August 2023 Parenta magazine

Issue 105 

AUGUST 2023 

FREE 

Industry 

Experts 

Why engage your 

senses for mental health? 

Practitioner well-being 

Guided role-play and 

vocabulary development 

in the early years 

+ lots more 

EYFS activities 

inside! 

This month… 

Understanding 

the World 

Shaping food relationships 

As adults, our relationship with food is a strong one. 

Explore with us how our habits and attachments around food stem back to the early years. 

TIME MANAGEMENT • HELLOS & GOODBYES • HOME EDUCATION

30 

10 

20 

18 

Hello 

Welcome to our family 

Welcome to the August issue of Parenta magazine! 

It’s that time of year when children of all ages are faced with leaving friends behind (some of whom they may have known 

the majority of their lives so far) and at the same time, welcoming new ones. This can be a tricky time for some. How do we 

best teach the children in our care that sometimes we need to be ready to say “hello”, and other times, we need to find a 

way to say “goodbye”? On page 26, we explore this and give our top tips for easing children into ‘hellos’ and ‘goodbyes’. 

We thought it fitting to focus on ‘time management’ in August. Although many settings will be taking a well-earned summer 

break, we work in an industry which is infamous for its time constraints, so it’s no surprise that thoughts of finding the time 

to prepare for the new academic year are at the forefront of many people’s minds. Time management is such a vital skill for 

early years practitioners and educators, who wish to spend more of their working day being hands-on with the children. Turn 

to page 18 to find ways of being more time efficient and getting the most out of your day. 

This August issue is, as usual, packed with so many interesting and informative articles from our wonderful industry experts 

including Louise Mercieca, Jo Grace, Kathryn Peckham, Gina Bale, Stacey Kelly, Frances Turnbull and Chloe Webster. 

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

www.parenta.com/magazine. 

Allan 

Regulars 

8 Write for us 

34 EYFS Activities: Understanding the World 

News 

4 Childcare News 

6 Small Stories 

39 Congratulations to our Parenta Learners 

Advice 

26 

14 Building assertiveness and confidence through play 

18 Get more from your day: the essential guide to time 

management 

22 Community management – how to embed your 

setting within your local community 

26 Hellos and goodbyes 

30 Home education – what’s it all about? 

Industry Experts 

36 

10 Why engage your senses for mental health? 

12 Shaping food relationships 

20 Practitioner well-being 

24 “Dough a deer”: using magic dough creatively 

28 Giving children learning superpowers 

32 Five tips for setting expectations with children 

36 Guided role-play and vocabulary development in the 

early years 

2 August 2023 | parenta.com 

parenta.com | August 2023 3

Childcare news 

£204 million cash boost given to 

nurseries to support the expansion 

of childcare places 

The Department for Education has 

announced that early years nurseries 

are set to receive a £204 million cash 

boost as part of the Government’s 

promise to deliver the largest-ever 

investment in childcare. The plans, 

which were announced in the Spring 

Budget, are designed to remove 

significant barriers to support parents 

to return to work and help to grow the 

economy by making childcare more 

accessible. 

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy 

Hunt said: “I know the cost of childcare 

can be a real struggle for parents and 

can become a barrier to work. That’s 

why we announced the largest-ever 

expansion of free childcare at Spring 

Budget, and today we’re increasing 

hourly funding rates to make sure the 

system is ready to deliver, including 

uplifting rates for a two-year-old 

by a third. These reforms will be 

transformative and ensure that we 

build a childcare system comparable to 

the best.” 

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan 

said: “Today is a great step forward 

as we deliver on the largest ever 

expansion of childcare which will be 

transformational for working families 

and will help grow our economy. I 

want childcare to be truly affordable 

and available when and where 

parents need it. This initial investment 

of over £200 million will go a long way 

in supporting the fantastic early years 

and views 

sector to prepare for the expansion 

of free childcare hours available to 

parents next year. The Department will 

shortly launch a consultation on how 

the funding for the new entitlements 

in 2024-25 will be distributed, to 

make sure it remains fair in light of 

the radically expanded free childcare 

offers. A further £12 million is also 

being given to local authorities this 

financial year to support them to 

effectively roll out the new offer.” 

Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive 

of National Day Nurseries Association 

(NDNA), said: “Any increase in 

funding must cover the spiralling 

costs that early years settings have 

been facing, especially inflation and 

staffing costs. With councils joining 

providers in highlighting the closures 

of nurseries due to cost pressures it is 

vital the Government ensures that the 

investment makes it to the front line. 

Our data shows a 50% increase in 

the rate of nursery closures and this 

is backed up by Ofsted’s statistics. 

Many childcare providers will receive 

nowhere near the average rates that 

have been published once regional 

differences and budget top-slicing 

have been taken into account. And for 

many more it will be too little, too late, 

especially in relation to three and fouryear 

old rates. 

The first five years of a child’s life 

really counts. Underinvestment in 

our children now will have a serious 

impact on their educational journey 

and life chances in the future. If the 

Government is serious about investing 

in early years childcare it needs to 

provide adequate funding to support 

the existing childcare infrastructure 

and allow providers to support their 

children and working families.” 

The full press release on the official 

government website can be found 

here. 

DfE reports latest figures for Early 

Years Education Provision 

In 2023, the number of children 

registered for the 15-hour entitlements 

was at the lowest point in each 

series, whilst conversely, the number 

registered for the 30-hour entitlement 

was at the highest point in the series. 

h 

h 

h 

The take-up rate of 3 and 

4-year-olds registered for the 

15-hour entitlement needs to be 

treated with caution and likely 

underestimates the true rate by up 

to 5 percentage points (see section 

‘About these statistics’) 

Taking this into account, despite 

the falls in children registered 

for the 15-hour entitlements, 

the associated take-up rates in 

2023 have increased because of 

larger decreases in the relevant 

populations (particularly for 

eligible 2-year-olds) 

The fall in the number of private, 

voluntary and independent (PVI) 

providers delivering the 15-hour 

entitlements was driven by a fall in 

the number of private or voluntary 

providers and childminders. 

Jonathan Broadbery, Director of Policy 

of National Day Nurseries Association 

(NDNA), said: “It’s heartening to see 

that take-up of funded places is up 

again after the pandemic because we 

know that access to early education 

and care can make a real difference 

to children’s outcomes all through 

their education. However, the take-up 

among children from disadvantaged 

backgrounds for two-year-old places is 

still lower than other groups. This is a 

concern because these are the children 

who have the most to gain from early 

education. 

“Despite the challenges of rising 

costs, chronic underfunding and a 

workforce crisis, private, voluntary and 

independent nurseries are the most 

significant group of providers for the 

government-funded places. These 

deliver 80% of eligible two-year-old 

places and 70% of the 30-hour places 

and without their input, this policy 

would fail. The Government must 

support them to be sustainable and 

be able to deliver additional places 

from April 2024 once all two-year-olds 

of working parents can apply for a 15- 

hour place.” 

The latest statistics in full can be found 

on the government website here. 

Warning of setting capacity ahead 

of free hours expansion 

Almost all councils are warning that an 

escalation of nursery closures linked to 

the cost-of-living crisis “will undermine 

capacity” when the government 

extends free childcare. Nine out of 10 

council representatives surveyed have 

said they fear closures will put the 

plans, which include offering working 

parents of two-year-olds 15 hours of 

funded childcare a week from April next 

year, at risk. 

The Local Government Association (LGA) 

published survey found that two in five 

councils saw an increase in nursery 

closures during 2022 compared with 

the previous year. Four in five councils 

believe nursery closures in 2023 “will 

be significant”. 

LGA Children and Young People 

Board chair Louise Gittins said; We 

have serious concerns about the 

ability of local areas to secure nursery 

places, with capacity issues providing 

challenges to the universal roll-out of 

the extended offer. 

“Nurseries and childcare providers 

are already under massive pressure, 

grappling with severe financial and 

workforce challenges, which has 

seen staff numbers depleted and an 

acceleration in places closing.” 

According to the National Day 

Nurseries Association (NDNA) there 

has been a 50% increase in nursery 

closures over the last year, with areas 

of deprivation being hardest hit. 

NDNA chief executive Purnima Tanuku 

says the LGA’s findings are a “clear 

warning” to ministers that expansion 

of funded hours “risks failure without 

interventions to support the sector”. 

“For years we have been showing 

how nurseries are facing increasing 

pressures due to spiralling costs and 

chronic underfunding,” she said. 

“Now councils are joining providers and 

parents in showing real concern for the 

viability of future expansion if we don’t 

fix the current system.” 

Between August 2021 and August 

2022, 302 nurseries and preschools 

closed and the number of childcare 

providers including childminders fell by 

5,400, according to figures released by 

Ofsted. 

“It is frankly unbelievable that the 

government wants to expand the 

30-hour offer at a time that the sector 

is facing its most challenging time in 

decades,” said Early Years Alliance chief 

executive Neil Leitch. 

