July 2024 Parenta Early Years Magazine

Issue 116
JULY 2024
Does language-rich =
lots of talking?
Different types
of attachment
Working well
with others
+ lots more
EYFS activities
inside!
This month…
Understanding
the World
Everything you need to
know about transitions and
school readiness
Cultivating holistic growth and lifelong learning
Achieving success through staff engagement

30
12
24
Hello
Welcome to our family
Welcome to the July edition of Parenta magazine!
During July, we experience a notable shift in our settings; with the older children preparing to leave to begin their formal
education at school. This time of transition can be daunting for children and parents alike, so we are taking a key focus this
month on the various aspects and differing expert opinions on this very topic - from Dr Kathryn Peckham, Tamsin Grimmer
and Paloma Forde.
As always, we have a packed edition with some incredible articles written by our guest authors, including neurodiversity
expert Joanna Grace, leadership and coaching gurus Dr Mona Sakr and Pam McFarlane, and music and movement from
both Gina Bale and Frances Turnbull.
Save the date! Join us on 10th July for our webinar, School Readiness – the truth of it all. Join Dr Kathryn Peckham as she
delves into the hot topic of school readiness and how we can best support the children in our settings when they transition
from nursery to school.
Don’t forget to register at www.parenta.com/webinars - you will earn a CPD certificate if you attend!
Don’t forget to share the magic of our magazine with your friends, colleagues, and parents alike. They can receive their own
copy in digital or printed format by signing up at www.parenta.com/magazine.
Allan
16
Regulars
8 Write for us
36 EYFS Activities: Understanding the World
News
Advice
26
4 What do our customers say this month?
6 Achieving success through staff engagement
10 Childcare news and views
14 Seamless Transitions: Best practices for moving children
from nursery to primary school
20 International Friendship Day/World Friendship Day
24 Different types of attachment
28 Understanding the EYFS framework as children move
to reception
Industry Experts
38
12 Does language-rich = lots of talking?
16 Beyond school readiness
22 Transitioning for young children with special
educational needs
26 Finding, recognising and celebrating team players
in your nursery
28 School readiness and transitions
32 Musical medicine: Problem solving together
musically by “standing by me”
34 Working well with others
38 Movement: Nourishes the body and the brain!
2 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 3

Tosan U 17/06/24
“I’m so thankful for the support
that I received from my tutor.
There were so many times where I
wanted to give up, and she was
always there to help with
whatever Maths topics I had
difficulties with. I could always
see the improvements after
having 1:1's with her.”
Flutura T 13/06/24
“The webinar titled ’Supporting
Children's Well-being and Mental Health’
had a very well-structured content,
focusing on practical application. The
instructors were knowledgeable and
experienced, providing clear
explanations and valuable insights. Their
expertise made complex topics
understandable and applicable to
various group age.”
What do our
customers say
in June?
Christiana B 16/06/24
“The webinar was
quite interesting and
informative, I learnt a
whole lot on ways to
support the children in
a manner I wasn't
fully aware of.”
Alana G 04.06.24
“I was very pleased with my tutor.
She was extremely supportive and
offered a lot of encouragement
throughout my Parenta journey.”
Zanea a-h 02/06/24
“My tutor has been supportive and
attentive to my needs. She has provided
me with great assistance and helped me
understand one file whenever I needed
help. My tutor has a positive attitude
and her encouragement has boosted my
confidence. I can confidently say that
she is an excellent tutor who is
dedicated to ensuring my success.”
Hayley A 05/06/24
“I had a superb tutor, nothing was
ever too much trouble and she
praised and showed interest in all
aspects. She gave me great feedback
and supported me through all my
assignments and observations, and I
couldn’t have asked for a better
person to help me through it.”
Becky L
04/06/24
“I completed my course
today earning a
distinction with the help
and support of my lovely
tutor. She supported me
every step and gave me
the confidence and
belief in myself to
push through!”
Danielle 03/06/24
“We have a lovely tutor who is very
attentive to her students. She
always seems friendly and cheerful
with me as the nursery manager
and helps me out if I ever forget to
book students in. She always keeps
me informed of any changes
to schedules.”
Millie S 03/06/24
“Extremely helpful and
accommodating, supported
me through my whole course.”
Jack L 05/06/24
“Parenta is very good at what they do. They
have effective tutors that’s one on one and
they always move at your speed so you never
fall behind. They are always kind and
supportive, you can always go to them for
help. They also make sure that you’re not
struggling with both learning and working and
that you have a good balance. And they give
you all the knowledge and skills you need to
know to be the most confident in the job you
want to do.”

Achieving
success
through staff
Dr Allan Presland
engagement
This month, I want to talk about the most
important part of your business: staff.
We all know that staff make or break any
business, and finding the right calibre
of staff, suitably qualified and able to
correctly look after the children and
engage with parents appropriately, is
exceedingly challenging.
But, I suspect you don’t know that some
staff in your setting may be actively
disengaged, and therefore could be
damaging the business. That’s a strong
claim you may say. But unfortunately, it’s
a fact.
Every year, the polling company, Gallup,
conducts surveys across the globe to
identify how engaged staff are in their
place of employment. The last study for
the UK was conducted in 2023 and was
published earlier this month. The results
are pretty stark and paint an exceedingly
challenging picture for all employers.
According to Gallup, only 1 in 10 employees
are engaged at work, meaning that 9 in 10
are not engaged or actively disengaged.
The three categories are defined as
follows:
⚙ Engaged staff are those that are
thriving at work – they are highly
involved and enthusiastic, take pride
in their work, drive performance and
move the organisation forward
⚙ Not engaged staff are unattached to
their work – their engagement needs
are not being met and they are not
putting any energy into their work
⚙ Actively disengaged employees are
not just unhappy, they are resentful
that their needs are not being met
and actively oppose the employers’
goals
So, if only 1 in 10 employees are engaged
nationally in the UK, two questions
arise. Firstly, how do you establish the
engagement levels in your organisation,
and secondly, how do you urgently move
those staff members who are not engaged
up to the category of engagement?
For copyright reasons, I can’t produce
the Gallup Q12 questions here, but in
my book, “Improving the Business of
Childcare”, I have suggested some very
similar alternatives. I’d suggest you take
these questions, create an anonymous
questionnaire and then survey your team.
Remember, if a large percentage of staff
are actively opposing your organisation’s
goals, they are actively damaging your
business every day. This is not something
you can afford to leave to chance!
Secondly, one of the ways to move staff
into the engaged category is to invest
in them so they feel that you, as the
employer, are concerned for their career
progression.
As the largest dedicated Early Years
apprenticeship provider in England,
Parenta can help with that by
upskilling your staff with an Early Years
apprenticeship at Levels 2, 3 or 5. And
given the sector recruitment crisis, we’ve
recently launched a Fast-Track Level
3 apprenticeship, which allows those
employers and staff who want to complete
fast, to be able to do so. It takes just 53
weeks plus the time for the End Point
Assessment.
Want to find out more? Just go to
www.parenta.com/training-for-your-staff/
to book an appointment with one of our
super-friendly consultants who can explain
how this service works.
For more hints and tips about how
successful settings run their early
years businesses – get a copy of Dr
Allan Presland’s number one bestselling
book from Amazon here.
Dear Setting Owner/Manager,
Can you really afford to miss out on this amazing offer? Seize this opportunity now and claim
your voucher TODAY for a personal consultation with me. With over 20 years of experience in
the early years sector, I have helped thousands of customers transform their businesses. I look
forward to meeting you and helping you achieve your goals! But hurry, we only have a limited
number of spaces this month.
Richelle Sparks - Early Years Business Expert
PS: We’re celebrating 25 years of business and we’re committed
to helping you achieve this milestone too!
6 July 2024 | parenta.com

