Families Dorset September/October 23 Print

Design Rebecca Carr

May/June

Congratulations to all our winners. You can find a list at https://bit.ly/MJ23giveaways

Welcome

So the new school year rolls around again and your child is heading off to school with bright and shiny new uniform and gear and hopefully a big smile; leaving you with perhaps just a little time on your hands to delve into our great Education feature and explore how to support your child’s learning this year. Whatever stage your child is at you’ll find something of interest, including tips for Parent’s Evening, how to understand learning styles and an article about Ofsted reporting.

And it won’t be long before your child starts to get excited about half term and, in particular, Halloween, so get inspired with our haunted house craft project!

We also have a special performing arts feature for parents interested in the benefits that drama, dance and performance classes can deliver.

Look out for our fabulous True’s Mushroom House Playset giveaway. Apply inside and you’ll also ensure you receive our digital magazine with lots more content and goodies on offer.

This product is made of material from wellmanaged, FSC®-certified forests and other controlled sources.

Heritage Open Days celebrate creativity

Heritage Open Days (HODs) return from 8 to 17 September with thousands of free events and experiences.

From historic houses to factories, museums to music halls, formal gardens to graveyards, places, spaces and communities across the country will again host hundreds of free events this autumn.

There will be plenty of free interactive activities for children including dressing up, craft, woodland walks and railway rides, all based around this year’s theme, Creativity Unwrapped, sharing England’s colourful history of creativity. The festival will celebrate the experts and enthusiastic amateurs whose passions and skills add something special to our daily lives.

Brought to you by the National Trust, supported by People’s Postcode Lottery and run by thousands of local organisations and volunteers, HODs brings people together to celebrate their heritage, community and history.

New events will be added to the festival directory every day. More info: www.heritageopendays.org.uk

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Why choose performing arts classes for your child?

By Alexa Brant

A range of research studies have found that students who participate in the arts demonstrate a higher academic performance and test results AND perform better in areas that contribute to success outside the classroom, such as participating in community service and being elected to class office. There are many other benefits too:

Self-confidence

Aspects of performing arts, especially improvisation, help children understand how to appraise situations, think outside the box and be more confident in unfamiliar situations. They learn to trust their ideas and abilities and apply them at school and in life. Equally, dance helps build self-confidence with each new routine practised and mastered.

Imagination

Being creative and learning to make creative choices helps children think of new ideas, allowing them to view the world around them in different ways. Remember Einstein said: ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.’

Empathy

Understanding characters, roles and the sub-text of plays and musicals allows students to relate better to different situations, backgrounds and cultures they encounter in real life, encouraging them to show compassion and tolerance for others.

Concentration and memory

Practising, rehearsing and performing develops the abilities and skills necessary for children to be able to focus their minds, bodies and voices and improves their memory. Memory requires

exercise, just like a muscle!

Communication and socialisation

Dance and performing arts are highly social activities. Children learn how to work as part of a team and develop a greater sense of trust and co-operation, while making new friends. They also develop their listening and observation skills. Acting improves vocal projection, articulation, tone of speech and expression.

An effective performing arts class embraces both extroverted and introverted children. Combining the creative ideas and the abilities of all participants is required for the best outcomes. This requires all those taking part to engage in discussions, feedback, rehearsing and performance.

Physical health

Dance improves flexibility, coordination, balance, range of motion, stamina, muscle tone, strength and posture. Performing and dancing on stage also helps children develop spatial awareness, become less clumsy and pay more attention to others sharing their space. They can feel more at home in their own skin.

Perform with Stagecoach Ringwood & Wimborne

Stagecoach Performing Arts offers weekly singing, dancing and drama classes to children ages 4 to 18 in Ringwood and Verwood.

Stagecoach’s ethos is built around instilling Creative Courage for Life, regardless of age or ability. High quality teaching and student inclusion is the utmost priority and Stagecoach believes in making special memories that children will treasure forever.

It’s been a busy year for Stagecoach Ringwood & Wimborne, with EVERY student participating in performances at the Verwood Hub and community performances at the Wimborne Folk Festival and St Ives Summer Fayre.

At its summer workshop, students put on a show in just four days and now students ages 6+ are thinking about their 2024 performance at the Bournemouth Pavilion.

Try a FREE 2 week trial and let Stagecoach find your child’s confidence today.

Contact Emily at ringwood@stagecoach.co.uk or visit www.stagecoach.co.uk/ringwood

Kickstart autumn with a FREE Perform class

Perform classes use a mix of drama, dance and singing to bring out every child’s potential. Run by experienced actor-teachers, the classes focus on developing the 4 Cs: confidence, communication, coordination and concentration.

From September, Perform children ages 4 to 7 will take to the skies with Phileas Fogg as they go on an amazing adventure Around the World. Whether walking like a wallaby in the outback or revealing the legends of the Egyptian pyramids, the new term will be filled with globetrotting fun!

Meanwhile, children ages 7 to 12 are going to the ball in a ragsto-riches rock show, Cinderella Rocks. This hilarious version of Cinderella features struggling band, The Ugglies, in their quest to top the charts with charming music mogul, Simon Prince. With all abilities welcome, the children will work towards an end of term performance for family and friends. The only requirement is to get ready for the best fun of the week!

Classes are for all abilities and every child is welcome to try a free class in Bournemouth.

Book a FREE class at www.perform.org.uk/try

More about Perform’s weekly classes

Confidence building weekly drama, dance and singing classes for 4-7s and 7-12s. Classes are designed to boost confidence, communication, concentration and coordination. Visit www.perform.org.uk/try, email enquiries@perform.org.uk or call 020 7255 9120 to book a FREE trial class at St Augustin’s Church Hall, Bournemouth, BH2 6NU.

