October / November sample

Magazine magazine of the of Professional the professional Association association for Childcare for childcare and and Earlyearly Years years | October/November | april/may 20132013

BRAND NEW FACE WELCOME TO YOUR NEW LOOK BACK TO SCHOOL PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION ‘RAW’ SKILLS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY

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09/09/2013 13:23

Paper plate fish tank

Childminder Pippa Ashton regularly gets involved with PACEY. Not only is she featured in one of our ‘how-to’ videos, she is also a top contributor on PACEY Local. Here is one of the many fantastic ideas that Pippa has shared from her setting.

Paper plate �ish tank To create a paper plate �ish tank you will need the following items: ● Paper plates ● Blue pens, crayons or paint ● Green pipe cleaners ● Fish stickers ● Cling �ilm ● Scissors ● PVA glue ● Orange card or foam sheet

1. Colour in one paper plate. This will be the background for your tank

5. Cut the middle out of the second plate and attach some cling �ilm to the inside. Tape works best for this 6. Place this plate on top of the other to make the front of the tank and glue or tape the two together 7. Enjoy looking at your very own ocean-inspired paper plate �ish tank! ■

2. Glue or tape the pipe cleaners on to make seaweed

3. Cut out a sand base from the orange foam sheet and glue it on over the bottom of the pipe cleaners

4. Add stickers to make your underwater scene

Written by Laura Coleman Ideas by Pippa Ashton

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The paper plate fish tank activity meets the following criteria of the EYFS and Foundation Phase

PACEY

LINK THIS ACTIVITY TO THE EYFS AND FOUNDATION PHASE

Understanding the world (England) Knowledge and understanding of the world (Wales) During the activity Pippa talked to the children about where fish live, highlighting the differences between fish in a fish tank and fish in the ocean. She asked questions like ‘What do you find in the ocean?’ and ‘What might we find in a fish tank?’ The children learnt about underwater habitats and how different creatures live.

Physical development (England and Wales) Fine motor skills are developed through using scissors to cut out shapes, peeling the backs off the foam stickers, using the sticky tape and attaching all the parts together.

Expressive art and design (England) Creative development (Wales) Pippa encouraged the children to choose items for their tanks and place these where they wished, and to colour the tanks in their own way. For example, one of the children in her setting likes to colour everything pink!

Pippa believes that it is equally as fine for children to fill their tanks with farm animals or cars as it is to fill them with sand, seaweed and fish.

Enjoy looking at your very own oceaninspired paper plate �ish tank!

JOIN IN TODAY To see more of Pippa’s wonderful ideas, join PACEY Local today!

1. Visit local.pacey.org.uk 2. Click ‘Join’ 3. Register your details 4. Receive your joining email 5. Explore!

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09/09/2013 14:07

Literacy and numeracy

Falling literacy levels, children who don’t enjoy reading, declining skills in numeracy – we’ve all seen the headlines and know how much pressure the government is putting on schools to improve results.

And increasingly the spotlight is being put on the early years and how we can make a difference.

Written by Jackie Cosh

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Many of us don’t really have a good relationship with mathematics and it is important to teach children the subject in a fun way and to hide any of our negative feelings about the subject.

Similarly with reading, it should be fun and for enjoyment.

Children can be put off by boring content and, while there are many great books out there, the needs and interests of all children should be considered, particularly boys, who might need more action in their stories.

Neil Farmer, author of Getting it Right for Boys, carried out some research into 6-year-old boys and their favourite and least favourite part of the day. He found that for boys in particular the least favourite time was story time. A prolonged period of sitting in an uncomfortable position listening to an adult was hard for them to do and not much fun. He advises not to obsess about children sitting cross-legged. It can cause children physical discomfort and doesn’t help them get into a relaxed frame of mind in which to enjoy being read to.

Pictures are important in story books and too often they can be abandoned too quickly for chapter books. Even children

who can read need pictures in books. When teaching a child to read it is very easy to focus on the words and forget that the pictures add to the experience.

Pre-reading and pre-numeracy skills

Pre-reading skills are important, particularly for children who are not read to at home. Children need to know that you read from front to back, page by page and from left to right. They also need a good level of speech before they can learn to read and attention should be given to aiding children’s speech development instead of

pushing on to reading.

Another common mistake is not allowing enough time for mark making. Learning to write takes time and mark making is an important step for developing children’s fine motor skills and creativity.

The Independent Review of Mathematics Teaching in Early Years Settings and Primary Schools (Sir Peter Williams, June 2008) highlighted the lack of mathematical mark making taking place in early years settings.

The report found that it was rare to see adults supporting children in making

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mathematical marks and that mathematical mark making does not get the attention that letters mark making does, and that opportunities are being missed.

Plan not pressurise

Pressurising a child to learn about numbers before s/he is ready can be counterproductive.

The same review criticised practitioners for not allocating enough time for mathematical discussions around practical activities such as playing with vehicles outside, cooking, shopping and construction.

In his book, Farmer criticises settings for having resources

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which just act as table fillers and suggests planning activities which are based on the learning journey rather than the end result.

Children need time to figure things out. It is tempting to step in but they benefit more if given time to find the solution themselves. This also lets them use problem-solving skills. Neither should children be criticised when they get it nearly right. Instead, highlight what they have done well and the fact that they were nearly there.

Running before children can walk

Introducing too many letters at a time is a common pitfall.

Children need time to absorb what they have learned rather than being crowded with information. Equally, once they are reading, a common mistake is getting them to read the whole book, rather than just a few pages, and many parents like to push for this.

Sue Dodd is head teacher at Woodham Walter Primary in Essex. She says it is like running before they can walk.