“Our own research finds that childcare 

shortages are increasing - just half of 

local areas have enough childcare for 

working parents, and only 18% have 

enough childcare for disabled children,” 

said its head Megan Jarvie. 

“The extension of free childcare has 

the potential to be a game-changer for 

families struggling with childcare costs, 

but action is needed to make sure that 

there will be enough places for every 

family that needs it.” 

The full story, as reported by Children & 

Young People Now can be found here. 



A round-up of some news stories that 

have caught our eye over the month 

Source and image credits to: 

Nursery World, Early Years Alliance, 

BBC News 

‘Considerable work’ needed to 

improve the effectiveness of 

T-Levels, says Ofsted 

There remains considerable work to do to 

improve the quality and effectiveness of 

T-level courses and the TLTP. 

More disadvantaged children to 

receive free nursery hours thanks 

to LEYF & food charity partnership 

A partnership between LEYF & City 

Harvest (which provides surplus food to 

the social enterprises’ settings) is being 

expanded. 

DfE launches consultation on 

proposed funding formula for 30 

hours expansion 

The DfE launched its consultation on its 

new proposed ‘fair funding formula’ for 

delivery of the extension of the funded 

hours for children from 9 months old. 

Political parties told to simplify 

early years funding system 

The Education Policy Institute is calling 

on the political parties to simplify the 

early years funding system & weight 

it ‘more heavily’ towards children with 

SEND & from low-income families. 

Families face fewer holiday 

childcare places and increased 

costs 

There has been a drop in the availability of 

summer holiday childcare provision across 

England, while the cost of a place has 

increased by 3 per cent since last year. 

Comedian Matt Lucas throws a 

‘Tantrum’ to highlight the global 

early years crisis 

Comedian & presenter Matt Lucas has 

got behind Theirworld’s Act for Early 

Years campaign, launching a ‘Global 

Tantrum’ in protest. 

Click here to send in 

your stories to 

marketing@parenta.com 

Cost-of-living crisis: initiatives 

launched to provide children 

with free food 

To support families with the cost-of-living 

crisis, Warburtons has teamed up with 

Morrisons to offer free crumpets to adults 

and children. 

Early years funding consultation 

for children under three 

published 

BookTrust has launched a campaign to 

get the nation reading, after research 

reveals that only one in three children are 

read a story every day by their dads. 

Childcare shortage warning as 

childminders quit 

A drastic decline in childminders could 

lead to a shortage of places, early years 

providers are warning. 


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Why engage your 

senses for mental 

health? 

I’m Jo Grace: a Sensory Engagement and Inclusion Specialist and Founder of The Sensory Projects. In this series of 10 articles, I am going 

to share some of my passion for understanding the sensory world with you. 

Connecting with your senses can be 

good for your mental health. To give a 

very rudimentary explanation, but one 

I am confident will resonate with many; 

take the experience of depression. Most 

people have at some time or other in their 

lives experienced feeling depressed. I 

will assume you have. And when you felt 

depressed, I imagine your instinct was to 

hide away, to shut down, to withdraw from 

sensation. Indeed, it has been shown that 

when you are depressed your senses can 

be dulled, particularly your sense of smell. 

Depression takes you inward. When you 

connect with the sensory world, stretch out 

a hand to find out what something feels 

like, marvel at the way the dew catches 

the light, take a nibble of a friend’s dinner 

in a restaurant, you move outwards. In 

the same way that depression is inwards, 

an engagement with the sensory world is 

outwards, it pulls in the opposite direction. 

Connecting with the sensations you are 

experiencing is preventative of stress, 

anxiety, and depression. 

It is wonderful to know that as you do your 

work sourcing materials for your setting, 

you can be protecting yourself from stress, 

anxiety, and depression. So, as you hunt 

around for colourful things to decorate 

your setting, or speculate about scented 

candles, or wonder about doing a cookery 

session, be sure to engage with it with all 

of your senses: touch, taste, smell, see 

and feel. 

You can offer sensory prompts and cues 

to the children to encourage them to do 

the same, as they play you can ask: “What 

does that smell like?” “Could that make a 

noise?” “Do they feel different?” - drawing 

their attention to the sensations available 

to them. If you are supporting people who 

can process more complex instructions, 

you could move from an invite or an 

offer to a directed activity, for example, 

it is a common meditative activity to use 

awareness of your sensory landscape 

to pull you into the present moment, a 

sensory mindfulness as it were. Using a 

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 countdown for this can work 

well: instruct the children to look at five 

different things (they can call out what they 

are looking at or they can simply try to find 

five different things to look at, it could be 

any five things or it could be five different 

coloured things or different shaped things). 

Then, ask them to listen for four noises, 

touch three things, and then smell two 

things; this can simply be noticing the 

aroma in the room, and smelling one’s 

skin or clothing. Finally, taste one thing – 

you could offer a taste experience at this 

point or just invite them to notice the taste 

inside their mouth at that time. 

Of course, the sensory world can be a 

distressing place and in upcoming articles 

we will explore this. But for now, I thought 

it would be fun to share some sensory 

pick-me-ups or sensory hugs: 

Smell: peppermint is meant to stimulate 

your thinking, perking you up. A musk 

scent, lavender or camomile can be 

calming. 

Taste: For a sensory hug you want 

something warm and sweet, sugary tea, 

or hot buttered toast. 

Touch: Try something with a bit of weight 

to it that fits comfortably in the palm of 

your hand, or if you have a body brush: 

brush your body with long strokes that 

move away from the heart. If you do 

not have a body brush, just find a small 

dustpan and brush set and steal the brush 

from that. 

Sight: Rose-tinted spectacles! Seriously, 

looking at things with a pinky hue is often 

found to be comforting. 

Hearing: Seek out sibilant sounds, it 

is likely that you naturally “shhh shhh” 

distressed people, you can find similar 

sounds in nature in the swishing of leaves 

in the wind or the lapping of waves on the 

seashore. 

When you stop and connect with a 

sensory moment, you take yourself out 

of your anxieties and worries, and into 

that sensation, into the present. It is a 

little bit of mindfulness in motion and can 

help you recognise that you are here and 

now: not in the awful things that may 

have happened before or the worrisome 

things that might be about to happen. 

At this moment it is you, in your body, 

experiencing this sensation. You are alive! 

Embrace the sensory world. 

In my next article, I will be looking at how 

we can make the most of these sensory 

moments. Meanwhile, feel free to connect 

with me on social media to watch my 

current sensory adventures unfurl, all 

the connection links can be found on my 

website www.TheSensoryProjects.co.uk 

Joanna Grace 

Joanna Grace is an international Sensory 

Engagement and Inclusion Specialist, 

trainer, author, TEDx speaker and founder 

of The Sensory Projects. 

Consistently rated as “outstanding” by 

Ofsted, Joanna has taught in 

mainstream and special school settings, 

connecting with pupils of all ages and 

abilities. To inform her work, Joanna 

draws on her own experience from her 

private and professional life as well as 

taking in all the information she can from 

the research archives. Joanna’s private life 

includes family members with disabilities 

and neurodiverse conditions and time 

spent as a registered foster carer for 

children with profound disabilities. 

Joanna has published four practitioner 

books: “Multiple Multisensory Rooms: 

Myth Busting the Magic”, “Sensory Stories 

for Children and Teens”, “Sensory-Being 

for Sensory Beings”, “Sharing Sensory 

Stories and Conversations with People with 

Dementia” and “The Subtle Spectrum”. 

Plus three inclusive sensory story children’s 

books: “Spike and Mole”, “Voyage to 

Arghan” and “Ernest and I” which all sell 

globally 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 is a big fan of social media and is 

always happy to connect with people via 

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. 

Website: 

thesensoryprojects.co.uk 



Shaping food 

relationships 

Why is childhood such an 

important time for shaping 

food relationships? 

When it comes to feeding a child, there’s 

a lot more to it than simply filling them 

up. Whilst, of course, that is important, 

many other considerations influence a 

child’s future health, habits, cravings and 

emotional attachments to food. Feeding a 

child in the early years is also shaping their 

adult relationship with food. 

We all know that our relationship with 

food is a strong one, for some people it’s 

a life-long love-hate relationship, largely 

perpetuated by the diet and weight loss 

industry which has many confusing and 

contradictory messages. For many, the 

habits and attachments around food stem 

back to the early years; we may not realise 

just how important our actions are around 

food, but children in the formative years 

are picking up on subtle food cues and 

patterns that can play an important role in 

future health. 

Early taste preferences 

In the years between 0 and 3, we have a 

real window of opportunity to influence 

and shape taste preferences, habits and 

food behaviours, as it is at this time that 

we can consider the child’s palate to be a 

blank canvas, receptive to whatever you 

introduce them to. 

It isn’t just the food…it’s the way we 

introduce food which can have a bearing 

on the way it is received. If we are very 

excited to introduce a young child to 

cake, they will pick up on our excitement 

before they even taste the food. Likewise, 

if we are apologetic about vegetables as 

we feel they should be eaten, our body 

language will reflect this, and the food will 

not be as well received - before it is even 

tasted! 