RockStars After School Club at RockReef

RockReef indoor adventure attraction on Bournemouth Pier has an exciting after school club every Wednesday from 4.30pm to 6pm during term time. The sessions are fully instructor-led so parents/carers can take a break and drop off their children in the safe hands of RockReef’s friendly and experienced staff.

Rockstars ninety minutes sessions are action packed and children have access to all Rockreef’s indoor activities including its twenty eight themed climbing walls, HighLine aerial obstacle course, Pier Cave and Vertical Slide. Sessions combine fun learning with exciting games and challenges to help children build confidence, gain new skills and make new friends.

Suitable for children ages 6 to 13, activities and challenges vary and instructors tailor them depending on children’s ages and experience.

Costing just £15, if you purchase a half termly block of six, then you only pay for five sessions. Rockstars sessions fill fast so do book in advance!

More info and booking at www.rockreef.co.uk/after-schoolclub-bournemouth

True’s Mushroom House Playset Giveaway

Ballet, Tap, Modern Jazz, Musical Theatre, Acro, Commercial Shows, Exams, Festivals, Workshops and Specialised Pre-Juvenile classes from 2½ years Classes in Bournemouth, Boscombe & Southbourne

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What’s on

All listings are correct at the time of publication. Please check with the venue before you visit in case anything has changed.

Daily until 30 Oct

Smugglers Trail at Golden Cap Estate

Collect FREE map and brass rubbing sheet and complete trail with views of Lyme Regis bay. www.bit.ly/NTGoldenCap

Every Mon during term

Nature Tots at Knoll Beach

Join the National Trust for nature inspired activities in a beautiful coastal setting for children ages up to 5 yrs. www.bit.ly/NTStudlandBay

Every Wed during Sep

Wild Wednesday at Durlston Country Park

Drop-in at the Learning Centre from 11am to 3pm to have a go at painting, crafts and activities. www.durlston.co.uk

Fri 8 Sep to Sun 10 Sep

Free Entry to Hardy Monument

Visitors will be able to climb to top of monument for FREE. Booking required.

https://bit.ly/NTHardyMonument

Fri 8 Sep to Tue 31 Oct

Cosy Creatures Trail at Kingston

Lacy

Themed activities, solve woodland riddles, find seven hidden woodland creatures. www.bit.ly/NTKingstonLacy

Sat & Sun 9-10 Sep

Free Entry at Max Gate

Enjoy FREE entry to this atmospheric National Trust home designed by Thomas Hardy. Booking advised. https://bit.ly/NTMaxGate

Sun 10 Sep

Heritage Open Day at Upton Country Park

FREE entry to explore the ground floor of Upton House with a colourful programme. www.uptoncountrypark.com

Sat Fri 15 Sep

Family Shoreline Adventure at Shipstal Beach

Join an after-school guided adventure searching for shoreline creatures and treasures. www.bit.ly/RSPBArne

Fri 15 Sep to Sun 17 Sep

Free Entry to Portland House

Enjoy FREE entry to this National Trust historic property which is not usually open to public.

www.bit.ly/NTPortlandHouse

Fri 15 Sep to Sun 24 Sep

Inside Out Dorset Festival at Poole

International outdoor arts festival celebrating all that is Dorset. www.activateperformingarts.org. uk

Planet Purbeck Festival

Events across Purbeck celebrating Purbeck’s amazing natural world. www.planetpurbeck.org

Sat 16 Sep

Tom Thumb at Poole Lighthouse CBeebies Patrick Lynch brings classic story to life in a playful and fascinating show. For ages 3+. www.lighthousepoole.co.uk

Purbeck Festival of Cultural Heritage at Corfe Castle

From artisan crafts to demonstrations, learn about rich cultural history of the area. FREE entry. www.bit.ly/CorfeCastleEvents

Sun 17 Sep

Heritage Open Day at Fort Henry Celebrating Studlands role in the success of the D-day landings. Display of WW2 ordnance and ration packs along with children’s activities and a self-guided, top secret Studland walk. www.bit.ly/NTStudlandBay

Tue 19 Sep

Kisses 4 Fishes litter & craft at Kimmeridge Remove discarded fishing nets (kisses) from the beach and craft them into something. www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk

Wed 20 Sep & Wed 18 Oct

Nature Tots at Kingcombe Visitor Centre

A group for parents/guardians to bring children 4 and under to experience the wildlife of Kingcombe. www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk

Sat 23 Sep to Sun 12 Nov

Stories of the Spirits Family Quest at Corfe Castel

Discover five important people from Corfe Castle’s history, collect stamps and a special siege coin. www.bit.ly/CorfeCastleEvents

Sat 30 Sep & Tue 3 Oct, 10 Oct & 17 Oct

Apple Picking at Kingston Lacy Help harvest this year’s crop by picking your own apples. Suggested donation £3 per bag. www.bit.ly/NTKingstonLacy

Sun 24 Sep

Paws for Fort at Nothe Fort Fun dog show for dog lovers, categories include Cutest Pupply, Waggiest Tail and Best 6 Legs. www.nothefort.org.uk

Wessex Heavy Horse Show and Country Fayre

A spectacle of Heavy Horse breeds which sees the best horses compete against each other. www.wessexheavyhorsesociety. co.uk

Sat 30 Sep

Wildlife Tots at Testwood Lakes

Monthly Wildlife Tots sessions are aimed at children ages 2-5. www.hiwwt.org.uk

Shaftesbury Carnival

Annual tradition sees a procession for children in the day and grand illuminated parade at night. www.shaftesburycarnival.co.uk