“A common mistake would be to use worksheets to ‘teach’ their children to add up, for example, when they have yet to understand one-to-one correspondence. It would be better if they played counting games or sang counting songs (Five Little Ducks) whilst moving them, or lined up cars/animals and played with them using the appropriate vocabulary.”

Sue has witnessed similar issues with literacy. She says, “Trying to ‘teach’ children to form their letters before they are ready is not helpful. It would be better to give them the freedom and resources to experiment with their fine and gross motor control.”

Do have fun and don’t rush. Do take every opportunity to bring literacy and numeracy into play, and don’t let children feel pressurised. n

FEATURE

The needs and interests of all children should be considered, particularly boys, who might need more action in their stories.

RESOURCES l

The Independent Review of Mathematics Teaching in Early Years Settings and Primary Schools (Sir Peter Williams, June 2008) is available to read in full at dera.ioe.ac.uk

l

www.literacytrust. org.uk provides news, training and information on literacy for all ages, including early years

l

For help and information on numeracy take a look at www. nationalnumeracy. org.uk

l

Although aimed at parents, www. familylearning.org. uk has an excellent section on prereading skills

09/09/2013 13:16

There to support you

Your legal helpline...

Did you know that as a PACEY member you have access to free legal advice through your legal helpline? The service puts you in contact with a team of solicitors to talk through any legal concern. Here, we speak with solicitor Sharon Mallett, who leads the legal team, about what your service involves… of planning and neighbour disputes. No legal problem is too small. We can assist with any matter whether you are a childminder, nanny or nursery worker.

Q

What does my legal helpline benefit involve?

As part of your membership, you receive the benefit of a legal helpline. You are entitled to call us and receive telephone advice about any legal matter as many times as you need to while you are a PACEY member. You may also be eligible to receive ongoing debt support to recover any outstanding fees your childminding business may have (see the page opposite for more information about this service.)

Written by Jessica Coyne

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How many members have made use of this so far?

We receive an average of 412 calls per month and receive very positive feedback from members who have used the helpline. We would always suggest that you call us sooner rather than later with any potential problem, so that we can assist you at an early stage.

Q

Q

What kinds of things can I call the legal helpline about?

You can call the legal helpline about any legal matter – your issue does not have to relate to your childcare career. We deal with a wide range of childcare issues including debt recovery and contractual agreements but also family law matters, questions

If I call this number, who will I speak to and how does it work?

There are six members of the team who deal with your calls.

You will speak to one of these team members, who is fully trained and legally qualified.

All calls to us are confidential and nothing you tell us will be divulged to any third party. We simply need your membership

Q

Don’t forget that members also benefit from insurance protection in respect of legal expenses of up to £50,000 incurred in a range of circumstances.

number when you call – we’ll then take the details of your legal problem before providing advice.

Don’t forget that members also benefit from insurance protection in respect of legal expenses of up to £50,000 incurred in a range of circumstances.

Q

What experience does the team have?

Within the team we have the knowledge, experience and expertise to deal with most legal issues that you are likely to face as a childcare professional, including contract law, debt recovery, criminal prosecution, employment law, family law and Ofsted related issues.

Meet the legal team...

Sharon Mallett Solicitor with over 20 years’ experience – contract and Ofsted expert Juliet Dehghan Solicitor with over 20 years’ experience – employment law and family law expert Michelle Somerton Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives – contract and debt specialist Kate Thomas Affiliate member of the Institute of Legal Executives – debt specialist Loreena Walker Law graduate – debt specialist Karalyn Hollingworth Law graduate – criminal prosecution specialist

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At PACEY, we understand that you sometimes come across problems with receiving payment from families for your services. Your legal service can help you find the best way to manage this often stressful situation.

Each scenario and practitioner/parent relationship is different, so you may decide to take a separate route to solve your payment issue. However, you can rest assured that PACEY’s legal helpline can support you with the following steps, should you ever need them to.

If a parent owes you money despite payment requests and your contract has been terminated, the legal team will ask you to send in a copy of your PACEY or old NCMA contract, your final invoice as well as any other correspondence between you and the parent relating to the outstanding debt. They will then take over the correspondence for you, sending a series of letters directly to the parents, requesting payment on your behalf. Throughout the process you will remain fully involved and no action will be taken without your permission.

If no payment is received after the initial correspondence, an assessment of whether the case is likely to succeed in a small claims court is completed and parents are notified about the risk of a court claim.

If still no payment is received and there are reasonable prospects of success in respect of court action, the claim is issued and parents have 14 days to respond to the court; a defence may be filed by the parent for the court to consider, at which time mediation may be presented to you as a form of alternative dispute resolution.

If there is still no response, a judgement is issued through the County Court. If a parent doesn’t pay the outstanding debt after a judgment has been entered, steps can be taken to enforce your judgment. This is usually by way of a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) who will attend the parent’s property to attempt to negotiate repayment or levy goods of value to sell at auction. Alternatively, if you are aware of the parent’s employment details, an Attachment of Earnings Order could be made by your local County Court to have the employer deduct an amount set by the court from the parent’s wage each month.

Remember that in order to make use of the debt recovery service, the debt needs to be over £100, you need to contact the legal helpline within 60 days of the parent owing you money and you need to have used a PACEY or old NCMA contract.

Benefits

FOCUS ON DEBT RECOVERY

No legal problem is too small. We can assist with any matter whether you are a childminder, nanny or nursery worker.

CONTACT THE TEAM If you have a legal concern, call the helpline on 029 2115 6458 to speak with a member of the team. Lines are open 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday or 24 hours a day for emergency situations.

Please do remember to have your PACEY membership number to hand

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09/09/2013 17:41