Well, it’s Friday evening, after another long but very interesting week. On Tuesday I attended the ‘Children’s Plan 2 Years On’ meeting at the Department for Children, Schools and Families, where about 25 experts briefed Ed Balls on how the Children’s Plan had actually worked to date and what the real challenges were for the future. It is always inspiring to hear the views of a whole host of very committed people who are working to make life better for children across the UK. I came away feeling that in the Early Years sector we are moving in the right direction, but as a nation we need to do so much more, not least to tackle child poverty.

I called into the Faringdon nursery today and it was great to see the Christmas decorations up and all the activity which preceeds Christmas – painting, glittering, glueing and making shiny things to send home. It seems hard to believe that our first nursery Christmas was 7 years ago – until I look at my lovely 11 and 9 year old children and remember that they were pretty small when we first opened! The staff all work so hard over the next few weeks, so don’t forget to tell them how much you appreciate them on occasions – I always smile when I see a lovely ‘thank you’ card when a child leaves the nursery after several years, but wish that more people told them what a good job they do as they go along.  Keep smiling team, there’s that lovely break between Christmas and New Year to look forward to!

Finally, I had a great e-newsletter from Melanie Greene at Grovelands, which struck a chord and I thought it might be a good note to finish the week on. Have a lovely weekend.

Here some wise words from Ralph Waldo Emerson….

 

‘To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.’

This month the National Day Nurseries Association are celebrating their 10th birthday. The Old Station Nursery joined the NDNA when we first opened in 2002 as it seemed important to have a voice in a fast-changing sector, despite being only one smallish nursery. Since then the sector has developed so much that it is almost unrecognisable, with the introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage, reduction of the school entry age, increase in maternity leave, the list goes on. It can feel like a battle against bureaucracy sometimes as we fill in returns for the Early Years Entitlement, negotiate with voucher companies for payments and chase aged debts caused (at least in part) by late working families tax credits.

Throughout this change, the NDNA has championed the cause of the individual or group nursery and has provided a good sounding board. We use it when we don’t get a clear answer from OFSTED (who are not there to provide advice, you know!) or when we want to know what other nurseries are doing about a particular issue. Despite frequent criticism from some companies who are concerned that the NDNA rely too much on funding from Government projects to make them truly impartial, I have been so impressed by the commitment of the whole team, who genuinely strive to represent the views of their members and to further the cause of day nurseries as a whole.

I, for one, shall continue to support the NDNA and feel that they help us to have a say in how the sector evolves further. Happy Birthday to you all in Huddersfield and keep up the good work during your second decade!

Thanks for your comment on our use of ‘smart price’ foods, which follows a similar theme to an earlier comment. As I said then, I do not agree that value or ‘smart price’ products are necessarily inferior to branded products and this was borne out by recent work carried out by a nutritionist for us. We try very hard to keep the use of processed foods to a minimum but I do not have an issue with us using value products as basics; many of us use these at home and I see no reason why they should not be used as part of a balanced diet in the nursery. We are continuing to adapt our nursery menus to give the best possible nutrition to children each day and without having to increase our food cost, which would have an impact on fees.

As far as nappies and wipes are concerned, I think we offer a perfectly satisfactory product and we are always reviewing the brands we use to make sure we get a balance of performance and cost. If individual parents prefer to use highly branded products at home, including the high level of marketing and advertising costs associated with these, then that is personal choice, but most parents are satisfied with the nappies and wipes we use and would prefer that we keep fees as low as possible.

For your interest, staff salaries account for over 70% of our revenue, so the amount left to spend on overheads and resources such as food and nappies is far from huge. We try and keep a balance in all areas and we are constantly reviewing this to see how we are doing. If you have particular concerns about any aspect of your child’s nursery, could I suggest you speak to the Manager in the first instance and feel free to contact me direct to discuss individual concerns further?

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