Absolutely Education Prep & Pre Prep Summer 2019

ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION PREP & PRE-PREP • SUMMER 2019

ABSOLUTELY

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P &EP E PR -PR E PR

OPEN MINDS

Helping learners to succeed

Green Teams

Meet the school eco-warriors

MUSEU M

m arvels

London’s summer highlights

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Bright SPARKS SMART SCHOOL CHOICES FOR EARLY YEARS & PREP

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SUMMER 2019

CO N T E N TS upfront

14 WHAT'S ON

Fun family events for summer

16 SCHOOL NEWS

Out and about in the world of education

20 FOOD WARRIORS

A London school has harnessed pupil power to reduce waste, by Libby Norman

24 BRIGHT FUTURE

Mentoring is on the rise. Flora Thomas talks to some of the agencies leading the way

pre-Prep

30 BOTTOM OF THE CLASS

How can struggling children be helped to succeed?

Absolutely Education investigates

34 LIVING LEARNING

A new prep school will take a different approach to learning outside the classroom

36 GREEN FINGERS

Schools are learning to make the most of their outdoor spaces, reports Libby Norman

88 Prep

44 MAKING AN ENTRANCE

Schools are reviewing their 11+ and CE procedures, says Dr Lisa Freedman

52 GET APPY

Tech can help us, says the CEO of Cypher Coders

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60 WHAT'S WRONG?

Coming to terms with the fact that your child is wired differently can be hard, says a parenting expert

62 BLOCK BUSTER

Could retrained reflexes be at the root of your child's dyslexia? Pendle Harte reports 6

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EDITOR

Libby Norman  EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Amanda Constance  EDITOR I A L A SSISTA N T

Flora Thomas 

GROUP A DV ERTISING M A NAGER

Nicola Owens

MEDI A CONSULTA N T

Donna McCafferty 

GROUP SA L ES DIR ECTOR

Craig Davies

SPECI A L IST CONSULTA N T

Andy Mabbitt 

COMMERCI A L DIR ECTOR

Leah Day 

SENIOR DESIGNER

Pawel Kuba 

MID-W EIGHT DESIGNER

Rebecca Noonan 

M A R K ETING M A NAGER

Lucie Pearce 

FINA NCE DIR ECTOR

Jerrie Koleci  DIR ECTOR S

Greg Hughes, Alexandra Hunter, James Fuschillo  PUBL ISHING DIR ECTOR

Sherif Shaltout

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S c h o o l’ s O u t

70 CAMP FIRE

A new scheme aims to make the camping experience affordable for all children, says Libby Norman

74 SUMMER FUN

What's on in London's museums for the holiday

74

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82 BEN FOGLE Q&A

The broadcaster, writer and adventurer on mixed feelings about boarding-school days at Bryanston

84 BOOK REVIEWS

A round-up of children's books for the summer,

by Jasmine Robertson

90 MOOMIN LANDING

Zoey Goto heads to Finland to discover the home of Tove Jansson's timeless creations

92 INTO THE WILD

Absolutely Education investigates Camp Wilderness' summer camps for kids

F R O N T C OV E R Sydenham High School, GDST, is an independent day school for girls aged 4-18 sydenhamhighschool.gdst.net

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CON T R IBU TOR S Each day, discovery

Ben Fogle Adventurer, author and broadcaster

Ben Fogle describes himself as an accidental explorer – never having excelled at sports at Bryanston. In this issue, he discusses his love-hate relationship with his schooldays and our exam system, and his new series of books for children.

From September 2020 Eltham College will become a fully co-educational day school when we begin to welcome both girls and boys for entry in Years 3 and 7, as well as our existing co-educational Sixth Form.

Elaine Halligan London Director of The Parent Practice

Eliaine Halligan is a specialist at The Parent Practice. Having faced the challenge of a son with undiagnosed learning difficulties herself, she makes it her mission to help other parents. She writes about key aspects of SEN.

For more information and to find out about our upcoming open days visit www.elthamcollege.london

Elizabeth Tweedale Founder of Cypher

Grove Park Road, London SE9 4QF

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Elizabeth Tweedale studied computer science and architecture before founding kids' coding company Cypher.

A mother of three, she’s a firm believer in starting children coding young. She writes about how tech can benefit us all.

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Boys & Girls 3 - 11 years old

Please join us for our

Open Morning - Tuesday 4th June Tour our beautiful new building on Worship St (EC2A) and hear all about our wonderful school.

Book your place online today!

www.lyceumschool.co.uk Lyceum.indd 1

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FROM THE

EDITOR

C

hildren are natural environmentalists, and with a very clear sense of responsibility, so any positive initiatives that harness their enthusiasm to do something for people and planet have to be good news.

The Small Change Big Difference schools programme, piloted in London schools by Groundworks, ticks all boxes. Not only does it look set to be a model for how schools and communities can reduce food waste, but it has also inspired healthy eating. Read all about it on page 20. We’ve also taken a look at what urban and country schools get up to in their gardens. From growing veg for school lunches and home table to auditing local wildlife, it turns out that smallest and largest green spaces are a hive of activity (page 40).

Many parents and educators are becoming anxious about what they perceive as an increasingly ‘hothousing’ school atmosphere. We look at the changing nature of testing and assessment for children moving on to senior school on page 48 and, in Bottom of the Class (page 34), we explore what happens lower down the education ladder when a child is not keeping up with their peers.

Finally, with summer stretching ahead, we’ve included a guide to what London’s museums are offering in the way of family entertainment. From manga and Lego to the first moon landing, there’s an exhibition or event to suit the even the pickiest young critic.

L I B BY N O R M A N Editor

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Book your visit today!

Nursery School, NW3 11 June

Pre-Prep School, NW3 14 and 21 June

Prep School, NW1 20 June

North Bridge House Book an open event today – northbridgehouse.com/open admissionsenquiries@northbridgehouse.com 020 7428 1520 North Bridge House.indd 1

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Up Front W H AT ' S O N p . 14 • FO O D WA R R I O R S p . 2 0

PUPILS AT BEAUDESERT PARK SCHOOL

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W H AT ’S O N

Artistic afternoon tea and polo fun are among our summer highlights

Baby steps 24 - 30 June Dudley Zoo The Barnado’s Big Toddle is back. The short sponsored walk for toddlers is in aid of the country’s most vulnerable young children. Each year, thousands of toddlers take part and every single penny helps. Dudley Zoo’s event is animal themed – so don your favourite jungle prints and get involved.

barnados.org.uk

EDITOR’S PICK

Cinderella ON POINTE

6 - 16 June • Royal Albert Hall

An enchanting kingdom awaits as Cinderella-in-the-round comes to the Royal Albert Hall. This inventive production combines magnificent sets and costumes, over 90 dancers and the magical tunes of Prokofiev’s original score performed by the English National Ballet Philharmonic. royalalberthall.com

Where’s that bear?

Until 2 June Southampton

Join an intrepid bear-hunting family and their musical dog in this mischievous production based on the much-loved picture book by Michael Rosen and Helex Oxenbury. A lovely theatrical treat for families with children aged from 3+.

nstheatres.co.uk

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Up Front

HORSING AROUND 9 June Fulham Chesterton’s Polo in the Park is back, with more family-friendly activities than ever. It promises to be a fantastic day out and features Sharky & George – who will host west London’s biggest kids’ party on the polo field throughout the morning. This is also perfect sporting fun for horse-mad children, and under 10s have free entry.

polointheparklondon.com

EVENTS

GET CREATIVE Unleash your creative side with these fun arty events

PA P E R P R E DATO R

16 June - 8 September Dulwich Japanese cut-paper artist Nahoko Kojima is set to erect Sumi, an enormous eight-metre-long crocodile, at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Carved from just one sheet of paper and suspended from the ceiling, this promises to be a spectacle you won’t want to miss. dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk

TA STE O F I N D I A

2 and 3 June West Kensington Fancy a family art day? How about a meditation-based mandala painting lesson? Or you could create pictures with knives. Head to the Birla Art Gallery to explore your creative side through a series of workshops run in conjunction with Supriya’s Art World. bhavan.net

BRAVE HEART 29 June The Cockpit Theatre

ild Wilma is a weird and wonderful family show written by children’s author, Rachel Lyon. A young girl is sold to a circus and struggles to meet the strict expectations of the mistress. On a quest to discover her identity, she finds the courage to be wild and free through her friendships with others. thecockpit.org.uk

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ARGH WE THERE YET? 22 - 23 June Underbelly Festival, Southbank swashbuckling adventure in which three acrobatic pirates hit the high seas in search of treasure, only to find haunted waters and scary storms. Every aspect of pirate life and lore is turned upside-down, from walking the plank to cooking ship’s rations for the crew. underbellyfestival.com

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A R TF U L TE A TI M E

Ongoing Rosewood London There’s a children’s version of the wonderful Art Afternoon Tea inspired

by Van Gogh. Expect finger sandwiches and special pastries – even paint tubes filled with jam and lemon curd to let children spread their own sweet toppings with a palette knife. From £35 rosewoodhotels.com

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SCHOO L N EWS Top Story

SCIENCE E X P LO R E R S St Benedict’s celebrated British Science Week by conducting around 40 experiments at the annual Science Fair. Stalls across the school’s nine labs offered hands-on participation, plus answers to burning questions such as: can you charge your phone with fruit and does the colour of food affect its taste?

RIDING HIGH Cumnor House, Sussex equestrian team secured first place in the U14 70cm category at the National Schools Show Jumping competition at Felbridge Showground, which means they qualify for the NSEA National Schools Championships in October. Cumnor also saw individual success in the 60cm category, securing qualification to the South East Grass Roots Regional Championships in November.

P R I N C E LY ADDITION Planning permission has been granted for a new school at 10-13 Prince’s Gardens, Kensington. Opening in September 2020, it will take the name Prince’s Gardens Preparatory. The school will feature state-of-the-art facilities, including science labs, music studios and a ‘maker, space’, plus a superb two-acre enclosed garden and access to nearby Hyde Park. The next launch event for the school takes place at 7pm, Thursday 27th June at the Mandarin Oriental. princesgardensprep.co.uk

Space odyssey

RIBBON CUTTING

Queen’s College Prep launched a teddy bear version of the school dog Kona into near space. The launch, delivered by Sent into Space, was part of the girls’ STEM learning programme and pupils were able to watch a live link. It took roughly two and a half hours for the brave bear to complete her ascent and she travelled 33km above earth.

Aatif Hassan, Chairman of Dukes Education, presided over the official ribbon cutting ceremony for Lyceum School.

This celebrated the Shoreditch school’s move into new premises round the corner in Worship Street. The new five-storey building with large playground includes specialist classrooms in art, science, drama and yoga, as well as an impressive library.

PRIZE IDEAS Two Felsted teams were recognised at the Big Bang Science and Engineering Fair.

Year 7 pupils Freya Perry, Grace Boroughs, Ava Readman and Anna White won an award for their ‘Sanitary Shark’ invention to remove waste from oceans. Year 8 pupils Shesh Abu-Jabir and Hamish Baumber won a prize for ‘The Pro-Hand Way’, a 3D-printed prosthetic hand.

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Up Front

NEWS

New Head Glendower Preparatory School, in Kensington has announced Nina Kingsmill Moore as its new Headmistress from September.

Kingsmill Moore joins from Lambrook School in Berkshire, where she holds the role of Deputy Headmistress.

E A R LY LEARNERS

WO R D O U T The Hay Festival was broadcast live to schools countrywide this May. The line-up included appearances from children’s favourites Michael Rosen, Kate DiCamillo, Cressida Cowell, (pictured) Chris Bradford, Abi Elphinstone, Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Chitra Soundar.

Snap happy

Hawkesdown House School has opened The Walnut Tree Nursery this term. Located within the main school premises in Edge Street, just off Kensington Church Street, this means Hawkesdown now offers continuous education for girls and boys from age two through to 11.

Pupils at six Croydon primaries were given cameras to capture their area through a photographic lens. The workshops were funded by the Whitgift Foundation and led by Richard Chivers and Dr Paula Owens. The winner will be announced at the Old Palace of John Whitgift School on 5 July.

C o m m u n i t y awa r d In this year’s Place2Be Wellbeing in Schools Awards, Forest School in Waltham Forest was shortlisted in the category of 'School Community' for exhibiting an outstanding level of impact, passion and innovation in championing mental health support for students.

Francis Holland School was shortlisted in the Award’s 'Progress' category.

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Up Front

NEWS

SPORTING LIFE

M AT C H P O I N T King Edward’s Witley has partnered with Premier Tennis.

The school, which has 15 tennis courts, became a Lawn Tennis Association registered tennis venue in 2017. Already 12 of its U14 players have entered the 2019 Road to Wimbledon, which gives winners the opportunity to play on grass at the hallowed club. Director of sport Phil Miller says: “Our link with the LTA and Premier Tennis will expand the variety of tennis competition within the School”.

Hazelgrove Prep had a whole host of sporting achievements last term. Highlights included third place for the first VII in the National IAPS U13 Hockey Finals and an under 12s boys team won the National Prep School Cross Country Championships at Malvern College. Riders qualified as both a team and as individuals for the National NSEA Show Jumping Finals.

Under 12s were crowned champions in the Schools Biathlon Finals and judo stars took home bronze and silver at the National IAPS Judo Finals.

KENT NURSERY M I N D F U L DAY On 10 May, children joined in the world’s biggest mindfulness and meditation class. The initiative – called ‘A Mindful Moment’ – saw children across the globe set aside 30 minutes of their day to learn to meditate and also raise money for mental health charities. The event was organised by ClassDoho, a school communication platform for teachers, students, and families now used in over 180 countries.

The New Beacon Prep in Sevenoaks is opening a nursery in September 2019. It will accept both girls and boys in the term they have their third birthday.

With access to facilities across the 22-acre site, they will also have an early years outdoor learning area, adventure playground and access to outdoor classroom. Specialist teachers will be on hand in areas such as music and swimming.

HEAD NAMED

Top Story

BOOK FEST Children at Barrow Hills School near Godalming celebrated 22nd World Book Day with a whole week of literary-themed activities. These included a sponsored read, an evening bedtime story hosted at the school and a visit by author of the Mariah Mundi novels G.P. Taylor. Pupils went all out on dressing-up day, with brilliant costumes representing their favourite fictional characters.

Edgbaston High School for Girls (EHS) has appointed Clare Macro as Headmistress from September 2019.

Macro succeeds Dr Ruth Weeks to become the 11th head teacher at Birmingham’s oldest independent school for girls. Currently Deputy Head at Tudor Hall, Macro joins EHS with a wealth of experience in an independent school setting.

GIRL TECH Women make up only 15 per cent of people in STEM roles – less than half work in leadership roles. To redress this, Fire Tech – a tech camp for 9-17-year-olds – has introduced courses for girls only, alongside its co-ed courses. The aim is to build an environment where girls can explore their interest and build skills in tech in an environment that is empowering specifically to girls.

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FOOD WARRIORS A campaign piloted in London schools has been harnessing pupil power to reduce waste and inspire a rethink of food shopping, eating and recycling.

Now its ideas are set to go Europe-wide

Wo r d s L I B B Y N O R M A N

G

etting children to eat a balanced diet can be hard work.

But teach messages about sustainability alongside nutrition and they may start to make positive choices, as Small Change Big Difference has discovered. The pilot, which ended in March, has been run in 24 schools across eight London boroughs for two years, using workshops for years 4, 5 and 6.

Part of an EU-funded pilot targeting the capital’s schools, households, communities and businesses, Small Change Big Difference has brought together leading sustainability organisations under the TRiFOCAL London banner. Two years on, the schools element, delivered through social and environmental charity Groundwork London, has been named one of the world’s ten most inspiring sustainability projects for young people by education non-profit HundrED. What is so brilliant about Small Change Big Difference

is that it has created a virtuous circle, getting a young army of pupils aged between eight and 11 engaged in delivering sustainable food ideas to school, home and community. Caroline Chapman, the education specialist who delivered the six-workshop programme for Groundwork London, says children have enjoyed the experiential design and the feeling of being in charge. “From Day one, the children have been really responsible,” she says. It has also worked for schools because they were involved in workshop design via a teacher panel – enabling the programme to tie in with lesson plans and the curriculum for each year group.

