The ‘Progress Check at Two’ – Rough Guide
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The ‘Progress Check at Two’ – Rough Guide

The ‘Progress Check at Two’ – Rough Guide

Every 2-year-old attending childcare settings in England is subject to a progress check at the age of 2.Every 2-year-old attending registered childcare settings in England is subject to what’s known as a ‘Progress Check at 2’. Today we explain what it entails, who is involved and how it benefits little ones. Here’s our rough guide to the Progress Check at 2:

What Exactly is the Progress Check at 2?

The ‘Progress Check at 2’ is, as the name suggests, a complete progress check for children who have reached the age of two. It should be completed before their 3rd birthday and appraises their progress in all the key areas of their learning and development. It’s actually a part of the continuous assessment that goes hand-in-hand with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Amongst other things, the EYFS governs the learning and development curriculum that’s in place for children attending officially-registered childcare/early years education settings in England. It is appropriate to check that all is well in such areas, particularly at this critical age, and we’ll explain why later in this guide.

The ‘Progress Check at 2’ is Not the Same as the ‘2-Year Review’ — But They’re Linked

The ‘Progress Check at 2’ is not the same as the ‘2-Year Review’ — but they're ideally linked.The Progress Check at 2 should not be confused with the Healthy Child Programme’s 2-Year Review that 2-year-olds also undergo around the same age. While the ‘Progress Check at 2’ looks at the child’s learning and development progress and is the topic of today’s guide, the separate ‘2 Year Review’ is more about the child’s health and wellbeing and is undertaken by healthcare professionals like health visitors. They will look at things like overall health, immunisation uptake, physical and mental health and development, overall wellbeing and support levels from parents, carers or guardians.

Although the two reviews are different, there are definite areas of cross-over, so it makes sense for both reviews to align and feed into each other. It’s therefore useful for them both to be undertaken at a similar time, in tandem if possible. In this way, a 360 degree picture can be put together to give a complete, all-round, holistic view of the child at this milestone age. In so doing, any issues can be picked up early, so that suitable measures or interventions can be put in place to improve things for the particular child under review. For this reason, parents, guardians or carers of 2-year-olds are encouraged to allow the sharing of information*, pertaining to their child, between the various professionals involved in each of the two reviews.

Ofsted inspections will also check to ensure that Progress Checks at 2 are undertaken in an appropriate way at childcare settings. They also recognise the benefits of these progress checks aligning with the separate, more health-based, 2-Year Reviews.

The Significance of Age 2

The age of two is a significant one, hence both reviews taking place at this age. It’s a key age where the levels and progress of each child’s learning, speech, language, cognitive, physical, social and emotional development are becoming much more clear. Optimising each area as early as possible will pay long-term dividends for children, so it is a great moment to check that everything is heading in the right direction.

Areas of Focus in the Progress Check at 2

The 3 'prime' areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum are the core focus areas of the Progress Check at 2.The three ‘prime’ areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum are also the core focus areas of the Progress Check at 2. Hence, the checks will look to see how well the child is progressing primarily in their:

  • Communication and Language;
  • Physical Development;
  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

Having said that, the early years professionals who undertake the progress checks are at liberty to also report findings in other areas of the child’s learning and development should they deem it appropriate. For example, they may also include a summary of the child’s progress in the remaining 4 (‘specific’) areas of the EYFS curriculum. As anyone familiar with the EYFS will know, these are Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts & Design.

Who Undertakes the Progress Check at 2?

The Progress Check at 2 is a joint undertaking between the child’s early years/childcare provider, their parents, guardians or carers and, where appropriate, their health visitor too. Once complete, a written summary of the progress check will be provided to parents, or carers/guardians, as appropriate.

Identifying Support Areas Where Needed

The Progress Check at 2 is used to discover whether progress is at expected levels for the child's age and development.The core idea behind the Progress Check at 2 is to discover whether progress is at expected levels for the child’s age and development.

Using the findings of the progress check as a kind of benchmark for each individual child at that age, children can then be supported in any ways that will help optimise their progress going forwards. By sharing the findings with parents, any ongoing support that the child needs can also continue at home as well as at nursery, pre-school or other childcare setting that they attend.

Once identified, any strengths can be further enhanced and any areas of concern can be mitigated through extra help and support if needed. An example would be where an area of specific educational need or disability has been identified in the child. In such cases, the childcare provider’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) will become involved along with any other health professionals or specialists* if required. Together, they would put in place a support plan of measures that are most likely to help the child in any areas in which they are struggling. Such a plan will include both strategies and specific activities that will be designed to help the child, whether that’s at nursery, at home, or both.

Preparing Children for School

Through implementing the progress check and setting up support so early in their lives, children are more likely to overcome areas where they were struggling by the time they start school. This avoids them being held back at such a crucial milestone. Without such measures, they could otherwise have a bad start at school and this could lead to a detrimental domino effect in their education and development going forwards. As you can see, the Progress Check at 2 is therefore incredibly important — and a powerful tool to help little ones thrive.

Outstanding Childcare Services at an Outstanding Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley

An outstanding childcare providerLittle Acorns Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley

If you’d like to give your child the very best start in life, choose an award-winning nursery/pre-school and one that’s ranked as an outstanding nursery by Ofsted. Little Acorns is just such a nursery and even has its own Forest School. With all of this, it’s hard not to consider it the best childcare service in Clayton-le-Woods, Clayton Green, Clayton Brook, Chorley, or indeed Central Lancashire.  Register for a nursery place or contact us to arrange a guided visit. You and your little one can then see Little Acorns for yourselves. We’re on hand to answer any questions too. Please choose a button to take the first step:

Apply Today Book a Tour Message Us 01772 696288

* Except where it is required by law, information sharing with third parties only takes place when permission has been granted by the child’s parents, carers or legal guardians (as appropriate).

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Educational Food Growing Activities for Kids

Educational Food Growing Activities for Kids

Nature is incredibly important for children With a little planning, care and effort, children can grow herbs, vegetables and even fruit.and that’s just one of many reasons why little ones should be encouraged to learn about sowing seeds and growing their own plants. Today, we’re taking that a step further by explaining how children can grow plants that will give them real, edible food! With a little planning, care and effort, children can grow herbs, vegetables and even fruit if they put their minds to it. What’s more, it’s possible without a garden and needn’t cost a penny!

The Benefits of Children Growing Their Own Food

If they successfully grow herbs, vegetables or fruit that the family can actually eat, little ones will have an immense sense of achievement — and justifiably so. They will have learnt so much during the process too, including where plants, flowers and foodstuffs come from, how seeds germinate into plants, the relationship between flowers, pollination, seeds and fruit, caring for living things — and the circle of life itself. Children love growing and caring for plants and growing edible food is even better!That will never be more evident than when a seed has grown into a plant that bears fruit, which contains more seeds, through which the whole process can start again.

Children will also love growing plants as an activity. They’ll learn from the responsibility of tending to living plants and seeing the progress that seedlings make when they have cared for them. It’ll be a real milestone, too, when their plants start bearing fruit (… or veg!). And — who knows — harvesting fruit, herbs and vegetables that they can eat may even get them interested in cookery and trying out more foods. All in all, growing food is a brilliant and highly educational activity for little ones.

Growing food is a fun, highly educational activity for little ones.

Take a look below for a few easy and inexpensive ways under-five children can get started.

Shop-Bought Seeds Are a Start But Free Seeds Are Even Better!

Shop-bought vegetables like peppers are full of seeds that can be grown into new plants.Seeds for herbs, vegetables and microgreens are all widely retailed in places like garden centres and even some supermarkets. Each seed packet will usually explain when and how seeds can be planted. This is perhaps the most obvious way for children to grow plants that, if all goes well, result in a healthy crop of food. However, we can be far more adventurous than that! Where is the fun in buying seeds in packets when children can get them for free? Let’s take a look at some cheaper and far more creative ways that children can start things off.

