Children creatively unlock secrets of a UFO

Children at Sparhawk school in Norwich investigate the UFO

When children from an infant and nursery school discovered a UFO in their playground they conducted a month-long investigation to find out how and why it was there.

Their research was part of a cross-curricular project called Who Talks? Who Listens?, designed to develop children's key skills through questioning, speaking, listening and problem-solving and help them learn about the importance of looking after the environment.
It was funded by Creative Partnerships, a creative learning programme delivered by the annual Norfolk and Norwich arts festival.
Children aged three to seven from Sparhawk Infant and Nursery School in Sprowston, Norwich, uncovered clues and messages to solve the mystery of a strange white flashing globe.
The child-led investigation was captured in a documentary-style film with the help of local film-makers Top Box Media and actors from international theatre company Garlic Theatre.
With the help of 'Dr Jim', children discovered objects from inside the globe's secret compartment, including a crystal to represent light and the importance of the atmosphere, a piece of seaweed to represent the effect pollution has on beaches, a plastic whale, a whale sounds tape, a piece of metal with holes and a mysterious bean-shaped object.
After each discovery they were interviewed by 'Kate the reporter' to share their ideas and emotions.
The children also took part in role-play, speaking and listening and problem-solving activities.
Sparhawk head Carina Ingham said, 'The children were really excited when the UFO first arrived. The project gave them the opportunity to question and learn through talking, developing their confidence and key skills, which will help them as they move up the school'.
A screening of the film at the school on 12 May was attended by children, parents, governors, local councillors and other schools.
To see the film, visit www.eveningnews24.co.uk.

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Measles epidemic is feared as nursery children are hospitalised

By Melanie Defries, Nursery World, 27 May 2009

Outbreaks of measles among children in England and Wales have raised fears that the UK may be facing an epidemic.

Four children from a nursery in south-west Wales have been treated in hospital for the disease and a further 123 cases have been reported.
In England, 53 people in the north-east have caught measles since January and over 100 more cases are under investigation.
The number of cases is already more than four times the total in Wales last year and far exceeds the total number last year in the north-east, when only 17 cases were reported.
The four nursery children, who are all aged under two and attend Hapus Dyrfa, a 58-place nursery in Burry Port, were too young to have received both the MMR jabs that are routinely given at the ages of one and before children start school. The four have now been released from hospital and were due back at nursery on Monday (25 May).
Sioned Saer, one of the nursery's owners, said, 'When we were told that one of the children had measles we got in touch with the National Public Health Service in Wales and followed the advice that they gave us. They visited the nursery on a Friday evening to talk to the parents and immunise the children. By the end of the evening 40 children had been vaccinated.
'We think we are over the worst of it now. It was quite frightening, especially when we realised that four children had been affected - we wondered how bad it was going to get.'
Health officials are urging parents to ensure their children are fully protected against the disease by taking up the MMR jab.
Dr Roberta Marshall, Acting Regional Director for the Health Protection Agency in the north- east, said, 'The measles outbreak is very alarming, especially as the majority of these cases in England could have been prevented, since most were in children who were not fully protected with MMR.
'There are still many children out there who were not vaccinated as toddlers over the past decade and remain unprotected. Unfortunately, this means that measles, which is highly infectious, is spreading easily among these unvaccinated children. Many of these children are now teenagers and still remain at risk.'
To successfully eliminate measles, 95 per cent of a country's population needs to be immunised with two doses of the measles vaccine. Figures show that in Wales only 86 per cent of two-year olds have been given the MMR vaccine, compared with 95 per cent in Scotland. Take-up is even lower in England, where only 85 per cent of two-year-olds have had the MMR.

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Nursery nurse pay to be cut by third

By Catherine Gaunt, Nursery World, 27 May 2009

More than 100 nursery nurses in schools in Devon are set to lose up to a third of their salaries under council plans to bring their pay in line with other council workers.

