I see that you have a further news item about how children are notgetting enough vitamin D (online 25 July). There have recently beenseveral news items in Nursery World about this, almost all of them aboutgiving supplements.
As I understand it, there is much more to the problem than that. Forinstance, giving supplements to 'children aged six months to five years'does not tackle the issue of deficiencies in babies. In addition, thenews items all mention 'sun exposure' but do not give any actual adviceabout it.
As it seems to be a fairly important issue, may I suggest you cover itin more detail? Co-workers I've spoken to seem to have little knowledgeof this subject. I think it would be very timely to have a properarticle or a pull-out supplement to help nursery workers. I think thatit should cover issues such as why it is important, what they should doabout the children in their care playing outdoors in the sun (includingblack children), what is an appropriate diet and what to tellparents.
I look forward to reading more on this subject.
Annie Saunders, Bristol
NW replies: We will certainly be covering this subject in more depth ina forthcoming issue.
Our star letter wins 30 worth of books
WHERE ARE MY FAIRY WINGS?
My reflection at the end of another hectic school year is that thechance to work in an integrated fashion with babies, young children andtheir families is part of the 'magic dust' that provides life-longbenefits for all, not just the most vulnerable but also for mycolleagues and myself.
Thus I believe it all comes down to communication and belief as a leaderand deciding what you stand for in terms of ethos and cherished beliefsand how you are willing to adapt, rethink or even dramaticallychange.
Central to my belief is the child first and then the family andcommunity. Fiscal constraint can mean that these central principles arethreatened. For me, however, if we can keep the child, the family andthe community as central to our beliefs and provision, it is time towave the 'magic wand' and enlist them to act as our greatestadvocates.
Then another rich week dawns with numerous challenges, a few sweet andprecious moments linked to the job I originally trained to do - teachingand learning with children if I am lucky - before I go off again like awhirling dervish dealing with the maelstrom of change and issues. I havelearned as a leader to take time over decisions and to listen, toobserve and gain many perspectives. I have learned also that it is farmore important to take unpopular decisions for the good of thechildren.
The influence of politics never gets easier even after my apprenticeshipof 16 years as a head teacher. Somehow I thought by now I wouldmagically know what to do about everything.
Still I can always put on some fairy wings and pretend for a little bitlonger!
Kathryn Solly, head teacher, Chelsea Open Air Nursery and Children'sCentre, London
IT FIGURES
I've looked at the new Department for Education Benchmark Funding Tooland, while all this information was already available, it's the firsttime that it has been put together in one place.
I believe that all providers in receipt of early years funding for thethree- and four-year-old free hours should be looking at the informationon their own local authority and those around them. The Benchmark Toolprovides really useful information. Not only does it let you know theoverall spend per child in your area, which is very important as eachlocal authority is different, but it also expresses it as a percentageof the authorities' Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG).
There is a very interesting relationship between those two figures. Forexample my local authority, York, is at the bottom of the table forYorkshire & Humber in cash terms. But as a percentage of DSG it sitsreasonably well, situated at the middle of the table and just short ofthe national average percentage.
This leads to the question as to why such a percentage results in a lowcash figure but that is another issue which I'm already in talks withlocal politicians about.
Ken McArthur, owner, Polly Anna Nursery, York
Send your letters to ... The Editor, Nursery World, 174 HammersmithRoad, London W6 7JP, letter.nw@haymarket.com, 020 8267 8401.