Grow Free Pepper & Tomato Plants!

Seeds from shop-bought tomatoes can be saved and grown into new tomato plants.“Free” you say? Well, pretty much! Next time you have some shop-bought tomatoes and/or peppers as part of your ordinary shopping, get your little one to take a few moments to save some of the seeds. These are found within things like tomatoes, before they’re eaten, and are usually discarded in the case of peppers. Such seeds can simply be spaced out on some compost or earth, watered in and a thin layer of soil or compost added on top. If these are left on the windowsill and the earth kept moist by the child over the coming days, little seedlings will soon start to appear. Our pepper plants were grown from the seeds found in shop-bought peppers. This one is about 4 weeks old.The image of the green plant shows our pepper seedling grown in this exact way — and it was incredibly easy to achieve. Ours is about 3 or 4 weeks old and it’s just about ready to be “planted out” outdoors, to mature. Once mature, they should flower then sprout some new peppers! It’s identical for tomatoes. If children have no garden for larger plants to be transferred to, ‘grow bags’ or any kind of suitable container can be used on a patio or balcony. Children will need to keep watering them every day, to keep the soil moist. Flowers will eventually appear and, with a little help from bees and insects, will be pollinated so that they eventually ‘fruit’. If appropriate care and attention continues, your child will eventually end up with vegetables that can eventually ripen and be eaten. That’s free tomatoes and peppers for the family, in our examples. Don’t forget to remind your child to save a few more seeds, though, so they can repeat the whole process again … and again!

If you have a large enough space in a garden, your child can do a similar activity using the seeds from squashes, pumpkins, marrows, courgettes and suchlike. However, those do take up quite a bit of room.

Grow Free Herbs!

Children will need water their little plants every day, to keep the soil moist.Does your little one know that he/she can grow new herb plants totally free of charge? This is done simply by clipping cuttings from your usual shop-bought herbs and leaving them in water to root. It’s incredibly easy so long as the child has some patience (that’s another useful lesson for them). All the child needs to do is to save some small (3 or 4 inch long) cuttings from the tips of herbs like basil or coriander. For safety, parents/carers may need to help with the cutting part if the children are very young. Cuttings from shop-bought herbs can grow into new plants by leaving them in water to root.The bottom sections of the clipped cuttings should be dangled into a glass, small bottle or other suitable vessel of water and left over a period of days until they sprout roots. See the photo for an example. A clear water vessel, e.g. drinking glass, will allow your child to clearly see the roots. Once suitably long, these new little plants can be transplanted individually into compost/soil in something like flower pots — or indeed a free, recycled alternative like a yoghurt pot. The little ones will need to continue attending to the plants with regular watering so that the herbs grow and mature. This activity can all be done indoors on a windowsill too, so requires minimal space. Growing their own herbs may even make children more inclined to eat them!

Grow Free Extra Lettuce & Celery!

A free and easy way to grow food is to “re-grow” it. This celery base would normally have been discarded, but it's growing new edible stems.Another ridiculously easy way to grow food is to “re-grow” it. A classic example of this is to save the root section from a salad vegetable like iceberg lettuce or celery. This is the part of a shop-bought vegetable that would normally be cut off and discarded. However, in what has to be the easiest food growing activity of all, the child simply needs to keep that root section and leave it root down in water for 1 to 3 weeks. It will eventually grow some roots but, before that, the upper tip will start to sprout new leaves. In our own test using an iceberg lettuce we ended up with loads! That is new, free salad that can be later harvested and eaten. Simple!

More Food Growing Ideas for Kids

Pop the 'root' section of lettuces into water and they will grow new edible leaves. This iceberg lettuce is re-growing in just 2 days.(Speaking of iceberg lettuces): Excuse the pun, but the ideas above are just the tip of the iceberg! There are so many other types of vegetable and fruit that children can grow (or re-grow) for next to nothing. For example, they can grow new apple trees from apple pips and new strawberry plants from the outside skin of strawberries. And the whole topic of growing microgreens merits its own stand-alone article, available here. We may follow up in due course with another batch of food growing ideas for under-fives and, indeed, for people of any age. In the mean time, we hope your little one has some fun with the wonderful ideas above.

Little Acorns: an Outstanding Nursery & Pre-School in Clayton, Chorley, Lancashire

An outstanding childcare providerLittle Acorns Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, ChorleyOur award-winning nursery & pre-school in Clayton-le-Woods gives babies and children under five the very best early years education. It’s also a fun place for little ones to grow and thrive during their most formative years. We have an outstanding Ofsted rating, an integral Forest School and represent the best childcare service in Clayton-le-Woods, Clayton Green and Clayton Brook, Chorley, Central Lancashire.  Register a nursery place for your child today or get in touch to arrange a visit. Ask us any questions that you may have and we’ll be happy to help. Please choose a button below to get started …

Apply Today Book a Tour Message Us 01772 696288
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SUPER-CHARGE Your Child’s Education Through Reading

SUPER-CHARGE Your Child's Education Through Reading

In a major study, preschoolers gained a boost of the equivalent of 8 months when they regularly read with a parent or carer.Last year, we wrote a detailed post outlining why every parent should be involved in their child’s education. There’s one particular area, though, that merits its own stand-alone article and that’s reading with your child. Reading with children is incredibly important — and a powerful way to absolutely super-charge their education. Let’s take a look.

Studies show that reading with your under-five can boost their language skills by a staggering 20%.

A 40 year study∞ of pre-school children found enormous positive benefits when children regularly read with a parent or carer. Preschoolers were seen to gain a boost, incredibly, of the equivalent of 8 months. That’s remarkable given that the average age in the study was just 3¼. Particular benefits were clear to see in several areas, including:

  • Understanding (‘receptive language’);
  • Use of vocal grammar and vocabulary (‘expressive language’);
  • In the understanding of word structure and ‘pre-reading’ skills.

Receptive language skills were seen to benefit the most and that’s important — after all, understanding and comprehension of words and meanings are keys to potentially huge growth in many other areas a child’s early years education. Indeed, lacking such abilities has also been shown to really hold children back in terms of later social and educational ability, with poorer outcomes when they’re older.

A Special Boost for Children from Lower Socio-Economic Backgrounds

Instilling a love of reading in children is like educational gold dust.Interestingly, under-five children who came from disadvantaged backgrounds were shown to benefit even more than those who didn’t. For this reason, reading with parents/carers has been proposed as a possible way to close the performance deficit often seen with children from such backgrounds. It may well represent a perfect solution to even up the playing field.

“Receptive language skills – the ability to understand information – are positively affected when pre-school youngsters read with someone who cares for them.”

Read With Children, Not Just To Them

That’s an important factor. Reading to children is all very well and will have benefits, for sure. However, reading with children takes the potential benefits to a whole new level and that’s why it’s the kind of approach we use at Little Acorns Nursery. Parents and carers should also involve their children in the reading. Getting them to interact with what’s being read will also make the reading process fun and interesting for them. For example, explaining what things mean, asking them questions about the story or topic and commenting on their answers. Sometimes get them to repeat words correctly and show them how those words and sounds are made up on the written page. Getting them really involved interactively will make reading both fun and educational. By doing so, you will show them how reading works and you will also be more likely to instil in them a love of reading as they grow older. That is like educational gold dust.

Instilling a love of reading in children is like educational gold dust.

More Benefits of Reading with Children

By getting children to interact with shared reading sessions, they are learning all the time and often in profound ways. That’s true not only in respect of the topics written in the reading material but also in relation to language, grammar, phonics, sentence structure, phrasing, letters, syllables, reading itself and basically the English language as a whole. All these skills are crucial to their current and future success. With good reading and comprehension skills, they’ll learn and excel in all other educational areas and also as individuals going forwards. The importance of all of that cannot be overstated.

