Practical Pre-School Awards 2012

The Practical Pre-School Awards 2012 are now open.

For 2012, the annual Practical Pre-School Awards for the 5 to 7 age range will, for the first time, be run in association with our new publication 'Primary Teacher Update' and as such will widen the net to include products that are aimed at key stage 2 as well. Our aim is to ensure that these awards provide those who specialise in developing products for the pre-school and key stages 1 and 2 markets with the best possible range of categories into which products can be entered. Following on from the success of the 2011 Awards, we are again working very closely with Evolution PR who are overseeing the awards process. The deadline for entries is Friday 18 May so make sure that you get your entries in by then. Please contact Lauren Green or on 01327 701 702 to discuss your entry. In special cases, if you feel you cannot make the 18 May deadline, please let Lauren know and she will be as flexible as possible with any additional extension.

For information on the success stories from 2011, please continue reading below.

Practical Pre-School Awards 2011

Practical Pre-School is proud to announce the winners of the Practical Pre-School Awards 2011

The Practical Pre-School Awards exist to acknowledge and reward the most brilliant, innovative and expertly designed equipment for early years and key stage 1 children in professional childcare and educational settings.

Over the years, the Practical Pre-School Awards have gone from strength to strength. The 5 to 7 Awards Scheme, which runs parallel to the Practical Pre-School Awards but is aimed at slightly older children, last year expanded to spread over three categories: 5 to 7 Books, 5 to 7 Toys and Games and 5 to 7 All Other Resources.

And, to give you yet more of what you want and need for your settings, we broadened the offering even further this year, with the addition of three exciting new categories: Creative Play, 5 to 7 Creative Play and Best Licensed Property.

You'll find some inventive and inspirational arts and crafts resources in the Creative Play categories, reflecting children's need for self-expression, experimentation and investigation, while the Best Licensed Property award recognizes the important part that character licensing has in pre-school and foundation level play and development. This category has been created so that the best licensing for the age group can be acknowledged.

We know that play forms an integral part of a child's growing up process. Psychologist Dr Amanda Gummer, of FUNdamentals says: 'Play helps children to develop holistically. Child-directed free play allows them to develop at their own pace, which is refreshing and valuable in a world of hothousing and high-pressure parenting.'

With this in mind, we have compiled this guide to give you a great overview of the best products available in the market. Equipment has been tried and tested to the third degree by a scrupulous panel of practitioners, including perhaps the most discerning critics – the children themselves. Each product entered was tested in at least two separate settings by the children and their carers. Testers marked the equipment against a given set of criteria: appeal to children at start and end of the trial; durability; adaptability; educational value; play value; value for money and more..

With 90 per cent or more needed for products to attain the Gold award, 80 to 89 per cent for silver and 70 to 79 per cent for bronze, the entries were up against a formidable scoring system. This just goes to show the exceptional quality of these products, as well as the immense levels of thought and effort that have gone into producing them.

Without the testers – a full list of whom can be found on page 4 of this publication – none of this would have been possible, so I would like to thank them for their work in determining this as a valuable guide for anyone buying equipment for early years or key stage 1 settings.

For 2012, the awards for the 5 to 7 age range will be run in association with our new publication 'Primary Teacher Update' and as such will expand the offering to include products that are aimed at key stage 2 as well.

The 2011 Practical Pre-School Awards digital edition is available to download here.

Category winners

The overall winners for each category are as follows:

Teacher Resources, Equipment and Tools

EducationCity.com

Publisher: EducationCity.com
Tel: 0844 225 3060
Web: www.educationcity.com
Price: £80.00
Age range: 3 to 12 years

Description: Trusted and used in over 15,000 schools, EducationCity.com is the teachers' choice for curriculum content, with its award winning activities and innovative tracking and testing features. EducationCity.com is highly engaging and interactive, with activities covering maths, science, French, German and Spanish.

Toys and Games 0-3

Scuttlebug

Supplier: Mookie Toys
Web: www.amazon.co.uk
Price: £29.99
Age range: 1 to 3 years
Description: The Scuttlebug comes in a range of four cute characters, inspired by real insects. No assembly is required and it is smooth, quiet and easy to ride. Front wheel steering gives greater manoeuvrability. The three-step folding action means it is easy to transport and store. It is also compact and lightweight.

Toys and Games 3-5

Smart Games Camelot Jr

Supplier: Jumbo Games
Web: www.amazon.co.uk
Price: £17.99
Age range: 4 years +
Description: The Knight and Princess are in separate towers. Can you bring them together by building the correct pathway using the correct tower and step puzzle pieces? A beautiful wooden 3D single player brain teaser puzzle for young children aged four plus. Includes a 48 challenge booklet with four levels of difficulty.

Childcare

Dusky Moon Dream Tubes

Supplier: Hippychick Ltd
Tel: 01278 434 440
Web: www.hippychick.com
Price: £34.99 to £49.99
Age range: 18 months to 5 years
Description: Dream Tubes is a revolutionary, high quality and simple to use bumper system for a child moving from a cot into a single or cot bed. Two long, sturdy, inflatable tubes fit snugly into the pockets of the soft 100 per cent cotton fitted sheet. This forms a safe and secure barrier, preventing the child from falling out of the bed.

