June / July Sample

Magazine magazine of of the the Professional professional Association association for for Childcare childcare and and Early early Years years || april/may June/July 2013 2013

LET’S GET DIGITAL!

PLAY, LEARNING & THE GREAT OUTDOORS

BRAND NEW FACE WELCOME TO YOUR NEW LOOK PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION

Let’s grow!

Help children to develop their gardening and craft skills with these creative outdoor activities!

Miniature garden There’s something magical about making a miniature garden world!

Children can gather small rocks, sticks and plants for building materials. Once the garden is constructed they will enjoy placing small characters and toy animals in their fantasy setting. The garden could be a prehistoric landscape (like the one below), a fairy garden, a jungle or something else!

You need: l A garden trowel l Potting compost l A large, shallow plant pot or seed tray l Plants l Rocks, gravel, sticks, shells, moss, pieces of bark

Written by Charlotte Stowell

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A small, shallow plastic container A fibre plant pot l Cotton wool l Paint l A paintbrush

l l

1. Fill a plant pot or seed tray with compost. Push rocks into the compost so they are partially buried and won’t fall over.

2. Use a trowel to make holes for the plants. Press the compost around them so they are well planted.

3. Dig a hole for the shallow tray, check it is level, then fill the tray with water for a pond or lake feature. Add gravel, sticks, moss etc to build up the scene.

4. The volcano is made from a painted fibre plant pot with cotton wool in the top.

Tip: Remember to keep your garden watered if it contains real plants! Small succulents and plants that don’t grow too big are perfect for a miniature garden.

Tin can totem pole

Leftover emulsion paint from decorating or handy match pots are ideal for use on this colourful and durable garden feature. The colours won’t last forever but they should make it through the summer – even a wet, British one!

Children will enjoy getting creative with their designs, and once finished the totem pole

You need: l Clean tin cans, labels removed l Craft acrylic or emulsion paint l Paintbrushes l A clean plastic lid, eg from a margarine tub l Scissors l All purpose clear glue l A small plant pot (to fit inside the can) l Compost l Seeds

1. Brush paint over two or three tin cans and a plastic lid. Leave to dry.

2. Add painted faces and patterns to your design. Leave to dry.

3. Ask an adult to cut a beak and

MAKE

makes a great plant container for use in gardens, patios and on windowsills.

wings from the painted plastic lid.

Glue them in place.

4. Fill a small pot with compost.

Sprinkle some seeds into the pot and then cover with a thin layer of compost.

5. Glue the cans in a stack to make the totem pole. Place the pot into the top. Remember to keep your seeds watered.

Tip: Try making an indoor version for a windowsill with the beak and wings made from card.

Plant pot wind chime decoration

Hanging this pretty painted pot from a tree will add a splash of colour to the garden in summertime. The sticks make a gentle chiming sound when they rattle together in the wind. Make sure the pot is safely hung onto a secure branch.

You need: l A small terracotta plant pot 12cm in diameter l Craft acrylic or emulsion paints l Paintbrushes l A short stick 5cm long l Four sticks 15cm long l 1 metre of thick string l 1 metre of thin string l All purpose clear glue

1. Brush paint over a plant pot and four small sticks. Leave them to dry. Decorate the pot and sticks with paint and a paintbrush or try using your fingertips to print blobs!

2. Hold the thick string in the middle and make it double thickness (50cm in

length). Tie a knot about halfway down so you have a loop at one end.

3. Make a second knot under the first one with the short stick placed in between. Thread the string loop through the hole in the plant pot from the inside. The stick will stop the string from slipping through the hole in the pot.

4. Tie thin strings around the ends of the painted sticks then glue them to the inside of the pot so they hang down. One of them could be tied to the ends of the thick string.

5. Hang the pot onto a strong branch using the string loop.

Tip: A blob of glue on the short stick will hold it securely in place. n

There’s something magical about making a miniature garden world!

SAFETY FIRST Always ensure that activities are appropriate for each child’s age and stage of development, and are supervised by an adult.

Penny Tassoni –

Last issue we introduced the well-known author and trainer, Penny Tassoni, as PACEY’s new President. Here Penny explains how her role will function, why she is supporting PACEY and what her aspirations are for the wider childcare and early years sector.

Q

your new President

Please explain the role of President so our members can better understand how your work complements their association.

My role is to champion PACEY, so I will be doing a variety of things to support the association’s work including representing PACEY at meetings, events and conferences.

There may also be times when I am called upon to do some media work. I am lucky to have worked with a variety of different organisations within the childcare and early years sector, so I will also be using these contacts to support the work of PACEY.

Q

What excites you about being PACEY President – are there any particular areas that you are looking forward to focussing on?

It is still early days, but I am hoping to support the work of PACEY by reaching out to childcare professionals from all types of settings and letting them know about the benefits of joining a professional association. I am also interested in workforce development – both in terms of initial training and also continuous professional development (CPD) – and I hope to support PACEY’s work in this area.

Q

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What are your aspirations for the childcare and early years sector, and what immediate challenges does the sector face, in your opinion?

The sector has come a long way

in the past few years and we are gradually chipping away at the notion that this sector is only about minding or caring for children. Having said that, there is still plenty of work left to do in helping the general public to understand the value of early education and the potential it has to make a difference to children’s lives.

In terms of an immediate challenge, there is much debate around how to support working parents in making childcare more affordable, with some proposals causing alarm in the sector. As a parent who has always needed to work, I have great sympathy with parents who are struggling to pay for quality early years provision.