Sat 30 Sep & Sat 28 Oct

Fox & Cubs Club at Upton Country Park

Sessions designed for dads and kids to spend quality time together in the great outdoors. www.uptoncountrypark.com

Sat & Sun 30 Sep-1 Oct

Binocular & Telescope Weekend at RSPB Arne

A full range of binoculars and spotting scopes for you to sample. www.bit.ly/RSPBArne

Sun 1 Oct

The Bubble Show at Corn Exchange

Unique blend of magic, storytelling, science and bubble art. Ages 3+. www.dorchesterarts.org.uk

Weymouth Family Science

Festival at Nothe Fort

Exciting experiments, demonstrations, a planetarium and lots more fun family activities. www.nothefort.org.uk

Tue 3 Oct & Wed 4 Oct

Tales from Acorn Wood at Weymouth Pavilion

Packed full of toe-tapping songs, puppetry and all the friends from Acorn Wood. For ages 1-6. www.weymouthpavilion.com

Sat 7 Oct

Gillingham Carnival

Traditional carnival events including processions, fun fair and stalls. www.gillinghamcarnival.org.uk

Sat & Sun 7-8 Oct

Pirate Weekend at Nothe Fort

Unforgettable weekend with heaps of pirate fun and treasure to find. www.nothefort.org.uk

Wed 11 Oct to Sat 14 Oct

Wimborne Model Railway Exhibition at Museum of East Dorset

View trains running in historical recreation of town of Wimborne. www.museumofeastdorset.co.uk

Sat 14 Oct

Stories in the Dust at Poole Lighthouse With live music, puppetry and clowning, a funny, heartfelt, postapocalyptic production. Ages 3+. www.lighthousepoole.co.uk

Sat 14 Oct to Sat 21 Oct

Dorchester Literary Festival Features a children’s programme with storytelling, craft and author sessions. www.dorchesterliteraryfestival. com/childrens-programme

Thu 19 Oct to Mon 30 Oct

Halloween Activity Trail at Durlston Country Park

The trail will take you on a trip around the park to find missing pumpkins and other freaky friends. www.durlston.co.uk

Sat & Sun 20-21 Oct

Apple Pressing at Kingston Lacy

Watch the apple press in action and taste the freshly crushed apple juice.

www.bit.ly/NTKingstonLacy

Binocular & Telescope Weekend at RSPB Arne

A full range of binoculars and spotting scopes for you to sample. www.bit.ly/RSPBArne

Sat 21 Oct to Sun 29 Oct

Gibbon Half Term at Monkey World

Get your International Gibbon Day activity sheet with Monkey World’s half-term pack. The children’s activity centre is also open with pumpkin carving designing and arts & crafts!

This is the last chance to complete the Monkey World Summer Challenge, with gibbon day providing the final activity! For just £2.50, kids can sign up to the challenge which runs until October. Each challenger will receive a beautiful card to fill with stickers and a Monkey World pencil.

There is a huge list of fun challenges and activities to complete at the park and those who manage to complete five before the end of October will receive a certificate and be entered into a prize draw. See the website for the full list of challenge dates and purchase the challenge at the adoption centre at the park.

With over two hundred and sixty rescued and endangered monkeys and apes, three play areas and the summer challenge, you’ll have a great day at Monkey World this halfterm www.monkeyworld.org

Sat 21 Oct to Sun 29 Oct

October Half Term at RockReef RockReef on Bournemouth Pier is full of family adventures and fun this October half term. With indoor activities to suit all ages 4+, including twenty eight climbing walls, HighLine aerial obstacle course, Pier Cave and Vertical Slide. Perfect for keeping warm this Autumn. Outside is the awesome PierZip, the only pier-to-shore zipwire in the world. Book online for discounts and free entry onto the pier. www.rockreef.co.uk

Halloween Quiz at Wimborne Model Town

Will you be able to find Winnie the Witch and follow her around the Model Town? www.wimborne-modeltown.com

October Half Term at The Tank Museum

Half Term fun for the whole family kids’ activities, new exhibition, soft play and more. www.tankmuseum.org

Halloween Trail at Knoll Beach

Spooky nature-themed trail around Studland beach, dunes and woodland. Children can make witches brews, brooms and creepy crawly hotels. £3 per child. www.bit.ly/NTStudlandBay

Teddy Zip-Wire at Corfe Castle

Help your teddy escape the castle and feel the wind in their fur on the zip wire.

www.bit.ly/CorfeCastleEvents

Sat 21 Oct to Tue 31 Oct

October Half Term at Upton Country Park

A spooky, immersive trail for the whole family with a magic prize at the end. www.uptoncountrypark.com

Sun 22 Oct to Thu 26 Oct

Autumn Half Term at Lulworth Castle & Park

Seek out pumpkins, find funny bones on the autumn trail, try pitch’n’putt and traditional lawn games. www.lulworth.com

October Half Term at Highcliffe Castle

Participate in an indoor bat trail with bat related crafts. www.highcliffecastle.co.uk

Tue 24 Oct

Little Explorers Spooky Spells & Ghastly Ghouls at Museum of East Dorset

Create spooky spells and creepy crafts, enjoy a ghoulish garden trail and spine-chilling stories. www.museumofeastdorset.co.uk

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Poole Lighthouse

A sideways take on Shakespeare’s classic play. For ages 6+. www.lighthousepoole.co.uk

Tue 24 Oct to Mon 30 Oct

Halloween Hunt at Seaton Tramway

Collect a FREE activity sweet and hunt down the ghouls to claim your sweet treat. www.tram.co.uk

Wed 25 Oct

Journey to the Stars at Corn Exchange

Blend of puppetry, storytelling, live music and comedy with science and astronomy. For ages 4+. www.dorchesterarts.org.uk

Wild Wednesdays at Durlston Country Park

Drop-in at the Learning Centre from 11am to 3pm to have a go at

painting, crafts and activities. www.durlston.co.uk

Thu 26 Oct

Wild Durlston Kids Activity at Durlston Country Park

Join a Ranger to learn more about Durlston through games and activities. Booking required. www.durlston.co.uk

Halloween Spooktacular at Tivoli Theatre Wimborne

Jam-packed with your favourite Halloween hits and amazing ultraviolet puppetry. For all ages. www.tivoliwimborne.co.uk

The Sooty Show at Poole Lighthouse Spectacular celebration of the longest-running children’s television show. For all ages. www.lighthousepoole.co.uk

50% Family Discount at Highcliffe Castle Families will enjoy a fifty percent discount on admission today. www.highcliffecastle.co.uk

Wed 25 Oct to Sun 29 Oct Pumpkin Carving at Lulworth Cove Visitor Centre Get stuck into some pumpkin carving with all equipment and pumpkin provided. From £5. www.fb.com/LulworthRangers

Thu 26 Oct to Sat 28 Oct

Cinderalla A Twisted Tale at The Barrington Centre Ferndown Phoenix Musical Theatre presents a special Halloween performance. www.barringtoncentre.co.uk

Fri 27 Oct

The Magic of Science at Bridport Electric Palace

A thrilling science packed magic show for all the family. Ages 3+. www.electricpalace.org.uk

Sat 28 Oct

Museum by Torchlight at Museum of East Dorset

Dress up and bring your torch for a spooky time in the galleries. www.museumofeastdorset.co.uk

Milkshake Live! at Poole

Lighthouse

Brand-new show has plenty of laughter, audience interaction and great fun. For ages 3+. www.lighthousepoole.co.uk

The Little Mermaid at Poole

Lighthouse

Lots of fun, singing and dancing brought to you by a fantastic and energetic company. For ages 5+. www.lighthousepoole.co.uk

Tue 31 Oct

Halloween at Monkey World FREE entry for children in FULL Halloween fancy dress. Free fancy dress competition with prizes, as well as the Activity Centre open for children. Select the fancy dress option when booking online. Only available on 31 October. www.monkeyworld.org

Sat 4 Nov

The King of Nothing at Bridport Arts Centre

With songs, slapstick humour, a comic and playful show. Ages 5-11. www.bridport-arts.com

Don’t forget to say you saw these listings in Families Dorset magazine!

Find out about Children’s Forest

Children’s Forest is an initiative to reconnect children and their local communities with nature and plant forests for future generations. It brings together local landowners, Nature Educators and children from a school or community group to create a local forest.

Approaching your local council or a local landowner to introduce Children’s Forest can be an excellent way to begin seeding a forest in your local area. Once there is a landowner who is keen to host a project, Children’s Forest can work to fit the pieces in place. You could also speak to your child’s headteacher and introduce them to the Children’s Forest.

Since its inception, Children’s Forest has planted over five thousand trees in thirteen forests across the country involving groups of local children.

More info at www.childrensforest.earth

Handling headlice

By Andrew Campbell

Headlice are a common problem faced by many parents, so here is what to do when there’s a classroom outbreak.

It helps to first understand the facts:

• Headlice are 2.5mm to 3mm long at adult stage.

• Their eggs are small, white and stick to the head, taking seven to ten days to hatch and then seven to ten days to mature into adults.

• Head lice only survive two to three days away from a human head.

• Contrary to myth, headlice don’t jump or fly, they don’t have a preference for either clean or dirty hair and they spread only from head to head contact, not from pillows or hairbrushes.

Symptoms

These can include itching, small itchy rash-like pink bumps around the edge of the scalp and the feeling of something crawling in the hair. Or there may be no symptoms and you might only find lice by systematically parting and combing the hair with a fine-toothed nit comb from the root of the hair to the tip. You will be able to see any lice, eggs or nits if you wipe the comb on a tissue between strokes. If you find any, it’s advisable to check the whole family’s hair.

Getting rid of head lice

Your local chemist will stock insecticide and non-insecticide treatment shampoos. Check your chosen product is suitable

for the age of your child and note that some treatments are not suitable for pregnant women. There is no medical evidence of the effectiveness of Tea Tree Oil.

An alternative to treatment shampoos is wet combing with conditioner in the first instance or using this alongside the treatment shampoo. This can be helpful as some head lice are resistant to insecticides. If the treatment product requires you to treat the hair more than once, wet comb in between treatments to remove any eggs that may have hatched.

Wet combing

To wet comb, wet the hair, apply conditioner and thoroughly comb through all of the hair, in sections. Wash off the conditioner and repeat. In between each stroke, you need to wipe the comb on a tissue to check for lice. Repeat wet combing every two or three days until no lice have been seen for ten days. The aim is to remove all the lice as they hatch before they have the chance to mature, produce new eggs and reinfest your child.

Repeated checking

Whichever method you choose to treat your child, you should keep checking their hair regularly after the last of the lice have disappeared. This is because headlice lay a new batch of eggs daily. They take seven to ten days to hatch, so even if you’ve got rid of the live lice, there may be more waiting to hatch.

Check for headlice every time you wash your child’s hair, as it’s easier to spot lice on wet hair. Double check places like the nape of the neck and behind the ears where headlice sometimes lurk.