Other benefits of regular shared reading sessions with adults include:

  • Children gain a deeper, more profound understanding of a much wider range of topics when they regularly read with a parent.Deeper bonds with parents/carers (after all, this is quality time spent together, one-to-one);
  • Greater imaginations and thereby enhanced creativity skills;
  • Improved social skills due to their improved language skills and knowledge;
  • A better understanding of the world;
  • Improvements to their self-expression skills, including around expression of their emotions;
  • Often even improved empathy skills because they’ll learn, through reading, how to look at things from multiple perspectives, including from those of others;
  • Overall, a deeper, more profound understanding of a much wider range of topics and facts.

Children, particularly in their early years, often take in and comprehend far more than we realise and far more than they can articulate at such a young age. Indeed, millions of new pathways are developed in their young brains with every activity that they undertake. Reading, in particular, teaches children so much, in deep, profound ways. All its benefits can only help children to thrive and optimise their potential to learn, become as well-educated as possible and be successful individuals as they grow older.

Reading is powerful.

Little Acorns Nursery — Outstanding Early Years Education for Under-Fives

An outstanding childcare provider in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley, Central LancashireAt Little Acorns, we know the value of reading with children under our care and take every opportunity to do so. We make it fun and interactive in the knowledge that it will help give them a huge boost in their early years education. In so doing, they’ll become more school-ready by the time they leave us at the age of 5 and join reception year at school. Little Acorns Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley, Central LancashireIt’ll also give them the tools to absolutely thrive and enjoy better outcomes in their school lives and beyond.

Little Acorns is an award-winning childcare provider with an outstanding Ofsted rating. As such, it represents the best nursery and pre-school in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley and the Central Lancashire area. If you’d like your baby or child to go to the very best childcare setting available, please get in touch:

Arrange a Nursery Visit Send Us a Message Call: 01772 696 288
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THIS is Why Your Child Should Go to Nursery & Pre-school
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THIS is Why Your Child Should Go to Nursery & Pre-school

THIS is Why Your Child Should Go to Nursery & Pre-school

While some parent/guardians simply have to send their little ones to nursery or pre-school, others may be fortunate enough to have a choice. If you are one of them, you may be wondering whether to send your child to nursery or pre-school anyway — even if you don’t need to go to work from a practical or financial perspective. Typical questions parents may ask themselves include:

  • Would staying at home be better for my child?
  • Or would they be missing out if they don’t attend nursery or pre-school?
  • What are the benefits of going to nursery/pre-school for the child?

Well, this article is here precisely to answer those kinds of questions. The overall consensus from experts, though, is that children will benefit enormously by regularly attending a high quality early years setting. Let’s take a closer look.

The Benefits of Nursery/Pre-school to Under-5s

Studies show that the benefits of nursery and/or pre-school to children are most pronounced when they attend a good early years setting. So the choice of provider is an important one and, indeed, one that makes all the difference to the outcomes for a child.

At Little Acorns Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley, under-fives are therefore fortunate in that Ofsted rate us as an outstanding childcare and early years provider – in every category. Indeed, Ofsted confirms that children have “outstanding outcomes” at our childcare setting.

Multiple Studies Show Benefits From as Young as 2 Right Into Adulthood

According to a 2020 study by the Department of Education (DfE):

  • A good early years education benefits children educationally.
  • A good early years education benefits children cognitively.
  • A good early years education benefits children behaviourally.
  • A good early years education benefits children’s social outcomes in both the long and short term.

A 2002 study1 found that the benefits of a good early years education showed benefits as early as the age of two.

Later, in 2011, another study2 showed that children aged 15 were still benefiting if they’d received a good early years education at nursery, pre-school or other early years setting. The benefits were seen to be so significant that, by the time they reached the age of 15, they were the equivalent of a year ahead in terms of performance.

Another study3 came to similar conclusions in 2018, finding that those children who received a good early years education had improved social skills, improved self-confidence and had a better foundation for success not only at school but also right into older years and the workplace.

Findings of a 13 Year Study

A UK study5, which which followed the progress of children from the age of 3 right up to 16, found a whole raft of positive benefits from a good early years education. Indeed, they were so positive and far-reaching that the findings significantly influenced not only the UK Government’s approach to early years education (including the introduction of the free childcare schemes that we know today for eligible children aged 2 to 4) but also the work of global bodies. These include UNICEF and UNESCO. The long-term benefits of a good early years education, highlighted by the study, included:

  • Better grades and number of GCSE levels attained;
  • Improved English, mathematics and academic results;
  • Better behaviour and self-regulation;
  • Improved relationships with peers;
  • A lower likelihood of hyperactivity;
  • A greater likelihood of going on to higher education;
  • Positive benefits right into and during adulthood;
  • Improved earnings potential when they’ve progressed to the workplace.

Levelling the Playing Field for Disadvantaged Children

The later DfE study in 2020 also found that disadvantaged children received particular benefits from a good early years education if they attended regularly and for long enough. Benefits were most pronounced when under-twos attended for at least 10 hours per week and 3 to 4-year-olds attended for at least double that. The cumulative effect was to level up the playing field for them to a significant degree. Benefits included improved verbal abilities and better goal attainment, both skills that stand young children in good stead once they transition to school at the age of five.

Benefits to Families & the Nation

While this article is primarily about the benefits of nursery or pre-school to children, we must also make mention of the benefits to families and society in general. For example:

  • Households/families benefit as it allows adults to return to work and thereby increase household income, the possibility of upward mobility and, of course, more tax for the exchequer;
  • Along with improved education comes lower crime and prison rates, less poverty and reduced reliance on welfare;
  • A Chicago study4 concluded the same, also finding that children who had received a good early years education were less likely to suffer from child abuse, neglect, depression and even substance abuse.

A Good Early Years Education Matters

As we can see, study after study recognises the crucial importance of a good early years education for children. The benefits to them are profound and far-reaching. This is no surprise to us at Little Acorns Nursery in Clayton, of course. However, it’s good to see our own beliefs backed-up by the findings of so many illuminating studies, as well as the DfE itself.

Little Acorns Nursery — Outstanding Early Years Education for Under Fives

Little Acorns Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley, Central LancashireEverything we do at Little Acorns is designed to give your baby, toddler or preschooler the very best start in life. Our outstanding, award-winning early years provision ensures that every child learns optimally and develops the skills they need to absolutely thrive. Our approach allows them to achieve personal bests in every area. That’s all just a small part of the exceptional learning and development programme that we offer at our outstanding nursery and pre-school in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley, in Central Lancashire. If you’d like to explore the possibility of your baby or under-five child attending the nursery and benefiting from the very best childcare available, please get in touch:

Arrange a Nursery Visit Send Us a Message Call: 01772 696 288

References: 1: Sammons et al. 2002 | 2: The OECD, 2011 | 3: Sim, 2018 | 4: Chicago Longitudinal Study funded by the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) | 5: The Effective Pre-School, Primary & Secondary Education (EPPSE) study.

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12 Outdoor Activities for Little Ones

12 Outdoor Activities for Little Ones

Our last post described the huge number of benefits of outdoor play for children in their early years. With that in mind, today’s post highlights twelve excellent outdoor play activities that young children can enjoy. With spring all but upon us at time of writing, children will be able to get outdoors more and more in the coming weeks and months. Our activity suggestions are fun, educational, will teach children new skills and will get them out into the healthy fresh air too. Our ideas below are mostly of the more natural variety too, so need not cost anything. Take a look …

Bird spotting is a wonderful activity for young children and helps introduce them to an appreciation of wild creatures.1. Bird spotting

Teaching children to spot birds will really help them to appreciate wild creatures. They can simply watch for them in the park, on the balcony, in the garden or out in the country. Putting out some bird food and waiting patiently and quietly out of sight will help, of course. If children have made home-made bird feeders — even better! It’s more educational if they can view a UK bird book or app so they can identify the types of birds that they see. Maybe make them a list if they can read, or a pictorial reference sheet that they can tick off. Robins, sparrows, blackbirds, pigeons, doves and various types of tit are common in the UK, but there are many other types too. Here’s a handy list of the 19 most common British birds.