I do not feel that parents or childcare professionals should be put in a situation where they have to choose between quality and affordability.

The childcare and early years sector has already come together to express its concern about ratios and my hope is that the sector continues to remind all

‘Children are not inconvenient commodities that can be parked up in some industrial unit.

They need nurturing environments of the kind that the sector strives to provide.’

interested parties that the rights and wellbeing of children must come first in resolving this issue.

Children are not inconvenient commodities that can be parked up in some industrial unit. They need nurturing environments of the kind that the sector strives to provide.

Why do you think it is important to support all childcare professionals to invest in their own professional development?

There are perhaps a hundred and one reasons why we all need to keep investing in our own professional development.

I would argue that firstly, as educators, we need to remind ourselves of the learning process from time to time. This is the bread and butter of what we are encouraging children to do. We say to children that they have to persevere, be curious and try out new experiences, so we should perhaps practise what we preach.

In some ways there has never been an easier time to engage in CPD. There are the traditional courses and local networks but also online materials and discussion groups.

Whilst we might engage in some learning that provides us with new ideas or techniques, I am a great fan of learning that makes me question my practice and even sometimes my values.

Being challenged can take us out of our comfort zone, but it is also something that can help us to refine our thoughts about

Q

Q&A

‘I am hoping to support the work of PACEY by reaching out to childcare professionals from all types of settings.’

© Pearson Education/Roddy Paine

PENNY’S NEW BOOK

working with young children and so keep us fresh in our practice.

Q

Do you have any key messages that you would like to pass on to our members?

This is a time when many changes

are being proposed that will directly affect the childcare and early years sector. We have a responsibility to the children and also to the sector to engage in the consultation process both as individuals and collectively

through PACEY. My message therefore is to look out for existing and forthcoming consultations and, whatever your views, be part of the debate and therefore part of the future. n

Penny’s latest book for childcare professionals is the second edition of her Practical EYFS Handbook. It takes a step-by-step approach to the statutory framework and has plenty of tips on observing and planning as well as activities. It also includes strategies on settling children in and supporting parents to encourage their children’s development at home.

Member benefits

PACEY’s new health and wellbeing helpline is designed to help you deal with a range of issues that you may face as a childcare professional. The helpline is staffed by a team that includes counsellors, nurses, midwives and pharmacists, to provide you with all the support you need, practically and emotionally.

Written by Jessica Coyne

Health and wellbeing helpline

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Sylvia Butcher runs her childminding practice, Sylvia’s House of Children, in Devizes, Wiltshire. She has been childminding for 15 years and has worked in childcare since 1984 as a pre-school play leader, an NVQ assessor and an early years tutor.

Sylvia is an advocate of having access to a health and wellbeing helpline. Here she explains why…

‘When I read about the new health and wellbeing helpline available to PACEY members, I was really pleased. There’s a whole range of issues that you can come across as a childcare professional, which you need emotional and practical support to deal with – on a personal level, and to support the children and the families you work with.

‘During my career, there have been three separate occasions when a parent of a child in my care has passed away, so it’s reassuring to know there is now someone to turn to in times of bereavement. The first time it happened I felt completely lost; without the support of other childminders, I don’t know how I would have coped.

‘The death of a parent is one of the most devastating and

‘No matter what type of setting you work in, this is an incredibly useful and much-needed service.’

difficult experiences for a child to comprehend emotionally and to come to terms with. I feel strongly that we need direction and support as childcare professionals to help us guide children through dealing with the loss of a parent.

Counsellors’ and nurses’ opinions in these times are invaluable as they can help you to establish

the correct approach to take to ensure you are supporting a bereaved child’s feelings, as well as managing the effect of the bereavement on other children in your setting.

‘As childcare professionals we work so closely with families that we often form real bonds with parents (and usually their

‘There’s a whole range of issues that you can come across as a childcare professional, which you need emotional and practical support to deal with.’ if they have home-based care).

Again, this is a situation that needs to be managed carefully. A helpline can offer you practical tips on things like the correct language to use to ensure children’s feelings are acknowledged and supported, and how to conduct

group conversations to explain the situation.

‘I think this kind of service will be useful for all types of childcare professionals. Nannies and childminders will feel less isolated as they will no longer have to deal with these kinds of difficult experiences alone and without professional help, and nursery workers will be able to seek professional advice on behalf of their setting and share the knowledge with colleagues. No matter what type of setting you work in, this is an incredibly useful and much-needed service.

‘As well as bereavement issues, I can see how the helpline would be useful in managing a range of emotional challenges for children. You could use it to discuss other issues that children and families may face such as illness, divorce or dealing with a step-parent’s arrival, and establish practical tips and take guidance from counsellors and medical professionals to pave a positive way forward for children.

‘Ultimately this helpline provides the opportunity for childcare professionals and experts in health and emotional and physical wellbeing to link up, in order to provide the best management possible for children and their families facing difficulty.

Plus, there’s the invaluable element of support for your own wellbeing through life’s inevitable challenges.’ n

Benefits

extended families) and therefore can suffer great loss should anything happen to them. Talking through your feelings with a counsellor helps you to deal with and understand your emotions and come to terms with your loss.

If you can work through your own grief, you are better placed to adequately support the feelings of the children and the families in your care.

‘Children also often struggle to deal with the death of family pets (or pets that are part of a setting

24/7 HELPLINE PACEY membership gives you free access to the health and wellbeing helpline. The service is completely confidential and provides you with direct support from a team of professionals 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You can call the helpline at any time, for any reason, on 0808 178 0332.