Head lice can be hard to shift. Their life-cycle, small size and the problem of treatment resistance all conspire to make this tricky. It’s not uncommon for family members to re-infest each other as headlice move from one head to another, plus of course, unless your child’s school friends have also been treated, headlice infestations can just continue to circulate in their class. If you’re finding headlice stubbornly hanging on, speak to your chemist for advice.

Common questions

Do I need to keep my child at home? No - as long as you are actively treating the lice. Naturally you should inform your child’s school so they can let other parents know. It’s advisable to keep long hair tied back and warn anyone your child mixes with of the situation.

If your child is old enough, you can explain to them that it’s a good idea not to get their head too close to that of other people. Do I need to wash all bedding? You don’t need to worry about other family members or friends being infected from things your child’s head has touched like pillows, duvets, cushions or soft toys.

What about pets? Headlice don’t feed on animal blood so this is nothing to be concerned about.

Where can I read more? The Little Book of Nits, by Richard Jones and Justine Crow is both a fact-packed manual and entertaining read. Signed copies are £7.99 from www.booksellercrow.co.uk

Celebrating different learning styles

By Lisa Wander and Catherine Loble

Just as none of us look the same, everyone is born with tendencies towards certain learning styles when developing literacy, language and motor skills. Recognising your child’s learning style is important in understanding how they access their learning, particularly if they appear to be struggling in certain areas.

Visual learners rely on what they see. Encourage them to use visual aids, sit at the front of the class and write down or draw information.

Kinesthetic learners learn best through doing and moving. They benefit from using tools, acting out or role-playing new information and having freedom of movement.

Auditory learners learn best through hearing and listening. Engage in discussions about what they are learning, read stories out loud and repeat information.

Solitary learners absorb information independently of other people. Let them make notes and recite back, provide quiet learning spaces and give opportunities for sharing their learning. Verbal learners respond well to written or spoken words. Play word games, use rhymes, acronyms and mnemonics, read their writing aloud, encourage discussion and debate.

Logical learners use logic and structures in order to learn effectively. Provide problem-solving tasks, challenge them to work things out for themselves and have them verbalise ideas and answers.

Identifying your child’s learning style

Observe how your child naturally interacts with the world around them and also note weaknesses: what types of tasks do they find challenging?

Watch how your child expresses themselves. Children will be more expressive through their natural learning style. Auditory learners express themselves best through words whilst visual learners are more apt to reveal their emotions through facial expressions. Kinesthetic learners use more body language and may seem unable to stop themselves fidgeting.

Consider your child’s interests. These will likely reflect their learning styles. Auditory learners usually show an interest in music and sounds. Visual learners often have interests both in reading, watching TV and looking at interesting objects. With kinesthetic learners, look for an interest in physical activities.

See how your child solves problems. Children lean into their learning styles. Auditory learners tend to talk through and discuss possible solutions whilst visual learners use their eyes to solve problems. Kinesthetic learners will usually try to solve problems with their hands.

Lisa and Catherine are co-founders of Emparenting (www.emparenting.co.uk), supporting children, parents and families with the insights, skills and tools needed to nurture the development and well-being of the next generation.

Being flexible around learning styles

As important as it is to understand and support your child with simple strategies to help them learn in the way that suits them best, it’s also helpful to encourage and embrace new ideas and a more flexible approach to their learning.

Recent research has concluded that teaching children to use one specific learning style over others may not be entirely beneficial within the classroom setting. Sticking to what you perceive as your preferred learning style can create limitations, giving a false belief that learning can only be managed in one particular way. The most important thing is for a child to have the time to self-reflect on how they learn best and to be encouraged to experiment with tackling problems from a variety of angles.

It is also important to note that over time a child’s learning styles can change as they develop and progress through their own personal growth and their educational journey. Every child is unique and learning style is just one part of the greater way that your child learns.

Why different learning styles?

While the information people receive might be the same, each of our brains processes information differently, influenced by several factors, one of which is learning style.

Your child’s tendencies and preferences for learning can be influenced by peers, cultures, age, their own experiences and available educational materials. What works for one child doesn’t necessarily work for the next.

Understanding the preferred styles of different learners can greatly impact their successes in the classroom as well as contributing to their own sense of personal development and achievement.

With the help of observant parents and teachers, children can benefit from understanding and engaging their natural tendencies. But, it is a rare child who solely works best with one style alone. By understanding and practising a range of different learning styles, a child will have a bigger ‘toolbox’ to call on, finding a combination that enhances their ability to understand, recall and use the information they learn.

Does Ofsted reporting need to change?

By Ian Hartwright

When Berkshire head teacher Ruth Perry took her own life after her school was downgraded following an Ofsted inspection, emotive debate was fuelled on the mental health toll of inspections on school staff, with many organisations and individuals urging for fundamental changes to be introduced.

This may feel one step removed from parents and children’s schooling but one of Ofsted’s stated aims is to improve children’s education and lives by raising standards in schools. This aim inevitably becomes more difficult to achieve in instances where high-stakes Ofsted inspections drive up school workload and increase stress and ill-health among staff, in turn contributing to a growing recruitment and retention crisis.

How much importance should parents attach to inspection reports?

A University of Exeter survey recently found almost two-thirds of parents hadn’t looked at Ofsted reports when choosing a school. Parents usually prioritise factors like local reputation, distance and transport. But Ofsted inspection reports could be another useful resource if they were a more reliable measure of schools’ effectiveness.

The current Ofsted school grading system places enormous significance on one of four grades, ranging from Outstanding to Inadequate. These one word grades cannot reflect the complexities of school life. In addition, judgements can be inconsistent and fail to accurately identify the full range of strengths of a school alongside areas for improvement, balancing their relative importance. Undue weight can also

sometimes be given to individual conversations or evidence that is not representative of how a school operates.

