Greener Shepherd’s Post

✨ National Children’s Week! This year, the theme for National Children’s week: Children have the right to a clean and safe environment, is based on the UNCRC Article 24: Children have the right to good quality health care, clean water, nutritious food and a clean environment so that they will stay healthy. Richer countries should help poorer countries achieve this. 📢 Calling all Early Childhood Educators!! What does this mean to you? Spend some time this week reflecting on what this means to 🌿 you 🌿 your team 🌿 your children 🌿 your centre 🌿 your environments. 🧐 How do you embed this thinking into your change processes? 🧐 How can you embed this into your learning programs and environments? 🧐 Who can you consult with to gain insight and expertise? 💭 THINK ABOUT! 👉🏻 What you do now? 👉🏻 What is something you could start with (start small!)? 👉🏻 How can we support children to understand this right and gain insight from them? 👉🏻 What is required to occur under law and regulation in relation to this? 🍀 Start today, start with a look around and chat with colleagues about what you are already doing, what is embedded and what has opportunities for growth. Happy Monday! 🌞 #childrensweek2024

Here’s a harsh truth for children’s professionals: with nearly 20% of children now having identified special educational needs in England, the impact you could have on their development is greater than EVER before. The way you support them and their families could even make the difference between a child thriving in life or falling through the cracks of the system. This is why it’s never been more important for practitioners to understand the challenges that parents of disabled children experience, the role you play in their lives, and strategies of how you can support them. We’ll be covering all this and much more this Tuesday at our CPD-accredited online workshop and Q&A for practitioners. Book your place here 👉 bit.ly/PW-Nov Because while funding levels or specialist training in your setting may be out of your hands, here are some things you *can* control: 🔹 The way you speak to families 🔹 What you do if conversations with parents don’t go well 🔹 How parent-friendly your setting is 🔹 How you raise developmental concerns with parents 🔹 Your understanding of the laws that affect your practice 🔹 The information you share with parents You’ll learn all this at next week’s workshop — as well as get a CPD certificate, a copy of the presentation slides, and extra handouts with expert advice resources. Find out more and book your place today 👇

Looking forward to this conversation today with Dr. Jasmin Whitfield, MPH, DNP (she/her)! Jasmin was a key parter with Sidwell Summer when she was the Director of Sidwell Friends School's Health Services team! The query for the webinar: 😷 What is your greatest challenge as it relates to health and safety within your summer and auxiliary programs? (put your thoughts in the comments below!) Our team has quite a few we are bringing to the discussion today! #independentschools #summerprograms #auxiliaryprograms #leadershipdevelopment

Thrilled to unveil my blog post: The Gift That Keeps on Giving: Why Continuing Education Matters for Therapists and Social Workers! Dive in and spread the knowledge to those who can benefit! https://lnkd.in/eHkw_WvK

"With so many positive evaluations for the current model of Ka Ora, Ka Ako and so many red flags on the new low-cost model, Seymour needs to be explicit about how he will define success or failure of his new system. And please could those criteria prioritise the outcomes for Kiwi kids – taxpayers actually want to see children thrive as the top priority." Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA) co-chair Boyd Swinburn's opinion piece in today's Stuff mastheads (The Post, The Press and the Waikato Times) highlights the growing risks of the alternative school lunches programme - based on no other aim but to cut costs. His key points: 👉 The current Government sees the programme primarily as a cost burden to taxpayers despite multiple reviews finding a huge range of benefits 👉 Associate Minister of Education David Seymour hasn't said what his expected outcomes are - except to reduce investment in a programme with proven benefits for children, whānau and communities. 👉 In Scrutiny Week, Seymour casually said he had “heard” about the significantly poor performance of two key suppliers (Compass Group NZ and Libelle) and admitted he didn’t pass this information on to Cabinet. 👉 It is unclear if the new meals will fulfil the nutritional needs of older students as they will be smaller and suplemented with extra items like fruit and muesli bars. 👉 It's not clear how the new meals will be monitored as most nutritionists on the programme have been disestablished. 👉 Cost-shifting for schools is another risk - they will have to provide staff to manage ordering, internal distribution, storage of waste and surplus meals - with no extra funding. https://lnkd.in/gv5SeR_3

Exchange Press and The CAYL Institute invite you to share your lived experience and strategies for courageous and collaborative action. The questions in our April survey focus on family child care. Join us and share your thoughts!

Parents want safe schools and teachers want help manage student discipline. I am looking forward to this webinar with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and am grateful for the abundant resources and support for school administrators, teachers, and caregivers from Kaiser Permanente: Reimagining Student Discipline: A Trauma-Informed Perspective. https://lnkd.in/gyn64M99 https://lnkd.in/di6PimKJ #thrivingschools

As we enter a new week, let's remember the fundamental truth that every child has the right to learn. At Evangeline’s Care and Wellness Foundation (ECWF), we are committed to breaking down the barriers that prevent children with special needs from accessing quality education. In too many places, children with special needs are overlooked and excluded from classrooms, missing out on opportunities that every child deserves. But we believe in a future where every child, regardless of their abilities, can walk into a classroom and feel empowered, supported, and capable of achieving great things. This Week’s Focus: We’re shining a light on the importance of inclusive education and how it can transform lives. Through advocacy, community support, and dedicated resources, we aim to ensure that every child, especially those with special needs, has the opportunity to thrive academically and socially. How You Can Help: Join us in this mission. Follow ECWF on LinkedIn, and Facebook to stay updated on how we're working to make education accessible for all. Share our posts, spread the word, and let’s work together to create a world where every child’s right to learn is honored.

"Extensive research has linked participation in school meals to improved outcomes such as increased cognitive function, academic achievement, standardized test scores, and attendance rates... The Rockefeller Foundation published a study that concluded that every $1 invested in school meal programs provides $2 in health and economic equity benefits. To me, it’s obvious that school meals are a worthwhile investment." Read more in our newest Weekly Perspective blog post here: https://lnkd.in/gTFmhng4 You can also use our form to quickly and easily contact your lawmakers and tell them to support Missouri's children through school meals: https://lnkd.in/ga9mdg6r Image description: blue text reading "New Weekly Perspective on the Blog! Full Plate, Full Potential: Supporting Missouri’s Future Through School Meals" with a photo of a group of young children eating lunch at school #FullPlateFullPotential #EmpowerMO #WeeklyPerspective #Blog #SchoolMeals #FoodSecurity #Missouri #Education #ChildrensHealth #Schools #MOleg