2. BBee and butterfly spotting is a wonderful activity for young children.ee & Butterfly Spotting

Similarly, bee and butterfly spotting is a wonderful activity for young children, although it relies more on there being an abundance of the right kind of flowers and plants growing nearby. Butterflies, bees and gentle hover flies will flock to plants like Buddleia, for example. They all generally like any flowering plants that are rich in nectar, scented and colourful. As we suggested for birds, perhaps parents or carers can print out pictorial reference for the different types that children may discover. Here’s a great reference for the different types of bee found in the UK and here’s a guide for UK butterflies.

Another educational and interesting outdoor activity for little ones is to see if they can find animal tracks.3. Search for Animal Tracks

Continuing with our wildlife activity theme, another educational and interesting activity for little ones is to see if they can find animal tracks. This is best done when there is suitable habitat for paw prints and suchlike, for instance where there is soft earth, mud or sand nearby. It might be a good activity to do whilst out rambling (see #6 below). Perhaps search near a lake or river as many birds and animals will visit the water’s edge — or in snow if it’s winter. (N.B. such activities should be done under adult supervision for safety, of course).

Children love building dens to 'camp' in.4. Make a Den

Once in the outdoors, whether in a garden, courtyard, park or countryside, children love building dens to ‘camp’ in. Building them is all part of the fun and they can be made with long sticks and foliage, a sheet draped over string tied between trees, or simply using a low-cost children’s tent or similar. Once erected, children will love using the den to use as a base, like their own ‘home in the wild’. Their imaginations can run riot and all manner of games, role-play and adventure can ensue.

 

Little ones will love floating little boats on water.5. Float a Boat

Little ones will love floating little boats on water (with supervision of a responsible adult for safety, of course). They’ll enjoy it even more if they have made the little boat or raft themselves. Boats can be made simply from folded paper (as in the photograph) or using little sticks, string and perhaps a little bit of a cloth for a sail. If there’s a stream, then even better — they can race their boats! Even a puddle, pond or paddling pool will do, though.

Rambling is a wonderful chance for adventure, discovery, varied play — and fun!6. Go on a Ramble

A walk to around the local park, beside a local river, woods or countryside is one of life’s great free pleasures. The benefits of being out in nature are significant and numerous for children and adults alike. A ramble with Mum or Dad or another responsible adult will do wonders for a child’s physical and mental wellbeing. It’s also a wonderful chance for adventure, discovery, varied play — and fun!

Children will love seeing the results when they take photos of flowers, insects, landscapes, trees and sunsets.7. Get into Photography

With cameras being a part of mobile phones and tablets these days, photography is easily accessible to little ones. It’s easy too … just preview, check the subject is in view and in focus, and press the button. And, if children get more interested, perhaps they could ask for a camera, whether new, second-hand or passed down when a relative upgrades. Children will love seeing the results when they take photos of flowers, insects, landscapes, trees, sunsets and anything that triggers their imagination in the outdoors. Who knows — it could even lead to a creative career!

Children will love running and climbing around an assault course.8. Obstacle Course

The opportunities for playing are infinite outdoors. Children will love running and climbing around an assault course. This could be formal (like in a playground) or using more rustic obstacles like trees, logs, inclines and suchlike. Obstacles courses outdoors are a great way to challenge children’s imaginations, skills like problem-solving and, of course, fitness, motor skills, balance and coordination. They could even do it in teams. It’s all great fun!

Little ones love picnics!9. Have a Picnic

Little ones love picnics! So, next time the sun is out and you’re taking your child(ren) out to the park, the countryside or even perhaps just to a garden, consider taking a picnic. Children can even be involved in preparing for one and will enjoy the sense of responsibility that goes with gathering everything that’s needed. Then, once outdoors, they’ll enjoy sitting on the picnic mat with the food, drink, fresh air and immersing themselves in the very ‘civilised’ thing that is the picnic!

Planting seedlings, vegetables, plants or herbs in the garden is one of life's simple pleasures for children and adults alike.

10. Plant a Mini Garden

Planting seedlings, vegetables, plants or herbs in the garden is one of life’s simple pleasures for children and adults alike. It’s a relaxing and educational activity for children to enjoy outdoors. While a garden is ideal, containers or pots on a balcony, courtyard, patio or windowsill will suffice as plants need only be small. Supervising adults can help children to care for the plants and, in time, harvest flowers, herbs or vegetables from them. They will learn so many lessons by growing plants and food, including patience and empathy, and will get a great sense of achievement when they see the results. They will also have witnessed the magic of nature.

Children love discovering mini beasts.11. Hunt for Mini Beasts

Children can also search outdoors for mini beasts like woodlice, ants, beetles, ladybirds, centipedes, caterpillars, slow-worms and even earth worms. They need to be respectful of them and be gentle, however. After all, each is a living being with its own needs and feelings. So caring, adult supervision is always best around little creatures, particularly when children first learn about them. They will love getting to discover their tiny neighbours and perhaps even get to rescue any that occasionally get themselves into trouble, for example a bug that’s landed in a puddle or butterfly that’s in danger of getting caught in a web. A sense of empathy will naturally come from such activities.

It's surprising how creative children can be with pebbles and rocks!12. Get Creative with Rocks & Stones

Pebble sculptures are easy!Whether on the beach or in the garden, it’s surprising how creative children can be with stones and rocks! Stones can be painted with lovely patterns or images, perhaps combined with simple words or as part of a ‘stone story’. Bigger rocks can be piled one on top of the other to form sculptures — these look magical. Children will love these and other creative activities that they can take part in outdoors, with simple stones and rocks.

Safety First

Safety is paramount. When playing, particularly outdoors or near hazards, children should always be supervised by a parent or responsible adult.

Outdoor Play at Little Acorns Nursery & Forest School (Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley)

Little Acorns Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, ChorleyWe have outstanding outdoor play areas at Little Acorns Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley, Central Lancashire. We also have a wonderful Forest School for our under-fives. We have an Excellent Ofsted rating and an outstanding National-level nursery award. We’re near Clayton Green and Clayton Brook too, so will be perfect for you if you live or work in any of those areas and need the very best childcare for your child. Arrange a visit with your child or baby, so you can all look around. Alternatively, get in touch to ask any questions or simply apply for a nursery place if you’re ready to. We look forward to meeting you!

Arrange a Nursery Visit Send Us a Message Call: 01772 696 288
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The Benefits of Outdoor Play in the Early Years
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The Benefits of Outdoor Play in the Early Years

The Benefits of Outdoor Play in the Early Years

Outdoor play is great fun for children but also has a huge number of benefits.In today’s post, we take a look at the importance of outdoor play for children in their early years. Indeed, there are many benefits, as we’ll see …

Outdoor play is great fun for children — of course — and that should not be overlooked as a benefit. After all, any healthy childhood should be about adventurous play and fun just as much as it should be about learning. However, as we all know, playing and learning are very closely interlinked. That is why outstanding childcare settings like Little Acorns Nursery firmly believe in learning through play.

Having fun anywhere, but particularly outdoors in the fresh air, will help children’s wellbeing in terms of mental and spiritual health too. Playing outdoors will lift the spirits and give children a myriad of opportunities for fun, learning, self-improvement and physical wellbeing. Such activity releases the hormone cortisol in the brain and that helps to naturally reduce stress and anxiety.

Children benefit from the simple act of being outdoors.

Playing outside is a healthy release from things like TV, electronic screens and, potentially, from an otherwise more sedentary lifestyle.Playing outside is also a healthy release from things like TV, electronic screens and, potentially, from an otherwise more sedentary lifestyle. Away from the confines of the indoors, outdoor play allows children the freedom to move about more freely. Outside, they’ll learn to navigate spaces, obstacles and play equipment, all the time improving spatial awareness, coordination, balance and gross motor skills. These include running, jumping, climbing and so on. Their fitness levels will naturally improve too, as they build stamina, muscle and strength. This is all incredibly good for them.

