Practical Pre-School Awards 2008

Practical Pre-School is proud to announce the winners of the Practical Pre-School Awards 2008

The Practical Pre-School Awards identify and reward excellence in educational equipment, childcare, books and toys. All products reviewed are suitable for children from birth to eight years old for use in professional childcare and educational settings. These include: private and state nurseries, pre-schools, playgroups, childminding settings, infant schools and after-school clubs.

Children and their carers tested each product in at least two separate settings. Each setting has marked and provided a detailed evaluation as to the performance of a product against set criteria. It included: Appeal to children (at the beginning and end of the trial), durability; adaptability; educational value, play value and value for money.

Only products achieving at least 60 per cent win an award. The gold award standard is not easily achieved. It is a much coveted and meaningful accolade. Winning products need an average score of 85 per cent or more to attain gold. The standard is also high for silver (75-84 per cent) and a bronze requires 60 to 74 per cent.

This year we tested over 238 products from 111 different companies. The testers have been tough: as professionals working with young children should be. They want to provide a first class learning environment, using the best products available and they have not minced their words when assessing the products. The result is a valuable guide for anyone buying equipment for children aged birth to eight years old.

Our thanks to our team of testers, the full list of whom can be seen on page 4 of the attached publication.

Category winners

The overall winners for each category are as follows:

Teaching resources and equipment

Project Bubbles

Publisher: De Barra Publishing
www.projectbubbles.com
Price: From £170.00
Age range: Four kits for: 1-2 years, 2-3 years, 3-4 years and 4-5 years
A series of four curriculum planning resource kits offering hundreds of practical, play-based learning activities.

Nursery Stickers

Publisher: The Pedagogs Ltd
www.thepedagogs.com
Price: £10
Age range: 2-4 years
This pack contains all the stickers you need to praise young charges. They are a good way to reward your children, while sending a message home to parents and carers long after the school day has finished.

Toys and Games

Rainy Day Box

Manufacturer: Creative Charlie
www.creativecharlie.com
Price: £29.99
Age range: 3-6 years
A box packed full with inspiring art and craft materials and things to do. Designed using recycled and eco-friendly materials.

Childcare

The Cottontail Nappy

Manufacturer: The Cottontail Company
www.cottontailnappy.com
Price: £11.45 including Booster Pad
Age range: Birth-30 months
The Cottontail Nappy is a patented, one-size-fits-all, washable nappy made from 100 per cent organic cotton velour.

Multi Media

Word World

Supplier: Awen
www.awenmedia.com
Price: From £45.00 - £270.00
Age range: 2-5 years
Description: A series aimed at developing mouse skills and computer competency while introducing a range of vocabulary on different themes.

Music

Wriggle & Jiggle

Author: Kids Music Company
www.kimblesfun.co.uk
Price: CD £10.50, Teacher’s Manual £18.00
Age range: 2-6 years
These songs help with progression through Early Learning stages while developing coordination, language and an understanding of the world.

Electronic

Easi-Speak

Manufacturer: TTS Group Ltd
www.tts-group.co.uk
Price: £25.00 / 5 for £100.00
Age range: 5-11 years
The Easi-Speak is an MP3 Recorder. Attractively designed as a cordless microphone it has capacity to record four hours of high quality sound using the built-in 128mb memory.

Books and publications

Slide and Find: Colours

Publisher: Priddy Books
www.priddybooks.com
Price: £4.99
Age range: 1 year +
What colour is this? Children will enjoy opening up the sliding doors in this book and finding out!

For a full list of all the winners for the Practical Pre-School Awards 2008, please view the 2008 Awards brochure.

Would you like to be a tester? Find out more.

View and download the photos from the PPS Awards 2008