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This week

1. Did you know
2. Website of the Week
3. Under5s Download Centre
4. Date for your Diary
5. News
6. International News 
7. More Educational Sites
 

1. DID YOU KNOW

NURSERY ATTENDANCE MAY REDUCE THE RISK OF CHILDHOOD LEUKAEMIA
 

TODDLERS that attend nursery may have a reduced risk of developing childhood leukaemia, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Tuesday). 

US researchers believe that children who are exposed to infection early and often may have a reduced chance of developing acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) because their immune system is stimulated to tackle infection at an early age.

Scientists think that childhood leukaemia could be caused by a rare immune response to common infections. Delaying a child's exposure to infection may result in an underdeveloped immune system that produces cancerous cells in response to the barrage of infections a child faces later in life.

Scientists from the Northern California Childhood Leukaemia Study looked at nursery attendance as an indicator of a child's exposure to common infections.

They analysed 140 children, aged 1-14 years, who were diagnosed between 1995 and 1999 with ALL - a type of leukaemia that results from the accumulation of abnormal white blood cells in the body.

These were compared to a group of children randomly selected from the California birth registry. Detailed data on nursery attendance was collected through questionnaires and interviews with the child's guardian.

Researchers carried out statistical analyses to compare the two groups to see if there was a relationship between nursery attendance and this childhood leukaemia. 

They found that extensive contact with other children in a nursery setting is associated with a reduced risk of ALL. Starting nursery at a younger age, attending for a longer duration and having contact with a high number of children all contributed to a reduced risk of the disease.

Professor Patricia Buffler, principal investigator of the Northern California Childhood Leukaemia Study, says: "As well as attending nursery there are many ways in which the immune system can receive developmental stimulation, such as vaccination and exposure to siblings and friends. Our study contributes to the idea that isolation from common infections can increase the risk of childhood leukaemia."

Researchers think that delaying a child's exposure to infections may mean the immune system does not fully mature until the child is older.

When a child with an underdeveloped immune system is eventually exposed to infection he may respond abnormally by producing defective white blood cells that do not fight the infection but build up and may result in leukaemia.

Scientists believe that some children are born with an increased risk of ALL and this, combined with delayed exposure to infection, may lead to the production of defective white blood cells.

Study author Dr Xiaomei Ma says: "The results are from the first phase of an ongoing study. We anticipate that later studies will confirm the association between delayed exposure to infection and childhood leukaemia and eventually lead to effective prevention strategies."

Professor Buffler says: "While our results strongly support the importance of the timing of infections in the development of childhood leukaemia, we are not able to distinguish whether a particular infection or a number of common infections are involved."

Sir Paul Nurse, Interim Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, says: "This research adds to the increasing evidence that infections play a role in some cancers, the nature of which is still unknown.

"Further investigation into exposure to infection with larger numbers of children should help us to identify the role of the immune system in childhood leukaemia and may lead to new ways to prevent the disease. Cancer Research UK is currently funding the UK National Childhood Cancer Study which is looking at the link between infections and leukaemia in over a thousand children."
 
 

MAY IS MUSEUM AND GALLERIES MONTH!!!

Museums and Galleries Month 1st - 31st May 
 
Last year more than 1,000 museums and galleries took part by organising events and activities. 
Organised by the Campaign for Museums, Museums and Galleries Month has two simple aims:

- to increase visits to museums and galleries during May, especially new and returning visitors 
- to raise the profile of museums and galleries with decision makers and influencers.

engage and MGM

engage is working alongside MGM Arts Coordinator Clare Moloney to run a series of seminars across the UK. The seminars are aimed at those working at museums and heritage sites with limited resources and will provide practical knowledge and a how-to guide on programming artists and art events within a variety of contexts for Museums and Galleries Month 2008 and beyond. These seminars are supported by the Arts Council and are completely free. 

Working with Artists Toolkit

Aimed at the museum and heritage sector, this toolkit provides case studies, advice on working with artists and further sources of information. It was developed in association with engage and with assistance from VAGA and can be downloaded here. 

