Early Years
For the Love of Reading, Early Years and Beyond
By Early Years Assessor, Lynsey Beaton.
Whether you are 6 months old and curious about the world around you or an adult managing the ups and downs of life, a book can offer you comfort, connection, closeness, and a sense of escapism. As we navigate our way through life the simple joy that books can bring is something that we must hold on to in this fast world full of technology. Some of my earliest memories are getting tucked into bed and asking for “one more story” before drifting off to sleep. I know this isn’t always the same for all children, I know I was fortunate to have that connection.
When I was an early years practitioner I cherished story time, observing excited faces as they turned the next page and predicted what was going to happen next, cosied in with blankets and love in our story areas. It was a time for connection and physical proximity.
The recent expansion of Early Learning and Childcare across Scotland is an opportunity for professional practitioners to use the power of stories and story time to build trusting relationships with their children. We can consider both the physical and emotional environment and co-create cosy, soft and safe places to snuggle up with books. We can support our children to design their own stories and ignite that lifelong love for reading. When children feel safe, loved, supported, and regulated in their environment we can carefully interact and observe playful interactions, the place where communication and language start to thrive.
As we celebrate Book Week Scotland at Tigers, we are delighted to host the Scottish Book Launch of “My Family, Your Family” written by Laura Henry-Allain MBE, Laura explains her book “aims to share that all children and their families matter and how important it is for every child to see that there are diverse types of family that are different from their own. I have included, as an example, blended families, children who may have had a parent who has died, children who have parents who are the same sex/gender, and children who are adopted or fostered. It was important to use the correct terminology, such as surrogacy, kinship, and donor; these terms are the reality for some children and mirror their families.”
It is so important that children can see themselves within a variety of books, understanding and celebrating their differences, along with a sense of belonging. We look forward to an engaging afternoon of shared family stories and connection, where the adults in children’s life’s can take back Laura’s books and share them within their settings.
Reading is for adults too. Books can create a sense of belonging and relief as we can see parts of our own lives within the stories that we are reading. A book can stoke our imagination. You don’t just hold a book in your hands, you hold it in your mind, giving yourself permission to dream, to go on an adventure, to escape your everyday life, to feel connected, and to build empathy and compassion for others.
Reading really is a lifelong joy! Think about taking time to unplug the devices and pick that book up, you never know where it will take you…
Young people invest in a programme they can bank on
Tigers, along with Royal Bank of Scotland and We Are Futures have been delighted to deliver the CareerSense Find Your Path employability programme
Celebration, cake and connection at tigers
In partnership with RBS and We Are Futures, tigers have been delighted to deliver CareerSense Find Your Path to a group of young people, offering them skills workshops, one-to-one mentoring support from a bank colleague and a paid four-week work experience placement at the bank.
On Monday, April 11th, we were excited to welcome some of our young people into tigers HQ, along with their mentors from NatWest. The morning began with a mentoring session, with the group reflecting on their time on the course, and also their work experience placement.
In the afternoon, we welcomed a selection of guests from the bank, We Are Futures and tigers, with the young people delivering presentations, but not before a spot of lunch!
“What I really learnt – tigers and NatWest are GREAT people!”
Amy Taylor, learner
Coming up one-by-one after lunch to deliver the presentations, the young people demonstrated the development of their curiosity, bravery, confidence and resilience over the past few months. Each had something different to share about their time on the course and their work placement, along with the skills they had learnt, the challenges they had faced, and how they overcame them.
Finishing off with certificates, photographs and a slice of cake, it was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the hard work our young people had put in over the last few months. Whilst we were sad to see them go for the final time, we remain excited for their future career prospects,
What’s next for CareerSense Find Your Path? We’ll be excited to share some information with you about how we’ll be able to help another group of young people explore the world of employment very soon!
Lullaby Lane supports building the future workforce of ELC
About Lullaby Lane Nurseries
Lullaby Lane has been operating since 2013, we are an attachment led nursery meeting the emotional needs of our children. We have two nurseries who are providing childcare for children 0-5 years old. We are currently working with around 150 families across Bearsden and Milngavie area. Currently we have 41 people employed with us and we are continuing to recruit to provide further opportunities for our team. We are a nursery that prioritise starting with the adults in the lives of our children as, the team must feel valued for them to provide emotional care for our children and families.
Our Commitment to Apprenticeships
At Lullaby Lane 15 of the 41 team are currently apprentices who are undertaking their SVQ level 3 or 4 in children and young people, we believe that Modern Apprenticeships provide people with the skills as well as the knowledge. All our apprentices undertake additional training opportunities that builds their confidence. Due to the nursery being attachment led the team all undertake training with Dr Suzanne Zeedyk that supports them to understand brain development and why the first 3 years in a child’s life is the most formative time the brain grows.
We are working with Tigers Early Years to create an MA model that allows them to take time out their working week to complete their qualification. We believe that Early Years is one of the most important jobs and the team must feel valued. Tigers supports us by allowing the assessor to come into the nursery and do observations to support the apprentices to be guided to how they work with the children.
“I trained with Tigers in SVQ Social Services (Children & Young People) and the best thing I’ve taken away has been learning how our bodies and brain works and focusing on secure attachment and play. My training led to a job in Early Years working at Lullaby Lane, undertaking the Modern Apprenticeship programme gave me the knowledge and skills to take this into the nursery.”
Chris Keane, Depute Manager, Lullaby Lane Nurseries
We believe that Modern Aprrenticeships are a valuable qualification that helps people to gain skills and knowledge in the career they have a passion for.