Kindness is contagious and it's worth us all catching it early

This is crucial given the pressures we face to deliver what many would describe as a narrow curriculum. Froebel said that children needed to enjoy their childhood a point often forgotten in our modern world with the pressure on getting ready for school. Our job is to help children enjoy their childhood by providing an enriching and holistic education that develops their social, emotional, physical and cognitive skills through a relevant and empathetic pedagogy.

Kindness is an essential ingredient of this and central to their social development. Children need help to find their place in our modern society.

Unsurprisingly, being kind is good for your health. According to medical science it can make us feel happier, improve our mood and lower our blood pressure. Being kind comes with a serotonin kick and neuroscientists can see how the warm glow which comes from doing something rewarding activates the striatum part of the brain. Better still is that seeing someone else smiling or being kind automatically activates the same areas of our own brain as if we experienced the emotion for ourselves. It really is a case of smile and the world smiles with you!