If you are planning a seminar or workshop The Campaign for Museums can provide introductory power point presentations about Museums and Galleries Month. For advice on getting involved in Museums and Galleries Month 2008, email  info@campaignformuseums.org.uk   or visit the Museums and Galleries Month website below.
http://www.mgm.org.uk 
 

 
2. WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

SCHOLASTIC.COM

This site has games galore for your kids! Using their favourite characters from their favourite books to learn in a fun and exciting way. Play 'Goosedoku' 'Can you see what I see?' and 'Blunderpants Underpants' plus loads more for a variety of ages! Just follow the link and click on 'kids'!!!

http://www.scholastic.com
 
 

3. UNDER5S DOWNLOAD CENTRE

DON'T FORGET - you can find 24 different plans in the Download Centre and  all of our planning is available to download today. 

Don't miss the fantastic Let's Sign signing resources. 

Childminders - if you are struggling with Birth to Three, take a look at the Birth to Three Planning Guidance. 

http://cnb-host4.clickandbuild.com/cnb/shop/under5s?op=catalogue-categories-null

EARLY LEARNING FORUMS 

Join Us ! 

To discuss early years issues. To find support and advice on early years education. To relax and chat amongst friends. Come on in and have a look... 

http://www.earlylearningforums.co.uk 
 
 

EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE: EFFECTIVE PREPARATION & IMPLEMENTATION CONFERENCE

12th June 2008

SHEFFIELD

Book now for Sheffield and save £50 before 1 May - click here.

https://www.eventsforce.net/
 
 

Don't Forget...

NATIONAL CHILDCARE WEEK  2 - 9  JUNE 2008 

Daycare Trust's National childcare week, now in its 11th year, aims to promote the importance of investing in childcare, out-of-school activities and early years' provision for children to strengthen and contribute to children's play and learning. 

Quality, affordable childcare can build brighter futures for everyone. It gives children a good start in life. It enables parents to work or train and it contributes to a prosperous society by supporting employers and regenerating local communities. It also underpins policies to tackle social exclusion, create jobs and raise educational standards. This year Daycare Trust will be inviting everyone to join us in celebrating National Childcare Week, which will be held from 2-9 June 2008. 
We very much hope that you will join in with one of the events or activities that are being planned. Alternatively, why not organise your own event to mark National childcare week and help us to make it bigger and brighter than ever?
 

5. NEWS
 

NEW HELP FOR CHILDREN WHO STAMMER
 

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, announced today that The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children will receive £340,000 to provide schools across the country with information, advice and training materials on how best to support children and young people who stammer.
 

The Michael Palin Centre, a world leader in this field, will develop a stammering information programme that will be rolled out to all schools by 2010. The Centre will work with young people, their families, local speech and language therapy services and school staff to develop the materials and training packages. 

It is estimated that around 5% of children experience some difficulty with their fluency at some time during the development of their speech and language. Stammering has a major impact on children's academic and social lives - children with a stammer are more likely to become withdrawn or anxious and can become the focus of bullying. This funding will enable schools to better meet the needs of this vulnerable group of children and young people.

Ed Balls said: 

"I saw on my visit to the Michael Palin Centre last year how, with patience and expertise, the therapists there help children and their families to overcome or alleviate stammers. The training and information that schools will receive as a result of this funding will mean they can better understand the condition and how best to support pupils who stammer. 

"Our aim is to make this the best place in the world for our children to grow up, and for children and young people with stammers we can do that by providing the help and support they need to make the most of their talents."

Michael Palin said:

"I am delighted that the Department of Children, Schools and Families has recognised the importance and effectiveness of the work at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children. Their support for the work, backed up by generous investment, is wonderfully encouraging news for those who stammer and those who seek to help them."

The Bercow Review, which the Government commissioned in September 2007, aims to improve services for children and young people from birth to 19 who have speech, language and communications difficulties, which could range from a delay in speaking to a severe stammer, or could be related to other disabilities such as autism or cerebral palsy. Over 2,000 people responded to the Review's consultation, with almost 1,000 responses from families. 

The Government has also invested in measures to address children's speech, language and communication needs, for example through the Children's Centres programme, and numbers of speech and language therapists have increased by over a third between 1997 and 2006.
 