Food language & emotional 

connections 

One of the easiest ways to make this link 

is via the language we use around food; 

how we can emphasise certain foods and 

create positive or negative associations. 

One example is when trying to get children 

to eat vegetables, often people will offer 

a food incentive to get the child to eat the 

vegetable. 

For example: “Eat your broccoli and you 

can have the chocolate.” 

“You’re not having a ‘treat’ until you have 

eaten your carrots.” 

In this scenario, the vegetable becomes 

the ‘bad guy’ - the obstacle which needs 

to be overcome to get to the ‘good stuff’. 

The unhealthy food, often labelled as a 

‘treat’ becomes the goal, the reward, and 

the positive association is aimed at the 

unhealthy food, therefore the healthy food 

is portrayed negatively. This may be said 

innocently, but it creates associations with 

foods and where possible, we want the 

associations created to be those which 

view healthy foods in a good light! 

Emotional eating 

As we know, many people turn to food in 

times of sadness, stress, fatigue, illness, 

and celebration - together we group this 

as ‘emotional eating’. We are not born 

with emotional eating tendencies, they are 

taught. Once again, innocent phrases and 

eating patterns can create associations 

in our brains that link certain foods with 

attempts to fix emotional issues. Sadly, 

biology will never support this and 

emotional eating leads to many metabolic 

and neurological issues. 

Below are some examples of common 

phrases and situations where food is used 

with children that can potentially lead to 

‘emotional-eating’ adults. 

Scenario one 

Child falls over and hurts themselves, 

not seriously, but enough to make them 

feel upset. The grown-up naturally goes 

to comfort the child. They pick them up, 

cuddle them and say: 

“Let’s sit down for a minute and have a 

biscuit/piece of chocolate/sweet. That’ll 

make you feel better”. 

It may seem a perfectly innocuous 

thing to do and say, but the child on 

a deep subconscious level creates an 

association with the unhealthy food 

offered and comfort, even though the act 

that calms the child down is the cuddle 

and the nice words, not the food. For 

adults, the association remains (via our 

neural pathways which, on a biological 

level remember these connections, the 

strongest connections are formed before 

the age of 3). But for the grown-up, it could 

be any prolonged situation that causes 

them upset and stress and eating biscuits 

is certainly not going to fix the issues, it’s 

more than likely to cause more. 

The biology of emotional 

eating 

As with every aspect of eating, our biology 

plays a big part and not just with the 

physical digestion but with our mind too. 

When it comes to emotional eating, food 

will never fix things – and here’s why: - 

Mood dip

Building assertiveness 

and confidence 

through play 

What is needed for 

confidence and 

assertiveness? 

To develop confidence and assertiveness, 

children need to be in the right 

environment. A child living in an unsafe, 

scary or dangerous environment is much 

less likely to develop confidence than those 

who don’t. So, as early years practitioners, 

we need to ensure that our settings: 

If you’ve ever sat and watched children 

play, there will come a time when you may 

witness a potential conflict between two 

individuals. It could be a discussion about 

who plays with the scooter next or whose 

turn it is on the swing, but sure enough, 

these incidents happen. When they do, 

you may see: 

✨ A child who is submissive and gives 

up on what they really want when 

confronted 

✨ A child who is confident and assertive 

and able to stand up for what they 

want 

✨ A child who becomes aggressive 

and/or bossy who gets what they 

want through bullying or aggression/ 

violence 

Clearly, we strive to encourage our young 

people to learn to be confident and 

assertive since these are positive values, 

whereas being submissive or aggressive 

are not traits to encourage because they 

will lead to problems for the child later on. 

But where is the line between being 

mindful of other people’s feelings and 

submission? When does assertiveness tip 

over into being aggressive? And how do 

we promote confidence and assertiveness 

anyway? 

Why these things are 

important? 

One of the prime areas of learning in the 

EYFS is “personal, social and emotional 

development”. The EYFS states: 

“Children’s personal, social and emotional 

development (PSED) is crucial for 

children to lead healthy and happy lives, 

and is fundamental to their cognitive 

development… Children should be 

supported to manage emotions, develop 

a positive sense of self, set themselves 

simple goals, have confidence in their own 

abilities, to persist and wait for what they 

want and direct attention as necessary…. 

Through supported interaction with other 

children, they learn how to make good 

friendships, co-operate and resolve 

conflicts peaceably. These attributes will 

provide a secure platform from which 

children can achieve at school and in later 

life.” 

We want our children to be able to get 

the things they want in life, mindful of the 

needs of others, but also understanding 

the importance of respecting their own 

wants, needs and desires. It is the path 

to happiness and can result in children 

fulfilling their true potential for the benefit 

of themselves and those around them. 

The Hungarian Holocaust-survivor, turned 

psychologist, Dr Edith Eger said: 

“To be passive is to let others decide for 

you. To be aggressive is to decide for 

others. To be assertive is to decide for 

yourself. And to trust that there is enough, 

that you are enough.” 

Communication 

style/ 

Characteristic 

Eye contact 

Body language 

Expressions and 

gestures 

The benefits of being confident and 

assertive are that children can: 

✨ Speak up for themselves and their 

peers 

✨ Learn to say “no” when needed 

✨ Treat others with respect 

✨ Take constructive criticism 

✨ Deal with bullying instances more 

effectively 

Communication styles 

There are a number of communication 

styles which psychologists have identified, 

but 3 of the main styles are passive, 

aggressive and assertive. To understand 

these, you must first understand that 

it is not just the words that people use 

that indicate meaning or status - body 

language, use of space/proxemics, 

gesture and eye contact all play a part. 

The table below shows some of the ways 

that these three styles play out in practice. 

Passive Assertive Aggressive 

Little or no eye contact 

Often looks down 

Closed off, shoulders 

down, defensive 

Not able to express 

own needs 

Subservient to others 

“I don’t care…” or “I 

don’t mind, whatever 

you want…” 

Makes eye contact 

appropriately 

Shoulders back, head 

up, open stance 

Respects others 

Listens to others 

Often says things like “I 

think…”, “I’d like…” or “I 

feel…” 

Staring, eye contact that 

feels uncomfortable 

Strong, upright stance, 

often moves around 

a lot 

Rude or bossy 

language 

Issues orders 

Focuses on their own 

needs “I want..”, “You 

need to…” 

Angry gestures 

Proxemics Stays at a distance Respects personal space Usually “in-your-face” 

and invades personal 

space 

✨ Make children feel safe and secure 

✨ Include trusted adults 

✨ Allow secure relationships to develop 

✨ Encourage small wins so children can 

build on past successes 

✨ Allow safe risk-taking for children to 

experiment and learn 

✨ Understand that mistakes are an 

essential part of the learning process 

✨ Offer praise and feedback for effort as 

well as attainment 

Using play to build 

confidence 

Confidence comes from knowing you can 

do something – it is an experiential feeling 

– you can’t learn it from a book, you have 

to experience that uplifting feeling of 

knowing you have achieved something for 

yourself. In practice, this means allowing 

the children to try things, do things 

for themselves, and if they fail at first, 

explaining that this is part of the process. 

The ‘secret’ to succeeding, is to keep trying 

and make small adjustments along the 

way. That’s how we all learn to walk after 

all. We don’t give up the first time we 

attempt to totter across the room – we 

fall down numerous times, but we keep 

getting back up. Eventually our tentative 

steps become more confident, which is 

reflected in our emotional understanding 

of ourselves and our self-esteem and 

general confidence. 

Play is extremely important in promoting 

these things as it allows children to take 

risks, explore emotions and learn from 

the feedback from others. If they are 

too aggressive in taking the toy from 

someone, just because they wanted it, 

they will face the consequences of possibly 

losing a friend, getting into trouble with the 

adults, and potentially still not getting what 

they want. 

Ways to encourage 

confidence- and 

assertive-building 

play 

✨ Practice role-play scenarios and talk 

about different outcomes 

✨ Encourage social situations where 

children can talk about themselves 

and what they want 

✨ Let children work through play tasks 

themselves – don’t be too quick to 

jump in and complete things for them 

✨ Encourage children to imagine 

different situations and be there to 

give feedback and support but don’t 

stifle what they want to do 

✨ Offer “What if?” scenarios, for 

example, “What if you were 

Superman/girl, what do you think 

they would do here?” or “What 

would happen if you used a different 

approach to this?” 

✨ Offer problem-solving play 

opportunities through puzzles, jigsaws 

or building things, encouraging and 

praising effort 

✨ Avoid comparisons with others 

Other resources 

Twinkl have a number or useful resources 

to encourage assertiveness and 

confidence. They have an assertiveness 

scale and picture cards that you can use 

to help children understand the different 

communication styles. 

References and more 

information 

Confident Communicator 

Nursery World 

Edutopia 

Moments a Day 

Happy Confident 

14 July 2023 | parenta.com 


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Not surprisingly, the phrase ‘time 

management’ is used frequently in the 

early years sector; we work in an industry 

which is infamous for its time constraints 

with so many practitioners striving to make 

those precious hours in one day go a little 

further. 