Write for us!
We continuously seek new
authors who would like to
provide thought-provoking
articles for our monthly
magazine.
If you have a subject you’re eager to explore
in writing, why not submit an article to us for a
chance to win?
Every month, we’ll be awarding Amazon
vouchers to our “Guest Author of the Month.”
You can access all the information here:
Become a Parenta software customer TODAY and claim your FREE laptop and
tablet to use in your early years setting – perfect for on-the-go observations!
This offer is limited to the first 50 new customers so don’t lose out - hurry!
https://www.parenta.com/sponsored-content/
Congratulations
to our guest author competition winner, Louise Mercieca!
Congratulations to Louise Mercieca, our guest
author of the month! Her fantastic article, “How
Gardening Transforms Children’s Mental Health
And Well-Being!” explores how the significance of
gardening in the early years goes beyond mere
activity. Well done Louise!
A massive thank you to all of our guest authors for
writing for us. You can find all of the past articles
from our guest authors on our website:
3 0
D A Y
www.parenta.com/parentablog/guest-authors
GUARANTEE
8 July 2024 | parenta.com
M O N E Y
- B A C K
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Childcare news
and views
Record underspend of early
years entitlement funding
in 2022-23
New analysis reveals that at least £70
million of early years entitlement funding
remained unspent in council budgets
during the 2022-23 financial year - a
record amount. Research by the National
Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) shows
that only 12 per cent of councils redirected
any of this leftover budget to providers to
help with underfunding issues.
Instead, most of the unused funds were
placed into reserves or used to offset other
deficits within the Designated Schools
Grant (DSG). Of the 137 local authorities
that responded to the NDNA’s Freedom
of Information (FOI) request, 104 reported
an underspend, equating to 76 per cent
of councils. Notably, almost a quarter of
these councils (25) reported underspends
exceeding £1 million each.
Essex reported the largest underspend,
with £4.9 million left over at the end of
the 2022-23 financial year, although it
did pass on some funds to providers.
The National Day Nurseries Association
(NDNA) issued a Freedom of Information
(FOI) request to 150 local education
authorities in December, asking about
their finalised 2022-23 accounts, including
whether they had an underspend or
overspend.
The NDNA also inquired about
adjustments made by the Department
for Education (DfE) to their allocations and
what percentage of their total entitlement
was passed on to providers. Responses
were received from 137 councils, though
some did not answer all questions.
In 2022-23, fewer councils reported
overspends, with 22 councils noting
overspends totalling £7.4 million,
compared to £23.1 million in 2021-22.
When councils overspend, they must
recover funding from future years, which
can result in lower funding rates for
providers.
“It is extremely worrying to see that the
underspends are now at record highs
when we have also seen record numbers
of nursery closures.”
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the
National Day Nurseries Association
(NDNA), said, “These shocking findings
really emphasise that the current way of
funding early education and care places is
not fit for purpose.”
“We have been warning about these
complexities for the last five years when
we have been publishing this data. It
is extremely worrying to see that the
underspends are now at record highs
when we have also seen record numbers
of nursery closures.”
“It’s clear that councils are under pressure
as almost half of this money has been put
into reserves, with most of the rest used
to offset budget deficits particularly within
the high needs block. Only 12 per cent
of councils passed any of this left-over
funding to providers, meaning funding is
just not reaching those who are working
with our youngest children.”
“However, providers are under even more
pressure with the vast majority telling us
that current funding rates do not cover
their costs. NDNA has been calling for the
DfE to ringfence this money which is meant
for providers to deliver high-quality early
education and care to all children who
need it. The current situation means that
any leftover funds are used to bolster other
areas within the schools’ grant which is
unfair. This practice must end.”
Understanding the DfE funding
formula and council
Pass-through rates
The Department for Education (DfE)
calculates a funding formula for each local
authority, providing a lump sum based
on the projected number of two, three,
and four-year-olds expected to take up
funded places in their area. Councils can
retain up to 5 per cent of their allocation
for administration, sector support, and
sufficiency duties.
According to responses from 130 councils,
the average pass-through rate was
96.34 per cent. Out of these, 127 councils
reported passing through 95 per cent or
more of their funding, with 44 councils
passing through exactly 95 percent.
Early Education and Care
Manifesto Launches to Guide
the Next Government
The National Day Nursery Association
(NDNA) launched its early education and
care sector manifesto, “Make the First Five
Years Count,” emphasising a child-centric
approach. This manifesto aims to ensure
the next government recognises the
sector’s crucial role in child development
and the economy by enabling parents
to work. It also addresses the unique
challenges early education and care
providers face as they prepare for the
second phase of the current funded
entitlement expansion. Starting in
September, children aged nine months
and older from working families will be
eligible for 15 hours of funded childcare
per week during term time.
NDNA consulted widely with its members
and the sector to set out these priorities
for the next government based on the
significant challenges the early years
sector is facing. To make the first five years
count for all our young children, they must
focus immediately on:
An early education and care system
that’s child-centric, delivering highquality
provision
A funding system that works for all
children, families and providers
A system that values and invests in
the early years workforce
A regulatory framework that is fit for
purpose and proportionate
The early years organisation also noted the
main areas early years providers ranked
as their biggest challenges in delivering
high-quality early education and care to
children and the top five issues were:
Funding
Staffing
Supporting children with
additional needs
Business rates and VAT
Ofsted
Purnima Tanuku OBE, chief executive of
NDNA said: “It’s vital that not only the new
Government but all those who are elected
into Parliament understand the significance
of child development and support the
amazing work that early education and
care providers do every day.”
“Our manifesto was developed for the
sector by the sector through extensive
research and consultation, which
demonstrates the difference that high
quality early education and care makes
to children’s lives, their families and
the economy. Private, voluntary and
independent nurseries play a vital role in
delivering the majority of high quality early
education and care places in the country.”
“But the manifesto also makes it clear that
the challenges they face are significant,
including the workforce crisis and a
funding rate that doesn’t cover the costs
for the vast majority of providers.”
“These policy principles and solutions
must be incorporated in any future
government policy which will impact on
children, families, the whole sector and the
economy.”
NDNA’s election toolkit also includes a
round-up of main party pledges that will
impact on the early education and care
sector; a template letter for providers
to send to their local candidates and
an interactive map with key data such
as funding rates and nursery closures.
Providers and parliamentary candidates
will be able to use this interactive map
to access the key data in their local
constituency. There is also a sector fact
sheet giving key early education and care
sector statistics.
Purnima added: “We urge all providers,
practitioners and parents to widely share
this toolkit to highlight the importance of
early years to all party candidates.”
The toolkit and manifesto can be found at
www.ndna.org.uk/manifesto/
10 June 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 11

Joanna Grace
Does language-rich =
lots of talking?
We are told to create language-rich
environments to support children’s
development. We recognise lots of ways of
doing this from providing activities that get
everyone talking, laced with the potential
to need good describing words as things
fall, fizz and flutter, to using labels around
our settings and having plenty of books
around.
But does language-rich necessarily mean
lots of language, lots of talking and lots of
chat?
In this article I’m going to focus specifically
on why you might want to consider a ‘less
is more’ approach to language-richness at
certain times. We are thinking quality over
quantity here!
If there is a constant babble of talking,
we need to consider how much is taken
in. If staff are chatting over the heads of
children, certainly there will be a lot of
language around, but is this a languagerich
environment or is it an experience of
being excluded from language?
What about if staff chatter away to
children as they’re exploring and
experiencing? This can feel very friendly
and companionable, but have you ever
been in a car about to manoeuvre around
a particularly tricky junction and wished
your friend in the passenger seat would
just shut up? Sometimes keeping quiet
enables more concentration and a deeper
engagement with the experience.
In my work at “The Sensory Projects” I
regularly support children with profound
and multiple learning disabilities, or
autistic children with high support
needs. For these children, language can
sometimes be a barrier to accessing
the world. Through thinking about the
experience of children who face sensory
barriers, we can gain insights relevant to
all children. The children I work with may
have capacity across sensory systems,
e.g. they can see, hear, feel, smell, taste
and so on, but they will not necessarily be
able to process the information from all
these different sensory channels at once. If
you cannot take in everything at a sensory
level, you have to make choices about
processing, and guess what the most
common choice is when faced with this
sort of sensory traffic jam? That’s right you
guessed it: children prioritise hearing over
the other sensory systems.
So if you’re looking to inspire children to
try and describe the particularly slimy,
gruesome, gloopy, globular, thick,
gungey, gloop you’ve created together
but you’re chattering excitedly all the time
they’re touching it, you might actually
be preventing them from feeling the
tactile sensations you’re wanting them to
describe. Keep quiet.
Shhh!
Just a bit more,…
Hold your tongue!
Then, once you’re sure they’ve really felt it,
get out all your good words and offer them
as descriptive choices.
As I’ve described this scenario, you
may have thought of children in your
setting who struggle to touch messy play
activities. Sensory overwhelm is not an
experience reserved for neurodivergent
children; everyone can find the sensory
world a bit much sometimes. Think about
the different sensory systems as various
jobs that children are doing. If you take
one task away, it frees up their capacity
to focus on the others. Consider the child
who struggles to touch slime. What if it
was quiet while they tried? What if the
slime had no added scent and wasn’t a
particularly bright colour? Perhaps a dull,
silent slime would be more accessible to
them. Once they’ve explored it, you could
then encourage them to describe their
experience, offering them rich language.
My first love of the sensory world is
sensory stories. These are wonderful,
concise narratives in which each sentence
gets paired with a rich and relevant
sensory experience. It was love at first
sight for me nearly two decades ago, and
since then I’ve written books about them
and published oodles of them (explore my
website for free and paid-for sensory story
resources). A sensory story generally only
has 8-10 sentences. Does this mean they
are less language-rich than your average
children’s picture book which probably
has more than a hundred sentences? Not
necessarily!
Think about processing capacity. Imagine
the total space in a child’s brain to be
represented by the blue/orange illustration
below. As you talk, part of the work the
brain does is processing language. The
language processing is represented by
the yellow dot. Language processing isn’t
where the interesting stuff happens, that
is just the brain hearing the word and
reporting it’s meaning. It’s in all the blue
space that the good stuff happens, that’s
where we reflect on the deeper meaning
of the word. We link it to experiences in
our own life, think of alternative words and
remember things. The blue space is where
the deep learning happens.
What happens when we increase the
amount of language we use? We increase
the requirement to process language, so
we get to this:
If we go on too much we can even get to
this:
You may have had this happen to you,
have you ever wished someone talking
to you would just shut up and give you
chance to think?
Creating a language-rich environment
is not a case of producing as much
language as possible. It is not a carpet of
verbiage covering and dampening out all
the glorious experiences you are offering,
it is the judicious use of delicious words,
inserted with timing a comedian would be
proud of, and savoured on the tongue!
Click here for
more resources
from Joanna:
12 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 13

