® SouthWest January/February 2016 Nursery Special Feature Why every mum should dance! Fresh New Year New You ideas for 2016 Are we over-testing our children? FARMERS’ MARKETS What you need to know when Helping children cope choosing a nursery or playgroup in difficult times Diary dates and events suitable for children School Open Days Really useful information for parents of 0-12 year olds in SW London ® 25 ANNIVERSARY YEARS Find us online: FamiliesSouthWest.co.uk Dreaming of relocating your family to Surrey? Property Potential is a family-focused, professional home search company. We are your eyes and ears on the ground saving you wasted journeys to view unsuitable houses. Our excellent contacts mean we are first to hear about the very best properties before they hit the open market. Call Maranda (07776 779993) or Jen (07776 779998) to see how we can help you. [email protected] www.propertypotentialsurrey.co.uk 2 Familiessouthwest.co.uk Tel: 020 8696 9680 ® Jan/Feb 2016 Contents Families® SW London | January-February 2016 | Issue 253 We wish all our readers a FEATURES peaceful New Year 06-07 New Year New You Fresh ideas for 2016 09-14 Education •School news •Open days •Are we over-testing our children? See pages 27-41 for our Nursery Special Feature 22-23 Dance yourself happy Why dancing is good for us IN EVERY ISSUE 24 Travel 04-05 Local news Should you go on holiday with another family? 08 Families ‘Top 5’ this month 26 Health and well-being 18-19 Club & Classes news How art therapy can help children cope 42-46 What’s On •Diary dates & events 27-41 Nursery Feature •Theatre •Nursery news •Museums and galleries •What you need to know when choosing a •Days out nursery or playgroup •The power of play 47 Classified •To ipad or not to ipad? Find us on ADVERTISE IN OUR NEXT ISSUE: Contact us on 020 8696 9680 Facebook & Twitter FamiliesSW Jan/Feb 2016 ® 3 Please tell Local News advertisers you saw them in Families It makes a HUGE difference Thank you Publishers James and Pascale Gravell celebrated 25 amazing years with advertisers and the team–journalists, designer, sales support, marketing, distributing team, etc, at Eddie Catz’s premises in Putney. A great evening looking back over our 25 years in business and looking forward to a further 25! Families is Picture credit to Bourton Meadow School Picture going from strength to strength. Watch Register now for wear a hat day out for an amazing new website with state of the art search facilities, Wear A Hat Day is a fun-filled, annual brain tumour awareness event helping WhatsOn apps and more. support research. The organiser, Brain Tumour Research, is asking families and children and schools across the UK to put 27 March 2015 in their diaries and don a hat to support the cause. Boosting sports in Battersea Involving families and school children in the campaign is poignant, given that Plans for a new 3G all-weather pitch in Falcon Park are afoot, as brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under the age part of an initiative to boost sports for young people in of 40. Children have lost parents, family members and teachers, and in many Battersea. The £1.3m pitch will hopefully gain approval this classrooms there remains a tragic reminder of a child whose life has been lost winter, and would replace four existing grass pitches which are or damaged by this cruel cancer. regularly unplayable in the winter months. Replacing them with Schools, nurseries, organisations and individuals can all register by visiting an all weather playing surface means young footballers and other : braintumourresearch.org/wearahatday sports clubs could use them for around 80 hours a week – a huge increase on what is currently possible. Although the new Note: Just to be safe it is always best to avoid prolonged proximity of any wifi pitch would most often be used for local boys and girls’ football enabled devices next to your child; this includes your wifi router. A simple clubs, there may also be scope for cricket too. Fingers crossed basic precaution consists of turning it off at night. Ed. for the local clubs! Big Garden Birdwatch Last year over half a million people took part in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch, spotting more than 8.5 million birds across the UK, and the organisers are hoping this year's watch will be a record-breaking event. This year's survey takes part on 30 and 31 January. To take part, simply spend one hour counting the birds in your garden or local park, and record the highest number of each bird species seen at any one time. The morning is the best time to look, when the birds are out and about feeding after a cold winter night. To sign up for a free Big Garden Birdwatch 2016 pack, go to : rspb.org.uk/birdwatch 4 Familiessouthwest.co.uk Tel: 020 8696 9680 ® Jan/Feb 2016 Local News Cinema for less Get sporty in H&F Take a look at BFI Southbank’s Hammersmith and Fulham council has new £3 ticket offer in their new announced new plans for sports facilities in 25 & Under scheme. With Hammersmith Park. A previous scheme was savings on tickets to events and for all-weather sport facilities, a bar and car Q&As as well as the cinema, park, however residents raised concerns you can save over £8 on regular about the scale of the scheme and the loss of priced tickets. Not bad at all! potential community use. The new scheme is The scheme follows on from a not only less intrusive and more beneficial but successful trial at this year's BFI the plans involve much wider availability to London Film Festival, where local schools and residents, earlier closing last minute £5 tickets were times and the facility remaining under the offered to young people. So whether it's the latest critical hit, a must-see indie flick or a Q&A ownership of the council. It includes a 10- with talent such as recent guests John Waters or Judi Dench, the BFI Southbank has an event pitch centre, club house, a new café and a to suit every taste. It’s a must for everyone from budding filmmakers to young film fans, large number of cycle racks. Keep your eyes cinephiles and students. : bfi.org.uk/southbank peeled – it should be open later in the spring. Cleaner, greener and cheaper This month Co-wheels Car Club, a social enterprise and the UK’s largest independent operator of its kind, lands in Wandsworth. With 10 low emission pay-as-you-go cars available for residents, the Car Club is also a community interest company, with all of their profits ploughed back into expanding and improving the service, and keeping rates as low as possible for Recycle your cards to members. With their cars polluting 40% less than the average public-owned car, this car club’s mission is to help get cars plant new trees off the road by encouraging car sharing, to improve the environment and congestion in city centres. A great idea, we’re sure you will agree! There are more bays planned for later in 2016, The UK’s largest woodland conservation and now new members can join for free with no annual membership fees. charity is calling on the public to recycle To claim your code go to co-wheels.org.uk/wandsworth their cards this Christmas to help plant thousands of trees across the UK. For every 1,000 cards dropped in to M&S stores for recycling throughout January, a new tree will be planted in the UK. The A taste of democracy for Merton Woodland Trust and M&S have set an ambitious target to collect and recycle six Children in Merton got a feeler for democracy in Local Democracy Week, when the Civic million Christmas cards and therefore plant Centre opened its doors to the borough’s primary school children. With lots of activities plus a 6,000 trees. tour of the building, children took a look at the Council Chamber where all the major decisions are made, and visited the Mayor’s Parlour where the Mayor spoke to them about his ceremonial The Woodland Trust has been planting trees duties. MP Siobhain McDonagh also took schools from her constituency on a tour of the and standing up for woodland for 40 years. Houses of Parliament. What an opportunity! Local Democracy Week aims to encourage Today, the charity owns more than 1,000 democratic participation and inspire young people to get involved in local politics. ‘Our young woods which are open year round for the people are the future of this borough and Local Democracy Week is a great way to spark their public to enjoy free of charge. interest in local decision making,’ said Merton’s cabinet member for children’s services, : woodlandtrust.org.uk Councillor Maxi Martin. Find out more at : congress-eldw.eu DID YOU KNOW? BUY THIS Simple wireless precautions for pregnant women Organic hemp for kids More than one hundred medical doctors, scientists and public Brand new hemp and organic clothing range health experts from around the world have signed a Joint for children, Poco Rosso is not only good for Statement advising pregnant women to take simple precautions to the planet – it’s long lasting and fun, and comes protect themselves and their babies from wireless radiation. The at supermarket prices! Mum of two Emma is Statement is part of a national right-to-know passionate about her natural and chemical free campaign called the Babysafe Project created range, so no nasties next to your child’s skin.