What is ‘time 

management’? 

Get more from your 

day: the essential guide 

to time management 

Simply put, it’s the ability to use one’s time 

effectively, or productively, especially at 

work. 

A more detailed explanation, taken from 

Mind Tools, is “the process of organising 

and planning how to divide your time 

between different activities. Get it right, 

and you’ll end up working smarter, not 

harder, to get more done in less time – 

even when time is tight and pressures are 

high.” 

Easier said than done, some may say 

(particularly if you are working in a busy 

early years setting!) but one thing is 

certain, time management is a vital skill 

for early years practitioners and educators 

who wish to spend more of their working 

day in a hands-on role with children. 

How can I help my 

team with their time 

management? 

As a room leader, team leader or 

manager, you can develop yourself and 

support your fellow team members in 

improving their time management skills in 

the following ways: 

⚙ Set clear goals and expectations: 

Clearly communicate the team’s 

objectives, deadlines, and priorities. 

When team members have a clear 

understanding of what needs to 

be accomplished, they can better 

manage their time and prioritise 

tasks accordingly. This can be done 

in regular staff meetings, especially if 

short-term objectives change quickly, 

or need to be revisited or refreshed 

⚙ Provide training and resources: 

Offer training or workshops on time 

management techniques and tools. 

Share resources such as productivity 

apps, task management systems, 

or time-tracking tools that can assist 

team members in organising their 

work and improving their efficiency 

⚙ Encourage planning and prioritisation: 

Encourage team members to plan 

their work in advance. Help them 

identify and prioritise tasks based on 

urgency and importance. Supporting 

them in creating to-do lists or using 

productivity techniques like the 

Eisenhower Matrix can assist in 

effective prioritisation 

⚙ Foster open communication: Create 

an environment where team 

members feel comfortable discussing 

their workload, deadlines, and any 

challenges they may be facing. 

Encourage open dialogue about time 

constraints and workload distribution, 

so that adjustments can be made if 

necessary 

⚙ Delegate tasks effectively: Delegate 

tasks based on individual strengths 

and availability. Ensure that the 

workload is distributed evenly 

and aligned with team members’ 

capabilities and current workloads. 

Delegating tasks appropriately 

prevents overload and promotes 

efficient use of time 

⚙ Encourage breaks and work-life 

balance: Remind team members 

about the importance of taking 

regular breaks to recharge and 

maintain focus. Encourage them to 

establish healthy work-life boundaries 

and avoid overworking, as it can lead 

to burnout and decreased productivity 

in the long run 

⚙ Lead by example: Demonstrate 

good time management practices 

yourself. Show your team the benefits 

of effective time management by 

being organised, meeting deadlines, 

and maintaining a healthy work-life 

balance. Your actions can inspire and 

motivate team members to improve 

their own time management skills 

⚙ Offer support and feedback: Be 

available to support team members 

in their time management efforts. 

Provide guidance and suggestions 

when needed and offer constructive 

feedback to help them refine 

their approach. Recognise and 

acknowledge their improvements and 

successes along the way 

Remember, improving time management 

is an ongoing process and in a busy 

setting, this can be difficult to maintain - 

which is why it’s important to encourage 

a growth mindset within your team and 

provide continuous support to foster a 

culture of effective time management. 

Now that we’ve explored the importance 

of helping our team members (and 

ourselves) with time management to help 

in our professional life, what are the major 

benefits of time management when it 

comes to educating the children in our 

care? 

⚙ Establishing routines: Effective time 

management helps establish daily 

routines, providing structure and 

predictability for our young learners. 

Routines create a sense of stability 

and security, helping children 

understand what is expected of 

them and reducing anxiety. They 

learn to anticipate and prepare for 

different activities, transitions, and 

responsibilities, which promotes a 

sense of independence and selfregulation 

⚙ Maximising learning opportunities: 

Time management allows educators 

to allocate sufficient time for various 

learning activities, ensuring a 

balanced and comprehensive 

curriculum. By organising and 

prioritising different tasks, practitioners 

can optimise the time available and 

create a rich learning environment 

that covers key developmental areas, 

such as social, emotional, cognitive, 

and physical development 

⚙ Fostering engagement and attention: 

Of course, young children have limited 

attention spans, so effective time 

management helps maintain their 

engagement and focus. By planning 

shorter, age-appropriate activities and 

incorporating variety, we can prevent 

children from becoming restless or 

bored. This ensures that learning 

experiences remain enjoyable, 

meaningful, and conducive to optimal 

learning outcomes 

⚙ Helping children to develop their own 

essential life skills: Time management 

skills acquired during the early years 

education lay the foundation for 

lifelong habits. When children learn 

to manage their time effectively, they 

develop self-discipline, organisation, 

and responsibility. These skills are 

transferable to other areas of their 

lives, including academic pursuits, 

personal relationships, and future 

careers 

⚙ Enhancing productivity: Time 

management enables educators to 

make the most of instructional time, 

ensuring that your setting’s curriculum 

goals are met. By allocating 

appropriate time to different learning 

activities, teachers can cover essential 

content, assess student progress, 

provide individualised attention, and 

facilitate meaningful interactions. 

This leads to improved productivity 

and helps children achieve their 

educational milestones 

⚙ Encouraging self-regulation: 

Time management in early years 

education encourages children to 

develop self-regulation skills. They 

learn to manage their own time, 

follow schedules, complete tasks 

independently, and transition between 

activities smoothly. These skills 

promote self-control, time awareness, 

and the ability to plan and organise, 

which are crucial for long-term 

academic success and personal 

development 

These are strategies and ideas which do 

work, and when put in place, will help you 

and your team get more out of your day. 

Remember, time management in early 

years education not only supports routines, 

maximises learning opportunities, fosters 

engagement and attention, but also 

develops essential life skills, enhances 

productivity, and encourages selfregulation. 

By effectively managing time, educators 

can create an environment that nurtures 

holistic development and sets children 

on a path of success in their educational 

journey and beyond. 



Practitioner well-being 

Early years practitioners and educators are 

the bodies and minds on the floor of our 

early years settings; supporting children’s 

learning and development, giving cuddles, 

wiping tears, running rooms, supporting 

other members of the team, meeting 

managerial demands, being responsive 

to the needs of not only the children, 

but their parents and families too – all 

whilst juggling their own life baggage 

simultaneously. 

Yet the mental health and well-being of 

our staff teams are incredibly poor but 

often overlooked/ignored. Staff can be 

made to feel guilty for being ill, ‘letting the 

team down’ if they take some time off and 

not being 100% each and every day. 

Early years is an incredibly demanding 

sector, both physically and mentally; 

is it any surprise that mental illness 

is commonplace across the sector? 

Essentially, a happy workforce is a 

healthy workforce and practitioners are 

considerably more likely to fully immerse 

themselves in their roles, strive for 

professional development and provide a 

better quality of care when they are feeling 

supported, respected, and valued within 

the workplace, regardless of their mental 

health. 

Our practitioners put on a ‘brave face’ 

a lot of the time so as not to impact the 

children’s experiences and learning and 

development, but from a managerial/ 

leadership point of view, we do not want 

to be encouraging this to be the norm. 

How mental health in the early years is 

‘treated’ is important, as we all know that 

‘faking a smile’ or ‘putting on a brave face’ 

does not solve the problems and allow the 

person to process or sometimes even feel 

their emotions - which only causes deeper 

rooted issues in the long term. 

It is imperative that managers and leaders 

are aware of and understand just how 

fraught and stressed their workforce is 

in order to provide adequate support; 

not just a hamper of ‘goodies’ in the 

staff room, but proper support whereby 

the practitioner feels listened to and 

understood. 

As a sector we pride ourselves on how 

communicative we are, yet when it comes 

to our mental health, we’d much rather 

sweep it under the carpet, pretend and 

bury ourselves in the day-to-day – but 

in order for us to be role models for 

our children and support and promote 

children’s emotional well-being and selfregulation, 

we must be able to do this 

ourselves first. 

As the people who work so closely with 

the youngest members of our sector, 

we must be emotionally and mentally 

available to these children - they need 

us to be ready to support and listen to 

them, and ultimately, if we’re not OK, then 

the children won’t be OK. Children are 

incredibly intuitive and even our youngest 

children can pick up on emotional energy, 

so if practitioners’ emotional needs are not 

being met and supported, then this will 

have an impact on the emotional wellbeing 

of the children they care for. 

Early years needs to lose the ‘blame 

culture’ and the stigma around mental 

illness; you can have a mental illness and 

still be fit to look after children; a mental 

illness or mental health struggles do not 

shape a person or practitioner, nor do 

they impact on how capable a person is at 

doing their job. 