Seamless
different. This is a big deal for children, and
as professional practitioners, we should
not underestimate the impact of this on
the children.
Effective communication and information
sharing can include:
? Face-to-face conversations
? Regular meetings and visits
? Updates via newsletters, diaries and
emails
? Social media or other group chats
Transitions:
Best practices for moving
children from nursery to
primary school
It’s that time of year again when we start
to ready ourselves to say goodbye to
some existing children and welcome in
some new ones. Moving children on from
nursery to primary school is a big deal
– for children, parents and professionals
alike so we’ve put together some best
practice advice to help you navigate this
transition.
Managing the transition process in a
positive and proactive way is important
for a number of reasons, identified by
research and in the Early Years Foundation
Stage (EYFS):
? High quality transitions can support
a child’s future resilience to change,
helping with further transitions in later
life such as moving from primary to
secondary school
? Positive transitions help young
children feel safe and affect their
ability to play and learn
? The way that transitions are handled
can significantly affect a child’s
capacity to cope with change in both
the short- and long-term, even into
adult life
? Children with special educational
needs and disabilities (SEND) need
tailored support and transitions to
help them feel secure and receive the
help they need
How early years settings
can support transitions
Plan transitions well in advance
It goes without saying that nurseries
should plan well in advance for transitions.
Transition to primary school is not a oneday,
singular event, but a process that
should be planned for and executed over
time. Parents have to apply for school
places when their children are 3, turning
4 and this will be the start of the process
for them. They may have visited lots of
different schools to make their choice and
they will have taken lots of factors into
consideration so it’s important to respect
this.
Nurseries will need to then talk to children
about the transition process to prepare
the way for the actual move in weeks and
months to come. Children will hopefully
be settled in your nursery and will have
got used to the people, the way things are
done, and their daily routine. Transition
to primary school will turn all that on its
head – they will be with different teachers,
may or may not have their closest friends
joining the same setting, and the routines
and protocols for everything will be
At the same time, there should be ongoing
dialogue and meetings between the
setting and the schools, which should
involve visiting the schools and discussing
the transitions and the children with the
primary school teachers. Since this will
usually involve more than one school,
nurseries need to make provision for time
out of the setting on several occasions.
School teachers need to be aware of
the children’s previous experiences
and understand their needs. This will
allow practitioners to build on the child’s
previous experiences and help them to
feel more comfortable in the new setting.
Think about the following ways in which
you can make the process run smoothly:
Establish and build good
relationships & communications
As mentioned, there are several
relationships to consider here including:
? Parent/carer – nursery
? Parent/carer – child
? Nursery – school
? Child – school
? Child – child
Hopefully in the time since joining the
nursery, you will have developed a good
professional working relationship with
your children and parents/carers and
helped support their own relationships
too. Maintaining good contact and
giving parents/carers and children clear
information is crucial during transitions.
Schools often have booklets they give to
parents/carers but you could create your
own information pack or hold a meeting
to explain the process. You could even
schedule this for around the time that
parents/carers need to apply for schools to
help them with this process too.
Make sure that the information you give is
up-to-date and accurate, and ensure that
you are working within GDPR and consent
parameters when sharing information with
the school.
It is very reassuring for children to see
warm, professional relationships between
their parent/carers and their trusted
nursery teachers and new school teachers.
Remember too that children may be
concerned about what will happen to their
own friendships, especially if their friends
from nursery are not going to the same
primary school, so remember to factor this
into your conversations and reassurances
for the children.
Maintain enabling environments
Since 2012, the term “enabling
environment” has been one of four
overarching principles described in the
EYFS, which is generally recognised to be
an environment that is safe, stimulating
and rich in opportunities, enabling
children to be themselves, play, learn and
explore the world in physical, mental and
experiential ways. As children move from a
nursery setting to a school one, they need
to feel that there will be some consistency
between these environments.
Obviously, the school will be different from
your setting, but there are ways that you
can help continue your nurturing influence.
? Pairing children up with a ‘buddy’
who is going to the same new school
will allow some consistency for the
children
? Meet with the school teachers
to discuss the children and their
friendships, needs and preferences to
help maintain continuity
? Move-up days or visits to the new
school
? Visits to the nursery by the new school
teachers
? Practicing some of the changes and
expected new behaviours/routines
with the children
The importance of the key
person
The importance of the child’s key person
cannot be underestimated in transitions.
They will often be the main link between
the established setting and the new
school as they have a detailed and
comprehensive understanding of the child
already. They can also act as the mediator
and emotional support in the run up to the
change, and this should include the child’s
mental and emotional well-being too.
The following activities can be used to
support transitions:
? Role plays
? Storytime
? Visits
? Videos
? Songs and nursery rhymes
? Individual conversations
? Circle time
? Opportunistic chats
Special educational needs and
disability support
Where children have special educational
needs or a disability, it is vital to ensure
that they receive the correct support
during the transition process and that
their needs continue to be met in the new
setting. This will involve talking to the
child and the parents/carers to establish
preferences and they may need more
specific help when visiting a new school,
or more understanding that change can
be very traumatic to some children with
special needs. All transitions should be
individualised to the children involved, but
with special needs children, this is crucial.
More information
? nurseryconsultancyuk.co.uk/bestpractices-for-transitions-e-g-home-tonursery-nursery-to-school/
? www.teachearlyyears.com/a-uniquechild/view/supporting-transitions-inthe-early-years
? www.the-educator.org/managingtransitions-early-years/
? www.assets.publishing.service.
gov.uk/government/uploads/
system/uploads/attachment_data/
file/355769/Briefing1b_Home_to_
school_health_inequalities.pdf
Click here for
more references
& information.
14 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 15

Kathryn Peckham
Beyond school readiness
Cultivating holistic growth and
lifelong learning
Childhood offers a finite period of time
within our lives, yet it sees staggering
change with monumental effects
on every facet of our lives going
forward. A child’s development during
this time is huge and anyone in a
position of influence on it must ensure
that experiences are broad, wellrounded
and holistic, where children’s
individual, fluctuating and dynamic
approaches to learning are nurtured.
A child’s first day of school is often thought
of as the beginning of their educational
journey, but of course children are learning
from the moment they are born. They have
much to accomplish in such a short period,
that they use every experience to construct
their understanding of the world and the
people around them. They are making
connections in their learning, modifying
and adapting their understanding
through every afforded opportunity, and
developing the skills that allow them to
embrace opportunities going forward.
Every experience informs this process;
both those steeped in positive, engaging
and purposeful discovery, but also those
steeped in frustration.
This lifelong journey of interconnected
development is influencing every aspect of
their growth and development in infinitely
unique ways. To nurture and ignite a
child’s lifelong learning potential, we must
be aware of our impact in these formative
years, recognising each individual child
with a very strong response of their own.
But to do this effectively, we need to see
children as more than a representation
of the goals they have or have not met
and instead, recognise and embrace their
continuously changing characteristics and
fluctuating abilities through every phase of
education.
In the early years we are fantastic at
recognising the importance of holistic and
play-based learning and yet when we
start thinking about “school readiness”,
we can begin to lose sight of this. Whilst
formal classroom pedagogies focusing
on group learning of discrete skills and
knowledge will be a part of their future
experiences, the processes of lifelong
learning that every child engages in are
not changing.
Children are social, experiential learners,
in fact, we all are. To learn anything we
need to express our understanding,
with opportunities to think, question and
imagine, demonstrating what we know to
ourselves as much as others. Despite this,
many “school readiness” programmes can
effectively homogenise children, glossing
over the complex learning processes
within any experience. When these are
driven by prescribed learning outcomes, it
is then the child who can be found lacking
or not yet “school ready”, within systems
that fail to reflect children’s intrinsic
methods of learning.
Learning is a complex process that
requires opportunities to engage with
an idea, to think about how it sits with
what we knew before as we reflect
and revisit, using all the dispositions
of learning that we have. To do this,
children need opportunities to try different
ideas, acting freely as a thought occurs
to them, learning from a wide range
of circumstances, environments and
resources. As this happens, children are
not only learning but also developing
notions of themselves as an effective
learner. Deeper levels of understanding
are embedded through these individual,
fluctuating and holistic experiences
that children will then take into new
environments, becoming more advanced
in their thinking and better able to
demonstrate their ideas.
Twenty years from now, our children
are going to be living in a world that we
cannot possibly predict. To prepare them
for this, they need more useful skills than
displays of knowledge that are easily
available at our fingertips. Children need
to experience managing new problems
within unexpected situations and evolving
environments. They need to explore
complex concepts, seeing how their
thoughts and continued efforts can result
in success. They need to express their
viewpoints, show initiative and pursue
original ideas, adapting their thinking
as they listen to the thoughts of others,
exploring an alternative direction with
courage and insight.
If we want children to pay attention and
persist with the challenging tasks they
will meet in their school classrooms, they
need opportunities to develop the intrinsic
motivations this will require. If we expect
them to remember new rules and avoid
distractions, they need to experience
environments where simultaneous
choices are offered, and where they think
about multiple options at once before
making well-considered decisions. If we
expect children to suppress their need
for movement, to sit still and be goaloriented,
they need alternative and regular
opportunities to move their growing
bodies, freely responding to every instinct
within them.
Through these experiences of applying
motivation and perseverance to something
that has importance to them, they are also
developing a growth mindset that allows
them to see setbacks and struggles as
opportunities for learning, rather than a
reason to give up. All of which is far more
powerful than the pursuit of one desired
outcome or predetermined goal.
While some children thrive on the pursuit
of discrete, measurable skills, many do not
as they disengage from teaching styles
more suited to older classrooms. Expected
to refrain from the physical, and social
learning techniques that have served them
so well, you may see behaviours that can
be mistakenly observed as disruptive or
showing a lack of ability. As long-term
effects begin to embed, this adversely
informs a child of their identity as a
capable learner, a devastating response to
what is after all the most basic of natural
human instincts. With a clear impact
on the years they are about to spend in
the classroom, this also impacts every
aspect of their personal, professional and
academic lives, affecting their physical
health, their social-emotional well-being
and ultimate life trajectories.
Within the Nurturing Childhoods
Pedagogical Framework, we do things a
little differently. Through every stage of a
child’s education and learning journey,
we look at the behaviours that reflect
children’s development of lifelong learning
dispositions as children are;
? Doing things for themselves – with
self-motivation and independence
? Doing new things – with curiosity and
adaptability
? Being brave – with courage and
confidence
? Having good ideas – with imagination
and intuition
? Having a go – with reflection as they
develop practical skills
? Having fun – with sociable and fun
methods of learning
As influential adults in children’s lives, we
have the duty and privilege to nurture
every child’s ongoing love of learning and
its embedded techniques, recognising that
there is so much more to a developing
child than their set of achieved milestones.
So please, check out the new book series
published this month and join me at
nurturingchildhoods.com where together
we can develop the potential of every child
while continuing to be ambassadors for
them.
Click here for
more resources
from Kathryn:
16 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 17

