Water Babies - Making a Splash for Charity!

Water Babies in Sussex West is getting ready to celebrate the nation’s finest summer of sport with a special charity event to raise money for Tommy’s, the baby charity, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.  

The Water Babies Games will take place on Friday 20^th July and Saturday 21^st July and will involve special themed lessons with a sporting twist, including baby windsurfing, horse riding, long jump, relay races and cycling.   

“These themed lessons are all about parents and babies having fun together and it’s a fantastic chance for us to celebrate the exciting summer ahead and raise money for a great cause,” explains Caroline Braund who has been running Water Babies swimming lessons in West Sussex for ten months. “You never know, we may even discover the next Tom Daley or Rebecca Adlington as the babies splish and splash around in the water!”

The Water Babies programme is designed to make the most of babies’ natural affinity with water and teaches confidence and safety, using specialist techniques that see many swimming short distances from as young as 30 months.

Despite the emphasis on parents and babies having fun, the course does have a very serious safety point to it. “Tragically, drowning is still the third highest cause of accidental death in the UK,” explains Caroline. “In most cases it’s the shock of sudden submersion that causes children to panic. We believe that by introducing babies to water as early as possible, they’ll be less likely to experience fear if they do fall in.”

“With progressive training, babies can be taught life saving skills very early on, such as turning onto their backs or swimming to the nearest solid object following a sudden submersion,” she adds. “It’s fantastic what vital skills children can learn, and it’s really important that they are happy and confident in the water from a young age.”

This year Water Babies is celebrating its 10^th anniversary since it was co-founded in 2002 by Paul Thompson. What started out as a small family-run business is now the world’s leading baby swim school, teaching over 29,000 babies to swim each week across the UK, Ireland and Australia.

The Water Babies Games will take place at the Mary Rose School, Gisors Road, Southsea, PO4 8GT on Friday 20^th July from 3.15-5.45pm (for 2 months to 3 years) and on Saturday 21^st July from 8-10am (from 1 to 3.5 years).  

For more information please call Caroline on 07894242420 or visit www.waterbabies.co.uk. 

Are you thinking of popping THAT question?

Are you planning a secret proposal that they will never forget?

ITV1 are looking for people with exciting ideas to make their proposal the event of a lifetime in this brand new TV show.

We will be following the individual’s journey from the initial idea right through to the day that they get down on one knee and utter those four crucial words.

If you would like to find out more, please get in touch!

Email: proposal@thegardenproductions.tv

Your secret is safe with us!

Website: www.itv.com/beontv/marry-me/

Twitter: @TV_proposal

Entrants must be aged at least 18 (eighteen) years of age.

Returning to work after children – How to get it right for your child, you and your career…

Sarah-Jane Butler, co-founder of Parental Choice, one of the UKs leading information resource websites for busy parents, is delighted to announce her participation in a live web Q&A hosted by The Guardian on Thursday 11 July at 1 and 3pm.

The Q&A will address the issues faced by women who want to return to work after having their children and offer advice on the ways in which the workplace and childcare can be managed to create a workable, effective and sustainable solution.

Sarah-Jane will be offering solid advice to mothers looking to return to work about their rights in the workplace, the resources they can tap into to assist with childcare and the options they have to available to help create a manageable work/life balance while ensuring that the ‘mummy’ role remains prioritised.

To join in the Q&A please use this link http://careers.guardian.co.uk/women-careers-advice, scroll to the bottom and sign in or create a Guardian account to enable you to take part.

ABOUT PARENTAL CHOICE AND SARAH-JANE BUTLER

 

After the birth of her first daughter, Sarah-Jane spent hours researching childcare options and her legal rights as regards flexible working when she would rather have been spending time with her little girl. After finally finding a nanny and writing her own employment contract for her, it dawned on her that it really should not be that difficult for parents to find the information that they need to make the right choices for them in terms of childcare and their working lives and hence how the idea for Parental Choice was born.

Parental Choice is a “one-stop shop” for all of your queries regarding legal rights whilst pregnant, guidance when looking to return to work and all of the childcare options, including nurseries and dealing with the administration involved in employing a nanny. Parental Choice helps parents to make informed practical choices that work for both them and their children. By having everything in one place, Sarah-Jane hopes to save parents the endless trawling through the internet that she experienced, leaving parents more time to spend with their children.

Rookwood School make Olympic memories at ISA Festival of Sport!

Pupils from Rookwood School had the chance to make their own Olympic memories this week when they took part in The Independent Schools Association’s Festival of Sport- a ‘mini-Olympics’ for the independent sector attracting 32 schools from all corners of the country. 

The event, which opened with a spectacular parade at the University of Nottingham Sports Centre, attracted over 800 pupils and covered an array of sporting events including athletics, swimming, hockey and basketball.

The twenty Rookwood pupils (aged between 14 and fifteen) performed “above and beyond the school’s expectations”, commented Rookwood’s Head of PE, Miss Liz Brown. 

The Under 15 squad competed in the netball and football competitions as well as the swimming gala and the athletics, with the boys’ football squad gaining the U15 bronze.  This was swiftly followed by a resounding success in the swimming gala; an individual bronze for Will Turner in the 50m backstroke was followed by an outstanding display from the Rookwood girls (silver medals in both the girls’ medley relay and the squadron relay followed by a bronze in the girls’ freestyle relay). 

Day two of the Festival brought further triumph with individual golds for Faye Baker (100m & Long Jump), Aaron Criston-Greet (Long jump) and Joshua Chatee (200m). Another silver medal was then awarded to Ella Neil for the 300m with the U15 girls relay team picking up final silver before the day was done!

Miss Brown concluded that the Festival was “an inspiring event that allowed Rookwood pupils to be part of a very unique experience – something that will stay them for the rest of their lives”. 

Gwilym Price, ISA’s Director of Sport, said:

“2012 is an incredible year for British sport and what better way to mark it than by giving all of these children the chance to take part in their own Olympics”.

“The Festival of Sport is the largest sporting event we have ever undertaken and has been the perfect way to celebrate the lead up to the 2012 Games. As ever, we have seen some outstanding performances in all events and have been struck by the levels of sportsmanship and commitment shown by our pupils.”

“We know that each of the 800 young people who took part will take away their own Olympic memories which will stay with them for a very long time.”

Roger Brierly, Chair of ISA’s Sports Committee, commented:

“When London was selected to host the Olympic Games we started to plan for an event which would give hundreds of pupils from up and down the country their own Olympic memories. The Festival of Sport has done just that – and has been a unique celebration of enjoyable sport and Olympic values.”