 

CHILDREN'S CHARITY ISSUES 5 TEST CHALLENGES TO POLITICAL PARTIES TO END CHILD POVERTY

Party heavyweights go head to head on child poverty

4Children sets out 5 key tests as countdown towards 2020 target begins

National children's charity, 4Children, today launched a major new policy report, Turning up the Volume on Child Poverty which brings together contributions from frontbench spokespeople from each major political party - including Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls MP, Shadow Children's Secretary Michael Gove MP and Liberal Democrat spokesman David Laws MP.

The pamphlet, which was published with funding from the Financial Services Authority, identifies for the first time areas of mutual agreement between the parties and calls for stepped-up action on core areas of consensus. The report finds that all parties recognise that the causes and conditions of poverty are multi-faceted and require a sophisticated approach to boost family income, address barriers to employment and equip families with the skills needed to outwit disadvantage. However, the report also highlights the scale of commitments needed if we are to remove child poverty in the UK.

Whilst 4Children welcomes cross-party commitment to the aspiration of eradicating child poverty, its report argues that areas of consensus should be used as a starting point from which stepped up action should follow. Turning up the Volume on Child Poverty identifies five key poverty tests which parties are urged to benchmark their policies against. The ultimate test, the report argues, will be the follow through and commitment to radical action. 
 
Five Tests 

Test 1: Immediate investment in increasing tax credits and benefits as a route to meeting the 2010 target

Test 2: Support parents into decent and sustainable jobs

Test 3: Offer an early years childcare and wider positive activity guarantee to all children 0 -19 years old

Test 4: Schools as drivers to narrow the gap in achievement

Test 5: Build a system of seamless support for parents and families 
 
Anne Longfield OBE, Chief Executive of 4Children said:
"4Children welcomes the substantial progress since the Government pledge was made almost a decade ago which has had a positive impact on hundreds of thousands of children. However, the reality is that politicians will need to pick up the pace if we are to eliminate child poverty within the next decade. 4Children's report launched today lays down a crucial yardstick against which the policies of all parties must be measured. Today we challenge all parties to sign up to our 5 key tests - which include policies to boost the incomes of the poorest, help parents into sustainable jobs and give the next generation the skills to outwit disadvantage - to show they are serious about ending child poverty."

Chris Pond, Director of Financial Capability at the Financial Services Authority, said:
"The lives of three million children are still blighted by poverty, a condition made worse by growing problems of debt and difficulties in their parents' ability to make ends meet. Improving the financial capability of the UK population, one of the FSA's statutory duties, can help to increase economic well-being across the board, and help alleviate both the risk and effects of poverty and indebtedness. We're pleased to be able to contribute to this important initiative, which will help maintain momentum in the drive to reach the ambitious target of eradicating child poverty in a generation." 
 

NUT TEACHER'S STRIKE

For an analysis of last weeks NUT Teacher's strike, and a look at how last weeks strike compares to the strike of 1985 go to 

http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7367471.stm
 
 

6. INTERNATIONAL NEWS

IRELAND

INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR IRELAND ANNOUNCES £1.1M FOR 'RESPECTING DIFFERENCE' PRE-SCHOOL PROGRAMME

The International Fund for Ireland is to provide just over £1.1m/?1.6m for an innovative new pre-school project aimed at helping young children to develop positive attitudes to diversity.

Developed and run by Early Years - the Organisation for Young Children, the 'Respecting Difference' Programme will deliver mutual understanding and diversity training and resource packs for teachers, parents and pre-school management committees across Northern Ireland. Teachers will then deliver the programme to pupils, with ongoing support from Early Years' specialist. There will also be a series of TV cartoons complementing and supporting the classroom-based programme. These will be screened three times a year by UTV, RTE and Channel 4.

It is hoped that 240 pre-schools across Northern Ireland, Co Louth and Co Donegal will take part in the Programme over the next three years.

Confirming the funding for the Programme at the Fund's recent Board meeting, Denis Rooney, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland,, said: "Research has shown that children as young as six have sectarian attitudes and are making sectarian and racial remarks. If we want to move forward in our society towards lasting peace and a shared future, we have to find ways to help our children to embrace diversity and difference. The 'Respecting Difference' Programme provides an innovative and proven way of helping young children to understand the need to be inclusive and respectful of others. We are delighted to be able to support such an initiative."