Music and Multi Media

Conga Band

Supplier: Halilit
Tel: 01254 872 454
Web: www.halilit.co.uk
Price: £29.99
Age range: 18 months +
Description: Designed to encourage a love of music from an early age, the 30cm high conga drum with a professional grade skin for a great sound, contains a maracito, clip clap, bell shaker, drum beaters and a conga beat play along CD featuring specially recorded tunes.

Electronic Toys

Mobi Go Touch Learning System

Manufacturer: VTech
Tel: 01235 555 545
Price: £49.99
Age: 3 to 8 years
Description: VTech is a world leader in age-appropriate learning toys. Since 1976 VTech has been developing high quality, innovative educational products for children from birth to pre-teen that deliver 'smart play' through entertaining electronic formats and engaging content that help children learn while having fun.

Modern Foreign Languages

Babyboomboom Multi-Lingual Musical CD

Manufacturer: babyboomboom Ltd
Tel: 01491 636 262
Web: www.babyboomboom.com
Price: £9.99
Age range: Birth to 5
Description: Inspired by the growing demand to introduce modern languages to children at an early age, babyboomboom's multilingual musical CDs are designed to introduce babies and young children to the sound of other languages. The CDs are currently available in seven languages; French, Spanish, Italian, German, Polish, Chinese Mandarin and Gaelic.

Books and publications

My Big Board Books Series

Publisher: Priddy Books
Tel: 01256 302 692
Web: www.priddybooks.com
Price: £6.99
Age range: 1 to 4 years
Description: The large, sturdy pages of these three board books are packed with photographs of animals, trucks and all kinds of things to be found down on the farm! Children will love looking at the pictures, each of which has a simple text label to help develop first word recognition.

Classic Toys and Games

Green Toys™ Tea Set

Supplier: Learning Resources®
Tel: 0845 241 0484
Web: www.learningresources.co.uk
Price: £23.94 + VAT
Age range: 2 years +
Description: Perfect for children to host their own 'green' tea parties! Set includes a teapot with lid, sugar bowl with lid, milk jug and four each of cups, saucers and teaspoons. The 100 per cent recycled alternative to traditional plastic toys, the range also contains no phthalates, BPA, lead coatings or PVC.

Creative Play

Find & Make Robot

Manufacturer: makedo™
Tel: 0845 130 8697
Web: www.holz-toys.co.uk
Price: £6.95
Age range: 5 years +
Description: makedo™ Find & Make Robot introduces children to the idea of using packaging remnants as building blocks for creative play. It is a guided craft-construction activity that includes makedo's™ reusable connectors, decorative stickers and illustrated instructions. The child finds packaging-like boxes and containers and connects them with makedo™ parts to create a robot.

5to7 Toys and Games

Historical Heroes

Supplier: Schleich
Web: www.schleich-s.com
Price: £5.75 to £34.95
Age range: 5 years +
Description: Schleich Heroes will fight side by side in the battle of good versus evil. Through creative fantasy and role-play storytelling, children can develop their imagination and, with the World of History, they can create imaginary battles with the most outstanding fighters of all time that have all come together from diverse cultures and different eras. This inspirational collection will introduce boys to the great warriors of the past.

5to7 Books and Publications

Smart Kids Animal A-Z

Publisher: Priddy Books
Tel: 01256 302692
Web: www.priddybooks.com
Price: £7.99
Age range: 5 years +
Description: From 'A is for Anteater' to 'Z is for Zebra', inside Animal A-Z there is an amazing alphabetical array of 26 of some of the incredible creatures inhabiting our planet. Each animal is illustrated with full-colour photography and there are fascinating facts about each one to discover!

5 to 7 Creative

Obzipod Activity Table with Folding Stools

Supplier: GLS
Web: www.glsed.co.uk
Price: £299.90
Age range: 4 to 9 years
Description: The Ozipod is both a multi-purpose storage unit and an activity table that can be used for outdoor lessons and creative play. Includes four lightweight water resistant folding stools.

5 to 7 All Other Resources

Answer Buzzers

Manufacturer: Learning Resources
Tel: 0845 241 0484
Web: www.learningresources.co.uk
Price: £17.95
Age range: 4 to 12 years
Description: Get students actively engaged as you assess them! 'Game show buzzers' turn any lesson into a game with four different colours and fun sounds: honking horn, boxing bell, doorbell and booing!

Best Licensed Property

Postman Pat

Creator: Classic Media
Original writer: John Cunliffe. Original television design: Ivor Wood
Web: www.postmanpat.com
Age range: 2 to 4 years
Description: For 30 years, Postman Pat has delivered enchanting entertainment to the delight of young children around the world. In his latest series, Postman Pat Special Delivery, everyone's favourite postman delivers more than ever, in ways you have never seen before. Developed for pre-schoolers, with 30 years of heritage and phenomenal awareness across three generations, fans also include parents and grandparents. Although the series appeals to both genders, the wide range of products available from over 40 UK licensees has been developed for boys. The range of toys from Character Options allows children to recreate their favourite delivery adventures with toys, playsets and collectable figures. Pat's delivery mishaps and humorous adventures provide laughs for young and old in a safe and trusted environment.