The programme has provided measurable results in a six-week schedule of weekly workshops. The starting point has been teaching children about avoiding waste and recycling. A dry and sometimes worthy topic, but not if you add in games – including a hugely popular food waste version of snakes and ladders. Armed with key facts, children have become ‘food

warriors’ in school lunch halls, collecting and weighing edible and inedible food waste by year group. Next task has been to investigate foods being wasted and ask why. While adults might find poring over leftovers less than palatable (especially the early ‘show and tell’ where a whole bin of kitchen waste is tipped onto tarpaulin), Chapman says the pupils have relished the challenge, using bar charts and other tools to measure, analyse and then reduce. “It has meant competition between year groups to achieve the most waste reduction, also encouraging pupils to finish their plate,” says Caroline Chapman.

The results have been dramatic, with some school year groups reducing their lunch-hall food waste by 87 per cent over the six weeks. Children’s analysis of what was being wasted has gone further. In one school, ‘food warriors’ found consensus that portions of some meals were simply too large to finish. Inspired by the pupil poll and findings, catering staff adjusted food orders, meaning much less waste. School caterers, notes Chapman, have been hugely supportive.

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Up Front

FOCUS

“ TH E RE S U LTS H AV E B E E N D RA M AT I C , W I T H SOM E SC H O O L Y E A R G R O U P S RED U C I N G FO O D WA ST E BY 87 P E R C E N T OV E R S I X W E E K S” S U M M E R 2 0 1 9 | 21

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‘ Enjoying childhood and realising our imagination.’

“My favourite thing about Dallington School is that the teachers and students are very friendly and positive, there is a brilliant atmosphere in the classroom” - Johan “I think Dallington teaches you in a way no other school does and I really enjoy that” - Alex Dallington is a family-run co-educational independent school, with a nursery, in the heart of London.

Personal tours each day of the week, except Wednesday.

Headteacher: Maria Blake Proprietor and Founder: Mogg Hercules MBE Email: hercules@dallingtonschool.co.uk Phone: 020 7251 2284 www.dallingtonschool.co.uk USE.indd 1

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Up Front

FOCUS

recipes with leftovers. The final goal for each school has been to design a campaign day. Here, children were incredibly creative – planning and then promoting an event that involved the community. Among the many brilliant ideas have been a school smoothie bike using surplus fruit and school cookbooks of recipes using leftovers. One school created a community fridge to share surplus food. After each campaign event, pupils have held assemblies, organised video links and embedded a school-wide action plan, giving the initiative longevity.

Small Change Big Difference is now inspiring the design of other food sustainability projects across major European cities, from Dublin and Oslo to Sofia and Milan. And a schools information pack will become available across the UK this autumn, so hopefully many more schoolchildren will be championing delicious food with less waste – and getting parents and community behind their brilliant ideas.

SMALL CHANGE BIG DIFFERENCE HAS BEEN NAMED ONE OF WORLD’S TEN MOST INSPIRING SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Campaign events have united school and community

Chapman says that messages to pupils have focused on positives. “To make the project more relevant to children, the school workshops were called ‘Yes to Taste, No to Waste’, which pupils loved chanting in each workshop.” Although children were initially more engaged by ideas around sustainability, they then made the connection back to eating well. “After learning about healthy and sustainable eating, where they sampled different smoothies made using leftover and ‘wonky’ fruits and vegetables that they might not usually eat, children became excited by trying new foods and the majority started making smoothies at home.”

Pizzas made with leftovers

In fact, taking the workshop lessons home has been integral to the programme’s success.

Children received a workbook and were asked to achieve one or more pledges each week in their own home. These included trying a new fruit or vegetable, managing the family fridge using FIFO (first in, first out), cooking with leftovers and composting or recycling. Then there’s the family shop – children were encouraged to think about foods using a game called ‘good for you, good for the planet’. This looked at food in terms of energy to produce (transport, CO2, and so forth) versus nutritional benefit. Armed with this information, they could then help choose the best foods for the family shopping trolley.

Home pledges were fed back to year groups to keep the challenge going. “Pupils have taken pride in being given responsible roles,” says Chapman. “Some were pledge monitors, counting how many different pledges each pupil achieved and adding a star to the ‘pledge chart’.”

Parents bought into pledges too. A starting point was children going home armed with bottom-line statistics about the cost per London household of food waste (up to £800 per year). Parents were asked to cosign their child’s workbook each week. Some started composting or had creative cooking sessions with their children – devising new

smallchangebigdifference.london groundwork.org

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M A MENTOR WITH A STUDENT AT OPPIDAN EDUCATION

The Future's

BRIGHT Mentoring is on the rise. Absolutely Education talks to some of the agencies leading the way Wo r d s F L O R A T H O M A S 24

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entoring as a practice is not new, but mentoring in education is a relatively new phenomenon which is fast gaining popularity with parents. It’s often hard to pin down exactly what a mentor is. Those running mentoring companies are often quick to say they are not tutors, who all too often are perceived as a cash-quick, tick-box option that fails to address the full needs of a child. Instead, a mentor sits somewhere between a tutor and a counsellor. A truly brilliant mentor teaches skills which will outlive the course of the relationship with the mentee, such as resilience and self-knowledge. The result of the work may be improved exam results, but improved academic attainment is not the explicit aim.

West London-based Oppidan Education is a pioneering education mentoring agency.

Borne of a frustration with traditional tutoring, and perhaps in recognition of a gap in the market, ex-Etonians Walter Kerr and Henry Faber set up Oppidan as an alternative to the prescriptive focus of the tutoring sector. The pair concentrate on ‘soft’ skills and their programmes are based on seven key attributes they say all high achievers excel in: desire, commitment, self-belief, gameplan, focus, teamwork and resilience. Kerr and Faber believe that children flourish without specific academic goals, that they need space to identify and explore their interests outside of the pressurised school and home environment.

According to Kerr, when the onus is placed upon the child to achieve a goal it is more likely to be successful. That’s why Oppidan mentors don’t work with children who don’t want to be there. Whereas tutoring is very often remedial, prescriptive or has an end date, mentoring doesn’t. Oppidan mentors explain to each child they work with that everyone would benefit from a mentor, including adults – something he says children like to hear. When I ask him if, it’s a little like therapy, he says: “No. We work with a set of distinct characteristics, and although we are not doing past papers with the children, we don’t pretend to be uninvested in their academic success." He says that if children are actively involved in a

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Up Front

Mentoring

MENTORING IN ACTION

game plan, they’re much more likely to enjoy the mentoring and be proud of it.

So who are these magical mentors, where do they come from? Oppidan mentors aren’t exclusively Oxbridge graduates, although Kerr admits many are. “We live in a gig economy – people like having more than one job. Our turnover, however, is very low. One of the criteria for working here is that they already have a job – otherwise they leave the minute they gain full-time employment.

Oppidan mentors are old enough to be an authoritative figure, but young enough for the child to associate with.” They accept just one in seven applicants. “The selection process is personality-driven, and the training is rigorous. Mentors have at least two interviews and take part in two training days. And we are invested in their

“ WH E N YO U H AV E A C H I LD W H O LOOKS FO R WA R D TO T H E SE SS I ON – AND MOST D O – T H E N W H AT YOU CAN AC H I EVE W I T H T H E M I S LI MI T LE S S” professional development, the skills mentors hone are easily transferable.”

The biggest challenge for educational mentoring companies is, unsurprisingly, parents’ expectations. But, say Oppidan, it’s the transformation of children’s selfexpectation which is most rewarding. “When you have a child who looks forward to the session, and most do, then what you can achieve with them is limitless.”

While girls in particular suffer from perfectionism, an emerging culture of near constant personal-improvement has led to an entire cohort of stressed-out children.

Some are stretched between yoga on Mondays, after-school art on Tuesdays, a nutritionist on Wednesdays, and so on. Is it possible that adding yet another after-school activity, even if it is mentoring, might just add to the noise?

Charis Elphinstone, the founder of mentoring agency Ludowide, says otherwise.

“Our mentors don’t turn up laden with past papers. They might meet the child in an art gallery, or go swimming or go for a walk

in the park.” Ludowide mentors seek to establish a ‘safe space’ in which they can encourage children to talk about how they feel. “We hone in on the opportunities afforded by the unique nature of mentor/ mentee relationship.”

Elphinstone started out as a private tutor herself and found parents’ expectations baffling, “They want you to achieve specific academic goals – usually getting their children through exams with good results, or into a specific school.

But the children are coming home from school exhausted, and they are not getting the downtime they need.” She says that falling behind at school is often a symptom of a deeper problem. “Parents can often overlook the underlying cause of a child dragging their heels in an educational setting.” It can take time to shift parents’ expectations, so the company ‘coaches’ them too. “We arrange a fortnightly session for the mentor and the parents. The mentor’s role in those conversations is to provide insight without simply relaying

everything the child had said in their sessions. “Trust is key,” Charis says. “But it’s important for parents to be kept in the loop.” (Especially important as they are paying £60 an hour for the service.)

Ludowise is the second arm of Charis’ organisation – an impressive team of academics researching the world’s best practice in developmental psychology.

They’re building an archive of in-depth case studies, showcasing how Ludowide has helped children and their families.

The mentors work on the basis of these case studies. The mentors’ training is also focused on how to sense when is and – importantly – when is not the right time to push a child academically. In this, they are informed by the state of young people's wellbeing. “The Ludowise team are examining where the recent rise in anxiety has come from. Of course, we recognise the need for professional help, but we look at prevention rather than intervention, and that’s where we’re different from other companies,” says Elphinstone.

Whether anxiety is on the rise, or conversations surrounding it are becoming more commonplace, it seems every child could benefit from a mentor. If parents can be persuaded that supporting children holistically by instilling self-belief and confidence will ultimately lead to longer-lasting success, then surely the educational mentoring arena is set to grow exponentially.

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Prepared. To grow somewhere new.

Our new preparatory school opens in September 2020 Prince’s Gardens is a new independent preparatory school, in the heart of Kensington, for children aged 3 - 11 years. It will be a school where every one of our pupils is prepared to step out into the world with confidence, assurance and an open, inquisitive mind. To think for themselves whilst exploring their ideas and creativity. To develop not just all-round academic excellence, but the all important strength of character essential for success in our fast changing world.

To reserve your place at our launch event Search...

PGPREP

or visit princesgardensprep.co.uk/education

Prepared for everything.

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30/04/2019 17:22

Up Front

TA L K I N G

OPINION

Bright

FUTURE

The new head of Dallington, Maria Blake, discusses the legacy of its brilliant founder and her vision for the future of this outstanding East London school

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allington holds a unique place in the constellation of outstanding London schools – a vibrant oasis of creativity, proudly and fiercely independent.

Established and led for over 40 years

by Mogg Hercules MBE, it has been the school of choice for many parents seeking an exceptional education for their children. Taking over the headship presents a formidable challenge: how to celebrate and develop Mogg’s legacy while bringing to bear my own style and experience?

Yet I am quietly confident that I have a huge amount to bring to the Dallington community, not least my 30 years of teaching and leadership. This has been gained in many diverse schools around the world, and always flying the flag for progressive, inclusive and outwardlooking education. All my work and innovation has been underpinned by my belief in every child’s fundamental right to experience an education that nurtures a belief in themselves, and to be valued, empowered and informed.

Children should also be encouraged to expect the best of themselves, and to expect the best of the adults in their lives – in school, in the home and in their communities.

Many of the children I have taught have been destined for positions of

great influence in their countries – nurturing these minds and helping them to deeply understand the world they will inherit has been the greatest responsibility. Yet some of the professional experiences that I most treasure took place in the forgotten corners of Islington and Hackney. I reflect with incredible pride that I was able to work as part of committed teams who worked tirelessly to bring the world and its myriad opportunities into those disadvantaged classrooms and then

“All my work and innovation has been underpinned by my belief in every child’s fundamental right to be valued, empowered and informed”

HEAD

MARIA BLAKE Head Dallington School

witnessed the impact on those young lives.

Naturally, I am honoured to become part of the incredibly strong and established Dallington team that led the school to an Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ award in January 2018. When I joined the team in September, as Director of Teaching and Learning, I knew that I was among kindred spirits, and there is so much excitement as we embrace the journey ahead. We bring to bear our collective experience and vision as we address the challenges of educating the children of the 21st century. We look forward to developing new initiatives that recognise the importance of outdoor learning, of encouraging student voice and critical thinking, of nurturing wellbeing, responsibility and global citizenship, as well as building upon the timeless foundation of an excellent curriculum.

The children we are teaching today at Dalllington will carry the torch of their learning into the future. Our job is to ensure that they will illuminate, inspire and care for the world they will inherit.

DALLINGTON PUPILS

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Bottom of

THE CLASS

Every parent wants the best for their child, so to discover they are not making the grade can be devastating. Absolutely Education ďŹ nds out what can happen to the pupil who is bottom of the class, and how they can be helped to succeed B y LIBBY NORMAN

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no one can argue against success and competition is often healthy. Our schools have a duty to foster endeavour and the will to be the best, but there are children who struggle to achieve in an environment where reliance (or over-reliance) is placed on exams, testing and frequent benchmarking. The problem is, in any competitive environment someone has to come last and no one wants it to be their child.

For Jane, the realisation that her son William was going to struggle academically came quickly. “We were told within the first six weeks of reception class that he was behind.” This was difficult to hear, and she says she left her first parents evening wondering why the teacher could not find one positive thing to say about the happy and cheerful child he was there to teach.

There had been early warning signs.

William was late to speak, so Jane and her husband knew they had to watch that. But he was a happy and engaged child and, as a late summer baby, he had an age advantage. They had reassured themselves that he was a late starter and things would even themselves out by the time he started school. They didn’t and, as time rolled on, Jane and her husband realised the problem was real. William was at the very bottom of his class.

The situation was made harder because Jane works in children’s publishing and, with expert knowledge, she also has a passionate commitment to doing everything a parent can do to instil a love of reading and learning. William also has a younger sister who aced every development milestone he had struggled to attain. William was aware that he wasn’t keeping up. Jane says a particularly difficult moment came when his younger sister overtook him in reading – made obvious by the colour-coded home reading books issued to pupils as another marker of achievement.

One danger in situations where children are not keeping up with peers is disengagement. It is harder for them to even have a go when they expect to fall short, yet again. Emily-Jane Swanson, who works with Tavistock Tutors, says that she sometimes encounters this – perhaps entering a family

home where there is already a question mark around a child’s progress (‘is it extra help they need or is there a SEN issue?’).

“What I do see, after a decade working in education, is that the targets are being set younger and younger,” she says. “There is a more prescriptive way of learning in the classroom, with more exams and tests, and this does impact some children.” Swanson says even young children are keenly aware of where they are at. “Children are so much more sensitive than many adults realise."

Certainly, repeated failure to match the class standard took its toll on William. Jane recalls him coming home from another frustrating day at school and, when she tried to engage him in a chat about his day,

“THE PROBLEM IS, IN ANY COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT SOMEONE HAS TO COME LAST AND NO ONE WANTS IT TO BE THEIR CHILD”

FO C U S

he responded by telling her everything was all right, concluding: “I just want to go out and get a job and be a carpenter or a tree surgeon”. So, by age nine, William had effectively decided that he was done with school and now needed to focus on his future earning power.

Cath Lowther, a practising educational psychologist and spokesperson for the Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP), says that this disengagement is not uncommon. “Children switch off quite quickly and it’s easy to put off children at a young age”. Lowther, who works with Local Education Authorities, says that there are usually clear signs that a child is not succeeding. In some cases, they express frustration or show challenging behaviour, or they may become very quiet and simply shut down. “There are also happy children who try their very hardest,” she adds. “They may even love school, but they are just not achieving.”

This was the case for William, who tried his best and was not disruptive in any way. Jane says that his teachers’ only criticism was that he frequently seemed

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All children can achieve

An award winning independent SpLD specialist school “It’s palpably cheerful inside. The potion, as a parent describes it, ‘is an acceptance of others; celebration of your talents (which they will find); joyful eccentricity and a low anxiety environment. Resulting in happy achieving children.”

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Pre-Prep

“HE SAID HE JUST WANTED TO GO OUT AND GET A JOB. SO, BY AGE NINE, WILLIAM HAD DECIDED THAT HE WAS DONE WITH SCHOOL“

tired and sometimes yawned in class.

“They asked me if he had enough sleep – I explained that he had plenty of sleep, going to bed at 7pm of his own accord, and that he was exhausted at the end of every day because he was trying three times as hard to keep up.”

Lowther says that she always works from the perspective of the child. “I look at the learning difficulties they may be facing and try to find out what they respond to – what helps them to achieve.” She will also look at what reasonable adjustments would help; so rather than considering what is wrong with the child, the emphasis is on what needs to be done to better meet the child’s needs. She adds that most children are very pleased to sit down with her and talk about what would make school better for them.

Emily-Jane Swanson has a similar experience tutoring children and says that the value of one-to-one time can be in building up self-esteem, as much as helping them to achieve. “As a tutor, I’m not their relative, I’m not their teacher, I’m their special person – on their side.”

There are proven tools educational psychologists use that can help to reengage children. Lowther says that as well as adapting learning settings to make things easier – for instance, environment, delivery methods – there are approaches to help a child skill up. “We can help them to improve attention control and also to focus on what they can do.”

Swanson says that a key thing as a tutor is getting children to take ownership because usually they know the subjects or areas where they are struggling. “If children set their own goals, rather than having them imposed, then they can work towards them more easily. Sometimes this means chipping away at the goal in smaller increments or even redefining what is an achievement.” Swanson does think that children who don’t fit into the traditional academic or sporty pigeonholes but have other gifts get a particularly raw deal. “It can be very hard on children who are emotionally intelligent. On paper, they are nowhere and yet they excel.

FO C U S

Society is just not as rewarding of their talents.”

For children who are square pegs in round holes when it comes to academic endeavours, there is still space to nurture the skills that may be most valuable in future life. Lowther notes that there is renewed interest among the psychology and teaching communities in Daniel Goleman’s 1990s book on emotional intelligence. In the book, he argues that this type of intelligence is more important to future life success than IQ measures or academic achievement.

“There is also lots of research around the growth mindset, how parents respond to failure and how we help children achieve in areas they excel in,” she adds. “Children may be kind, helpful, friendly, funny – we can appreciate their qualities and be where they are.”

For William, the school journey continues, but his supportive parents are working with his school and now outside agencies to nurture who he is and help him to achieve his goals. Out of school, he is a brilliant sailor and waveboarder. In school, he has shown such a gift for managing the school garden that he’s been put in charge. Jane says: “It’s about finding out how he can be a successful learner and, most importantly, feel successful.

“The interesting thing is that my daughter, who is an all-rounder at school, may get bored at weekends and needs direction and organised things to do. But out of school, William is always busy. He is incredibly practical and might be cooking, working with his hands or doing something outdoors – he is never bored.”

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OPINION

TA L K I N G

Bring learning to LIFE Jill Walker, Headmistress of Prince's Gardens Prep School, gives advice on how children can get the most out of museum visits

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chools in London are fortunate in many respects – not least for their easy and free access to world-renowned art galleries and museums.

My school in Kensington, with half a dozen institutions on its doorstep, may be luckier than most – but every school in London and the Home Counties can, without too much difficulty, arrange to have their pupils stare at mummies, tremble before dinosaurs and wonder at any number of Picassos, Titians and Turners.

I have spent many years observing hordes of young children excitedly descend on exhibits, pressing buttons and lighting up displays, and after a few minutes rushing on to the next one, instantly forgetting what had excited

them only moments before. After an hour or two, it’s time for lunch then onto the bus to be back at school for 3.30.

It’s an exhilarating and exhausting experience for children, and hardly less so for teachers and parent volunteers, who of course have spent hours planning the visit to ensure it proceeds as smoothly as any trip can with 20 or 30 over-excited children. But is it really educational? What long-term benefits can children derive from an experience that can be more overwhelming than stimulating?

The fact is, as wonderous as museums are, they can also be too much to take in. Young children in particular tend to switch off after 30 minutes or so even if they find the exhibits initially captivating. Giving them more material to absorb risks quelling their

“As wonderous as museums are, they can also be too much to take in”

HEAD

JILL WALKER Headmistress Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School

A PRINCE'S GARDENS PUPIL

enthusiasm with information overload.

So what should schools and parents do? The key is to make exhibits in museums and art galleries extensions of the curriculum, not adornments to it.

Parents should find out what children are currently studying at school and choose a single object that exemplifies that element of the curriculum. Get children to research it before they visit, then afterwards ask them to review and evaluate what they have learnt. Back in the classroom, they can explore the idea in more detail in collaborative projects.

Let me give you an example. The Science Museum is home to the Miss England speedboat, which was once the fastest boat in Britain and reached a top speed of 92mph in 1929. It was captained by a Sir Henry Seagrove, a thrill-seeker who had already set the land speed record in his car, Golden Arrow. But as diverting as Sir Henry was, he is not the object of the lesson.

The purpose of the lesson is to get children to understand speed. How did Miss England achieve such speed? Her powerful aircraft engine helped, but what else? Look at her shape? What materials were used? The boat floats because ‘upthrust’ from the water balances the downward force from the weight of the boat. Let’s show how this works by standing facing each other and pushing, hand to hand, to see how a balance of force can stop you falling over… and so on.

At Prince’s Gardens Prep, we have called this ‘our living curriculum’ and, as the name suggests, it’s designed to bring learning alive by using the public treasures available on our doorstep in a clearly defined way for explicit educational outcomes. Every child, from nursery through to Year 6, will have the chance to visit a museum or art gallery at least once a week to study an exhibit and learn from it. I appreciate that such frequent visits aren’t an option for many schools. But our approach is.

Our captial's museums and art galleries are awe-inspiring places, but for children –especially young children – to get the most out of them we should focus a little less on the wonder and awe and a lot more carefully on what precise lessons their exhibits can teach us.

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OPEN MORNING SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER Tours start from 9.30am

• Excellent record of academic success • Award-winning Sixth Form building • New, state-of-the-art music centre • Extensive co-curricular programme • Outstanding pastoral care • Valued community spirit

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16/05/2019 15:20

PUPILS AT ST NICHOLAS PREP

Learning goes

GREEN Whether schools have a small patch of green or expansive wild space, they make the very most of their treasure Wo r d s LIBBY NORMAN

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he arrival of summer means all thoughts should turn to the great outdoors, but for some children that just isn’t happening. A chilling study published by The Guardian in 2016 had the headline that three-quarters of UK children spent less time outdoors than British prison inmates. A two-year government study published earlier the same year found that more than 10 per cent of children had not been anywhere near nature –beach, forest or even local park – for at least 12 months.

Thankfully, many schools are intent on turning this deficit around by meeting children’s need to experience life outdoors.

Better still, they have a truly creative approach to taking lessons into the green.

So, what are the benefits and how are schools using their beloved gardens?

EARLY-LEARNING ZONE

In early years, access to outdoor spaces is vital for health, wellbeing and development, says Katie Paynter, Head of Pre-Prep at St Nicholas, Kensington and a member of the Early Years Advisory Board for the Independent Association of Prep Schools.

She cites benefits ranging from interaction 36

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with the natural world to problem-solving, creativity and experimentation. She says that for early years children being outside is also excellent for developing physical wellbeing. “Large spaces encourage our children to improve their posture and develop grossmotor skills. Not only that, but outdoor spaces also help develop fine motor skills.”

St Nicholas is fortunate in having the most fantastic two-acre ‘secret’ garden behind the school. Enclosed and expansive, it is used for break times by the whole school, and as an outdoor classroom. It is also the location of the school’s gardening club. While this patch of green is already a luxury for any school in central London, pupils are also opposite Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park – in the park you’ll find them holding regular football matches and sports lessons.

EXTENDED CLASSROOM

Another London school lucky enough to have access to a glorious park setting is The Moat School in Fulham, which sits in the grounds of Bishops Park – an ancient green space parallel to the River Thames. The specialist school for pupils aged 9-16 with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties (spLDs) has its own Green Team to help to tend their garden and improve ecology and

environmental practices at the school. Pupils use the garden for outdoor lessons but also consider the entire park as their ‘extended learning area’, with daily opportunities to use it for exploration, getting close to nature and practical activities.

There is a growing body of evidence to show how beneficial access to green spaces is for all children, but it can be especially important for young people who have special educational needs – building skills and encouraging them to explore with all their senses, as well as providing a calm and tranquil environment that reduces

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Pre-Prep

"ONE THING THE CHILDREN ENJOY IS THE FACT THAT GROWING THINGS SIMPLY CAN’T BE RUSHED, AND SO YOU HAVE TO SLOW DOWN"

O UTD O O R LE A R N I N G

stress. The Moat has installed a specially designed sensory playground for the Lower School, enabling pupils to explore safely and securely outside the classroom.

School gardens are also the perfect place to embed STEM subjects and a broader appreciation of nature. At Bedales’ pre-prep Dunannie, located in the lush landscape of rural Hampshire, there’s an outdoor classroom known as the potting shed where children have timetabled activities with a specialist teacher – from minibeast safaris to observation of plant lifecycles and the seasons. This outdoor time extends into arts activities, with space for crafts and drawing objects they observe outdoors. And there’s also a growing area and greenhouse where children learn to be gardeners – growing, harvesting and then eating produce they’ve nurtured themselves.

The skills children develop when they tend edible plants can help to form a positive association with food – after all, everything tastes better when you’ve grown it yourself.

This is certainly the case at St James Preparatory School near Olympia, west London, which doesn’t have a huge outdoor space, but does use it creatively to grow a healthy crop of vegetables and herbs, with help from the children. The school is also vegetarian, offering fresh and nutritious lunches that encourage pupils to try a wide range of produce – from lentils to fennel, peppers and kale. Beyond the school veg garden, the children have Marcus Garvey Park where their forest school is located.

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Chiswick & Bedford Park Preparatory School Independent Co-educational School for girls aged 3-11 and boys aged 3-7 PRIORY HOUSE, PRIORY AVENUE, LONDON W4 1TX cbppschool.co.uk

The school is well known for its friendly, nurturing atmosphere and excellent entrance examination results for boys at 7+ and girls at 11+ The school has thriving drama, art and music departments with a wide range of sports and extra-curricular activities. Pupils develop personal qualities of confidence, creativity and respect for others, in preparation for the challenges and opportunities of the modern world.

“Pupils’ personal development and welfare are outstanding.

They leave the school well prepared for the next stage of their education.”

Ofsted September 2017

To arrange a tour please call the School Office on: 020 8994 1804.

Tours are arranged on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

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O UTD O O R LE A R N I N G

school as St James is opening a nursery in the park’s former lodge, giving very young children an impressive free flow classroom- to-adventure-playground learning zone.

NATURE WATCH

At Beaudesert Park School in the Cotswolds, the popular gardening club is run by Christina Lincoln. She says: “Gardening Club is a peaceful affair; a moment for the children to take a breather and really be in the present for a precious hour or so. One thing I think the children enjoy is the fact that growing things simply can’t be rushed, and so you have to slow down and you have to learn how to nourish and nurture something if you’re to get something worth having at the end of it”.

Children do grow flowers but, like pupils at St James, their favourite grow-yourowns are always vegetables and herbs.

Some are taken home and others end up on the school lunch menu.

In common with all young people, Beaudesert Park pupils are keenly aware of global issues – from plastic waste to biodiversity – and their natural curiosity about their planet is supported by lessons from the school’s resident ecology teacher Gemma Waters. She says: “Ecology is one of very few activities which teaches children to actually identify plants, insects and animals – to give them their names and know a little or a lot about how they live their lives. Most of all we need people to care, and ecology can help nurture that connection between children and the world at large.”

THE GARDENS AT MOAT HOUSE SCHOOL

NATURE GIVES CHILDREN SOLACE – HELPING THEM RELATE TO THE WORLD AT LARGE

COMMUNITY SPIRIT

The school is lucky enough to sit in 30 acres of beautiful landscape, which Waters describes as a wildlife haven. Slow worms and deer are among the school’s cohabitants. “As well as a teaching tool, it’s a way for us to help nurture an emotional connection with nature in the children, and feed their innate joy in discovery and learning,” she adds. There are also the quieter benefits – such as mindfulness and understanding. Waters believes that forging a connection with outside spaces and the species that inhabit them gives children a sense of their place in the world. “Children can find solace and comfort in the quiet that comes from time spent in nature, and a sense of proportion in relation to the world at large,” she adds.

Westonbirt School in Gloucestershire is lucky enough to sit opposite the UK’s national arboretum, a world-renowned botanic resource and with an extraordinary and diverse collection of trees. The school makes the very most of this treasure on its doorstep, hosting a Nature Detectives Day in partnership with Westonbirt Arboretum.

PUPILS AT BEAUDESERT PARK SCHOOL

Designed for Year 4, it’s an important local event because eleven local prep and primary schools are invited to join in for a proper community 'nature fest'. With 210 acres of parkland around the school to explore, this year’s day began in the grounds and included pond dipping and sessions on the species the young people might expect to find, followed by a tour of the arboretum to learn about pollination and look at plants under the microscope.

So, whether schools have an urban green oasis or a vast expanse of woodland to explore, time outdoors is always well spent. Katie Paynter of St Nicholas says: “Playing outdoors helps young children assess risk and develop the skills to manage and adapt to new circumstances.

It helps them develop their emotional and social intelligences, as they work collaboratively with others.” But letting children get close to nature is about something much bigger. Katie Paynter adds: “Anyone who takes children outside regularly can see for themselves the enjoyment, sense of wonder and excitement that they get when they actively engage with their environment”. Beaudesert Park’s resident ecology teacher Gemma Waters agrees. “I’ve never come across a child who hasn’t been fascinated when immersed in some aspect of nature.”

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HEAD

Confidence

BUILDING

Head of Bassett House School Philippa Cawthorne says that lessons both inside and outside the classroom are key to building a confident outlook

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oding, abseiling, singing carols to tourists, cooking paella, broadcasting the news, negotiating with French marketstall-holders – Bassett House children take it all in their stride as they progress through the school. Education is about building character and resilience, in and out of the classroom, so we give each child the academic skills to succeed, but also expose them to as many other positive experiences as we can.

Providing a broad and challenging curriculum is the best way to spark children’s natural curiosity about life.

Exciting classroom activities develop new skills, but the best schools also provide a rich and varied extracurricular and enrichment programme, including clubs and residential trips.

These are crucial to a child’s personal development.

Our wide range of clubs give children life skills; they can hone their sporting or creative talent or learn something new, such as producing their own newspaper or radio programme.

Clubs such as chess, fencing and cooking teach concrete skills, but also develop softer skills such as teamwork and problem solving. Children learn to organise themselves for a task, developing a sense of independence and self-reliance.

“Extra-curricular activities help children develop social skills and have a more confident approach – they also improve their mental health”

TA L K I N G

PHILIPPA CAWTHORNE Headmistress Bassett House School

Pre-Prep

OPINION

Children need strong emotional development in order to counter the challenges life presents. Extracurricular activities help children to develop their social skills and have a more confident approach to working with others. They also improve children’s mental health. The earlier we provide access to a world of stimulating new activities the better. Studies have shown that young people who take up extra activities are less likely to suffer from depression: it is always good to shake a leg or two, paint, sing, write, or try something new.

Bassett House’s challenging residential trips combine these benefits.

On their first residential trip, simply sleeping away from home gives children greater independence. Our older pupils gain self-confidence on our popular sailing and bushcraft trips, when they successfully manage to rig and sail a boat or build a shelter and sleep in it.

Orienteering through the Normandy countryside gets our Year 6 children working together and speaking French.

Nobody knows what new jobs will exist in the future; very few people will have a job for life. We must help our young people become flexible, creative thinkers who can use their initiative to solve problems but also work well with others. Our aim is for each child to leave the school with a solid core of confidence and skills for life, and to remember their years at Bassett with joy.

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“The instant happiness of the children is evident to see” ISI REPORT 2015

Aim High, Be Kind, Dare to be Different To book your place or to arrange a private visit, contact: registrar@cumnor.co.uk N U R S E R Y, P R E - P R E P & PREP SCHOOL

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Danehill | Haywards Heath | RH17 7HT www.cumnor.co.uk | 01825 792006

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PUPILS AT ROSE HILL PREP SCHOOL IN KENT

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ast October, Patrick Derham, head of Westminster School, used his column in The Times to proclaim a change to admissions policy, an alteration which would generally have warranted only a tweak to the website. His very public declaration of the school’s intention to abandon 13+ Common Entrance from 2021 was summed up in the phrase ‘no longer fit for purpose’. St Paul’s School and Wellington College are taking similar action.

For those unfamiliar with this hurdle, Common Entrance (CE) is a set of exams, whose traditional purpose was to act as a selective entrance test to public schools.

It involves compulsory papers in English, Maths and Science, and most UK-based candidates also sit additional tests from a selection that includes: History, Geography, French, Latin, Religious Studies, German and Spanish.