Equally, Ofsted judgements may not properly reflect or take account of crucial factors like demographics, staffing levels and funding or the pressures placed on staff who are increasingly supporting pupils with issues in their lives following cuts to services like health and social care in many areas of the UK.

In addition, most schools do not receive additional support or resources to help them to improve on areas Ofsted claims need improvement. Frequent changes to inspection criteria and the high stakes associated with outcomes, increase workload for staff seeking to meet the latest requirements. This can detract from the priorities schools have identified to meet pupils’ immediate needs.

A root and branch review of inspection is desperately needed with systemic change beyond those changes to inspection processes and support for staff wellbeing announced in June.

Ian Hartwright is Head of Policy at the National Association of Head Teachers (www.naht.org.uk).

Ofsted grades and parent satisfaction

According to a recent study in the Journal of School Choice, Ofsted judgements can be years out of date and are not a strong indicator of pupils’ future academic performance.

There are usually several years between inspections and the research found that inspection reports are typically three years old when parents make their choices.

Once differences in pupil intakes – including previous attainment and deprivation – are accounted for, future academic outcomes are similar across schools rated ‘inadequate,’ ‘requires improvement’ and ‘good’, the study concluded.

The research also found that a better Ofsted grade does not necessarily correlate to greater satisfaction among parents of future pupils or parental perceptions of better behaviour and correlates to only small differences in school attendance.

It concluded: ‘By and large, inspection reports are not particularly useful for parents choosing secondary schools…we recommend that parents think twice before paying more money for a house because it is near a ‘good school.’

Continuity at Talbot Heath School

Talbot Heath School’s all-through girls’ education, spanning ages 3 to 18 and combined with a unique STEAM curriculum, offers a seamless academic journey.

The continuity creates a comfortable transition, providing a nurturing early years foundation and progressing through to tailored adolescent development. This approach cultivates a sense of familiarity, building strong teacher-student relationships and peer connections that enhance the learning atmosphere.

The all-through model allows for holistic growth, preparing young women to excel not only academically but also emotionally and socially, equipping them with the confidence and skills to excel in a diverse and evolving world. As girls advance, the school adapts to their changing needs, fostering individual potential, nurturing strengths and addressing challenges effectively and creating a cohesive community that embraces the journey from early years to young adulthood.

Learn more at the school’s Open Events: Senior School 22 Sep, Kindergarten, Pre-Prep and Junior School 29 Sep.

More info at www.talbotheath.org

Making the most of Parents’ Evening

By Justina Gapper

As the new school year gets going, many parents will be anticipating talking to their child’s teacher(s) at a Parents’ Evening. Depending on the school, these consultations will happen at least once a year, sometimes more frequently. If your child is in Reception, this may be a new experience; if you have older children, you may have been to several or even many Parents’ Evenings already.

It’s almost impossible to ask questions of teachers at school drop-offs and pick-ups, so for most parents, the booked Parents’ Evening slot is the only real opportunity for a proper chat with their child’s teaching staff. Therefore it’s really important to maximise the time available in these one-to-one consultations and make sure you get all the information you need.

What to expect

While Parents’ Evenings will vary slightly in format from school to school and year to year, at a minimum you should expect to hear how your child is performing in numeracy and literacy against the expected levels for their age group.

Much more information will be conveyed as your child gets older. Consultations may also cover your child’s behaviour, levels of effort and social and emotional development.

Be prepared

This may sound obvious but unless you want to risk discovering that all the questions you want to ask have vanished from your head, write them down in the run up to Parent’s Evening to make sure you cover them.

Let the teacher speak

If you do have specific questions, it’s best to let the teacher speak first so that they can cover everything they need. The exception is if you need clarification or your question is related to what is being discussed at that moment.

Don’t compare

Try not to focus on comparing your child’s progress with his/her peers or even siblings. The teacher will focus on how your child is achieving against expected levels for their age. It isn’t useful to ask how their performance compares to others in the class. Stay focussed on your own child.

Focus on your child’s level of effort

Don’t underestimate the importance of effort. This is as important as achievement as it reveals a lot about your child’s behaviour, character and motivation. How your child gets on with teachers and peers socially is also very important.

For a quick overview

Ask about your child’s strengths and weaknesses. This will give you a good idea of their overall performance and help you identify the areas in which you should be offering more support at home.

Deal with unexpected news productively

You may hear something about your child that you are not expecting. If this is about a negative aspect of their behaviour or performance in a specific learning area, this may be difficult both to hear and accept.

Try not to get defensive. A teacher I spoke to told me of a consultation during which a father became very accusatory and angry, insisting that the teacher’s perception was incorrect as his child ‘didn’t struggle at home.’ If you do hear something unexpected, ask how you can work with your child to better support them. Teachers may have already prepared a response to this question in advance.

Writing notes

Don’t attempt to write more than a couple of bullet points while the consultation is happening, otherwise you may miss something important that’s being said.

Justina Gapper is mother of twins, journalist and communications specialist.

Afterwards

Write a summary

Now is the time to make a written record of what was said. This can be useful to show other family members but also as a reminder for yourself in the coming months.

Don’t worry, you can see the teacher again

Don’t fret too much if you do feel that there was something that you wanted to talk about but didn’t get the chance. Ask to meet the teacher again, even on a regular basis, if you feel this is warranted.

Involve your child

Parents’ Evenings are about your child, of course. If they are old enough, ask them which aspects of their learning or behaviour they think their teacher might bring up. Discuss it with them, so you are better prepared for the meeting. Note any questions they’d like you to ask.

