The best photo of the week will win £30 worth of children's books
IN STOCK
free books by post
Free activity books for young children are on offer from Royal Mail Education. They feature the adventures of Eggbert the egg and friends, written by Paul Gustafson and illustrated by Ray Mutimer. Order the books individually or in class sets from www.teacherspost.co.uk or call 01795 426 465 or write to Royal Mail Education Distribution, Castle Road, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 3RL. Games can also be downloaded free at www.eggbertsadventures.com.
find help with fees
The Daycare Trust has produced an online guide to finding help with childcare costs. The new resource is designed for users in a variety of situations, such as working parents, those needing childcare while they study or train, and parents of disabled children. It provides an introduction to all the main grants, benefits and subsidies and includes a Tax Credit Checker. The website, at www.payingforchildcare.org.uk, was set up with funds from HM Revenue and Customs. For more information see Work Matters, page 28.
Networking mothers
Gurgle.com, the UK's first mother and baby social networking site, is now being supported by parenting retailer Mothercare. The website, which allows parents to create their own online community, will be promoted with posters and materials in Mothercare's 219 stores for the next six months and beyond. A registration drive via leaflets in customers' bags and a prize draw of £200 in Mothercare vouchers will also aim to encourage new members.
NEW LAUNCHES
Centre number 17
Sunderland is celebrating the opening of its 17th children's centre at Oxclose Primary School in Washington. At the official opening, children enjoyed face painting and a visit from Mr Pickles, a children's entertainer.
Fun after school
An after-school and holiday club opened last week at Little Ridge Primary School in Hastings, East Sussex. Club4Kids is a registered charity and has two other bases at William Parker School and Sandown Primary School. Services include a club for children with disabilities and special needs aged four to 16 years.
PEOPLE AND PLACES
EntrepReneurial flair
Sarah Steel, managing director and founder of the Oxfordshire-based nursery chain the Old Station Nurseries, was a finalist in the category of Female Entrepreneur of the Year at last week's Fast Growth Business Awards 2008. Ms Steel runs 11 nurseries in four counties, with a 12th setting due to open in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, next month. The awards recognise some of the most outstanding and fastest-growing entrepreneurial businesses in the UK.
Fit for childcare
A day nursery housed in the same building as a gym has been rated outstanding in both care and education by Ofsted inspectors. The Croft, with premises at Total Fitness in Newcastle-under-Lyme, offers 59 daycare places and provides a creche service for the gym. Its sister nursery school also received an outstanding care grading. Photo of the week Budding gardeners from Silks Farm Nursery School in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, got their fingers dirty planting fruit trees at the nursery in March, thanks to Bayer Garden plant care specialists who donated the trees. The planting was part of the United Nations 'Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign', which encourages individuals, communities, businesses and organisations worldwide to enter their planting pledges online, with a target of planting one billion trees per year.
