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The benefits of Early Years · Let Them Fly - Heather Harries Ed Hub

• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: And today we're at DIA in Albarsha and I'm here with Laura Hudson who's joining us on Let Them Fly.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to explore the journey of education, starting right at the beginning.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: The hardest decision for a parent that you ever have to make is putting your child in their very first school.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: I think not only the child breaks their heart, but I think parents break their heart in a far bigger way.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to turn to Lau Lara, because she deals with the parents and the children on that very first day of school.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me, am I right?
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Is that the hardest decision anyone makes?
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think yes, I think it's a huge decision for families.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's a very personalized decision.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: And usually on the first day of term, there is a lot of explaining to parents that everything really will be okay, comforting parents, explaining what's actually going to go on on the first day.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously building up to that, we spend a lot of time through July and August making sure we share lots of information and making sure that everybody's ready.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: But it still comes as a really big shock when you arrive on that first day, you hand over your little one.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: And some of our nurseries take children from 45 days.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: So some of them can be tiny, tiny babies, and you hand them to somebody who you've perhaps met a couple of times before.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: But it's still a very um strange thing that we do within our societies, I suppose.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's so hard, and I think maternity is so short here, that must be horrendous.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I have to say, I've got four children.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: The first two, I couldn't wait to put in the school for me.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, I was dancing down the path.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: The last one, when I put it there, I broke my heart.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: I literally, I cried all day, and she came out and she was fine.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: It was me that wasn't.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: But Laura, tell me a bit about your background.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: You have been with nurseries since forever, since I first met you.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: You were running a nursery, you are probably the missus miss nursery of Jabai.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Is that right?
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it and I like to see myself as an early years Anorak, so um early years through and through.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: I've been in the UAE now for 20 years, and I've always been doing um kind of education in different forms, but early years I think is where it really starts, where it matters, and there's a huge emphasis on our teams um to make sure we get this experience right for children because we set the scene for whatever comes next.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um so when I first arrived in Dubai, I was really privileged.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: I came and I worked in um a private school here.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: I taught 50 children a day, 25 in the morning, and then we swapped and I taught another 25 as my my class went off to an Arabic teacher for their sessions.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: And then I moved into early years and I became a director of a nursery school.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: I was then really privileged.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: I moved into teacher training, which I think is another perspective, and it really does enable you to see a wide variety of different teaching styles, um, looking at different kinds of settings.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: We worked across curriculums, which is always really interesting.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, then I then I went back into nurseries and and I've kind of stayed back in nurseries, and I'm now the director for any years for interventions education, so um get to see children every day, but also this has been quite nice because I've actually been able to see the transitions and how that works into schools as well.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I think that's been a real value add for me because I hadn't had that experience before.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I know a few a few months ago, I think it was now, and I came down and saw your little nursery down um Meadows nursery, and I have to say I was in love.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: It was all the little, all it was so beautifully done, it was very natural, lots of wood and lots of outside space.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um it kind of revolutionized my idea and my memory of nurseries, and I think the transition and the change, probably my kids were there 20 years ago, and the change is so dynamic and so diverse, and I know you've been driving that change.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think I think there has been a huge shift in the UAE, especially, um, and we now have incredible quality into our early year settings, um, and I think that has been um a real shift.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's come from the change in the government kind of moving under the KHDA, and that's been huge for us to be recognized as educators.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: And then there's been a lot more research done into the early years internationally that we can then bring in, and there's lots of best practice that we're now seeing across the board within the settings, like you say, back to the kind of calmness, the neutrality, making sure that actually what the children do every day is watch outs rather than the toys and the paintings and the walls and murals.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, and and that's now been very well integrated and established into our setting.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: So can you explain for parents who are listening in, um, what is uh what is early years?