What If There Was Finally A Solution To The
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The EY Alliance estimates we’ll need 40,000 more L3-qualified
staff in the next 4 years due to the Government’s latest “Free”
childcare initiative.
But what good is that when you can’t find qualified staff
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International
Friendship Day/World
Friendship Day
If you look on the internet at the origins of
International Friendship Day, also known
as World Friendship Day, you will find a
number of different stories, ranging from
an attempt by Hallmark cards in the 1930s
to sell more greeting cards, to a dinner
party in Paraguay in the 1950s. However,
people from around the globe have united
to celebrate their international friends for
a number of years. Dr. Ramon Artemio
Bracho and his associates are credited
with founding the first official World
Friendship Day in Paraguay on 30 July
1958. They formed the World Friendship
Crusade, an international civil organisation
that went on to campaign to foster a
culture of peace through friendship. The
day gained momentum and in 2011, the
30th July was declared as the official
International Day of Friendship by the
General Assembly of United Nations.
Aims
According to the Union of International
Associations, (UIA), the aims of the original
society were to:
“Promote any brotherly work;
promote the knowledge and
closeness of all people of
good will; encourage a friendly
handshake between people who
are offended; work towards a
better understanding of employers
and employees; honour parents,
exalting family life through
understanding the problems of its
members; take an active interest
in the community social and moral
welfare; stimulate good behaviour
and companionship through
the practice of sports; project
and encourage acts of bravery,
salvation, loyalty, abnegation and
humanitarian deeds.”
So, the day originated as much more
than a day just about friendship, but
encouraged celebrating, understanding
and promoting social cohesion across the
globe. Nowadays, with the advent of the
internet and social media, it is easier than
ever to connect to people from all walks
of life in many different countries, but
sometimes we all need a little reminder to
celebrate and reconnect with our friends -
those people who make our lives happier
and more joyful, and World Friendship Day
could be just the incentive we need.
How to celebrate in
your setting
There are many ways to mark
International/World Friendship Day in your
setting, from helping a new child to meet
new people in your setting, to starting a
community programme, or setting up an
international link with a nursery overseas.
The world is literally your ‘oyster’. We’ve
put together a few ideas of how you can
promote friendship and international
connections, not only between the children
you teach, but also for your staff and the
families in your setting too, helping them
reach out across the miles to our wider
early years family too.
Helping children in your
setting celebrate their
friendships
1. Hold a friendship tea party. Everyone
loves a party, and you can celebrate
friendships by introducing some fun
games to help your children play
together and really talk to each other.
2. Get the children to draw a picture/
create some art for their friends.
It could be of something they do
together, or something useful such as
a pen pot or candle holder. You could
print off some pictures of their friends
to add a personal touch.
3. Give everyone a buddy group for
the day and organise events so that
each group can find out as much as
possible about the other people in
their group. You can do this through
role-play, questions and answers,
and show and tell activities. Using
small groups of 3-4 children means
that no one is left out.
4. In storytime, read stories about great
friendships and how they can help
people overcome obstacles and feel
connected to each other. You can find
a list of 85 age-appropriate books at
85 Brilliant Books about Friendship |
LoveReading4Kids.
5. Sponsor a child from another
country and get the children to send
handprints or paintings to them to say
hello.
6. Set up an intergenerational visit to
a pensioners’ or care home – take
some homemade treats along that
the children have made/decorated to
share with the residents.
7. Invite another local nursery to tea and
play some friendship games. You can
find a list of some suitable pre-school
games at “Friendship Activities: 10
Top Games for Kids” (www.healthline.
com/health/parenting/friendshipactivities)
and “16 Meaningful
Friendship Activities Preschoolers
Love (That are Simple for You)”
(discoveryplaywithlittles.com).
8. Make some friendship bracelets with
the children.
9. Encourage the children to be friendly
to wildlife. Adopt an animal from a
zoo/animal sanctuary and encourage
the children to think about how they
could be friendly to wildlife they see
around them.
10. Go on a litter pick to your local park to
show the children how they can show
friendship to the area they live in and
their local community.
Ways to promote the day
to your staff and families
1. Spread the word on your social media
channels that you are celebrating
International/World Friendship Day
and encourage everyone to connect
with at least one friend on the day.
2. Re-connect to old friends through
social media, writing a letter or
sending a small gift.
3. Make new friends by trying out a
new hobby. You can find lots of short
courses at your local FE college so why
not connect with like-minded people
through learning a new skill?
4. Have a sleepover/friends’ night in
or friends’ night out! Sleepovers are
not just for kids, but adults may need
more than a mattress on the floor!
5. Send an e-card or meme to your
friends just to say hello.
6. Organise that one thing/event you’ve
always wanted to do with friends but
never got around to doing, be it a spa
day, a wine tasting or a theatre trip.
7. Organise a reunion of old colleagues
or school/work friends.
8. Use the day to heal rifts and
apologise to someone who you may
have hurt in the past. If you can’t face
them personally, sending a letter
of apology can go a long way to
repairing old friendships.
9. Set up an international connection
with a nursery in another country.
Contact your local twinning
association/local authority to see
if they can help connect you to
international nurseries.
10. Go through your photos and create
a photo board to remember all the
good times you’ve had.
We all need friends in our life. Promoting
and being thankful for friendships is
important at any age, so use this 30th July
to celebrate yours.
Remember to send your stories and
pictures to your friends at Parenta too, via
email to hello@parenta.com.
Click here for
more references
& information.
20 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 21

Paloma Forde
Transitioning for young children
with special educational needs
From nursery to formal school
Personalised
transition plans
A successful transition for children with
SEN involves personalised planning that
takes into account their individual needs
and preferences. Transition plans should
be detailed and specific, outlining the
strategies and supports that will be in
place to help the child adjust. This might
include gradual introductions to the new
school environment, visual schedules to
aid understanding of new routines, and
opportunities for the child to meet their
new teachers and classmates in advance.
Collaborative efforts
The transition from nursery to formal
school is most effective when there
is a strong partnership between all
stakeholders involved in the child’s
education. Parents/carers, nursery staff,
school teachers, and SEN specialists
must work together to ensure a cohesive
approach.
Regular communication and information
sharing are vital to keep everyone
informed of the child’s progress and any
adjustments needed in the transition plan.
The role of parents and
caregivers
Parents and caregivers are essential
advocates for their children during
transitions. Their insights and observations
provide valuable context for educators and
specialists. Encouraging parents to actively
participate in transition planning meetings
to share their concerns and aspirations for
their child can lead to more effective and
meaningful support strategies.
Additionally, providing parents with
resources and training can empower them
to support their child at home during this
critical period.
School preparation
and adaptations
Primary schools must also be prepared to
welcome children with SEN and support
their individual needs. This preparation
includes training for teachers on SEN
awareness and inclusive practices, as
well as physical adaptations to the school
environment if necessary. Creating a
welcoming and inclusive atmosphere
can help reduce anxiety for both children
and their families, making the transition
smoother.
Monitoring and adjusting
The transition process does not end once
the child starts school; ongoing monitoring
and support is essential. Regular checkins
with the child, parents, and teachers
can help identify any emerging issues
and ensure that the support strategies are
effective. Flexibility is key, as the needs of
children with SEN can evolve over time.
Final word
The transition from nursery to formal
school is a pivotal moment for young
children with special educational needs. By
prioritising early intervention, personalised
planning, and collaborative efforts, we can
create a supportive framework that eases
this transition and sets the foundation
for future success. Ensuring that children
with SEN feel understood, supported,
and valued during this period is not just
beneficial - it is essential for their holistic
development and long-term well-being.
The commitment of educators, parents,
and specialists to work together makes
all the difference in fostering an inclusive
and nurturing educational journey for
every child.
Click here for
more resources
Transitioning from nursery to formal school
is a significant milestone for all children,
but it holds particular importance for
young children with special educational
needs (SEN). This period of change can
be challenging, and ensuring a smooth
transition is crucial for their continued
development and well-being. In the UK,
the education system recognises the
need for tailored support to facilitate this
transition, emphasising the importance of
early intervention, personalised planning,
and collaborative efforts among educators,
parents, and specialists.
Understanding the
challenges
Children with SEN often face unique
challenges during transitions. These can
include difficulty adjusting to new routines,
environments, and social dynamics.
Sensory sensitivities, communication
barriers, and anxiety are common issues
that can hinder a young child’s ability to
adapt to the new school setting. Without
adequate support, these challenges can
impact their academic progress and
emotional health, making it essential to
address them proactively.
The role of early
intervention
Early intervention is a cornerstone of
effective transition planning for children
with SEN. Identifying and addressing
developmental needs early in a child’s
life can significantly improve their ability
to cope with changes. Nursery staff play
a critical role in this process, as they are
often the first to observe and document
a child’s strengths and areas of need. By
collaborating with parents and specialists,
they can create a comprehensive profile
that informs the transition plan.
from Paloma:
22 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 23

Different types of
attachment
their caregiver to support them and fulfil
their needs and will seek reassurance from
them if frightened. Although they may be
upset at separation, they trust the carer to
return and show joy when reunited. They
do not fear abandonment and grow up
being able to form healthy relationships
with different people.
Understanding attachment theory is
important for all early years professionals
because the early years are critical for
the formation of secure attachments.
Attachment theory is concerned with the
relationships and bonds between people,
and particularly those formed before
children and primary care givers in the first
year of life. However, as research shows,
early attachment issues can continue into
adulthood and affect a child’s self-esteem,
independence, educational attainment
and social interactions. Therefore, it is
vital that all early years practitioners
understand attachment and are able to
influence children in a positive way.
A brief history of
attachment theory
The main theory of attachment was
proposed in the 1950s by psychologists
John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Bowlby
described attachment as a “lasting
psychological connectedness between
human beings.” He was interested in
the anxiety and distress that children
experienced when separated from their
primary caregivers – their ‘separation
anxiety’. Some researchers suggested that
attachment was related to the feeding
of the child, or was a learned behaviour,
but Bowlby observed that even when
children were fed by someone else, the
separation anxiety that the child had for
their primary carer did not reduce. Instead,
he identified clear behavioural and
motivational patterns in children related to
the attachments they had developed.
Stages of attachment
Researchers, Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy
Emerson, later proposed four distinct
phases of attachment as shown in the
table.
Stage
Pre-attachment
stage
Indiscriminate
attachment
Discriminate
attachment
Multiple
attachments
Approx. age of
child
Birth to 3 months
6 weeks to 7
months
7 months to 11
months
From 9 months
onwards
Factors that influence
attachment
These stages of attachment may seem
natural and straightforward, and in most
situations, they are. However, there are
different factors that can influence how
and when attachments develop which
may result in attachment difficulties.
Two things that can influence this are:
1. The child’s opportunity to form
attachments. Some children do
not have a primary caregiver, such
as those raised in orphanages, or
where the primary caregiver has
died or been taken away early on.
In these cases, children can struggle
to develop the trust needed to form
secure attachments.
2. The quality of the care given. If the
quality of care given is high and
consistent, then children learn to
depend on and trust the people
Characteristics
Infants do not show any particular
attachment to a specific person or
caregiver.
Infants begin to show preferences and
trust for primary and secondary
caregivers and start to distinguish
between familiar and unfamiliar people.
Infants show a strong attachment and
preference for one specific individual and
protest when separated from the primary
attachment figure. They also develop
stranger anxiety.
Young children begin to form strong
emotional bonds with other caregivers
beyond the primary attachment figure.
This often includes a second parent, older
siblings, and grandparents.
caring for them. In some cases,
where the quality of care is poor
or inconsistent, children may learn
subconsciously that they cannot trust
anyone to care for them or support
them and they can only depend on
themselves.
Different types of
attachment
Researchers have classified four different
types of attachment that children can
develop. It is important that early years
professionals understand these different
types of attachment as there will be
children in all settings who present with
behaviours associated with them.
Secure attachment
This is the most common form of
attachment style. A child with a secure
attachment style is the result of a warm,
trusting and loving bond with their primary
caregiver. The child learns to depend on
Anxious-ambivalent
attachment
Anxious-ambivalent attachment usually
develops due to inadequate parental
availability and children are usually
anxious, continuously looking around
for their caregivers and need constant
reassurance from them due to a fear of
being abandoned. This is usually because
they have experienced times when the
carer was not there to fulfil their needs. As
adults, these people are also more likely
to show distrust and insecurity and can be
emotionally dependent.
Avoidant attachment
This type of attachment can develop due
to abusive or neglectful caregivers and
children learn to avoid seeking help from
anyone. Children with avoidant attachment
tend to show no preference between
their primary caregiver and a stranger
and may avoid their caregiver altogether.
These children learn to accept that their
emotional needs are unlikely to be met
and often grow up feeling unworthy,
insignificant and unloved. This can
translate into adults who avoid intimate
relationships.
Disorganised
attachment
Disorganised attachment is a mixture
of anxious-ambivalent and avoidant
attachments. Children who have this type
of attachment often display a confusing
mix of emotions, such as intense anger,
disorientation or confusion, and often have
a difficult time controlling their emotions. It
is a result of inconsistent caregiving where
the caregiver has been both a source of
comfort for the child at times, and one
who causes fear. This leads to the child’s
disorganised behaviour. These children
may carry these traits into adulthood
and tend to continue having difficulties
controlling their emotions and/or avoid
intimate relationships altogether.
Attachment disorders
Some children can develop attachment
disorders, and there are two recognised
ones:
? Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) -
children with RAD usually emotionally
withdraw from caregivers and don’t
look for or respond to comfort, even
when they’re upset, and have difficulty
expressing emotions
? Disinhibited social engagement
disorder (DSED) – these children
often display excessively familiar
behaviours around strangers, a lack
of social boundaries and may even
wander off, approach strangers
without hesitation, and hug or touch
unknown adults
How to help
Training staff to understand attachment
and attachment disorders will help them
recognise children who are struggling and
how to help. There are some short courses
online which can help. Alternatively,
some local authorities and safeguarding
companies run training courses in
attachment awareness. See https://www.
udemy.com/course/attachment-at-earlychildhood/
or the-arc.org.uk for more
information and a list of training providers.
Relationships are extremely important
and building consistent, trusting and
supportive relationships with children can
go a long way to help children learn to
trust adult carers, so it is vital your setting’s
key person relationships are secure and
consistent.
Practitioners who are aware of
attachment, will also be able to remain
calm and compassionate if children
display challenging behaviours and will
understand that it is the child trying to
communicate their distress above all
things.
References and more
information
? www.positivepsychology.com/
attachment-theory/
? www.simplypsychology.org/
attachment-styles.html
? www.teachearlyyears.com/a-uniquechild/view/how-to-support-childrenwith-attachment-disorders
? www.healthline.com/health/
attachment-disorder-in-adults
? the-arc.org.uk
? www.udemy.com/course/attachmentat-early-childhood/
Click here for
more references
& information.
24 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 25

Mona Sakr
Finding, recognising
and celebrating team
players in your nursery
As a leader, you will know that teamwork
is essential for creating a great working
culture in the nursery. Nursery staff need
to be able to work well together, have
honest conversations and hold each other
to account in order for the organisation to
flourish. To get teamwork happening, you
need excellent team players. That means
understanding what makes a great team
player in the context of a nursery and how
you can find and develop team players
among your staff.
What makes a great team
player?
Renowned expert in organisational culture,
Patrick Lencioni, offers a model of the ideal
team player which boils down to three key
attributes: hungry, humble and smart.
Team players are:
? Hungry - they are passionate about
the work that they do and give it their
all. They look for opportunities to have
a positive impact on the nursery and
the children and families they serve
? Humble - rather than having a big
ego, humble individuals are down to
earth and unpretentious as they go
about their day-to-day work. They
listen carefully to others and take on
feedback. They interact with those
around them in kind and respectful
ways, regardless of their official
position in the nursery
? Smart - this is about being emotionally
intelligent. Smart people know how to
relate to others and develop positive
relationships. They are warm and kind
and they do the little things that make
such a difference to the day to day
working environment, such as asking
how you are or remembering the
names of your children or pets
Lencioni suggests that if you recruit
individuals who have these three
attributes, it is much easier to ensure the
success of the organisation.
What does hungry look like
in a nursery context?
Nursery staff who are hungry work hard
to get the job done. They do not wait to
be told what should happen next or what
duties they should complete. Instead they
are actively looking around for jobs to do
and ways to be helpful. They get stuck in
with high-quality, engaged interactions
with the children without needing to be
directed towards this and they are aware
of the planning and routines that make
the room work. They show a strong
commitment to the work that they’re doing.
You will see that they are passionate about
working with children and families and
they are hungry to learn more about the
job, through professional learning and
maybe even further qualifications.
Smart
Hungry
Humble
What does humble look
like in a nursery context?
Nursery staff who are humble are
completely happy to be on the floor of the
nursery, getting messy as part of children’s
play and helping with basic routines,
regardless of their official title in the
organisation. This applies to leaders too!
They get stuck in with everything and are
capable of interacting kindly, respectfully
and warmly with everyone – whether it’s
the person delivering groceries for the
week ahead or an Ofsted inspector.
What does smart look like
in a nursery context?
Nursery staff who are smart show an
excellent awareness of other people’s
feelings. They are warm and careful with
their words rather than cold or abrasive.
They are never dismissive of others’
emotions. To give an example, if there is
a new parent who is particularly anxious,
they show excellent levels of empathy and
take extra care to reassure the family. They
cultivate positive relationships with other
members of the team, showing warmth
and understanding that helps to generate
great team dynamics.
Recruiting team players
We all know that recruitment of staff in the
nursery is difficult at the moment and it can
feel impossible to show the selectiveness
we would like. However, it is essential
to remember that by not being selective
enough about the right things, you can
end up with a negative team culture that
then leads to good people leaving.
Recruitment is therefore not just about
getting the right numbers of people into
your organisation, it is essential that you
have excellent team players that will feed
into a positive team culture, on which your
retention is dependent. You might want
to consider prioritising the team player
attributes over traditional qualifications.
The thinking here is that if someone is
hungry, humble and smart, you can
support them to earn a qualification (e.g.
through an apprenticeship) while they are
working. On the other hand, someone
who has the right qualifications but isn’t
a good cultural fit for the organisation will
end up either quickly leaving or feeding
into a negative culture that causes others
to leave. To recruit people who are hungry,
humble and smart, you need an effective
selection process, including interview
questions that truly probe these attributes
and experiential assessments that help
you to see how the individual gets on in
practice.
Developing team players
For the staff you already have, this is
an opportunity to have some honest
conversations about their strengths
and weaknesses. It is not uncommon
for individuals to be great on two of the
attributes, but lacking in one. This is an
important developmental observation that
starts meaningful professional growth.
Perhaps you have someone that is
wonderfully people-smart and beautifully
humble, but they’re not always that
hungry. They wait to be told what to do
and they show little interest in developing
themselves professionally. You can ask
them to assess this for themselves in
the context of a one-to-one supervision
or coaching session, and work out
whether they are ready to put the work
in to develop themselves on the attribute
that is lacking. Don’t forget to apply this
approach to yourself as well and to your
leadership team. Self-assessment is a vital
part of getting this right and modelling its
importance across the whole organisation.
Celebrating team players
Recognise and reward your wonderful
team players. This might mean a pay
rise or a promotion, but it could also be
something less formal, such as a ‘shout
out’ at the start of a week, or a “thank you
for being a great team player” noticeboard
in the staff room. Awards ceremonies,
however little, are another great way
to recognise the contribution that team
players make to the nursery.
Click here for
more resources
from Mona:
26 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 27

