When I was growing up, my parents certainly instilled in me the notion that I could grow up to be anything I wanted to be. Over the years, my aspirations fluctuated from wishing to train as a hairdresser to becoming a fashion designer, being married at 26 with a private jet. I briefly toyed with … More Mummy, can girls be firemen?
When do we start classifying and categorising without thinking creatively? From the moment we are born, we explore the world around us, as curious beings, researching and discovering. We unveil the nature and properties of everything we encounter: observing, touching or smelling. We make connections using these senses and piece together knowledge and experience to … More When do we stop thinking creatively?
Peter Bazalgette in “The Empathy Instinct” argues that, as part of an Empathy Charter, every parent needs to understand the inestimable value of intimate encounters…they should appreciate the corrosion of healthy, emotional development that comes with the always-on distraction of the mobile device…with school behaviour codes [being] built on the principles of the empathy instinct. … More Empathy as the new literacy
Since setting up this website, I have been asked by many people who are unfamiliar with the long term research project in Reggio Emilia, what benefit to children the principles emanating from this approach might convey. It can be difficult to describe the notion of a child being a co-constructor of their own learning, or … More Freedom to imagine
The question, “should I let my child climb up a slide?” rages on, debated by Facebook focus groups, parenting blogs and Mumsnet forums. If you have missed, or not been party, to these discussions, I have outlined below certain of the key messages and concerns being conveyed by parents and professionals alike. FOR allowing a … More The great slide debate
“Mummy, which one is the naughty one?” A question my daughter regularly asks when referring to the character more commonly known as the baddie or the villain. Whilst watching a film, or a performance on stage, or reading a book, her attention is drawn to the anti-hero. The questions which ensue relate not to the … More Naughty or nice?
If you have been blessed with being a parent to two or more children, I am sure, much like myself, you naturally make comparisons between their development, their mannerisms and their character. The contrast between siblings can be marked, but these differences, in my own experience, are no more stark than between a son and … More Seeing the world differently
Last week Tom Sutcliffe hosted a discussion titled “Play and creativity” on BBC Radio 4 as part of the programme “Start the week”. The panel of guests included: Steven Johnson: author of “Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World” Tim Harford: author of “Messy: How to be creative and resilient in a tidy-minded world” Stella … More Let our streets be universities
In an article published by The Guardian this week, George Monbiot ponders why, “in an age of robots, schools are teaching our children to be redundant. The best teachers use their character, creativity and inspiration to trigger children’s instinct to learn. So why are character, creativity and inspiration suppressed by a stifling regime of micromanagement?” Why … More Robots cannot reason
As part of Children’s Mental Health Week 2017, Place2Be (the leading national children’s mental health charity) conducted a survey of 705 pupils in their final year of primary school and responses were gathered across 20 primary schools in England, Scotland and Wales. The key areas covered by the survey included: (i) children’s worries, (ii) how … More Supporting our children through a testing time
