12 minute read
Education
Parsons Green Prep School’s enjoyed excellent 11+ results, with three of the children being offered scholarships this year www.parsonsgreenprep.co.uk
Burntwood School
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Burntwood School is a highly successful, popular girl’s school with a mixed Sixth Form. The school was recently rebuilt and has won the prestigious Stirling Prize for Architecture. More importantly this means that their students have access to state of the art specialist teaching facilities in the Sciences, Media, Art and Design, Performing Arts and Sport.
They told us: “We believe strongly that all our young people should have the opportunity to study and embrace a varied curriculum that will allow them to access academic, creative and practical subjects enabling them progress to a host of world class further education establishments.”
Burntwood is an oversubscribed Academy for Girls which proudly holds a CPD Platinum Mark, the EQualities Award, the International School Award, and has UNICEF Rights Respecting School Gold status.
The Willow Nursery
Good to know: established for over 30 years, this family run, traditional nursery school now offers afternoon sessions. It boasts a unique ethos and fabulous premises, for 2 1⁄2 to 5 year olds.
Helen Shorrock will be the new Principal as of September when the current principal, Helen Dorfman, retires after 16 years at the school. Burntwood Lane, London SW17 0AQ www.burntwoodschool.com
55 Grafton Square, Clapham Old Town, London, SW4 0DE www.thewillownursery.co.uk
Falcons School for Girls and Peregrines Pre-Preparatory
THE MONTESSORI CHILDREN We provide a delightful environment for children from 2yrs of age. Offering the full Montessori curriculum with visiting teachers for Music, Dancing, Yoga, French, Drama, Sports & Gymnastics.
CALL US TO BOOK A VISIT TO THE NURSERY 0208 673 8037
102 Chestnut Grove Balham, London, SW12 8JJ
HOLIDAY AND AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS Local children up to the age of 8yrs are welcome to join in with our fun and creative activity days during school breaks. School pick-ups and homework clubs are also available during term time.
TEA TIME FOR TODDLERS This session takes place from 3:30pm to 4:30pm for children from approximately 2yrs of age to attend with an adult
Make a splash! ... at Dawmouse Montessori School
Come and see how we teach with passion in our two Montessori Schools in Fulham.
Fully qualified staff, small class ratios, established for over 20 years, modern in our approach.
Call Miss Emma on 020 8398 9294 or visit our website www.dawmouse.co.uk
Is Sport the Cure? By Ben Coombes
Would you want to be a child today? A
recent report by TES suggested that nearly half of all 12 year olds in the UK report feeling anxious once a week, whilst the Independent direct correlated this with internet usage. Furthermore, 80% of NHS trusts have said that they don’t believe they have the resources available to treat those suffering from Mental Health Crises effectively. Our children inhabit a world of selfies and sexting; a virtual reality where the person behind the screen is often forgotten, and when they need help it’s not always there due to funding issues and budget cuts. So what can be done to help this, and ideally to prevent these Crises from occurring? There is much evidence available to suggest that encouraging all children, regardless of ability, to participate in regular physical activity, improves mental wellbeing both in their childhood, carrying through to adulthood.
Only today The Guardian newspaper reported an “emerging crisis” in Xanax misuse amongst young people, who are apparently selfmedicating for anxiety with drugs purchased on the dark web. As would be expected with
unregulated access to drugs, there are overdoses—in May 2017 twenty Wiltshire teenagers required medical attention having overdosed on Xanax. Are young people really to blame for taking such drastic measures though, when NHS bosses warn of a mental health crisis, with a shortage of specialist staff leading to long delays in treatment. Surely, when faced with such a dilemma, the best treatment is not self-medication with drugs bought off the internet, but preventing these crises from occurring (or at least minimizing the severity of them)?
So why does sport seemingly have such a positive mental impact?
Well, there’s the obvious—physical activity has been shown to release endorphins (the happy hormones) so exercising creates a feeling of wellbeing, or the “runners high” as it is sometimes called, whilst also allowing for better sleep patterns. Team sports allow for children to be part of something bigger than themselves; well managed team sports allow players to feel a sense of belonging among their peers, and strive towards a common goal—both important attributes for working life. In addition, there is all the work that sports federations such as the FA and RFU are doing to improve communications about mental health. The 2015 Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation was born out of a desire from sporting bodies to reduce mental health prejudice. As a result of this initiative, and others, sporting role models such as ex- England Football Captain Rio Ferdinand have spoken freely about their own battle with mental health, encouraging children to be more open, and aware of, their mental health.
Playing sports has proven to improve one’s mood, improve concentration, reduce stress and depression, helps sleep, boosts selfconfidence, it has shown to improve leadership traits as well as academic performance. As a teacher I have seen all of these shine through in children. It is often whilst playing sport that we, as adults, forget ourselves and create an environment where the main reason children play sport is taken away. Research shows that children play sport for fun. Often as Laureau states, (2008 p188) “sport allows parents opportunities to activate their cultural and social capital on behalf of their children”. So do we as adults, seemingly add to this pressure and remove the enjoyment through our misunderstanding of how sport and physical activity helps our children to grow?
Regular participation in sports protection against mental illness
The Child Mind Institute reported that there are fewer behavioral and emotional problems reported amongst children who play sports, team sports especially. Those children who were active sports people were found to be less likely to participate in recreational drug use and have better body image. This was supported by a 2018 study between Bangor University and Public Health Wales which reported that children who had been abused, and neglected, but regularly played sports were less frequently diagnosed with mental illness as adults, compared to their peers who had been through similar experiences but hadn’t played sport. The report concluded “of childhood activities measured, only regular participation in sports showed a protective effect against mental illness”.
