April 2022 Parenta magazine

Issue 89
APRIL 2022
FREE
Industry
Experts
Reclaiming children’s loss
of habitat by rethinking
classroom design
Developing positive
relationships with your
team through active
listening
Egg-cellent advice - get
the light right
+ lots more
Write for us for a
chance to win
£50
page 8
“The boundaries balancing
act”
If we want children to act a certain way, the most effective tool we have is modelling what we want to see and setting an
example to them
WORLD MALARIA DAY • EASTER CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD • STRESS AWARENESS MONTH

hello
welcome to our family
Hello and welcome to the April edition of the Parenta magazine!
Around the world, Easter will be celebrated this month, but not all celebrations nowadays are related to the
original holy holiday in the Christian calendar. We take a global whistle-stop tour to see just how some of these
Easter festivities have evolved over the years. Don’t miss our delightful Easter egg collage craft that you can
make with the children on page 34, together with a delicious recipe for chocolate orange biscuits – the perfect
Easter combination!
Also in this month’s issue…we welcome to the Parenta Magazine family, new guest author and industry expert,
Sandra Duncan, who uses her learning space environment expertise to challenge us to think a little more outside the box when it comes
to classroom design.
Joanna Grace continues her popular “egg-cellent” advice and talks us through the importance of light, and the background against
which we present toys to children. Stacey Kelly tackles the ‘boundaries balancing act’ and demonstrates that if we want children to act
a certain way, the most effective tool we have is modelling what we want to see and setting an example to them. Also on the subject of
boundaries, Frances Turnbull asks us to unite through music and cross the inter-cultural boundaries, with a wonderful selection of songs
for us; and Helen Lumgair helps us discuss difference and diversity with the children through storytelling.
From a development and leadership point of view, Mona Sakr discusses professional development on a limited budget and Ruth Mercer
shows us how to develop positive relationships with our team through active listening.
As always, the magazine is packed with a huge variety of early years advice and guidance from our wonderful industry experts – all
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.
We understand that the current situation in Ukraine is affecting many of us. We have written a How To Guide for all who work in early
years, on how to support children, learners and staff over the situation in Ukraine and you can download it here. Industry expert Tamsin
Grimmer kindly gives her advice and guidance on how to talk to children about war and you can read that on the Parenta blog here.
Please feel free to share the magazine with friends, parents and colleagues – they can sign up to receive their own copy here!
APRIL 2022 ISSUE 89
IN THIS EDITION
Regulars
8 Write for us for the chance to win £50!
34 Easter egg collage
35 Chocolate orange biscuits
News
4 Short stories
39 Congratulations to our Parenta
learners!
Advice
12 Easter story celebrations around the
world
18 World Malaria Day
26 Things we didn’t know about recycling
28 Stress Awareness Month
32 Improving parent communication
36 Using movement and music sessions to
teach children about the environment
and the world around them
Easter story & celebrations around the world 12
World Malaria Day 18
Allan
Industry Experts
Stress Awareness Month 28
Get the light
right
10
We consider the space when
we set up our rooms but do
we consider the light?
The boundaries
balancing act
20
Throughout parenting,
we are going to have to
assert boundaries that our
children will not always be
impressed with.
Diversity 24
As we celebrate children in all their
uniqueness, welcoming their contributions,
they will in turn learn to celebrate
themselves.
6 Reclaiming children’s loss of habitat
by rethinking classroom design
10 Egg-cellent advice: get the light right
16 Developing positive relationships with
your team through active listening
20 The boundaries balancing act
22 Uniting through music: crossing intercultural
boundaries in the early years
24 Diversity
30 What does leadership look like when …
professional development budgets are
limited?
Improving parent communication 32

A round up of some news stories
that have caught our eye over
the month
Story source and image credits to:
Nursery World
Day Nurseries
Daily Record
EY Alliance
Gov.uk
The Government will not be
launching a review of childcare
funding
Childcare providers no longer
required to tell Ofsted about
confirmed COVID-19 cases
Nursery operators continue
to grow within ‘competitive’
childcare market
Huge numbers of children
starting school developmentally
delayed
Nurseries and schools
celebrated World Book Day
New training to support children
with communication difficulties
The Government has rejected
recommendations to carry out a review of
funding and affordability of childcare.
Childcare providers do not have to notify
Ofsted of any COVID-19 cases at their
setting, whether in staff or children.
ICP Nurseries has bought two more
settings, taking its total number of
settings to 52.
Around half of four-year-olds were ‘not
ready’ to start Reception last September,
according to a new survey by education
foundation Kindred Squared.
Early years settings and schools across
the country have been celebrating the
25th World Book Day.
A new programme for nursery staff to
address speech and communication
difficulties in young children is
being launched by two healthcare
professionals.
Click here to send in
your stories to
hello@parenta.com
New nursery plans to have room
for almost 100 children
The Ayrshire nursery development will
help families find and stay in meaningful
employment, childcare officials say.
Boris Johnson visits Heathrow
nursery
The Prime Minister recently visited Busy
Bees nursery in Heathrow.
Mum who lost child shopping
shares tip all parents should
know
The mum took to social media to explain
the ‘looking loudly’ technique, she used
which helped her to locate her son when
he wandered off in a supermarket.
Bright Horizons invests £10
million to boost staff pay and
benefits
The nursery provider Bright Horizons UK
has announced it is investing more than
£10 million in nursery workers’ salaries
and benefits to reflect the increased cost
of living.
4 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 5

Reclaiming children’s loss of habitat
by rethinking classroom design
Loss of habitat for wild
species
Loss of habitat for nature’s wild species
is a worldwide threat. The lakes, forests,
swamps, plains, and other habitats
which plants, fungi, and animals call
home are disappearing at an alarming
rate. With every passing day, the list of
endangered and threatened animals
continues to mount. The International
Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red
List of Threatened Species estimates there
are more than 40,000 threatened wild
species such as amphibians, mammals,
birds, and sharks. Even more disturbing is
that some wild species (i.e. Northern White
Rhinoceros, Splendid Poison Frog) are no
longer threatened but have succumbed to
extinction. Much of this loss is because of
human activity. Natural habitats are being
destroyed with bulldozers ploughing down
forests, highways being built in wetlands,
and pollution disrupting the natural
rhythms of nature including migration,
propagation, and finding food and water.
The good news is that many believe
habitat loss is reversible and it is within
our capabilities and power to rebuild
nature’s ecosystems. On a national
level, for example, organisations such
as River Partners are helping to restore
floodplains in California by using the
latest developments in science and
technology. On a local level, the National
Wildlife Federation recommends creating
a Certified Wildlife Habitat® in your
community or backyard or, even better yet,
outside the classroom door.
Loss of habitat for children
You may be wondering what all this talk
about nature’s loss of habitat has to do
with you. You may be thinking that you are
an educator and not an environmentalist
and do not get the connection between
nature and classroom environments.
Actually, there is an enormous connection:
Just as the habitats for wild species are
being endangered, so is the magic and
wonderment of childhood becoming
threatened by traditional classroom
design.
But, just as the danger of extinction can be
reversed in nature’s habitats, so can the
magic of childhood be preserved in young
children’s classrooms.
Young children, unfortunately, are losing
their childhoods in today’s traditional
classrooms. Children’s childhoods are
being threatened by classrooms filled with
plastic, gadgets with buttons, television
and computer screens, and closed-ended
learning materials. The magic of childhood
is being made vulnerable with cookie
cutter classrooms that all look the same
regardless of their location or who inhabits
the four walls. Childhood is being impeded
by unrealistic toys made for pretending
and not intended for real or meaningful
work such as plastic bolts, pretend
screwdrivers, and makeshift woodworking
benches rather than using authentic tools
and realistic materials.
Reclaiming childhood
It happens each and every day. Across
the continents of the world, thousands
of educators prepare and design
environments for young children. These
educators meticulously and intentionally
arrange, rearrange, and set up the
furniture, interest areas, and materials to
best accommodate our youngest children.
We have been taught - or learned from
others - how to accomplish this. Put the
art centre near a source of water. Offer
low shelving so toddlers can reach its
contents. Create soft and cosy gathering
areas for infant tummy time and separate
quiet areas from those more rambunctious
spaces. Our tendency is to design
classrooms from a purely functional or
numerical viewpoint. In other words, will
children be able to successfully function
in this environment with the number of
materials provided? But the real question
is this: Succeed in what? And, this question
leads to a more important question. What
is the true purpose of early childhood
environments?
How would you answer this question?
Many educators might say the true
purpose of classroom environments
is learning. Others might think that
the real purpose of classrooms is to
promote children’s physical skills, while
some teachers may believe the singular
purpose is to encourage social and
emotional development. Although wellintended,
this way of thinking results in
designing environments focused on child
development rather than being focused on
the true purpose of environments, which is
to protect and preserve the importance of
childhood.
If we begin designing our environments for
young children from this new perspective,
everything changes. But, beware because
this perspective requires a critical mind
shift in our thinking. It means shifting the
focus from an adult to child’s perspective. It
means giving children the power of choice.
Reclaiming childhood
with the power of choice
Young children have little opportunity for
making choices. Adults dictate almost
every element of their lives such as what
clothes to put on in the morning, what
to eat for breakfast, and how the rest of
their day will play out. Yet, we know from
the research that when children are given
opportunities to practice making choices
when younger, they have a tendency to
make better choices as teens and adults.
If this is true, then it becomes important
to include opportunities for choices in the
classroom design. One strategy could be
choices of seating.
In a traditional classroom environment,
there are limited choices of seating. Typical
seating includes table chairs, on rug, and
perhaps a rocking chair. Even with these
limited seating options, children are often
restricted in their choice because some
teachers mandate who will sit on what
chair or what spot on the rug. There are
Image 1 - Newly purchased dog beds
make great places to sit and read a book.
even those teachers who restrict children’s
choice even more by requiring that the
chairs remain positioned under the table
and cannot be moved elsewhere. Let’s
reclaim childhood by giving children the
power of seating choices with these ideas:
• Offer children a variety of seating
including ottomans, beanbags, lawn
chairs, small stools, tree stumps, crib
mattresses, large pillows, and even
newly purchased dog beds. [See
image 1]
• Allow children to decide where they
want to sit. Do not assign chairs or rug
spots to children for your convenience
(i.e., assigning a rambunctious child
to sit next to a quieter child). Rather,
let children make their own choices
and learn from choices not well made.
[See image 2]
Resources
Image 2 - Add an adult-sized chair for
children to enjoy.
• Grant children the right to move
or reposition chairs. Children’s
imaginations take them beyond the
traditional use of a chair. Although
adults think of chairs as places to
sit, children’s imaginations take the
purpose of a chair to another level of
thinking when given the chance to reimagine
its purpose. [See image 3]
It’s time to stop the erosion of childhood
and children’s habitats. Most importantly,
it’s time to reclaim childhood through the
important environmental design of choice.
International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species can be
found at www.iucnredlist.org.
For more information on nature’s loss of habitats, visit the National Wildlife Federation at
www.nwf.org.
River Partner’s work in leading a shift on how they restore floodplains and re-value rivers
can be found at https://riverpartners.org.
Anyone can create a Certified Wildlife Habitat® with just a small piece of dirt and a little
elbow grease. Find out how by visiting https://www.nwf.org/certify.
Sandra Duncan
Sandra works to assure the miracle
and magic of childhood through indoor
and outdoor play space environments
that are intentionally designed to
connect young children to their early
learning environments, communities,
and neighbourhoods. Dr. Duncan is an
international consultant, author of seven
books focused on the environmental
design of early childhood places,
designer of two furniture collections
called Sense of Place and Sense of
Place for Wee Ones, and Adjunct
Professor at Nova Southeastern
University. Sandra has designed and
taught university courses on built early
learning environments, collaborating
with architects, interior designers,
and educators to create extraordinary
places and possibilities for children and
students of all ages. Books and articles
include:
1. Inspiring Spaces for Young Children
2. Rating Observation Scale for
Inspiring Spaces
3. Rethinking the Classroom
Landscape: Creating Environments
that Connect Young Children,
Families, and Communities
4. Through A Child’s Eyes: How
Classroom Design Inspires Learning
and Wonder
5. Bringing the Outside In: Ideas for
Creating Nature-Based Classroom
Experiences for Young Children
6. The Honeycomb Hypothesis: How
Infants, Toddlers, and Two Year
Olds Learn Through Nature Play
(Available Spring, 2022)
7. Designing Inspiring Environments
for Infants, Toddlers, and Two
Year Olds: Lessons from Nature
(Available 2023)
6 April 2022 | parenta.com
Image 3 - A re-imagined chair turned upside-down becomes a baby bed.
parenta.com | April 2022 7