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Just just kind of give an overview of early years.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: I know, you know, when the difference between nursery and the difference between foundation one, just just tell us a bit about it.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, early years is just the best.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: So it takes us from um birth right the way up to usually five years of age, because that's usually where we would say that we then hand them off into primary education.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um and and it is, it's about setting the tone for those children.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um we have lots of curriculums that are currently being covered in Dubai from the early years foundation stage through to Reggio Emilia and Montessori settings, and we now have some high scope.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: I think we actually have our first IB nursery as well that's here.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: So from that perspective, there is a huge um amount of research that I think parents now have to do to make sure they get the right choice, and that that adds to the pressure.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: So not only are you dropping off your most important possession in the world, you then have to make a choice between, you know, the locations and the curriculums and the timings and the days, and it it all adds pressure to parents, but that's what we're there for.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: So if you so when I if I have to drop my baby at 45 days and I have to say I don't know how people do it, that's basically a a baby care service.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Are they doing any learning or are they doing any any kind of um excites or I don't know, motivation, anything for them?
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, so in in our settings, particularly we believe that children learn from birth, so we have clear planning in place.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um in in those younger years, up until about two, we very much focus on what we call the prime areas of development.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: So that would be your physical, um, your communication, and then also making that personal, social emotional side of things and making sure they're there.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: So that's where we really focus.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: We do lots and lots of tummy time activities, um, lots of movement activities so that children are ready to write, because ultimately your early movement and impacts your writing abilities.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um and we do a lot around the social emotional side, so getting children ready to interact with other children, and obviously everything is very play-based because we know that that's how children really learn.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: I really liked when I I walked around your nurse, she was there was that element of choice.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: So they were there wasn't the prescriptive you must sit down and write.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: It was when you went to write, they could then enjoy writing, and I thought that was a really lovely way of introducing children to enjoying writing.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so choice again is a huge part of it, making sure that children can access resources.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um often when we plan things, children don't follow as we would expect.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: So we make sure that there is the room and the flexibility for them to take learning wherever they want to go.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um we know now that learning has to matter to those children.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: It has to be something that they can understand.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: So making things real for them and making sure that they do have the ability to make free choice.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because so often we see children who can't make decisions, and that comes from the fact that they didn't have the opportunities early on to learn how to do that.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Can I use that now as an adult?
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Can I use that?
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: It was from from what I was saying.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: It was from when you were young.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: So in terms of as a parent, what would be the optimal way of putting your child into school?
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: What what's the optimal age from your research and your experience?
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: There isn't really an optimal age as such, purely and simply because every child is so different and every family's needs are different.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um and you can sometimes see children who are really into everything and they're they're desperate to come into nursery because they're desperate to be kept busy.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um but we we can make these kind of um different situations, different ages work in different ways.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um the youngsters, the babies, when they come in, they tend to settle much more quickly.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they tend to transition in a lot quicker.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's really then just a case of making sure that they're very familiar with the people that they're with and that they have really good consistency in those classrooms.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there's good routines that are established, and a lot of the routine is based on what families want from home.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: So we talk to parents about when they want their children to sleep and when they feed and things, so that we continue what's been going on as a good routine at home.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: As they get a little bit older, they become a bit more aware of where they are and the changes that they're going through.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then we tend to make the transition um period kind of a negotiation between us and the parents, working out what would work for both sides.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um we usually build children up, so we ask them to come in for an hour perhaps, and then they go home so they know that they are going home, and then we build it up to an hour and a half and and slowly um come to full-time attendance.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: And we also use things like transitional objects, so if they have a teddy that's a favourite teddy bear, or um some children have blankets and things, we will then ask them to come in with those and slowly we we will work with them in that way.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: But usually it it really is a good communication with parents, um, that good relationship being formed from very early on and making sure that we have that open discussion about what's working for both parties.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: So is it from from a parent's point of view, what's the age they have to be in school now?
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: So they have to do they have a there is a a national age, no?