Outdoor play is also a feast for the senses. During the early years, sensory experiences are very important, not least for their brain development. Playing outdoors will give them many sensory opportunities, for example in terms of what they hear, see, feel, touch and smell.

Outdoor play teaches children to be creative, inventing adventures and challenges with their friends, all the time stimulating their brains and minds just as much as their bodies. They benefit socially too, of course, growing closer bonds with their peers (and supervising adults), learning social skills like communication, understanding right from wrong, cooperation, and so on.

Outdoor Play at Little Acorns Nursery

Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active livesAt Little Acorns, we understand the importance of outdoor play. Little ones, from the age of two have access to our outdoor gardens and play areas — all under close supervision, of course. We have invested heavily in a whole range of exciting, stimulating and educational outdoor facilities for the children to explore, play with and learn from. As they do, they will not only learn but they’ll also hone fine and gross motor skills, improve coordination and balance, improve physical fitness, enhance social skills and build friendships. They will also soon become better at recognising and balancing risk, they’ll become more independent as they move around freely. They’ll also learn from mistakes. Their self-confidence and self-esteem will also naturally grow. These are all incredibly important skills that will stand them in good stead as they gradually approach the age where they’ll leave us to move on to school.

“Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives” (DfE — Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage)

Forest School

Children enjoying a Forest School session at Little Acorns NurseryTaking outdoor experiences for little ones even further, Little Acorns regularly takes children on outings, including to local parks. More importantly, though, it was one of the first nurseries/pre-schools to introduce Forest School to Central Lancashire. This is the ultimate outdoor experience for under-fives and teaches them so much about the natural world — and also about themselves. As well as learning a huge amount about nature, flora, fauna, the seasons and about playing and learning in the Great Outdoors, Forest School helps them learn additional skills like problem-solving, working in teams, leadership, resilience, empathy, caring for the environment, personal responsibility and so much more. Learn more in our Ultimate Guide to Forest School here.

A recent UK study found that just 5 minutes of outdoor exercise per day, in a natural environment, improves the wellbeing, mental health and self-esteem of youngsters.

Outdoor Play Supports the EYFS Curriculum

Outdoor playing and learning covers many areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage ('EYFS') framework, including Physical Development.All these outdoor activities also support the early years curriculum. Outdoor playing and learning covers many of the areas outlined in the Early Years Foundation Stage (‘EYFS’) learning and development framework, which is prescribed for all childcare settings in England. Specifically, outdoor play helps children in at least four of the seven key areas of the EYFS including:

  • helping immensely with ‘Physical Development‘, one of the ‘prime’ areas of focus within the EYFS;
  • helping with ‘Communication & Language Development’, another prime area in the EYFS;
  • supporting ‘Personal, Social and Emotional Development‘ (PSED), the third of the three prime areas of the EYFS;
  • contributing greatly to ‘Understanding the World‘, one of the specific areas within the EYFS framework.
  • Outdoor play can even help children with ‘Mathematics‘ (another specific area of the EYFS) in some situations.
    (Learn more about the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and curriculum here).

Clearly, outdoor play is hugely beneficial to children— in a multitude of ways — so, we encourage parents, carers or guardians to take the benefits of outdoor play into consideration for children under their care.

Safety Considerations

Children’s safety and wellbeing is paramount, of course. Therefore, any outdoor play, particularly when it involves young children, should be undertaken only under the close supervision of a responsible adult. It’s even more crucial when children are playing outdoors, as there are many extra hazards too look out for.

Outdoor Play at our Nursery & Forest School in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley

Little Acorns Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, ChorleyOur outstanding Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods is also a Forest School, giving under-five children the very best start in life. Childcare in the Chorley, Central Lancashire region simply doesn’t get any better than at Little Acorns, as recognised independently by an Excellent Ofsted rating and an incredible nursery award. We’re also near Clayton Green and Clayton Brook, so if you are looking for the best nursery and pre-school in any of these areas, please get in touch. We’d love to show you and your child around, so you can see the setting in action for yourselves.

Arrange a Nursery Visit Send Us a Message Call: 01772 696 288
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Bird Feeder Ideas for Kids
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Bird Feeder Ideas for Kids

Bird Feeder Ideas for Kids

In last month’s article about bird feeding for under-fives, we promised to follow up with a post showing ideas for bird feeders that children can make at home. So, that’s what we’ll look at today.

Making home-made bird feeders is a fun activity for children; it's creative, educational, teaches children new skills and gets children more in tune with nature.Making bird feeders

Making bird feeders is a fun activity for children, it’s creative, educational, teaches children new skills and gets children more in tune with nature. What’s more, making home-made bird feeders is pretty easy. It’s an inexpensive activity. It’s also great for the local birds, who get to eat much-needed extra food and that’s especially important during Winter. That’s a time when most other natural food sources for wild birds are in very short supply and the birds are burning calories just to stay warm. All in all, making home-made bird feeders and feeding birds during the colder months is an excellent activity for young children — and indeed for everyone!

So, take a look at a few easy-to-accomplish home-made bird feeder ideas below. However, young children should be supervised by a responsible adult at all times during both the making and locating of the bird feeders — health and safety comes first! There are also some guidelines included for the safety and wellbeing of the birds.

A simple apple bird feeder - popular among black birds in particular.

Apple Bird Feeder – Simple!

We’ll start with one of the most simple bird feeders: with adult supervision, children can be shown how quick and easy it can be to attract birds to the garden just by threading a nice apple onto a strong twig on a tree or onto the tip of a bamboo stake, or alternatively dangling it from a branch using a loop of string. Perhaps start the apple off by removing some of the skin in one or two sections, so birds can see the ‘flesh’. Before long, species like blackbirds, in particular, are likely to show an interest and be amongst the first to start nibbling them.

Children need to be patient; birds and wild animals instinctively wait a while before trusting new things that have appeared in the garden or anywhere outside. Patience is a great skill for them to develop, though, so this is another great lesson for them.

Important: only put out as much food as is likely to be eaten over just a day or two, otherwise it can go mouldy and that’s terribly dangerous for birds (it can even kill them).

Bread is a popular choice for garden birds, but it's not really that good for them.

Or Use Bread – But With a Warning

Children can alternatively use a chunk of bread (ideally wholemeal, seeded and non-stale) but first read our warning below if going this route:

Warning: although bread is a popular choice for feeding birds, it’s actually not that great for them, particularly if it’s white bread and lacking in any visible seeds. It’s also dangerous for birds if it goes mouldy, which is why we say above that only small amounts that will be eaten within a day should ever be put out for the wild birds. So, in truth, any of the other food types mentioned in this article are far better for birds than bread.Bird eating a seed-covered pine cone.

Although bread is a popular choice for feeding birds, it’s actually not great for them.

Home-made bird feeder made of a pine cone covered in seeds.Seeded pine cone bird feeders

These are fun and simple for children to make. The pine cones can be foraged from local woods and the best ones will be ‘open’ rather than ‘closed’, so that there’s somewhere that bird food can be pressed into. Children can simply spread peanut butter2, suet or lard1 all over the pine cone, pressing it in between the many seed scales that protrude from the open cone. Once covered, the entire thing can be rolled in bird seed and this will stick. The seed-covered pine cone can then be hung outside for the birds using some string, somewhere suitable (we wrote about the best location for bird feeders here).

1. A Word About Lard & Suet

Only use proper beef suet or pure lard that’s hard at room temperature even when it’s quite warm. Proper suet (from cows) is good for them as they need saturated fats and it does lend itself to the making of seed cones, seed balls and even simple seed cakes in plastic flower pots or cleaned yoghurt pots.  However, if you use a type that’s going to melt in the sunshine, then it could actually do terrible harm to birds. So, ensure you are always only using proper beef suet or pure lard that’s hard and does not leave an imprint if squeezed – suet, for example, should be hard and should crumble when handled. Avoid softer fats and so-called suets that may be ‘faked’ through the use of additives to make them appear harder.