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the month! Her article “Teaching children to value
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to appreciate the simple things in life. Well done
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A massive thank you to all of our guest authors for
writing for us. You can find all of the past articles
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With a career background in Early Education and Leadership, Ruth works
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8 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 9

Egg-cellent advice:
get the light right
I do not know how he came to acquire the nick-name Egg but ever since he came along that’s what my youngest son has been called.
I run The Sensory Projects www.TheSensoryProjects.co.uk (which should now really be called The Sensory Projects and Sons!) My work
focuses on people with profound disabilities and sensory differences, but my son’s advice will apply to your work too.
In this series of articles we are going to share his insights with you, if you are keen for more there is an ever growing collection on my
Facebook profile: come and make friends. www.Facebook.com/JoannaGraceTSP
This is article 6 out of a series of 10! To view the others click here.
Joanna Grace
Joanna Grace is an international
Sensory Engagement and Inclusion
Specialist, trainer, author, TEDx speaker
and founder of The Sensory Projects.
You put the tuff tray out in the middle of
the floor, with enough space to walk all
around it. You put the water tray near the
sink – for easy top ups/mop ups and far
from the books, to try and keep them safe.
We consider the space when we set up
our rooms but do we consider the light?
The ability to see comes in two parts. The
first is the sense organ – to see we need
eyes that work. The second is the brain
– to see we need our brains to be able
to make sense of the light that our eyes
detect. The second part of seeing – the
brain making sense of the information
received from the eyes – is a learned skill.
Babies begin by being able to understand
black and white, high contrast. They go on
to learn colour (usually starting with red –
lots of children will express a preference
for red early on in life), being able to
visually interpret texture, depth and all the
rest of the wonderful world of sight comes
later.
Thinking about the background against
which we present toys, and the lighting on
those toys can make a huge differences
to a child’s ability to engage and sustain
engagement with them. In many of the
pictures you have seen of Egg he is upon
a colourful background – those were
the days when he played lying on his
back – his visual field was the plain white
expanse of our ceiling. Now he is vertical
and able to sit I have removed the busy
jumble of colour to allow him an accessible
visual landscape in which to enjoy his toys.
Which way up?
Toes towards the window, I am looking
into the light. My toys are silhouettes or
lost against the other dark shapes. I am
passive.
When my sight was in black and white,
toys against the light were interesting to
me. Now I see in colour.
Toes away from the window, the light
shines on my toys. I can see their sparkle
and colour.
You can see in the pictures that I am
moving and vocalising in response to how
interesting the toys are.
(These words first appeared on Jo’s
Facebook profile you are welcome to
send her a friend request to watch out
for more insight www.Facebook.com/
JoannaGraceTSP)
Joanna provides online and in person
training relating to sensory engagement
and sensory differences, look up www.
TheSensoryProjects.co.uk/online-college
for more information.
To view a list of her books visit www.
TheSensoryProjects.co.uk/books.
Follow Jo on social media to pick up
new sensory insights, you’ll find her
at: Twitter , www.Facebook.com/
JoannaGraceTSP and www.Linkedin/In/
JoannaGraceTheSensoryProjects
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” which
was foreworded by Chris Packham.
Joanna followed with her own book
“The Subtle Spectrum” which explores
the landscape of post diagnosis adult
identified autism.
Joanna is a big fan of social media and
is always happy to connect with people
via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
10 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 11

Easter story
celebrations around the
world
Norway: whodunnit?
In Norway at Easter, the talk is not so much
of Easter eggs and Easter bunnies, but
much more of “whodunnit?” At this time
of year, many television channels launch
new detective series and publishers get
their best new crime novels on bookstore
shelves. It is thought the tradition started
in 1923 after publication of a crime novel
set on the Bergen railway in which a
train was robbed. The authors wanted to
promote their book so put an advert for
it on the front page of local newspapers.
People thought it was a real news story,
and the authors scored a PR coup.
Nowadays many Norwegians retreat to
their mountain cabins at Easter to ski.
Armed with their detective books and
TV subscriptions, they spend a few days
working out whether the ‘butler’ did it or
not! Even milk cartons carry short detective
stories during this season to get in on the
act.
Guatemala: colourful
‘carpets’
Easter is a holy holiday in the Christian
calendar, commemorating the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ 2,000 years
ago. At that time, there were no Easter
eggs, no Easter bunny or giant omelettes
made in France! It was just the death of
Jesus and his reported resurrection.
In the two millennia since, Christianity has
spread from Jerusalem to almost every
part of the globe. The Easter story has
been told in many different languages
and people have found their own way to
commemorate Jesus’s death/resurrection
and celebrate their own faith or beliefs at
the same time.
Not all the Easter celebrations nowadays
are related to Christianity, as over the
years and in different places, feasts and
celebrations have merged and become
integrated into different activities and belief
systems. So let’s take a tour around the
world and see how some of these Easter
celebrations have evolved.
Finland: beware the witches!
If you travel to Finland at Easter, you could
be forgiven for thinking that you have
mixed up your calendar dates and landed
there on Halloween. Children dress up as
witches over Easter and travel from door to
door reciting a rhyming blessing, believed
to ward off evil spirits. They wear colourful
clothes and paint freckles on their cheeks,
often carrying a willow broomstick of willow
or birch sticks. Their poem says:
“Virvon, varvon, tuoreeks terveeks, tulevaks
vuodeks; vitsa sulle, palkka mulle! “
“I wave a twig for a fresh and healthy year
ahead; a twig for you, a treat for me!”
After reciting the poems, the grateful
householder may give them a chocolate
egg or sweets in ‘payment’ for their
blessing. The tradition is thought to stem
from a mixture of an Orthodox Christian
ritual where the birch twigs represented
the palm leaves laid down before Jesus
as he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday,
and an earlier tradition marking off the
return of spring and warding of evil spirits.
Bonfires are also lit around Easter time,
as these are thought to scare off any evil
witches!
Spain: the dance of death!
In the Medieval town of Verges in Spain,
the locals perform a traditional “dansa
de la mort” or the death dance. It is a
re-enaction of scenes from the Passion,
(the last few days in the life of Jesus).
People dress in skeleton costumes and
carry boxes of ashes through the streets
in a procession on Maundy Thursday (the
day before Good Friday). When they reach
the mediaeval old town, the skeletons
dance to the sound of a drum and form
the shape of a cross. The main dance is
given by two adult skeleton characters,
but children are also involved, and lampcarriers
create an eerie atmosphere as the
skeletons dance.
If you are lucky enough to be in the central
American country of Guatemala this
Easter, look out for the colourful carpets
that are ‘laid out’ along the cobbled
roads in the town of Antigua. They are
made from coloured sawdust, fruits, pine
needles, flowers, vegetables and sand
and depict scenes from religion, Mayan
and Guatemalan history. Some of the
carpets are up to half a mile long and their
intricate designs draw visitors from all over
the region. But their glory is short-lived, as
on Good Friday, a procession of people
(some dressed as Roman soldiers) walk
over the carpets carrying an image of the
crucified Christ.
Italy: it’s “Carenevale”
Italy is home to the Vatican City, the selfgoverning
state which is ruled by the Pope
and which is the centre of the Roman
Catholic Church. St Peter’s Basilica is the
site of daily services of Mass throughout
holy week leading up the Pope’s address
to the massed crowds on Easter Sunday
in St Peter’s Square. But this very religious
tradition is not the only Easter celebration
for Italians, since they also celebrate their
carnival season with parties, parades and
masquerade balls. Although not strictly
part of Easter week per se, it is part of
the pre-Lent season which runs up to
Easter and is an important part of the
Italian celebrations. Costumes are often
elaborate and full-face masks are intricate
and spectacular with the Venice carnival
gaining fame around the world.
Italians are also famed for their good
food, and at Easter, they have a traditional
sugar-dusted Easter cake called the
Colomba, made in the shape of a dove to
represent peace, renewed life and hope.
Germany: osterbaum
In Germany, there is an old tradition
of making ‘osterbaum’ or Easter trees.
These were traditionally branches of
flowering trees such as forsythia or pussy
willows, which were placed in a vase and
decorated with painted eggs and small
decorations. These can be kept inside and
outside and many Germans (and Swiss)
decorate trees in their gardens, with the
most famous one at Saalfeld where a
man decorated a tree in his garden with
more and more decorations each year,
eventually stopping at 10,000 decorations.
Why not adopt some of these traditions in
your settings this year and send us your
photos to hello@parenta.com?
12 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 13

