26/04/2010 by Ed.

Week                April 26^th – 30^th  

Monday:  Savoury mince with herb potatoes,   Fruit Smoothie 

Tuesday:  Lamb koftaballs with sliced potatoes, Orange curd tart

Wednesday:

Turkey Pasta Bake, Fruit Salad  

Thursday:  Tuna and basil fishcakes with mixed salad,   Semolina   

Friday:  Sausage and potato cakes with goats cheese couscous & salad,  Fruit pie and custard

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23/04/2010 by Ed.

Play patterns established in childhood are linked to adult health and health behaviour. In particular playing creatively as a child predicts a healthier diet, and more active play is associated with generally better health. These findings are presented at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference.

505 young adults were surveyed about their experiences and opportunities for play during childhood. A range of information about weight, health and health behaviours was also collected. Four types of play were identified; active play, play involving technology, playing alone, and creative play. Four types of play were found to be linked in different ways to adult health.

Adults who had engaged in more creative play as children were more likely to have a healthy diet and have more health protective behaviours, such as eating a healthy diet and taking regular exercise. Those who reported more active play had better health status and engaged in more exercise as adults, while those reporting environmental restrictions on play (e.g having less time to play) were more likely to be overweight and have less healthy lifestyles.

This study indicates that children’s play patterns may have far reaching implications for establishing healthy habits in adulthood. Tony Cassidy commented: “Having the freedom and opportunity to play is important for all aspects of child development and is a right that is often overlooked. It is something that most children want to do, and do naturally, but its importance is not always recognised by adults, particularly policy makers.

“For all sorts of reasons our society has restricted child play. To remove restrictions and reverse a potentially damaging trend requires a change in attitudes across adult society”.

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19/04/2010 by Ed.

Week                April 19th – 23rd  

Monday:  Roast lamb with mint sauce,   Rice pudding 

Tuesday:  Roast fish and vegetables,    Fruit Salad

Wednesday:  Meatballs in Curry Sauce and Vegetable rice,    Lime sponge

Thursday:  Turkey Cumberland pie,   Rhubarb pie and custard   

Friday:  Lasagne with seasonal vegetables,  Cheesecake

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11/04/2010 by Ed.

Babies learn more from hearing words than they do from listening to tones, according to new research. A study at Northwestern University in Illinois in the United States found that at three months old, babies could already use language to help them understand the world around them.Lead author Alissa Ferry said, ‘This is the youngest we have found an impact of language on how infants group objects in their environment. In some ways it is unexpected, but recent research with infants keeps showing us they know far more than people expect.’ She added, ‘Parents and carers should be talking to their babies well before they say their first words. Children are learning about their language and using it to help them figure out the world.’

Researchers showed three and four-month-old babies a series of pictures of different fish. Half heard the words for the picture, while the other half heard a beeping noise. The children were then shown pictures of dinosaurs. The babies who heard words got bored quickly with the fish pictures as they had formed the category, but those who heard the beeping sound looked equally as long at the dinosaur and the fish pictures.

Speaking on behalf of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, Sue Roulstone, Professor of Speech and Language Therapy at the University of the West of England in Bristol, said, ‘This research shows that words are an important mechanism for helping babies make sense of the world, to organise what they see and to focus on the similarities and differences between objects. The research confirms the importance of talking to your baby right from the start.’

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11/04/2010 by Ed.

Week                April  12^th  - 16^th  2010  

Monday:  Lamb Hotpot topped with sliced potatoes,   Lemon Sponge 

Tuesday:  Captains fish pie,    Rice Pudding

Wednesday:  Sausage, pea and potato casserole,    Apple pie and custard

Thursday:  Macaroni Cheese with cauliflower/broccoli,   Chocolate Cake 

Friday:  Steak burger and Cajun potatoes,  Jelly

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06/04/2010 by Ed.

Week                April 5th – 9th 2010 

Monday:  EASTER MONDAY

Tuesday:  Spaghetti Bolognese with garlic bread,    Semolina

Wednesday:  Savoury filled

Yorkshire puddings, Rhubarb Crumble 

Thursday:  Chicken curry and Vegetable rice,   Jam sponge and custard

Friday:  Breaded Cod, Peas and Roasties, Ice Cream

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30/03/2010 by Ed.

Week                29^th March  - 2^nd April 2010      

Monday:  Sausage Stir Fry and Noodles,  Apple Snow

Tuesday:  Lasagne and Green Salad,    Jelly

Wednesday:  Fishcakes with a hint of chilli,    Rice pudding

Thursday:  Roast chicken and Fondant Potatoes with carrot and swede mash,   Fruit Tart

Friday:  Good Friday    

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25/03/2010 by Ed.

The Government has announced plans to increase child tax credits by £4 a week for parents of one- and two-year -olds from 2012 in the budget.Chancellor Alastair Darling said, ‘We are proud of our achievements in helping families and tackling child poverty. Pre-school children are benefitting from a massive expansion in childcare places and I now want to do more to help parents of one and two year olds, by increasing child tax credits by £4 from 2010.’

The Chancellor reassured families that child tax credits will be available for all children who need it, whether parents are married, living together or apart. He also said that spending on Sure Start children’s centres would rise in line with inflation

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28/02/2010 by Ed.

Week                1^st – 5^th March 2010      

Monday:  Steak Pie with Leek and Potato Mash,  Rice Pudding

Tuesday:  Lamb Meatballs and Butterbeans,    Fruit Pie and Custard

Wednesday:  

Turkey Bolognaise Pie,    Pineapple and Grapes

Thursday:  Sausages with Cauliflower and Broccoli Bake,   Semolina 

Friday:  Chicken and Mushroom Curry with Brown Rice,    Gooseberry Sponge 

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15/02/2010 by Ed.

Nursery costs in England have increased at almost double the rate of inflation, despite the recession. The findings come from childcare charity Daycare Trust’s annual Childcare Costs Survey, compiled from figures submitted by Family Information Services in England, Scotland and Wales. In England the cost of a nursery place has risen by 5.1 per cent, while all forms of childcare costs have seen an increase.

Purnima Tanuku, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) comments: “High quality childcare is crucial in the current economic climate and it is also important to recognise that many nurseries themselves have seen falling demand due to job losses and reduced hours of use by parents. NDNA recognises that many parents find it difficult to pay for childcare, but our evidence also shows nurseries are experiencing a real battle to remain open in tough times and achieve challenging government targets for better qualified staff. Nurseries themselves are very aware of the struggles parents face and are working hard to keep increases to an absolute minimum, with many barely breaking even.

Purnima adds: “Although the average rise (in fees) of 5.1% sounds high, it is important to consider the reason for this…… Nurseries are working hard to achieve the government vision of a highly qualified nursery team with graduate leadership, but are finding it hard to reward them without passing some of the cost to parents. We agree that more help is to be welcomed for parents, but equally government needs to look at more investment in nurseries so that they can pay their staff the wages they deserve without making childcare unaffordable for parents. In the meantime, it is vital that parents check they are getting all the help available for the costs of childcare, such as childcare vouchers and tax credits, as these can make significant savings yet there are many families who are unaware they are entitled to them..……Childcare is vital to the success and recovery of the economy, and we hope that all political parties will ensure supporting families and the sector is high on the agenda for their manifestos.”

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