CALA Family Services have loved celebrating Book Week Scotland, from 16^th to 20^th November. With most community toddler groups unable to meet in our current circumstances, it was a project that aimed to reconnect our families and facilitate an opportunity for all ages to come together to celebrate storytelling, books and rhymes.

In September we invited young families to tell their stories of windy days by drawing or taking photos and submitting them to be a part of a new book.  This book also contained a new rhyming story, written especially for this project, about Puff.  The story tells of the adventures of Puff – a tiny wee breeze who travels across the Highlands, and visits each Toddler Group community.  Puff was painted onto stones, which practitioners then hid in these communities, encouraging families to go on a Puff Hunt and find her themselves.  Photos were shared on group social media pages of successful finds and submitted onto the CALA website prior to Book Week.  In addition, 200 party bags were delivered to families from Toddler groups, with activities, songs and rhymes relating to Puff and windy days.  All these resources were also available to download in order to give wider access.

Our celebrations for Book Week itself included daily activity videos exemplifying some of these activities and culminated in a virtual Pyjama Party, in which we were honoured to welcome local author Merryn Glover.  Among the songs, rhymes and games, Merryn encouraged us all to be storytellers, by telling stories based on our everyday activities.  Merryn also read the story A Tiny Wee Puff and we heard families’ stories of A Time we met Puff.

A variety of individual families, toddler groups, playgroups and nurseries took part in the Puff Hunt, activity videos in Book Week and the Pyjama Party itself.  One mum said her son, “absolutely loved his wee pyjama party… it was so lovely having something so positive to do with him all week.” Another stated “I couldn’t believe how engaged [he] was with the whole thing.  He loved the songs and the story.  It was lovely to watch it together.” Noah’s Ark Tots in Inverness arranged their very own Puff Hunt in their outdoor area and made their own kites to see where Puff would take them.  Meanwhile, Toybox in Gairloch made flags and watched them flutter and the ELC at Milton Primary School also participated with a Puff Hunt, using Puff Bingo, the crafts and roleplaying their own Pyjama Party and sleepovers in their setting.

CALA are grateful to the Scottish Book Trust for the funding given to facilitate this project and to Merryn Glover for her collaboration.  We also thank all the families who shared their stories through their pictures. 

Working with a wide range of partners, Scottish Book Trust – the national charity changing lives through reading and writing and delivered events and activities across the country during Book Week Scotland 2020, which ran from 16 November to 22 November, linked to this year’s theme of Future. Now in its ninth year, Book Week Scotland was initiated by the Scottish Government. Hundreds of free events happened during Book Week Scotland across many different local authorities, funded by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC). This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, public events could not be held, however, there were many community based and digital events to join in across Scotland.

As another Book Week closes we recognise that stories are amazing -they can make us feel anything and take us anywhere in the world! Keep telling your stories in any way you can. Words, photos, artwork, music, movement… Pick your favourite and tell your story! We cannot wait to hear them!

We truly value your feedback and would like to be able to report back to our funders, Scottish Book Trust on how you found our activities. We would be grateful if you could complete our online evaluation and Scottish Book Trust’s at https://www.careandlearningalliance.co.uk/bookweek/

Practitioners in our settings have been encouraging children’s awareness of their health and wellbeing since returning to settings following closure during the pandemic. 

As this is Kindness week, the practitioners at TRACC Out of School Club suggested the children might consider kindness and wellbeing and make an individual pledge showing what kindness might look like. Initially, the children’s ideas of a pledge benefitted themselves.  So they had further discussion and also asked for CALA staff to share their ideas of their pledges to be kind to others.  12 members of staff replied including our CE, Jaci Douglas who said: ‘I always wave at the local care home residents whenever I walk by with my dog as they sit at their windows and just lookout.  They always wave back with a big smile – although it also benefits me as it makes me smile too’.  One of the children then decided her pledge would be to ‘say kind words’.  

Equal Protection

On Saturday 7^th November 2020, The Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 (Equal Protection Act) became the law in Scotland.

This change in the law will apply to acts of physical punishment or physical discipline carried out after 7 November 2020. 

Information from Equal Protection states:

“The purpose of the legislation is to assist in ending the physical punishment of children by parents, carers or the person who has charge of them. It removes the statutory defence of ‘justifiable assault’ under Section 51 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003.

It is important to emphasise that the change in the law does not change well established local and national Child Protection procedures. Those procedures will continue to be instigated as and when required by our officers, in accordance with Police Scotland’s policy”.

Police Scotland have produced information and resources to raise people’s awareness of the legislation and their role in supporting it.

There are two resource packs:

• Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2020 – resources for children and young people
• Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2020 – resources for adults

Quick and easy access to both these resources and further information are available from our Practitioner Portal on our website. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS 

Outdoor Play and Learning Improvement Practicum

The Scottish Government is hosting an online National Conversation event to explore how quality improvement methodology can accelerate quality and access to outdoor learning in ELC settings. 

To join or find out more about the event email [email protected] 

(Information provided by Care Inspectorate Provider Update)

Following concern raised at the Scottish Parliament today with regard to an increase in Child Sexual Exploitation, a reminder that you can access our free e-module on CSE developed in partnership with Highland Child Protection Committee.

Find out more at www.calaelearning.co.uk 

Dr Anne Martin or Dr Paul McCrorie (Principal Researchers) are looking for Early Years practitioners responsible for children aged 2-5 years old to complete an online survey exploring perceptions of the risks and benefits of outdoor activities.

 The survey presents 10 different outdoor situations that you may experience with the children in your early learning centre. Each situation presents a different type of risk and similarly may offer different types of benefits. 

 The results of this research study will improve our understanding of educators’ perceptions of the risks and benefits of children playing outdoors, with the aim of enhancing children’s outdoor experiences.

 You find more information about the study and the survey here: Risk and Benefit of outdoor activity survey

Please get in touch with the lead researchers at the following email addresses if you need any more information:

 Dr Anne Martin or Dr Paul McCrorie – Principal Researchers

[email protected]

[email protected]