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Developing positive
relationships with
your team through
active listening
Sian set aside half an hour the next week
to spend with each of the senior staff.
She explained it was not a performance
meeting but an opportunity to talk to them
properly about their work and get to know
them a bit better. She made fresh coffee
and bought fruit and scones and sat down
to listen. She learned about each person’s
career history, their family commitments
and their holiday plans. She also learned
that there had been a previous manager
who had changed everything really
quickly and all the staff (and children)
got confused. Parents complained and
the atmosphere had become really
unpleasant.
– as well as the tone of voice and
the words used. If someone says
she is ‘infuriated’ by something you
have done, unpick it, ask her what
infuriated means to her.
3. Listen to the values; what matters to
the practitioner? For example, if the
third in charge kept talking about no
time to supervise the staff in her room,
it might be that she was worried
about a safeguarding issue being
missed, rather than the new form you
had introduced (which actually was
about safeguarding, but you had not
explored this with her sufficiently).
This article has been adapted from:
Cook, J (2013) Leadership and
Management in the Early Years, Practical
Preschool Books
References:
Coaching question examples at https://
www.the-coaching-academy.com/
blog/2012/09 accessed on line 9.3.22
Cunic, A. https://www.verywellmind.com/
what-is-active-listening accessed on line
9.3.22
As early years practitioners, we tend to
be excellent at finding time to sit with the
children and listen to them. We can be
strong role models, providing relaxed,
thoughtful conversation, sharing toys
and resources, and supporting positive
interactions with their peers. This helps
children to be happy, confident and
motivated to learn. However, in a busy
setting it can be difficult to find time and
space to really listen to the adults. Talking
to Sian, a new manager, she said: “I’m just
fire fighting, staff absence due to COVID is
still high and this puts so much pressure
on us all. My deputy is being obstructive,
I think she doesn’t like me. And I’m new
here, trying to find my way.”
Sian has recently become the manager
of a small nursery and was finding it hard
going. The deputy manager and third in
charge had been working in the setting for
a long time and she found that everything
she suggested had already been ‘done’
or had been ‘tried … and failed’. These
established practitioners were influencing
other staff with them and nursery meetings
were becoming increasingly negative.
During her first review meeting, Sian’s
supervisor asked her some coaching
questions that gave her new insight into
the problem. Firstly she asked: “If the
problem was solved, what would it look
like?” Sian had a moment of clarity and
realised it was more important to be
feeling they were a team working together
rather than her ideas about organisational
matters not being taken on board.
The next coaching question was”‘What’s
stopping that from happening now?” and
Sian had to confess she didn’t really know.
In her passion for the new job to prove
she could be a manager she realised all
her conversations had centred around
what her own plans were and she did not
know what the experienced practitioners
were thinking. All she got was a negative
response to any suggestion.
She came out of the meeting with a plan
to spend time talking with, and more
importantly, listening to the established
team of practitioners to find out more
about their interests, strengths and
worries.
From this, Sian unpicked that it was
change that the senior practitioners were
anxious about rather than the fact that
they didn’t like her. She went back to
her line manager in the nursery chain
and they thought up a strategy to build
up the confidence of practitioners and
introduce any change slowly, with plenty of
consultation and preparation time.
Taking time to listen to your team is really
important, so you understand what is
going on for them. Recognising and
appreciating their fears and concerns is
crucial to getting the best from each and
every practitioner you work with.
Listening for meaning
The next time you need to have a
conversation with someone about
something important, try listening at these
three different levels:
1. What are the facts? Facts are
important. Is everyone in the nursery
unhappy about your work or is it just
two people?
2. What are the feelings? The deputy
manager may tell you how they are
feeling directly, but look closely. Is
the anger they present covering an
anxiety? Look at the body language
POINT FOR REFLECTION
How often do you really listen? Consider
how actively you listen to your colleagues,
your family and your loved ones. Look for
opportunities to improve your listening skills
and see what difference it makes. www.
verywellmind.com/what-is-active-listening
Try this checklist to
find your strengths as a
listener
When I am listening to someone
talking I:
Listen carefully to what the speaker is
saying, without judging them
Stop myself from finishing sentences,
even when there are pauses in the
conversation whilst the speaker is
thinking
Let them finish without interrupting to
make my own point
Look at the person who is talking,
noticing significant body language
Am conscious of my own body
language and use it to signal that I am
listening
Listen for the feelings and the facts
Control my own fidgeting or doodling
Only ask questions that help me
understand more about what the
speaker is trying to say, or encouraging
them to continue
Often repeat what they say in my own
words to check that I have understood
Stop myself from planning what I am
going to say when they have finished
Can tune out other thoughts or
demands, even when I am busy
Sometimes Always Never
Ruth Mercer
Ruth Mercer is a coach and consultant,
with a career background in early
education. Ruth is committed to creating
a positive learning environment for
staff, children and families. She has a
successful track record of 1:1 coaching for
leaders and group coaching across the
maintained and PVI sector. She supports
leaders and managers in developing
a coaching approach in their settings
through bespoke consultancy and
introductory training on coaching and
mentoring for all staff.
Ruth is currently writing about coaching
with a playful approach.
Ruth Mercer, Coach and Consultant in
Early Years
Contact: ruthmercercoaching@gmail.com
Website: www.ruthmercercoaching.com
How did you score?
If you mainly ticked always or sometimes,
you may already have some active
listening skills. Most of us have areas to
work on throughout our lives in order to
communicate effectively, so keep working
on it … your team’s response will tell you
how well you are doing!
16 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 17

World Malaria Day
April 25th is World Malaria Day, an
annual event which takes place across
the world to raise awareness about
malaria and how it can be prevented. It
aims to celebrate the progress that has
been made towards eradicating this
life-threatening disease and highlight the
ongoing need for resources and funding to
continue the fight. The World Malaria Day
2022 theme is “Zero Malaria – Draw the
line against malaria.”
What is malaria?
Malaria is a serious infectious disease that
is spread by certain types of mosquitos
(female anopheles mosquitoes) and
affects tropical and subtropical regions. It
is curable with anti-malaria drugs but in
many regions of the world, where quick
access to medical attention is limited,
it can be fatal, especially for pregnant
women and children. Malaria is not found
in the UK or Europe but around the world,
a child dies every 2 minutes from malaria.
People infected with malaria can feel
severe flu-like symptoms with a fever
(high temperature) and headache. It can
cause muscle pain and vomiting as well
as sweats and chills, and if these are
untreated, it can lead to organ failure
and death. It only takes a bite from
one infected mosquito to develop, and
symptoms usually develop between 6 –
30 days after the bite, although in rare
cases, symptoms can take up to a year to
develop.
According to the World Health
Organisation (WHO), in 2020:
• There were an estimated 241 million
cases of malaria worldwide
• The estimated number of malaria
deaths was 627,000
• The WHO African Region carries a
disproportionately high share of
the global malaria burden, and this
region was home to 95% of malaria
cases and 96% of malaria deaths
• Children under 5 accounted for an
estimated 80% of all malaria deaths
in the African region
The WHO and other medical agencies aim
to eradicate the disease so there are no
cases of malaria.
How is malaria spread?
Malaria is usually caused by a mosquito
bite and is carried in the blood. They
typically bite when humans are sleeping,
between 10pm and 2am and mosquitos
can then spread the disease to other
people they bite. An infected mother
can pass the disease on to her unborn
baby, and some people are infected after
receiving blood transfusions or organ
donations from a person infected with
malaria.
What is being done to fight
malaria?
Malaria is preventable given the right
medical equipment and precautionary
measures. There are a number of
charities who work to raise money to
buy equipment and medical supplies
and great strides are being made. For
example, in 2018, 27 countries reported
less than 100 cases of malaria and are
on track to becoming malaria-free in the
next few years. In 2020, it was estimated
that over 1.5 billion cases and 7.6 million
deaths have been prevented in the last
20 years, so there is hope on the horizon.
However, even one case is one case too
many so there is still a lot of work to be
done.
Sleeping under mosquito nets (preferably
under long-lasting, insecticide treated
ones) is one of the most effective ways
to prevent the disease. Nets cost around
£1.50 ($2) and can be used for 2 people
sleeping together, lasting approximately
4 years. The Against Malaria Foundation
estimates that:
“For every 600 nets we put over heads and
beds, one child doesn’t die and 500 to
1,000 cases of malaria are prevented.”
In 2021, the WHO approved the use of the
world’s first malaria vaccine, which took
20 years of development, with the British
company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) playing
an important role. The Jenner Institute at
Oxford University is also producing a new
malaria vaccine which is in stage 2 clinical
trials with results so far proving to be 77%
effective. These vaccines could prove to be
a vital defence in the world’s fight against
the disease, although the pandemic has
halted progress in some African countries.
Celebrities such as David Beckham have
championed campaigns such as “Malaria
must die so millions can live” to help
spread the word too.
History of World Malaria Day
World Malaria Day was first established in
May 2007 by the World Health Assembly,
the decision-making part of the WHO.
It aimed to provide “education and
understanding” about malaria and set
about a year-long education programme
to inform communities in endemic areas
about how they could prevent and treat
the disease.
Since then, it has been an annual event
where multinational organisations,
healthcare providers and communities
have worked together to bring about
change.
How to get involved
Raising awareness of malaria and raising
funds for vital equipment such as mosquito
nets are ways that you can get involved.
Using the hashtag #WorldMalariaDay on
social media also raises awareness.
Here are some other ideas for getting
involved:
• Raise some money for mosquito nets.
Since these nets are so inexpensive
but can save many lives, they are at
the forefront of disease prevention.
Even £15 raised could buy 10 mosquito
nets. You could use one as ‘tent’ in
your setting to explain to the children
how they prevent diseases
• Set up an imaginary ‘safari’ to Africa
and explain to the children some
of the animals they could see on
the way. You can then explain that
some animals are more dangerous
than others and it is not always the
biggest and most ferocious ones,
but sometimes the smallest ones
can cause more damage. You need
to be careful how you introduce the
topic to children so as not to scare
them, so choose your words carefully
and be age-appropriate. You could
do this a part of a session about
Understanding the World too
• Educate the children on how people in
other parts of the world live including
why they sleep under a mosquito
net – again this can be part of a wider
session about other cultures, food,
music, health etc.
• Set up a display about insects around
the world saying that some of them
are helpful insects such as bees and
butterflies, and others are less helpful
such as mosquitos because they can
spread disease
• Look up some resources that
are available on Twinkl including
PowerPoints and mosquito lifecycle
worksheets and use these with your
older children
More information and
resources
WHO – Malaria Facts and Figures
NHS Scotland malaria pages
Malaria No More
18 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 19

