

A. Air 

B. Brakes 

C. Chain 

D. Direction 

2. Wear the right protective clothing 

including a well-fitting helmet 

3. Plan your route – choose a quieter 

route if you are less confident 

4. Carry some snacks, bicycle repair kit 

and change of clothes if necessary 

5. Wear supportive and sturdy shoes 

6. Give yourself plenty of time 

7. Follow all road safety rules 

8. Stay safe – if you are not confident or 

sure at junctions, get off your bike and 

walk it across or round the junction 

Encouraging young children to 

cycle 

According to a YouGov poll by Cycling UK, 

82% of parents have taught their children 

to ride a bike, and 70% said they believed 

it to be a “vital life skill”, but the number of 

journeys made by bike remains very low 

at only 2%. Encouraging young children 

to cycle and learn to ride a bike is one 

thing that early years settings can do to 

encourage more cycling. 

Bikeability is another Department for 

Transport scheme that teaches cycling skills 

and cycling safety to millions of children 

each year. Bikeability has 3 levels which are 

suitable for children who can already ride 

independently without stablilisers, and a 

lot of primary schools run Bikeability Level 1 

and Level 2 courses for their students. But 

did you know that they also run sessions 

for children aged 4 – 7 years as part of the 

Bikeability Plus programme that includes a 

Balance course and a Learn to Ride course? 

The Balance course encourages children 

to balance on a bike before worrying 

about pedalling and higher skills. 

It can be done on a balance bike, 

or just by removing the pedals 

and stabilisers from a normal 

bike. This is a great way to help toddlers 

become more confident on two wheels, 

and you could also include scooters too as 

many younger children begin on these first. 

Ensure that children are wearing protective 

clothing and a well-fitting helmet at all 

times when either scooting or cycling. 

There are also more resources aimed at 

early years settings on the Bikeability site 

which you can access here. These include 

lesson plans and information on the 

following topics: 

• Picture This! An Understanding the 

World activity about cycling 

• On our Bicycles – a PSHE & Physical 

development activity about Bikeability 

Balance 

• “Red, Amber, Green – Roundabout!” A 

fun activity to do in PE teaching pupils 

about traffic lights, roundabouts and 

road safety 

• Let’s All Cycle collage – using art and 

design skills 

• A ‘Magic Bicycle-Pencil’ Adventure 

which encourages the development of 

fine motor skills and covers a variety of 

EYFS areas 

Involve parents 

You could also run a parental advice and 

information session and incorporate some of 

the advice from the Bikeability information for 

families. One of the main areas of concern 

they are trying to address is to get parents 

to cycle behind, rather than in front of their 

children, saying: 

“You often see families cycling with the 

parent in front and the kids dangling 

behind; what we’re actually trying to do 

with Bikeability Family is reverse that. When 

children lead and cycle in front of the adult, 

the parent can always see the situation and, 

as a result, parents feel much more in control 

and much more confident as well.” 

The idea behind Cycle to Work Day is to 

encourage people to cycle more consistently, 

not just on one day, so why not make it a 

week- or even a month-long activity? You 

could even create a fund-raising opportunity 

and organise some sponsorship for your 

setting or other charity too. Whatever you 

decide, we’d love to hear what you’ve been 

up to, so please send us your pictures and 

stories to hello@parenta.com. 

References 

1. NICE report (2013) 

2. DfT (2015) Investing in Cycling and 

Walking: The economic case for action; 

National Travel Survey 2014; Living 

Streets (2013) The Pedestrian Pound 



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By ensuring your team undergoes relevant, regular refresher training, they’ll always be up-todate 

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0800 002 9242 hello@parenta.com

August 2021 Parenta magazine

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