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there there isn't really for early years, schooling is formal.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: So that's when they would normally start.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: But we we see huge benefits to children coming in, particularly on the social and emotional sides and when they start early years.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um and usually we tend to see children entering around two.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: Oh gosh, that's quite early.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: So they would start FS1 at four or three.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: Start FS one at three and then move into FS two at four or reception, depending on the term.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously if they can do and they can do part-time, so they could come a few days a week.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Is that better for them to come a few days a week or is it better for them to be in a week at a time?
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: What's less disrupting for them?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um again, it depends on the child.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: So we tend to find that children that come more days settle quicker and because they have fewer days where there's there's their gaps.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but what we also see is that the part-time attendance, once they've built up, again has benefits if you have parents who are at home and want to spend time with those children.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's benefits to both versions.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Is there any research that shows children that are in early early years and then progress through school, they do academically better?
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Is there any research to support sending it?
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of it would be anecdotal to be honest.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: But I mean what we're seeing is um m a bigger pressure at the moment, particularly in um countries where the economic drive is there for them to come in earlier and earlier.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I I get that.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I I know you were very involved originally in Scandinavian type education.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: And they go to school when they're six, is that right?
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: They they actually start when they're seven.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Oh gosh.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a little bit later, and they don't do any reading or writing until they actually start their formal schooling.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: So the early years is all about playing, and there is some huge, huge b uh kind of depth in research that shows that that's really, really beneficial.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: I know you're very well when I spoke to you years ago, I remember you've been very excited about the system.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: I have to say I love that idea because I do feel there's a lot of pressure, and children develop very much at a different rate, you know, and no child is the same.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, my three-year-old, one three-year-old can run and walk and do whatever, and the other one got three and not interested, I'm not playing, I don't want to write, I don't want to.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we put a lot of pressure on children to hit these milestones at a particular age, and they may not be ready.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think a much, a much more important thing to focus on is actually those social emotional skills.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: So we can have children that can come in and can do their ABCs, but actually they can't interact with somebody and they can't and perhaps share in the same way, or or simply know how to play, you know, my turn, your turn.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um that that has a much more beneficial uh lifelong kind of learning impact than than any of the academics.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: And we had this conversation before about children come in and they know A, B, C, D, and they can recite it perfectly, but they don't actually know what it means.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: And they certainly don't know the sound, they only know the name of the words.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm guessing you get a lot of children through who are very intelligent because they know all of their letters, but actually the reality is you're having to go back to basics.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Is that correct?
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: Very much so, because knowing the letter names doesn't allow you to read with them, you can't do the blending and and those kind of skills.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: So um often parents will come in and say, You're gonna teach my children ABC or one, two, three, and actually that's not really what those children need.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: They actually need to know the phonic sounds, they need to be able to know what I call the numberness of number.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: So what does two look like?
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: What does three look like in terms of of quantity and being able to kind of um allocate those things?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: So I think those skills are much more important, um, and and actually being able to interact and communicate your needs and your wishes and understand your emotions and label your emotions, those things need to come way earlier than they perhaps are in the in some um education.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think the curriculum's messed up.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think we're putting a lot of pressure on education results driven academic academic results and far less on emotional.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I kind of, you know, I watch children these days and I do think there is a time to rebalance and refocus on that.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me all about innerventures, because I we talked a bit about education.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me about inner ventures and innovatures nursery and early years.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me, tell me a bit more about that.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: So we um currently have seven nurseries or early childhood centres and five schools.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um our nursery schools or our early childhood centres all cover the early years foundation stage curriculum, which is a really good, broad-based holistic curriculum and for young children who perhaps are looking to move into any other curriculum unless primary education.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's taught in English, but we also offer Arabic sessions as well, because I think um having my own children here, it's so important that they do learn Arabic and that they have a love for Arabic earlier on.