The boundaries
balancing act
One of the hardest things that I’ve found
within my parenting journey is finding the
right balance when setting boundaries.
We all want the absolute best for our
children and through speaking to lots of
different parents, it is common for people
to feel that there are things that they
experienced and felt in their childhood that
they don’t want for their own children. If
we grew up often feeling that we weren’t
good enough, we can end up going above
and beyond to make sure our babies know
their worth. If we felt like we didn’t have a
voice, we might make sure their voice is
always heard. If we felt unaccepted, we
will likely go that extra mile to make sure
that our children know that we love every
unique fibre of who they are.
All these messages are brilliant to instil
in children. However, if we don’t deal
with our own pain of feeling the contrary
when we were younger, we can run the
risk of overcompensation and as a result,
sometimes struggle within ourselves to
assert boundaries through a subconscious
fear of making our children feel the way
we did.
Throughout parenting, we are going to
have to assert boundaries that our children
will not always be impressed with. It’s hard
to see them upset, but in the long run, the
lesson of boundaries is just as important
as the one of self-worth, acceptance and
feeling heard. If we don’t lead by example
with an ability to set strong boundaries, we
run the risk of our own children struggling
to set them for themselves in the future
too. It is therefore imperative that we are
self-aware as parents and work through
our own struggles so that we don’t pass
them down.
Here are some ways that we can set fair
boundaries that still honour our children’s
worth and self-esteem:
Mirror what we want to see
If we want children to act a certain
way, the most effective tool we have is
modelling what we want to see. If we want
our children to stop shouting, it makes
no sense to shout at them to deliver this
message. If we want our children to be
respectful, we need to be respectful of
them on a consistent basis and know that
they are little human beings with their own
mind and opinions. This leads me on to
my next point…
Make our expectations
realistic and relevant
If my children are reacting badly to me,
the first thing I ask myself is if I’m being
fair. Quite often when I ask myself this and
put myself in their shoes, I realise that I
could have handled it better. Do we expect
children to react better than we would in
the same situation?
An example of this is if a child is immersed
in something and we tell them they must
tidy away because it’s lunch time. If I
was in that situation (for example totally
engrossed in writing this article), and
someone did the same to me without any
warning, I’d be really frustrated. I’d need to
know in good time how long I had so that I
could naturally finish off what I was doing,
and I certainly wouldn’t like to be told how
long that was. Children are no different.
What I find works is that I ask my children
(in good time) how much longer they need
to finish off. We then agree on a time,
which is usually about 10-20 minutes. We
sometimes even set a timer together and
I will also give them little reminders along
the way letting them know how much time
they have left. Usually this works well, but
on the odd occasion that it doesn’t, and
they resist. I gently remind them that they
agreed this time and follow through with
bringing it to an end. The act of following
through is so important because they not
only learn that your word is your word, but
they also learn that they must honour their
word too and stick to what they say.
Show compassion
We don’t have to be bullish when setting
boundaries. In the example above, if my
child was having a meltdown, I would
show them compassion and tell them that
I understood how they felt, but that they
need to remember that they agreed to
the time. I would also explain why it was
important that we needed to pack things
away and if possible or appropriate, I’d let
them know that they could continue later
when we returned.
Be consistent
Consistency is the most important thing
when setting boundaries. It’s so simple
but can at times be so hard to do. We’ve
all been in the situation as a parent when
we choose to let something go in the
hope for a bit of peace and quiet and
an easier life. In fact, the phrase ‘picking
your battles’ is a common one that I hear
and have used myself many times. The
problem is, it’s easier in the moment to
give in, but long term, it teaches children
that your boundaries are blurred. I have
been guilty of this myself but have realised
how important it is for your word to be
your word. Not just for following through
with consequences, but for positive things
too. If a child asks you to play and you say
you will in 5 minutes. Even if they forget
and you are tempted to nip for a cup of
tea instead (we’ve all been there!) it is
important that you follow through. Every
time you do, it strengthens your child’s
trust in your word and teaches them that
you do what you say, and you say what
you mean. Only ever promise what you
can deliver and state consequences that
you can follow through with. If you are sat
in a restaurant eating your starter, don’t
tell your children that you will take them
home if they behave like that one more
time if you aren’t prepared to walk away
from that juicy main course, dessert and
very large glass of wine!
At the end of the day, being a parent is the
most amazing, but also the hardest thing
we will ever do. We are never going to be
perfect, and we will all make mistakes.
However, if we can do our best and get it
right 80% of the time, take responsibility
for the other 20% and cut ourselves some
slack, we will raise confident little humans
who not only know how to respect
boundaries, but also know how to assert
them too.
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 well-being 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
story-time 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/
20 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 21

Uniting through music:
crossing inter-cultural
boundaries in the early years
دنبب وتامشچ
(Persian, from Iran)
دنبب وتامشچ
دنبب وتامشچ
نم لگ ‏،نم لگ
نزب کیچوک ترچ
نزب کیچوک ترچ
نک الال ‏،نک الال
Brother Isaac
(Tingrinya, from Eritrea)
ኢሳቕ ሓወይ
ኢሳቕ ሓወይ
ደቂስካ
ደቂስካ
ዳውላ ቃጭላ
ዳውላ ቃጭላ
ዲን ዶን ዳን
ዲን ዶን ዳን
Pronunciation
Cheshmaato beband,
cheshmaato beband
Gole man, gole man
Chorte koocheek bezan
chorte koocheek bezan
Lala kon, lala kon
Pronunciation
Esak hawey
Esak hawey
Dekiska
Dekiska
Dewele kachila
Dewele kachila
Ding dang dong
Ding dang dong!
Direct English translation:
Close Your Eyes
Close your eyes
Close your eyes
My flower, my flower!
Take a nap!
Take a nap!
Sleep! Sleep!
Direct English translation:
Brother Isaac
Brother Isaac,
Brother Isaac,
Are you sleeping?
Are you sleeping?
Morning bells are ringing
Morning bells are ringing!
Ding, dang, dong
Ding, dang, dong!
Early years classes can have a wideranging
mix of representation. Whether
through emigration or asylum, the different
languages and heritages represented
in groups has made diversity an aspect
of life that is here to stay. History shows
us that maintaining boundaries and
division only increases separation and
greater feelings of “us” and “them”, but
sharing cultures and customs increases
bonds of compassion, understanding and
friendship. We know that music unites
within groups, and there is now evidence
that music with children can unite across
groups, too.
In comparison with other EU countries,
the UK has the fourth largest number
of asylum applications, which works
out to only 8% of all applicants applying
for asylum to all of the EU, EEA and
Switzerland. The UN Refugee Agency UK
(UNHCR, 2022) states that the highest
nationalities claiming asylum in the UK in
2021 were from Iran, followed by Eritrea,
Albania, Iraq and Syria. The current unrest
between Russia and Ukraine will already
be making an impact on these statistics.
A study in another city affected by
conflict was published in 2021 (Hefer
& Gluschankof, 2021). The authors
considered the experience of parental
participation in early years music classes
where participants were Palestinian and
Jewish. After running the sessions, videos
were made, diaries maintained, and
22 April 2022 | parenta.com
interviews held towards understanding
why these parents had chosen music
classes, what their experience was
during the sessions, and how the family
experienced music at home. The results
found that participants had positive
attitudes to the “other”, and that they
did not observe prejudice against their
children, indicating that music was able
to reduce stereotyping. This also suggests
that their children may not develop
negative stereotypes because they may
not be exposed to negativity, despite being
members of societies that hold systemic
ethnic biases.
Back in the UK, presenting music in
multicultural situations can become a
challenge of “them” teaching “us,” or
“us” teaching “them”. This can become
even more challenging with musical
differences within cultures, as we get used
to familiar sounds of our culture early on.
Interestingly, the song “Frère Jacques”
has been used in multiple ways and used
in multiple languages. In fact, there is a
website of the different ways that students
and teachers from other countries sing
the song: http://demonsaumonde.free.fr/
frere.jacques/index.html.
Mama Lisa (https://www.mamalisa.com/)
specialises in a number of free-to-access
songs from around the world. Often there
are links to YouTube recordings or even
audio recordings to better understand how
to pronounce the different languages.
“We have collections of a lot of songs
that are sung around the world, including
“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”. I think it’s a
great way to introduce kids (and adults) to
other languages since they already know
the tunes. I did this for my daughter’s girl
scout troop when she was younger (she’s
now 20 and in college). Kids love to try to
pronounce different languages.” Lisa, from
Mama Lisa.
To celebrate this approach to
multiculturalism, there are links below
to the Persian, Tingrinya, Albanian,
Kurdish and Arabic versions of “Frère
Jacques”, with a bonus version in Urdu
from Pakistan! (https://www.mamalisa.
com/?t=e_family&c=55 will take you to
Mama Lisa’s page of different versions of
Frère Jacques around the world.)
References:
Hefer, M., & Gluschankof, C. (2021).
Building a future through multicultural
early childhood music classes in a conflictaffected
city. International Journal of Music
in Early Childhood, 16(1), 71–87. https://doi.
org/10.1386/ijmec_00028_1
UNHCR. (2022). United Nations Refugee
Agency UK. https://www.unhcr.org/uk/
asylum-in-the-uk.html
Arbër Vlla-e
(Albanian, from Albania)
Arbër vlla-e,
Arbër vlla-e
A po flen,
A po flen?
Kumbona ka ra-e,
Kumbona ka ra-e
Ding dang dong
Ding dang dong
Brother Monk
(Kurdish, from Iraq)
Birayê keşê,
Birayê keşê
Hîn tu raketî?
Hîn tu raketî?
Dengê zingil nakê?
Dengê zingil nakê?
Ding ding ding,
Ding ding ding!
Brother John
Arabic, from Syria
؟ ميان تنأ له ؟ ميان تنأ له
ناج ايوخ ، ناج ايوخ
سرج ، نري حبصلا سرج
نري حبصلا
جنود جناد جند
جنود جناد جند
Brother John
(Urdu from Pakistan)
Pronunciation
Aap so rahe hain
Aap so rahe hain
Bhai jaan
Bhai jaan
Subah ho rahi hai
Subah ho rahi hai
Ghanti baj rahi hai
Panie Janie
Direct English translation
Brother Arber
Brother Arber
Brother Arber
Are you asleep?
Are you asleep?
Morning bells are ringing
Morning bells are ringing
Ding dang dong
Ding dang dong!
Direct English translation:
Brother Monk
Brother monk
Brother monk
Are you still sleeping?
Are you still sleeping?
Don’t you hear the bell?
Don’t you hear the bell?
Ding ding ding,
Ding ding ding!
Direct English translation
Are You Sleeping
Are you sleeping,
Are you sleeping,
Brother John?
Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing
Morning bells are ringing
Ding, dang, dong
Ding, dang, dong
Direct English translation:
Are You Sleeping
Are you sleeping?
Are you sleeping?
Brother John?
Brother John?
It’s day time
It’s day time
The bell is ringing,
The bell is ringing.
Ding, dong, bell.
Ding, dong, bell!
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
parenta.com | April 2022 23

