February 2024 Parenta magazine_compressed
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Issue 111<br />
FEBRUARY <strong>2024</strong><br />
The importance<br />
of children feeling<br />
represented<br />
Why hiring an<br />
apprentice<br />
makes sense<br />
Kindness vs<br />
people-pleasing<br />
+ lots more<br />
EYFS activities<br />
inside!<br />
This month…<br />
Expressive<br />
Arts & Design<br />
Celebrating apprenticeship<br />
achievements<br />
Are You Maximising Every Business Opportunity?<br />
Exclusive referral program - see inside for details<br />
and score a £100 Amazon voucher!
6<br />
34<br />
20<br />
Hello<br />
Welcome to our family<br />
Welcome to the <strong>February</strong> edition of <strong>Parenta</strong> <strong>magazine</strong>!<br />
With the first, possibly the wettest, and certainly the longest month of the year under our belts, we can look forward to a<br />
month of celebration and achievements - our focus for this month - and your <strong>magazine</strong> is just brimming with articles on<br />
these topics!<br />
Pam McFarlane explores the ‘value of values’, Gina Smith looks at the importance of children feeling represented, and<br />
Stacey Kelly explores kindness versus people-pleasing. We also look at how we can encourage our children to celebrate<br />
individuality. We have plenty to celebrate with National Apprenticeship Week upon us and have some great advice to help<br />
you get involved, or if you are thinking about hiring an apprentice. Check out Priya Kanabar’s article on page 18 as she<br />
explains why hiring an apprentice makes sense, regardless of how small your setting is!<br />
Remember to register for our webinar on the 15th and join us, together with our early years experts as we gain insights,<br />
share experiences, and celebrate achievements in childcare apprenticeships. You can register at www.parenta.com/<br />
webinars and don’t forget you will earn a CPD certificate if you attend!<br />
Don’t forget to share the magic of our <strong>magazine</strong> with your friends, colleagues, and parents alike. They can receive their own<br />
copy in digital or printed format by signing up at www.parenta.com/<strong>magazine</strong>.<br />
Allan<br />
12<br />
Regulars<br />
10 Write for us<br />
36 EYFS Activities: Expressive Arts & Design<br />
News<br />
4 Congratulations to our <strong>Parenta</strong> Learners<br />
6 Improving the business of childcare: part 2<br />
8 Childcare news and views<br />
Advice<br />
24<br />
14 Apprenticeships - a path to a rewarding career<br />
22 Lunar New Year<br />
26 Being kind to everyone and celebrating our<br />
individuality<br />
30 Children’s Mental Health Week<br />
Industry Experts<br />
38<br />
12 I think they have sensory needs what can I do?<br />
Part 2.5 - provide and adopt<br />
18 Why hiring an apprentice makes sense -<br />
Yes, even for childminders!<br />
20 Let’s get ready to play… wait, what now?<br />
24 The value of values<br />
28 The importance of children feeling represented<br />
32 Musical medicine: How music helps pre-term<br />
neonatal infants<br />
38 Child development: Dance and movement - part 2<br />
2 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> | parenta.com<br />
parenta.com | <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> 3
What do our customers<br />
say this month?<br />
“Natalie gives me the support and confidence needed<br />
for me to complete my course.”<br />
Natasha Ayres<br />
“I am always happy with the level of support I receive<br />
from <strong>Parenta</strong>. Thank you for the continued support.”<br />
Fledgelings<br />
“My tutor Anita is a really helpful tutor, she always<br />
tries to help me with everything, she is kind and an<br />
amazing person, every time I struggle with anything<br />
she is always there for me. Most importantly she<br />
always encourages me to work harder so that I don’t<br />
struggle with anything. Anita always makes me happy<br />
with her friendly and kind personality. Also, I am really<br />
happy that I got an assessor like her, thanks to Anita I<br />
believe that I will be able to pass this course, so I am<br />
thankful for her effort and patience in helping me.”<br />
Rosendale<br />
“I am always exceptionally pleased with the help and<br />
advice I get from <strong>Parenta</strong>. A big thank you to the team!”<br />
Brishing Barn Nursery<br />
“I would like to express the spectacular service that I<br />
received from Andreea during my revision sessions to<br />
help me achieve my exam passes.”<br />
Vickie Milton<br />
“It’s absolutely amazing - I wouldn’t be where I am<br />
today without the help of Natalie Doyle.”<br />
Chloe Theobald<br />
“Great services. All the material is structured and clear.<br />
The tutor is amazing as well.”<br />
Irina Abrosimova<br />
“I joined Wivenhoe in November and Ayse has<br />
been brilliant with booking in our learners for their<br />
professional discussions and observations. When I<br />
started here, I had some learners on around 2% and<br />
by working so closely with you have managed to get<br />
them on target for where they should be. They are so<br />
much happier at work! They are feeling so much more<br />
motivated and determined at Wivenhoe to finish their<br />
courses. A factor of that is the style that you work and<br />
how they feel your visits are practical.”<br />
Abby Walton<br />
Congratulations<br />
to all our <strong>Parenta</strong> learners!<br />
Massive CONGRATULATIONS to all our <strong>Parenta</strong><br />
learners who have completed their apprenticeships<br />
and gained their qualifications!<br />
4 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> | parenta.com<br />
parenta.com | <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> 5
Improving the<br />
business of<br />
Dr. Allan Presland<br />
childcare: part 2<br />
Many years ago, my daughter was<br />
attending the after-school club of a local<br />
chain of nurseries. She had been there for<br />
about 4 months before I realised that I’d<br />
never received an invoice and therefore,<br />
had never paid. The owner was not only<br />
a client but also a friend of mine, whom<br />
I bumped into often - and during our<br />
regular chats, I asked multiple times if he<br />
was sure he was correctly invoicing for all<br />
the services he was providing. Of course,<br />
he was adamant he was!<br />
When I saw him over the next couple of<br />
months, I asked the same type of question<br />
and always got the same answer;<br />
everything was being billed correctly. Of<br />
course, a little while later, it became too<br />
embarrassing to avoid paying any longer<br />
so I met him and paid my dues – the<br />
point is however, the owner had revenue<br />
leakage and simply wasn’t aware of it.<br />
As part of <strong>Parenta</strong>’s commitment to<br />
supporting settings, we run surveys which<br />
provide a series of questions that allow<br />
providers to compare their performance<br />
against the most successful settings. One<br />
of the questions is about revenue leakage,<br />
and 25% of respondents said they didn’t<br />
know what this was.<br />
In last month’s column, I talked about the<br />
importance of lead generation and the<br />
true value of a lead to you being worth<br />
£50,000. But (and this is really important)<br />
there is simply no point in continuing to fill<br />
a bucket with water when it has a hole in<br />
the bottom, no matter how small.<br />
This analogy may sound frivolous, but<br />
it’s the exact opposite. Having worked<br />
with so many providers over the last 25<br />
years, my suspicion is the vast majority<br />
have some form of revenue leakage from<br />
their business. Simply, they are either not<br />
billing, or not billing correctly, and more<br />
importantly, they are not receiving the<br />
income due to them.<br />
Nursery management software is an<br />
absolute necessity to solve this problem,<br />
but even then, I would urge all owners/<br />
managers to pull every single invoice<br />
for the last month and to check them all<br />
thoroughly against hours/sessions used,<br />
late payments and late collection fees, as<br />
well as extras. Unfortunately, this is not a<br />
job that can be passed to someone else –<br />
you need to satisfy yourself that everything<br />
is 100% correct.<br />
If I’m wrong and you find everything to<br />
be 100% correct, congratulations, you are<br />
one of the few. If I’m right, fix the issue fast<br />
and set a calendar reminder to repeat the<br />
exercise in 6 months.<br />
You may also want to grab a copy of<br />
my book, “Improving the Business of<br />
Childcare” which has many similar<br />
hints and tips, available here on<br />
www.amazon.co.uk here, or take<br />
our quiz to see how successful your<br />
setting is compared to others we work<br />
with: https://scorecard.parenta.com/<br />
parenta<br />
Call 0800 002 9242 and quote ’Magazine’<br />
6 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> | parenta.com
Childcare news<br />
and views<br />
New research reveals concern<br />
regarding new childcare expansion<br />
roll-out<br />
In anticipation of the Government’s<br />
forthcoming implementation of an<br />
extension to free early education<br />
entitlements starting in April <strong>2024</strong>, recent<br />
research by Coram Family and Childcare<br />
reveals concerns among local authorities<br />
in England regarding the availability<br />
of adequate childcare spaces to meet<br />
the expected demand. While 60% of<br />
local authorities express confidence in<br />
having enough places for the April <strong>2024</strong><br />
expansion, only 27% are equally confident<br />
about the expansion from September<br />
<strong>2024</strong> (15 free hours for nine-month-olds).<br />
Furthermore, this confidence drops to just<br />
12% for the September 2025 expansion (30<br />
hours for nine-month-olds).<br />
The findings of the report reveal the<br />
obstacles perceived by local authorities in<br />
effectively implementing the 30 hours of<br />
free entitlements in 2025. A substantial<br />
majority (88%) pinpoint the local childcare<br />
workforce as a significant ‘barrier,’<br />
underscoring the persistent difficulties in<br />
recruiting and retaining staff. Additionally,<br />
concerns about adequate provision for<br />
children with special educational needs<br />
and disabilities (SEND) are prominent,<br />
with 64% of local authorities citing the<br />
‘sufficiency of childcare places for children<br />
with SEND’ and 55% expressing concerns<br />
about the ‘funding to support children with<br />
SEND’ as barriers to successful delivery.<br />
Local authorities were also concerned<br />
about how the roll-out of the 30-hour<br />
expansion will impact the availability of<br />
the universal 15-hour entitlement for three<br />
and four-year-olds and disadvantaged<br />
two-year-olds.<br />
For three and four-year-old entitlements,<br />
35% of local authorities expect that fewer<br />
families will be able to take up their places<br />
without any charge, and 34% expect fewer<br />
places to be available for children with<br />
SEND.<br />
For the disadvantaged two-year-old<br />
entitlements, nearly half of local authorities<br />
expect there to be fewer available places<br />
overall and a third that fewer families will<br />
be able to take up their places without any<br />
charge. 33% also expect fewer places to<br />
be available for children with SEND, as the<br />
30 hours expansion rolls out.<br />
Ellen Broomé, Head of Coram Family and<br />
Childcare, said: “The coming months<br />
will be a crucial time in the sector as<br />
we prepare for the implementation of<br />
the government’s welcome extension of<br />
childcare support. These new entitlements<br />
have huge potential to support more<br />
parents – particularly mothers – to return<br />
to work and to boost outcomes for more<br />
children.”<br />
“Therefore, whilst it is encouraging<br />
that three-fifths of local authorities feel<br />
confident about the roll-out in April, we are<br />
concerned there may be issues for families<br />
further down the line in accessing the<br />