Afterwards, highlight all the positives that came up. Talk with them about their teacher’s feedback, specifically any home support you might be able to offer if there are particular areas they’re finding more challenging.

Self-settling without the tears

By Stephanie Modell

The term ‘sleep training’ can have negative connotations but is often misunderstood. Foetuses sleep in utero with no learning involved. However, falling asleep in response to external cues, rather than internal biological cues, is a learned behaviour which you can influence.

Babies learn by association. If, within the first six months of life they have always been fed or rocked to sleep, this is what they will associate with going to sleep. When they wake during their many sleep cycles at night they may need this association to get them back to sleep.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding or rocking to sleep if it’s working for you but if your baby is over six months old and you are struggling to sustain this throughout the night, you may wish to encourage some sleep independence.

Gradual retreat

Gradual retreat is my favoured method of helping a baby fall asleep. It’s a kind and responsive technique that doesn’t involve leaving your baby to cry. Before you begin, ensure your baby has an age-appropriate nap routine. There’s a fine line between a baby being over-tired or under-tired and both will make going to sleep challenging.

Establish a gentle wind down bedtime routine which will ideally include a bath. If you give the majority of the last feed of the day before the bath with just a top up after, you can break the association between feeding and sleeping.

Once your baby is ready for bed, do whatever you’d normally do to get them to sleep, which may be feeding, rocking or patting until they are sleepy but not fully asleep.

Settle them into their cot and keep a reassuring hand on them for a short time. Stand back and see what happens. Sometimes they’ll surprise you and fall asleep!

If they start to get upset, shush, pat, sing or whatever helps to calm them. If nothing works, pick them up, soothe until calm and then resettle them into their cot. Repeat as many times as necessary.

The goal is for them to achieve the last stage of falling to sleep on their own. By being consistent and doing the same thing at every sleep, your baby starts to learn that the cot is a safe place to be and trusts that you will respond to them.

Once you have made some progress and your baby is starting to associate their cot with sleep, you can start to gradually put them down when they are less and less drowsy.

The next step is to gradually cut down the interventions. If you’ve been shushing and patting, reduce it to just one or the other. Your goal is to be able to put your baby down awake, say ‘night night’ and leave them to happily fall asleep.

All babies are different; some will progress more quickly than others but, as this method does not involve leaving your baby to cry, you can use it at any age as you will always be responding to their needs.

Once your baby is self-settling at the start of the night they are less likely to wake during the night unless they are genuinely hungry.

The key points to remember are time, repetition and consistency. Happy sleeping!

Stephanie Modell is a sleep consultant, maternity nurse, mum to 25-year-old triplets and author of The Baby Sleep Guide (Summersdale). The new revised edition is available at www.bookshop.org

NHS 111 to offer paediatric advice

Before you begin

Is your baby in good health?

Do they have a daytime nap?

Have they had enough to eat and drink?

Do they have a regular, predictable bedtime routine?

Is their room dark? This is essential for the production of the sleep hormone melatonin.

White noise: if you live in a noisy location or have a busy household, it can be a helpful soundscape for peaceful sleep.

Is your baby too hot or too cold during the night? Both may cause night waking.

Parents and carers using NHS 111 online or by phone are to receive increased access to specialist paediatric advice for their children.

This will include support from an increased number of paediatric clinicians working in NHS 111 to help parents and carers manage their child’s illness at home or decide the best route for their care.

Some children will be referred directly to a same-day appointment with a specialist rather than attending A&E, avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions.

More info: www.england.nhs.uk/news

Let’s enjoy sensory play

By Katie Still

Sensory activities enrich children’s play by encouraging them to engage their senses and explore and understand the world around them, sparking their imaginations and developing curiosity. Stimulating children’s senses supports their cognitive development, language and communication skills, physical, social and emotional development.

Sensory play can be magical - there are so many reasons why I love it. We discover the wonders that life brings when listening to birds in the trees and feeling grass between our toes. It offers little ones (and their grown-ups too) the freedom to explore, get messy, go wild and have heaps of fun. Sensory play can be incredibly simple too.

Here are some suggestions:

Cork boat races

Nature confetti

Ready, set, go! Your child can make super-simple cork sailing boats, then have a boat race across the bathtub. Safety first: don’t forget adult supervision is always required when a child is playing with water.

Go and grab… corks, elastic bands, triangular pieces of paper, colouring pens, cocktail sticks, an optional straw. A bathtub or tray of water.

Line up three corks in a row. Pop an elastic band around them at each end to hold them together.

Make a paper sail and use the colouring pens to make a pattern. Push a cocktail stick carefully through the sail for a mast (adults, probably best you do this), then slowly stick it into the middle cork.

Ready to set sail? Brilliant! Set the boats afloat in the bathtub or a tray of water and see which one crosses the finish line first. Sails need wind, don’t they? Show your child how to use a straw to blow wind into the sails. How fast can the boat go?

Let’s explore it!

Pop some toys on the boat. How many can it carry? Which toys are too heavy and sink the boat? Take the boats outside: can you sail them in a puddle?

It’s time to go exploring in the garden or park for differentcoloured leaves to make some beautiful nature confetti.

Go and grab… a collection bowl and some shape-punchers. Find a selection of leaves of different colours and shapes, avoiding prickly, stinging or dangerous plants. Slide each one into the shape-puncher and make holes all over the leaf. Fill the bowl with the little shapes, taking care to keep little fingers clear of the puncher. What will your child want to do with their nature confetti - stick it on a picture maybe, or sprinkle it on the grass?

Let’s hear it!