Diversity
I don’t believe I’ve ever met anyone who
wishes to be merely tolerated. And yet,
the word tolerance is often used when we
speak about diversity.
To tolerate something involves a type of
sufferance or permission, an allowing
something else to be but only due to the
exercising of patience for this existence.
Living our lives tolerating people we
consider to be different to us is one way
to consider diversity. Understanding and
being inclusive of everyone’s uniqueness
in terms of multiple factors including those
such as race, gender, socio-economic
status, age, physical abilities, religion, or
other ideologies, is another.
But what if we were to go further and
embrace a more generous mindset when
it comes to difference, looking to celebrate
it, and to teach this art of celebration to
children?
I believe that this can be realised through
the stories we choose to tell, considering
the content and being deliberate in the
way in which it is delivered, and the
freedom that we allow children in terms
of their unique responses, and their own
narrative creations.
But is it essential to load our storytelling
with such a sense of gravitas?
An examination of some of the effects of
a lack of diversity in stories would suggest
so:
A recent report on “Early Childhood
Adversity, Toxic Stress, and the Impacts
of Racism on the Foundations of
Health” (Shonkoff, Slopen & Williams,
2021) discusses the effects that early
experiences have on children’s biological
systems and highlights constant exposure
to discrimination from an early age as
being associated with lower self-esteem
and diminished psychological well-being.
Being subjected to discrimination can
also activate the stress response systems
inside the body which can undermine early
learning, and if not mitigated, advance the
development of chronic medical conditions
and premature ageing.
A New York Times article on the books
boys tend to read, noted the lack of
emotional complexity, negotiation,
“friendship dilemmas or internal conflict”
within the texts. This limited resourcing
may be a contributing factor in the marked
difference between the relational skills of
boys and girls with boys scoring “lower
than girls of the same age on virtually
all measures of empathy and social
skills” (Whippman, 2021). It may also
contribute to mental health issues due to
the reinforcement of what are considered
to be masculine norms which results in a
lack of intimate friendships and support
structures, placing adolescent boys at a
higher risk of death by suicide than girls.
Research considering protagonists in
stories was conducted at Princeton
University in New Jersey and Emory
University in Georgia and the researchers
found that “male overrepresentation
may contribute to ‘symbolic annihilation’
whereby girls may come to regard
themselves as less relevant and
consequential in society, which may lead
to a lesser sense of belonging and selfworth.”
(Chadwick, 2021).
The author, Matt de la Peña discussing
his book titled “Love” in a January
2018 article “Why We Shouldn’t Shield
Children from Darkness”, detailed how
he was discouraged from including an
illustration of a despondent young boy
hiding beneath a piano with his dog
as his parents argue across the living
room, with publishers describing it as ”a
little too heavy for children”. De la Peña
insisted on the image being included,
stating that he felt that without it, the book
would fail to “acknowledge any notion of
adversity” and therefore fail to represent
“an uncomfortable number of children
out there right now...crouched beneath a
metaphorical piano” (De la Peña 2018).
It’s evident that the stories we tell matter
immeasurably.
In stories, children can find themselves
and celebrate this discovery. Farrah
Serouk (2017) says that to “find a fragment
of yourself in the pages of a book is
a profound and powerful experience;
it holds a mirror up to your existence
and suggests that you’re not alone. For
children in their formative years this is lifeaffirming.”
In stories, children can discover others
and celebrate them. Professor Jennifer
Steele of York University, who conducted
research with the goal of gaining a better
understanding of the automatic racial
attitudes of children explains that “in early
childhood what we know is that children
tend to be egocentric and socio centric.
They think that they’re great and that
other people who are like them are great
too. That’s why we recommend using
interventions that don’t challenge these
beliefs, but instead promote the fact that
people from different backgrounds or who
look different than them often have a lot in
common and they can be great too” (York
University 2017 in Lumgair, 2021).
A further aspect of diversity to consider
is that of difficult topics and emotions.
We need to ask ourselves whether we
are open to the exploration of heavy
subject matter and the expression of all
emotions, not only those we consider easy
to manage. Jeremy Sydik (2016), in his
paper “Hey, Where’s the Monster? How a
Storytelling Game Is Played in a Preschool
Classroom”, says that current culture
promotes the “viewpoint that children’s
stories, media, and games should avoid
dark themes entirely”, arguing that “this
approach would seem to diminish the
richness of experience that children bring
to their understandings of the world as
well as possibly deprive them of valuable
tools in working cognitively through real
concerns in their lives” (Sydik, 2016 in
Lumgair, 2021).
The author, Dan Pink, in his recent book
titled “The Power of Regret” says that we
need to equip children with the ability to
deal with negative emotions so that they
are not “captured and brought down” by
them but rather are able to use them to
“clarify and improve” their lives (Skipper,
2022).
Some final aspects of diversity to consider
are the range of responses to story
and the stories expressed by children.
Do we accept the thoughts, ideas, and
opinions children communicate rather
than pursuing what we consider to be
the ‘correct’ response? If we bear in mind
the divergent backgrounds children come
from and the resulting varying stories
that they live out daily, it would be logical
to conclude that they would not offer a
standardised response to a given situation
or story but rather respond with their own
perspectives. The same applies to the
stories they will craft and tell.
As we celebrate children in all their
uniqueness, welcoming their contributions,
they will in turn learn to celebrate
themselves.
As we celebrate other people in all their
uniqueness, children will share in this
celebration and learn to do the same.
This is how we sow curiosity, joy, and
openness in the lives of children. This is
how we cultivate justice.
References
Chadwick, J. (2021) “Children’s books are
still dominated by MALE characters and
female protagonists are underrepresented,
scientists claim after analysing 3,000
stories.” Mail Online, Associated
Newspapers Limited. Accessed on
5/3/2022 at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
sciencetech/article-10313431/Childrensbooks-dominated-male-charactersanalysis-reveals.html?ito=email_share_
article-drawer
De la Peña, M. (2018) “Why We Shouldn’t
Shield Children from Darkness.”
Sacramento: Time USA. Accessed on
6/7/2020 https://time.com/5093669/
why-we-shouldnt-shield-children-fromdarkness/
Lumgair, H. (2021) “Using Stories to Support
Learning and Development in Early
Childhood: A Practical Guide.” London:
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Serrouk, F. (2017) “Young Children Need
Stories in Which They Can Recognise Their
Own Lives.” London: Maze Media.
Accessed on 7/7/2020 at https://www.
teachwire.net/news/young-children-needstories-in-which-they-can-recognise-theirown-lives-and
Shonkoff, J.P. (2021) “How racism in early
life can affect long-term health.” Knowable
Magazine, Annual Reviews. Accessed on
4/03/2022 at https://knowablemagazine.
org/article/society/2021/how-racismearly-life-affect-long-term-health
Shonkoff, J. P., Slopen, N., & Williams,
D. R. (2021). “Early childhood adversity,
toxic stress, and the impacts of racism
on the foundations of health.” Annual
Review of Public Health, 42, 115-134.
Accessed on 2/03/2021 at https://www.
annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurevpublhealth-090419-101940
Skipper, C. (2022) ”How to Use Your
Regrets for Good” Condé Nast. Accessed
on 4/03/2022 at https://www.gq.com/
story/daniel-pink-the-power-of-regret
Whippman, R. (2021) “What We Are Not
Teaching Boys About Being Human.” The
New York Times. Accessed on 04/03/2022
at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/06/
opinion/boys-gender-books-culture.html
Helen Lumgair
Helen Lumgair is a Montessori teacher,
Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment
Mediator and Education Consultant. She
has worked with families and in settings
for over twenty years. Helen created
the framework and initial lesson plans
of the empathy-focused Think Equal
curriculum which was recognised with
a 2020 WISE award for innovation and
the addressing of global educational
challenges. She has lectured globally on
its implementation.
She authored a chapter on using
the process of narrative to develop
empathy in early childhood in the book,
“Developing Empathy in the Early Years:
A Guide for Practitioners” and then
wrote the book “Using Stories to Support
Learning and Development in Early
Childhood.” She is passionate about
developing holistic educational strategies
to meet the needs of every learner, and
about stories.
York University (2017) “Children Show
Implicit Racial Bias from a Young Age,
Research Finds:
New Research Sheds Light on How
Racial Prejudice Develops.” Rockville:
ScienceDaily.
Accessed on 7/7/2020 at
https://www.sciencedaily.com/
releases/2017/11/171127152100.htm
24 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 25