childcare they need, as well as ongoing<br />
challenges in the sector that could impact<br />
the successful delivery of this extended<br />
support in the coming year. These<br />
issues – including the challenges around<br />
recruitment and retention, and funding<br />
rates – need to be addressed urgently,<br />
and childcare providers fully supported to<br />
manage this extension, so that every child<br />
is able to access the high quality early<br />
years education they are entitled to, and<br />
all parents can make meaningful choices<br />
about work and care.”<br />
Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive<br />
of National Day Nurseries Association<br />
(NDNA) said: “These reports show what we<br />
have feared and been warning of – that<br />
childcare providers won’t be able to deliver<br />
enough places for all children.”<br />
“A significant number of local authorities<br />
do not think they will have enough places<br />
for the two-year-old expansion which<br />
increases to the majority who don’t think<br />
their local providers can deliver enough<br />
nine-month-old places to meet demand.”<br />
“The issue becomes even worse for<br />
children with special educational needs<br />
and disabilities who will most benefit from<br />
early intervention. This is because many<br />
nurseries do not feel they can fully meet<br />
their needs and because funding is so<br />
difficult to access locally. Some children<br />
need one-to-one care but the current<br />
early years staffing crisis adds to the<br />
pressure on nurseries. Their staff need to<br />
be adequately training and qualified to<br />
support these children.”<br />
“We know that many nurseries end up<br />
funding and supporting children with<br />
additional needs from their own pockets<br />
especially while they are waiting for<br />
funding and resources to be put in place.”<br />
“But it’s vital that these children are fully<br />
supported from an early age. Practitioners<br />
are best placed to identify children who<br />
need additional support. There is a crisis<br />
across all ages for SEND funding but<br />
getting that money and resources to our<br />
youngest children can really help<br />
reduce the amount needed in later life.”<br />
“The situation has worsened since Covid,<br />
with many more children now having<br />
higher needs especially with social,<br />
language and communication skills.<br />
This childcare expansion could be a lifeline<br />
for all children and families but only if the<br />
early years sector is fully funded and their<br />
staff supported with the skills they need to<br />
deliver it.”<br />
The full report from Coram Family and<br />
Childcare can be found here: https://www.<br />
familyandchildcaretrust.org/childcaresurvey-<strong>2024</strong>-early-release<br />
Low MMR vaccine rates:<br />
Government urges families to take<br />
action<br />
Measles is likely to spread rapidly<br />
across more parts of the UK unless<br />
more people take up the vaccine, a<br />
senior health official has warned<br />
Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of<br />
the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA),<br />
says vaccination rates are “well below”<br />
what is recommended by the World Health<br />
Organization.<br />
Pop-up clinics are being introduced to<br />
get more children vaccinated as cases<br />
continue to rise. More than 200 cases have<br />
been confirmed in the West Midlands in<br />
recent months, mostly in Birmingham.<br />
Dame Jenny has expressed concern that,<br />
without urgent action, we are likely to see<br />
the measles virus “seeding and spreading<br />
rapidly” in other cities and towns with low<br />
vaccine uptake.<br />
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme:<br />
“The focus this morning is on the West<br />
Midlands, but I think the real issue is<br />
we need a call to action right across the<br />
country.”<br />
The UKHSA has now declared the measles<br />
outbreak a national incident, allowing it<br />
to put more resources into tackling the<br />
problem. In some areas of London, like<br />
Hackney, nearly half of children have not<br />
been fully vaccinated against it.<br />
Dame Jenny said the UK had previously<br />
established an elimination status for<br />
measles, but vaccination rates had now<br />
dropped.<br />
“On average about only 85% of children<br />
are arriving at school having had the two<br />
MMR doses,” she said. NHS figures show<br />
uptake of both MMR doses by the age<br />
of five was considered very low in some<br />
areas in 2022-23:<br />
74% in London<br />
83.7% in West Midlands<br />
85.1% in the North West<br />
WHO recommends two-dose vaccination<br />
coverage of at least 95% of the population<br />
because measles is highly infectious and<br />
spreads easily.<br />
But in cities like Liverpool, Manchester,<br />
Birmingham and Nottingham only 75% of<br />
five-year-olds are in that position.<br />
“People have forgotten how miserable it is<br />
to contract measles”, Dame Jenny said.<br />
“I’m actually the generation that had<br />
measles, and I can’t remember much from<br />
my childhood, but I can remember it and it<br />
is absolutely miserable,” she said.<br />
Measles is one of the most infectious<br />
diseases in humans. On average, in<br />
communities with low protection, one<br />
person will spread the virus to 15 others.<br />
That makes it far more infectious<br />
than Coronavirus, which has an R or<br />
reproduction number of about 3.<br />
Read the full story, as reported by the BBC<br />
here.<br />
8 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> | parenta.com<br />
parenta.com | <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> 9
Write for us!<br />
M O N E Y<br />
B A C K<br />
GUARANTEE<br />
We continuously seek new<br />
authors who would like to<br />
provide thought-provoking<br />
articles for our monthly<br />
<strong>magazine</strong>.<br />
If you have a subject you’re eager to explore<br />
in writing, why not submit an article to us for a<br />
chance to win?<br />
A staggering 49%<br />
cheaper than<br />
M O N E Y<br />
B A C K<br />
Every month, we’ll be awarding Amazon<br />
vouchers to our “Guest Author of the Month.”<br />
You can access all the information here:<br />
competitors<br />
Your 50% time-saving<br />
https://www.parenta.com/sponsored-content/<br />
solution<br />
Enjoy speedy invoicing<br />
Congratulations<br />
and rapid reporting<br />
Unlimited users, phone<br />
to our guest author competition winner, Joanna Grace!<br />
and email support<br />
Congratulations to Joanna Grace, our guest author<br />
of the month! Her article, “Sensory Needs – What<br />
Can I Do?” looks at the sensory landscapes that<br />
surround us in our settings, and how best to think<br />
about children with sensory needs. Well done<br />
Joanna!<br />
A massive thank you to all of our guest authors for<br />
writing for us. You can find all of the past articles<br />
from our guest authors on our website:<br />
www.parenta.com/parentablog/guest-authors<br />
Call 0800 002 9242 and quote ’Magazine’<br />
10 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> | parenta.com
Joanna Grace<br />
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<br />
to share some of my passion for understanding the sensory world with you.<br />
This article is a continuation of Joanna’s<br />
last piece in the January edition of the<br />
<strong>Parenta</strong> <strong>magazine</strong>, make sure to read it<br />
first here!<br />
Environment<br />
In previous articles of this series, we<br />
looked at how the environment around a<br />
child can affect them at a sensory level. If<br />
you are supporting a child who processes<br />
sensory information differently, then<br />
you are going to want to pay particular<br />
attention to the sensory environment you<br />
offer that child. It is worth a re-read of<br />
those articles as you think about this. But<br />
I think they have<br />
sensory needs<br />
what can I do?<br />
Part 2.5 - provide and adopt<br />
to further extend what was said in them,<br />
you could consider whether this child<br />
might need a little bit of their own space.<br />
Something like a small tent, a stretchy<br />
fabric seat swing that cocoons a child, or<br />
even just a good old cardboard box to<br />
hide in (cardboard is an excellent absorber<br />
of sound so cardboard boxes can be<br />
great little pause places for children<br />
overwhelmed by the cacophony around<br />
them). I am not suggesting segregating<br />
this child from their peers, we want them<br />
to be a part of things, but it is likely that<br />
with the best will in the world, you are not<br />
able to provide a sensory environment<br />
that works for everyone all the time; they<br />
may well be having to cope with certain<br />
aspects of your setting.<br />
Giving them a place where they can<br />
get away from it all for a moment or so<br />
and recharge their batteries is a way of<br />
respecting and supporting the work they<br />
do in being a part of the group. Have you<br />
ever taken time out from a party to sit in a<br />
toilet cubicle and re-group? It wasn’t that<br />
you didn’t want to be at the party, it was<br />
just you needed that moment to gather<br />
yourself back together so that the whole<br />
of you could be there. By providing small<br />
bespoke sensory environments to children<br />
who need them, you give them the chance<br />
to gather themselves together and to be in<br />
your setting as their whole selves.<br />
Resources<br />
Some children with sensory differences<br />
need to fiddle with things, some bite on<br />
things, others rock to and fro, and some<br />
make loud noises or grind their teeth.<br />
Sometimes what they do doesn’t hurt them<br />
or harm others, in which case let them do<br />
it. But sometimes they’re biting on things<br />
that could be dangerous to them (or to<br />
others) or they’re shouting when you need<br />
the setting to be quiet. It is where there<br />
are these mismatches between how they<br />
are providing for their need and the world<br />
around them, that it is worth investigating.<br />
The more you understand about why they<br />
are doing these things, the more able you<br />
will be to provide resources for them. I will<br />
give you some examples from my own<br />
experiences to arouse your curiosity.<br />
A little boy who was constantly biting<br />
his clothing and the skin around his<br />
fingers found the sensation of biting to be<br />
calming. He was right to do this; we have<br />
a hormone that is released when we bite<br />
and chew that calms us. It was intended<br />
in prehistoric times to keep us calm when<br />
food had been found so that we would<br />
eat our fill. His clothes and fingers were<br />
suffering as a result. We found him some<br />
jewellery and he happily switched to biting<br />
that.<br />
Another little boy was constantly biting his<br />
fingers and we tried jewellery, but it didn’t<br />
work. We realised that it wasn’t the calm<br />
of biting he was seeking, it was the pain<br />
of being bitten. We applied our curiosity to<br />
wondering why and recognised that pain<br />
is one way of becoming aware of your<br />
own body. We offered him the chance to<br />
play on a small trampette and noticed that<br />
when he was on this, he didn’t look to bite<br />
his fingers the way he did when he was<br />
doing other activities. Jumping and feeling<br />
your body rebound sends you strong<br />
messages through your proprioceptive<br />
and vestibular systems about where your<br />
body is in space. We went on to support<br />
this child with weighted shoulder wraps<br />
during storytime and offered him vibrating<br />
toys to hold whilst he engaged in free play<br />
activities.<br />
The two boys were biting but they were<br />
fulfilling different sensory needs through<br />
that biting. Doing the detective work of<br />
being curious was critical to supporting<br />
them.<br />
I thought it might be helpful to your<br />
curiosity if I listed some common sensory<br />
resources I’ve offered children to support<br />