Siobhan Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive of Early Years - the Organisation for Young Children said: "Today's announcement by the International Fund for Ireland to support the Early Years Respecting Difference Programme will make a significant contribution in changing sectarian attitudes and behaviour of young children in Northern Ireland and Southern Border Counties. The funding will ensure the roll out of the programme over the next 3 years to pre-school children providing the materials, training and skills for pre-school teachers to tackle issues of sectarianism, racism and inclusion. The IFI is making a significant investment in our children and our future.

"The Respecting Difference Programme is a unique media initiative for children using cartoons and interactive play materials to help young children understand and respect those who are different and encourage inclusion in a very simple child-friendly way. The programme, backed by research and evaluation from Queen's University Belfast, has been effectively tested and piloted to ensure it delivers an effective programme for young children - what is good for children is good for everyone."

The Respecting Difference Programme is also being funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies and the Department of Education for Northern Ireland.

The International Fund also approved a further £1.97/?2.88 million for a range of community regeneration and reconciliation projects across Northern Ireland and the Southern border counties

USA

PRESCHOOLERS LEARN LANGUAGE SKILLS TO PREPARE FOR KINDERGARTEN

Preschool is the time to learn your ABCs - and your números uno, dos y tres. Spanish and even American Sign Language are making their way into the preschool curriculum. Children are learning not just to communicate, but to do so in a multicultural society.

"The children's brains are like sponges," said Rachel Sanchez, director of the Watch Me Grow Preschool in Visalia. "The more things we introduce them to, they learn more."
At Watch Me Grow, children as young as 3 learn the basic words in Spanish - including the words for "please" and "thank you" - during what's known as circle time. They learn songs in both Spanish and English and how to sign their names.

Studies have shown that children who attend preschool are better prepared for kindergarten. Children also make a smoother transition into their new school environment. Jeff Higgins, who oversees the preschool program in the Farmersville Unified School District, said the skills picked up from preschool stand out when screening children for kindergarten.
"They have better communication skills and social skills," Higgins said. "They've been interacting with children and adults in a structured atmosphere. They tend to have fewer anxieties when it comes to being in school."

Ellen Frede, co-director of National Institute for Early Education Research, said the basis of learning in preschool is language comprehension. Learning another language while in preschool is even more beneficial.
"It helps them do better in life and in school," she said. "It's a benefit to any of us getting around in a global economy."

LaDonna Samuels, owner of Raggedy Ann & Andy Preschool in Visalia, said teaching preschool children more than one language encourages them to continue foreign-language studies in middle school. Children at her school learn the alphabet and colors in Spanish and sign language, and also learn to count to 10 in Japanese and Italian.
"If we knew Russian, we [would] be teaching that too,"

Samuels said. "Anything we can teach our kids, the better it is for them."

Steve Judd takes his daughter, Kyra Lynn, 5, to Watch Me Grow. He was amazed when his daughter began counting to him and other family members in Spanish, adding a memory-aid rhyme between numbers. English is the only language spoken in their household.
"She totally shocked us," he said. "I was like, 'Where did you learn that from?' I thought that was pretty cool." Judd hopes Kyra will continue sharpening her Spanish-language skills as she gets older. "This is going to benefit her in the future when it comes to school and work," he said. "She will be able to meet friends that she could not speak to before because of a language barrier."

Preschoolers aren't the only ones who are picking up a new language. Rosanne Huitt is learning Spanish from her 5-year-old son, Matthew, who also attends Watch Me Grow. "When we're out driving around, he points out things and tells me he can say it Spanish," she said. "He tells me the word and teaches me how to pronounce it. He's teaching me how to speak Spanish, and that's awesome."
 
 

7. MORE EDUCATIONAL SITES 

For more educational sites visit 

Sites for Teachers 

http://www.sitesforteachers.com/perl/rankem.pcgi?id=under5s
 

Kind regards 
 

The Under5s Team 
Http://www.under5s.co.uk