Things
we didn’t
know about
recycling
Recycling is now part of our daily life, or at
least, if we want to live a more sustainable
life, and leave the world in a better state
for our children, it should be. But apart
from the 3 Rs of reduce, reuse and recycle,
how much do we actually know about
recycling? Things have changed a lot in
the world of recycling in the last few years,
so here are eight things that most people
don’t know about recycling.
1. People recycle more
when they know what
recyclable waste
becomes
In 2014, the environmental charity, Keep
Britain Tidy, and the waste management
company, SITA UK, conducted a study
to see why Britain’s recycling rates were
declining. They ran short information
sessions to see if they affected recycling
rates. After the session, participants said
they were more committed to recycling
more and to do it appropriately.
2. Recycling saves energy
Many of us recycle so that things
are diverted from landfill sites or to
reduce plastic pollution which is now a
huge problem for our oceans, coastal
communities and wildlife. Recycling
not only reduces pollution, but saves
energy as well. This is because making
new products requires energy to extract
and process the raw materials. This can
include things like burning fossil fuels,
which releases carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. If products are made from
recycled materials, it eliminates the need
to extract them. Recycling aluminium
cans for example, takes 95% less energy
than making them from scratch, saving
approximately 40 barrels of oil per ton of
aluminium recycled..
3. Materials for recycling
should be rinsed, dried
and clean
Many recycling collections only separate
materials at the recycling facility. However,
contamination can occur if people do not
wash out their shampoo/yoghurt/food
waste discarding them. Grease and oil on
pizza boxes means that these cannot be
recycled, and a half emptied can of drink
can ruin an entire load of paper that could
otherwise have been recycled. Think about
all the other things that come in glass jars
and imagine the mess in the recycling
plant when cartons of butter, mayonnaise,
and baked beans are not cleaned out
properly. Some sticky and viscous liquids
can also shut down an entire plant if they
find their way into a recycling machine by
mistake, so always rinse and dry cans and
food containers before putting them into
the recycling.
4. Lots of ‘recycling’ still
ends up in landfill
If waste is not recycled, it ends up in
landfill. These are areas where our
rubbish literally fills the land, and often
new ‘hills’ arise out of the non-organic
and non-recyclable areas, but they won’t
be the ones you want to take the dog out
for a stroll on! Landfill waste can cause
environmental hazards as they can contain
things like chemicals from car batteries or
other dangerous liquids, weedkillers and
other toxic substances. These can ‘leak’
from the site and eventually find their way
into the water system or contaminate
nearby land making it unsuitable for
farming or other uses. Ensuring rubbish
is properly recycled can help divert it from
landfill.
5. Glass is recyclable but
50% still ends up in
landfill
Glass is one of the things that we have
been recycling for the longest time. In fact,
it’s practice dates back to the Romans
who realised that it was cheaper and
easier to recycle glass than to recreate
it from scratch. They also realised that it
would recycle forever. Nowadays, for every
tonne of old glass used, 135 litres of fuel
are saved as well as 12 tonnes of raw
materials. Despite this, in the UK we only
recycle about 50% of the glass we use,
with the rest ending up in landfill. Sweden
and Finland recycle up to 90%.
6. Oil is recyclable
Many people believe oil to be a nonrecyclable
material when in fact, it can be
recycled. Some people illegally pour oil
down drains causing serious problems of
pollution. Instead, oil should be taken to
a council recycling centre where it can be
processed and sent to a refining company.
A batch of 5,000 litres of processed waste
oil can return up to 3,500 litres of usable
oil.
7. Less than 25% of the
paper we use gets
recycled
Considering we are supposed to be an
almost ‘paperless’ society nowadays,
we are still using an awful lot of paper!
That wouldn’t be so bad if we recycled
the paper we did use, but at present,
we are recycling less than 25% of it.
Recycling paper involves de-inking the
paper and then it is chemically treated
to separate and break down the fibres.
Paper form offices usually carries a lot
less ink than other things like newspapers
and magazines for example, so make
it particularly valuable, but we need to
recycle more. Recycling more paper would
put less pressure on timber and leave
more trees standing!
8. Plastic bags are
recyclable but not via
the recycling bin
We have cut down on our use of plastic
bags drastically since the government
introduced legislation which meant
consumers had to pay for them at the
checkouts. However, whilst we are buying
fewer plastic bags, we are not so good
a recycling them. Most plastic bags
can be recycled again however as long
as they are not put in with the normal
rubbish as they can cause the machines
to shut down. Plastic carrier bags should
be taken back to collection points which
are available in many supermarkets, or
better still, use material bags instead and
eliminate the plastic ones completely.
And eight quick facts you
didn’t know either...
1. It only takes five 2-litre recycled bottles
to produce enough fiberfill to make a
ski jacket
2. Plastic knives, forks and spoons are
not recyclable
3. If everyone in the UK recycled just
one more drink can, we would save
enough energy to power an electric
train from Leeds to Brighton, 6,000
times
4. Plastic bottles take 500 years to
decompose
5. It takes less than a week from
throwing an old newspaper in the bin
for it to reappear as a newspaper
6. Glass bottles take approximately 1
million years to fully decompose
7. You can recycle your old toilet, along
with other porcelain products such as
sinks, baths and tiles
8. A glass milk bottle can be reused
about 20 times
26 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 27

Stress Awareness Month
different situations, fill up the bucket. Other
things we do such as leisure activities,
hobbies and meditation can empty it and
the trick to staying healthy is to keep the
bucket in balance.
Area of life
Sign/symptoms of stress
Memory problems
Poor judgement or decision making
There is no doubt that in recent years, we
have all been under a lot more stress than
usual. The pandemic, lockdowns, school
and setting closures and not seeing friends
and family have caused many of us to
re-evaluate our lives. We are questioning
where we live and how we work, and in
the last month, the escalating conflict in
Ukraine has caused further uncertainty
and upset for many. A lot of us are feeling
the stress and the strain as energy prices
rise, the cost of living and inflation. So it
is more important than ever that we are
aware of these concerns in ourselves, our
staff and the children we look after.
The 1st of April marks the start of Stress
Awareness Month, which has been held
every year since 1992. It is organised and
promoted by The Stress Management
Society (SMS), whose tagline is “from
distress to de-stress” and whose aim is to
raise awareness of the causes and cures
of the modern stress epidemic. According
to their website the last two years have
been the most challenging they have
faced and they report than in 2020, their
services were “overwhelmed by people
that were struggling and seeking support”.
The theme for this year is “Community”
and the Stress Management Society say it
has been chosen because “lack of support
can cause loneliness and isolation, which
in turn lowers people’s well-being, impacts
mental health and can lead to mental
illness. Social isolation is an important risk
factor for both deteriorating mental health
and suicide.”
What is the impact of
stress?
Although data about work lost in the last 2
years is not available, in the year 2019/20,
stress, depression or anxiety accounted for
17.9 million days lost due to work-related ill
health. On average, each person suffering
took 21.6 days off work. A recent survey of
2,000 British adults by OnePoll in January
2021 showed that compared to usual:
• 43% felt more depressed
And the causes were cited as:
• missed family and friends
• concern about when things would get
back to normal
• anxiety about the changing rules
surrounding lockdown
• fear of the future post COVID
• money worries
What is stress?
Stress is a condition or feeling experienced
when a person perceives that the
demands on them exceed the personal
and social resources they have at that
moment. Stress is normal in everyday
life and a little bit of stress can be good
for us. It is primarily a physical response
to a potential danger, where our body
releases hormones such as cortisol and
adrenaline to set us up for what we know
as the ‘fight, flight or freeze’ response. The
result of this is that the body reassigns
certain functions, diverting the blood to the
muscles in case we need to fight or run,
and shutting or limiting other functions
such as communications and digestion. If
the danger passes, then the body reverts
to its previous state and we continue as
normal.
The problem is that if we are continually
stressed, then the cortisol levels in our
body stay raised and we find ourselves in
a constant state of ‘alertness’ in everyday
situations. Our brain receives less blood
flow because the blood is diverted to
the muscles more often and our brain
function is minimised, especially our
higher-thinking capabilities. The constant
state of ‘alertness’ in our bodies is also
detrimental to our health, leading to
increases in blood pressure, which is a
risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. It
can also lead to insomnia, digestive issues
and problems with the immune system
among others. Where stress turns into
anxiety and/or depression, and mental
health issues ensue, there can be more
severe consequences and at worst, a risk
of suicide as well.
What can we do about it?
As nursery managers, we need to be
aware of stress levels in ourselves, our
colleagues and staff and the children and
families we serve. Being on the look out
for signs of stress can help us become
more aware of the problem and seek help,
or assist others to seek help earlier. You
may be familiar with the concept of the
‘stress bucket’, in which you imagine your
stress as being kept in a bucket. Various
demands from people and expectations in
So how can we tell if our
‘buckets’ are too full?
According to the Stress Management
Society website, there are 4 main areas
where we feel stress and there are signs
and symptoms to look out for in each.
These are shown in the table below.
Ways to de-stress
yourself
We all have different ways in which we
de-stress. For some, it can be walking in
nature or listening to music, for others, it is
playing sport or enjoying time with friends.
Other ways include adopting a positive
mindset, deep breathing, meditation or
yoga, turning off technology for a time,
going to bed early, improving timemanagement
skills or learning to say ‘no’.
How to help your staff
As an institution or employer, there are
also things that you can do to help your
employees manage stress better. You can
take a ‘corporate stress test’ on the SMS
website to get a snapshot of your business
and how it is coping with stress. There are
also lots of other resources such as HSE/
legal guidelines, stress audit templates,
workshop and training sessions, ideas
on staff well-being initiatives such as
free yoga sessions and personal wellbeing
ideas as well as many other free
resources to help people manage stress
better. They also have a 30-day challenge
with a daily de-stressing planner, stress
guide, achievement plan and many other
ideas to help aimed at making April 2022
the month to start managing your stress
better. Other organisations such as Mates
in Mind, have a free “Managing and
Reducing Workplace Stress Handbook”,
which is available to download for free via
their website: Managing and Reducing
Workplace Stress Handbook.
Cognitive
Emotional
Physical
Behavioural
Lack of concentration
Inability to think straight or ‘brain fog’
Self-doubt and low self-esteem
Mood swings
Depression
Irritability
Panic attacks
Anxiety
Feeling overwhelmed
Cynicism and frustration
Rapid heartbeat
Aches and pains
Frequent colds
Skin complaints
Chest pain
Isolating from others
Increase in reliance on addictive substances such as
alcohol, smoking or drugs
Too much or not enough sleep
Demotivation
Loss of sense of humour
References and useful
resources
https://www.stress.org.uk/
https://www.britsafe.org/campaignspolicy/stress-awareness-month/
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/
feelings-symptoms-behaviours/feelingsand-symptoms/stress/
https://academic.oup.com/policing/
article-abstract/15/2/1326/5864637?logi
n=false
• 65% felt more stressed
• 53% felt more anxious
28 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 29