them in meeting different sensory needs:<br />
Ear defenders – for when children are<br />
seeking comfort in response to being<br />
distressed by sound. I’ve seen children do<br />
this:<br />
✨ By making noises themselves<br />
(blocking out the distressing noise)<br />
✨ By hurting themselves<br />
(communicating their distress and<br />
locating their bodies)<br />
✨ By moving faster or jumping (finding<br />
their bodies – knowing where you are<br />
is reassuring and so counters being<br />
unnerved)<br />
✨ By putting their fingers in their ears<br />
and squealing (again blocking out the<br />
noise)<br />
Weighted resources, or compression<br />
wear clothing – I’ve often improvised the<br />
latter out of stretchy material tied in loops<br />
that can be worn around the shoulders or<br />
looped around chair legs for feet to press<br />
against. These all provide information to<br />
children about where their bodies are in<br />
space, and knowing where you are in<br />
space can help you feel more secure.<br />
Children with variances in their<br />
proprioceptive and vestibular systems<br />
often require additional assistance in<br />
spatial orientation. This may become<br />
apparent through their seemingly atypical<br />
movements or a general sense of being a<br />
bit disoriented or vague.<br />
Wands (made of pencils) with colourful<br />
or sparkly fronds taped to the top –<br />
these have delighted many children with<br />
visual processing differences. I noticed<br />
that in the examples I’ve given above,<br />
I began with distressed children, here I<br />
begin with joyful children, and in noticing<br />
the joy they get from visual stimulation,<br />
simply offer them more. Not everything<br />
about sensory differences has to be sad<br />
and stressful. Autistic people see the<br />
world in high definition, often people<br />
with visual processing differences can<br />
experience delight through their sensing<br />
of visual stimuli. These twiddle wands<br />
are a wonderful way of creating joy and<br />
celebrating sensory differences.<br />
In my next two articles, I’m going to<br />
explore how sensory differences can affect<br />
the way children eat. I imagine by now that<br />
the families of the children in your settings<br />
with sensory differences have come to<br />
know and rely on you as they would a<br />
friend. One of the most frightening ways<br />
sensory differences can affect a child is<br />
through their eating, so having a little<br />
insight into this will continue to help you<br />
to provide for those children and support<br />
their families.<br />
As you wait for those articles to come out<br />
please feel free to connect with me on<br />
social media to watch my current sensory<br />
adventures unfurl, all the connection links<br />
can be found on my website<br />
www.TheSensoryProjects.co.uk<br />
Scan here for<br />
more resources<br />
from Joanna:<br />
12 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> | parenta.com<br />
parenta.com | <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> 13
Apprenticeships<br />
- a path to a rewarding career<br />
Do you have an effective plan in place<br />
for the recruitment, training and retention<br />
of your staff, or does the thought of a<br />
resignation letter landing on your desk fill<br />
you with dread?<br />
There are many challenges facing early<br />
years leaders today, but the issue of<br />
attracting staff into the industry and then<br />
training them in a way that is useful and<br />
relevant to real-life settings is problematic.<br />
Sometimes potential staff are unqualified<br />
and/or you don’t have the money to train<br />
them from scratch - or you want to have<br />
more of an input into their training.<br />
Sometimes you are looking to upskill<br />
existing staff, but you don’t want to lose<br />
them as employees whilst they train.<br />
Luckily, some solutions could be ideal<br />
for your setting, and those solutions are<br />
apprenticeships.<br />
Apprenticeships? Aren’t<br />
they old-fashioned?<br />
Some people have an outdated view of<br />
apprenticeships, thinking they are only<br />
for the traditional trade industries such as<br />
plumbers and carpenters, but nowadays,<br />
the apprentice route to employment is a<br />
well-trodden path and people can train in<br />
thousands of industries as an apprentice,<br />
learning on the job and earning whilst<br />
they learn too. There are apprenticeships<br />
to become qualified teachers, business<br />
analysts, marketing managers,<br />
hairdressers, and engineers too, and there<br />
are entry levels from unqualified to degree<br />
level.<br />
And yes, early years apprenticeships are<br />
available and well-funded too!<br />
The Government have raised the profile<br />
of apprenticeships in recent years as<br />
industries struggled to find enough<br />
workers leaving education with the skills<br />
they need to fill the posts they needed.<br />
Additional training was often required to<br />
upskill staff, so routes to employment that<br />
also included an educational part became<br />
more attractive.<br />
Step forward, the humble but powerful,<br />
apprenticeship.<br />
National Apprenticeship<br />
Week<br />
National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) takes<br />
place from the 5th to the 11th of <strong>February</strong><br />
<strong>2024</strong> and is a great opportunity for the<br />
education and skills sectors to come<br />
together to match people to jobs, as well<br />
as celebrate and honour the achievements<br />
of apprentices around the country. There<br />
is no doubt that apprentices have a very<br />
positive impact on businesses, local<br />
communities, and the wider economy<br />
and now is the time to recognise their<br />
importance.<br />
The theme for this year’s week is “Skills For<br />
Life” (#SkillsForLife and #NAW<strong>2024</strong>) which<br />
emphasises that apprenticeships are no<br />
longer simply a way to get a ‘foot in the<br />
door’. Many apprenticeships now offer<br />
higher qualifications up to and including<br />
degree and post-graduate qualifications,<br />
so there really is something for everyone in<br />
the apprenticeship scheme.<br />
Many early years settings have a long<br />
history of working with the Government,<br />
local colleges and training providers to<br />
offer apprenticeships at several levels<br />
and have found them to be an invaluable<br />
source of staff recruitment and training.<br />
What is an apprenticeship?<br />
The Government’s definition of an<br />
apprenticeship is:<br />
“A paid job where the employee learns<br />
and gains valuable experiences. Alongside<br />
on-the-job training, apprentices spend<br />
at least 20%* of their working hours<br />
completing classroom-based learning with<br />
a college, university or training provider<br />
which leads to a nationally recognised<br />
qualification.” * This equates to an average<br />
of 6 hours per week on a 30-hour week.<br />
Apprenticeships are a way of providing<br />
hands-on experience in a sector or role<br />
of interest to the apprentice with a formal<br />
assessment which leads to a nationally<br />
recognised qualification. One of the best<br />
parts, however, is that the person is<br />
learning on the job and because it is a job,<br />
they get paid a wage whilst learning. Since<br />
many apprenticeships are designed with<br />
the needs of the end employer in mind<br />
too, many apprenticeships can lead on<br />
to further employment at the end of the<br />
training period.<br />
How are apprenticeships<br />
funded?<br />
Many courses for young people (16-18)<br />
are fully funded by the Government<br />
which means that most employers don’t<br />
pay anything and there are no course<br />
fees to pay. Apprentices should be paid<br />
minimum wage at least, but this can be<br />
covered 100% by the Government if they<br />
are aged 16-18. Most apprenticeships for<br />
older people carry substantial Government<br />
funding too.<br />
There are also incentive schemes for<br />
recruiting young people. Employers and<br />
training providers could receive £1,000<br />
each if they recruit an apprentice who is<br />
either:<br />
✏ Aged 16 to 18 years old<br />
✏ Aged 19 to 25 years old and has an<br />
education, health and care (EHC) plan<br />
✏ Has been in the care of their local<br />
authority<br />
How can apprenticeships be<br />
useful in early years?<br />
Apprenticeships are a popular tried and<br />
trusted way for early years settings to<br />
help recruit and fund first-time job seekers<br />
because they are accredited and mostly<br />
fully funded. Apprentices here usually<br />
start with a Level 2 or Level 3 Childcare<br />
qualification.<br />
However, there are also higher-level<br />
apprenticeships and apprenticeships also<br />
include things like:<br />
✏ Early Years Educator<br />
✏ Teacher<br />
✏ Learning mentor (Teaching Assistant)<br />
✏ Children, Young People & Families<br />
Manager<br />
<strong>Parenta</strong> specialises in training people in:<br />
✏ Level 2 Childcare (EYP)<br />
✏ Level 3 Childcare (EYE)<br />
✏ Level 3 Team Leader<br />
✏ Level 5 EYLP<br />
Apprenticeships can also involve<br />
specialisms in areas like music or working<br />
with pupils with special educational needs<br />
or challenging behaviour, helping them<br />
to overcome barriers to learning and fulfil<br />
their potential.<br />
How can I find out more?<br />
There is a lot of information on the NAW<br />
website at nationalapprenticeshipweek.<br />
co.uk. Alternatively, <strong>Parenta</strong> are experts<br />
in recruiting and training apprentices for<br />
the early years sector and you can contact<br />
them on 0800 002 9242 or visit www.<br />
parenta.com/recruit-an-apprentice/. There<br />
are also a lot of articles and advice about<br />
apprenticeships on the <strong>Parenta</strong> website at:<br />
www.parenta.com/parentablog/childcareapprenticeships/<br />
Celebrating National<br />
Apprenticeship Week<br />
We’ve also listed below some other ways<br />
you could celebrate NAW in your setting:<br />
✏ Reach out to local schools and<br />
colleges to speak to them about<br />
potential apprenticeship opportunities<br />
– you could also offer work experience<br />
for interested students<br />
✏ Register your interest by signing up for<br />
the monthly newsletter on the NAW<br />
website<br />
✏ Join one of the employment webinars<br />
on the website<br />
✏ Spread the word about NAW on your<br />
social media channels<br />
✏ Consider upskilling existing staff with<br />
an apprenticeship – possibly a Level<br />
5 EYLP<br />
✏ Call <strong>Parenta</strong> on 0800 002 9242 for<br />
more information<br />
More information<br />
✏ nationalapprenticeshipweek.co.uk<br />
✏ www.parenta.com/<br />
childcaretrainingcourses<br />
Scan here for<br />
more references<br />
& information:<br />
14 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> | parenta.com<br />
parenta.com | <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> 15
Supercharge your occupancy rates and create an online hub that<br />
parents will return to again and again! <strong>Parenta</strong>'s unmatched website<br />
solutions for nurseries and preschools are tailored for success.<br />
Join our exclusive referral<br />
program and unlock your<br />
rewards!<br />
Refer a friend to <strong>Parenta</strong> and<br />
unlock this great offer<br />
You will get a £100 Amazon<br />
Voucher per successful<br />
referral!<br />
That’s not all!<br />
Your friend will get 10% off all<br />
non-training <strong>Parenta</strong> solutions<br />
PLUS + a £50 Amazon<br />
Voucher. It’s a win-win<br />
Once someone you have referred<br />
becomes a <strong>Parenta</strong> customer and<br />
meets our T&Cs, your voucher will<br />
be activated – happy referring!<br />
"A very easy website process. Love the end results, and that is coming from<br />
someone who did not have a clue where to start!"<br />
Call 0800 002 9242 and quote ’Magazine’<br />
Call 0800 002 9242 and quote ’Magazine’
Priya Kanabar<br />
Why hiring an<br />
apprentice makes<br />
sense<br />
Yes, even for childminders!<br />