All we want for the children we care for 

is for them to grow and develop into 

happy, healthy human beings who are 

emotionally intelligent, available, kind and 

empathetic of others. This ultimately is 

also the very same thing we’d wish for our 

staff teams and colleagues, and so it must 

start from the top and be cascaded down, 

thus helping us nurture and support our 

Chloe Webster 

Chloe Webster is an early years educator 

with over 12 years of experience in the 

early years sector. 

She is a published author and advocate 

of the sector. In addition to this, she also 

has vast experience in social media 

marketing and communication support 

for early years businesses/settings. Chloe 

currently has capacity to support settings, 

practitioners, and leaders in an advisory/ 

consultancy role or to provide support on 

efficiently marketing and promoting your 

setting/business. 

She can be reached by email at 

chloelouisewebster@hotmail.com 

children in developing essential emotional 

skills, and building the foundations for 

their future emotional well-being and selfregulation. 

Children learn from their environments and 

the behaviours they observe and so if they 

see practitioners and leadership teams 

taking care of each other, and having 

open and honest conversations regarding 

mental health and the needs of others. 

This will then naturally develop for them as 

they grow and learn, which will hopefully 

create a society of emotionally intelligent 

and kind young people. 



Community 

management – how 

to embed your setting 

within your local 

community 

There’s an old proverb that says: “It takes 

a village to raise a child”, meaning that the 

whole community has a part to play in the 

growth and development of the children 

and young people within that community. 

Children may be born to specific parents, 

but they also spend a significant part of 

their life outside their home environment 

interacting with others. These can be 

pre-school staff, teachers, police, local 

shop keepers and business owners, park 

wardens or local group leaders such as 

Scouts and Guides, church leaders or 

sports club coaches. 

One of the 4 specific areas of learning 

in the EYFS, Understanding The World, is 

sub-dived into 3 areas. Within that, there is 

an area called “People and Communities” 

which encourages children to learn about 

the community they come from, and 

the sub-section on “The World” is also 

designed to help children learn about the 

different environments and ways of living 

that exist on the wider planet. 

Benefits of community 

involvement in early 

childhood 

Community involvement means not only 

making sure that the local community 

know your setting exists, but that there is 

two-way flow of information, both into the 

community and back from the community 

into your setting. There are many benefits 

to this. It is beneficial in all aspects of life, 

not just in early years, but in early years, 

the opportunity is there to ease the child’s 

transition into community life later on. 

Some of the many benefits of community 

involvement are:

“Dough a deer”: using 

magic dough creatively 

This current 6-part series of early years 

music articles features a new activity each 

month from a number of arts activities 

trialled for 1 and 2-year-old children, along 

with musical suggestions and recordings 

on YouTube. 

Creativity comes naturally to children, 

and research has shown that younger 

children have more creative ideas than 

older children. How or why creative ideas 

reduce as children progress through 

school has been argued by many different 

people, with ideas ranging from fears of 

being wrong to fears of not conforming, 

to a narrow national curriculum geared to 

academic success. 

Thinking of people like Elon Musk, Bill 

Gates, Steve Jobs, and their laser focus 

on technology, Florence Nightingale and 

her recognition of the need for hygiene 

and a sterile nursing environment, and 

even the inventor of Pokémon, and his 

motivation for bringing insects and nature 

to city children, creativity seems to come 

from personal interests and passions. Yet 

despite big changes coming from people 

with very focussed and specialist interests, 

current thinking is that a wider range of 

experiences creates more opportunities. 

Delivering “the arts” in a children’s 

curriculum can include so many options: 

architecture, circus, dance, handcrafts, 

media art, music, theatre, visual arts, word 

arts, 2d/3d arts/visual media, painting, 

drawing, building, crafting, modelling, 

creating statues, installations, animations, 

advertisements, taking pictures and 

videos. Working out which “arts” to 

successfully deliver to 1- to 2-year-old 

children can be more challenging. Based 

on a Finnish study, Lehikoinen (2023) 

successfully experimented with six arts: 

♫ 

♫ 

Dance-painting – paint feet, move to 

song (July 2023) 

Snow-painting 

♫ 

♫ 

♫ 

♫ 

Magic dough 08 – create characters 

in play-dough (August 2023) 

Digital drawing 

Musical drawing 

Balloon painting 

This month, we are focusing on magic 

dough or play-dough. 

Recipe: 

8 tablespoons of flour 

2 tablespoons of table salt 

4 tablespoons of water 

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil 

Flavouring/food colouring 

Knead together until smooth and allow to 

rest in the fridge before use. 

This easy-to-make recipe can be used as 

part of the activity for children to make 

themselves, mixing the ingredients and 

kneading their own dough. Dividing the 

dough, children can use their creativity to 

create characters or any other items taken 

from songs that can be played or sung 

whilst making the dough. Then bake and 

paint for art extension activities! 

One man went to mow 

One man went to mow 

Went to mow a meadow, 

One man and his dog - woof! 

Went to mow a meadow. 

Two men went to mow 


Two men, one man and his dog - woof! 


Three men went to mow 


Three men, two men, one man 

And his dog - woof! 


Four men went to mow 


Four men, three men, two men 



Five men went to mow 


Five men, four men, three men, two men 



This lovely rhyme creates an opportunity 

for children to create multiple characters 

or work in groups, creating the different 

men – and of course, their dog – or even a 

lawnmower! 

Incy wincy spider 

Incy wincy spider 

Went up the waterspout 

Down came the rain and 

Washed the spider out 

Out came the sunshine and 

Dried up all the rain 

So incy wincy spider 

Went up the spout again 

This lovely old favourite creates 

opportunities for children to make spiders, 

webs, spouts, houses – and who knows 

what else they may come up with! 

Wind the bobbin up 



Pull, pull, clap-clap-clap 

Wind it back again 

Wind it back again 

Pull, pull, clap-clap-clap 

Point to the ceiling, point to the floor 

Point to the window and 

Point to the door 

Clap your hands together 

One-two-three 

Put your hands 

Upon your knees 

Unless their parents sew, it is unlikely that 

many children will know what a bobbin is 

– which can allow their imagination to run 

absolutely wild! Use it as an opportunity 

for children to imagine what a bobbin may 

be, something that can be wound – or use 

it as a lesson in the history of sewing as an 

industry! 

Ten green bottles 

Ten green bottles hanging on a wall 

Ten green bottles hanging on a wall 

And if one green bottle 

Should accidentally fall 

There’ll be nine green bottles 

Hanging on a wall 

Nine green bottles hanging on a wall … 

Eight green bottles hanging on a wall … 

Seven green bottles hanging on a wall … 

Six green bottles hanging on a wall … 

Five green bottles hanging on a wall … 

Four green bottles hanging on a wall … 

Three green bottles hanging on a wall … 

Two green bottles hanging on a wall … 

One green bottle hanging on a wall … 

No green bottles hanging on a wall 

No green bottles hanging on a wall 

And if no green bottles 

Should accidentally fall 

We can play in the garden 

Hanging on a wall 

This is another song where children 

can create many similar items or work 

in groups, creating 10 different kinds of 

bottles! 

And finally … doe a 

deer 

Despite this article referring to the song 

“Doe, a deer”, it is not usually a song 

recommended for new or young singers 

to learn because of its musical theory 

complexity. Being aware of songs that 

may be more complex or have too great 

a range for children allows children to 

sing successfully. However, it is a great 

LISTENING piece for children, helping to 

broaden their scope of musical experience 

by listening to different and more complex 

forms of music – not to mention giving 

children a wider scope of items that they 

can create from play-dough! 

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 well-being through 

her community interest company. 

She has represented the early years music 

community at the House of Commons, 

advocating for recognition for early 

years music educators, and her table 

of progressive music skills for under 7s 

features in her curriculum books. 

Frances is the author of “Learning with 

Music: Games and activities for the early 

years”, published by Routledge, August 

2017. 

www.musicaliti.co.uk 



There are times in everyone’s life when 

we need to either welcome new friends 

and meet new people or say goodbye to 

the people we already know and love. 

There are very few people who are with 

us on our entire life journey. Mostly, we 

encounter new friends and colleagues 

along the way. Some of them we meet 

only once, others are there for a short time, 

and yet others could be with us for life. 

So how do we best teach our early years 

children about this fundamental truth - that 

sometimes we need to be ready to say 

“hello”, and other times, we need to find a 

way to say “goodbye”? 

Hellos 

Hellos and goodbyes 

In general, ‘hellos’ are usually easier to 

say than ‘goodbyes’ because we have 

less to lose. We don’t yet know the person, 

and have not yet formed any relationship 

with, or attachment to them, so we have 

nothing to lose by saying “hello”. 