It is not only children who benefit from sport, although evidence suggests that instilling a healthy enjoyment of physical activity early on is best (AACAP, 2013), but adults too. This was possibly most evident last year with the documentary “Mind Over Marathon” (BBC) which followed a team of 10 runners training for (and eventually completing) the Virgin London Marathon for the Heads Together initiative. All of the runners featured had firsthand experience of mental health problems, and undertook the challenge (supported by a team of nutritionists/running experts/psychologists) partly in light of the substantial evidence in place that physical exercise affects mental wellbeing. The Public Health Wales/Bangor University report agreed; stating that the proportion of adults who played sport and were being treated for mental health issues was almost half of those who didn’t.
As adults we have a duty of care to ensure that the children in our society have the best possible chance of success; and the evidence suggests that encouraging a love of sport (regardless of natural ability) will stand our young people in good stead to face the challenges of modern society. As Churchill said “healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have”, and there is no health without mental health.
Ben Coombes left a 30 year career in education, including positions as Director of Sport, to found IWeYou—a consultancy dedicated to improvement, be it individuals, corporations or the leisure industry. Ben regularly travels all over the UK to coach young people facing difficulties. For more information please email ben@iweyou.org
To advertise in our next issue Contact us on 020 8696 9680
We are an Ofsted rated 'Good' day care nursery school. We lay the foundation of learning where your child's interests form the base to develop their full potential. Our nursery is very homely and friendly, and staff are fully qualified with many years' experience in Early Years. Open all year round 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday except bank holidays and four weeks in a year.
Christ Church Street French Nursery
We are a bilingual nursery and all parents are welcome whether or not they are French. All the staff are qualified and 70% of the staff speak French; children learn French every day. The nursery is a warm and happy place for any child to be part of our family. Children from 1 year old are welcome.
3 Caversham Street, SW3 4AF 020 7351 9648 and 07530 825528 Lindaccsfn@gmail.com www.frenchnursery.co.uk
Are you entitled to tax free childcare? By Stephanie Rough
Are you eligible?
Yes, if:
• Both parents are working (or a sole parent is working)
• Both earn over £120 per week
• Employed or Self Employed
• Live in England
No, if:
• Either Parent earns over £100,000 per annum
• You are a two-parent household in which only one parent works
New Tax Free Childcare Vouchers Scheme
Companies have offered corporate childcare vouchers under the Company Childcare Voucher Scheme for many years and so are familiar with this salary sacrifice scheme. The new Tax-free Childcare Vouchers Scheme is similar to corporate childcare vouchers in that it helps parents with funding towards the cost of childcare. However, it is administered not by companies but purely by parents.
Parents must open an online account and the Government will pay £2 for every £8 paid into the account by the parent up to a maximum of £2,000 every year (ie a Government contribution of up to £500 per quarter). Parents will then be able to pay their OFSTED registered childcare provider (nursery, childminder or nanny) directly from this account. The benefit of this new scheme is that it is calculated per child (not per parent), therefore those with more children and higher childcare costs could be at an advantage. In addition, those that are selfemployed were not previously entitled to join company schemes but are eligible under the new scheme. Unfortunately though, there are
disadvantages too: namely that every 3 months you need to re-confirm eligibility for the scheme, it is ONLY available for children up to age 12 (compared to age 15 under the previous scheme) and, of course, parents must meet the eligibility criteria.
15 and 30 hours Free Childcare
For many years all children in England, aged 3 and 4 have been entitled to 15 hours of free childcare, available at participating childcare providers from the term following their child’s 3rd birthday. These hours are administered direct by the childcare providers through the local council (although parents do sign to confirm they are not getting the hours elsewhere).
Since September 2017, if parents meet the Tax Free Childcare Eligibility criteria above, they are also entitled to additional 15 hours free (hence the name ‘30 hours free’ childcare) which is offered for 38 weeks a year (roughly in line with school terms). In order to apply for the additional 15 hours, parents need to register via the Childcare Choices website. It is essential to do this prior to the term in which they are entitled to the benefit. For example, if your child turns 3 in November, you will be entitled to the additional 15 hours from 1 January, therefore you must apply prior to 31 December. Again, every three months you will be asked to re-confirm your eligibility.
What next?
Firstly, parents should check their eligibility and entitlements for any of the new offerings. It’s also important to fully understand the financial impact of such changes on your family.
Free hours Due to funding issues, most nurseries are offering increased hours, but not necessarily the full 30. They are not able to charge you extra fees for the additional hours, but they can structure their hours in a way that you are still liable to pay for certain attendance. Check with any nursery in which you wish to enrol your child what their specific offering is.
Tax Free Childcare Vouchers Scheme Comparing the benefits of the Company Childcare Vouchers Scheme and the Tax Free Childcare Vouchers Scheme is essential, especially whilst you still have a choice—you do have up to October 2018 to enter a company scheme. (This was going to be April 2018 but the company scheme received an 11th hour reprieve from the Government.) Many parents will be better off under the current Company Childcare Vouchers Scheme but new Tax Free childcare WILL provide savings for some parents.
It is worth noting that you are able to combine the employer supported Company Childcare Voucher Scheme AND the 30 hours free childcare but NOT the Company Childcare Vouchers Scheme AND the New Tax Free Childcare Vouchers Scheme. So you need to decide which is best for you. In addition you can’t use Tax Free Childcare and Universal Credit or tax credits.
For more information visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk Find out if you qualify www.wandsworth.gov.uk/30hours
Stephanie Rough is Childcare Manager at Parental Choice; a “one-stop shop” designed to help you make the right decision on your childcare needs including nanny searches and payroll. For more information, visit www.parentalchoice.co.uk.