Given the growing demand for childcare<br />
places, particularly with the increased<br />
Government-funded hours, now presents<br />
the perfect moment to explore the<br />
advantages of bringing an apprentice on<br />
board. The potential benefits of such a<br />
partnership extend to both the apprentice<br />
and the employer, making it a mutually<br />
enriching experience. Let’s explore why<br />
hiring an apprentice makes good sense.<br />
The process of finding an apprentice<br />
may seem like a very time-consuming<br />
process, with a lot of time being dedicated<br />
to training them. No one wants to be<br />
bombarded with extra paperwork or to<br />
hold someone’s hand whilst they are<br />
studying, however, this does not have to<br />
be the case at all.<br />
If you pick a reputable recruiter and trainer,<br />
for example, <strong>Parenta</strong>, you will receive<br />
support for both you and your apprentice<br />
right from the beginning. In addition to<br />
finding out exactly what your setting’s<br />
requirements are, they will have already<br />
started the registration process and will<br />
only send you the strongest candidates.<br />
This cuts out half of the work; so, all you<br />
need to do as the employer is conduct<br />
the interview and make that all-important<br />
decision. Many childcare professionals will<br />
associate apprentices with no experience<br />
and needing a whole lot of attention to<br />
complete their childcare courses, but it is<br />
up to the employer to only choose who<br />
they consider suitable for the role.<br />
The partnership between the training<br />
provider, the learner and the employer is<br />
really important. The apprentice will have<br />
regular meetings and training with their<br />
tutor and for this reason, the employer<br />
must ensure their learner is supported,<br />
given regular appraisals, and booked onto<br />
any core training they need. Of course,<br />
this means keeping them up-to-date with<br />
legislation and supporting them in getting<br />
to know their workplace inside out. Giving<br />
them challenges and more responsibility<br />
will give them the confidence they need<br />
for inspection or simply to become a room<br />
leader.<br />
Another benefit of hiring an apprentice<br />
is the lack of financial stress, as the<br />
majority of apprenticeships are 95%<br />
government-funded. Even though there<br />
is usually a minimum number of set<br />
hours, and off-the-job training to do, the<br />
contracted days and times can be tailored<br />
to individual setting’s needs. How you<br />
teach them within your setting will be your<br />
unique learning style, which becomes the<br />
foundation of their future.<br />
Highlights<br />
Feeling empowered is one of the highlights<br />
- watching an apprentice grow during their<br />
first year, compile a portfolio of certificates,<br />
from scratch, and gain invaluable (handson)<br />
skills needed to work as an early years<br />
practitioner.<br />
Although it can be challenging knowing<br />
that you, the employer, are responsible for<br />
them, the challenging aspect is motivating.<br />
Making an effort to demonstrate<br />
professional role modelling, naturally sets<br />
a high standard.<br />
Support<br />
The feeling of guiding someone in making<br />
their first steps towards a qualification is<br />
very rewarding, as is knowing you are part<br />
of the reason they are competent. During<br />
that process, providing endless support<br />
and praise to ensure the apprentice does<br />
not lack self-esteem is essential.<br />
It helps to put yourself in their shoes;<br />
taking yourself back to when you first<br />
began training to work in the early years.<br />
Mental health and stress can impact on<br />
the ability to function, let alone work; for<br />
this reason, supporting staff with regular<br />
meetings is essential, especially if you<br />
want to keep staff long term.<br />
Training<br />
Keeping your apprentices informed about<br />
current legislation and providing crucial<br />
refresher training serves as a helpful<br />
reminder for the entire setting to review<br />
their practices. Ensuring apprentices<br />
are well-trained is crucial for meeting<br />
high standards and avoiding any issues<br />
during Ofsted inspections. While there<br />
might be time pressures involved in<br />
training, ultimately, it leads to increased<br />
professionalism, which will be a positive<br />
outcome for all.<br />
There is a sense of pressure in training<br />
someone that can only result in more<br />
professionalism, a positive thing for sure.<br />
Working in the early years requires a<br />
range of personality traits, using creativity<br />
in different ways and a diverse range<br />
of teaching styles. This lesson is a very<br />
special one an employer can teach an<br />
apprentice - to reassure them that they do<br />
not have to fit in, but rather float in their<br />
own bubbles for all to admire.<br />
There are so many benefits to hiring<br />
an apprentice and they outweigh the<br />
hardships!<br />
Scan here for<br />
more information<br />
& resources<br />
from Priya:<br />
18 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> | parenta.com<br />
parenta.com | <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> 19
Dr. Kathryn Peckham<br />
In this article, taken from the course of the<br />
same name at the Nurturing Childhoods<br />
Academy, we are going to be reminding<br />
ourselves of the deep-rooted importance<br />
of play and how we can support all adults<br />
in a child’s life to prioritise this invaluable<br />
activity. But first let me ask, how can<br />
something that seems like the simplest,<br />
most natural thing in the world be so<br />
fraught with issues? It all seems so easy<br />
when you watch children at it!<br />
Whether a child is looking up at you<br />
dressed in fairy wings, wanting you to<br />
chase them around the garden or to play<br />
endless rounds of their current favourite<br />
game, as an adult it can all seem a little<br />
daunting. How do you emerge yourself in<br />
Let’s get ready<br />
to play… wait,<br />
what now?<br />
their world of make-believe? How do you<br />
know what to do, to say and how to act?<br />
More and more parents and practitioners<br />
come to me concerned that they simply<br />
don’t know how to play. Could this be a<br />
sign of a more sedentary, technologyinfused<br />
childhood or the impact of moving<br />
away from extended families and no<br />
longer being surrounded by nieces,<br />
nephews and young cousins? Or is it that<br />
as adults, we become too concerned with<br />
how we are perceived by others and forget<br />
the liberating freedoms of play?<br />
Engaging in genuine play with children<br />
is not only an immensely enjoyable<br />
way to spend your time, but it also<br />
carries tremendous benefits for a<br />
child’s emotional, cognitive and social<br />
development, building relationships<br />
and establishing the attachments that<br />
significantly contribute to their overall<br />
well-being. However, in today’s fast-paced<br />
world, parents and practitioners can<br />
often find themselves juggling multiple<br />
responsibilities and commitments.<br />
Amongst the hustle and bustle of daily<br />
life, it’s crucial to remind them of the<br />
significance of spending quality time<br />
playing. As you support all the adults in<br />
a child’s life, let us remind ourselves why<br />
we must all set aside dedicated time for<br />
play. And as we embrace our inner child,<br />
watch as we all flourish in the special<br />
connections we share.<br />
☑ Building strong bonds<br />
Playing with children serves as<br />
a powerful bonding experience,<br />
providing an opportunity to connect<br />
on an emotional level as you foster<br />
trust and a sense of security. As you<br />
play together you demonstrate to<br />
children that they are valued and<br />
loved, strengthening your relationship<br />
as you build healthy attachments<br />
and enhance their self-esteem and<br />
confidence<br />
☑ Promoting cognitive development<br />
As you play, you naturally develop<br />
children’s cognitive skills, engaging<br />
their problem-solving, critical thinking<br />
and decision-making abilities as<br />
you explore the world around them.<br />
Participating in activities that naturally<br />
include creativity, spatial awareness,<br />
or logical reasoning such as building<br />
blocks, puzzles or imaginative play<br />
stimulates their development in ways<br />
more profound than any digital app<br />
☑ Enhancing social skills<br />
As you play together, you facilitate the<br />
development of their social skills and<br />
lay the groundwork for positive social<br />
interactions. Through cooperative<br />
play, children learn how to negotiate,<br />
compromise, and take turns. Through<br />
shared play experiences, they<br />
develop empathy, compassion, and<br />
an understanding of social cues, all<br />
of which are vital for building and<br />
maintaining relationships throughout<br />
their lives<br />
☑ Language and communication<br />
development<br />
Whether it’s engaging in pretend<br />
play, storytelling or engaging in<br />
conversation, play provides an<br />
excellent platform for children<br />
to develop and enhance their<br />
language and communication<br />
skills in meaningful ways. By<br />
actively participating in their play,<br />
you can support their vocabulary<br />
development, sentence structure and<br />
communication abilities<br />
☑ Emotional regulation and stress<br />
relief<br />
Play also allows children to express<br />
and process their emotions in safe<br />
and healthy ways. Whether through<br />
dramatic play or engaging in physical<br />
activities, play helps children release<br />
excess energy and reduces stress.<br />
It also provides an outlet for them<br />
to explore and understand complex<br />
emotions, and to develop effective<br />
emotional regulation strategies<br />
We know that play is not simply about<br />
fun but also an essential component of<br />
children’s growth and well-being, fostering<br />
their holistic development and allowing<br />
them to experience the joy and wonder<br />
of childhood. It is also the most significant<br />
and deeply felt way we have of learning<br />
- at any age. So, let us look at how we<br />
support all adults to confidently embrace<br />
the power of playtime.<br />
Firstly, consider how motivating our<br />
environments are. Do we feel excited and<br />
interested to explore and play? Is there<br />
a variety of engaging toys, art supplies,<br />
books, and puzzles along with materials<br />
that promote open-ended play such as<br />
cardboard boxes or blankets for building,<br />
dressing-up costumes and simple<br />
household items? Is the space organised<br />
and accessible so that activities of interest<br />
can be easily chosen and tidied away<br />
afterwards? Are these periodically rotated<br />
to maintain novelty and keep everyone’s<br />
interest piqued?<br />
Without careful thought, structured<br />
activities and screens can dominate<br />
children’s time and we must prioritise nontech,<br />
unstructured play as an essential<br />
part of their development. The freedom to<br />
play without specific rules or instructions<br />
gives children the opportunity to follow<br />
their interests and passions, fostering a<br />
sense of autonomy and self-expression.<br />
However, in today’s digital age, excessive<br />
screen time may be hindering children’s<br />
motivation to engage in more self-driven<br />
forms of play, so look at how you infuse<br />
their play with independent thinking,<br />
decision-making and problem-solving<br />
opportunities.<br />
Children learn so much by example, so<br />
show your enthusiasm as you follow their<br />
imagination, demonstrating that play is<br />
not just for children, but a great activity for<br />
everyone. Strengthen your bond as you<br />
actively participate and celebrate in their<br />
play. Provide positive reinforcement and<br />
praise for their creativity, their problemsolving<br />