Someone once said that: “Strangers are 

just friends we haven’t met yet” and this 

seems a compassionate and optimistic 

way to view all new faces. When meeting 

new people, whether talking about staff or 

children, there are some factors that can 

influence how easy people find it. These 

include: 

Whether everyone is new (such as at 

the start of term), or whether they are 

the only new one (for example when 

people join part-way through a term) 

How confident the person feels inside 

The culture they come from 

Their personality type - introverted or 

extroverted 

Any special needs they have, for 

example, they may dislike crowds 

or noise, or be completely opposite 

and need to run around and meet 

everyone 

The situation on the day i.e. whether 

they are late, early or stressed 

The emotional state of the other 

people they are meeting 

How to ease ‘hellos’ for 

children 

At the start of term, think about: 

Creating a welcome pack and 

sending this out to parents in good 

time 

What your procedure is for drop-off 

and how long parents/carers are 

allowed to stay 

Activities that can calm nervous/ 

anxious or excited children so that the 

setting is ordered and calm. These 

could be circle games, name games, 

and introductions 

Think about how to mark the moment 

for children so they know it’s a special 

day – you could help them create a 

“This is me” book, or a short video 

(if you have consent) or perhaps a 

display where the children draw or 

mark-make something unique 

The rules and agreements that you 

need to establish on day one, and 

which ones can be spaced out over 

the day – e.g. lunchtime routines 

Staffing and who will be introduced, 

e.g. key person, room leaders 

Think too about how you will minimise 

potential conflicts on day one and 

what you will do should they occur 

Organising ‘friendship days’ prior to 

the start date 

For staff 

New staff need to be made to feel 

welcome and that they can easily fit into 

the team. They ideally need a buddy or 

mentor identified so that they can ask 

them questions easily without always 

feeling like ‘the new person’. 

New staff should also have a proper 

induction process which includes 

safeguarding training, HR checks, a tour, 

details of all day-to-day procedures and 

protocols, and an introduction to their 

team. 

If staff or students join part-way through 

the year, make sure that you have a plan 

to help them integrate into your setting. It’s 

always more difficult being the only new 

person and trying to break into alreadyestablished 

friendship groups. Try to plan 

ahead and explain to the existing people 

that there will be a new friend starting. If 

you can arrange for the class to meet the 

new child (perhaps on a tour) before the 

actual start date, then this could minimise 

anxiety. 

On the day, make sure you check-in 

regularly with them and give them a 

buddy or friends (possibly 2) so that they 

feel there is someone to help. Make sure 

that their key person is available on the 

day they start and have regular check-ins 

for the next few days and weeks until they 

are settled. 

Think too about any specific issues that 

the mid-term starter might face. Perhaps 

they are a looked after child (LAC) or an 

asylum-seeker, which might mean they 

have some trauma or language issues to 

overcome on top of the usual “I’m new” 

anxieties. 

Goodbyes 

As mentioned earlier, saying “goodbye” 

can be difficult for children. There are a 

number of situations where children might 

experience this such as: 

Children or staff leaving 

Children transitioning to Reception 

Moving rooms or changing the key 

person 

Staff retiring 

Family separations 

Bereavements 

Some of these instances are well-known 

in advance, such as a transition to 

Reception class and can be well-planned. 

Others, may have no warning and cause 

additional trauma. 

Planning is important where possible. For 

transitions to Reception, think about: 

Marking the moment with a special 

book (like a yearbook) and assembly. 

Twinkl have a number of different 

transition day resources on their site 

Talking openly about the transition 

with optimism and excitement so that 

the children learn it is something to 

look forward to and not to fear 

Highlight what some of the key 

changes will be 

The official transition day for your 

area is usually at the end of June/ 

beginning of July for all children to 

visit their new school and have an 

induction day 

Encouraging children to talk about 

their experiences and sort out any 

issues that arise by liaising with 

parents/carers and the new school 

Doing some role play activities about 

goodbyes 

Making sure that all the relevant 

transfer details and forms have been 

forwarded (or received) in good time 

Collating/downloading any welcome 

packs that are available and 

distributing them to parents 

Bereavement and family 

separation 

Where children are saying “goodbye” 

due to bereavement or separation, it is 

important to support the child through 

their emotional journey. They are unlikely 

to be prepared for a sudden death and 

young children cannot easily understand 

the concept of death being permanent 

until they are older. Talk plainly and not in 

code (i.e. don’t say things like “mummy 

is sleeping”) but try to understand the 

emotions the child will have and be 

there for them. There is a lot of useful 

information at www.childbereavementuk. 

org/early-years and you can look at 

NSPCC for information on helping children 

through separation and divorce. There is 

also a guide to how this can affect children 

of different ages, here. 

Resources and more 

information 

www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/home-earlyyears/teacher-organisation-eyfs-earlyyears/early-years-transition 

www.teachearlyyears.com/a-uniquechild/view/supporting-transitions-in-theearly-years 



Giving children 

learning 

superpowers 

As you are no doubt aware from your own 

experiences of learning anything new, 

success has as much to do with self-belief 

as it does with any level of intelligence 

you might possess. So, when we look at 

establishing the best possible start for our 

children as they venture into the school 

classroom, keep this close to mind. 

During their enormously influential early 

years, your children are sharing so many 

experiences of learning with you. But 

what can be overlooked are their first 

experiences of what it means to try to 

learn. Every experience is teaching them 

something about the impact of their 

actions and whether the effort is worth 

their while. So, with that in mind, ask 

yourself “What is the point of endlessly 

naming shapes, colours or the sounds of 

the day?” 

When experiences of learning are negative 

(they get the wrong answer) or seem 

meaningless (what is the point of this?) 

children soon see it as futile and are less 

likely to bother trying. This impacts their 

potential achievement, both directly as 

they lose interest in the process of learning 

and through its effect on their self-belief, 

attention skills, concentration, and 

persistence. 

Soon, classroom experiences of learning 

are going to replace many of the freedoms 

of experience that you now enjoy. When 

this happens, children may find limited 

opportunities to use their natural methods 

of learning; to pursue an idea for as long 

as they need, to be autonomous in the 

decisions they are making or to access the 

resources or environments they need. 

Now is your opportunity to embrace these 

styles of learning. Give your children 

opportunities to think and demonstrate 

what they can achieve with experiences 

they are interested in. Let them see 

why the properties of a shape might be 

important or how you can use the sounds 

of words to communicate with each other. 

Offer the time and opportunity for children 

to self-direct, allowing them to explore 

their direction of enquiry, revisiting as often 

as needed and trusting in their judgement. 

And let them see and feel the impact of 

their learning as their ideas take shape, 

regardless of what their intentions may 

have been. 

As children play, they try out various roles, 

initiating and manipulating experiences 

as they see how something beyond 

their means or capabilities feels. As they 

play, they are investigating and making 

decisions on what they will do next, 

exploring the power of an idea and what 

can come from it. When they hit difficulties 

or make a mistake, they learn that this 

is how you learn more, what it means to 

persist and to try new ways of thinking. All 

of which are powerfully important to future 

learning. 

But these are not things you can know in 

advance or plan an activity to manage. 

Instead, think about the opportunities your 

children have to access their environment 

and how free they are to connect with the 

experiences they need in the moment. Can 

they explore new ideas and discoveries 

in different ways? Are they allowed to 

combine different resources and concepts? 

Can they move into whichever areas they 

need – inside and out – as an idea occurs 

to them? Observe them during the day 

with these questions in mind. 

As this is happening, offer meaningful, 

measured, and focused praise. But 

watch first, be careful not to interrupt a 

key moment of engagement and wait for 

those natural breaks or when they turn to 

you for guidance. Offer them interesting, 

novel, and authentic resources with the 

time, space and freedom they need to 

engage in the rich learning opportunities 

they offer. Allow ideas to germinate, free 

from excessive distractions, interruption, or 

management. And be ready to see what 

they have to show you, even if this may 

be quite different to what you may expect. 

Remember, memories of this experience 

are forming constantly. 

Resources should be:

Did you know that Billie Eilish, Emma 

Watson and Nadia Sawalha were all 

home schooled? Or that Emma Thompson 

took her daughter out of formal education 

because she couldn’t fit in to what her 

daughter described as the “sausagefactory 

style” education? In 2019, it was 

estimated that between 90,000 to 130,000 

children were home schooled in the UK 

and the figure is rising significantly each 

year. 

What is home 

education? 

Home education – 

what’s it all about? 

Home education (or home schooling) is 

when a parent chooses to take their child 

out of the state-run or independent school 

sector and take on the full responsibility 

of giving their child an education. This can 

work better for some families, particularly 

if a child struggles in a mainstream 

environment with large class sizes. In the 

US, home education is more common 

than in the UK with 8-9% of children being 

home schooled. 