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um I have two children, one who really didn't enjoy Arabic and the other one who flourished, and that that real flourishing kind of love of Arabic did come from her earlier interactions with it as a as a language.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I yeah, we offer Arabic.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: We have five schools that cover three curriculums, so we offer American, British, and the international baccalaureate curriculum.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and our children go from our nurseries or early childhood centres and feed directly into the schools, and it seems to be quite a seamless transition because when we teach the the earliest foundation stage and and the different elements of it, we always make sure we put a bit of an international spin on it.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I one of the things that always kind of upset me was when you would look at at teaching and you'd talk about wiggly worms, and some of the children here have never seen a wigglerm.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: So it doesn't have any real sentiment to what it is.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um so we we very much focus and our themes around our learning are very focused on the UAE um and things that they would find here.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's really lovely, and you were absolutely right, because I know when um my eldest was was seated his pr his early years in the UK and he drew a house with a sort of normal pointed roof, and my youngest was educated here entirely, and she drew a house with a flat roof, and it is very much that I think there's um a lovely um story uh the I can't remember the name now, the there's a famous writer who wrote an article, it was called The Danger of a Single Story, and she talked very much about um the fact that in Africa, you know, they're they're growing up in this world where children have all the dolls have got blonde hair and all the heroes in storybooks have got blonde hair, and she thought it was really tough because there was no similarity and there was no heroine to kind of associate with, and that was just a a DC, I can't remember what her name is, and gosh, that's terrible, isn't it?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, um it just it really struck me that we perhaps don't always give children the familiarity of their surrounds when we do teach them.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think it's really important that they learn about the things that are going to directly impact them or be familiar around them.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: So even down to things like when we celebrate National Day, we always make sure that we have usually a picnic um of local foods that come in and the children get to try things.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I think it it is, it's part of the world that they directly live in and they need to be able to interact with it seamlessly.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: And can I be really politically incorrect?
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to put you on the spot a bit.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: What is your favourite nursery?
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: Which is which of your your nurseries look up for sure.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: My heart tells me that.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we've worked really, really hard over the last year to make sure that consistently they they have very similar elements.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: I think when you have a a group of nurseries, you can have slightly different identity because obviously the leadership in them is is slightly different.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: But parents' expectations when you have a group is that you could go between them and you would notice very few differences and changes.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um and sometimes explaining that to the leadership can be tough because they have their own ideas of where they want to go with things.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um but certainly my take on it has always been that if you have a group, it needs to have some consistency there.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: So no, hopefully you make friends and it should be that you walk into them and know instantly that they're part of the Raffles brand.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I I would hope, maybe we'll test you.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um I would hope you'd walk into them and feel that way.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Brilliant.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: And in terms of intermediate industry, any exciting plans ahead, anything that's happening now?
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um over the next year we are uh looking to develop the curriculum more.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: The curriculum is the next area of focus for us and make sure that we are um reading the research and making sure that what we're doing is actually reflecting current best practices.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: One of the only things you can guarantee in education is the way that it changes, um, and making sure that we we have reflected that in what we're doing and that our team are are up to date and current with their kind of continuous professional development, so that actually what they're rolling out to children is the very best.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: And that that for me is everything.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: We should be at the top of our game.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: So in terms of in terms of when I when you put your child into early years, what can you expect when they come home each day?
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: So for instance, we'll take a two with two years of an optimal age, what can you expect?
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: What what's the output of putting them in?
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's quite expensive, isn't it?
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, early years can be, um but I think usually with a two-year-old you won't get much out of them.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um so for that end, we actually have a really good communication app that we have that goes out to all parents.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um it looks just like Facebook on a phone, it it's really convenient for parents, and we spend a lot of time sharing with them what the children get up to every day.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that could be a photo of a piece of artwork, an activity, something they've said.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then the hope is that parents will sit down with their children and perhaps go through some of those photos and bits and it will trigger discussion.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: Because usually two-year-olds come home and they don't have a huge amount to tell you about their day because they've lived it and it was there in the moment that they were living it.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: So so telling after the fact is always a bit of a challenge.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: But yes, hopefully the communication app helps with that because you can go through and look at the piece of artwork and say, Oh, you know, did you do this today?