Generally taken in the summer term of Year 8, CE was, until fairly recently, a do-or-die affair, with those failing to make the grade having to scrabble around at the last moment to find an alternative school. It was largely to avoid this that an increasing number of schools decided to allocate Year 9 places on the basis of a ‘pre-test’ (in Maths, English and reasoning) in Year 6 or 7.

The introduction of pre-testing comes

Pupils at The Hawthorns

MA KI N G A N

ENTRANCE Senior schools are rethinking their admissions process for both the 11+ and 13+.

Absolutely Education investigates

By DR LISA FREEDMAN

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St Paul's boys with Prof Mark Bailey

alongside a more general re-think about what the admissions process should involve, and Derham’s article comes less than a year after the London 11+ Consortium, an association of 12 independent girls’ day schools, announced it was replacing the 11+ with ‘cognitive tests’, intended to provide an application process that is: ‘fair, clear, robust and accessible’.

The move for assessment beyond the well-crammed has now become widespread, stemming both from concerns about the stress knowledge-dense testing puts on young people, and from the belief that the skills required to ‘futureproof’ education are no longer dependent on data acquisition.

Wellington College now invites candidates to an assessment intended to gauge creativity, critical thinking and problemsolving, Bradfield College has introduced a session of team problem-solving exercises along the lines of TV's 'The Crystal Maze'.

As far as St. Paul’s is concerned, one of the key intentions behind the decision to abandon CE has been to give prep schools more latitude in what they teach.

“Common Entrance provides a robust and quality curriculum," says High Master Professor Mark Bailey, “but if it’s not required as an entrance exam, schools will have the flexibility to create their own curricula in

“ T H E M OVE FOR A SSE SSM ENT BE YO N D T HE W ELLC RA M M E D H AS N OW BECOME W I DE SPR EAD ”

St Paul's boys playing cricket

Years 7 and 8.

In our case, the curriculum is based on a good deal of the content in the Common Entrance syllabus, but the freedom from sitting the exams means that individual subjects now have the flexibility to dwell for longer on a topic.”

This is an approach already in place at The Hawthorns School, a Surrey prep which largely sends its pupils on to secondary schools where CE is no longer required. The Hawthorns has introduced the ‘Compass’ curriculum, distinguished by its regular ‘inquiry lesson’, addressing philosophy and current affairs, and an independent project – “rather like a ‘baby EPQ’" – where students research a theoretical question and are given a mentor to investigate their hypothesis.

To ensure the freedom given to prep schools is not squandered, St Paul’s is issuing syllabus advice for each subject, broadly in line with Common Entrance.

“We trust our prep schools to follow our guidelines, and will gently monitor the progress of boys who hold Year 9 offers to St Paul’s,” says Bailey.

In London, the withdrawal from 13+ Common Entrance can also be seen in leading senior day schools Latymer and Highgate, which now have their main secondary-school entrance point in Year 7.

Prep

Focus

This reflects the fact that they draw their intake from both state primary schools and all-girls’ prep schools, which end in Year 6. This shift in emphasis, however, is not envisaged at St Paul’s.

“We believe in the five-year educational model,” says Bailey. “We value the large influx of bright older boys we draw from across London in Year 9 and will work to maintain the size of this intake.” Here, scholarship exams will still be sat in Year 8.

While many schools will welcome the new freedom, the abandonment of 13+ Common Entrance is not seen by all as an unalloyed joy. For these naysayers, their chief concern is for the ‘late developer’, i.e. the pupil who has yet to blossom at the age of 10 or 11.

“Even though this move is intended to remove stress, ironically, I feel that sitting an interview which will determine the next eight years of your life aged 10 is tough,” says Simon Barber, head of Ludgrove School, a family-owned prep that sends a high percentage of its pupils on to Eton, Harrow, Winchester and Radley.

Senior schools, of course, are well aware of this issue, and in recognition of how much children can change between Years 6 and 8, this year Wellington College only offered 70 per cent of the places available through its pre-test, putting other applicants on a waiting list to be re-interviewed in the spring of Year 7. At this stage, their prep school will be required to send an updated report on pupils.

Simon Barber, however, feels it’s not only the late developer who loses out through the abandonment of CE; he believes its absence from the education landscape will be experienced by most of his pupils.

“There has to be an academic focus in Year 8, whatever you call it. The boys want to feel good about their academic achievement.

They’ve worked hard and done well.

That should be rewarded. They want a pat on the back.”

S U M M E R 2 0 1 9 | 4 5

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36 Upper Mall Hammersmith London W6 9TA

7+ ENTRY

Academically selective Bursaries available up to 100% of fees

To book a place on an open morning, please contact the Registrar T 020 7993 0061 E registrar@latymerprep.org www.latymerprep.org LATYMER.indd 1

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Prep

Leaving

LEGACY Sarah Chandler, Head of Maths at Oakfield Prep, explains the benefits of the school's Year 6 Diploma

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t Oakfield, we are so proud of our Year 6 children and all their hard work for the 11+, resulting in such fantastic achievements in gaining places at their chosen senior schools. They are now ready for new challenges and looking forward to the next stage of their education. In order to keep the momentum of such quality learning alive, we developed the Oakfield Diploma. This is a busy and varied programme of activities under the umbrella of our school values. It is designed to care, challenge and inspire our Year 6 leavers.

IN THE CLASSROOM AT OAKFIELD

As teachers we always want to develop ideas and introduce activities that will encourage our children to learn new things and build confidence and belief in themselves.

In the Summer Term of Year 6, Oakfield children have even greater freedom to do this, thanks to the Diploma. This involves eight different strands of learning to encourage the skills of leadership, cooperation,

“WHEN CHILDREN HAVE CHOICE, INDEPENDENCE AND A VESTED INTEREST IN THEIR LEARNING, JUST ABOUT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE”

INSIDER

creativity, confidence and responsibility. It supplements the Year 6 core curriculum once the 11+ examinations are over and leads to children being awarded the Diploma at the end of the term.

The strands include academic, sporting, citizenship, life skills, wellbeing, peer mentoring, community service and performance challenges.

Activities and projects range from writing a book to preparing an art project for an exhibition to planning and running a business venture. Citizenship, life skills and community tasks include learning about government (including trips to City Hall and the Houses of Parliament), mentoring younger pupils, assisting at a food bank and completing a first aid course.

Throughout the term all these projects dovetail together, bringing out fantastic qualities of leadership, organisation and care from the children. There is room for all talents and each activity requires leaders and followers. It is always wonderful to see children find a new skill or interest as a result of the opportunities they were given as part of the Diploma.

As well as inspiring the children, we have also found enormous support among parents. They have volunteered as speakers, experts or just willing supporters to help provide these activities. All this enhances the experience for the children and the wonderful community spirit and family atmosphere Oakfield is known for.

At the time of writing, there is a play being rehearsed, plus songs to be learned, businesses to plan, strategies to be developed, books to be written, puzzles to be solved and a whole host of other activities.

Will they get it all done by July? Of course! When children have choice, independence and a vested interest in their learning, just about anything is possible.

SARAH CHANDLER Head of Mathematics, Oakfield Prep SUMMER 2019 | 47

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HEAD

School

WISDOM

Head of St Christina's, Alastair Gloag, on choosing wisely when it comes to secondary school

C

hoosing a secondary school can be daunting. As someone who has been through this process, as both a father and a headteacher, I can say that, in most situations, things work out really well.

However, here are things to consider.

achievement you might expect but note what criteria are used to formulate rankings.

School guides can also be helpful in giving a sense of what a school is about. The entry is often the result of a selection process, but schools may pay to be included in the guide and information can be based on a short experience of the setting.

LEAGUE TABLES & GUIDES • League tables can be a helpful measure, however, they come with a health warning because different measures give very different results. Additionally, league tables tend not to distinguish between selective and non-selective schools, and therefore can be comparing a brick with a boot. Consistency over time is a good indicator of the level of

INSPECTION & FACILITIES • In the Independent sector, schools are inspected every six years for educational quality and every three years for regulatory compliance. The latter will tell you that the school is safe and takes its regulatory obligations seriously, but the former will tell you what you really want to know about teaching and learning, ethos and

“You need to be able to imagine your child within the school and you need to involve them in choosing it”

TA L K I N G

ALASTAIR GLOAG Headteacher

St Christina's School

A PUPIL AT ST CHRISTINA'S

Prep

OPINION

pupil achievement. When it comes to facilities, it is fantastic to be able to send your child to a school that is kitted out with the best, but look beneath the surface: many a successful and well-adjusted child has emerged from a school that does not have a world-class velodrome.

SELECTION & MAKE-UP • A selective school should be, by most academic measures, well placed within any league table. That does not mean it is a good school for your child. Nonselective schools have a broader intake and teaching within the school may be outstanding (check the value-added score), leading to greater progress by pupils.

When it comes to single-sex or co-educational settings, there is no seminal educational research that I am aware of that can demonstrate that either is best. Where pupils do very well within either type of school, it is because of the quality of the teachers, the leadership of the school and the learning environment.

ETHOS & LEADERSHIP • Good headteachers are passionate about their school. They have clear values and a credible vision for the children and the setting that they lead.

They will be keen to talk about their next big project or initiative. Every head holds the school they lead ‘in trust’, so ensure you understand its intrinsic values and are at least in sympathy with them.

While open events give a feel for the leadership, teachers and pupils, you should organise a separate visit on a working day to get a more authentic experience. Also ensure that you know what the school offers in the way of enrichment, both academic and extracurricular. Aside from the intrinsic benefits to deeper learning and a balanced education, extra-curricular interests are often the things that stay with our children well after they have left school.

Ultimately, you need to be able to imagine your child within the school and you need to involve them in choosing it; if they do not like the school, they are unlikely to settle. In making your choice, choose for them, not for you.

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Benenden School invites you to an evening discovering how to help teenage girls achieve their best

STRETCH WITHOUT STRESS ~ ~How a creative curriculum enables girls to thrive ~ ~How Modern Boarding supports academic success and wellbeing

We look forward to presenting two key messages about how modern boarding can help girls to achieve their very best: How to challenge girls so that they not only achieve excellent academic results but leave school with a love of learning and a set of skills that fit her to meet the challenges of her personal and professional life in the years ahead.

What boarding looks like in the 21st century, the benefits to pupils and to families and how boarding plays an integral part in a girl’s academic and cocurricular achievements as well as her health.

At Wotton House Hotel Guildford Road, Dorking RH5 6QQ Thursday 6 June 2019 at 6.30pm RSVP: www.benenden.school/wottonhouse or email Sarah Davies: registry@benenden.school Drinks and canapĂŠs

HEAD

Community

SPIRIT Andrea Rutterford, Principal of Latymer Prep, discusses the ethos and community spirit behind an historic school

I

have been Principal of Latymer Prep School for almost two exhilarating years. I’m still learning about the school from our dedicated staff – and indeed our wonderful pupils – and discovering for myself what makes this learning institution so special.

The list is long: our prep is housed in historic buildings on the banks of the Thames. It is co-ed, with boys and girls learning together, and it shares outstanding facilities on the same site in Hammersmith as Latymer Upper School – our senior school. But at the top of the list is our Latymer ethos, our broad curriculum and the rounded and grounded children it shapes.

An education at Latymer Prep is about ‘lighting fires, not filling buckets’. Our aim is simple: through encouraging active curiosity we nurture a love of learning that will last our pupils a lifetime. We use a growth mindset approach, teaching our young people to believe that their potential to achieve and progress is unlimited – not set in stone.

This, in turn, builds self-confidence and resilience, giving children the emotional strength and courage to try out ideas – and to pick themselves up if their ideas don’t work out.

We’re unusual within the wider school community in running our own bursary programme. I passionately

believe that it is in a child’s best interests, educationally and socially, to learn alongside classmates from diverse backgrounds – classmates who express different opinions and viewpoints on the world around them.

Our pupils work alongside those in the upper school as part of the pupilled RAISE club, which raises money for the bursary programmes. The ambition of our joint Inspiring Minds campaign is to raise funds to provide bursary support for one in four pupils across the whole Latymer community.

Prep “An education here is about ‘lighting fires, not filling buckets’ – we nurture a love of learning to last our pupils a lifetime”

TA L K I N G

ANDREA RUTTERFORD Principal Latymer Prep School

OPINION

The connection between Latymer Prep and Latymer Upper School is extremely close. Both are part of the Latymer Foundation, created in 1624 by our founder Edward Latymer. The two schools share the same ethos, teaching methods, state-of-the art sporting, drama and music facilities – and several staff who work at both schools. We regularly welcome sixth formers, who assist in our classes during their free periods.

One of the major benefits of this close relationship is the continuity of learning experienced by our pupils, who automatically move to the upper school without the need to sit the 11+ entrance exam. Rather than disrupting the autumn term of Year 6 by preparing for this exam, our staff can focus on teaching pupils across and beyond the curriculum for a full, and more educationally fulfilling, final year.

I’m so proud of the progress our former prep pupils are making in the senior school. Not only do they excel academically, but they also make a fantastic contribution to the community in terms of sport, music, drama and sixth form leadership.

Archetypal Latymerians!

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Everybody get

APPY The CEO of Cypher on how new technology can benefit our lives Wo r d s E L I Z A B E T H T W E E DA L E

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creens, games, apps and the internet are often seen as the ‘baddies’ in our lives – but can computer science improve our lives and wellbeing?

There are lots of scary headlines about Artificial Intelligence taking over our lives and our jobs: autonomous cars becoming our faceless taxi drivers; apps organising our finances; disembodied voices choosing our playlists. We even hear stories of robots caring for our ageing relatives. And no-one can feel comfortable about teenagers spending too long alone in their rooms on the internet – which does have threats and dangers. In this era of instant gratification, it’s important to stop, take a deep breath, slow down and put things in perspective.

It is useful to remind ourselves of what benefits the communications revolution has brought, and may deliver in the future. Many of the concepts that at first seem worrying or disempowering may well be the ideas that save us. For instance, autonomous cars with integrated safety features, controlled maximum speeds and zero emissions will

dramatically reduce accidents and pollution on the roads. Here are a few other things that are on the positive side of the story about the tech that affects our lives today – and may help us and our children.

BALANCE

Studies show that it’s not the length of screen time that endangers mental health and behaviour, but rather the content itself.

It’s useful to identify the four different types of screen time – creative, communicative, active and passive. There are positive aspects to each, and using the mantra of ‘measured, monitored, meaningful’ can guide our children to a healthy relationship with their screens. Of course, it’s not just the kids that may be spending too long with their eyeballs fixed to the illuminated rectangle.

Hold is a nice little app, good for both teenagers and adults, that rewards you for not using your phone. This is a great way to help you instigate good family habits such as ‘no tech at the table’.

COMMUNICATIONS

While having dinner together every evening is the best way to catch up and connect with the family, technology has brought us some

ways of delivering a face-to-face experience when we can’t actually be there. Facetime and Skype are wonderfully easy ways of making us feel we’ve almost actually been in someone’s presence. It can be a real comfort to students away from home to have Mum in the kitchen with them for a chat – even if they are just on their iPad.

YOGA AND MEDITATION

It’s widely accepted that taking time out to focus on yourself is worthwhile. But if you are juggling children, work, a partner and life in general, it can be hard to find that quality ‘me’ time. Something like Yoga with Adriene on YouTube is a lovely way of focusing on your fitness and your mind, facilitated by our old friend the internet. It's not just for adults – this summer our Fit for the Future coding camps will include a few minutes of meditation every day to help young people focus and reconnect with themselves.

Meditation has been shown to improve concentration and behaviour in schools.

RE-CONNECTING WITH NATURE

There’s research to show that time outside improves our levels of happiness. The Wild

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TECHNOLOGY

“ VR T H ERAPIE S CAN H AVE BE TTER RE S U LTS T H A N THE BE ST FAC E-TO - FACE I NT ERVENT I ONS”

TECHNOLOGY AS THERAPY

Network have a mission to grow what they call Wildtime. They have partnered with Persil to create the free Wild Explorers app, to help the whole family get outside.

So, if you have 10 minutes with your four year old you could find a list of 14 things to do together ‘on your doorstep’.

Immediately, you and your child are reconnecting and really observing what’s going on in nature close at hand.

HEALTHY EATING

There is a growing concern about children’s diet and exercise. Simple tick charts you can make with your kids to track the fruit and veg they’ve eaten each day is a way to start 'codifying' data and rewarding improvements in their routines and eating habits. Change 4 Life apps, from Public Health England, are

easy to use and super kid-friendly. Put the Food Scanner app in the hands of a six year old and you’ll have an expert on the sugar, fat and salt content of your favourite packaged foods. On an idle stroll into my kitchen with this, I discovered that Nutella has 56.3 sugar cubes per jar, making it very high in sugar and saturated fat. But on a brighter note, it’s low in salt.

