Portrait gallery
Tuesday, June 11, 2002
<P> Children's great appreciation of their carers shone through in the National Childcare Month art competition run by Nursery World and the Daycare Trust </P>
Children's great appreciation of their carers shone through in the National Childcare Month art competition run by Nursery World and the Daycare Trust
This year's children's art competition run by Nursery World and the Daycare Trust to mark National Childcare Month attracted a record number of entries. Nursery World's offices were deluged with more than 2,000 children's depictions of their childcarers, each bearing a caption to say why they liked them so much. Nursery nurses, teachers, playworkers, childminders, nannies and more were celebrated by the children they care for.
The children's words were remarkably consistent in terms of the themes that emerged - food, fun, friendship and comfort. 'She feeds me good food' was typical, along with 'She makes the toast'. 'Lynnette makes the best fruit salad in the world,' claimed one 10-year-old, while 'she gives us everything we want and biscuits' was the comment from another.
Laughter and kindness were frequently mentioned - 'her songs make me laugh', 'she cuddles me when I bump', and 'I painted Katie because she is my friend'.
One playworker has 'a kind heart and shares it with everyone'.
The centrality of play for children's well-being was very apparent. 'I like my childcarer because she plays with me', was repeated time and again. 'I like Jeni and Emma because we make daisy chains in the garden,' said Emily. Older children cited music, football and computers as activities they enjoyed with their carers.
The competition brought out the poet in some children - one described her playworker as 'nuclear - she radiates happiness', while another fluffy collage was of 'Maria with her head in the clouds: I like Maria because she thinks she's an angel and she's always daydreaming'.
With so many wonderful paintings and drawings to choose from, the judges had a tremendously difficult job to pick first, second and third in each category - under-5s, 5-10s, and 11-14s. Annie Harris of the Royal Academy, Liz Roberts of Nursery World, and Stephen Burke and Susan Cohen of the Daycare Trust eventually made their decision and chose the winning entries to be displayed in the Royal Academy during National Childcare Month.
Tessa Jowell MP, secretary of state for culture, media and sport, was due to present the prizes at a ceremony at the Royal Academy in London yesterday (Wednesday).
