Mudiad Meithrin was born during the 1971 Bangor National Eisteddfod, as the Cymdeithas Ysgolion Meithrin Cymraeg (Society of Welsh medium Nursery Schools). Our aim is to ensure that every child in Wales has the opportunity to benefit from Welsh-medium early years experiences.
Over the past 50 years, Mudiad Meithrin has firmly established itself in the national consciousness as the Welsh-medium early years specialist. Today, it supports a national network of Cymraeg i Blant (Cymraeg for Kids) groups and Clwb Cwtsh informal Welsh language classes, alongside its traditional Cylchoedd Ti a Fi (Welsh-medium Stay and Play groups), Cylchoedd Meithrin (Welsh-medium playgroups/nurseries) and dedicated Welsh-medium training through Academi for the sector from initial qualifications through to innovative CPD short courses and accredited childcare qualifications.
In your opinion, what is the most beneficial aspect of Mudiad Meithrin’s work?
Mudiad Meithrin provides accessible, local Welsh-medium activities for families across Wales from birth to school age. As well as providing affordable, community-based Welsh-language childcare options for parents across Wales, Mudiad Meithrin also helps to build community networks through participation in and with the local groups. The friendships made and developed by both the children and their carers builds support networks across our communities, both rural and urban.
The best advice is for parents to make it fun and try not to force your child to use a particular language at any time. Going to the local Cylch Ti a Fi or Cylch Meithrin is a big help … as you and your children will be able to socialise with other families who also want to raise their children bilingually. The more opportunities you have to hear and practice speaking both (all) languages the more the children will naturally want to use them.
There are a huge range of books, TV programmes and Apps available to help support the use of Welsh in the home. Choosing a few favourites to start will encourage you to use them and over time you will find yourself looking for more to add to your collection.
If you want to learn Welsh or just develop your confidence a bit more, then there a range of courses available, both online and in-person. Clwb Cwtsh is a great way to start if you have young children, and courses are available across Wales.
If someone was new to the area how would they find their local group and sign up?
The best way to find your local Ti a Fi group (Cylch Ti a Fi / Stay and Play group) or Cylch Meithrin (Welsh-medium playgroup) is to use the ‘Find a Cylch’ function on our website here: Search for a Cylch - Meithrin . Once you’ve found your local Cylch, you can contact them directly to sign up or for more information. Many Cylchoedd also have their own social media pages. Once you have found your local group, following their social media pages can be a good way of making that first leap and then keeping in touch once you’ve been.
Why is play important for children and how do you think the pandemic has impacted children’s play?
Children learn through play, and young children don’t differentiate between playing and learning. Different kinds of play help children develop different types of skills. Collaborative play helps them develop their social and emotional skills as well as understanding how turn-taking works in different situations. Structured play opportunities help them develop their fine and gross motor skills. Putting things in and out of containers might be frustrating for us adults, but it helps children to develop skills they need for later formal learning. Just moving and using their muscles helps them to learn how their body moves and improves their coordination … squidging their peas with their fingers actually helps them to hold a pen or fork when they’re older!
Many of our children have seen their opportunities for unstructured, free play restricted over the past few years. As families were encouraged not to meet and socialise, children of all ages missed out on opportunities to make and nurture friendships with minimal adult intervention.
For those children born during the pandemic, especially in early 2020, the pandemic heavily impacted their early experiences of play. With Stay and Play groups not able to meet in person, many only interacted with other members of their immediate family for a considerable length of time. With playgrounds also kept closed in those early days, access to outdoor public play spaces was limited. A factor which impacted families living in homes with no private outdoor space considerably … without a garden you can’t easily play ‘tag’, kick a ball, or just sit crunching the leaves from the trees.
What is the most valuable thing you have learned about the positive impact of play for children?
That free play is important … it’s both free (in terms of cost) and unstructured (the children get to decide the rules). Two things that are essential for our children to develop the skills that they need as they grow. Encouraging our children to be creative and use what’s available instead of feeling pressured into buying new toys and gadgets all the time. Free play feeds their imaginations … pillowcases can be superhero capes one day, a magic carpet the next. Cushions can be buses, castles or a pirate island as required.
Mostly though, the positive impact of play is that it helps to connect our children with those around them. The time spent playing, laughing, babbling and generally having fun together helps us all to enjoy that time and build the bonds that last a lifetime.
If you could change one thing about play provision for children, what would it be?
Increase unstructured outdoor play opportunities and spaces for children. For many families, homes are comparatively smaller than for previous generations, with outside play space at a premium. The increase in car use and traffic generally means playing football down the middle of the street isn’t an option for most of today’s children, and many homes have ‘lost’ some of the play potential of their outdoor spaces as the need for parking spaces increased. Our children also spend more time than previous generations in formal childcare outside the home, so opportunities for child-regulated outdoor play experiences can be limited. We need more playgrounds, more parks, more open spaces where children (and their families) can run around, build a den and play imagination driven community games. Places where families can enjoy the outdoors and encourage free play and creativity, whatever the weather throws at them.
Where did the idea for ‘Forest Cylch,’ come from?
Some Cylchoedd Meithrin operate fully (or almost fully) as outdoor settings and this has inspired us as a Cylch Meithrin to think about increasing our outdoor practice. The ‘Forest Cylch’ ethos is based on the ‘Forest School’ concept and we have depended heavily on improving our learning with an accredited trainer running sessions with us in Llanerfyl. We think that children learn better through play and that playing outdoors provides physical and cognitive benefits.
What inspired you to train as a forest school leader?
Mirain, our Cylch leader, is undertaking a Level 5 qualification (in childcare) and has chosen this as her end-of-qualification project. So although Mirain won’t be a fully accredited ‘Forest School’ practitioner, she will embed much of her learning in the way she plans everyday activities incorporating the expectations of the new curriculum.
What are the benefits of forest school?
They say that there isn’t such thing as bad weather only the wrong type of clothes! That is true most of the time although no-one would want to be outside in torrential, cold rain! Most of the time, however, we recognise that children enjoy learning through play outdoors and enjoying being immersed in nature. We have seen first hand how they develop their play using natural resources (tree stumps, leaves, pinecones) and how they love roasting marshmallows on an open fire under supervision! We have invested in warm, insulated coats for staff and in dry suits for the children so that (inappropriate) clothing is never an excuse or reason for not going out!
Embedding these principles will be easier as we move our setting location to Ysgol Cwm Banwy with its access to expensive green fields and a sensory garden. We will of course have our designated outdoor play area where the children will be inspired to learn and create using all that nature has to offer!
If you had one top tip, or piece of advice about children’s wellbeing what would it be?
Appreciating the positive impact of play in that it helps to connect our children with those around them. The time spent playing, laughing, babbling and generally having fun together helps us all to enjoy that time and build the bonds that last a lifetime.
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