GET MOVING

‘Time to stand!’ Anyone with an Apple watch will recognise this command.

Devices that measure movement and incentivise exercise generally do improve our fitness. Fitbit has a new tracker that promises to ‘Build healthy habits’ for kids.

At our camps children have created their own pedometers – which, of course, they can’t wait to try out.

OxfordVR is working to develop a VR treatment for young people with social anxiety. When VR is done properly, the experience triggers the same psychological and physiological reactions as real-life situations. Their first live project to combat the fear of heights had results that are better than those expected with the best psychological intervention delivered face to face with a therapist.

At Cypher, we believe that by giving our students the fundamentals of computational thinking we are reducing their fear of the future and giving them the tools to succeed in any field they choose.

We want all children to be fluent with the technological languages that will facilitate their futures in a context that appeals to them - from fashion to engineering, art to mathematics, architecture to conservation.

Cypher are running their Fit for the Future camps during the Summer holidays for children aged 5 - 12+. Including time for meditation, games and healthy snacks, the camps inspire children to learn the language of the future, coding, through learning the foundations of computational thinking and hands-on creative projects.

Different themes each day will help our students get a positive approach to technology and develop their own ideas towards happiness and wellbeing.

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Independent day and boarding school for boys aged 4-13

Independent day and boarding school for boys aged 4-13

“Pupils are extremely polite, caring, enthusiastic, respectful and exceptionally well behaved.”

ISI report

“Pupils are extremely polite, caring, enthusiastic, respectful and exceptionally well behaved.”

ISI report

Getting the Best out of Boys To attend an Open Day or to arrange an individual visit, please contact us: admissions@moulsford.com • 01491 651438 • www.moulsford.com Moulsford Preparatory School, Moulsford-on-Thames, Oxon, OX10 9HR

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uccessful schools are the ones that value tradition and heritage but never rest on their laurels. They are always asking: what else, what now?

How can we provide the best possible experience for the children in our care? Our whole school motto ‘Fear Nothing’ has instilled a passion for renewal, reinvention and adventure. Building on our success, Sydenham High Prep authentically and consistently ensures each and every girl is prepared for the world of tomorrow. We see our philosophy as a commitment to preparation for every aspect of life beyond the school gates: academic, social and emotional.

Happiness has the biggest impact upon performance and development, so our number one priority is always to understand each girl we teach. Building positive relationships ensures we get the best out of them as learners, and our staff pride themselves on being able to tailor the pupil experience to ensure high aspirations are nurtured. This is supported by exceptional pastoral care.

From Pre-prep through to year 6, our children have opportunities to work with specialist teachers and facilities that grow with their needs and knowledge. Teaching in Years 5 and 6 in Computing, Science and Classical Studies – alongside our 11+ Preparation Programme – adds to the specialist provision in Music, PE, Art & Design and Languages offered from

preparation for every aspect of life beyond the school gates: academic, social and emotional”

Sydenham High School Head of Prep Claire Boyd on the importance of giving children an innovative preparation to face the future with boldness

“We see our philosophy as a commitment to

Building STR EN GTH

CLAIRE BOYD Head of Prep Sydenham High School GDST

PUPILS AT SYDENHAM HIGH SCHOOL GDST

Partnership

earlier years. This specialist approach cultivates specific skills, alongside a culture of innovation from the very beginning of a child’s learning journey, to create a powerful springboard.

Our CONNECT+ curriculum is unique to Sydenham High Prep, delivering a variety of rich thematic approaches to learning anchored in a clear awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes. The best practices in meta-cognition development underpin teaching and learning. Contexts are provided for the girls to work innovatively, collaboratively, creatively and critically; these are the ways of working they will need when shaping their own career pathways.

Successful schools are also busy, and ours is a hive of activity before and after the teaching day, as well as during lunch and break times. Our co-curricular programme means girls are able to try something a little out of the ordinary – architecture or philosophy, for example – but it also provides the space to refine existing skills in sports, music, art and all aspects of STEM. Adventure trips to France, the Jurassic Coast and the ski slopes of Austria give our girls opportunities to become independent and resilient, while being part of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) means we are part of a family of 25 schools.

This gives our school access to yet more wonderful events and resources, from sports rallies and digital leader ‘hackathons’ to exciting mathematics and science conferences.

Delivering up to date and progressive approaches to teaching and learning means staying abreast of the latest developments in pedagogy and child development. This builds space for innovation and also provides us with fresh contexts. It means that pupils of all ages learn and progress together.

A year 6 pupil summed this up saying that Sydenham High Prep: “challenges your strengths and strengthens your weaknesses".

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RE GI ST ER FO R

EATON HOUSE SCHOOLS

20 20 NO W

AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY

Eaton House Schools – where potential is everything EATON HOUSE BELGRAVIA PRE-PREP, PREP AND NURSERY • The best Pre-Prep results in 5 years • In 2018, 40% of 7+ and 8+ pupils received offers to Westminster Under and St Paul’s Junior School, amongst many other fine schools

EATON HOUSE THE MANOR GIRLS’ SCHOOL

EATON HOUSE THE MANOR BOYS’ SCHOOL

• Outstanding results and pastoral care • 11 Scholarships offered to top London day and boarding schools this year

• Excellent all round results to the best senior schools • A number of scholarships and a coveted John Colet Scholarship to St Paul’s School

We are non-selective, register from birth and take children from 3-13. If you want to start a conversation about your child’s brilliant future, ring Jennifer McEnhill on 0203 917 5050 to book an Open House Morning.

NURTURING EXCELLENCE EATON HOUSE SCHOOLS www.eatonhouseschools.com

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Prep

Born for

MATHS

We are all born with maths ability, says Head of Maths at St Nicholas Prep Melanie Lewis

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s a teacher of maths for a number of years, I have had a variety of reactions when responding to questions about my profession. These range from horrified facial contortions, to awe-inspired gasps that I must be really clever. But the most common response – and the one that causes me greatest concern – is the comment: “I was never good at maths”.

Spoken with resignation, acceptance and sometimes humour, such comments cause me the greatest disappointment, not only because they reflect a less than positive disposition to the subject I feel passionately about, but also because this is just contradictory to who we are as human beings. In an article in The Guardian on the human predisposition for mathematics, Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy noted: “Humans with a good sense of numbers could tell whether their tribe was

MELANIE LEWIS INSPIRING YOUNG MATHEMATICIANS

outnumbered or not, which would inform the decision to fight or flee”.

Neuropsychologist Brian Butterworth, author of The Mathematical Brain, says babies are born with arithmetical expectations and are surprised when these expectations are violated. So, before babies can talk or walk, they are attuned to maths. He elaborates that all humans have an inbuilt notion of cardinal numbers and new-born babies are actually budding

BEFORE BABIES CAN TALK, THEY HAVE AN INBUILT NOTION OF CARDINAL NUMBERS

INSIDER

mathematicians. So, if mathematics is instinctive, where does this fear, and the confidence to declare our ineptitude, originate? I believe it is a combination of factors. As a teacher and educator, I am acutely aware of the role that we play in creating classroom environments.

Removing the paralysing elements of fear, and balancing confidence to try something new with resilience when something is challenging, is the key to success in any subject.

What makes this slightly trickier is when children have been exposed to cultural conditioning. If children are exposed to ‘boasts’ from those in their community who claim to have been hopeless at maths, they may internalise these as culturally acceptable norms and project those beliefs onto themselves. There is substantial evidence to show that when parents espouse the importance of mathematical mastery, rather than just mathematical performance, their children are more likely to achieve. It is particularly important when female students receive encouragement from mothers with a positive attitude towards mathematics.

We need to be conscious of our impact on young people. Perhaps what we might say when they are faced with a mathematically difficult question is: “That’s an interesting problem – let’s try and work it out together”. We should also remember that whenever we set budgets, calculate time, consider mortgages and investments and follow a recipe, we are engaged with mathematics. These are part of our daily routines, and so we are all mathematicians.

Maths is so much more than following a set of rules and applying formulae.

Symmetry is a topic that doesn’t come naturally to me, and maybe this is because I am not a very visual person. Yet I find my students spot patterns with ease. My hypothesis is that all their exposure to digital media from a very early age must play a role in how easily they spot patterns in images. And that is one key aspect of being a mathematician: the ability to spot patterns. If children already have this advantage, then all they need is a culturally supportive environment that encourages their innate mathematical ability.

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Prep

Tech TALK How one London school is harnessing the power of technology to inform teaching and learning practice

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he use of technology in classrooms is not new. For many years, teachers have had access to computers, tablets, and interactive displays. However, in many cases, these devices are used to replicate tasks previously completed without any modern technology. Smartboards replaced whiteboards, word processing replaced the notebook, and lesson planning moved to a digital form. At Southbank International School, our Hampstead campus was recently recognised as an Apple Distinguished School for our innovative use of technology to transform teaching, learning, and the school environment.

TRANSFORMING LEARNING In physical education, learners use a combination of software and

hardware to record their tennis serves or gymnastics routines. They are able to compare themselves against a teacher example and analyse how they can improve their performance.

Digital Learning is able to have a transformative effect on the way that teachers provide equitable access to learning materials for all students.

Our language learners take advantage of built-in accessibility features of iPad to access the curriculum.

By using dictation and voice tools, learners can practice pronunciation of vocabulary words. Through Siri,

“TECHNOLOGY GIVES ALL CHILDREN THE POWER TO BE CREATORS IN WAYS PREVIOUSLY UNIMAGINABLE”

O PI N I O N

learners can quickly get a translation to another language.

Technology gives all children the power to be creators. They are able to create products and share their learning in ways previously unimaginable. During an inquiry into migration, Spanish mother-tongue students research famous explorers.

They wrote and directed a short stop-motion movie to highlight the impact of the explorers.

When working on shared projects, learners use technology as they share responsibility and make decisions.

Using AirDrop, groups can quickly share files between devices. Using collaboration tools on Google Docs and Pages, learners can easily collaborate on the same document in real-time.

ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK Every child at Southbank uses Seesaw to collate a digital learning portfolio. Through their Seesaw journal, learners and teachers can add examples of work using a variety of formats, including photos of work from notebooks, photos, videos, and screen and voice recordings.

Each child’s journal follows them throughout the school and provides an authentic view of their progress over time. The ability to connect family members to a Seesaw portfolio allows parents to have a window to their child’s learning.

Seesaw also allows teachers to give timely feedback to students to share what they have done well in a piece of work and how it could be improved.

This feedback can be given as a text comment or as a voice note. Our learners have identified that voice comments are a more effective and personal way of receiving feedback on their work.

CHRIS GALLEY Grade 4 teacher Southbank International School, Hampstead Campus southbank.org/campuses/ hampstead SUMMER 2019 | 59

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WHAT ’S W RON G ?

Coming to terms with the fact that your child is wired differently can be hard, says a parenting expert Wo r d s E L A I N E H A L L I G A N

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ociety favours children and adults who conform. We are quick to judge those who present differently.

If our children behave inappropriately we often believe the behaviour is a reflection of our parenting.

The notion that our children may be less acceptable for being different breaks our hearts and being judged by others can be one of a parent’s biggest fears. It is something I experience often, as I am the parent of a child who is different.His sensitive, intense and impulsive temperament meant that at home and at school his behaviour was problematic. So problematic that by the age of seven he had been excluded from his third school in so many years. His self-esteem was shattered and his educational prospects were effectively written off. I sensed that Sam was different from an early age, at playgroups

when the other kids would be getting stuck into messy play with sand and mud and finger paints, Sam would be disengaged and wandering off to do something else. He hated having foods touching on his plate and would complain vociferously if the ketchup touched his chips. Hair washing elicited such screams that the neighbours would be forgiven for thinking we were sticking hot needles in his eyes. Instead of wearing a coat and trousers in Baltic winter conditions, he would leave the house electing to wear shorts, earning me many disapproving looks.

We bought into the parenting myth that what he needed was good old-fashioned discipline, so we nagged, repeated instructions, cajoled, bribed, threatened and punished. I quickly became a shoutaholic.

We had no idea how to get the best out of him as we didn’t understand his needs or his temperament, and very quickly our sweet boy became labelled as ‘the naughty one'.

Our son’s needs were varied and complex

“ HE WA S DI AG N OSE D WI TH SO MANY THR EE- L ETT E R A BBR EV I ATI O NS THAT HE BECAM E KN OWN A S T H E A L PHA BET K ID”

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PREP SEN

Prep

sen

CHILDREN WITH 'ORCHID' TEMPERAMENTS NEED SPCIAL CARE TO NURTURE THEIR GROWTH

thrive anywhere. Our children are born with a temperament that provides their default position for interaction with the world, but biology is not destiny. Parents play a vital role in unlocking their child’s potential and, through positive parenting and understanding, there is hope. So, if you have a child who is wired differently what steps can you take to support him or her?

BUILD STRONG SELF-ESTEEM

and although we now know he is severely dyslexic, he was diagnosed with so many three letter abbreviations he became known as the Alphabet Kid. First it was Autistic Spectrum disorder (ASD), then Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). The professionals then threw in a bit of Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD) for good measure – and when finally we were told that our son had Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) I came home and cried.

Parents’ observations of their children are usually astute and I often tell clients that they are the expert on their child. It may be that you don’t know what the problem is but you sense something is not right. You may have started to catastrophise as you know the stakes get higher as they get older. We all want to ensure our children are happy and successful and that they enter adult life as resilient people, able to cope with whatever life throws at them.

We sensed our son was a good and capable boy with a strong moral compass. On many occasions he couldn't help what he did.

When we asked him why he had thrown my prized Jo Malone candle on the floor, he said: “I don’t know. I just could not help myself".

He was impulsive and lacked self-control but that did not make him a bad person. Sam was a child with an ‘orchid’ temperament, meaning that he needed special care to nurture his growth, whereas his sister was a ‘dandelion’: robust and resilient, and able to

Children behave better, take more responsibility, try new things and are more resilient when they have good selfesteem. Approve and affirm them by commenting on what they are doing well, rather than focusing your attention on the more challenging behaviour. Criticism is demotivating and lowers self-esteem.

BE YOUR CHILD’S EMOTION COACH

How your child feels influences their behaviour. We need to help our children recognise and manage their emotions. This means accepting all their feelings and letting them know we understand. It doesn’t mean you permit poor behaviour.

REALISE THAT ALL BEHAVIOUR HAS A CAUSE

When we understand what is causing bad behaviour we can remain calm and help children learn from it. The bad behaviour may have a very simple cause – perhaps they are tired, bored, hungry or unwell – or it could be more complex. They could be expressing an emotion, their brains are immature, they have a different agenda from ours, we are being inconsistent or perhaps we are modelling poor behaviours.

When a child whines, instead of criticising and scolding them, try to say something like: 'It’s hard for me to hear you like that.

Please use your strong voice and that way I can listen'.

Two key positive factors for us were getting our son into the right educational environment and doing positive parenting courses. We experienced such transformational results that I retrained as a parenting coach. Now I’m a director of The Parent Practice and have a new sense of purpose to my life, helping parents understand their children and guiding them to maximise children's strengths and unlock their potential.

DON’T PUNISH

Punishment is often delivered in anger and with criticism, and it makes children feel badly about themselves. No learning can take place when a child feels resentful, and it often results in rebellion. Problem-solve with your child and teach consequences.

ELAINE HALLIGAN London director of The Parent Practice theparentpractice.com SUMMER 2019 | 61

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BLOCK BUSTER Could retained reflexes be at the root of your child’s dyslexia? Psychologist Sarah Warley says that simple blockages can manifest as learning difficulties Wo r d s P E N D L E H A R T E

W

e’re in a stylishly converted barn in Buckinghamshire and my 10-yearold daughter is being instructed to stand on one leg. And to close her eyes.

Next she’s asked to crawl across the floor on her stomach; then to walk backwards in a straight line. All of this is part of a neurodevelopmental assessment, but we’re not here with any physical concerns – we’re concerned with her poor spelling, reading and handwriting. The connection between standing on one leg and literacy isn’t immediately apparent, but we’re here because nothing so far has explained her inability to learn in the same way as her peers.

My daughter has always been spirited.

That’s a euphemism for difficult. I was used to her not wanting to wear certain socks, not liking any change of plan however minor, and permanently feeling hard done by, thanks to an overdeveloped – even forensic – sense of justice. She’s vocal, outspoken, angry. She’s also funny, warm and insightful, but the council’s educational psychologist didn’t say anything about that. When she entered Year 5 with a reading age well behind her peers, no pen licence and an absolute inability to

spell any of the High Frequency words, her confidence was at an all time low. “I’m a rubbish girl. There’s no use to me,” she told me one night, heartbreakingly.

