Dear Parents and Carers,

This week has been an exciting one at Phoenix Early Learners, as our tadpoles turned into Froglets! I’ll let Pip explain what we’ve been up to…

Next week we will be seeing how we can combine different shapes to make pictures.  Alongside this our older children will be doing an activity on the lifecycle of a frog, our September starters will be telling us about different body parts (eg nose, ears etc) and what they can do with them;  our January starters wll be demonstrating their knowledge of prepositions, and our April starters will be clapping syllables and pronouncing multi-syllabic words.

This is the last week of this half term – we have a week off after next Friday and will return on Monday 1 June.  If anyone would like to increase their child’s hours during this last half term, especially prior to going to primary school (maybe to include lunch if they only do a morning with us), then please let me know this  next week.  We do only have 2 spaces on a Thursday morning though.

Please remember we would love testimonies to put on our website to encourage new families for the next academic year.

Please see the message below from The Early Years Alliance who say:

“One in ten babies regularly fall asleep with a screen as families increasingly rely on digital devices to manage the pressures of daily life, according to new findings by research group iADDICT.

The study, commissioned by the 1001 Critical Days Foundation, reveals a disconnect between official guidance and the reality of modern home routines.

Researchers from four UK universities, including the University of Leeds, identified a body of evidence linking high screen usage in babies to developmental risks such as increased short-sightedness, language delay, sleep difficulties and obesity.

With over 70% of babies and under-twos using screens and “a meaningful minority exposed to up to eight hours per day”, the research reveals screen usage that “far exceeds current health guidance”.

Many parents described using digital devices to cope with the pressures of daily life, alleviate exhaustion and manage a lack of support. To address this, the report calls for increased access to the early years services that provide the practical support families need, as well as more guidance on screen time and a review of how digital content is labelled.

Lead researcher Rafe Clayton said:

“Babies’ screen time is linked to the digital behaviours of parents and caregivers. Large numbers of adults and babies are using screens more than is considered healthy and we are witnessing a cultural change moving towards more harmful digital lifestyles on a global scale. As the last generation to experience childhood without smartphones and social media now approach their middle age, the future of dyadic caring relationships look likely to become increasingly digitally informed.

“As organic memories of a time before ubiquitous digitality diminish, it is essential that more research is undertaken to understand how social interaction is affected by screen time and how potential harms may be mitigated moving forwards.”

The full systematic review is scheduled for publication in May.”

Wishing you all a very pleasant weekend and, as there will not be an update next Friday, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy half term – rumour has it that the weather might even improve!

As always, we give a very warm invitation to you all to join with us at Southborough Lane Baptist Church on Sunday mornings from 10.30 – come and meet our Children and Families worker, Matthew, who was once my key child!