Looking after children and those in early years settings during heatwaves
There is a 90% probability of heat-health alert criteria being met between midnight on Friday 17 June and midnight on Sunday 19 June in parts of England.
Staff should be made aware of the risks to young children and how to manage them.
Sensory food education
Sensory food education is a fantastic way of helping children build a positive relationship with food and eating.
One of the three prime areas of learning and development in the EYFS is Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED). A key part of this for children in your care is learning how to look after their bodies including through healthy eating.
This brilliant article from TastEd shows how you can easily incorporate sensory food education into your early years setting.
Writing in Reception
The Department for Education (DfE) brings you a teacher's perspective of making final judgements against the new writing Early Learning Goal for the new Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP).
Read about how this school have adapted their approach to assessing writing following the reforms and how they use the new writing ELG to assess their children’s writing to support transition to year 1.
Music in the early years
Music acts as both a foundation for, and a viewing glass of, children's development. It can support early maths, young children's communication and language skills, and their personal and social development. But it can also help you understand the real child.
Find out more about the importance of music in the early years and how you can use it as a practitioner in the latest edition of the Foundation Years blog.
Questionnaire by Connect for Health
Starting school for the first time is a significant milestone for every child, and often a scary and exciting time for them and their parents/carers. Connect for Health want to make sure all children and families have the support they need with their health, wellbeing and development to prepare for this. This questionnaire helps to identify when families may need support and advice in order to help children meet their full potential as they enter education. A school nurse will review the questionnaire and may be in contact with you.
The questionnaire should be completed online by all parents/carers with a child due to attend a Warwickshire school for the first time in September. It will be open for completion from June through to August.
The following leaflet about the questionnaire is available for families: A5 leaflet – https://cutt.ly/sr-hq-a5leaflet
Download the App. Help your child to thrive: 50 things to do before you are five.
The 50 Things To Do app features activities to support the different stages of development for children from birth until they are five years old.
This incredible app is now available to residents across Warwickshire and all residents need to do is download it from their phone or tablets app store.
50 Things To Do Before You're Five gives you 50 activities that parents and carers can support their children to try out. It’s a great way to tick off fun, free or low-cost activities for under-fives.
All activities within the app are built around resources and amenities within local communities, encouraging families to visit places and take part in fun things to do on their doorstep, such as visiting local libraries, museums, parks and green spaces.
The activities aim to support early education and develop children's social skills and can include anything from looking at books, singing songs and rhymes, painting and drawing, playing with letters and numbers, through to being with others or going out and about on outings and visits.
Presented through a mobile app, it’s easy to access and conveniently available whenever the moment arises for a new activity. There is also a wealth of helpful information within the app to support families and professionals working with children.
The app will also be used by early years settings and schools across the county and promoted to families by a range of professionals working in SEND services, Health, Public Health, Libraries, Community Groups, Adult Education and Family Hubs.
https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/2746/download-the-app-help-your-child-to-thrive-50-things-to-do-before-you-are-five-
Helping under-5s live active and healthy lives — Early Movers
How active are the children in your setting?
A reminder that it is a statutory requirement of the EYFS (3.59)that children have daily access to outdoor activities.
It’s useful to do a check on levels of physical activity in your setting—how much time do children spend sitting or engaged in activities in which they have very little opportunity for gross motor movement ?
The British Heart Foundation recommends a daily minimum of 3 hours physical activity for under 5s.
Useful resources: