Hereford & Worcester Issue No 41 September/October 2016 www.familiesonline.co.uk Education Clubs and Classes What’s On Earn Extra Cash! Distributors Wanted See Page 3 Really useful information for parents of 0-12 year olds in Hereford & Worcester Editor’s Letter Dear readers Humphrey’s Pyjama As the summer holidays fade into memory, we must all get used to the return of the mad morning Week Helps Raise Funds school rush... Humphrey’s Pyjama Week returns from 3-7 October – with a chance for nurseries, playgroups, primary schools and mother This issue we include tips to help and toddler groups to get their PJs on and raise money for The ease the transition for those start- Children’s Trust. ing in reception. We give advice on the best way to approach school open evenings. For a voluntary donation of £2, youngsters, staff and parents can wear their favourite pyjamas for one day during the week and If you are looking for a school for your child, then you may be organise themed events, such as best dressed competitions and interested in the various open days at some of the leading inde- slumber party games. Money raised will go towards research, pendent schools in the area. rehabilitation, care and support for children with brain injuries and their families. Next time: Christmas! Next issue: Nov/Dec Booking Participants who register at thechildrenstrust.org.uk/humphrey will Diane Clifford. deadline: Friday receive an event pack which includes Humphrey stickers, Editor, 7 October posters, a certificate for each child and a story booklet. Families Families Hereford & Worcester has had a bit of a sneak preview of the pack, and it is full of Tel: 01684 770566 activities such as Hide an Seek quizzes, maze games and Email: [email protected] colouring activities – perfect for entertaining little ones Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Register now to get a fundraising pack and start planning a week of @FamiliesHW FamiliesHandW pyjama fun! thechildrenstrust.org.uk/humphrey or email: [email protected] www.familiesonline.co.uk Circulation: 22,000 copies of Families Hereford & Worcester are available through nurseries, pre-schools, schools, libraries, soft Star Cast For Palace Theatre play centres, selected shops and other distribution points throughout the county. If Reach 44,000 local The Redditch, Palace you would like free copies for your Theatre’s traditional organisation or if you would like to subscribe readers. so you don’t miss an issue please contact us. pantomime this year is Families Hereford & Worcester is part of Beauty And The Beast, Families Magazines Ltd a franchise company. Contact Diane on All franchised magazines in the group are 01684 770566 running from 5 - 31 independently owned and operated under December. It stars Sam licence. Families® is a registered trademark of Families Magazines Ltd, Temple House, Regatta if you are Attwater (Eastenders and Place, Marlow Road, Bourne End, Bucks SL8 Dancing On Ice champion) 5TD. The contents of Families Hereford & interested in Worcester are fully protected by copyright who will bring a touch of and none of the editorial or photographic swagger and cut a dashing matter may be reproduced in any form advertising in without prior consent of the publisher. We figure in the role of take every care preparing this magazine but Families Gaston, the local lothario the publishers and distributors cannot be held responsible for the claims of advertisers Hereford & Worcester and wooer of our heroine nor for the accuracy of the contents nor for Belle. any consequence.’ Print: The Manson Group, Reynolds House, 8 Porters Wood, Valley Road Magazine www.redditchpalacetheatre. Industrial Estate, St Albans. AL3 6PZ. Tel: co.uk 01727 848 440. New Hope For Math Studies A new system for teaching maths will sweep the nation, says the Department for Education. The Department has pledged £41 million for over 8,000 schools (50% of all UK schools) to start to introduce Asian style maths tuition. Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong lead the world in maths performance, using a system called maths mastery. Those using the scheme have been shown to perform better than their peers. The system means that teachers spend a lot of time on one topic to make sure that children understand it fully. Children also discover how problems relate to their everyday life, so they are given context. The system was created by educational psychologists and specialists. 2 Families Hereford & Worcester To advertise call: 01684 770566 September - October 2016 News & Views Ghostly Goings On At Arley Station Finger Licking Is Good For You It may drive parents mad but it has been suggested that children who regularly suck their thumbs or bite their nails are less prone to developing allergies. The results of a study published in the New Zealand journal Pediatrics suggest that being exposed to germs at an early age can help boost the child’s immune system. Daring visitors will find themselves whisked away on a thrilling journey, packed with spooky spectres and ghastly ghouls as the Severn Valley Railway’s Ghost Trains The study followed 1,000 people and return this October. A whole host of ghosts, ghouls, witches and wizards will be assessed them between the ages of five descending on the Railway for some fiendish fun, from 27 – 29 October, when and 32. It found that suckers and biters passengers can brave an exhilarating night-time ride through the Severn Valley had fewer allergies to things like house countryside. For more information: www.svr.co.uk. dust mites and pet dander at the age of 13. However, the habits seemed to have little or no effect on the incidence of Earn Extra Cash! developing hay-fever or asthma. A spokesperson from Allergy UK, said: Families Hereford & Worcester magazine is looking for “research that has been carried out in distributors in the Droitwich, Malvern and Hereford other countries also adds weight to this areas. Email for details to Diane at: theory of the role the environment and gut microbiota play in shaping an individual’s potential to develop a food FAMILY AD_Layout [email protected] 1 27/05/2016 12:49 Page 1 allergy.” BIG BRANDS • LOW PRICES UP TO 75% OFF Exclusive Offers to Families Readers at: mandmdirect.com/01/families September - October 2016 To advertise call: 01684 770566 or email: [email protected] 3 Ed’s Reading Room Hi kids, parents, grandparents, teachers – and book lovers everywhere! I’m Ed and here is my Autumn book selection. Ed’s Reading Room is an exciting free book review website www.EdontheWeb.com. FOR AGES 5-7 YEARS FOR AGES 7 YEARS PLUS Sophie’s Squeaky Surprise by Holly Fizzlebert Stump and the Great Webb (Scholastic £4.99) Supermarket Showdown by A F ED SAYS: ‘Sophie isn’t happy about moving Harrold (Bloomsbury £5.99) away from home especially to a new country ED SAYS: ‘Poor old Fizz! The circus has been and a new school where the children aren’t sold and the new owner wants everyone to very nice to her. But when she meets work in his supermarket. When all you know is flying around on Josephine, a friendly and very furry guinea pig, a trapeze or spinning plates it is a great shock to have to spend she learns to stand up to the mean children at school. With her your day stacking shelves and carrying heavy bags for old super new friend and with all the delights that living in Paris people. Is this curtains for Fizz or will he be able to find a way brings, will Sophie be able to settle into her exciting new life?’ to save the circus and the life he loves?’ Claude Going for Gold Binny Bewitched by Hilary McKay by Alex T Smith (Hodder £8.99) (Hodder £12.99) ED SAYS: ‘It is a few years ED SAYS: ‘Claude and his best friend Sir since Binny’s family moved to Cornwall but Bobblysock are off on their latest adventure. they are still unpacking boxes. They were very They discover a special competition at the lucky to be left their house by Binny’s aunt local sports centre and are tremendously but nevertheless money – or rather lack of it excited, even more so when they are asked – remains a huge problem. So when Binny to take part but this might not be as simple comes across a large sum of money will it as they first thought. When some thieves try to steal the Gold be the answer to their problems? Another Cup, can Claude run fast enough to catch them?’ thing troubling Binny is their strange new neighbour – so strange that Binny suspects her of being a witch.’ Ed’s Reading Room is part of www.edontheweb.com, a DTI award-winning website. It was created by Maggie Humphreys, a teacher of more than 25 years, and Les Snowdon, who together are authors of several books on fitness walking and healthy eating. You can contact Maggie on 01753 730019 or by email at [email protected]. See Maggie’s latest ebooks at www.WalkWalk.co.uk. WITH A DIFFERENCE ACADEMIC PROGRESS CONFIDENCE With over 120 centres across the UK, head online to NEW SKILLS find your nearest centre. LOVE OF LEARNING CALL 01483 447 414 TO BOOK YOUR FREE TRIAL SESSION TODAY. EducationInvestor Awards 2015 explorelearning.co.uk /explorelearning @exploretutors 4 Families Hereford & Worcester To advertise call: 01684 770566 September - October 2016 Education A Prep School For Everyone at RGS The RGS family of schools offers a choice of two ‘Excellent’ and ‘Outstanding’ Prep Schools: (ISI Inspection report 2015).