Benefits of home 

education 

Advocates of home education present 

several benefits including: 

✏ Personalised education – home 

schooling can be individualised to the 

particular needs, skills and interests of 

each unique child 

✏ More choice - there is no stateimposed 

curriculum to follow and 

parents can decide the subjects 

their children study and how this is 

done. Children must, however, be 

enabled to be literate and numerate, 

in accordance with their age, ability, 

aptitude and any special needs they 

may have 

✏ Classrooms can be anywhere - 

such as playgrounds, museums, 

alternative learning centres and 

vocational places, but you can do 

maths in the supermarket, chemistry 

in the kitchen and biology in the 

garden centre if you want to 

✏ Freedom – parents can educate their 

children in ways that suit their lifestyle 

best, and there is no need to follow 

a timetable of hours, days, or school 

holidays 

✏ Children’s engagement – often 

children do better with a 1:1 approach 

to their learning and if they have some 

autonomy over what they study, they 

can be more motivated or engaged 

✏ Life preparation – home schooling 

can provide a wide range of life 

skills that might not be taught in an 

institutionalised system 

✏ Higher education – a large 

percentage of home schooled children 

do well academically and go on to 

higher education 

✏ Less negative interactions – 

students who are home schooled 

may be protected from some of the 

problems that larger schools have 

such as bullying, child-on-child abuse 

or sexual harassment 

Disadvantages 

Some of the disadvantages presented 

against home schooling include: 

✏ Changing to/from home schooling 

can create ‘gaps in education’ for 

the child if they come back into 

mainstream after being home 

schooled 

✏ Some people argue that home 

schooled children do less well at 

social interactions, although this is not 

necessarily borne out by research. 

Home schooled students do need 

social interactions in the form of 

local groups or outside-education 

friendships who meet up regularly 

✏ It takes time, energy and money 

✏ Schools can have a lot of resources 

at their disposal such as swimming 

pools, gyms, science labs, and 

specialised language labs that 

parents may not have access to 

What are the 

legalities? 

All children must have a full-time 

education from the age of 5 in the UK, but 

they are not required to attend a formal 

school. Parents can home school their 

children at any age, but if a child starts 

school, then parents are legally required to 

inform their current Headteacher in writing 

if they subsequently want to home school 

them. The school cannot refuse, however, 

if parents request a part-time arrangement 

with the school, then the school does 

have the right to decline a part-time 

arrangement. 

It is recommended that parents who are 

home schooling their children, register 

with their local authority, who can provide 

support. The authority may make an 

informal enquiry to ensure that the child 

is getting a suitable education at home. 

If they are concerned, they can serve a 

school attendance order requiring the child 

be taught at school. 

There is no legal requirement to follow 

the National Curriculum which is set out 

for state-maintained schools, however, 

parents will be required to take on the 

full financial responsibility for their child’s 

education including the cost of any public 

examinations. See a list of FAQs about 

home schooling here. 

What about children 

with SEN? 

The right for parents to educate their child 

at home applies equally for children with 

SEN (special educational needs) as for 

those without, even if the child has an 

education, health and care plan (EHCP). 

However, if the child attends a special 

school, then the local authority will need 

to agree to have the child home schooled 

so parents will need to contact their local 

authority. 

What resources are 

out there? 

Just because a child is home educated 

does not mean that they have to sit in 

their parent’s home 24/7. In fact, many 

home-educated students have many 

more extra-curricular adventures and 

activities than their institutionalised peers. 

In addition, since the pandemic, there are 

many more opportunities for learning from 

all areas and many companies, museums 

and educational societies have lots of 

resources for parents and teachers alike. 

Some of the resources available for home 

education include: 

Online schools – These offer an online 

education usually to older students (10+). 

Children can choose their classes and 

interact with teachers and peers despite 

being located in different areas of the 

country. Some online schools even offer 

opportunities for pupils to meet up at 

events and community gatherings. 

Correspondence courses - A 

correspondence course is also known as 

distance learning. They can include GCSEs 

and A Levels and can cover a range of 

subjects. They usually include all lesson 

materials (books, online lessons, videos) 

and access to a tutor or teacher who can 

give feedback and monitor progress. 

Private tutors - These are usually 

experienced individuals or qualified 

teachers who provide individual tuition to 

students. Rates can typically range from 

£30 - £60 per hour. 

Parent-organised groups and 

resources - Many areas of the UK have 

groups of home educators on social media 

channels who arrange get-togethers, 

events and educational trips. They can 

socialise and share the load, pooling 

resources to better effect. They may have a 

vetting system, but most groups welcome 

new members and can be a great source 

of friendship and advice. 

Home education organisations - See 

below for 2 of the most well-known. 

✏ Home Education Advisory Service - 

www.heas.org.uk 

✏ Education Otherwise - www. 

educationotherwise.org 

References and more 

information 

Good Schools Guide to Home Education 

Elective home education - Departmental 

guidance for parents from gov.uk 

✏ Good Schools Guide to Home 

Education 

✏ Elective home education 

✏ Teachers to your home 

✏ Psychology Today 

✏ The Week 

Resources 

✏ Early-education.org.uk - links for early 

years and primary home education 

✏ Twinkl resources for home schooling 

✏ kingsinterhigh.co.uk/onlinehomeschooling 

✏ www.edplace.com/ 

homeschooling-2023 



Five tips for setting 

expectations with 

children 

1 

Be clear and consistent 

Children do well when they have clearly 

set expectations and structure within their 

setting. It is therefore vital that the dos 

and don’ts of their environment are welldefined 

and easy to understand. Having 

a consistent routine will help children to 

know what is expected of them throughout 

the day and the familiarity of a routine will 

also help them to feel safe and secure. 

Consistency is key. If you set a rule and 

consequence, make sure that you follow 

through with it every single time. Likewise, 

if you say you are going to do something 

positive later, make sure you follow up with 

that promise too. If children know that we 

honour our word, they are more likely to 

take what we say seriously. 

2 

Make expectations age 

appropriate 

It is also crucial that we set ageappropriate 

expectations that take into 

consideration a child’s developmental 

capabilities. For example, a 2-year-old 

will struggle to sit still for long periods of 

time, so it would be unfair to have a rule 

that they need to sit on the carpet for 30 

minutes during storytime. It is important 

that whatever rules and expectations 

we have, that we are setting children 

up for success and not pushing them 

beyond what they are developmentally 

programmed to be able to do. 

3 

Remember children are 

little people 

It is important to remember that children 

are little people with their own minds. 

Sometimes our expectations can be quite 

high and if the shoe was on the other foot, 

we’d struggle ourselves. For example, how 

would we feel if we were engrossed in a 

project and someone came along, took it 

from us without warning and demanded 

that we went to lunch? We’d be furious 

and totally frustrated! The same applies 

to children. Quite often we will move them 

from task to task with no warning and then 

wonder why they are having a meltdown. 

It’s important to treat children as we would 

like to be treated. A simple fix to that 

scenario would be tell them that lunch will 

be in 10 minutes and to allow them time to 

wrap up what they are doing. I always put 

myself in my children’s shoes and ask how 

I would react in the same situation. If they 

answer is ‘badly’, I amend my approach. 

4 

Give it time 

Routines and boundaries take time to 

embed. Sometimes you have to work at it 

for a while and give children time to adjust. 

Again, consistency and repetition are key. 

Children may need a few reminders and 

some redirection, but in time they will get 

there. Just gently guide them in the right 

direction, follow through with everything 

you say, have strong boundaries and the 

rest will eventually fall into place. 

5 

Lead with love 

We don’t need to be critical with our 

approach. No person is going to be their 

best self if they feel like they are failing. It 

is therefore important that we implement 

rules and expectations from a place of 

love. Children will naturally fight against 

change. However, ultimately, boundaries 

and structure make them feel safer. If 

we can assert ourselves but maintain 

the message that we care deeply whilst 

doing this, children will be more likely to 

cooperate. It may take time to stick, but it is 

important that we nurture our child-adult 

bond in the process. 

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 

storytime and to give childcare settings an 

affordable and special gifting solution that 

truly makes a difference. 

Email: stacey@earlyyearsstorybox.com or 

Telephone: 07765785595 

Website: www.earlyyearsstorybox.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ 

earlyyearsstorybox 

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

eystorybox 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ 

earlyyearsstorybox 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ 

stacey-kelly-a84534b2/ 



EYFS activities: 

Understanding 

the World 

Understanding the World is so important in the EYFS because it promotes curiosity, builds knowledge and 

understanding, develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills, supports social and emotional development, 

enhances communication and language skills, and prepares children for future academic learning. It helps young 

learners make sense of their world and equips them with essential skills and knowledge for their educational 

journey and beyond. 

Going Walkabout! 

• Taking children out on nearby walks and 

providing ways for them to record and 

explore their observations is a great way to 

support learning and conversation skills 

More on this activity and others can be found 

here. 

What Job? The dressing up game all children love! 

• Place objects, clothing, and pictures 

relating to a particular job onto a table 

• Observe, listen, and prompt the children’s 

thinking, revealing the corresponding job at 

the end 

• Let the children dress up and use props 

relating to that role e.g., a helmet and a 

high-vis jacket for a firefighter 

• Allow the children time to use their 

imagination and role-play the job. For 

example, the children might pretend to put 

out an object on fire or turn their toy car 

into a fire engine 

• It’s important you then use open-ended 

questions to encourage the children to think 

about other parts of a firefighter’s job. You 

can also read books with the children to 

develop their understanding of the different 

roles 

This activity can be based on any job role, for 

example, builders, doctors, teachers, chefs etc. 

and provides a great opportunity for children 

to develop an interest in the different jobs that 

men and women do. 


here. 

