A wonderful smell of Chinese cooking wafted through the air at Rum Tum Tugger’s Nursery in Harlow as the children celebrated Chinese New Year. There were things to smell and taste, a chance to try chop sticks and a variety of art and craft projects to do.

Our toddler group made chinese lanterns. At this stage of development, children are becoming aware of shapes and patterns which is part of the EYFS area of learning for Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy.

They made cards showing Cherry Blossom using pink fingerprints. Children at this age enjoy making marks and looking at each others projects. This is a very early stage in the development of writing skills.

The wall display is made up of a variety of pictures coloured by the toddlers. It’s important for children to begin to talk about the special times in other peoples lives, like celebrations in other cultures.

Amy attended a difficult course last week. The topic was “Impact of Child Abuse” and extends previous training on Safeguarding Children. It’s a harrowing course but helps us to recognise the signs and symptoms. It also shows practitioners how cases are managed. Well done Amy!

All nurseries must have a clear stratergy and approach to handling this sensitive subject and a basic level of awareness training is given to all new staff during their first week at Rum Tum’s. If, as a parent, you had a concern about a child in nursery, Hayley Martin-Burns co-ordinates Safeguarding Children issues and is happy to talk things through with you. However, it was also worth noting the local contact number for Essex referrals, 0845 6037627.

This year, I’ve set a competition between the rooms at Rum Tum Tugger’s, Harlow for the best Christmas displays. It would be brilliant to get some parent input too. When you get a chance, have a look at the displays as they are evolving and when they are complete. In judging, you could think about the level of child input or the use of a theme or artistic impression or originality. Feedback to me through the comments facility on the blog. There’s a £20 cash prize for the winning display!!