Opinion: To the point - The joy of creativity

Not long ago, at my daughter's Year Three parents' evening I told the teacher how much she had been enjoying taking part in woodwork in the junior school. But it seemed a shame, I added, that having learned good cutting and joining skills in nursery, she had no further opportunity to use a saw for the next three years of her schooling. I probably did not express myself very well, because the teacher's first response was an expression of shock, followed by saying something like 'just imagine, nursery children running around with saws. It doesn't bear thinking about'.

A couple of weeks ago at Kate Greenaway, we had one of those absolutely joyful days that make nursery education so much fun. We are building a climbing frame around one of the trees; our tireless outdoor learning consultant Wendy Titman has worked with an amazing group of people to get the children involved in splitting the wood, shaving it, shaping it and sanding it down. The children listened very carefully to safety instructions and maintained the highest levels of concentration throughout. The only dodgy moment during the whole day was when the press photographer asked a child to look up at the camera and smile - while she was busy sawing. Luckily no fingers were harmed in the making of the newspaper picture.