abilities and persistence. Take a<br />
genuine interest in their playtime activities,<br />
asking open-ended questions and<br />
engaging in meaningful conversations as<br />
you boost their confidence and motivation<br />
to explore.<br />
So whether you are a parent, practitioner<br />
or family worker, join me at the Nurturing<br />
Childhoods Academy where you can<br />
access training, listen to talks and join a<br />
community of practitioners, parents and<br />
professionals working with children and<br />
the families that nurture them.<br />
Scan here for<br />
more resources<br />
from Kathryn:<br />
20 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> | parenta.com<br />
parenta.com | <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> 21
Lunar New Year<br />
In the West, we celebrate New Year as the<br />
clocks change from 11.59pm to midnight<br />
on December 31st. But this is not the only<br />
New Year that is celebrated around the<br />
world, and in <strong>February</strong>, many people<br />
celebrate the Lunar New Year, or as many<br />
in Eastern cultures also know it, Chinese<br />
New Year.<br />
Unlike the Western New Year, which is set<br />
on the same day every year, the date of<br />
Lunar New Year changes as the phase of<br />
the moon fluctuates. So, in <strong>2024</strong>, Lunar<br />
New Year occurs on <strong>February</strong> 10th, and<br />
ends with the Lantern Festival on the 15th.<br />
In some Asian cultures, such as China,<br />
South and North Korea and Singapore, the<br />
New Year, each year is also associated<br />
with an animal from the zodiac. These<br />
animals range from pigs to monkeys, but<br />
this year, we are moving from the year of<br />
the Rabbit to the year of the Dragon, or<br />
more specifically, the Wood Dragon.<br />
Surprisingly, if you were born in any of<br />
the previous dragon years, then traditions<br />
says that the coming year will be an<br />
unlucky rather than a lucky one! The 12<br />
animals of the Chinese zodiac are Rat,<br />
Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse,<br />
Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.<br />
This system for naming years has been in<br />
common use for about the last 2000 years<br />
but some say it goes back even further to<br />
around 2637 BCE when it was reportedly<br />
invented.<br />
The lunar cycle lasts between 29 or 30<br />
days and there are 12 cycles in each year,<br />
although in order to keep up with the solar<br />
calendar that the West uses, an extra<br />
month is added every 2 to 3 years, much<br />
like the addition of <strong>February</strong> 29th every 4<br />
years in the solar calendar.<br />
Lunar or Chinese New Year is a great<br />
way to introduce the children to different<br />
cultures and traditions from around the<br />
world, so get ready to party and educate<br />
the children at the same time. Look at<br />
some of our ideas and bring some cheer<br />
to those dreary, <strong>February</strong> days.<br />
Chinese cookery and<br />
food<br />
Nothing introduces little ones to the<br />
culture quicker than trying different foods<br />
and you can expand their taste buds<br />
and experiences at the same time. One<br />
suggestion is to create a small ‘banquet’<br />
of small dishes of different types of food.<br />
Think about using plain or flavoured rice<br />
such as egg fried rice, sweet and sour<br />
chicken, spring rolls or toffee bananas. You<br />
can find some good recipes on the BBC or<br />
Twinkl website.<br />
Red envelopes<br />
You may have noticed that red is the<br />
dominant colour in many Chinese<br />
decorations around this time and that is<br />
because it is considered very lucky. One<br />
tradition is that children receive money in<br />
red envelopes which represent luck and<br />
prosperity, and you can make your own<br />
envelopes easily with some red card or<br />
paper. The children can decorate them<br />
with signs or the sun, moon and stars, or<br />
anything else they like. Be careful about<br />
the money that you put in as the numbers<br />
are important. In China, the number 8<br />
is considered lucky, but the number 4 is<br />
considered the opposite.<br />
Zodiac animals<br />
With so many different animals in the<br />
Chinese zodiac, this a great opportunity<br />
to think about the characteristics of each<br />
different animal. You could use these<br />
as the basis of different sessions for the<br />
children including:
Pam McFarlane<br />
Values<br />
Work values are beliefs or principles<br />
relating to your career or place of work.<br />
They describe what you believe matters<br />
regarding your career.<br />
Values are not ‘fuddy-duddy’ concepts.<br />
Values are trendy. Paul Brunson, a<br />
relationship coach on Married at First<br />
Sight, always gets contestants to explore<br />
each other’s values. What values does<br />
each one hold dear? What is important to<br />
them? Do they align? If not, presumably<br />
the marriage is doomed to failure and<br />
more alarmingly for many, fewer followers<br />
on social media.<br />
Paul posted on X on November 28th,<br />
2023, saying:<br />
“One of the most important questions you<br />
can answer is this: What are your values?<br />
Now your values guide everything in this<br />
life. Who’s the best romantic match, who’s<br />
the best business partner, who are the<br />
best friends? These are all based on your<br />
values. But more important than the best<br />
match, your values are your happiness.<br />
So identify what your values are, prioritise<br />
them, and most importantly feed them….<br />
not only will you lead a fuller life, but you’ll<br />
be much happier.”<br />
It is the same with our work settings. It<br />
is suggested that a third of our lives are<br />
spent at work. On a weekly basis many of<br />
us see our colleagues more then we see<br />
our beloveds. If shared values are key to<br />
successful relationships then the same<br />
applies to our work relationships.<br />
Before we talk about drawing up our<br />
own set of values, we should look at core<br />
values, their significance and their impact.<br />
The value of<br />
So, just what are core<br />
values?<br />
It is worthwhile carefully reading the<br />
following excellent explanation given by<br />
Workplace from en-gb.workplace.com.<br />
They say ‘“company values are a set of<br />
core beliefs held by an organisation. They<br />
might involve principles that govern the<br />
business, its philosophy, or how it expects<br />
the people who work for it to act.“<br />
“Values are overarching - they’re not about<br />
a single situation but act as a guide to how<br />
a company should approach everything it<br />
does and its interactions. Values can help<br />
define an organisation’s personality and<br />
help it stand out from the crowd.“<br />
“They can make a statement about where<br />
a company stands and what it believes in.<br />
They can give people focus and a greater<br />
sense of purpose and engagement,<br />
reinforcing a company’s broader goals<br />
and feeding into everyday decisions and<br />
work.“<br />
values<br />
“Crucially, values act as one of the building<br />
blocks of organisational culture, giving a<br />
consistent reference point, even in times of<br />
change.”<br />
What can core values do<br />
for our setting?<br />
Attract talent<br />
We all know that recruitment within early<br />
years has been exceptionally difficult over<br />
the past few years. Having clear values<br />
can make the difference in securing the<br />
right person for the job.<br />
Create a secure work environment<br />
A set of considered values is the basis for<br />
a setting’s code of conduct. Values provide<br />
a guide for behaviour in professional,<br />
social, physical and virtual interactions that<br />
is clearly understood. Having values levels<br />
the playing field and ensures fairness for<br />
all. This helps people to feel secure.<br />
Values also enable settings to identify and<br />
deal with toxic behaviours promptly.<br />
Conversely, managers can positively affirm<br />
their staff for evidencing these values.<br />
This helps staff members feel more<br />
connected to the setting and to one<br />
another and they are then able to develop<br />
a sense of ownership to the setting.<br />
Improved performance is often the result.<br />
Enhance communications<br />
Once values are embedded, all staff<br />
members can interact with stakeholders<br />
in a way that reflects the setting positively.<br />
Bank staff members too, must understand<br />
and adhere to the values of the setting. If<br />
parents are aware of the setting’s values,<br />
they also are encouraged to abide by<br />
these in their interactions with staff. Our<br />
values also trickle down to the children<br />
in our care, making the setting a happy,<br />
healthy place to be.<br />
Formulating your own<br />
set of values<br />
As with establishing our workplace culture,<br />
our workplace values are best chosen<br />
when all staff are involved. There needs<br />
to be a shared platform from which our<br />
values are embedded into our setting’s<br />
culture. A special staff meeting called to<br />
focus on values is a very good way to start<br />
generating ideas.<br />
In creating your values, the following are<br />
helpful to consider:<br />
Be clear and concise<br />
It is essential to keep your company values<br />
clear so that they can be understood and<br />
embraced by employees, regardless of<br />
their level or position in the setting. Staff<br />
members, from apprentices, to cooks,<br />
practitioners, leaders and managers must<br />
know what to expect and understand<br />
what is important.<br />
Keep them brief and memorable<br />
Keep them brief – short and snappy is the<br />
way to go! Values are then easy to recall<br />
at any given moment.<br />
Ensure they reflect your setting’s culture<br />
and check that they accurately reflect your<br />
mission, vision, beliefs, and objectives.<br />
Adapt if needed<br />
Settings grow and develop over time, so<br />
reflect on your values from time to time,<br />
making sure the values are still relevant<br />
and effective. If not, make amendments<br />
that suit your current reality.<br />
What is important for<br />
you? What matters?<br />
The first step in creating our values is by<br />
looking at what is important to us.<br />
Do we value honesty? Integrity? Positivity?<br />
Service? Kindness? Accountability? Unity?<br />
Having a group discussion with all staff<br />
members will bring common values to the<br />
fore. Once these are aired, choose some<br />
(five is a good number) that reflect your<br />
setting’s uniqueness.<br />
Some suggestions are:
Being kind to everyone<br />
and perceptions of the world. And<br />
the world is a much more vibrant and<br />
engaging place because of it.<br />
and celebrating our<br />
Think for a moment, what the world would<br />
be like if everyone was more alike – if we<br />
all liked the same things, and listened to<br />
the same type of music, wore the same<br />
clothes and ate the same foods. Would<br />
that be a change for the better?<br />
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all feel<br />
accepted by other people in the world and<br />
by ourselves? Think about how the world<br />
would be if there was no prejudice, and<br />
tolerance and kindness were the traits<br />
most often displayed by everyone.<br />
Sometimes, it is the smallest things that<br />
are the most important to promote in our<br />
children and staff and being kind to others,<br />
celebrating our individuality and being<br />
kind to all beings is a great place to start.<br />
<strong>February</strong> 17th is Random Acts of Kindness<br />
Day, celebrated across the world by<br />
people wanting to spread love and<br />
positivity, and there is no better place to<br />
start than educating our youngest citizens<br />
about simple behaviour that anyone can<br />
do - it costs nothing, and the impact of<br />
which can be felt far and wide.<br />
individuality<br />
The benefits<br />
According to the website www.<br />
randomactsofkindness.org, being kind<br />