This home-made bird feeder features a plastic spoon to dispense the seed and give birds somewhere to land.Water bottle bird feeders.

These are quick and easy to make, great for birds, and also teach children how easy it can be to recycle or repurpose something that would normally be discarded. As you can see from the photographs, empty plastic bottles can be made into excellent bird feeders in a variety of ways. All that’s needed is string at the top to hang them and a suitable hole, which can be cut using scissors or a knife (it’s safest for a responsible adult to do the cutting). This recycled drinks bottle makes an excellent bird feeder (for seed or water).Then, they can be partly filled with bird seed, or perhaps grated Cheddar cheese. Alternatively you can see that some of the designs could be used for drinking water, for example the one shown immediately on the left or at the very top of this article. Another variation even has a plastic spoon pushed into it, forming a convenient perch for the birds to land on and to feed from (see right).

Drinks cartons make wonderful bird feeders that children can decorate.Carton bird feeders

These are similar in approach to bottle feeders, but are made from adapted milk or fruit juice cartons (washed before repurposing, of course). Once again, a responsible adult can help children with the cutting part, for safety. Carton bird feeders can be more creative than water bottle feeders because they’re a little easier to cut and also they can be decorated more easily, for example with paint as shown in our example (right).

Strings of unroasted monkey nuts are popular with larger birds, some tits, and squirrels.Monkey Nut Bird Feeders

These are another very simple type of home-made bird feeder that children can make.  As you can see from the photograph, all that needs to be done is for the monkey nuts to be threaded together to form a ‘string’ that can be hung in a tree or from one bush to another. Larger birds and some tits (plus a few squirrels) will find it easy to bite through the outer husk to get to the peanuts inside. Use unroasted monkey nuts, though, for reasons we’ll explain in the next section.

2. A Word About Peanuts, Monkey Nuts & Peanut Butter

When it comes to any type of peanut-based bird food, you have to be careful and follow a few simple rules.

  • The choice of bird seed can make a huge difference to how popular your feeder is with birds.If using peanut butter in your home-made bird feeders, ensure it is fresh, has no salt or sugar added and is not ‘flavoured’. Smooth or crunchy peanut butter is great for bird-feeders, though, and you can even stick extra bird seed to it once it’s been spread on your feeder e.g. pine cone or apple. There are also some peanut butter brands made specifically for wild birds, by the way.
  • When it comes to peanuts and monkey nuts (peanuts still in their cases), ensure they’re unroasted and break a few open to check they’re fresh and that there is no mould/fungus between outer skin and the actual peanut. Aflatoxin is something that can greatly harm birds and this can be found in any fungus present. Never use them if you find any affected by this fungus; it harms humans too, as it’s a carcinogen.
  • Remember too, to only put out as many peanuts as will be eaten in a day or two maximum, so as to avoid mould build-up, and keep your store of nuts clean, hygienic and dry. Finches, nuthatches, woodpeckers and several varieties of tits will be likely to visit — peanuts are very popular!
  • During breeding season (spring/summer) it’s best not to put out whole nuts for the birds. Parent birds may try to feed them whole to their offspring and chicks are likely to choke on them. So, avoid whole peanuts in warmer months or simply crush them into much smaller pieces to be safe.

Read more about the types of bird food that we’ve found to be really popular with our own local birds here — choosing the right food can make a massive difference to the success of your bird feeders. Read more about the best places to site your home-made bird feeders here. And don’t forget about hygiene, which is important for both humans and the birds.

Nature is one of life's magical pleasures and teaches children so much.Why Nature is So Important for Children

Nature is one of life’s magical pleasures and teaching children to feed birds is a great way to introduce them to the natural world and some of the lovely creatures in it. Nature has so many benefits for children. It teaches them about empathy, about being responsible, demonstrates that it’s important to think about others, and so much more. Learn more about the benefits of nature to children here.

We hope you and your family give some of the ideas on this page a try. Making bird feeders will teach children new skills and introduce them to new facts about the world too. Hopefully, you’ll all soon get to know some of the regular birds that visit your neighbourhood and your child will begin to recognise and name individual species. And, as we said in our last post, teaching children about nature from a young age has been shown to make them more inclined to live greener lifestyles as adults.

Nature at Our Clayton-le-Woods Nursery & Forest School

Little Acorns Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, ChorleyLittle Acorns is an outstanding Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley. As well as being a nursery and pre-school, it’s also a Forest School for under-fives, where children can learn about nature, the natural world, and about themselves. Our Ultimate Guide to Forest School explains more, so take a look if you’d like your child to benefit from everything a Forest School has to offer. Please contact us if you have any questions, if you’d like to visit the setting or if you’d simply like to reserve a place for your child. We’re based in Clayton-le-Woods so are also very near to Clayton Green, Clayton Brook and Chorley in Central Lancashire.

Arrange a Nursery Visit Send Us a Message Call: 01772 696 288
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Bird Feeding for Under-Fives

Bird Feeding for Under-Fives

Children love feeding birds and wild creatures!

As autumn fades and winter begins in late December, wild birds struggle more to find food. Natural foods like insects, fruit, nectar, caterpillars and grubs are nowhere to be found. Even recently-abundant seeds have now dropped to the ground and are either buried or already eaten. With the colder temperatures, birds also need more food because they burn calories trying to stay warm. With all that in mind, we’ve been feeding our wild birds each day to keep them from going hungry. Today’s post explains how children and under-fives can also get involved in the rewarding activity of feeding wild birds.

Children Love Feeding Birds!

Feeding wild birds is something that children can definitely get involved in. It’s not only great for the birds, assuming it’s done properly of course, but it’s also a wonderful thing for children. If they keep it up, they’ll soon get to recognise the ‘regulars’ who will turn up each day. If they get used to a particular feeding time and place, some birds may even start to wait nearby once they begin to trust you and your child. That can take significant time, though, so children must learn to be patient (a great skill to have) and remain calm and quiet when wild animals and birds are nearby.

Good for Birds & Great for Children

If you're lucky, you'll see less common birds like nuthatches.Providing food for birds is a win-win for everyone — humans and birds alike. Birds obviously get to eat much needed food without huge effort and children get to learn more about nature and perhaps individual bird visitors. (We even name our regulars! “Vern” is a tame blackbird, for example, having been named after a character in the famous movie Rain Man). By encouraging birds to visit, children will soon be able to recognise and name the different species of bird too, particularly if given some help from a parent or bird book. Visitors might include robins, blackbirds, blue tits, great tits, long-tailed tits (our favourite), thrushes, starlings and, if they’re lucky, more unusual, colourful birds like nuthatches, woodpeckers, bull finches and gold finches. As it gets colder, some species will travel to warmer countries to overwinter. For those that stay in the UK, however, food from a friendly young nature-lover will be a real lifeline.

Learning to Appreciate Nature & Other Creatures

You do not need a garden to feed birds. This feeder simply sticks to a window.If children do get involved in feeding wild birds, they’ll soon begin to realise how delightful the little beings are. They each have their own character, likes and dislikes. Children will get to appreciate this if they keep up the feeding and the birds will soon realise where to find the food each day. Children will get to understand the importance of nature and learn skills like empathy, understanding and responsibility as they nurture the wellbeing of these beautiful wild visitors. Animals, birds and insects are all individuals and it’s good for children to recognise this. By feeding birds and other animals, they will also be able to continue to appreciate nature and the natural world, just like they do in our Forest School at Little Acorns Nursery School. Nature teaches children so much about the natural world as well as about themselves. It also makes them more aware of ecological issues and, as such, can make them more inclined to live a ‘greener’ life as they grow older. Learn more about the importance and benefits of nature to children in this recent post.

