Schools hit the headlines once again this weekend with reported issues relating to food safety and standards at a school in Shanghai. The impact of such reports reaches far beyond the community involved, as parents try to understand how and why their trust could be tested. Social media ensured that the report spread throughout the city and beyond, and parents with children in schools and nurseries naturally questioned if this could happen to their child, seeking necessary reassurance to maintain trust. Trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something. It is the acceptance of the truth of a statement without evidence or investigation. Trust can take some time to build and once broken can be hard to rebuild. In the case reported at the weekend, it was a contracted service provider that damaged the trust between parents and the school. It was not through any direct action from the school that it was catapulted in to the headlines, rather through inaction in monitoring of their catering service. I am sure that the school trusted the contracted service provider to do their jobs professionally. I am sure that the school would never have approved of what happened. In this case, trust was abused and subsequently broken. Trust is essential in producing a positive partnership in education. If trust is absent, there is no belief in a shared vision. This is ever more essential where young children are involved, as they rely on the adults around them to keep them safe, secure and healthy. Nurseries have an obligation to be transparent in their operations, services and policies. Parental involvement in the life of the nursery paves the way to increasing transparency and a genuine sense of understanding how life works. On this issue from the nursery’s perspective, we place great emphasis on food hygiene and quality control. Our menus are produced collaboratively with our nursing team and follow health guidelines on eating balanced meals and snacks. The parent representatives will be involved in the nursery food committee and will lunch with members of the teaching, non-academic and leadership teams on a regular basis. We have rigorous monitoring processes which include carrying out monthly independent internal audits on the kitchen and dining area. Apart from our internal audits, the local authorities also carry out inspections of our kitchen. On Wednesday, 17 October 2018, the local authorities carried out a random inspection and the results were very positive. We understand the vital importance of food safety, as does our caterer. As head of nursery, I trust in our caterers. I trust in our processes, policies and transparency of operations. As I represent the team at the nursery, I carry their trust with me. I believe I also carry the trust of 280 families who are our partners. A storyteller’s visit We are delighted to be hosting Storyteller Paul Jackson on Tuesday 30th October as part of the nursery’s Art Festival. Paul is an illustrator and sculptor who started as a storyteller to share tales of his sculptures. Twenty-five years later, he’s a master storyteller who also chairs the Society for Storytelling in the UK. Paul is unique amongst his contemporaries. He has a vast repertoire of magical stories that derive from all corners of the world. Paul will be visiting with his colleague Sonia Zivkovic who will be hosting a professional development session to the team on Storytelling for 21st Century Skills: Developing Emotional Intelligence. The team are excited about a fun day for the Hiba pupils and for themselves. To make it even more memorable, we would like to invite the children to come to nursery on that day in their pyjamas. They can, if they wish, bring their favourite teddy too.
The weather is getting cooler
I remember vividly during my first year in Shanghai having an overwhelming sense of being dumbfounded when I discovered what children do and do not eat during the different seasons. I’d never heard of cold foods and hot foods (other than temperature-wise), and it took a while for me to fully appreciate the significance of these in Chinese culture. I was (and remain) grateful to Yuki for teaching me how important the correct food was in terms of seasonal holistic health and how to use it to my benefit. To add to my being dumbfounded, I was staggered to discover that some of the children were coming to the nursery with outerwear under their underwear! This discovery was made when one child was taken ill and presented as hot, sweaty and lethargic. Complaining of headache and being very uncomfortable, the child was taken to the nurse where we discovered that under her vest was a gilet. A gilet is better known as a body warmer and is not designed to be worn under underwear, under clothing, under a winter coat. With the removal of the gilet, the girl felt and looked much better in a very short space of time.
As we move in to late autumn, we feel the outside temperatures gradually reducing as winter makes its determined approach. Whilst the weather outdoors changes, I must remind all Hiba families that the indoor temperature will remain at the optimal for the season. There really is no need for children to have hidden layers underneath their uniforms (and especially underneath their underwear!) and I ask for the whole Hiba community’s support in this. Our pupils are active, they are on the go constantly and because of their activity levels they naturally keep warm. Hidden layers put the children at risk of overheating which will adversely affect their health and wellbeing. If children are wearing:
