Cambridge Edition June 2022 - Web

EDUCATION

Tot Up AS EARLY YEARS STUDENTS GET BACK TO CLASS, MENTAL HEALTH EXPERTS, LOCAL NURSERIES AND PRESCHOOLS SHARE HOW YOU CAN HELP EASE THE TRANSITION GROWING STRONG

WORDS BY MIRIAM BALANESCU

repercussions for the whole family in return. “The importance of having a consistent key person in childcare settings is acknowledged in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) key worker approach,” says Dr Abigail Miranda, head of early years and prevention at the Anna Freud Centre. “This person acts as the ‘attachment figure’ in the absence of primary caregivers. For many children, START SMALL Landmark International School (above) has class sizes of 12, which is a helpful bridge to more socially demanding situations. St Mary’s School (below) ensures your child has a stimulating environment

Goldsmith, a Cambridge-based child and adolescent psychotherapist, explains: “Crucial interpersonal skills that enable us to learn and function in society are navigated and developed within play: reciprocity, mutuality, a capacity for empathy and seeing another’s point of view; turn-taking; how to communicate strong emotions with words.”

fter the disruption of the past two years, many families are longing for stability. Routine is not just made up of healthy

sleeping, eating and exercise patterns, but also the people that we see on a regular basis – and for the youngest in society, their peers and preschool teachers are core to daily life. Covid-19 left many families unmoored, as homeschooling became essential and mingling with other children of a similar age was suddenly off limits. Tara Pepper

NEED FOR CONSISTENCY The additional strain of having to homeschool had mental health

CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK JUNE 2022 67

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