It was in Year 2 that we had been told about her Specific Learning Difficulties.

Probably dyslexia, but they weren’t keen on labels. We’d known, of course. She’d always been different from her elder sister and there were lots of dyslexics in our families: my partner, my brother, my cousins and likely previous generations of undiagnosed people. Now they’re just adults with illegible handwriting and erratic spelling, but the main force of dyslexia is that it makes the process of learning things difficult. Adults have learnt to make do, but it’s at school that the struggle happens.

I had resisted tutoring for the reasons expressed by famous dyslexic AA Gill in his memoir Pour Me. He complains: “The medicine given to dyslexic children is more work, extra writing, remedial reading, more numbers… the answer to all learning difficulties is more teaching. It always comes down to the nice plump woman who sits with you and in a kindly, prodding voice, suggests you try again… the utter abysmal useless cruelty of this has never occurred to a teacher.” Why force a child into more spelling when spelling just doesn’t work for her? Our attempts at home to revise for

CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST SARAH WARLEY

spelling tests always ended in tears, even when her set words got progressively easier – Year 2s routinely come home with lists of ambitious spellings (champagne, indecent, occasionally) which are intended to build on core words already learnt (house, where, song etc), but none of this works for someone who simply fails to see how combinations of letters make words.

Child psychologist Sarah Warley agrees.

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SIMPLE REALIGNMENT EXERCISES

“I NT ER E STI N GLY, 95% OF T H OS E D IAG NOS E D W I T H DYS L EX I A H AV E A R E TA I N E D R EF L EX”

She’s interested in helping children with learning issues by getting to the root of the issues, rather than focusing on the symptoms. With a background in experimental psychology, her work in neuroplasticity focuses on the brain’s ability to heal itself, defying commonly held theories that learning becomes impossible as you age. Not true, she says – “the brain is plastic from cradle to grave.” Her research shows that certain reversible neurological blockages can lead to learning difficulties, and clearing these blockages will remove the difficulties.

According to her, it’s extremely simple.

Warley launched the Key Clinic in Buckinghamshire, which is rapidly gaining popularity locally and she is opening a London base in September. But ideally, she’d like to see children routinely treated in schools using her methods, which she believes SEN departments could implement quickly and easily. And

this is why my daughter is standing on one leg. A variety of observations reveal her static balance to be poor, and overall the assessment reveals neurodevelopmental delays, with the persistence of many primitive reflexes which should have integrated by six months of age. These are what are ‘blocking’ the regular functioning of many of her systems. It could have been her speedy birth that caused the retention – we’ll never know for sure, though the fact that she never crawled suggests that there was a missed developmental stage early on.

In particular, the retained ​Asymmetric Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) is shown to be interfering with her horizontal eye tracking and her hand/eye coordination.

These are needed for reading and writing – interestingly, 95% of those diagnosed with dyslexia have a retained ATNR. This means that much additional cognitive effort is required to read and write, which makes a lot of sense in the context of my daughter.

The Key Clinic will open its new London clinic on 2nd September 2019 at 48 South Molton Street, W1K 5SA. The clinic will provide neuroplastic, auditory and nutritional treatment and cranial osteopathy in a central location that will satisfy the demand from London-based families. The West Berkshire clinic will continue to treat children who live in the Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire areas thekeyclinic.co.uk

Over the following few months, each retained primitive reflex is addressed individually with a series of simple, targeted exercises which take about 10 minutes at home each evening. Return visits to the clinic reveal distinct improvements in her hand/ eye co-ordination, her static balance and her spatial awareness.

Once our daughter stops having to work so hard simply to keep her balance, her cognitive faculties will be free to focus on things like spelling. The Key Clinic has an impressive book of effusive testimonials from overjoyed families of children with a huge variety of diagnosed conditions spanning Asperger’s, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and others, while Sarah Warley continues her research into making these methods more widely available and understood.

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Thrive

(verb)

1. To grow or develop well; to flourish 2. To be successful; to prosper

W W W.R O S E H I L L S C H O O L.C O.U K

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SEN

Question TIME

A Gabbitas Consultant and SEN Specialist has the answers to your questions

ANASTASIA HATVANY SEN S P EC I AL I ST Gabbitas Education

Q: What should you do if you think your child has special educational needs?

A: We’re only human. We compare our brood at the school gate, over a cup of coffee, and on the touch line...

‘How is my child doing? What reading scheme are they on? Have they been invited to so and so’s party?'

But sometimes a gnawing thought returns with regular monotony – your child isn’t doing as well, there’s a lot of ‘dragging of feet’ before school and they seem exhausted when you collect them. For a lot of parents, coming to terms with the fact that their child has SEN is difficult and it takes a mental gear-change.

So begins the process of better understanding their needs, arranging

Confident pupils at Bredon School

“Many children with autism find the routine at boarding school comforting and familiar”

the right support and helping them maximise their potential. The staff at the nursery or school will more than likely be having the same concerns, so your first port of call should be to speak to them. The teacher will arrange a meeting with the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENco) at the school.

They may suggest that an educational psychologist’s report would help generate recommendations.

Looking to the future, speak to professionals who are familiar with the most suitable schools to help develop your child’s functional ability and work around their needs to access the curriculum. A confident child is an enthused, engaged and happy child – and a happy child will thrive.

Q: Is a boarding school the right place for a child with mild autism?

A: The answer is entirely dependent on the child, the parents, the ethos and facilities of the school and its headteacher.

When considering a mainstream boarding school, parents need to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the child and of the school. If the structure is not in place, disappointment is inevitable. Time needs to be set aside for parents to talk to the headteacher, and ideally parents who have children at the school with a similar diagnosis.

Does the headteacher feel, with all the good will in the world, that this school is a suitable environment for a child with mild autism? Is there good communication between the subject teachers and the SEN Department? Is the pastoral care second to none? Is the house master/ mistress experienced? What is the accommodation like? What is the average size of the class? What foreseeable problems do the parents envisage?

Many children with mild autism find the routine at a boarding school comforting and familiar – the timetable doesn’t change and there are clear expectations to adhere to – the bell rings and the child knows to settle down to complete homework; the bell rings and they know it will soon be time to go to sleep.

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“Working in tandem with the school is imperative to help any child with dyscalculia” suddenly change when they start to work in an office – an adult with mild autism will come across the same types of people and will have to deal with the same situations they have come across at a school.

The three main traits that all people with autism share are: difficulty with social communication, difficulty with social interaction and difficulty with social imagination.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is such a wide brush-stroke of a diagnosis that I have no doubt that some boarding school environments are the correct place for a child with mild autism to thrive. Is it the right place for your child? That’s another question entirely.

Q: What is Dyscalculia and what help can my child get?

A: Dyscalculia isn’t just being ‘rubbish at maths’ and is not caused by a lack of educational opportunities.

It is a recognised, specific learning disorder that can often occur alongside dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD. Dyscalculia presents itself as difficulties in mathematics below the norm for an individual’s age. There is no ‘typical’ dyscalculic, but there are common themes that a learner with the condition will encounter: understanding simple number concepts, problems with number sense, memorising arithmetic facts and fluent calculations. This will inevitably lead to high levels of mathematical anxiety and it can be a downward spiral as the learner will be hesitant to answer questions in class and may become withdrawn.

Help for dyscalculia comes from home and school. Working with the school in tandem is imperative to help any child with dyscalculia.

Parents should liaise with the SENco regarding what level of informal support is available.

On a practical level, a child with dyscalculia should try and learn how to ‘self-advocate’ and ask for

help. The tendency will be for a child to ‘lie low’ and not draw attention to their condition, but if they can feel empowered to ask for support the progress will be immeasurable.

There are also lots of fun ways to do stress-free maths practice at home and during the weekends.

Once the condition has been identified, parents should keep in contact with the school and determine whether the support and services are working. Being sensitive to any emotional impact is key, as is looking out for any signs of anxiety, withdrawal or frustration (especially when exams are looming).

Although the condition will not vanish or be cured, the support a child receives from home and from school will make an enormous difference to their future academic and emotional journey.

Q: How do I know if my child has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?

A: Every child gazes out of the window, forgets their books, mislays their school jumper and speaks without thinking. But what if a child finds it difficult to pay attention, is always fidgeting, is impulsive and is also forgetful, dreamy and loses too many items? The combination would be the warning signals that a child may have ADHD.

Unfortunately, too often children with these traits are labelled as troublemakers, undisciplined and irritating or naughty. It can be very difficult to distinguish between a lively child aged seven and a child with ADHD that has gone undiagnosed. And just to complicate matters, some children with ADHD are not bouncing off the walls and disrupting everyone but instead are sitting quietly with their attention miles away.

Obviously, the main concern is that ADHD gets in the way of learning.

Medication is often prescribed for the condition, but it is not the only option to manage the symptoms and might not be the best route for a child. Effective treatments may include education, behaviour therapy, support at home and school, exercise and focus on nutrition.

With the right support, there is no reason why a child can’t succeed.

Indeed, there are many positives to ADHD, including the energy and drive that occur when a child is focused on a task, spontaneity and enthusiasm, and a lively, engaging personality. Children with ADHD also have a flexible approach to problem solving as they are thinking about so many different options. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, children with ADHD are generally hugely creative and imaginative.

Children with ADHD may be boisterous, but are also creative

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Becoming the best we can be…

“The school is extremely successful in fulfilling its aims of providing an academically challenging and fulfilling all-round education” ISI inspection

ORWELL PARK SCHOOL

Leading Independent Prep School Co-educational Boarding and Day 2½ to 13 t: 01473 659225 admissions@orwellpark.org www.orwellpark.co.uk Orwell Park, Nacton, Ipswich, Suffolk IP10 0ER

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CAMP fire From the 1960s on, the UK had a glorious heyday of residential summer camps. Now the Summer Camps Trust has launched an affordable scheme to give young people the fun of camp life Wo r d s LIBBY NORMAN

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S U M M E R CA M P

“RESIDENTIAL SUMMER CAMP SEEMS LIKE AN IDEA RIPE FOR REVIVAL – HOLIDAYS CAN BE A LONG STRETCH FOR FAMILIES JUGGLING WORK AND CHILD CARE ”

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n North America, summer camp is an institution – immortalised in Allan Sherman’s song ‘Camp Granada’. The same is true in other European countries, notably France with its colonies de vacances. So what about the UK? It’s not that we don’t have a tradition of children escaping from home – Scout and Guide camp, alongside youth hostelling, were rites of passage for many of today’s parents and grandparents. If we didn’t do it, we imagined it through the Famous Five. Yet today only around two per cent of UK children attend a stayaway summer camp. That’s why the Summer Camps Trust has introduced a new scheme to give more children the opportunity to head off for an adventure outside their usual home-life routine.

In fact, the UK did once have a larger-scale summer camps movement, says co-ordinator of the Summer Camps Trust Chris Green, who was awarded an MBE in 2011 for services to education through summer camps. He became hooked while working at the French colonies de vacances during university summer holidays. “I saw how these camps brought together children from different backgrounds for a wonderful holiday”. It was this that led Green – then a Cambridge graduate and rookie language teacher – to lobby educators and establish the Council for Colony Holidays for Schoolchildren. Formed as a charity in the 1960s with a launch grant from government, its first chair was Sir John Wolfenden (succeeded by Lord Hill of Luton and then Baron Vaizey of Greenwich). Representatives of every national education department were on the Council. In other words, the organisation had legs.

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Between the mid 1960s and 1980s, summer camps became a holiday escape under Colony Holidays’ stewardship.

Every year some 5,000 British children experienced places such as the Western Isles, the New Forest, Devon and West Sussex. They stayed in country manors, boarding schools and community buildings.

Half of Derby bus station would be set aside for camp-goers on arrival days, with children bussed in from all points by National Express coach. Meanwhile, the offshoot in Northern Ireland brought together 2,000 children from across its divided community each year. Around the UK, Local Education Authorities sponsored places to give opportunities to more young people, with children as young as eight heading off for a taste of adventure.

It wasn’t all about high-energy activity. A successful Puffin Club collaboration gave bookworms their own residential summer camp. They had the opportunity to meet popular authors, and revered Puffin editor Kaye Webb would drop by as a highlight of their stay. Alongside the camp benefits to children – beautiful rural scenery and the opportunity to try new things and meet new people – there were the benefits to camp volunteers. Aged from 17, they could develop their leadership and mentoring skills and boost their CVs by training as summer camp monitors.

There was a further attempt to offer UK summer camps on a national scale from the early 2000s, with government support and National Lottery funding. Since then, successful summer camps have been run by a handful of specialist and charitable organisations. Enter the Summer Camps Trust scheme. The Trust is a charity that Green helped to establish in 2015. It has cross-party support, with three former MPs on its board GETTING CREATIVE, MILL ON THE BRUE

S U M M E R CA M P

CAMP FIRE FUN, MILL ON THE BRUE

“ THE SUMMER CAMPS TRUST AFFORDABLE SCHEME I S AIMED PARTICULARLY AT CHILDREN WHO HAVE NEVER children’s physical inactivity and ATTENDED A CAMP screen time, and school holidays can be a long stretch for families – more BEFORE ” challenging still if parents are juggling

of trustees – including former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. Members include both leading camp providers, such as Kingswood, Mill on the Brue and XUK, and adventure specialists such as the Youth Hostels Association and The Outward Bound Trust.

Summer Camps Trust would like to see 450,000 UK children attend summer camp by 2022 and a million participants by 2030.

This is an ambitious target that would bring the UK closer in line with the number attending summer camp in France. The financial grants that once assisted children from less advantaged backgrounds are not available from LEAs, so Summer Camps Trust has created a residential scheme to help out, offering a seven-day trip at a roughly 50 per cent discount. The scheme is being run at three locations this August and is aimed particularly at children who have never attended camp before.

Summer camp certainly seems like an idea ripe for revival on a larger scale. Many parents are increasingly concerned by their

work commitments with expensive childcare and organised days out.

For Green and the team at Summer Camps Trust, a well-run camp’s chief benefit is in bringing children from different backgrounds together to become more active and confident – and, they say, happier in themselves. Green says summer camp is not just for sports lovers – there are activities for bookworms, creatives and techies. He believes summer camp has fallen out of favour because parents are more cautious and don’t understand just how much value it brings – helping children to find their own feet, make friends and build social skills for life. He says the summer camp vision of bringing different children together is as relevant today as it was when he first saw it as a volunteer in the 1960s.

“In fact,” he adds, “We need summer camps even more, now that our schools and our society are becoming so tribal.” * Summer Camps Trust affordable holiday camps are taking place this August offering 7-day residential trips to children aged 9-15 for £245 including accompanied travel. summercampstrust.org

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Summer at the

MUSEUMS

London’s museums have your summer entertainment covered, with exhibitions and events to suit all ages and tastes. Here’s our round-up of highlights, including useful information on family-friendly facilities Wo r d s L I B B Y N O R M A N

L

ondon’s museums are worth visiting on any day of the year, but they become lifesavers over the brain-addling days of summer, when even a short visit to take in a single exhibition or display is welcome distraction from rainy-day boredom and solitary screen time.

We’ve picked out summer highlights in the national museums, alongside other smaller gems that score highly for family-friendly attractions. We’ve also included tips – from trails and picnic spots to places for letting off steam.

For minimum stress, visit museum websites before you go to download navigation apps, see latest event listings, get guidance on ticketed events/ busy times and check for unscheduled gallery closures.

British Museum Great Russell Street, WC1; britishmuseum.org Open: Mon-Thur & Sat-Sun 10am5.30pm; Fri 10am-8.30pm Entry: Adults free except special exhibitions; children free

Y

ou could spend a whole holiday exploring the British Museum’s ancient treasures, but new stars among permanent galleries include the Gallery of the Islamic World, offering a timeline of treasures from the 7th Century to the present.

For glitter, check out the newly installed Waddesdon Bequest in room 2a and marvel at medieval and Renaissance prizes – alongside later fakes – amassed by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild. The summer draw is Manga (until 26 August), an exploration of Japan’s graphic novels and comics. It has brought a huge range of treasures to the Sainsbury

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MUSEUMS

WHEELS GALORE AT LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM

MANGA AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Exhibitions Gallery – from a 17-metre demon-decorated shabuki theatre curtain to a recreation of the oldestsurviving manga bookshop in Tokyo.

