PEOPLE AND PLACES
Persian New Year
Children at Gwendolen House Nursery in Putney, London, have beencelebrating Persian New Year, also known as Nowruz, which begins on thefirst day of spring. Staff at the nursery taught the children about thetraditional rituals, including setting up a large table in the main roomwith significant representative items. Among the objects were lightedcandles for goodness and warmth, apples to represent health and beauty,vinegar to signify patience, flowers to represent the fragrance of life,a mirror to symbolise the reflection of life and an orange in a bowl torepresent the earth floating in the universe.
Happy with yoga
The National Day Nurseries Association's Healthy Body, Happy Me campaignkicked in at Leapfrog Nursery in Rotherham, south Yorkshire, as staffand children were invited to attend a yoga session hosted by Yoga4Nurseries. Special guests at the session included European Parliamentmember Linda McAvan, local MP the Rt Hon Dennis MacShane, and AnneNaylor, director of finance and central services at the NDNA.
Outstanding Asquith
The Asquith Day Nursery in Caterham, Surrey, has become the fifthsetting in the group to be rated Outstanding by Ofsted. Inspectorscommented on the nursery's exemplary practice and effective organisationand the strong relationship between parents and staff. Their reporthighlighted the effectiveness of the nursery's play for babies, andnoted in particular what a wonderful time they had when submerging theirhands and feet in paint, cornflour and water. Other Asquith nurseries toachieve an outstanding rating are Teddington in Middlesex, Port Solentin Portsmouth, Maidstone in Kent and Springfield Road in TunbridgeWells.
Mother's Days
Early years settings around the country got a head start on MotheringSunday last month, such as Treetops Nursery in Dudley, West Midlands,where staff helped to reinforce a positive relationship with parents bypampering the children's mothers with Bucks Fizz, strawberries andchocolate and treating them to a free haircut. Children at Busy Bees DayNursery in Wandsworth, London, and Little Acorns Day Nursery inBrackmills, Northampton, made cards and wrote poems for their mothersand awarded them with special certificates when inviting them to a teaparty and serving up treats and cakes.
Good and healthy
Swineshead Pre-school in Lincoln is celebrating after being awarded Goodin its latest Ofsted inspection. The inspectors commented on thefrequent opportunities the setting provided for parents to get involvedin their children's learning, and the staff's ability to work welltogether as a cohesive team. Swineshead pre-school's excellentunderstanding of health and physical well-being has also beenrecognised, gaining for the setting the council's Healthy Childcareaward.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Young children at Ace Day Nursery in Cambridge got down to directingtheir own learning when staff handed over the paints for floor painting,after a scheduled activity earlier in the week when the nursery childrenwere looking at flower pictures and creating their own collage.
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