NURSERY SLOPE

The debate as to whether children should spend their initial years at home or attend nurseries has - to a large extent ? disappeared. Parents must do what's right for them but economic factors and individual circumstances are encouraging more of them back into the world of work, often earlier than many would have liked. Consequently, nurseries have become an essential part of the fabric of our society, with government partly funding places for 3 and 4 years olds and an increasing number of company-based initiatives offering financial assistance for childcare to employees with pre-school children.

Choosing a nursery, where your children will spend a large amount of their waking hours, needs careful consideration. It is not sufficient to 'park' children, we all want the best possible start for them and the choice can be overwhelming. A good nursery meets the needs of both children and parents and works closely with families. Education is, after all, a social activity and it's a huge benefit for children to build relationships with people outside their family and this can happen without undermining their relationship with their parents in any way. In fact, in learning to interact with other adults and their peers children develop real skills for life.

The best nurseries offer the highest quality care and education, so what should we be looking for in pre-school care? The finest examples are holistic in approach and should give children a broad range of experience and choice. Look for a balance of planned activity time and teacher-directed sessions and make sure that the environment will encourage your child's independence. Children need to be given choices to make and to learn to work with others, co-operating and making some decisions themselves. The 'good' nursery should promote empathy and encourage children to serve the class community ? and yes, all this can happen in pre-school education!

The nursery curriculum needs to be appropriate rather than seen as a straightjacket. Staff should interpret the Early Years Foundation Stage (curriculum for 0-5 years) to meet the needs of each child in a well-equipped and well-organised classroom. A successful nursery environment needs a positive nurturing ethos ? teaching is critical to this, look to see how the adults are involved with the children. In countries like Italy, Denmark and the USA where children start school later, they also attribute their successful pre-school education to the quality of this relationship between staff and children. This cannot be underestimated; have you ever considered how you speak to children? Just think about the type of questions you ask and consider ways of asking your 3 or 4 year old an 'open question'. This will promote their independent thinking, and encourage them to formulate their own theories and make judgments and decisions. An informed early years education with well-trained staff will be encouraging this as a matter of course. But, whatever your circumstances, whether you are a working or stay-at-home parent, it is the quality of time spent with your children, rather than quantity, that is important.

Things to look for when
choosing a nursery for your child:

• Splash your face and body with cold water ? to bring a natural refreshing glow to the skin.
• Have a warm drink or a glass of water
• Stretch and exercise ? to keep you feeling young and healthy
• Breathe long, deep and slow ? to keep you calm and connected
• Set your intention for the day ? make your day work for you