School readiness and
Change and transition
Transitions are rarely easy for children. This
is because they usually involve an element
of change, and change is difficult. Children
experience many different transitions and
changes often on a daily basis. Some are
common, some less common, and some
are big whilst others are small.
Transitions can be categorised into vertical
or horizontal transitions. Vertical transitions
usually refer to a major change to the
child’s everyday routine, for example,
moving house or starting school for the
first time. These can understandably
have a big impact on our children and
their well-being. However, we mustn’t
underestimate the impact that smaller
transitions, sometimes referred to as
horizontal transitions, can have. They
can include changes in the routine which
occur regularly, for example, arrival at the
setting, moving between rooms or going
from the classroom to the playground.
When supporting children with transitions,
we are not just looking at supporting
children who are moving to a new
phase of life, but also children who are
experiencing smaller changes. This could
mean they are settling in or leaving a
familiar setting, going from home to
grandparents and then school everyday
or being dropped off and picked up by
a nanny or childminder. Or the change
could be about them experiencing new
things, moving from one part of the day to
another or having an unexpected change
at home or a sudden change in routine at
nursery.
In a recent training course I delivered on
transitions, a colleague shared how a
child had arrived at her setting really upset
because she usually has a vitamin on the
Tamsin Grimmer
transitions
Setting
(Support child’s individual needs,
foster Characteristics of Effective
Learning, teach independence)
way to school and it had fallen on the
floor. Her mother said she couldn’t have
it and all morning this little girl was out of
sorts. This sudden change in her routine
was enough to make her dysregulated
and upset. One of my favourite quotes is
by Daly, Byers and Taylor (2004: 111) who
remind us that, “Something adults may
consider to be a small or insignificant
event can be quite traumatic for children.”
We need to see our settings and schools
through our children’s eyes to see what
really matters to them.
School readiness
One vertical transition children
experience is going to school for the
first time, and whether or not children
are ready for school is one of the most
talked about issues at this time of year!
School readiness also continually hits
the headlines, but not always for good
School
(Ready for individual children,
play-based curriculum which
motivates and engages children)
Child
(Willingness to
learn, selfconfidence,
independence,
Characteristics of
Effective Learning,
self-regulation)
“Triangle of factors surrounding
the child: A model of school
readiness”, (Grimmer, 2018)
Environmental
Factors
(Cultural context, political
climate, socio-economic
influences)
Home
(Supportive Home Learning
Environment, basic needs met,
secure attachment, parent’s
work pattens)
reasons! We are often bombarded with
reports about how a certain percentage
of children are not ready for school and it
adds lots of pressure to families who are
often already feeling stressed.
I personally do not like the term “school
readiness”, despite having written a
book with that phrase in the title! In fact,
it was my negative response to this term
that encouraged me to use it. This is
because I wanted, spark a debate about
what school readiness means and claim
the phrase in a more appropriate way,
keeping children central to the transition.
There is no nationally-recognised definition
of school readiness in England, even
though it is stated as the purpose of the
EYFS (DfE, 2024) and school readiness
means different things to different people.
For example, if you teach in a reception
class, being school ready may be a child
who can independently take themselves
to the toilet or select resources. Whereas if
you are a parent, you may want your child
to be emotionally resilient enough to leave
you for the whole day prior to starting
school.
When writing my book, I led a research
project looking at school readiness. The
research group consisted of educators
from nursery, reception classes, year one
and a childminder. We worked together
to explore what school readiness meant
to us and how we could keep children at
the heart of the transition. We came up
with this comprehensive model which
considers the 3 main areas of influence
around the child: school, setting and
home. All of these can support the child
through the transition into school, however,
the transition also needs to be viewed
within the broader context of various
environmental factors which also influence
the child. The child themselves also has
characteristics which will enable the
transition to school to go more smoothly,
for example, how resilient and selfregulated
they are or their independence
and self-confidence levels.
Supporting transitions
and change
There are many ways we can support
children through transition and change
and the main ingredient of this is our
relationship with them. Adults who
are attuned to the child and respond
sensitively and with love will provide them
with a secure base and hold the child in
mind. This is part and parcel of adopting
a loving pedagogy approach (Grimmer,
2021). There are more specific things we
can do to help a child going through a
period of transition or change too. For
example, talking to the child about the
change in terms of what will be different
but, more importantly, what will stay the
same. It is consistency and familiarity
which will hugely benefit the child when
their whole world feels upside down.
When supporting a child with transitions
during the day in a setting, the following
ideas can help:
? View transition times as part of the
day, to be planned for and managed
? Use visual timetables or Now/Next
boards
? Give a warning to the children prior to
transition
? Use timers/sand-timers as visual aids
? Be consistent in your routine and the
way adults respond
? Offer incentives (e.g. Mari can choose
the story today)
? Use songs, rhymes or chants, e.g. tidy
up song, or the going outside song…
? Count down to a transition not up, e.g.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1!
? Pre-empt which children will find it
difficult and offer additional support
to them, perhaps giving them specific
tasks to complete or having an adult
near/with them.
When supporting the transition into a
setting or school the following ideas can
help:
? Build relationships with parents/
settings/schools
? Schools and settings can have joint
activities, e.g. teddy bear picnic over
the summer, or nursery children watch
the reception nativity play
? Share information and talk about the
information most useful to be shared
(e.g. All about me type forms)
? Encourage the child to make a
chatterbox or bring in some special
things from home to talk about
? Allow the use of transitional objects
and comforters
? Read stories about going to school
and talk about this with the children
? Create a photo social story with
pictures of the new environment,
teachers and play spaces
? Discuss photos of schools and ponder
aloud… e.g. photo of dinner hall – “I
wonder what the children will do
here?”, or “I wonder what it would be
like to eat lunch in this room?”
? Engage in school role play and have
school uniform, lunch boxes, water
bottles and book bags to play with in
setting
? New teacher to complete home visits
? Thorough induction in reception
which slowly introduces children to
lunchtimes and play times over the
year, or this can even happen in year
one
? School readiness workshops for
parents talking about expectations
in terms of not putting pressure on
children
? Several settling in sessions and
transition meetings for children and
parents
? Schools can use a buddy system
when an older child is paired up with
a reception child
? Consider children’s holistic
development, in particular their
emotional needs
It is really important that children feel part
of any transition taking place. Therefore
we need to listen to children and act upon
their view whenever possible (UNICEF, 1989).
Give children opportunities to tell us their
thoughts, feelings, worries, fears and share
excitement together. Transition, although
difficult at times, can be exciting and
rewarding for children and families. With the
child at the heart, we can enable children to
thrive.
References
? DfE (2024) Early Years Foundation
Stage Statutory Framework. Available
at assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/
media/65aa5e42ed27ca001327b2c7/
EYFS_statutory_framework_for_group_
and_school_based_providers.pdf
? Grimmer, T. (2018) “School readiness
and the characteristics of effective
learning: The essential guide for early
years practitioners”. London, UK: Jessica
Kingsley Publishers.
? Grimmer, T. (2021) “Developing a loving
Pedagogy in the Early Years: How
love fits with professional practice”.
Abingdon: Routledge.
? UNICEF (1989). “United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the
Child”. Retrieved from unicef.org.uk/
Documents/Publication-pdfs/UNCRC_
PRESS200910web.pdf
Click here for
more resources
from Tamsin:
28 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 29

Understanding the EYFS
framework as children
move to reception
A comprehensive guide for parents
Transitioning from nursery to primary
school is an important life event for
children, parents/carers and professionals,
but how can you help your parents/carers
navigate this transition and how does the
EYFS framework help? Here is some useful
information and tips to pass on.
The EYFS and transitions
The EYFS covers children from birth to
age 5, including the reception year. After
reception, children move to key stage 1
(KS1), so there will be several transitions
around this age:
✨ Nursery to reception
✨ Reception to Year 1
When do children have to go
to school?
Most children start school in reception
class, joining full-time in the September
after their fourth birthday. For example,
a child who turns 4 in June, will usually
start school in September that same year.
However, some parents delay their start
date, especially if they have summer
babies. An August baby for example, will
have only just turned 4 by September,
so some parents may start their child
part-time or even part-way through the
academic year (e.g. in January).
Children can miss the whole of reception
year and start school for the first time after
their 5th birthday, but in these cases, they
will go automatically into year 1. Parents
who delay starting school still need to
apply for a place at the usual time, (when
the child is 3 or just turned 4) but they
can ask for a later start. See www.gov.
uk/schools-admissions/how-to-apply for
information on applying for school places.
Parents can choose to home educate
or apply for a place at an independent
school too. All children must be in full-time
education the term after they turn 5, when
they reach what is known as ‘compulsory
school age’. For more information on this,
see the Government website at
www.gov.uk/schools-admissions/schoolstarting-age.
The EYFS and starting school
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
framework emphasises that transitions
from nursery to school or reception to year
1 should be well-planned and as smooth
as possible. Transitions should also be
seen as a process and not a finite event
that occurs on the first day of school.
In the document, “Birth to 5 Matters”, early
years professionals acknowledge that:
✨ Children can feel vulnerable during
transitions
✨ High-quality transitions understand
the importance of children feeling
“known” and value continuity
✨ Transitions give all parties the
opportunity for dialogue (parents/
carers, school, nurseries)
✨ The key person in the nursery plays an
essential role in making the process
run well and making connections with
the school
Assessment
As part of the EYFS, all children will
undergo ongoing assessments at various
stages including:
✨ Progress check age 2
✨ Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)
– a short assessment undertaken in
the first 6 weeks after children start
reception
✨ Early Years Profile Assessment – this
will be completed for each child in
the final term of the year in which the
child reaches age 5 (no later than
30th June). It is usually completed
by the reception teacher, or nursery
provider if the child has not yet
started reception. It gives parents/
carers, practitioners and teachers
a well-rounded picture of a child’s
knowledge, understanding and
abilities, their attainment against
expected levels, and their readiness
for year 1. These are assessed
by the professional judgement of
the practitioners against the early
learning goals in the EYFS
More detailed information about all these
assessments can be found in the EYFS and
schools can provide information about
their own practices too.
Move-up days
Many local authorities organise a moveup
day that is co-ordinated across the
whole local authority, with all children
attending their new school on the same
day. This allows children to meet their new
teachers, make new friends and generally
experience what a day in the new venue
will be like. It usually takes place in June
or July.
How parents can help with
the transition to school
Talk about the process and
feelings
Families should talk about the transition
process and be as open and honest with
children as possible. Schools and nurseries
will also be involved in this so that children
know and understand what will happen.
Parents/carers should talk to their key
person who will be able to help. Allow
children to express their own feelings,
whether they are excited or anxious
and talk in age-appropriate ways with
language they can understand. Pictures/
videos can help remind children of their
new school and talking to other parents/
carers and children who’ve gone through
transitions can help too.
Remind children about
successes with past changes
Life is constantly changing, and these
transitions are one of many transitions
that the children will have done, even in
their short life. It can be helpful to remind
children how well they did moving from
home to nursery, or when they changed
nursery rooms or key person along the
way. This helps children understand they
have already successfully faced several
changes and that they can do so again.
Practice key skills and journeys
Try to practice the journey a few times
before the move-up day to eliminate
worries. Other skills to practice include:
✨ Encouraging the child to carry a lunch
box or bag
✨ Taking a coat off or putting it on
independently
✨ Putting on shoes
✨ Walking or scooting carefully
✨ Sitting still and focusing attention
Try to keep things such as bedtime or
mealtimes as consistent as possible during
this time to aid continuity.
Stay calm
Teach calming exercises to the children
such as taking slow, deep breaths, or the
5-4-3-2-1 technique to distract them if they
are feeling anxious (list 5 things you see,
4 you hear, 3 you can feel, 2 you smell, 1
you taste). The BBC has lots of advice for
parents/carers about transitions at
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zkqnxbk.
Look at things from the child’s
perspective
Adults learn to manage their emotions
through experience, but young children
are still developing these skills. They
have a different view of the world that
can seem trivial to an adult, but can be
all encompassing as a child, so try to see
these situations through their eyes.
Encourage and praise effort
Children will not get everything right the
first time, so praise their effort above their
achievement. This helps them to learn
resilience and the important life lessons
that can be learnt through trial and error.
Be kind to yourself
Remember that the transition will affect
parents as well as children, so parents
should look after their own emotions and
feelings too. Children can pick up on the
stresses of adults so remaining calm is
helpful.
References and more
information
✨ www.gov.uk/schools-admissions/
school-starting-age
✨ www.assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/
media/65253bc12548ca000dddf050/
EYFSP_2024_handbook.pdf
✨ www.place2be.org.uk/our-services/
parents-and-carers/getting-ready-tostart-primary-school/
✨ www.the-educator.org/managingtransitions-early-years/
✨ www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/
Documents/Children-and-familiesservices/Early-Years/Moving_On_
Supporting_Childrens_Transitions_in_
the_Early_Years.pdf
Click here for
more references
& information.
30 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 31