What sounds can your child hear outside? Leaves rustling, bees buzzing, birds singing and dogs barking…

Story stones

Katie Still (aka Instagram’s Playful Wonders) is the author of Playful Wonders, a new book jam-packed with sensory play ideas. The book is published by DK and available from www.bookshop.org

Let your child’s imagination run wild by creating some story stones to invent their own story!

Go and grab… paints and paintbrushes or colouring pens. A small bag or basket. Storybooks if you need some inspiration. Go outside and collect some stones. Can you help your child find flat-ish ones that are all different shapes and sizes? Next, ask your child what they will paint on their story stones. Maybe characters from a book or animals; or simply things that they love? If drawing is too tricky, your little one can use stickers on their stones.

Once they’ve finished, pop the stones into the bag or basket and your child is ready to play. Ask them to take out the first stone. What drawing is on it? It’s over to them to make up a story around it; they decide what happens! Then they pull out a second stone - what’s the next part of the story…?

Let’s make it!

What sounds can your child make to accompany their story: the splash of waves maybe or the hum of an insect?

Splitting the parenting workload

By Tanith Carey

The number of women in work has hit a record high at more than seventy five percent in the UK. It’s great that we are gaining more equality in the workplace – except for one factor: women are still doing the lion’s share of the housework and organisation around kids, as well as the emotional heavy lifting.

Research from Stanford University has found that women still tend to take on a much greater proportion of childcare and household management in heterosexual relationships because they don’t feel entitled to put their own needs and time first.

The impact this overload can have is burn-out, numbness, emotional flatlining and even a dial down of their capacity to enjoy time with their kids. Women speak of feeling so overloaded that they want to quietly disappear in a puff of smoke.

One Mumsnet thread called: ‘Am I unreasonable to just pack my bags, disappear and leave everyone to it?’ crystallises the feelings of many women who feel too overwhelmed to enjoy their lives and who fantasise about being free of demands. A flurry of replies like: ‘If you let me tag along, I’ll bring cake’ and ‘I might do the same’ showed how much it touched a nerve.

With more paternity leave, dads working from home and outdated gender roles breaking down, we are moving in the right direction. But if you’re not there yet, what’s the best way to share the load more evenly?

Have a re-balancing

conversation

In an amicable, constructive way, draw up a list together of everything you and your partner both do to keep your home

going. This may include micro-tasks, like being the one who always applies sunscreen to the kids, who arranges birthday parties and organises childcare.

Compare lists and consider ways to share the jobs more evenly. Point out that having to remind your partner to do tasks puts more pressure on you and that if they take responsibility for something, like the laundry, they should see it all the way through from start to finish. Remember too that partners are not mind-readers.

Your partner may not have noticed the toll that the build-up of unequal balance is taking on you. Co-parents may also lack confidence or think they won’t do some tasks as well as you. Be prepared to offer non-critical training! Remember that not all tasks need to be done exactly the same way.

Tanith Carey is the author of Feeling Blah? Why Anhedonia has left you joyless and how to recapture life’s highs (Welbeck £16.99) available from www.bookshop.org

Write a ‘no-do’ list

Your brain has finite resources. It can’t multi-task. It can only rapidly switch attention, which is exhausting. When it feels like you have too many tabs open, your cortisol level can stay permanently raised, interrupting the workings of your reward system.

We are all familiar with the concept of to-do lists. But sometimes we need to write a ‘no-do’ list to intentionally reduce our mental load and free up more time for joy. The number of chores on your list may have built up because it feels easier to do them yourself and you haven’t had the time to train the people around you to share them.

When drawing up a no-do list, write a list of the things you do each week. With each, ask yourself: Do I actually want this or is it just expected of me?

Then decide which ones you can cross off and which ones you can delegate. Before dropping tasks, check first that there won’t be any negative consequences for you or anyone around you, as a result.

Why women are exhausted

As lawyer Eve Rodsky points out in her book Fair Play: ‘Women are supposed to work like they don’t have kids and parent like they don’t work.

‘While men’s time is treated as diamond, women’s time is treated like sand of which there is an unlimited resource.

‘Women don’t want to have to keep micromanaging, being the planners, asking others in the family to do the things they should already be doing just to get things done.’

Psychotherapist Nancy Colier also describes this challenge in her recent book The Emotionally Exhausted Woman.

‘We spend our lives taking care of everyone’s needs, playing our roles as caretakers of the world, being good girls and working on self-improvement but often at the expense of our own needs being met.’

Make a haunted house for Halloween!

We asked our friends at Art-K Art School (www.art-k.co.uk) for a wonderfully spooky creative project for the kids to make for Halloween and they have come up with this very scary, haunted house.

You will need:

ü Water colour paints, ü A4 and A5 pieces of card

Instructions:

andCutout keep

Step 1: Draw the haunted house on card and use a black sharpie to outline it. Simplify it if your child is very young. Now paint in the outline.

ü Scissors

ü Black sharpie

ü Glue

Step 5: Glue the painted pumpkins onto A5 pieces of card as shown.

Step 2: Fold an A4 piece of card in half horizontally. Create two flaps by cutting a three-sided panel either side of the fold. Bend the two flaps inwards.

Step 3: Copy and draw two pumpkins onto separate A5 pieces of card.

Step 4: Outline and paint the pumpkins

Step 6: Draw and outline ghosts and tombstones on to the A4 piece of cards. Find some ghosts on the internet to inspire your child. Then paint.

Step 7: Open up the A4 piece of card to see the step in the middle that bending the flaps inwards has created.

You now have your haunted house with pumpkins and ghosts!

Step 8: Glue the house onto this step and stick the card with the pumpkins in front of the house.