Bird Feeders & Bird Food

Sunflower seed 'hearts' are enormously popular with garden birds.There are many bird feeders available to purchase in supermarkets and local shops, although we simply buy ours as part of our weekly online supermarket shop. Many are quite inexpensive. From fat balls and filled coconut shells, to seed cakes, hanging dispensers and pre-filled seed feeders, the variety available gives parents and children a huge choice. In our own garden, we have found that wild bird sunflower ‘hearts’ (the seed with the outer husk taken off) are incredibly popular at our bird table. The birds simply love those little sunflower seeds! (Actually, so do the squirrels). In equal first place is a pre-made, National Trust-branded hanging bird “cake”. Although it’s called Robin Peanut Cake, it’s a huge hit with many additional types of birds including several different types of tit and even some wonderful woodpeckers.

Making home-made bird feeders is another great option that’s both great fun and may save money. What’s more, it’s fun for both children and parents. There are lots of ways to make them and they need not cost much, if any, money. We cover ideas for home-made bird feeders for kids to make here.

What Else Can Children Feed Birds?

Robins, blackbirds, sparrows, starlings, pigeons and doves love grated Cheddar cheese.Grated Cheddar cheese (mild and in moderation) will be very popular. Robins, blackbirds, sparrows, starlings, pigeons and doves adore it! Mouldy or ‘blue’ cheese should be totally avoided, though, as the mould could harm or even kill birds. Meanwhile, bread will fill birds up but it doesn’t hold much nutritional value for them, so only feed bread to birds in moderation. It’s incredibly important not to feed them mouldy bread too, or for it to be left to go mouldy once outside. Mould can greatly harm or even kill birds.

Some birds, including blackbirds, will also like finely-chopped apple although it’s a bit more hit-and-miss than the foods mentioned above, especially if those are available at the same time. With bird foods, including fruit, it’s also important to only put a quantity out that is going to be actually eaten, otherwise that too can become mouldy over time and, as such, dangerous to birds.

Fat and seed balls are very popular. Here we see long-tailed tits enjoying a feast.The RSPB provides a useful page about which foods are good (or bad) for birds here.

Where to Put Bird Feeders

It’s best to put bird feeders somewhere where they will be at least partly protected from above and below. Wild birds are particularly worried about possible attack from predators like cats from lower down near the ground, or birds of prey from above. For this reason, they are more likely to visit bird feeders that are located at least 5 feet (approximately 1.5 metres) off the ground while also offering some protection from above. Also ensure that feeders are not located close to anywhere that cats could hide and then ambush the birds, for example shrubs nearby. To protect from birds of prey, feeders would ideally be located beneath the canopy of a larger tree, or under an overhang from a roof or suchlike. That said, they also need to be within reach so that children or parents can refill them with bird food. This should usually all be possible even if you don’t have a garden. Try to locate bird feeders beneath the canopy of a large tree or roof overhang so as to protect them from birds of prey attacking from above.Window recesses, higher windowsills and balconies will usually offer some kind of suitable site for feeding birds. Careful choosing of the site for your bird feeders is an important consideration, however, which could make or break your feeder’s success and the wellbeing of the birds you are trying to help.

Don’t be discouraged if birds ignore your feeder initially. They are wild, nervous creatures that are under constant threat of attack from possible predators. For this reason, they will usually ignore anything ‘new’ initially, including your new bird feeder. Don’t worry, though; after a few hours or days, they’ll realise the bird feeder is safe and will be eating the bird food soon enough. It just takes a little patience while their trust is built up. More often than not it’s the smallest birds (like blue tits) that are the bravest first visitors! Once other birds see them eating safely, they’ll be more likely to join in.

Ensure bird baths and water feeders are also regularly cleaned.A Word About Hygiene for Your Family & the Birds

At time of writing, there is a nasty outbreak of avian (bird) flu and thousands of birds have been affected. Because of this, other diseases and harmful parasites like trichomoniasis, it’s incredibly important to maintain good hygiene in respect of bird feeders and anywhere food is left for them. Also, any water put out for birds to drink or bathe in should be regularly changed and the holding vessels cleaned. That’s all for the safety of both the birds and your family. The RSPB says:

“Everyone should take care to maintain good hygiene when feeding garden birds, regularly cleaning feeders … removing old bird food, spacing out feeders as much as possible, and washing your hands.”

More detail about the dangers of avian flu is available here and you can learn how to correctly clean bird feeders here.

Nature at Little Acorns Nursery’s Forest School, Chorley

Children enjoying a Forest School session at Little Acorns Nursery, Chorley.Little Acorns Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, ChorleyAt Little Acorns Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley, we really encourage children when it comes to nature. Our outstanding Chorley Forest School is extremely popular with our under-fives. It gives them a really good insight into nature and the natural world and is also immense fun. It also helps them to discover so many things, including skills they didn’t even know they had. Check out our Ultimate Guide to Forest School to learn more about how it can benefit your child. We’d love you to get in touch if you’d like to ask any questions, book a visit to see the setting in person or to reserve a nursery place for your child:

Arrange a Nursery Visit Send Us a Message Call: 01772 696 288
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15-30 Hours of Free Childcare for 2, 3 & 4-Year-Olds (A Rough Guide)
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15-30 Hours of Free Childcare for 2, 3 & 4-Year-Olds

15-30 Hours of Free Childcare for 2, 3 & 4-Year-Olds (A Rough Guide)

Parents are wise to research & choose the best setting for their childChildren living in England are very fortunate to have their early years childcare supported financially by a variety of Government funding schemes. The 3 most important, popular and widely-available schemes are:

  • 15 hours per week of free childcare for eligible 3 & 4-year-olds;
  • 30 hours per week of free childcare for eligible 3 & 4-year-olds;
  • 15 hours per week of free childcare for eligible 2-year-olds.

Little Acorns Nursery School supports all three schemes for families who have been successful with their funding applications.

This free childcare can really help families, especially parents who wish to return to work and those wishing to improve their standard of living. With more people working, it also benefits the economy, of course.

Perhaps most importantly, Government funding of early years childcare greatly helps children. Studies have shown that children who receive a good early years education, for example at nursery or pre-school, really do benefit. That’s in both the short term and the long term. A Department for Education study showed that children attending high quality early years education settings benefit socially, behaviourally, cognitively and, of course, educationally. Indeed it’s abundantly clear that early years education gives children a very healthy head-start so they can really hit the ground running by the time they start school around the age of 5. Many of the benefits of early years education are, as we said before, much longer-lasting, even into adulthood. Perhaps we’ll cover more detail on that in a future post. Either way, though, it’s clear that this financial support from the Government is incredibly important.

A high quality early years education has many short and long-term benefits for childrenLet’s look at each of the schemes …

Please note: in all funding cases discussed here, the Government funding is paid direct to the setting (not the family) and strict rules apply to settings in order to be eligible for the funding. Little Acorns Nursery School qualifies on all counts and welcomes families whose childcare is funded in this way.

Free Childcare for 3 to 4-Year-Olds

15 Funded Hours for Children Aged 3-4

The great news is that all children aged 3 to 4 living in England are eligible to receive a total of 570 free hours of childcare per year. Simple! And there are no tricky hoops to jump through. The 570 hours are usually taken as 15 hours per week spread over 38 weeks, although it’s sometimes possible to spread it out in a different way if the childcare setting agrees. One of the great things about this Government scheme is that it is not means tested. Whether parents are employed, self-employed or unemployed does not matter. Similar schemes are also available in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, by the way.

Children using the scheme can begin at an approved childcare setting in the term that follows their third birthday. Terms usually start in early January, April or September. They can continue benefiting from the free funded hours when they become four years of age. It only ceases once they reach “compulsory school age” and begin full-time education at school in Reception year. Compulsory school age is effectively the first day of the January, April or September term following their 5th birthday (whichever falls soonest after that birthday).

30 Funded Hours for Children Aged 3-4

Eligible children aged 3-4 can benefit from 15 to 30 hours of free childcare funding each weekTaking the above scheme a step further, eligible families are able to top up the standard 15 hours per week with an additional 15 hours of free childcare in specific circumstances. In effect, this can double the child’s free childcare hours from the standard 570 hours to 1140 per annum. These are usually taken as 30 hours per week over 38 weeks although, again, some childcare settings may be able to be flexible and to spread the hours out in a different way.