Problem solving is a life-skill that is
essential to success. Being able to look
at a situation and identify a pattern,
obstacles, and most importantly a
solution, is something that we all face,
every day. Music can make this learning
process so much more enjoyable!
We know that development happens all
the time and has no schedule – every
interaction is an opportunity for personal
development. To find examples of
problem-solving, we’ve looked at the
“Ages & Stages Questionnaire” to find out
what you can expect to see in children
from as young as 2 months old.
Babies from 2 months will often look at
nearby objects, follow people with their
eyes and try to move towards nearby toys,
showing their interest in their ability to
interact with the people and things around
them. As they get older and begin to grasp
things, they start to put things in their
Frances Turnbull
Musical medicine
Problem solving together musically by
“standing by me”
mouths, exploring the taste and texture
of the things around them, even banging
them on nearby surfaces.
By 9 months, babies continue to explore
their environment by trying to get things
out of clear containers, and finding things
“hidden” under paper or fabric. They may
pass a toy from hand to hand, or bang
toys together if they have a toy in each
hand, showing their growing ability to
control their environment.
By 12 months, babies will try to copy adults
putting toys into a box or dropping them
into a container. They may even copy
scribbling on paper with a crayon, or
use another object to get a toy just out of
reach, learning better ways to do things.
Problem-solving gives children the
confidence to be independent in every
situation they encounter. And musically,
singing is an opportunity for children
to problem-solve language, timing
and melody. As a life-skill, singing can
improve and protect from so many health
conditions, and here are a few songs to
introduce!
Mary, Mary
Mary, Mary, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row
This little nursery rhyme has a number of
potential histories, ranging from a dark
political commentary of Mary, Queen of
Scots, through to a religious interpretation
of Mary, mother of Jesus. Just as beauty is
in the eye of the beholder, we can choose
to sing this simple song literally according
to the words in it. With the summer months
being a little warmer, it is a lovely song to
teach children, either while gardening or
– indoors if raining – imitating gardening
actions, just as the words suggest.
Children could be given the challenge
to create a garden as described in the
song, to work together to create a ‘Mary
Garden’. And as an added bonus, there
is some evidence that plants thrive with
music, so you may end up with a more
beautiful garden, too!
Suagan
To my lullaby surrender,
Warm and tender is my breast;
Mother’s arms with love caressing
Lay their blessing on your rest;
Nothing shall tonight alarm you,
None shall harm you, have no fear;
Lie contented, calmly slumber
On your mother’s breast my dear
Here tonight I tightly hold you
And enfold you while you sleep
Why, I wonder, are you smiling?
Smiling in your slumber deep
Are the angels on you smiling
And beguiling you with charm
While you also smile, my blossom
In my bosom, soft and warm?
Have no fear now, leaves are knocking
Gently knocking at our door
Have no fear now, waves are beating
Gently beating on the shore
Sleep, my darling, none shall harm you
Nor alarm you, ever will
And beguiling those on high
This classic Welsh lullaby has become
better known through beautiful
performances by Aled Jones and Charlotte
Church. English translations can be found
everywhere, but this is a particularly lovely
poetic translation. Both the lovely tune of
this song and the timing of it imitate the
motion of rocking. This makes it perfect
as a song for comforting children in
potentially stressful situations where they
may be hurt, sad, missing someone, or
even going to sleep. Even holding little
ones against your chest and just humming
the tune can share peaceful reassurance
and bring comfort and calm.
Stand by me
Ben E. King
When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we’ll see
And I won’t be afraid
I won’t be afraid
Just as long as you stand
Stand by me
So darling, darling, stand by me
Oh, stand by me, oh stand
Stand by me, stand by me
If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountain should crumble in the sea
I won’t cry, I won’t cry
No, I won’t shed a tear
Just as long as you stand
Stand by me
So darling, darling, stand by me
Oh, stand by me, oh stand
Stand by me, stand by me
This modern lullaby is quickly becoming a
classic song that celebrates friendship and
community. Celebrating the far-reaching
benefits of social support, the vivid words
use imagery that the young and old can
relate to, like dark nights, mountains and
sea. The chorus evokes feelings of love
and support, which will only mean more
and more to children as they grow older
and begin to understand more of the
language used. This song could be played
to children to sing along while working
on group activities where each child’s
contribution adds to a bigger project or
picture. Ideas could include each child
creating painted hand-prints to make the
wings of a giant butterfly, or each child
colouring different parts of a picture to
create a giant mural.
Problem-solving is quickly becoming an
essential skill that gives us a head-start the
sooner it is learnt. It relies on developing
effective communication skills that are
learnt through experience with kind and
caring adults. Using music makes it all so
much more fun!
Click here for
more resources
from Frances:
32 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 33

Did you know that we spend about
one-third of our life either sleeping or
attempting to do so? Or that the average
person will spend one-third of their life at
work? That’s roughly 90,000 hours at work
over your lifetime! That leaves one third of
our life to do the things we want and need
to do.
So, just who do you spend one third of
your time with? It’s a bit like “Big Brother”.
A number of differing personalities are
thrown together like a ready-made family
and told to navigate the situations that
arise. We know how that can turn out!
Harper Lee, in “To Kill a Mockingbird”,
says, “You can choose your friends but you
sho’ can’t choose your family…”
In the same way, for the third of our life
spent at work, we cannot choose our
colleagues. We are gathered together
within an enclosed space, doing the work
of super-humans, day after day.
Our teams are a spectrum of personalities,
a motley medley of characters and this is
the team’s strength and their challenge.
Where do we start with working well
with each other? We start with knowing
ourselves.
Personality
There are many personality tests one can
do to help you answer the question, ‘Who
am I?’ One of the most well-known is
the Myers-Briggs personality test, which
you can easily access online. It’s an oldie
but a goodie, and it gives us pause for
thought. Knowing yourself is the first step
in understanding others.
Pam McFarlane
Working well
with others
Personality traits are characteristic patterns
in how you think, feel, and act. It involves
your character and core beliefs and your
inborn temperament.
When we look at our team members, there
is a great deal of diversity. We are not
an homogenous unit. We are of different
ages, genders, sexual orientations,
cultures, languages, abilities, beliefs and
levels of experience. Added to this, some
of us live with mental health issues and/or
neurodiversity.
If we are a leader, this makes our job very
challenging. Just how do we bring out the
best of every person in our team? How
do we grow them whilst simultaneously
managing the conflict that often arises?
How do we look after each person’s
interests whilst still ensuring all the jobs
are done? Our settings are as good as
our staff, so understanding how to work
well with others is vital to enjoying a safe,
happy, successful setting.
Mental health
The stats are quite alarming. It appears
that 1 in 4 people will experience a mental
health problem of some kind each year in
England.
These problems include depression,
anxiety, eating disorders, phobias, bipolar,
PTSD and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Jonathan Haidt’s book, “The Anxious
Generation”, illustrates the stark reality of
mental health problems in the Western
world. He ascribes the start of this to the
introduction of smart phones and the
effect this has had on our society.
Haidt calls it “The phone generation
effect” which impacts, amongst other
things, socialising skills. He suggests that
attention, listening, engaging, reading
emotions, developing relationships and
working within a team are all affected by
this.
He notes that put together, this leads to
increased anxiety and far less resilience.
How many of your team members confess
to being very anxious, or state, “I have
anxiety”? This state of anxiety is growing
exponentially and it is driving our society.
Of course, anyone of any age can struggle
with mental health, including anxiety.
Knowing some stressors will help us form
strategies for addressing these with our
team members.
Stressors include personal situations, such
as grief, family strife or moving house.
Another stressor is finance. Many are
struggling with debt and running costs
and the burden can be overwhelming.
Social stressors include relationship
difficulties and even the job a person has
at the setting can create much internal
stress for them.
I have spoken with many leaders recently
who do not know how to manage a team
member who is full of anxiety, battling
depression or one who is self-harming, or
self-medicating. Absences due to mental
health problems can be extremely difficult
for a leader to manage and for a team to
negotiate.
The first thing to remember is that we are
not counsellors or therapists. We are not
trained to deal with mental health issues.
However, we can develop strategies to
help us manage mental health challenges
in our teams.
Strategies:
⭐ Have clear policies and codes of
conduct; adhere to these
⭐ Signpost; have information available
online and on paper (available in a
confidential space)
⭐ Keep short accounts; follow up
regularly
⭐ Use supervisions and appraisals
productively
A very important factor to note is that of
capability. It is imperative that a setting has
a policy that includes capability pathways.
Our fundamental premise at our settings
is that children are safe. Does this person’s
mental health issue put children (or other
adults) in danger? If so, we are responsible
for dealing with this fairly and effectively.
Another aspect to consider is this: does
the rest of the team have to carry the
workload of the person who is struggling
with mental health? This may be possible
for a short time frame, but if it becomes
too burdensome, then it is unfair on them
and resentments will quickly escalate.
Neurodiversity
Some mental health conditions can
fall in the neurodivergent category, the
most common being ADHD, autism and
dyslexia. The early years sector naturally
attracts neurodiverse individuals, who
can bring much richness to our settings.
Learning about neurodiversity is part of our
duty of care towards our team members.
Definition
Neurodivergence is a concept originally
attributed to the 1990s sociologist,
Judy Singer, who believes that we all
represent human diversity and implies
that neurodiversity is not a ‘them and us’
situation.
Laura Boxley, PhD, states that,
“neurodiversity is the idea that people
experience or interact with the world
around them in many different ways—
some that may not be considered typical.
It is based on the framework that ‘different’
is not the same as ‘deficient’.”
Neurodivergent individuals often
experience differences in:
⭐ Mental function
⭐ Learning styles
⭐ Sensory processing
⭐ Communication style
⭐ Behaviours
Again, as with mental health issues, we
need strategies that will benefit us, the
team, and ultimately, the children in our
setting.
Strategies:
⭐ Clear and unambiguous
communication, e.g. “you will find it
next door” – does this mean the room
next door, the building next door or
another next door?
⭐ Agendas prior to meetings, reminders
⭐ Clear rules, policies, and procedures
⭐ Prior notice of change
In both mental health and neurodiversity
contexts, a key strategy is to educate and
inform your team and together, create a
supportive culture.
Using these strategies will lessen
misunderstandings, alleviate frustration
and promote acceptance for all parties.
However, the best way a leader can
manage these situations is through the
use of coaching.
Coaching “is about setting and achieving
goals…a coach uses insightful questioning
to help someone identify the goals they
want to achieve, recognise their current
circumstances, consider all the options
open to them and choose which actions
they will take within a defined time frame”.
(The Coaching Academy)
A coaching approach enables leaders
to set the tone of the setting to one
of acceptance and encouragement.
It empowers people to find their own
solutions and to be accountable for their
actions. It is goal oriented with clear
action points set. People feel heard and
understood. There is individual progress
but also a deep sense of team cohesion.
Working well with others can be tricky. It
can also be rewarding, beneficial and just
plain fabulous! Knowing yourself is the
start. Learning about and understanding
personality, mental health and
neurodiversity is the next step - a step that
is both a necessity and a privilege. We will
all be richer for it.
EnRich offers training on:
Coaching for Leaders: for leaders
of all levels; understand the concept
of coaching, learn fundamental skills,
and develop a coaching approach in
your setting. A 2-hour online tutor-led
course and a full day training course
are available. Working well with others;
understand personality, neurodiversity and
mental health and the role these play in a
team; learn strategies that benefit all team
members and learn coaching skills to
empower each one.
“Leadership & management, a
coaching approach”; a 6 module course
delivered through individual coaching (a
day course is also available) that equips
every leader in early years to be the
best they can be. We have more training
available; click the image before for more
details!
Click here for
more resources
from Pam:
34 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 35