History is brought bang up to date with current superstars of the manga world and, since manga have had a massive influence on gaming, this might just be the summer show to tempt children away from their screens. They will also love the opportunity to be ‘manga-fied’ in the special photo booth.

Activities: The Families Desk in the Great Court is the place to pick up art materials, gallery backpacks and challenges to turn your visit into a treasure hunt. Breakout: Spread out your picnic at the Level 1 Ford Centre for Young Visitors (open weekends and holidays). Russell Square, north east of the museum, offers a great patch of green for letting of steam.

Horniman Museum 100 London Road SE23; horniman.ac.uk Open: museum 10am-5.30pm; gardens Mon-Sat 7.15am-sunset; Sun 8amsunset Entry: Free except aquarium, butterfly house and some special exhibitions SUMMER 2019 | 75

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NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

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f children were allowed to design museums, the Horniman is very likely what they would come up with. Eclectic and exciting, it’s packed with over 350,000 curiosities from across the planet. Children love the anthropology collection, especially the masks, and the world musical instruments. There’s also an extensive handling collection, including puppets and clothing.

Crowd-pleasing highlight is the Brick Wonders Lego exhibition (until 27 October), with over 50 models ranging from an Egyptian pyramid to the international space station.

It’s perfect for inspiring young builders – especially as there’s a hands-on play area. Claire Morgan’s ‘As I Live and Breathe’ installation in Gallery Square explores themes of waste and the impact of humans on their surroundings and is supported with displays in the Natural History Gallery. You can’t visit without taking in the gardens, with animal walk, butterfly house and aquarium. Newer attractions include the grasslands area masterminded by Olympic Park

designer James Hitchmough and designed to flower all summer long.

Activities: Download activity packs before your visit. Hands On Base object handling sessions happen around the museum. Breakout: The gardens are perfect for picnicking, nature activities and Plonk crazy golf, with a Dutch barn for when it rains.

MUSEUMS

newest exhibition, looking at masscommunication supporting the huge Thameslink upgrade. The Family Fun open day at the museum’s Acton Depot (Sat 13-Sun 14 July, adults £12) is a summer highlight. Open-day events are a chance to explore 320,000 rare and large collection pieces, including old trains, trams and buses, and this one is designed specially for children, with story time sessions and rides on heritage omnibuses and miniature steam trains.

Activities: The All Aboard play zone on the ground floor is designed for young visitors, with dressing up and train and bus-driving fun. Future Engineers gallery is the place to test problem-solving skills, with interactive exhibits focused round engineering and urban planning. Breakout: There’s a small indoor picnic area for packed lunches, and Covent Garden is all around you. At Acton, you’ll find pop-up food stalls outside the depot on open days.

National Maritime Museum Park Row, East Greenwich, SE10; rmg.co.uk Open: museum 10am-5pm Entry: Free, except some special exhibitions

NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM PLAY

London Transport Museum Covent Garden Piazza, WC2; ltmuseum.co.uk Open: 10am-6pm Entry: £16.50 (online price, valid 12 months); under 17s free

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ne of London’s gems, London Transport Museum is a source of wonder to children who love anything with wheels, and with plenty to entice older ones who want to learn more about the operation and engineering of the capital’s transport system. Untangling the Tracks is the SUMMER 2019 | 77

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Start Your Adventure Part of the

family

Go Anywhere...

Anywhere...

Go micralite.com micralite.com

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MASKS AT THE HORNIMAN MUSEUM

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reenwich can lay claim to be London’s second great museum quarter, packing in the National Maritime Museum, Queen’s House, Cutty Sark and Royal Observatory. But there’s more than enough fun in the National Maritime Museum to occupy a day or more, especially with the four brilliant new galleries that opened last year.

The first two focus on Pacific and Polar regions. Sea Things covers maritime tales and treasures – from whale’s teeth to Titanic relics – and, with many things on open display so children can get up close. The Pigott Family Gallery: Tudor and Stuart Seafarers contains objects that tell stories about this key period in our nation’s history – focusing on maritime heroes and villains, alongside ordinary seafarers. The major summer exhibition The Moon is in honour of 50 years since the Apollo 11 moon landings and brings together 180 objects, including lunar samples from the mission. The Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition (to 4 August) is well worth a visit, with awe-inspiring photographs taken over the past decade.

Activities: The interactive Great Map on the first floor is fabulous fun, letting children explore our world.

AHOY! for 0-7s is super-immersive and super-popular so remember to book your free ticket in advance. All Hands, suitable for older children, offers everything from cannon firing to ship’s

galley cookery. Breakout: Greenwich Park is one of London’s finest. Or do the creepy echo-filled walk under the Thames through Greenwich Foot Tunnel to picnic at Mudchute Par and Farm.

Natural History Museum Cromwell Road, SW7; nhm.ac.uk Open: 10am-5pm Entry: Free, except some special exhibitions

D

ippy may have vacated his pitch in the Hintze Hall to make way for the blue whale, but there are still a whole host of incredible dinosaurs – alongside their feathered and furred descendants – to gaze at. You can happily while away a morning on the giants of the museum’s blue and green zones before heading down to shudder at the Creepy Crawlies Gallery. Cocoon, in the Darwin Centre, is also packed with jaw-dropping flora and fauna. Older children will be entranced by The Vault, featuring golden nuggets, coloured diamonds and Tissint, the museum’s largest Martian meteorite. Summer specials include Museum of the Moon, Luke Jerram’s vast sculpture in the Jerwood Gallery, accompanied by surround-sound music by Dan Jones.

Interactive theatre makers Coney are

MUSEUMS

running special art-meets-science performances on key dates throughout the holidays. Do find time for Expeditions and Endeavours, showing original illustrations gathered by explorers (until October 2019). Rarely seen treasures will be rotated and include artworks from Captain Cook’s first Endeavour voyage.

Activities: Investigate for Families in the basement is for budding scientists from 5-14, with hands-on science and object handling. Breakout: The Wildlife Garden is a Kensington oasis, and with lots of free family events.

The indoor picnic area is on the lower ground floor by the Cromwell Road entrance.

RAF Museum Grahame Park Way, NW9; rafmuseum.org.uk Open: 10am-6pm Entry: Free, except simulators and theatre shows

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he RAF Museum’s huge Hendon site offers an array of flying machines in the six hangars, exploring the history of the RAF during war and peace.

There are lots of smaller treasures, including maps, mascots (the Red Baron’s blue dog among them), log books and survival rations. Young children will love the many tactile

IN UNIFORM AT THE RAF MUSEUM

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Happy lives here!

We want you and your little ones to holiday just the way you want to: safe, stress free and in locations you love.

It’s why we’ve developed our own exclusive resort experience alongside our range of beautiful, family friendly properties.

We hand pick every destination to meet your young family’s needs—from pool safety to playtime—and they’re fully equipped with everything you need, so you can travel light and feel at home as soon as you arrive.

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displays, and the chance to dress up in uniform. The Dambusters Virtual Reality Experience (13+) lets you experience what it felt like to be in the cockpit of the Avro Lancaster Bomber during this daring raid. The Typhoon Simulator has a height restriction (1.07m) but lets up to eight of you experience the dering-do of pilots flying at an air show. Children from 4+ can experience flight in the 4D theatre.

Activities: There’s a packed programme of family activities and events. Pick up STEM backpacks for children aged 3-8 from Hangar 3. Breakout: The themed outdoor play area is great for young children. The ‘Airfield’ is a vast grassed space with picnic spots and cool parachute-shaped beanbags for lounging and play.

MUSEUMS

EXPERIMENTS AT THE SCIENCE MUSEUM

Science Museum Exhibition Road, SW7; sciencemuseum.org.uk Open: 10am-6pm (6.30pm during school holidays) Entry: Free, except Wonderlab, simulators and IMAX

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he Science Museum is unmissable for opening minds to matter, materials and our univers, but it's also great for letting children have a go through play and active science experiments. Wonderlab has 50 interactive exhibits, from flowing mist to friction slides, plus exciting live science demos. The Garden at basement level is designed for children aged 3-6, with explainers on hand to help them explore water, light, sound and constructions. They will also love Pattern Pod, a multi-sensory area on the ground floor. Engineer your Future is great for hands-on STEM and everyone loves the Fly Zone for its interactive exhibits and thrilling rides – height restrictions apply for some of them. The summer thriller is Top Secret: From Ciphers to Cyber Security, a free exhibition that had input from GCHQ and tells the story of code making and breaking – from Bletchley Park and the Cold Warand to the latest groundbreaking technology used to protect our personal information.

Activities: Download trails and guides

before your visit. Breakout: Dedicated picnic areas are located on Levels 1 and 3. Kensington Gardens is a short stroll away and offers wildlife, an allotment and the magical Diana’s Playground.

Victoria & Albert Museum Exhibition Road, SW7; vam.ac.uk Open: Sat-Thur 10am-5.45pm; Fri 10am-10pm Entry: Free, except some special exhibitions

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he Victora & Albert Museum's fashion, art and design treasures are world famous, justifiably.

But the V&A also has a huge family focus, with lots of free activities and events that are brilliant for revealing cultural history and stories behind collections. Summer treats include FOOD: Bigger than Plate, a thoughtprovoking exhibition highlighting the whole business of how we grow and eat. It includes everything from a toilet made from cow dung and edible water bottles to the sausage of the future. Young trendsetters will love the ongoing Mary Quant exhibition focusing on the original Brit Cool era, while the Queen Victoria &

Prince Albert’s Bicentenary season (until 1 September) has displays and events revealing more about their influence on London life, learning and, of course, the V&A’s formation. Do check out Victoria’s amazing diamond and sapphire coronet, added to the museum’s glorious jewellery collection in time for this celebration.

Activities: A downloadable app turns your visit into a quiz. There are award-winning museum backpacks, an Agent Animal bag for younger visitors plus the Albertopolis Family Trail. Breakout: The Sackler Centre lunchroom welcomes picnics, but better still is the beautifully designed John Madejski Garden, with tranquil water features and special installations.

STYLE AT THE V&A

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My children are seven and nine years old.

I can’t bear the thought of them going to boarding school right now; I am definitely against sending them before they are 13, I want them at home with me.

Ben FOGLE

The broadcaster, writer and adventurer has mixed feelings about his boarding-school days at Bryanston in Dorset

Where did you go to school and when?

Bryanston for five years in the Nineties.

Did you enjoy it?

I was really homesick in the first year but then I loved it.

What did you like about it?

I liked the fact that it was rural. I grew up in central London and I loved the access to the woods, forests and rivers. I liked the independence; being able to decide when to do my homework, when to play tennis.

It was very liberal and I liked that fact that the school encouraged every pupil to be themselves, to be who they wanted to be.

What was your favourite subject?

Art and CDT (Craft, Design and Technology). I’ve always been more creative than I am academic. My mother and sisters are all creative types and I loved making things as a child.

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Who was your favourite teacher?

Mr Long, my housemaster. During that first year he was so good at taking me into his own house and trying to settle me. He and his late wife treated me as if I was their son. If it wasn’t for him I don’t think I would have stayed.

Would you send your own children to boarding school?

Not for the sake of boarding per se, but if the right school for one of my children is too far away - and there aren't many great schools in central London if your children aren’t highly academic - then I might consider it. I’m not anti-boarding in any way - I think there is a great place for it still. My wife and her sisters have an interesting take on the issue of boarding; they think they had a much better teen relationship with their mother as they could take out their teen angst on their housemistress so relations were better at home.

What was your favourite activity at school?

I was obsessed with tennis and also loved going into the craft building as well, making stuff. I made an operating table for my dad who’s a vet - it had a pump and you could inflate it up and down. It was pretty terrible but I have strong memories of making it.

Where was your favourite hangout?

I have vivid summer memories of Dorset, lying on the grass under the big trees in the sun and I liked the grass tennis courts in front of the school. I was happy as long as I was outside.

What was your greatest achievement?

When I did my first assembly in front of the whole school. It was a comedy performance which I performed when I was about 15. I had such a sense of achievement afterwards, it was a really big deal for me as I was so shy.

How did Bryanston influence your life?

It gave me confidence. I think if I hadn’t been away at school I wouldn’t have been forced to make my own decisions; it helped improve my self esteem. Private school instills a confidence in you that I don’t think people necessarily get in the state sector it instils the ability to be who you want to be. I think people commonly mistake it for arrogance. It’s not, it’s confidence.

Do you have any negative feelings about your school days?

I didn’t get any academic results from my schooldays (Fogle got C, D and N grades at A-Level) but that wasn’t the fault of the school. I developed confidence but that was in spite of the exam system.

What we have now is a system that rewards your ability to revise and cram information. I couldn’t retain information and then I’d crumple under the pressure, I

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Q&A

WHAT WE HAVE NOW IS A SYSTEM THAT REWARDS YOUR ABILITY TO REVISE AND CRAM INFORMATION

could barely remember my own name, let alone anything else. I know I am dyslexic - I still get my bs and ds muddled. I was never diagnosed but it’s perfectly obvious to me.

But I didn’t want the label, I didn’t want it to define who I am. But whenever I write books I always forewarn my editors!

How do you feel about the school system now?

I think the whole system is broken, both private and state. If I hadn’t been at Bryanston, with that level of support, I might have been dragged under. We need to reexamine our obsession with exams as a measure of whether you will succeed in life.

Who did you want to be at school?

I wanted to be someone who embraced life, who travelled, faced my fears- I think

I’ve kind of done those things. It’s funny that I’m known as an explorer - at school I didn’t excel at sports at all. I left Bryanston wanting to be more brazen. Everything I have done since then, climbing Everest, rowing across the Atlantic, all of it has been my versions of exams - trying to rebuild my shattered confidence.

Where did you get your love of nature from?

My father is Canadian - we spent every summer as children in Canadian wilderness. And the Dorset countryside definitely helped. Now I am UN Patron of the Wilderness. I share my experiences, and talk to governments about the fragility of the wilderness. I am the voice for a fragile and voiceless environment.

What are you doing now?

I'm writing a new series of children’s books called Mr Dog. I have written lots of adults titles but now I’m a father, children’s

books obviously appeal.

I love dogs. And the British countryside and its animals so often get overlooked, so I wanted to include them. It was also a chance to put down on paper some of the chance encounters with animals that I’ve had over the years - it’s the perfect opportunity to share them.

How would you sum up your school days in five words?

Happy, idyllic, difficult, nostalgic, wild, game.

Mr Dog and the Rabbit Habit, £5.99, HarperCollins, out now.

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TOP SUMMER M U ST READ 7+

There are some amazing books published for children this summer with wide selection of new fiction and nonfiction for pre-school tinies to teens. From a disturbing story about a girl who thinks she's a bird to a whip-smart comedy about being ordinary, to a story about a tiger who saves an Indian princess, to a perceptive story about sibling rivalry, there's something for everyone here JASMINE

ROBERTSON

OUR CASTLE BY THE SEA b y Lucy Strange

G

CHICKEN HOUSE BOOKS , £6.99

rowing up in a lighthouse, 11-yearold Petra’s world has been one of storms, secret tunnels and stories about sea monsters. But now England is at war, the clifftops are a terrifying battleground, and her family is torn apart. This is the story of a girl who is small, afraid and unnoticed.

A girl who freezes with fear at the enemy planes ripping through the skies overhead. A girl who is somehow destined to become part of the strange, ancient legend of the Daughters of Stone… Chosen as Children’s Book of the Week

by The Times, comes an exciting wartime mystery entwined with magic and myth.

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3+

Cinnamon

by Neil Gaiman illustrated by D iva Srinivasan BLOOMSBURY, £7.99

In a hot, hot country, lives a princess called Cinnamon. Her eyes are made of pearls, leaving her blind. And, for reasons her parents the Rajah and Rani cannot fathom, she will not talk. So they offer a reward to anyone who can teach Cinnamon to speak. People travel from far and wide to attempt it, to no avail.

Until a mighty tiger prowls into their palace and announces that he is here to teach the girl-cub to talk … This boldly coloured picture book set in a mythic India is by the multi-award winning and bestselling author Neil Gaiman, and illustrated in bold colors by Divya Srinivasan. Now out in paperback.

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b o o ks

5+

The Phoenix of Persia

Editor's pick

b y Sally Pomme Clayton i l l u s t r a t e d b y Amin Hassanzadeh Sharif TINY OWL , £12 .99

This tale, gloriously illustrated by Iranian artist Amin Hassanzadeh Sharif, is based on a story from the Shahnameh, one of the great epics of world literature by the 10th century Iranian poet Ferdowsi. From global literature publishers Tiny Owl, it is the second in its One Story, Many Voices series and is an exciting collaboration between music, art and literature. Readers can access an accompanying original Iranian musical composition using the QR code in the introduction of the book by scanning the code using the camera on your smartphone (you don't need an app).

