Going spa?
The perfect cure for a stressed out toddler- massages, foot baths and walking barefoot on grass, says a kindergarten in Germany where they have introduced a programme of ‘anti-stress exercises’ for pre-school children.
Show me the nurseries!
Share It’s easy to become immune to stories of nurseries closing, there seems to be so many of them. But [...]
Who's the Daddy?
Share I approached watching the first episode of ‘Daddy Daycare’ on Channel 4 last week with some trepidation. Television’s portrayal [...]No backing for smacking
Share It was disappointing and somewhat surprising to hear Tottenham MP David Lammy saying in so many words that last [...]Latest News
Show me the nurseries!
It’s easy to become immune to stories of nurseries closing, there seems to be so many of them. But it’s now happening in my ‘back yard’, which I admit has made me sit up and take notice.
I’m shocked to hear that the nursery at South Bermondsey Children’s Centre has been earmarked for closure by the council (along with Bishop’s House Children’s Centre, also in the London borough Southwark – Nursery World, 2 April). I understand that money is tight and cuts need to be made but closing a ‘jewel in the community’ – and this is a socially deprived area that needs all the assets it can get – has surely got to be the wrong choice.
Who’s the Daddy?
I approached watching the first episode of ‘Daddy Daycare’ on Channel 4 last week with some trepidation.
Television’s portrayal of nurseries is rarely positive, usually concentrating on ‘nightmare’ settings viewed through an undercover reporter’s camera.
No backing for smacking
It was disappointing and somewhat surprising to hear Tottenham MP David Lammy saying in so many words that last summer’s riots could have been prevented if parents were allowed to smack their children without fear of prosecution.
A family affair
The annual conference and dinner held for staff by nursery group Children 1st @ Breedon House certainly delivered a feel-good factor. With the recent acquisition of two nurseries bringing more staff into the fold, the main hospitality room at the Hilton Sheffield Park Hotel was noticeably packed this year. It was particularly good to see the extended Mason family all in attendance, including founder Margaret Mason and her husband Hugh. Read More
Peppa – saint or sinner?
So, apparently some parents are banning their children from watching every child’s favourite cartoon pig – Peppa – because she and her brother George Pig are ‘a bad influence’.
PLA – volunteers are life-blood
In 2010 the Pre-School Leaning Alliance seemed to be under a very real threat from the financial squeeze – with a poll of its members revealing that one in ten would be forced to close if the free entitlement continued to lose them money. However, in this, its 50th anniversary year – and despite the ongoing economic climate – it is good to see the mood is positive. Read More
A personal plea
It was clear last week how much admiration Pre-School Learning Alliance members have for their chief executive Neil Leitch, who shared with practitioners at the charity’s conference his difficult childhood to argue the point for spending more on intervention.
Mud is on the menu
I’ve always watched in horror as children push handfuls of soil into their mouths while their parents turn a blind eye to their child’s new habit. The hypochondriac in me has always thought about what dangers lurk in the mud and whether they could do a child more harm than good. However could a new study by Cornell University in New York, featured in the Daily Mail, which says that eating mud or clay might even be good for children’s stomachs, be about to prove me wrong?According to the study, eating dirt may act as a shield against ingested parasites and plant toxins, as well as provide nutrients that children or adults lack such as iron, zinc or calcium. Who knew?