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: What were you doing?
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: And hopefully that will be a conversation.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's parents on here will be thinking, Can we have that for our 16-year-olds?
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because my 60-year-olds used to come home and go, What have you done?
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: I say, What have you done?
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: And they go, Nothing.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: You mean you've sat in school all day and done nothing?
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, nothing.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: Did you speak to them?
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I I I think we need that right the way through school.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I th I think it's good, but I mean, one of the things that has always been been something that I've been thinking about is when we were at school, we never had those kind of apps.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I think sometimes parents expect us to be on that app all the time and trying to explain to the teaching team and to parents that needs to be kind of a summative thing.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: So while we take photos throughout the day and they do get sent real time so that parents are seeing things throughout the day, and that's really important when the child's transitioning in and settling, um, you know, that that conversation, that dialogue is going to happen once the children go home because really we want those teachers in the classroom interacting and being live with those children all the time rather than being on an app.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I I mean I always think from my point of view, when we when we deal with little kids, I always think, you know, the kids that have been in nursery, been in the little in the sort of foundation years, when they when you give them a an instruction, they're very much easier at following instructions.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: They seem to learn that processing skill a lot a lot easier, which means that when they go to foundation one and they're told we have to sit down, that instruction is a natural reaction to them, as opposed to something that's completely new.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: And also being able to play and interact with their surroundings and and follow those instructions, as you say, sitting down, but also understanding that once activities are set up, how you're supposed to go and distribute yourself throughout the classroom and and all of those things, uh making choices again is something that's really, really good.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you see a real difference between children that have been in nursery and those that haven't, in terms of of actually being able to go and and do what they're being asked and interact with that space quite well.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I think and and I think from from mum's point of view it actually gives a bit of freedom and you know they they they can enjoy their children in the evening as opposed to having to kind of tolerate them all day to some extent.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: I think as well when children have been in nursery for a while, and I I usually say this to parents, you know, once they've been in for a couple of weeks, if you're on a part-time attendance, you're likely to go up to a full-time attendance purely and simply because the children then get very bored at home because they're so used to activity after activity after activity and the options being available for them to go and choose what they want to do.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: When they come home, they're often kind of looking around like where where are the next set of activities coming from, and and that can be a challenge.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: I read we were talking before you had all kinds of exciting activities that they could do.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me a bit about the activities they can do when they're with you.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: So it depends on the topics and themes that we're following, but usually within a classroom we have something out called continuous provision, which means that the children have a range of tabletop or or tough tray activities so they can go and choose what they want to interact with.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: And the the activities that go out are usually looking to cover holistic learning objectives.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: We call them learning opportunities, and the children can go and choose what they want to take part in.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: Something parents often ask is what if my child goes and sits with the cars every day?
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we will then either use the Cars as something as a vehicle for learning and change the activity up so that it it has um a different perspective, or we might then try and target your child and move them on to different things.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um but within the room we'll usually have some messy play, um which is usually hugely popular with the children.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: So it could be that we have um gloop or or different things.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: We might hide letters in it so that they can go and look for the different letter sounds.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um we'll do things like listening walks where we go outside and listen for those sounds.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: Are they at the beginning, the middle, or the end of what we're hearing?
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um we also will have usually some construction areas within that.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: We'll usually have some kind of mathematical activity.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but again, it's down to the free choice of the children and and they'll be changed based on the interests and perhaps the needs that we're seeing as we're observing and and then assessing and planning for next steps.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: And the last question I've actually got for you is that obviously we're very international and you've got lots of different languages going on in the nursery.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Do languages matter when they're little?