8+

THE LONGEST NIGHT OF CHARLIE NOON

8+

THE MIDDLER

b y Christopher Edge

B y Kirsty Applebaum

NOSY CROW, £6.99

NOSY CROW, £6.99

Available 6 June, 2019

Eleven-year-old Maggie lives a dystopian world, enclosed and protected from the ‘outside’ by a boundary, beyond which the Quiet War rages.

Her brother Jed is a revered eldest, her younger brother Trig is adored. But Maggie’s just a middler; invisible and left behind. Then she meets Una, a hungry wanderer in need of help, and everything Maggie has ever known gets turned on its head. This is a gripping story about forbidden friendship and the frustrations of being a middle child.

8+

NOT MY FAULT

B y Cath Howe

NOSY CROW, £6.99

Maya and Rose won't talk to each other. Even though they are sisters. Not since the accident.

Maya is running wild, and Rose doesn't know what to do. Now Maya and Rose have to go away together on a week-long school journey. But will the trip - and a life-threatening adventure - fix their relationship... or break it for good? We loved Cath Howe’s previous book, Ella on the Outside, and this is just as good. Howe, a primary school teacher, is so perceptive about girl friendships and here she understands the complications of being a sister, too. A heart-warming and necessary read.

C

hristopher Edge already has a dedicated fanbase for his breathtaking stories that mix science, time travel and thrilling adventure. This is no exception. When Charlie, Dizzy and Johnny go exploring in the woods they find themselves trapped in a nightmare. Lost in the woods, strange dangers and impossible puzzles lurk in the shadows. As time plays tricks, can Charlie solve this mystery and find a way out of the woods? But what if this night never ends…? Edge manages yet again to introduce daring, complex ideas but deliver them in a way that children not only understand but get to enjoy a thrilling ride, too. But watch out, this one is quite scary.

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M U ST READ

b o o ks

9+

Rumblestar b y Abi Elphinstone

7+

SIMON & SCHUSTER, £6.99

Abi Elphinstone writes strong female characters and fantastic adventures.

Her 2018 book Sky Song was a snowswept tale of magic and friendship that was a Waterstones Book of the Month and nominated for the Carnegie Medal.

Rumblestar is the first book in a new series, The Unmapped Chronicles. Its hero is 11-year-old Casper Tock, who hates risk and is allergic to adventures. When the kingdom of Rumblestar is threatened by the evil Morg, he must team up with Utterly Thankless a girl who hates rules and is allergic to behaving.

A MOON GIRL STOLE MY FRIEND b y Rebecca Patterson

ANDERSON PRE SS , £6.99

I

t’s 2099. Lyla lives in a world of robocats, flying sweets and instant snow, but some things never change.

Little brothers are still annoying, school teachers make you cringe, and, when your best friend deserts you for the super-cool new girl from the Moon Colony, it still really HURTS. With a sharp ear for dialogue and a keen understanding of playground dynamics, this is a humourous friendship story with a sci-fi twist, published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the moon landings. Full of quirky illustrations, it’s perfect for newly confident readers.

9+

The Boy Who Flew

by Fleur Hitchcock NOSY CROW, £6.99

Athan Wilde dreams of flying. When his friend, the inventor Mr Chen, is murdered, Athan must rescue the flying machine they were building together and stop it falling into the wrong hands. But keeping the machine safe puts his family in terrible danger.

What will Athan choose – flight or family? A brilliant, atmospheric thriller set in an intricately imagined world with an air of Dickensian gothic, from the acclaimed author of Murder in Midwinter.

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Passionate about Play We believe childhood should be enjoyed to the full.

That’s why we’ve been making imaginative wooden toys, designed in Great Britain with a touch of French je ne sais quoi, since 1995. letoyvan.com

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4+

Extraordinary Birds

Editor's pick

b y Sandy Stark-McGinnis BLOOMSBURY, £6.99

This is the story of a troubled 11-year-old, December, who thinks she’s a bird. Growing up in - and getting kicked out of - a succession of foster homes, she even believes the scars on her back must be where are wings have started to blossom. When she’s placed with a new foster mother who volunteers at a wildlife rescue centre, December begins to question her past and accept her present.

At times overwhelming and sometimes confusing, this is a moving story about identity, belonging and our universal need for love by established poet Stark-McGinnis.

13+

THE GIFTED THE TALENTED AND ME

13+

YOU'RE CRUSHING IT b y Lex Croucher

b y William Sutcliffe

BLOOMSBURY, £7.99

F

BLOOMSBURY,£7.99

AVAILABLE 13 JUNE 2019

A survival guide for teens from YouTuber Lex Croucher. Whilst somewhat millennial in tone and overuse of aphorisms, Croucher's book has practical advice on coping with issues such as family and friends, body confidence, technology and social media, relationships, mental health, success and more.

b o o ks

5+

THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER

b y John Ruskin, i l l u s t r a t e d b y Quentin Blake THAME S & HUDSON, £14.95

First published 150 years ago, John Ruskin’s only children’s story is still relevant today, with its message about life, greed and the environment. Readers of any age will respond to young Gluck’s adventures, brought to life for the first time in colour in Quentin Blake’s witty and atmospheric illustrations.

ifteen-year-old Sam is ordinary and proud of it. None of which was a problem until Dad got rich and Mum made the whole family move to London. Now Sam's off to the North London Academy for the Gifted and Talented, where everyone's busy planning Hollywood domination or starting alt-metal psychedelica crossover bands. Sam knows he'll never belong, even if he wanted to. And that's before he ends up on stage wearing nothing but a fur onesie… This is a brilliant, laugh-out-loud story about fitting in, falling out and staying true to yourself. An Adrian Mole for the 21st century, Sam is a fabulous comic creation, as is his on-a-voyageof-discovery mum. Surprisingly moving, too. A really funny, clever story to give your teens.

SUMMER 2019

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C Mo om in

LANDING

Fan of the magical Moomins?

Head to Finland to discover Tove Jansson’s timeless creations Wo r d s Z O E Y G O T O

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reeping through the forest, my daughter ran on ahead and found Moomin Papa relaxing in a hammock, surrounded by small children listening to a story read by a character in a pointy hat. We carried on throug beautiful sundappled woodland, past waterfalls and an oversized pumpkin house, until we reached the peak of the island and looked down at the sea… where a ginormous dragon creature was happily swimming across the surface! This may sound like some surreal dream, but we were in fact in Moomin World – quite possibly the most enchanting theme park around!

We had decided to do a Moomin tour of Finland because our seven-year-old daughter had fallen in love with the whimsical stories

by Finnish author Tove Jansson. Having recently visited numerous traditional theme parks, I had also been yearning for more tranquil, nature-based attractions that our young toddler could participate in.

Moomin World seemed to offer the perfect combination – a whole island of activities dedicated to fairy tales and imaginative play, without a rollercoaster in sight. And it is also easy to get to from the UK for a long weekend family break.

We decided to take the scenic route to Moomin World, starting our adventure in Helsinki with a visit to one of the popular Moomin cafes. There are now five in the city, serving up locally produced dishes in Nordic-chic surroundings. If your kids like Moomins, they will adore these quirky, Moomin-tastic cafés. There are Moomin characters sprinkled onto drinks, food is served on Moomin plates, the biscuits are

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TRAVEL

“TURKU IS BOTH THE OLDEST CITY IN FINLAND AND A FORMER EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE”

Moomin shaped, you can have a Moomin tea party with the various toys dotted around the café, or relax in the reading corner with a book – by Tove Jansson, naturally!

We filled up on the national dish of Finland – Karelian rice pasties – then headed off to make the two-and-a-half hour train journey to Turku, situated on the south-west coast.

We based ourselves in the centre of Turku, a 30-minute bus journey from Moomin World, but if you wanted to stay closer to the park then the local town of Naantali offers many Airbnb options and the Naantali Spa hotel has a special Moomin themed family room that sleeps four.

Turku is both the oldest city in Finland and a former European Capital of Culture, so it offers plenty to see and do for all ages, including art galleries, a medieval castle (where my daughter loved meeting the guides dressed in period costume) and the pretty river Aura with its array of floating bars and restaurants. We decided to sample a few of the local eateries by using the Turku Food Walk card. This clever idea lets you restaurant-hop across the city trying out different courses as you go.

But, since our main focus of the weekend was Moomin World, we headed over there excitedly. The island can be reached by foot via a wooden bridge, and as soon as we arrived we were greeted by Moomin characters who were like a hug-magnet for both the children.

We eased ourselves into the Moomin World experience by having a delicious Swedish meatball and gravy lunch in Moomin Mama’s café, perched on a scenic

waffles, jam and cream from Fillyjonk’s Café.

Although Moomin World offers many places to eat and also to buy Moomin gifts, the overall feel of the theme park is refreshingly non-commercial in comparison to many of the places we’ve visited in the past. Having said that, we did manage to leave with bags full of Little My socks and some irresistible Moomin toys.

Leaving Moomin World and heading back into Turku, I was surprised that after a full day of activities we were not collapsing into an exhausted heap. Perhaps it was the Finnish fresh air, or Moomin World’s relaxed and gentle atmosphere, but we all left feeling invigorated and as if we’d collectively experienced something truly magical. deck overlooking the sea. We then headed to the five-story Moomin house in the centre of the park, where the children play-cooked in Moomin Mama’s famous kitchen and joined in with a Moomin character sing-along on the porch. There are also theatre shows throughout the day at the two Moomin World theatres on the island.

Our toddler kicked off her shoes and explored the barefoot nature trail, while our eldest slid down the sweeping slides in Moomin Papa’s boat and made friendship bracelets with the Too-ticky character. We squeezed in a quick visit to the post office to send Moomin-stamped postcards back home, then headed to Snufkin’s camp in the forest for story time.

Rounding off the day, we ambled down to the peaceful children’s beach for some shallow paddling before indulging in

THE MOOMIN T R A I L LOW D OW N You can fly to either Helsinki or Turku with Air Baltic: airbaltic.com • Moomin World’s summer season runs from the beginning of June until late August: moominworld.fi • For Moomin Café locations: muminkaffe.com/en/ • Further information on Finland and Turku: visitfinland.com visitturku.fi/en SUMMER 2019

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INTO THE

WILD

As the summer holidays draw near, Absolutely Education investigates Camp Wilderness’ summer camps Wo r d s P E N D L E H A R T E

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Camp Wilderness kids enjoy lake swimming

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rriving at the car park, having not seen our children for a week, we don’t know what to expect. The camp is quite deep in the woods – a 15-minute trek – and they have been there for five days. Will they have been miserable and homesick? We’re fairly certain they won’t, but you never know.

Sending children off to summer camp with no phones means they can’t spend their days staring at tiny screens, but it also means that they can’t phone home. Old school style.

In the car park we hear them before we see them. There’s a chanting and stomping coming towards us. As they emerge, we catch some lyrics: a song about baked beans. A rowdy bunch is striding towards us, their skin partially decorated with amateur tribal markings, large sticks in their hands, among them our children,

summer ca mp

“RE TURNING FROM CAMP WILDERNE SS MY DAUGH T ERS ARE EXHAUSTED, FILTHY AND BE SIDE THE MSE LVE S WI T H HAPPINE SS” entirely unrecognisable from the shy, uncertain ones we left here a few days ago and smelling of bonfire. What happened to them?

Summer holidays should be about spending time outdoors. They should not be about homework or keeping to the bedtime routine. Our children’s lives are so scheduled, so full of improving activities and timetabling that the six-week break is the only time for them to experience the childhood freedom that, as adults, we fantasise about. Returning from Camp Wilderness, my daughters, aged nine and 12, are exhausted, filthy and beside themselves with happiness. The best thing, they say, is having no rules and no clocks.

“Whenever we asked the time, we’d be told ‘evening time’ or ‘morning time’. They said it was because time was a social construct. Mummy, what’s a social construct?”

The five-day camp involves nonstop games, lots of freedom and delicious meals (the favourite, they The best thing?

No rules and no clocks

declare, is dolphin, which on further questioning turns out to be a creamy potato dish – of course, everybody loves dauphinoise). There isn’t even a set bedtime, they report proudly.

Children are split into small groups – tribes – and collective activities include shelter-building (those with the most successful shelters actually electing to sleep in their own structures) and lake swimming (freezing) as well as lots of campfire time and the joy of sleeping in a small forest village of teepees. There are also skills: the girls report learning first aid and knots.

And the friendships? When we get home to the iPhone, the messages have already begun. Our elder daughter has a WhatsApp group chat entitled ‘Wilderness friends'.

They are going back this year.

Three-day camps £175; five-day camps £300. Discounts for siblings and groups campwilderness.co.uk

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Hawkesdown House School

For Boys & Girls aged 2 to 11 years

27 Edge Street, Kensington, London W8 7PN Telephone: 0207 727 9090 Email: admin@hawkesdown.co.uk www.hawkesdown.co.uk

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St. Nicholas Preparatory School an outstanding education for boys and girls up to Year 6

020 7225 1277 www.stnicholasprep.co.uk 23 Prince’s Gate | South Kensington | SW7 1PT

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ONE OF A KIND… Lyndhurst House Prep and Pre-Prep School for Boys.

Make an appointment to come and visit our school today.

LYNDHURST HOUSE

Preparatory and Pre-Preparatory School 24 Lyndhurst Gardens, Hampstead, London NW3 5NW Telephone: 0207 435 4936 Email: office@lyndhursthouse.co.uk www.lyndhursthouse.co.uk

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Dolphin School

unlocking each child’s full and unique potential 4–11 years Co-ed 106 Northcote Road, SW11 6QW 020 7924 3472 ext 2 admissions@dolphinschool.org.uk

www.dolphinschool.org.uk Open Days on Thursday mornings 09.10 - 10.40 by appointment with the Registrar OPEN MORNINGS

Bursaries by also availablewith the Registrar Thursdays 09.15-10.30 appointment

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School’s Out

PARENT P OWER

Screen time

No screen time, moderation or embrace the digital age?

Deciding how to manage children’s viewing habits is a tough one. Here’s what you need to know

B y L I B BY N O R M A N

related recommendations are not possible. It suggests instead that we consider as families whether our collective and individual screen time is under control, if it ever interferes with things we want to do, whether it ever impacts sleep and if we are able to control snacking during screen time. In other words, we need to be in control, not let our screens rule our lives.

BIGGER VISION children’s screen time recently there was a collective sharp intake of breath. 'No screen time for under 2s' was the headline, leading many parents to ponder if the WHO researchers have ever tried removing a mobile phone from the sticky fingers of a digitally-obsessed toddler or summarily switched off the TV or tablet halfway through a thrilling episode of ‘Bing’.

GRAINY PICTURE

T

he old square eyes debate never goes away, but for today’s parents it’s ever more complex.

Whereas once there was one family TV in the corner controlled by adults, now we have tablet, phone and PC to contend with. It’s hard enough for adults to resist, so how much screen time is too much?

WATCH WORDS Those warnings about TV being bad for our health were ever present. We survived, but as the viewing hardware has expanded so the debate has hotted up. When the World Health Organization published its recommendations on

In fact, the WHO report was challenged by other medical and child development authorities, and many media headlines skirted round the bigger picture in a report providing guidance on the amount of hours children should spend on active time, sedentary time and sleep. The NHS website noted that the WHO report was unusual in providing strong recommendations based on what its researchers themselves described as “very low-quality evidence”.

FAMILY VIEWING The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) published its latest research on screen time a few months ahead of this WHO report. It reaches a different conclusion, saying that there is not enough evidence to show that screen time is harmful in itself, so age-

The scare stories are unlikely to go away, but then nor are screens, tablets and other technologies that connect, inform and direct our world – and also bring massive benefits to affluent and deprived societies across the globe. As Jordan Shapiro sagely pointed

PARENTS WILL WO NDER IF TH E H E ALTH RE SE ARCHERS H AVE EVER TRIED REMOVIN G A MO BI LE PHON E F RO M TH E STICKY F I NGE RS OF A DI GI TALLYO B SESSED TO DDLER

out in an article for Scientific American, every generation faces disruptive technologies and new ideas. He added that no doubt the Age of Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution brought a fair few worries to those living through them.

Screen time may be another parenting worry to add to our list, but for our children this is their real world.

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