to others has many benefits not only to<br />
the recipient, but to ourselves too. People<br />
who witness acts of kindness can also be<br />
affected because science has shown that<br />
even witnessing an act of kindness can<br />
produce oxytocin, which some people refer<br />
to as the ‘love hormone’. Oxytocin is an<br />
important hormone in the body which can<br />
help to:
The importance<br />
of children feeling<br />
Gina Smith<br />
represented<br />
How great is it that we are gradually<br />
beginning to see more diversity on<br />
television and in books? From celebrating<br />
physical differences on “Strictly Come<br />
Dancing” and on “CBeebies”, to<br />
celebrating hidden differences such as<br />
the series Pablo about an autistic boy,<br />
the world is gradually opening up to the<br />
importance of representation of everyone,<br />
no matter what skin colour, physical or<br />
hidden disability they have. There is still a<br />
lot of work to be done though.<br />
Imagine being a child in an early years<br />
setting, and being very aware that you<br />
look quite different to your peers. Perhaps<br />
you have a different skin colour, very<br />
different hair, or you have a physical<br />
disability that stands out. Not only are<br />
you different to the other children that<br />
surround you, but when you look in books,<br />
at posters or play with dolls or small world<br />
toys, none of those people look like you<br />
either. This is just going to make you even<br />
more aware that you are different.<br />
When a child feels they are different<br />
to everyone else, they are likely to feel<br />
insecure and become withdrawn. A lack of<br />
representation can lead to children feeling<br />
they are unimportant. No child should<br />
grow up feeling they are less valuable<br />
because of how they look. It takes a lot of<br />
careful work to give a child the confidence<br />
to want to celebrate their differences rather<br />
than shy away from them. The root of this<br />
inner confidence starts in the home, but<br />
it is very likely that a child’s uniqueness<br />
only stands out when they are surrounded<br />
by lots of children from different homes.<br />
For example, at home, a child may be<br />
surrounded by loved ones with the same<br />
skin colour as them, but when they get<br />
to your setting they are the only one with<br />
their skin colour.<br />
As early years leaders, you have the<br />
critically important job of making children<br />
feel represented from the earliest age<br />
before any chance of them feeling<br />
undervalued or becoming negatively<br />
aware of their differences sets in. This is<br />
an incredibly important role that can make<br />
a huge difference to a child’s self-esteem.<br />
Just think – you get the chance to alter a<br />
child’s view of themselves and to celebrate<br />
everything about them, from the earliest<br />
age. One way to do this is to make sure<br />
they are represented across all resources<br />
in your setting.<br />
Here are some opportunities that you have<br />
in an early years setting to make sure<br />
everyone is represented:
Children’s Mental<br />
Every year we celebrate Children’s Mental<br />
Health Week in the UK and this year it runs<br />
from the 5th to the 11th of <strong>February</strong>. This<br />
dedicated week provides an opportune<br />
time to raise awareness about the<br />
mental health challenges individuals<br />
may encounter and explore strategies to<br />
overcome them.<br />
All children deserve to have good mental<br />
health but sadly, this is not the case for<br />
many young people. In fact, according to<br />
The Children’s Society, in a normal class<br />
of 30 pupils, 5 are likely to have a mental<br />
health issue. Fifty percent of all mental<br />
health problems start by the age of 14,<br />
and the Mental Health Foundation say that<br />
seventy-five percent of children and young<br />
people who experience mental health<br />
problems are not getting the support they<br />
need. Some examples of mental health<br />
disorders that children can suffer from<br />
include anxiety disorders, depression,<br />
other mood disorders, eating disorders,<br />
and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<br />
Without treatment, these mental health<br />
conditions can prevent children from<br />
reaching their full potential.<br />
These statistics and facts should be a<br />
wake-up call to all adults especially those<br />
in the caring, education and healthcare<br />
professions to see what else we can do to<br />
support the mental health of our children<br />
and young people.<br />
Raising awareness and celebrating<br />
Children’s Mental Health Week (CMHW) is<br />
a great place to start so we’ve given you<br />
some more information and ideas as to<br />
how you can do this in your setting.<br />
The first CMHW was launched in 2015<br />
by the charity, Place2Be, and since then,<br />
thousands of people across the UK have<br />
worn a green ribbon and participated in<br />
events and workshops across the country.<br />
The theme this year is “My Voice Matters”<br />
and the aim is to empower, equip and<br />
give a voice to every child in the UK, and to<br />
give them the tools they need to express<br />
themselves.<br />
Health Week<br />
Everyone can take part in the week, and<br />
it is never too early to begin talking to<br />
children about their emotions and how<br />
they feel. There are lots of downloadable<br />
free resources on their website at www.<br />
childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/<br />
including assembly guides, worksheets,<br />
top tips and more.<br />
One of the goals is also to ensure that<br />
no child or young person must face a<br />
mental health problem alone so some of<br />
the resources are also aimed at families,<br />
parents and carers and there are some<br />
informative videos including ones with<br />
British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation.<br />
How can you help<br />
children express<br />
themselves and find<br />
their voice?<br />
Many children and young people are<br />
still learning to express themselves and<br />
this can take years for some people as<br />
they learn to navigate social norms, and<br />
relationships and find their unique place in<br />
the world. Pre-school children are unlikely<br />
to have the words to express themselves<br />
lucidly, but they will understand when they<br />
feel good about things and when they<br />
don’t. As early years practitioners, it is<br />
part of our job to help them find words to<br />
communicate effectively with those around<br />
them, so they can learn to regulate their<br />
emotions rather than be a slave to them<br />
and mature into emotionally intelligent<br />
beings.<br />
Tips to help children<br />
recognise and regulate<br />
emotions:<br />
1. Stay calm and manage your own<br />
state – you cannot help someone<br />
manage big emotions if you match<br />
their stress, anger or anxiety. Stay<br />
calm, use de-escalation techniques<br />
and remain patient<br />
2. Start early – you can talk to babies<br />
about their emotions and begin<br />
pointing out when characters in<br />
stories and films are feeling sad,<br />
happy, anxious or angry<br />
3. Be present and connect – take the<br />
time to connect with the child in<br />
moments of high emotion: ensure<br />
you are on their eye level and are<br />
actively listening to them. Soothe and<br />
reassure them to help them feel safe<br />
4. Help children find words for emotions<br />
– this is one of the most important<br />
things to do. When children display<br />
big emotions, help them by saying<br />
things like; “I can see you are feeling<br />
angry now”, or “People who are<br />
feeling anxious can sometimes show<br />
this by….”<br />
5. Teach, don’t punish – if a child<br />
makes a mistake in addition, we<br />
don’t punish them; we teach them<br />
the right concepts and strategies to<br />
get to the right answer. Yet when we<br />
look at emotions and behaviour, we<br />
can sometimes forget our teaching<br />
remit and think that if a child has<br />
trouble managing their emotions,<br />
we should somehow bring them<br />
into line by introducing punishments<br />
and sanctions. Remember, that all<br />
behaviour is a form of communication,<br />
and our role is to help the child learn<br />
to communicate better!<br />
6. Be a good role model – modelling the<br />
behaviour and emotional intelligence<br />
that you want to see from your<br />
youngsters is a great way to get them<br />
to pay attention and begin the journey<br />
of self-regulation. Children learn by<br />
watching and imitating and this is true<br />
of emotional regulation too<br />
7. Remember the long-term goals – be<br />
prepared to help young children over<br />
time. No one will get everything right<br />
the first time, and not every time,<br />
even adults can struggle with this. So,<br />
be patient, offer praise and reward<br />
progress<br />
Things you can use<br />
to help children talk<br />
about emotions<br />
There are many resources to help children<br />
learn about emotions. Think about:
Frances Turnbull<br />
Musical<br />
medicine<br />
How music helps pre-term<br />
neonatal infants<br />
listening to and creating music reduces<br />
blood pressure, improves metabolism<br />
and has even been suggested that this<br />
is because music improves the immune<br />
system.<br />
A review of 13 studies (Yue et al., 2021)<br />
considered over 1,000 infants in neonatal<br />
intensive care. In an environment of<br />
machines, tubes and medical equipment,<br />
studies showed that music and singing<br />
reduced the infant’s heart rate, respiratory<br />
rate, oral feeding volume, stress level and<br />
maternal anxiety. These are all predictors<br />
of survival, so important areas that tell<br />
doctors what interventions are necessary.<br />
A further review of 25 studies (Haslbeck<br />
et al., 2023) with over 1,500 infants did<br />
not show increased oxygen saturation<br />
or infant development but did appear to<br />
reduce heart rates significantly. Heart rate<br />
is linked to the stress hormones adrenaline<br />
and cortisol (fight/flight responses), which<br />
can lead to medical emergencies including<br />
heart attack and stroke. This is why we are<br />
encouraged to reduce our heart rate at all<br />
ages.<br />
more memorable, and the rhythm of<br />
the words gives the feeling of call-andresponse<br />
completion.<br />
My Bonnie<br />
My Bonnie lies over the ocean<br />
My Bonnie lies over the sea<br />
My Bonnie lies over the ocean<br />
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me<br />
Bring back, oh bring back, oh<br />
Bring back my Bonnie, to me, to me<br />
Bring back, oh bring back, oh<br />
Bring back my Bonnie to me<br />
Oh, blow ye waves over the ocean<br />
Oh, blow ye waves over the sea<br />
Oh, blow ye waves over the ocean<br />
And bring back my Bonnie to me<br />
This well-known Scottish lullaby is written<br />
in the rocking rhythm of 6/8 timing, like<br />
other children’s songs and many sea<br />
shanties. With the feeling of rocking on the<br />
waves of the ocean, we think that rocking<br />
is familiar to newborns because of their<br />
experience, floating in amniotic fluid.<br />
Cradle song<br />
Lullaby and goodnight<br />
With roses bestride<br />
With lilies bedecked<br />
‘Neath baby’s sweet bed<br />
May thou sleep, may thou rest<br />
May thy slumber be blessed<br />
May thou sleep, may thou rest<br />
May thy slumber be blessed<br />
This classic lullaby is actually written in<br />
3/4 waltz timing, a wonderful rhythm for a<br />
slow and quiet dance.<br />
Knowing that these types of songs are<br />
used in intensive care to quiet and calm<br />
babies in distress is useful. We can use<br />
this knowledge with our own little ones,<br />
bringing calm to their situation, whatever<br />
it may be.<br />
With this in mind, here are some lullabies<br />
to get started with younger children<br />
particularly:<br />
Hush little baby<br />
Hush, little baby, don’t say a word.<br />
Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird<br />
And if that mockingbird won’t sing,<br />
Mama’s gonna buy you a diamond ring<br />
Toora loora loora<br />
Over in Killarney, many years ago<br />
Me mother sang a song to me<br />
In tones so sweet and low<br />
Just a simple little ditty, in her good old<br />
Irish way<br />
And I’d give the world if she could sing<br />
That song to me today<br />
If that diamond ring turns brass<br />
Mama’s gonna buy you a looking glass<br />
If that looking glass gets broke<br />
Mama’s gonna buy you a billy goat<br />
Toora, loora, loora, Toora, loora, lai<br />
Toora, loora, loora, hush now, don’t you cry<br />
Toora, loora, loora, Toora, loora, lai<br />
That’s an Irish lullaby<br />
Scan here for<br />
more resources<br />
We started this year by looking at how<br />
music can help to support children with<br />
language delays. Looking a little closer,<br />
there are several health conditions that<br />
music can support, specifically through<br />
singing.<br />
This is particularly timely because of<br />
the number of recent articles showing<br />
how lockdown has impacted all of us,<br />
particularly our children. As a result,<br />
many different holistic and psychological<br />
approaches are being recommended to<br />
improve children’s outcomes.<br />
Ironically, music has been shown to<br />
support the development of several areas,<br />
including physical and socio-emotional.<br />
Sadly, it has also been one of the first<br />
subjects to go in favour of more academic<br />
subjects, including numeracy and literacy.<br />
In response to this, we are going to<br />
continue our enquiry into the ways that<br />
we can use music and singing to support<br />
health conditions in children. This month<br />
we are going to look at how music can<br />
support children right from the start: preterm<br />
infants in neonatal care.<br />
Music has an amazing effect on people.<br />
It has been found to increase happiness<br />
hormones, promote relaxation, help<br />
people to learn and work more efficiently,<br />
and even help people to get along better<br />
together. Research during COVID-19<br />
started looking more closely into why and<br />
how this may occur.<br />
Music therapists have been publishing<br />
findings on the different effects that music<br />
has had on small groups of people with<br />
specific conditions for years, and the<br />
common benefits have been on stress:<br />
If that billy goat won’t pull<br />
Mama’s gonna buy a you a cart and bull<br />
If that cart and bull turn over<br />
Mama’s gonna buy you a dog named<br />
Rover<br />
If that dog named Rover won’t bark<br />
Mama’s gonna buy you a horse and cart<br />
And if that horse and cart fall down<br />
You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in<br />
town<br />
This lovely traditional song is full of<br />
rhyming couplets, pleasing to the ear<br />
because of the gentle rhythm. The<br />
continuity of the storyline makes the lyrics<br />
Oft in dreams I wander to that cot again<br />
I feel her arms a-huggin me as when she<br />
held me then<br />
And I hear her voice a hummin’<br />
To me as in days of yore<br />
When she used to rock me fast asleep<br />
Outside the cabin door<br />
This traditional Irish lullaby is also written<br />
in the 6/8 rocking rhythm, full of rhythm<br />
and rhyme. The brain naturally looks for<br />
pleasing sound patterns, and this will<br />
be far more pleasing to the ear than<br />
the medical beeps and noises of the<br />
monitoring machines.<br />
from Frances:<br />
32 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> | parenta.com<br />
parenta.com | <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> 33
Kindness<br />
Stacey Kelly<br />
vs peoplepleasing<br />
Throughout life, kindness has always<br />
been one of my core values: as a parent<br />
and teacher, I’ve always emphasised<br />
how important it is to be kind to others.<br />
In addition, as time has passed by, I have<br />
come to realise how important it is to<br />
harness compassion and discernment<br />
alongside kindness because, without<br />
these additional attributes, we can run the<br />
risk of becoming someone who struggles<br />
to set boundaries and who falls into the<br />
category of ‘people-pleasing’.<br />
Kindness is an external process, centred<br />
around how we make other people feel.<br />
A smile to a stranger, offering to help<br />
someone or giving compliments are<br />
all examples of little acts of kindness<br />
that are done to make someone else<br />
feel good. However, compassion takes<br />
kindness a step further because it is an<br />
internal process that allows us to gain<br />
understanding of a person or situation<br />
- and this understanding then acts as<br />
the motivator behind the kindness, help<br />
or support we extend. Compassion is<br />
more of a personal and inward journey<br />
that connects people through shared<br />
experiences - and the kindness it<br />
generates comes from a deeper and more<br />
meaningful place.<br />
Both kindness and compassion are<br />
beautiful attributes to have. However, over<br />
the years, it has become apparent that<br />
these two things can get out of balance<br />
if we don’t pair them with discernment,<br />
which is the ability to see things clearly<br />
and make smart decisions based on what<br />
is in front of us. The ability to embody<br />
these three things simultaneously allows<br />
us to empathise with others, and extend<br />
kindness, when necessary, but to also set<br />
boundaries and be true to ourselves in a<br />
strong yet balanced way.<br />
There is a very fine line between kindness<br />
and people-pleasing and what we<br />
teach children about kindness can be<br />
the difference between the two. Peoplepleasing<br />
stems from a place of fear and/or<br />
a need for acceptance, whereas genuine<br />
kindness stems from a place of altruism<br />
and love. If we constantly enforce that<br />
children need to be kind no matter what,<br />
they learn that the approval of others is<br />
linked to this attribute, which could lead to<br />
them using kindness to get acceptance.<br />
However, if we teach children to be true to<br />
how they feel but to approach things with<br />
compassion and understanding, they will<br />
learn to be authentic, set boundaries and<br />
extend kindness to people for the right<br />
reasons.<br />
The phrase ‘if you haven’t got anything<br />
nice to say, don’t say anything at all’ is<br />
powerful and teaches children to pick and<br />
use their words wisely. This approach can<br />
be linked to compassion and regardless<br />
of our circumstances or the actions of<br />
others, I believe it is one we should all live<br />
by. I have also always asked myself three<br />
things before I speak:
EYFS activities:<br />
Expressive Arts<br />
& Design<br />
Expressive Arts and Design activities are integral to the EYFS curriculum, nurturing creativity, imagination, and<br />
holistic development. Through activities such as art, dance, music and drama, children can explore, express<br />
themselves and make sense of the world around them. These experiences also promote problem-solving, boost<br />
confidence, enhance communication skills and foster social skills through collaboration and self-expression.<br />
Easter bunny bean bag game – so much fun!<br />
You will need:<br />
• Cardboard<br />
• Dark paint<br />
• Paintbrush<br />
• Scissors<br />
• Pencil<br />
• Pen<br />
• Eraser<br />
• Paper<br />
• Orange and green felt<br />
• Lentils<br />
• Strong glue (child friendly)<br />
• Funnel<br />
Creating the bunny:<br />
• Use a pencil to sketch a bunny design on a<br />
piece of paper, ensuring it has a smile and<br />
a round tummy<br />
• Transfer the sketch onto a large piece of<br />
cardboard<br />
• Paint the outlined bunny on the cardboard<br />
using a dark-coloured paint and a<br />
paintbrush and leave to dry<br />
• Use scissors to carefully cut out the mouth<br />
and tummy holes on the painted cardboard<br />
bunny<br />
Making the carrot bean bags:<br />
• Sketch a triangle (carrot) and a leafy top on<br />
a piece of paper for the bean bags<br />
• Trace two identical triangle carrots and one<br />
leafy top onto felt for each bean bag<br />
• Use the glue to attach the green felt piece<br />
onto one orange triangle<br />
• Now glue the other orange triangle on top<br />
of the first, leaving the top part of the carrot<br />
unglued<br />
• Place a funnel inside the carrot and fill it<br />
with lentils. Then, seal the carrot bean bag<br />
shut with the glue. Ensure it’s completely<br />
sealed to prevent the lentils leaking out.<br />
Repeat for other bean bags<br />
Playtime:<br />
• Stand the cardboard bunny upright<br />
• Encourage children to ‘feed the bunny’ and<br />
gently toss the carrot bean bags towards<br />
the bunny’s mouth and tummy holes<br />
More on this activity and others can be<br />
found here: https://www.pinkstripeysocks.<br />
com/2014/04/diy-easter-bunny-bean-bag-toss.<br />
html<br />
Handmade Easter egg stamps – a favourite with the children!<br />
You will need:<br />
• Potatoes<br />
• Knife or toothpick<br />
• Assorted craft paints<br />
• Paper plates<br />
• Towel<br />
• Craft paper<br />
• Paintbrush<br />
Prepare the potato (Adults):<br />
• Cut the potato in half<br />
• Press the open end of the potato onto a<br />
towel to absorb moisture and ensure it’s<br />
dry for carving<br />
• Once the open end of the potato is dry,<br />
carefully carve designs into it using a knife<br />
or toothpick. Create lines, zigzags, circles,<br />
or any shapes desired<br />
• Dry the carved end of the potato on the<br />
towel again to ensure it’s completely dry<br />
Set up the paint station:<br />
• Squirt different coloured paints onto paper<br />
plates for easy access<br />
Egg carton flower gift – perfect for Mother’s Day!<br />
You will need:<br />
• Acrylic paint<br />
• Egg cartons (not foam)<br />
• Paper straws<br />
• Scissors<br />
• Glue<br />
• Paintbrush<br />
• Paper plate<br />
• Small pom-pom balls<br />
Setting up:<br />
• Cut four containers out of the egg carton<br />
and trim around the edges for a round<br />
petal shape<br />
Painting the flower petals:<br />
• Pour different coloured paints onto the<br />
paper plate<br />
• Encourage children to paint their flower<br />
petals using the paintbrush<br />
• Place the paper plates and the potato<br />
stamps on the table for the children to<br />
begin<br />
Get stamping:<br />
• Encourage children to dip the carved end<br />
of the potato into the paint, ensuring<br />
excess paint is removed before stamping.<br />
Alternatively, use a paintbrush to apply<br />
paint onto the potato stamps for more<br />
precision<br />
• Once the potato is painted, firmly press<br />
it onto the craft paper to create the egg<br />
design<br />
• Repeat as many times as desired<br />
• Rinse the potato under water to clean off<br />
the paint when changing colours<br />
More on this activity and others can be found<br />
here: https://premeditatedleftovers.com/<br />
naturally-frugal-mom/handmade-potatoeaster-egg-stamps-for-kids/<br />
Finishing touches:<br />
• Once the paint is dry, glue a paper straw<br />
to the back of each painted egg carton to<br />
form the stem<br />
• Select a small pom-pom ball and glue it<br />
to the middle of the painted egg carton to<br />
represent the centre of the flower<br />
• Let the assembled flowers dry completely<br />
before handling them<br />
More on this activity and others can be found<br />
here: https://www.iheartartsncrafts.com/eggcarton-flowers-kids-craft/<br />
• Let the painted petals dry completely<br />
36 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> | parenta.com
Child<br />
development<br />
Gina Bale<br />
Dance and movement - part 2<br />
This is a two-part article on<br />
dance and movement with<br />
information, simple guides,<br />
and questions to help you<br />
include this valuable activity<br />
in your setting.<br />
Dance and movement are ingrained in<br />
our being and are how we express our<br />
emotions ranging from how we walk to<br />
simply swaying or tapping our toes to the<br />
music. We all do it!<br />