Eligibility for the extra hours depends on a few factors, although they are not so restrictive that they disallow most families — far from it. The factors include things like whether the child lives with the parent who is claiming (i.e. they must), whether the parent/their partner is working (they should be) and whether they are earning the equivalent of at least 16 hours per week at the National Living (or Minimum) Wage, while at the same time not earning above £100k in the current tax year. These are just a few examples of the eligibility criteria and it’s surprisingly easy, for many, to qualify for the extra funded hours. Check if you’re eligible for 30 hours of free childcare for 3-4-year-olds here.

Free Childcare for 2-Year-Olds

15 Funded Hours for 2-Year-Olds

Eligible children aged 2 can benefit from 15 hours of free childcare funding each weekUnder certain circumstances, children aged just two can have some of their childcare funded by the Government too. However, it’s much more restrictive for this age group. If successful, though, the Government will fund up to 570 hours of childcare for a two-year-old over the course of a year — that’s significant and could really help mothers or stay-at-home fathers get back to work sooner. As with the 3 & 4-year-olds, the 570 hours is usually taken as 15 hours per week over the course of 38 weeks, but some parents may wish to ask their childcare provider if it’s possible to spread it out in a different way.

The funding is available for eligible children to begin their childcare in the term after they reach the age of two. In other words, their birth date governs whether they will start in the January, April or September term.

In order to qualify for the 570 funded childcare hours, the two-year-old must fall into an ‘additional needs’ category, or their parent(s) must be receiving one or more qualifying benefits from the Government. Check your eligibility for free childcare funding for 2-year-olds here.

Apply For Free, Funded Childcare Hours Here

After checking eligibility for any of these childcare funding schemes, you simply need to contact your local authority to apply.

Apply for an Outstanding, Award-Winning Chorley Nursery

An outstanding childcare providerLittle Acorns Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, ChorleyIf you live or work in the Chorley or Clayton area of Central Lancashire, Little Acorns Nursery School would be a natural first choice for your weekday childcare. Ofsted rate the nursery as outstanding and the setting was the outright winner of a major National nursery award. High quality childcare doesn’t get any better than this, so please do consider us for childcare of if you have a baby and child aged up to five and want to give them the very best start. The nursery and pre-school is in Clayton-le-Woods, close to Clayton Green, Clayton Brook and Chorley. It is also a Forest School setting, so children get to enjoy and learn from everything that nature has to offer. If you are looking for childcare excellence in a warm, inviting and nurturing environment, please get in touch. We look forward to hearing from you …

Arrange a Nursery Visit Send Us a Message Call: 01772 696 288
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Exercise & Active Play for Under-Fives
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Exercise & Active Play for Under-Fives

Exercise & Active Play for Under-Fives
A healthy lifestyle is crucially important for health and wellbeing at any age, but it’s even more important in the early years. At this age, children are still at a critical time in their physical and mental development. We wrote last month about the need for healthy eating for toddlers and preschoolers and now follow this up by exploring the importance of exercise and active play for under fives.

The Importance of Exercise for Under-Fives

Active play has many benefits to under-fivesGenerally speaking, under-fives should be encouraged to be active. There are many benefits of this including remaining physically fit, getting to know and enhancing physical abilities, honing motor skills (fine and gross) and improving coordination and balance. In addition, it helps the very young to develop visual and sensory skills. Physical activity is also part and parcel of the development of new neurological pathways in the brain. All these skills and benefits will become increasingly important as children grow, develop and become ever-more active and independent.

Exercise for Babies — Tummy Time

Exercise for babies comes in the form of light, active play. At this early age, even starting as newborns, they can begin via floor activities known commonly as Tummy Time. Here, the supervising adult places them on their stomach on a suitably comfy, safe and soft area of the floor and encourages them to move their head, arms and legs.

Close supervision is essential for your baby’s safety and, of course, the baby must always be awake when they’re in this ‘prone’ position

Allowing babies to move on their tummies will help to strengthen limbs, neck, shoulder and back muscles and also help the infant to develop their motor, coordination and visual skills. It’s also believed to help babies avoid ‘positional conditions’, including the development of skull deformations and neck problems. As we mentioned before, it even helps babies’ brains to form new neural pathways.

Tummy time should last only 3 to 5 minutes when they first start as young babies, with the infants attempting it only 2 to 3 times over the course of each day initially. As they grow towards the age of 12 months, this can be slowly increased to suit the baby’s increasing strength and physical abilities. Eventually, the baby will be able to roll over sideways in both directions, be able to sit and self-direct — and may indeed be crawling by the time they’re around 7 to 9 months of age.

Exercise for Toddlers

By the time they are toddlers (1-2 years old), they will usually have mastered all of the above and be adept at self-directing, grasping, pulling, pushing and moving around unaided. Indeed, toddlers should now be active each day for around 3 hours in total (split across a few sessions). Now they’re this age, toddlers’ active play and exercise can include light activities such as standing up, playing actively, rolling and moving around. It should also include more energetic activities (safely – so supervision and a safe environment are needed) like running, hopping, skipping and jumping. Activities like ball games are also great at this age, as are use of appropriate climbing frames and even riding tricycles if they’re able to do so safely.

Exercise for Preschoolers

Dancing, swimming, scooting, climbing, chasing, cycling and energetic outdoor activities are great activities for preschoolers.Once they reach the age of 3 to 4 (preschoolers), 3 hours of physical activity is an ideal daily minimum. Now that they’re older and more confident in their physical skills, they can continue with the toddler activities but add more complex and moderately vigorous options to their play. Dancing, swimming, scooting, climbing, chasing, cycling and energetic outdoor activities are good examples.

Avoiding Too Much Inactivity (… & TV!)

What’s equally important is to avoid letting children remain inactive for long periods of time. Hours each day spent in front of screens like tablets, mobiles, games consoles and TVs is not good for them. Moreover, doing so for long periods when they’re at such formative ages sets up a dangerous pattern of behaviour that might be hard to break. It could also lead to health and wellbeing issues like becoming overweight or even obese. In fact, a staggering 20% of children are overweight or obese before they even start school, according to NHS data. What’s more, they say that 9 out of 10 children aged between two and four are not doing sufficient levels of physical activity to meet recommendations from the UK’s Chief Medical Officers. Worrying statistics!

Exercise & Active Play at Little Acorns Nursery, Chorley

Babies, toddlers and preschoolers learn through play at Little Acorns Nursery. This means that physical activity comes naturally, forming a key part in keeping children active and adequately exercised as they develop. Indeed, it’s all embedded as part of the nursery’s EYFS curriculum, particularly in the Physical Development module. As such, children use the huge variety of physical activities on offer at the nursery to improve mobility, coordination, balance, physical fitness, hand-eye coordination, agility, physical strength and so on. This is all done through a learning and development plan that’s tailored to the strengths, weaknesses and preferences of each individual child. The Key Person is a member of staff assigned to oversee the progress of each child and goals are set and milestones recorded. In this way, every child will achieve personal bests during their time with Little Acorns, becoming well-rounded, ‘school-ready’ individuals by the time they’re five.

Nursery Places Available in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley

Little Acorns Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, ChorleyWe sometimes have a few places available at our nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, near Clayton Green and Clayton Brook, Chorley. Do get in touch if you’d potentially like a place for your son or daughter. As well as being the outright winner of a stunning National award, it’s one of only a few Lancashire nurseries recognised by Ofsted as Outstanding and is also a Forest School. This allows your child to also enjoy and learn from everything that nature and the outdoors have to offer. Register with us if you are interested, or contact us while nursery places are available — we’d love to hear from you. See the following options:

Arrange a Nursery Visit Send Us a Message Call: 01772 696 288
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