• When you are out for walks in your local 

environment or garden in your setting, talk 

to children about what they can see, hear 

and smell 

• Encourage them to explore different 

textures when they are outside – such as 

tree trunks, grass, concrete, pebbles, and 

stones 

• Then help the children to make rubbings of 

the different textures they can find using 

paper and crayons, which can later be 

used in a collage or scrapbook 

This is an excellent activity no matter 

your location. If you have limited access 

to woodlands, point out different local 

environment features and see if children can 

recognise familiar shop signs and logos or the 

different brands advertised on bus stops. You 

could even see how many particular-coloured 

cars you see on your journey. 


What Sound? 

What could be more fun than making your 

own musical instruments? Making musical 

instruments develops children’s fine motor 

skills and coordination while they have the 

opportunity to investigate the ‘similarities 

and differences’ between lots of objects and 

materials. Start with these simple ideas using 

recycled objects to inspire children’s love of 

music and appreciation of how sounds are 

made. 

• Shakers - many percussion instruments 

make a sound when shaken and are very 

easy to make. Simply use a clear plastic 

bottle and fill it with something like rice, 

pasta or beans 

• Jars - fill several clear same-sized jars with 

different amounts of coloured water. Order 

the jars into a scale, tap with a wooden 

spoon, and listen to the different tones. You 

will find that more water makes a lower 

note, and less water makes a higher note 

• Tissue box guitar – a firm favourite! Stretch 

different-sized elastic bands over an empty 

tissue box for the children to pluck and 

strum like a guitar. 

• Drums - use empty biscuit tins for the 

children to bang and tap like a drum! 


here.

Guided role-play 

and vocabulary 

development in the 

early years 

In the early years of a child’s life, language 

development is crucial to their overall 

cognitive and social development. 

Language development is a complex 

process that starts from infancy and 

continues throughout childhood. It 

encompasses receptive language 

skills (understanding language) and 

expressive language skills (using 

language to communicate). During the 

early years, children’s language skills 

lay the foundation for future literacy and 

communication abilities. 

An effective approach to fostering 

language and communication skills, in the 

early years, is through guided, creative 

role-play. 

Definition of guided, 

creative role-play: 

Guided, creative role-play refers to an 

interactive and imaginative activity where 

children engage in fictional scenarios with 

the guidance of an adult or a facilitator. It 

involves children assuming various roles, 

using props and costumes, and creating 

narratives based on their imagination. 

How can guided, creative 

role-play develop language 

development: 

1. Vocabulary expansion: Guided, 

creative role-play exposes children to 

a wide range of words and phrases 

related to the roles they assume. This 

exposure enhances their vocabulary 

and helps them acquire new words in 

a meaningful context. 

2. Language structure and 

grammar: Role-play scenarios 

provide opportunities for children to 

use language in structured ways. 

They learn to construct sentences, 

use appropriate grammar, 

and understand the rules of 

communication within the context of 

the play. 

3. Communication and social 

interaction: Role-play encourages 

children to communicate their 

thoughts, ideas, and feelings with 

others. It fosters social interaction, 

turn-taking, and collaboration, 

allowing children to practice and 

refine their language skills in a 

supportive environment. 

4. Storytelling and narrative skills: 

Guided role-play involves storytelling, 

where children create narratives 

and develop characters. This activity 

nurtures their ability to organise 

thoughts, sequence events, and use 

language to convey stories effectively. 

5. Creativity and imagination: Roleplay 

sparks children’s imagination 

and creativity, enabling them to 

explore new scenarios and think 

outside the box. This imaginative 

play enhances their language skills 

by encouraging them to describe, 

explain, and articulate their ideas. 

Develop their imagination and vocabulary 

through fun, creative, guided and childinitiated 

role-play. 

Strategies for effective 

guided creative role-play: 

Facilitator’s role (you): Provide guidance, 

introduce new vocabulary, and model 

effective communication skills. You 

can also ask open-ended questions 

to stimulate thinking and encourage 

children’s language use. 

Incorporating real-world experiences: 

Integrate real-world experiences into 

role-play scenarios to connect language 

development with practical contexts. 

Creating a language-rich environment: 

Provide a variety of props, books, and 

print materials related to the role-play 

themes. Ensure your environment supports 

language development by fostering 

curiosity. 

Peer Collaboration: Encourage children 

to work together and communicate with 

their peers during role-play activities. 

Peer interactions promote language 

development by providing negotiation, 

problem-solving, and joint storytelling 

opportunities. 

Educators and parents can create a 

language-rich environment that facilitates 

optimal language development in young 

children by implementing strategies that 

support guided creative role-play. 

Developing child-initiated 

role-play: 

If you have children that are interested in 

space and aliens, take them on a trip to 

the moon. Even before you blast off, there 

are so many opportunities to enrich their 

language by discussing: 

“How will we travel to space?” 

Build their vocabulary by showing and 

discussing different types and modes of 

transport. Talk about real-life experiences 

that you and the children have had. 

“What do we wear in space?” 

You can show them images of astronaut’s 

clothes and discover why they have to 

wear protective suits. Need to ensure we 

have appropriate clothing including special 

boots. Who wants to be an astronaut with 

smelly feet or cold feet? 

“Can you fart in space?” 

Something that always engages the little 

ones and, the teachers, is the discussion 

of farts in space… Methane, a component 

found in farts, is flammable and could 

pose a fire hazard. So, it’s more than the 

aroma that’s the danger and, it is, a real 

subject of scientific curiosity. 

“Emotions of going to and being in 

space?” 

You can talk about how even astronauts 

can get scared and anxious in space. 

Maybe they are even afraid of the dark! 

Role-play the different emotions that you 

and your little astronauts may experience 

as they go to space and imagine if they 

actually met some aliens! 

There are so many ways of enriching 

their vocabulary and building their 

communication skills through a little 

imagination and role-play. 

Here are some words you can include 

in your role-play to help develop and 

enhance their vocabulary. 

What do we need in our astronaut’s 

suit? 

⭐ Oxygen tanks 

⭐ Lights 

⭐ Camera 

⭐ Communicators 

⭐ Helmet 

⭐ Gloves (with a screwdriver as the 

gloves are screwed on) 

⭐ Space boots 

⭐ Water tank 

⭐ In-suit drink bag 

⭐ Air-conditioning (can get a bit hot and 

sweaty) 

⭐ Toilet (vital) 

What is our rocket made up of? 

⭐ Engines 

⭐ Rocket boosters 

⭐ Abort system 

⭐ Crew module 

⭐ Windows 

⭐ Seats 

⭐ Safety belts 

⭐ Don’t forget the big red button to push 

to blast off into space. 

What will we see when we are in 

space? 

⭐ Stars 

⭐ Moons 

⭐ Planets - learn the names in our solar 

system 

⭐ Asteroids 

⭐ Comets 

⭐ Satellites 

⭐ International Space Station 

⭐ Galaxies 

⭐ James Webb telescope 

⭐ Euclid Space telescope 

⭐ Quasar (luminous active, galactic 

nucleus) 

⭐ Neutron stars 

⭐ White dwarfs 

⭐ Black holes 

⭐ Nebulas 

⭐ Star clusters 

Role-play is a valuable tool for promoting 

language development in the early years. 

Through imaginative play, children expand 

their vocabulary, develop language 

structure and grammar, enhance their 

communication and social interaction 

skills, and foster creativity and storytelling 

abilities. There is no end to learning 

through imagination and a combination of 

guided and child-initiated role-play. 

Pack some snacks (no beans…), choose 

your rocket, and role-play an adventure in 

space. 

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. 

Email: gina@littlemagictrain.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ 

gina-bale/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ 

Littlemagictrain 



Testimonials 

These are just some of the wonderful things our customers have said 

about us this month! 

Congratulations 

to all our Parenta learners! 

“I just wanted to drop an email to say about Anca. I wanted to just say how helpful she has 

been throughout my whole course, and has helped me to achieve a distinction in my EPA. I 

just want to also say that she has been amazing throughout and so supportive when I was 

really struggling. She is so lovely and such a good mentor. 

If I ever needed help with any assignments, she would always be able to answer any 

questions that I had no matter how big or small they were. She also reassured me when I felt 

like I wasn’t doing so well.” 

Ellie 

“Very professional, they are always available to answer any questions you might have. I 

would highly recommend their website service!” 

Muhammed Khan 

“Rang the helpline just to get clarification on what I needed to do to give notice. Quickly told 

on what to do and response was quick with advice on what I may need to download before 

the end.” 

Denise Harper-Smith 

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 Early Years Lead Practitioner – that’s a huge achievement in 

the current climate. 

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

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. 

“Lady I spoke to was lovely, really helpful and solved my problem very quickly. I really 

appreciate the help as I’m quite new to the role and struggle a little with certain parts of the 

system.” 

Sunshine

August 2023 Parenta magazine

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