Let’s encourage our little ones to build their<br />
confidence and resilience and support<br />
their emotional well-being through a<br />
fun creative activity. Best of all, you don’t<br />
need to be a movement teacher or dance<br />
specialist to provide your little ones with<br />
a wonderful experience of dance and<br />
movement to develop their creativity and<br />
curiosity.<br />
To help you incorporate dance as an<br />
expressive art (‘Art’ model) in your setting,<br />
or at home, for all ages here is a super fast<br />
guide to help you encourage your children<br />
to engage with dance and movement.<br />
Educators’ guide<br />
Dance as an ‘Art’ model is made up<br />
of three strands. These strands are<br />
composing, performing, and appreciating.<br />
In simpler terms, make, do, and discuss.<br />
As educators, it is important to take the<br />
time to facilitate opportunities for the<br />
children to experience these strands by<br />
giving them the time and space they need,<br />
to engage with movement and music as<br />
they wish.<br />
Strand 1: Composing (make)<br />
Composing dance through imagination,<br />
exploration (improvising), problemsolving,<br />
decision-making, and creating a<br />
movement vocabulary.<br />
In practice:<br />
Put on some music but ensure you are<br />
giving them opportunities to hear all<br />
genres of music ranging from classical<br />
to contemporary. Observe and reflect on<br />
your children’s responses as this will help<br />
you provide them with child-led learning<br />
opportunities and experiences.<br />
Strand 2: Performing (do)<br />
Performing allows the children to express<br />
themselves and their emotions through<br />
movement and dance in their unique way.<br />
In practice:<br />
Just let them move showing you, and each<br />
other, their ideas of how to move with the<br />
music. It may range from just swaying to<br />
the music to a choreographic masterpiece.<br />
Strand 3: Appreciating<br />
(discuss)<br />
Appreciating each other’s dance helps<br />
the children to observe, reflect, compare,<br />
contrast, and evaluate.<br />
In practice:<br />
Chat with your children about the music,<br />
how it made them feel, and how their<br />
movements express their feelings.<br />
Encourage your children to repeat their<br />
favourite moves for you and respond to<br />
their creativity and self-expression. Their<br />
creativity and self-expression give you an<br />
insight into their thoughts and experiences.<br />
When facilitating dance and movement<br />
with your children, it is important to ensure<br />
you are using a theme, or music that<br />
engages them. Observing your children<br />
will help you to consider movement aims<br />
to extend their learning. It is important to<br />
remember that whatever you set out to<br />
achieve needs to be adaptable to allow<br />
the children to lead the activity.<br />
“For young children to have an individual<br />
response it’s important you do not have a<br />
set goal. Children need their contributions<br />
to be noticed and valued so they build<br />
confidence and resilience. Give children<br />
enough space and time to experience<br />
and explore.” GOV.UK Help for Early Years<br />
Providers<br />
Facilitating dance and<br />
movement: The top 5 tips<br />
1: Movement aims<br />
What movements can you explore with<br />
your children? What are they interested<br />
in today, and how can you use that<br />
information to extend their learning?<br />
In practice:<br />
If your children are dinosaur-obsessed<br />
why not look at all the different dinosaurs<br />
and talk about how they moved? Did they<br />
run, hop, jump, roll, wriggle, shake, and<br />
stomp?<br />
2: Warm-up<br />
Introduce the activity, and theme, while<br />
warming up their bodies so they are ready<br />
to move and have fun.<br />
In practice:<br />
Pop on some music and have fun<br />
practising your different dinosaur moves.<br />
Incorporate your movement aims in the<br />
warm-up as this reinforces learning and<br />
helps develop myelin in the brain.<br />
3: Exploration<br />
Encourage your children to discover new<br />
ways of moving and problem-solving<br />
as they explore solutions to movement<br />
problems. Exploration extends their<br />
movement vocabulary.<br />
In practice:<br />
Encourage your children to be different<br />
species of dinosaurs and ask them to<br />
show you how they moved. Pop on some<br />
music and you can ask them if they think<br />
this is the right music for their species of<br />
dinosaur. If it isn’t, which species would<br />
like it and how would they move? Add<br />
obstacles ranging from, puddles to<br />
tunnels, for them to move over, under, and<br />
around. This encourages their exploration<br />
of movement through problem-solving.<br />
You could also have a selection of musical<br />
instruments in the room that they could<br />
incorporate into the activity. For example,<br />
they could become a Cryolophosaurus<br />
also known as the Elvisaurus and become<br />
a rock star dancing on stage with their<br />
guitar. Enjoy the fun of exploration and<br />
creativity together. Remember if you are<br />
having fun they will as well.<br />
4: Composing<br />
This is working together or solo to create<br />
a sequence of movements that make a<br />
dance. Encourage the children to consider<br />
new combinations of movements that you<br />
explored together.<br />
In practice:<br />
Exploration and composing will be sideby-side<br />
for your little ones. As they are<br />
exploring, they are composing. As they<br />
create a sequence of movements, they<br />
develop critical thinking skills, movement<br />
memory, and vocabulary. Why not create<br />
a ‘movement vocabulary’ poster of the<br />
different moves their body, and dinosaurs,<br />
can make?<br />
5: Appreciation<br />
Time to observe and reflect on each<br />
other’s creations and the aims of the<br />
session.<br />
In practice:<br />
Encourage your children to demonstrate<br />
their creations as this helps them to feel<br />
seen and valued. Give them feedback on<br />
their movements, creativity, and musicality<br />
as dance and movement can help children<br />
build their confidence and resilience.<br />
Words of advice<br />
Have fun! Enjoy the music, the movements<br />
and your children’s creativity as there is no<br />
limit to their learning through imagination<br />
and fun. And the bonus… just think of<br />
all those opportunities to develop their<br />
communication and language skills as<br />
they explore movement. Discover more<br />
next month!<br />
Scan here for<br />
more resources<br />
from Gina:<br />
38 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> | parenta.com<br />
parenta.com | <strong>February</strong> <strong>2024</strong> 39
C<br />
C<br />
M<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
Y<br />
CM<br />
CM<br />
MY<br />
MY<br />
CY<br />
CY<br />
CMY<br />
CMY<br />
K<br />
K<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
CM<br />
MY<br />
CY<br />
CMY<br />
K<br />
Online Courses and<br />
Online Online Courses Online Courses and Courses and and<br />
Accreditations Nurturing<br />
Accreditations Accreditations Nurturing Nurturing<br />
Children in their Early Years<br />
Children Children in Children their in their Early in Early their Years Years Early Years<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
CM<br />
MY<br />
CY<br />
CMY<br />
K<br />
Courses, talks and guides: Written for<br />
Courses,<br />
parents Courses, and<br />
talks<br />
professionals. talks Courses, and guides: and talks guides: Written and<br />
Allowing Written guides: for<br />
us to for Written for<br />
parents<br />
work parents together,<br />
and professionals. and parents<br />
with professionals. and Allowing professionals.<br />
the child at the Allowing us<br />
centre<br />
to us Allowing to us to<br />
work<br />
of all work together,<br />
we do. together, with work the with together, child the at child with the at the centre the child centre at the centre<br />
of all we of all do. we do. of all we do.<br />
Online access: Available any time, any<br />
Online<br />
where. Online access:<br />
Scheduled access: Online Available<br />
to Available access:<br />
meet<br />
any<br />
your<br />
time, any Available<br />
needs time, any<br />
any time, any<br />
where.<br />
and where. your<br />
Scheduled<br />
time Scheduled where.<br />
frame.<br />
to meet Scheduled<br />
Never to meet your<br />
miss<br />
needs your to meet<br />
a needs your needs<br />
and<br />
training<br />
your and time<br />
session your frame. time and your<br />
again. frame. Never time Never miss frame. a miss Never a miss a<br />
training training session session training again. again. session again.<br />
Designed and delivered by experts:<br />
Designed<br />
Both Designed in the<br />
and<br />
field<br />
delivered Designed and of child delivered by and<br />
development<br />
experts: delivered by experts: by experts:<br />
and<br />
Both<br />
practice.<br />
in Both the<br />
Understanding field the Both of field child in of the development child field<br />
the challenges development of child and development and and<br />
practice.<br />
you practice. face<br />
Understanding<br />
and Understanding practice. Understanding<br />
how to meet<br />
the<br />
them.<br />
challenges<br />
challenges the challenges<br />
you face you and face how and you to how face meet to and meet them. how them. to meet them.<br />
Supporting you: Recognising the<br />
Supporting<br />
foundational Supporting you: Supporting<br />
experiences<br />
Recognising you: Recognising you:<br />
children<br />
the Recognising the the<br />
need<br />
foundational<br />
and foundational celebrating<br />
experiences foundational<br />
the experiences work<br />
children experiences<br />
you are children need<br />
doing need children need<br />
to<br />
and<br />
offer<br />
celebrating and them. celebrating and the celebrating work the work you are you the doing are work doing to you are to doing to<br />
offer them. offer them. offer them.<br />
For more information and free samples of the course<br />
For go more to: For www.NurturingChildhoods.co.uk/parenta<br />
more information information For more and information free and samples free samples and of the free of course samples the course of the course<br />
go to: go to: www.NurturingChildhoods.co.uk/parenta<br />
go to: www.NurturingChildhoods.co.uk/parenta Scan Me!<br />
Nurturing<br />
Nurturing<br />
Childhoods<br />
Childhoods Nurturing Nurturing<br />
Childhoods Childhoods<br />
Pssst... Let the Littlemagictrain<br />
take your children on a magical<br />
journey of learning and lots of<br />
fun!<br />
Pssst...<br />
Let the Littlemagictrain take your<br />
children on a magical journey of<br />
learning and lots of fun!<br />
“<br />
“Littlemagictrain has helped children to develop<br />
their confidence and desire to communicate,<br />
describe, understand, and use new vocabulary.<br />
By week 6, I observed clear improvement in<br />
attention, memory and narrative skills.”<br />
“<br />
<br />
<br />
“Littlemagictrain has helped children to develop<br />
their confidence and desire to communicate,<br />
describe, understand, and use new vocabulary.<br />
By week 6, I observed clear improvement in<br />
attention, memory and narrative skills.”<br />
Liz Shoreman, Senior Speech and Language<br />
Therapist and Manager, The Speech Bubble<br />
Liz Shoreman, Senior Speech and Language<br />
Therapist and Manager, The Speech Bubble<br />
“The staff always join in and I can honestly<br />
say it’s one of the best products we’ve<br />
ever invested in!”<br />
“The staff always join in and I can honestly<br />
say it’s one of the best products we’ve<br />
ever invested in!”<br />
Nicky Sanford, Early Years Teacher,<br />
Marcham Pre-school<br />
Nicky Sanford, Early Years Teacher,<br />
Marcham Pre-school<br />
“<br />
“<br />
FREE<br />
Training and<br />
support.<br />
FREE<br />
TRAINING AND<br />
SUPPORT<br />
www.littlemagictrain.com<br />
www.littlemagictrain.com<br />
Or email: Hello@littlemagictrain.com<br />
Or email: Hello@littlemagictrain.com