What some other people have said
Our experiences in the first five years of life shape our psyche, help form the foundations of our character, determine our beliefs and can impact on the relationships we form and decisions we make much later in life. The family plays a huge role but the importance of primary years education is vital, especially for the child whose home life may be less than perfect.
This remarkable new publication, Promoting Children’s Well-being, acknowledges young children’s well-being as paramount. It draws on the experience of teachers, educationalists, therapists and pupils, offering imaginative, tried and tested ideas, strategies and activities with real ‘soul’ which might be missing from the school curriculum.
Nurturing, well-being, non-violence, finding time for reflection and contemplation – each chapter is filled with all sorts of innovative approaches that encourage children to flourish.
One chapter looks at the alternative ‘3 Rs’ – Rhythm, Repetition and Reverence – an inspiring example of the kind of cross pollination of ideas which abound in this handbook.
As Professor Ted Wragg of the University of Exeter said in his foreword: ‘Only when people feel confident and positive about themselves can they begin to fulfill their potential… there are dozens of viable ideas and practices described in this book. It should make a valuable contribution to giving children what they all deserve as a fundamental human right: a flying start, so that they can be in with a chance of becoming the person that their potential promises them.
Living Lightly on the Earth
a Positive News Publication
“There is now a range of harmful pressures on young families that is proving increasingly worrying. The pace of change is now extraordinary and so is its destructive effect on children’s growth and wellbeing. Junk food, drugs, drink, divorce from the natural world, violence on and off screen take a terrible toll. Children’s resulting mental and emotional confusion is leaving some parents and teachers struggling and helpless.
“This is where this book is so brilliant. It takes you beyond all this and provides a blueprint for handling these changes. The holistic approach, the paying attention to children’s feelings before anything else and the golden nuggets everywhere from so many exerts make this book so very special. It thinks about the fabric of the whole community and will do much to help the Convention on the Rights of the Child to bear fruit.
“It should be in the hands of all those working with young children and in the hands of their parents too. It should be promoted and distributed internationally.”
Andrew Hutchinson, Former Head of Education, Save the Children