If it goes ahead, the proposal will mean that nursery nurses' pay will be calculated in the same way as teaching assistants and administrative staff in schools.
Nursery nurses and teachers held a protest meeting last week at Pynes Infant School and Nursery at Bideford with representatives from unions, including Unison.
Under plans currently out for consultation, the council wants to bring in a new job description of Early Years Assistant from 1 September for nursery nurses who are qualified to NVQ level 3 or equivalent, which has been evaluated by the council as 'JE grade C'.
Under the proposals, nursery nurses will no longer qualify to be paid during the school holidays but will have to take a paid 20- to 25-day allocation in that time.
Roger Spackman, Devon County Unison branch secretary, called the council's plans 'atrocious'. He said, 'They're trying to change the job title, but it's the same job. Teachers are paid year-round. There's a disparity between teachers and other staff paid to work alongside each other.
'The council has got everything the wrong way round; it's term-time working that causes the inequality. It's about keeping low-paid women on low pay. It's a cheap way to get round not having a national agreement. If teachers have separate terms and conditions, why shouldn't nursery nurses?'
Based on current terms and conditions, nursery nurses in Devon are considered full-time employees and paid an annual salary if they work 32.5 hours per week during term-time.
The council consultation said, 'The salary paid to a full-time nursery nurse is equivalent to staff employed elsewhere in Devon County Council who work 37 hours per week and all year round. This undermines the requirement for an employer to have equal pay and conditions for staff undertaking work of equal value and could lead to a successful legal challenge.'
The council claims that in effect, full-time nursery nurses are being paid to work 66 per cent of the time of other full-time local government staff paid the same annual salary.
A council spokesperson said, 'We are carrying out a review of the method of calculation of pay for nursery nurses working in maintained schools, in order to harmonise them with council staff on the same grade. Similar reviews have been or are being carried out by local authorities nationally, to address an historic disparity of pay across this sector. We have consulted with trade unions, headteachers, teachers and staff who will be affected and will be reviewing the comments made before making a decision later this month.'
Mr Spackman also queried why the council was making the move at this time when the Support Staff Negotiating Body is set to look at the pay and conditions of all school support staff (Analysis, 5 November 2008).
'There's the new negotiating body which will set pay and conditions in the future. Isn't it a bit short-sighted to make changes now?' he said.

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Nurseries are urged to experiment with favourite outdoor play

By Katy Morton, Nursery World, 13 May 2009 cirencester nanny agency

Exercises at Woodberry Day Nursery, Southampton

Early years settings are being invited to help children get active in outdoor play in a bid to tackle childhood obesity.

The Big Play Experiment is this year's theme for National School Grounds Week from 8-12 June. The annual event is organised by UK school grounds charity Learning Through Landscapes.
The Big Play Experiment aims to get as many children as possible engaging in their recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity through outdoor play and encourages them to identify activities that motivate them and improve their health.
It also links to the Government's Change4life campaign which is aiming to help whole families eat well, get more exercise and live longer, healthier lives.
Woodberry Day Nursery in Southampton reported a successful try-out of activities for the Big Play Experiment.
Nursery manager Kathy Duchamp said, 'The Big Play Experiment is all about fun activities and is really important as it focuses on play, fresh air and outdoor space.'
She added, 'Testing the activities has kick-started thought about how we use our own outdoor space and it was particularly successful with the children, who still ask to play some of the Big Play Experiment games'.
Practitioners can download a Big Play Experiment resource pack offering a fun and challenging range of activity ideas on how to get children outdoors being active, with tips and support on how to manage and assess any setting's experiment.
During the week children are urged to vote for their favourite activity to find the most popular outdoor game.
To take part in the Big Play Experiment and receive a free resource, visit www.ltl.org.uk/nsgw.htm.