What does leadership look like
when … professional development
budgets are limited?
Research shows that high quality
professional development experiences
are essential for improving practice in the
early years. Professional development
matters because it impacts positively on
staff motivation and retention, and when
it is well thought out and delivered, it can
directly improve the outcomes of children
(Rogers et al., 2017).
But while we know that professional
development is important, early years
settings often lack the budget they would
like when it comes to developing staff.
Data from surveys in the UK for example
repeatedly show that professional
development budgets are small and often
used purely for fulfilling non-negotiable
training requirements, such as first aid or
safeguarding training (e.g. Ceeda, 2019).
So what can leaders do to demonstrate
their commitment to quality professional
development opportunities for their staff
when budgets are severely limited? This
article presents four steps that innovative
leaders take to support professional
development when money is tight.
Invest in job-embedded
professional development
Grow a coaching culture
Invite others to take a lead
Use the label ‘professional
development’
Investing in jobembedded
professional
development
First, we need to flip the way that we
think about professional development
so that it is more associated with what
happens in the everyday environment of
the setting, and less about ‘special days
out’. This is because effective professional
development depends on day-to-day
practice and coaching (Rogers et al.,
2017). Even if a staff member goes to
a professional development workshop
hosted outside of their day-to-day work,
it is fundamental that they are coached to
bring their learning back into the setting.
This is called ‘job-embedded professional
development’ (JEPD).
The research on JEPD shows that it has
a huge potential to make a difference
to practice. A powerful pedagogical
conversation that a staff member has
while they are ‘on the floor’ with children
can change the way that they approach
what they do. For example, in the London
Early Years Foundation (LEYF), managers
and room leaders will ask teachers
and teaching assistants to explain how
an area of practice that they have set
up in the room (e.g. a writing table)
demonstrates the LEYF pedagogy in action.
These conversations are professional
development. They are effective because
they not only challenge the individual
staff member to think about what they
are doing more consciously, but they also
further the strategic aims of the whole
setting. In this case, they promote and
embed the LEYF pedagogy in a way that
external or one-off training never could
achieve.
While research on JEPD suggests that it
has huge potential, the same research
also shows us that investing time in
establishing systems of JEPD is vital. JEPD
doesn’t work unless there are a) people
who are ready, willing and able to have
these kinds of conversations and b) time
for the conversations to emerge and
develop. Leaders at all levels therefore play
a fundamental role in making JEPD work,
through developing their own practice
so that they can make the conversations
happen and are able to prioritise them in
the context of the everyday environment.
Creating a coaching
culture
Innovative and agile leaders seek to
embed a coaching culture within the
organisation. A coaching culture is one in
which everyone expects to make progress
personally and professionally through
the support of others. You might have
heard the business saying ‘If you’re not
growing, you’re dying’ and we can apply
it here to professional development. If
staff feel that they are not supported to
get better at their work and follow their
interests, they are unlikely to want to stay
in that organisation. If we accept this, then
coaching becomes essential.
Principles of coaching can be embedded
in small and big interactions. Take for
example leadership of a team meeting.
This is the kind of experience that we can
approach differently if we look at it through
a coaching lens.
Nadine, a Baby Room Leader in
Scallywags Nursery in Scotland, explained
that when she wanted to see more time
spent by the 0-2-year-olds in the outdoor
space, she approached this through open
questions in the team meeting. “What
do we think about how we’re using the
outdoors at the moment?” Asking this
question raised a range of issues and
potential barriers to using the outdoor
space, as well as ideas about how this
could be overcome and what solutions
the team wanted to try. This is a coaching
approach because everyone has the
opportunity to identify and solve problems.
Asking others to lead
Let us stay with the discussion about the
outdoor space in the team meeting. In
the context of the dialogue and the ideas
that emerged from it, Nadine wondered
whether there was an opportunity for
others in the group to take the lead in
designing, implementing and assessing
change.
Asking others to lead a change process,
small or big, is an excellent form of
professional development. In LEYF, they
call this ‘action research’ while at Indigo
Childcare in Glasgow, they talk about it
as ‘the ideas process’. It doesn’t really
matter what you call it – the point is
finding opportunities for staff at all levels
in the organisation to step up and make
meaningful change.
Use the label
‘professional development’
In order for professional development
to impact positively on staff motivation
and retention, everyone needs to know
that they are experiencing professional
development. It is important to label
‘professional development’, particularly
when it might appear different to what
staff were expecting.
If a staff member decides to take on a
particular pedagogical responsibility, flag
that this is professional development. If
they receive coaching and support to make
this responsibility work, explain that this
is part of the professional development
package. Leaders might say something
like “I would love you to take responsibility
for that – it would be fantastic for your
professional development” or “I think this
conversation has been really important for
your professional development. Do you
feel the same?”.
References
Rogers, S., Brown, C. & Poblete, X. (2018)
A systematic review of the evidence
base for professional learning in early
years education (the PLEYE review).
London: Nuffield Foundation. Accessed
07.03.2022: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/
eprint/10053553/1/Rogers_PLEYE_A%20
SYSTEMATIC%20REVIEW%20OF%20THE%20
EVIDENCE_Nuffield.pdf
Ceeda (2019) About Early Years Workforce
Report, 2019. Accessed 07.03.2022:
https://www.eymatters.co.uk/ceedaabout-early-years-workforce-report-2019/
Mona Sakr
Dr Mona Sakr is a Senior Lecturer in
Education and Early Childhood. As a
researcher in Early Years (EY) provision,
she has published extensively on
creative, digital and playful pedagogies
including the books “Digital Play in
Early Childhood: What’s the Problem?”
(Sage) and “Creativity and Making in
Early Childhood: Challenging Practitioner
Perspectives” (Bloomsbury).
Mona’s current research is an
exploration of pedagogical,
organisational and community
leadership in EY and how leadership can
be more effectively developed across
EY. Current funded research includes a
Nuffield Foundation project looking at
online leadership development across
the EY sector, a BELMAS project looking
at leadership in the baby room of
nurseries and a BERA project examining
ethnicity in the early years workforce.
Forthcoming books (include an
introduction to social leadership in early
childhood education and care (written
with June O’Sullivan, CEO of London Early
Years Foundation), and an edited volume
on EY pedagogical leadership around
the globe.
Email: m.sakr@mdx.ac.uk
Twitter: @DrMonaSakr
30 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 31

Improving parent communication
Do you remember when communications
were limited to the post and wired
telephones? Thankfully, those days are
long gone, and settings now have many
ways to communicate with parents. But
are you making the most of these, or are
you still relying on ‘snailmail’ and the odd
phone call to get your messages across?
We have some advice to improve your
communication with your parents, to the
benefit of all.
Why improve your parent
communication?
Businesses need to be profitable and
nurseries would not survive long if their
expenditure persistently exceeded their
income. Therefore, reaching out to parents
of young children in your area is vital to
get feet through the doors and income
coming in. Parents are clients – they have
the choice to go elsewhere if they are not
satisfied with the service they receive. If
they do that, making ends meet can be
a precarious business, threatening the
security of other children’s places, the jobs
of the staff, and the ultimately, the ability of
the setting to remain open.
But there are other reasons too. Settings
have a statutory duty to safeguard the
children in their care, which means
understanding the issues that children face
at home, and any barriers to learning they
may have. Understanding the child within
their cultural and community context can
help address behavioural concerns too.
Improving communications between the
setting and parents can also improve
progress. Parents know their children
best, so if parents are on board with an
educational activity, and use it or practice
it at home, the children will likely make
more progress than if they did not. Good
communication with parents can also help
with transitions such as room changes or
transition to primary school.
When parents feel that they are listened
in early years settings
to and that settings understand them
and their children, they are more likely to
recommend that setting. If parents feel
like they never know what is going on, or
they receive information in a slapdash or
unprofessional way, they will remember
this too! And you can be sure that these
are exactly the parents who are really
good at communicating your shortcomings
to the entire world!
The problems with
communication today
Today’s communication methods are not
without their issues, so think about:
Synchronous communication
Both parties schedule or respond in real
time e.g. a phone call
- Face-to-face meetings
- Phone calls with people in real time
- Real-time radio/TV broadcasts (although
some can now be recorded to watch later)
- Video conferencing (e.g. Zoom, Skype,
Teams)
- Real-time webinars
- TV and radio adverts
• Your staff’s level of communication
skills
• Any difficulties in getting to face-toface
meetings, especially for busy,
working parents
• Language barriers
• Cultural barriers
• Literacy issues
• Reducing confusion caused by
messages being passed on by others
– the ‘Chinese whispers’ effect
• Ways to reduce the lack of inference
clues such as body language or tone
of voice, especially in social media
and text messages
• Incorrect assumptions about who is
the main contact
Ways to communicate
The table below lists a few communication
methods that you could use in your setting.
There is no rule to say settings should use
them all, but the more channels you are
Asynchronous communication
When people choose to interact with the
message e.g. an email is sent by one
person but read by the recipient another
time
- Phone messages left on answerphones
- Emails
- Traditional post
- Printed mailshots and newsletters
- Posters and adverts
- Websites and articles
- Social and business media (e.g. Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn)
- Blogs/vlogs (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo)
- Podcasts
- Messaging apps and texts (e.g.
WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, WeChat)
- Messages in team or group apps (E.g.
Teams/Skype)
using, the more likely it is that you will get
your message across in an effective way.
Audits and goals
If you want to improve your communication
strategy, start by auditing what you do and
don’t do and then set yourself some goals.
You should be specific and use SMART
goals too. For example, you might want to
ensure that all emails are answered within
a set time period (e.g. 24 or 48 hours).
Or you could decide to issue a monthly/
weekly/bi-weekly newsletter. Or perhaps
use a bespoke tool such as Parenta’s
Footsteps 2 software to inform parents of
their child’s progress. Other goals could be
to set up a podcast or monthly webinar,
or perhaps just to translate your existing
materials for a family whose first language
is not English.
What to share
If you are trying to improve your
communications, then think also about
what you want to communicate and why.
Can you legally share it or not? There are
rules and laws about people’s privacy and
you should have written privacy, data and
GDPR policies to help you.
Some things you might want to
communicate include:
• Information articles and podcasts
• Good news and events
• Questionnaires asking for ideas or
feedback
• Policy changes
• New staff appointments
Do your staff need training?
Communicating is something we all do,
but not everyone is good at it. Some adults
struggle occasionally with emotional
intelligence issues and may say and
behave in ways that are less than effective.
Therefore, think about whether your
staff would benefit from training. You
might need to help them have difficult
conversations with parents about children,
for example. Other things that people may
need training on include:
• Interpersonal skills
• Confidence in speaking publicly or
face-to-face
• Writing support or spelling – dyslexia
etc.
• What to say and how to say it
Below are some more ideas to help with
your parental communications.
Before children start
• Ask parents what/who their preferred
method of communication/person is
• Sort out language/accessibility/
translation issues
• Do you need braille, large text or
audio programmes?
• Have a marketing/information
brochure available in print/electronic
format
• Have FAQs on your website
• Publish a “What to expect on your first
day” article or make a vlog
• Offer feedback after a trial/first day
Face-to-face communications
• Smile and be proactive, saying
hello and greeting parents in the
playground/at the gates
• Be aware of your mood and stay
professional at all times
• Listen first, then speak
• Think “win-win” and offer solutions
rather than just problems
Electronic and other forms of
communication
• Set up an outside and inside bulletin
board – weatherproof messages and
information that are easy to read/see
• Set up a parental forum for
discussions
• Invite parents in for informal days and
social events
• Post regularly on social media/
messaging apps to keep in touch with
your families
• Send work or ideas home about what
you’ve been doing to keep parents
involved
32 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 33

