It was a tall order to fit in all there was to see, hear, try and buy at this year's Manchester exhibition. Annette Rawstrone was there
Record numbers of childcarers and teachers flocked to this month's Early Years and Primary Teaching Exhibition at the G-Mex Centre in Manchester (10-11 May). Visitors were faced with a busy day if they were going to make the most of nearly 130 stands along with free workshops and a packed seminar and training programme.
Nursery World's stall was deluged by early years practitioners wanting to get hold of the magazine being sold at a bargain exhibition price along with popular Nursery World bags - one nursery bought 30 to be used as children's peg bags in their cloakroom.
Among the regular exhibitors - including Dickory Dock Designs with fabric storyboards, Hope and Galt's toys and furniture and the butterflies of Insect Lore - was a new educational service for children aged three to ten at the Big Bus stall. Subscribers to the internet site receive new interactive learning activities for children each month. Jo Lewis said, 'We've had a fantastic response. There were two children on the stall this morning whose parents had to pull them away because they were enjoying the site so much and didn't want to stop playing.'
Also new to the exhibition was Simply Stuck, whose innovative personalised name labels can be used on clothing, toys and equipment. No sewing is involved and they are washing machine and dishwasher-proof.
Active Learning brought a tempting ball pool to the exhibition, while Wicksteed Leisure's stall attracted children sliding down poles and climbing ladders. Even adults were scrambling around on All About Play's climbing frames. It was the company's first time at Manchester after its debut at the Belfast exhibition in February.
Professional storyteller Mary Medlicott gave a seminar on the value and fun of early years storytelling, while National Day Nurseries Association chief executive Rosemary Murphy discussed how to develop a nursery business. Other sold-out seminars included 'Play and Learning for the Under-Threes' by Kevin Kelman and Alice Sharp, and Penny Tassoni's 'Knowledge and Understanding of the World'.
Visitors were able to get hands-on and experiment with art products in the Art in Action Zone, run by Berol. The Berol representative said, 'These products can be pretty meaningless when they are just displayed in a catalogue but the practical workshops are very popular because I am able to demonstrate how to use the products and people can have a scribble or a play and judge for themselves if it is what they want.'
Free demonstrations were also being run in the Science Zone with Dr Mark's Magical Science Workshop, Philip Harris, and Community Playthings' sand and water display.
It was all action at the NES Arnold workshop as visitors got to grips with games played with a parachute. They also practised their dribbling skills on strange-looking 'spider balls' and tried to avoid getting caught by the 'poisonous' ball.
Songs based on the Early Learning Goals proved popular, as the Kindescope Early Years songbooks offered 40-track CDs with activity ideas for topics including knowledge and understanding of the world and personal and social education. Orders were even being taken for CDs that have not yet been recorded.
And a visit to the exhibition could lead some of the nursery nurses and teachers even further afield, to Hong Kong, after talking to representatives from Woodlands Pre-school. The Hong Kong-based chain has seven nursery schools for children aged two-and-a-half to six. David Hughes said, 'We have had more than 100 people who have requested further details. With 32 nationalities of children and 15 nationalities of staff, we are a truly international and cosmopolitan company. We look to recruit 50 quality people each year on two-year contracts.'