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: I think so, and I think making sure that they're in a language-rich environment, depending on which language you're looking at, um, is is really, really um an important focus.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: We often say children are like sponges and they soak everything up.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um parents sometimes come to me and say, My child isn't talking.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but when you actually look at the languages that they're talking, they'll talk the same number of words as a child that only has one language, but it'll just be sprinkled across the different languages.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: So I think they are hugely important.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: Certainly as they move into our schools, we have a lot of mother tongue programmes.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's something that's really important, that national, international perspective to us as part of interventures.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: But I I think at home it's really important that you maintain your your home languages and and then go from there with obviously English being the main language of of education here.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it it is.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that almost almost I'm sad about that in many ways.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it's it's great.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's great for the there's Rex Pat sort of moving around, but I do feel that Arabic is getting a little lost in that hole, but that's a whole different conversation.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: We don't need to have that.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: Laura, thank you so much for spending time with us and for helping us understand a little bit about, you know, putting your child into nurseries, it's not a bad thing, it's a very positive thing, and it's allowing them to learn things they won't learn in the home from choices, from experiences, from meeting friends, from social interaction.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's something that is really vital for every child.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if they want to get in touch with you, we're going to obviously link you in, but is it it's not you, it's you have other people that do this.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: So we let's say we have a team for admissions and we have managers in the different locations who would would welcome people in to come have a look around the different branches um and ask any questions that they have.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: I would also say then that going to nursery is really good for a parent because you get to meet other parents, and sometimes being a parent can be very lonely.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um and within what we do as part of a community side of things, we do make sure there are opportunities for parents to come in and network um to make sure that everybody gets the support they need.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's really hard when you come overseas and you don't have that level of support.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it is lonely, you're right, and actually gets you at the social and being at the same stage and you've got parent meetups, yeah.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's a really good And just a casual coffee when you need somebody to talk to as kids.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, somebody I I know and my best friend I met out here, I met her because I went to an event, and I we were and I had my daughter, we were at a school event with the boys, and my daughter was there, and my daughter came up and she took the most massive chunk out of my leg, and this woman was sat next to me and she burst out laughing and we just bonded from then on because my daughter had bit me.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, and she got little one as well, and it just became a lovely social um sort of community.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I must go back and remind the kitty about that, actually.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, so level when ironing of where everybody's up to, yeah.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: So so I I again thank you so much.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: I think um in adventures is probably you're you're not what you're you're a big group, you're probably not the most high profile, you don't shout about your successes, you don't you're not you're not out there telling everyone to come, but you're very welcoming, and I know you know you'll do a tour parents should do how many tours, a couple of tours of different nurseries, different fields.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think I think the first stage of choosing a nursery is always looking at where you live because it has to be convenient to either where you live or where you work.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: And and I would say that to any parent.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then followed by making sure it's a curriculum that you're happy with, and that you know, specifically when you're feeding into schools as well, making sure that that that works for you.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um and once you've covered those, then it really is a gut feeling.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: You go into the nursery and sometimes it's a gut feeling you have about the manager because you have to trust their leadership and and have that kind of comfortable feeling with them.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: It might be a comfortable feeling you have just in a building with the entire team.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: But we would we would strongly say go and have a look around.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: If your child is a little bit older, bring them with you.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_01: That's really important because then you can see how they interact with the classrooms and with with the staff members.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um Yeah, then ask any questions you have because so often people leave and they haven't asked the questions they want to ask.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: Don't be afraid to ask those questions because those are important about putting your your mind at rest and being comfortable.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I I think one of the problems is that when it's your first child, you have no idea about curricula and about education.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: And you actually go and you do the tour and you you have no idea what you need to ask, and you go home, you think about it, and you go, Oh, I wonder if they do.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: But but as a first-time mum with a first-time child, really?
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, what am I supposed to know?
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and no question is a silly question.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: We've all been there.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and the chances are the questions you're asking, we will have been asked multiple times before, and and they are they are really important to you, so you need to make sure you you ask those things.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: Massive amount of information there.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna drop your contacts underneath.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if anyone's got any questions, I know Laura's just she's just amazing.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: You can just ask her anything.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to I I'm not going to put her number there because that would be really unfair, but do speak to the team and do go and tour the nurseries.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: I, as I say, I've been very impressed.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.