Celebrate Easter
Chocolate orange biscuits
with this fantastic Easter egg collage!
What do you need?
• Tissue paper
• Cardboard/
Card
• Glue
• Scissors
• Paint brush
These craft
instructions
are available
to view on ‘The
‘Suburban Mom’
website here.
Instructions
1. First, cut tissue
paper into small
squares.
2. Scrunch up the
squares of tissue
paper.
3. Cut out an egg
shape in the card
or cardboard.
4. Paint the glue
onto the egg and
then place the
pieces of tissue
paper on top and
then let it dry.
5. Now you have a
fabulous Easter
egg collage!
You will need
• 100g unsalted butter
• 100g golden caster
sugar
• 1 free-range egg, lightly
beaten
• 1 orange (zest only)
• 50g milk chocolate, cut
into small pieces
• 275g plain flour
This recipe can be found on
the ‘BBC Food’ website here
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to
180°C/160°C Fan/Gas mark
4.
2. Grease two baking trays
with a little butter.
3. Put the butter in a bowl and
beat with a wooden spoon
or electric hand whisk until
soft.
4. Add the sugar and beat
again until very creamy.
Beat in the egg until
combined.
5. Stir in the orange zest,
chocolate and flour. Use
your hands to make the
dough into a ball.
6. Divide the dough into
quarters and roll each
quarter into a sausage
shape, about 10cm/4 inches
long and 4cm/1½ inches
wide.
7. Slice each log into 6 equal
pieces; you will have a
total of 24 biscuits. Make
sure each biscuit is a circle
shape, then press it down
slightly with your hands and
place it on the prepared
baking trays.
8. Bake for 10–12 minutes, or
until golden-brown around
the edges.
9. Lift the biscuits onto a
cooling rack and leave to
cool.
34 April 2022 | parenta.com parenta.com | April 2022 35

Movement and music can
Animals at risk
in the Amazon
be a gateway to the world!
• The jaguar
• Giant otter
• Golden poison frog
• Blue-throated macaw
• Amazon river dolphin
Movement and music bring us joy, but did you know if you add some extra ingredients, and a little bit of
magic, it becomes a gateway to the world?!
Here at Littlemagictrain, we are passionate
about the use of movement and music to
create a fun multi-sensory experience that
extends the learning process using play.
For example, on our “Amazon Adventure”,
we get out our binoculars to see what we
can find as we push our way through the
Amazon. You and the children become
monkeys, snakes, jaguars, and parrots
and then make your way safely back
home. From such a simple concept there
are so many ways to extend the children’s
knowledge and understanding of the
world around them.
Building the excitement:
the preparation for your
adventure
Where is the Amazon?
Create a map with the journey from
your setting to the Amazon rainforest
in South America. Discuss the different
countries that the Amazon spans across:
Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia,
Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French
Guiana. The older children can find these
countries on a globe or search for the
countries in an atlas.
Put the landmarks around the room so the
children feel the excitement of travelling so
far away from home.
What will we pack?
Talking about clothes enables you to
discuss the environment and weather. But
most importantly, for me, you need clothes
that spiders and snakes can’t crawl up or
in!
Don’t forget your binoculars so you can
avoid the creepy crawlies and any scary
animals in the Amazon!
How will we get there?
Of course, I use my Littlemagictrain, as
he is my magical bridge between the
real and imaginary world. This is a great
opportunity to discuss different types of
transport you can use, and which would
be the fastest.
Emotions
How will they feel being so far away
from home? Are they excited or a little bit
scared?
*You can see that there are so many
learning opportunities before you even
start your adventure. Imagine how much
they will learn once the fun begins.
Setting the scene: enter
the Amazon
When the children arrive on the edge of
the Amazon Rainforest, they need to find
their binoculars (imaginary or made from
loo rolls) to look for lots of different creepy
crawlies and beasties to keep safe!
Movement and Music
Put on the music and “look out!” as you
step over, under and around the trees,
branches and rocks in the rainforest.
A little bit extra
1. Create an obstacle course. Rescue
some old tights, stuff them, and hang
them from the ceiling so the children
physically push their way inside
the Amazon as they travel over the
obstacle course. Don’t forget to keep
searching for animals and creepy
crawlies as you move further and
further into the Amazon.
2. Create a “Scavenger Hunt” sheet to
tick the animals they see as they enter
the Amazon.
*This is the perfect opportunity to talk
about the different animals that live and
can only survive in the Rainforest.
Did you know?
• The Amazon covers 1.4 billion acres
across 9 countries
• 1 acre of rainforest is lost every
second. (1/2 a football pitch)
• 50% of the world’s biodiversity is
found in the rainforests
• 10% of all known species live in the
Amazon
• 350 indigenous and ethnic groups call
the Amazon home
• 200 gigatons of carbon equivalents
are stored in the Amazon
Rainforest trust https://www.
rainforesttrust.org/fighting-climatechange/
When you go further into the adventure,
and become the monkey, moving to the
music jumping from tree to tree or playing
a game of hide and seek you can see this
is an ideal springboard to learn about the
different monkeys you find in the Amazon -
what they look like, where they live (which
countries of the Amazon) and what they
eat.
Compare the food we eat to the monkey’s
diet. Some monkeys are vegetarian, and
some are carnivorous just like us. You can
feed in new words such as “carnivorous”,
“vegetarian”, “vegan” and “folivorous”.
Folivorous is a diet that mainly comprises
leaves, soft fruits, flowers, and buds and is
the diet of the Howler monkey.
This is a much more pleasant diet
compared to that of the Tufted Capuchin
monkey who eats eggs, insects, small
mammals, birds, squirrels, small reptiles,
nuts, nectar and they are a confirmed
predator of the Titi monkey. Not very nice!
There is so much to discover with a little bit
of imagination combined with movement
and music. The world opens for the
children.
Here are just a few of the ideas, focusing
on knowledge and understanding of
the world, shared with me at a training
session linked to our “Amazon adventure”.
This will give you an idea of how much
children can discover when they are taken
on a multi-sensory adventure with a little
bit of magic.
Knowledge and
understanding of the world
• Talk about hibernation
• The environment in the Amazon
• Issues of extinction and rainforest
• Life cycles (butterfly kit)
• Weather in the Amazon vs home
• Trees in the Amazon and the levels of
the canopy
• Species of trees here and in the
Amazon
• Grow plants/veg with the children and
compare them to the plants/food in
the Amazon
• What do animals make to live in -
webs/nests/burrows etc.?
• What do the animals eat?
• What sounds do the animals make?
• Where do the animals live?
• Introduce them to the Harpy Eagle
• Recognising different animals and
speeds
• Walking through the jungle – DANGER
• Hot/cold air – our environment
compared to Amazon
• Compare the rainforest to our
woodlands
• Importance of the Rain Forest and why
we need to protect it.
• Recycling – why do we do it?
• Look at our own pets: guinea pigs and
their relatives, the capybara
Go to littlemagictrain today and download
our FREE “Visit to the Zoo” today and see
how you can use movement and music,
with a little bit of magic, to help them
discover the world around them. What are
you waiting for?
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’.
36 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 37

Testimonials
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resolve our issue.
Fantastic response to my emails and expert knowledge.”
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Clever Clogs
“Easy to follow advice, thank you very much.”
Brishing Barn
Congratulations
to all our Parenta learners!
Congratulations to all our Parenta learners who completed their apprenticeship
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!
“Very quick to respond and helpful.”
Muhammed Khan
“Thanks Amie for a quick response to my query, which made perfect sense!”
Sarah Sexon
“Actioned very quickly, excellent!
Rosie, as always, was very knowledgeable and helpful and was able to deal with my
query swiftly. Thank you.”
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.
Claire Braidwood
38 April 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | April 2022 39

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