Banbury nursery helps launch national TV show about toddlers’ mental health
Today, 24 children from Banbury’s Child First nursery helped launch a national TV show which aims to teach toddlers how to navigate the steep rollercoaster of emotions they often experience daily.
Happy the Hoglet airs weekdays on ITV’s littleBe at 10.40am and stars a baby hedgehog character called Happy who is sometimes grumpy, often smelly and has fleas.
Like every child, Happy has good times as well as bad. In each episode of the series, Happy’s adventures stimulate emotions he learns to process and accept - with help from his Sunny River friends. He gradually builds inner strength by tackling his ‘big’ feelings and growing positive ones.
The children at Child First watched exclusive episodes of Happy the Hoglet which acted as a springboard for classroom discussions about emotions. Nursery staff were able to extend the session with fun craft and colouring activities themed around the emotions depicted in the episodes.
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At Child First Banbury we are very passionate about supporting children’s wellbeing and mental health, especially after we have noticed the impact Covid lockdown has had. Any tool such as Happy the Hoglet that will promote discussions at home around emotions and supporting children with emotions, is great as this reflects what we do at nursery in the home environment. And for children that don’t attend nursery or are not yet at school, it can start these discussions and understanding. We are excited to be a part of the launch
Lela White, Nursery Manager at Child First
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The nursery completed their launch celebrations with an afternoon tea, with hedge-hog themed cakes and hedgehog toys to take home.
Watch Happy the Hoglet on ITV’s Little Be from 10:40 am on weekdays or on the ITV Hub.
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Picture captions:
Main image: Children at Child First Nursery celebrate the launch of Happy the Hoglet
Image set 2 (from left): Nursery children enjoy the day with baby hedgehog toys
(right image) Children watching an episode of Happy the Hoglet
Last image set (from left): Children enjoying their Happy the Hoglet day
(right image) Children holding their hedgehog toys infront of TV launch sign
Bright Stars Nursery Group Ltd is a nursery company that started in 2016 with the strategy of acquiring a collection of the very best settings in Greater London, the Home Counties and the South East. The plan is to grow a group not a chain – retaining the ethos, name and individuality of each setting within their local community is very important. Our approach is child-centred – all children engage in meaningful play in an environment that as the best equipment and resources in the sector.
About Paper Owl Films, creators of Happy the Hoglet:
Creators of Pablo and Sol, Paper Owl Films represents a diverse team of creatives bringing content that matters to audiences all over the world. Paper Owl Films Ltd. was founded in 2012 by Grainne McGuinness, Stephen Petticrew and Gavin Halpin, and employs a dedicated collective of storytellers, film makers, animators and creators across their animation and live action collective. Paper Owl specialises in producing content for children and grown-ups across international broadcast and digital platforms. Their work is enjoyed all over the world on channels such as CBeebies, RTÉjr, TG4, BBC, CBC, NBC Universal, Netflix and digital platforms.
Sol – an uplifting animated film about a little boy’s journey through grief – premieres in the UK and Republic of Ireland on Monday 21 December, the longest night of the year.