Picnic snacks!
EYFS activities:
Understanding
the World
Understanding the world fosters cognitive, social, and emotional growth. By engaging with their surroundings,
children develop curiosity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills while enhancing language development,
cultural awareness, and empathy.
Why not make some simple snacks to go inside
your very own picnic basket?
Under the sea sensory fun for National Marine Week
An exciting activity where children can explore
the sea and marine life at the tips of their
fingers.
You will need:
Ì A large plastic container/tray
Ì Several packets of jelly (the original
red colour)
Ì Boiling water and cold water
Ì Some small plastic sea creature toys
Ì Some crushed Rice Krispies cereal
Ì Food colouring (green and blue)
Ì Zip-lock bag
Method:
1. Prepare the jelly by following the
instructions on the packet.
2. Add 1-2 drops of green food colouring to
cancel out the redness, then add a few
drops of blue food colouring to make it look
like the blue sea. Keep testing and mixing
until you’re happy with the colour.
3. Stir until the jelly is completely dissolved
and pour the jelly into your tray or
container.
4. Drop in some of your plastic sea creatures,
spacing them evenly throughout the
container.
5. Refrigerate overnight or until the jelly has
set.
6. Place the cereal in a large zip-lock bag and
crush it, to make the sand.
7. Pour the cereal sand on top of half of the
set jelly to make the beach and place a few
sea animals on top for extra fun.
8. Let the children dive into the jelly to find the
hidden sea creatures using their fingers,
spoons, or tongs!
Find out more about this activity here.
You will need:
Ì Felt (in a wide range of colours)
Ì Scissors
Ì Fabric marker pen
Method:
1. Plan out which food shapes you want
to make.
2. Cut out the shapes from the fabric.
3. Use the marker pen to add extra details to
your fabric food.
4. Place your yummy snacks into your new
picnic basket and enjoy!
5. If you’re in a group, lay a picnic blanket
on the floor. Encourage the children to sit
together and show what they have in their
baskets.
Find out more about this activity here.
Celebrate National Picnic Month
Make some paper bag picnic baskets!
You will need:
• Paper bags (1 per child)
• Glue
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Any decorations you want to include
Method:
1. Use the scissors to cut the paper bag into
three parts. The bottom part will be the
basket, the middle part will be the handle
and the top part can be discarded.
2. Fold over the top edge of the basket part to
make it stronger.
3. Cut through the loop of the handle strip
and glue it to itself to make it thicker.
4. Decorate the basket to add creativity.
5. Staple each end of the handle strip onto
the basket.
6. Now you can fill the basket with some food
items and a pretty napkin!
Find out more about this activity here.
36 July 2024 | parenta.com

Gina Bale
Materials needed:
? Music and an open space for moving
around safely
? Optional: superhero costume
accessories
Movement
When we are developing our little one’s
movement vocabulary, did you know you
are also helping them to build resilience?
Movement doesn’t just nourish the body;
it helps us take our minds off our worries
and builds our little one’s resilience to
handle life in a positive and balanced way.
Being physically active encourages the
brain to release the ‘happy hormones’.
Physical activity is important for children
and adults in nourishing the body
and brain. Children need a movement
vocabulary to become physically literate.
Being physically literate enables them
to participate in physical movement and
exercise. This is not just important for their
physical health, but for their mental wellbeing
and resilience as they grow and
develop.
Imagine your body as a busy city, bustling
with tiny superheroes whose job is to
keep you feeling happy and strong. These
superheroes are called “happy hormones”.
Their role is to help you, and your children,
stay resilient and full of positive energy.
Let’s meet them!
Superhero dopamine
Nourishes the body and the brain!
This superhero likes to achieve, master,
and be praised for its efforts. When you
learn something new, like mastering a
cool dance move or solving a tricky puzzle,
your brain throws a party and releases
dopamine! It’s like receiving a high-five
from your brain, telling you, “great job!” or
“you are amazing!”
Encourage your little explorers to learn and
try new things, as this helps to make their
brains extra happy.
Superhero Oxytocin
This superhero likes collaborating, playing,
and making friends. Have you noticed how
much fun it is to spend time with friends or
help someone out? That’s because your
brain sends out oxytocin whenever you
connect with others.
Encourage your little explorers to share,
listen, and work together as they make
friends, as it boosts their oxytocin levels.
Superhero serotonin
This superhero rewards you when you
look after yourself. When you eat yummy,
healthy snacks and get plenty of sleep,
your body feels strong as it makes your
brain release serotonin, AKA the wellness
warrior!
Encourage and educate your little
explorers to fuel their bodies with nutritious
food, getting enough rest, and staying
active to keep their serotonin levels
soaring.
Superhero endorphins
This superhero loves to jump for joy. Have
you ever felt super happy after laughing
hard at something? Or when you are
running around playing games? That’s
because your brain releases endorphins,
the joy jumpers when you’re active and
having fun!
Encourage your little explorers to be active,
whether running around with friends,
dancing, or giggling at silly jokes. Help
them keep those endorphins flowing for a
happy, healthy, and resilient mind.
Remember, these superheroes work best
when you give them plenty of chances to
come out and PLAY.
Here are a couple of practical activities to
help you, and your little superhero’s pop
on their capes and masks!
Superhero dopamine party
Objective: Encourage your little explorers
to explore and master new movements.
Celebrating their efforts boosts their
dopamine levels.
Activity
Warm-up:
Start with a simple warm-up. Play fun
music and encourage your explorers to
move and wriggle their bodies. Remember
to demonstrate any moves you request.
You are their superhero role model!
TIP: Coordinate warm-up to your dance
moves as it helps them to master the
movements in a fun way. Keep it light and
engaging, helping them to understand the
concept of warming up their superhero’s
muscles.
Dance moves:
Show your children a few simple
dance moves, that are age and ability
appropriate. All children can join in no
matter their age or abilities.
Ideas: Stomping, twisting, wriggling,
shaking, and don’t forget a superhero
pose.
Demonstrate each move slowly, allowing
the children time to watch, copy and
practice. This helps develop their
movement vocabulary.
Older children: create a movement
sequence and include extension activities.
Party time:
Once the children are comfortable with
the moves, pop on the music and have
a dance party. Encourage the children to
show off their new moves. Join in the fun,
dancing with them and giving lots of highfives
and encouragement. Praising their
efforts with positive reinforcement makes
their superhero dopamine very happy.
Cool down:
End with a cool-down session by playing
calming music. Encourage the children to
sit or lie down and relax – don’t forget to
join them after all your dance moves.
Superhero endorphin fun
Objective: Encourage your little explorers to
be active and have fun as you boost their
endorphin levels.
Materials needed:
? Music and a safe, open space for
running and playing (indoors or
outdoors)
? Cones or markers to set up a simple
obstacle course
? Bubbles or a parachute for playful
activities
Activity
Warm-up:
Start with a simple warm-up. Play fun
music and encourage your explorers to
move and wriggle their bodies. Remember
to demonstrate any moves you request.
Make it playful by pretending they are
getting ready for a superhero mission.
Obstacle course fun:
Set up a simple obstacle course using
cones or markers, including jumping over
small objects, crawling under a low bar,
and running around cones.
Demonstrate each part of the course and
guide the children through it, ensuring they
have fun while staying safe.
Bubble chase:
Blow bubbles and encourage the children
to chase and pop them. This playful
activity gets them moving and laughing,
releasing lots of endorphins.
Parachute play:
If you have a parachute, gather the
children around it and play games like
making waves, bouncing balls on the
parachute, or having them run under it
when it’s lifted high. This cooperative play
fosters joy and teamwork, further boosting
their happiness.
Cool down:
End with a cool-down session by playing
calming music. Encourage the children to
sit or lie down and relax – don’t forget to
join them after all that running around.
What are you doing today to encourage
your little superheroes to shine and make
them feel good?
Click here for
more resources
from Gina:
38 July 2024 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2024 39

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