7 minute read
News & Views
Christmas at Cogges
Cogges Manor Farm is a unique historic farmstead in the heart of Witney and wellknown locally as a hidden gem and popular visitor attraction. But did you know that Cogges also hosts many special events throughout the year, most recently the sellout Witch’s House for Halloween? As the darker nights draw in, the focus is moving to the festive season when the Manor House will be beautifully decorated for Christmas and open once again for visitors to explore. The café will also be open for all those festive drinks and food and for toasting marshmallows on the fire. For some extra magic, you might also like to stay on for the Friday - Sunday evening illuminations. Children can enjoy craft activities on Saturdays and Santa’s Grotto on Sundays and have fun choosing a beautiful Christmas tree to take home.
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Cogges will reopen from Saturday 27th November until Wednesday 22nd December, five days each week (9.30am – 4pm). Evening illuminations each Friday – Sunday from 5 – 8pm; Family craft activities on Saturdays, Santa’s Grotto on Sundays (December only); Christmas table decoration workshop Saturday 11 December; Cogges Kitchen café open every day during this period and you don’t need a ticket to the farm to access the café. www.Cogges.org.uk
STOCKING FILLER ORANGE
November 2021 sees the launch of Russell & Atwell’s brand-new Limited-Edition Seville Orange Chocolates, just in time for Christmas gifting. The vibrant and zesty new variety will melt on the tongue and leave you with a gorgeous citrus finish, an ideal addition to the Christmas haul this year, whether as a gift, a treat to add to the after-dinner rotation, or even as a twist on the stocking filler orange! Also in this year’s gifting range are letterbox friendly Triple Pouch Packs (from £20), for those who love variety; Triple Glass Jar Gift Sets (from £40); and the motherload, The Big Kahuna Gifting Box (from £80) – perfect for large family gatherings, or those who’ve made it back to the office!
Made with delicious, high quality and sustainable ingredients that you can find in the kitchen - like fresh organic British cream, butter and wildflower honey – Steve and Giles set out to create delicious fridge-fresh chocolates, making hundreds of prototypes before settling on their launch range.
www.russellandatwell.com
Jetkids BedBox
If you are jetting away this Christmas, then the Jetkids Golden Olive BedBox, inspired by the Orient Express train, is designed to help you get back on track to family travel. After years of taking travel for granted, this past year JetKids had time to think more about what it meant for families. Travel is the time to create memories as a family that will last a lifetime. The muted green colour takes us back to when travel was luxurious, about slowing down and enjoying the journey.
The BedBox™ is the world’s only ride-on suitcase for children with an inflight bed / leg-rest feature. This travel essential combines Scandinavian and aviation-inspired designs with practical features for the entire journey and allows your child to rest comfortably or sleep during long and short trips. The ride-on function is suitable for children 3-7 years, and the bed feature is best suited for children over 2 years. www.Jet-kids.com
Bring joy to a vulnerable child this Christmas
Christmas won’t be magical for every child. It can be a difficult time of year for children in care who may be spending their first festive season away from their family. And for households facing economic hardship, buying presents will once again put additional pressure on families.
Reading brings children profound and wide-ranging benefits that can have a lifelong positive impact on their lives, affecting their health, wellbeing and their academic and social development.
This Christmas, the BookTrust is aiming to give 16,000 books to children who need them the most – giving them access to a world of imagination, creativity and possibilities that books can provide. A £10 donation to BookTrust will help fund a surprise book gift for a vulnerable child and support the BookTrust’s work during the year.
Find out more and donate at www.booktrust.org.uk/xmas
Online Parents’ Evenings likely to stay
It’s likely that the pandemic will leave behind one lasting change to the normal school year.
Online Parents’ Evening could become the norm, putting an end to the mad dash to arrive on time, confusion over finding the right room and the seemingly endless queuing for five minutes with your child’s teacher.
During lockdown, the then Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, said that that particular aspect of school life would ‘never be the same again.’
Educational-technology adviser and London Borough of Havering senior inspector Dave Smith agrees the online versions of Parents’ Evening are ‘here to stay.’ ‘Online parent/ carer meetings have proved very successful in schools,’ he says.
News & Views Playing with food is good for children
Children allowed to squash, touch and handle fruit and vegetables at mealtimes are less likely to be picky eaters, according to research.
Researchers found toddlers who were given permission to mess around with foods like bananas, tomatoes and oranges were more likely to eat fruit and vegetables than rival groups.
The finding suggests that it is touch and feel – not taste, as has long been suggested - which could be the catalyst to encouraging children to eat more healthily.
The study involved sixty two pre-school children ages three to four from nurseries around Northampton. The results revealed that those who had played with them tried significantly more fruit and vegetables than those in the rival groups.
Researchers said the key is not to put pressure on children but to let them play instead. More info: www.dmu.ac.uk/research/research-news
Exploring Expressionism
In their Saturday art workshop, Years 7 and 8 at Abingdon Prep enjoyed exploring the work of German expressionist painter, Franz Marc. After selecting their chosen animal, they began mapping out onto canvas. The boys took their time to consider both composition and colour. Franz Marc linked his use of colour towards how he felt the animal connected to human emotions. The boys took on this idea really well, and created some truly personal paintings.
Potential breakthrough in care of children with autism
Training parents how to respond to babies showing early signs of autism could reduce by two thirds the number of three-year-olds meeting the criteria for diagnosis, a study suggests.
The first two years are critical for brain development, but most autism diagnoses are made around the age of three or older when children display symptoms such as difficulty talking or making eye contact.
The study suggests that intervening earlier in at-risk children, when the brain is developing rapidly, could prevent them developing these symptoms in the first place.
Improvement on this scale has never been shown before, the researchers say.
Study author, Professor Jonathan Green, said the first two years of life when signs of autism are emerging are critical. But he stressed that although the therapy can prevent long-term difficulties, it is not a ‘miracle cure’.
More info: jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics
Sleeping badly can affect children’s mental health
Irritability, fatigue, short attention span - the short-term effects of a bad night’s sleep can have a particularly strong effect on children. But regular sleep deprivation can have a worrying impact on children’s longterm mental health, a new study has found.
Researchers at the University of Warwick looked at eleven thousand children ages 9 to 11, examining the relationship between sleep duration and brain structure.
It was observed that children who had shorter sleep durations had reduced brain volume in areas such as the orbitofrontal cortex, prefrontal and temporal cortex, precuneus and supramarginalgyrus.
Having lower brain volume in these areas has been linked to mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, impulsive behaviour and poor cognitive performance.
The researchers stated that the recommended amount of sleep for children aged 6 to 12 years is 9-12 hours.
More info: www.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents
RADLEY COLLEGE
Radley offers an environment for boys to grow in self-confidence, thrive academically, and make the most of an enormous range of opportunities. The door is open to any talented candidate, regardless of their means or their background, and we hope that we will have many applicants who wish to join us in the pursuit of excellence. A Radley education is about independent thought and learning with enthusiasm. It is about cultural awareness and academic ambition. It is about learning to live with others and preparation for the world beyond its gates. We are looking for boys who have curiosity and aspiration; creativity and critical thought; strength and humility; leadership and collaboration; adaptability and resilience. If you have a talented boy, who excels academically or at music, sport, art or drama then we have bursary support available up to 100% of the fees. To arrange a visit