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Baby growth charts show new weight measurements

By Katy Morton, Nursery World, 13 May 2009

New charts published this week for monitoring babies' growth promote breastfeeding and show a link between physical growth and motor development.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) was commissioned to design new charts to replace the 1990 growth charts, which described average growth and were based on babies who were predominantly fed with formula.
Babies who are breastfed tend to gain weight more slowly and are less likely to become obese. The new charts reflect this by showing a 1kg drop in expected weight gain by the age of one year, which will help to identify children at risk of obesity at an earlier stage.
The charts include for the first time Body Mass Index, which can be used to monitor childhood obesity, and a low birthweight chart for very pre-term babies.
Six key motor development milestones such as sitting, standing and walking, are listed.
Professor Charlotte Wright of the RCPCH said, 'The 1990 chart made parents more anxious as more children were deemed underweight.'
The charts have been introduced to coincide with National Breastfeeding Week on 10-16 May, as part of the Department of Health's commitment to increasing breastfeeding rates in England.
They are based on measurements collected by the World Health Organisation from 8,440 healthy breastfed children from six countries in 1997 to 2003.
They are to apply throughout the UK for all new births. The 1990 charts will continue to be used for measuring all children over four years old.
The new charts will be included in the updated Personal Child Health Record that is given to all new parents.
FURTHER INFORMATION
UK-WHO Growth Charts are available to download at www.rcpch.ac.uk

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Doubts over accuracy as Ofsted figures show slump in providers but rise in places

By Catherine Gaunt, Nursery World, 13 May 2009

The number of nurseries, childminders and out-of-school providers has fallen again, according to new Ofsted figures which also show a sharp rise in the number of childcare places.

But early years organisations have criticised the quarterly statistics, which were published two weeks late, for being 'unreliable' and 'confusing'.
Ofsted changed the way the figures were published after the EYFS was introduced. It is now possible to directly compare data for December 2008 with March 2009.
At 31 March there were 232 fewer full daycare, sessional providers, out-of-school clubs and creches - now categorised as 'childcare on non-domestic premises' - than there were at 31 December, but the number of places appears to have risen dramatically by 135,430.
The number of providers on domestic premises has increased, from 66 to 72, but the number of places has almost doubled, from 671 to 1,241.
Ofsted admitted the figures may be higher than the 'true overall maximum number of places' because they may include duplication for settings that are included on both the Early Years Register, covering children from birth to five, and the Childcare Register, for five- to seven-year-olds.
However, while the latest figures show the number of childminders has dropped for the ninth successive quarter, with 1,014 leaving the sector in the past three months, Ofsted failed to explain how the number of places they offer has risen by more than 10 per cent to 333,590 - the highest ever recorded by Ofsted, even though the number of childminders is at its lowest ever.
Charlie Owen, a senior researcher at the Thomas Coram Research Unit at the Institute of Education, said that although there may be some double counting, 'it is very difficult to see how that could account for some of the very big changes in just three months.'
He added, 'Similarly, the number of providers on non-domestic premises has fallen, while the number of places has risen, again by more than 10 per cent. While there are bound to be some initial difficulties whenever a new system of classification is introduced, these large discrepancies over such a short period of time mean there must be some suspicion over the reliability of the statistics.'
Andrew Fletcher, director of communications at the National Childminding Association, said there was 'a confusing discrepancy in the number of providers in relation to the number of places since the last quarter. Registered childminders are able to care for six children under age eight and according to Ofsted's figures, the mean is 5.5 places per childminder. NCMA's membership survey from 2008 shows it is around 5.1.'
December figures show a mean of 4.9 places per childminder.
An Ofsted spokesperson said, 'There is a strong possibility the number of childcare places shown may be higher than the true overall maximum number of places. We are investigating this possibility, and as a result comparisons of place numbers over time need to be treated with caution.'
Arthur Adams, who is married to a childminder, said he hoped the figures were 'not due to an arithmetical error by Ofsted, because as the Government agency charged with raising educational standards that would be very embarrassing.'

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