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A Christmas Present to Nursery Schools from Big Blue
- IBM's KidSmart Programme looks to bring Information Communication Technology into pre-school teaching and learning activities, and looks to understand its impact upon children and their teachers.
Central to the programme is the 'Young Explorer Early Learning Unit', specifically designed for chosen schools and nurseries in which IBM also donated educational software designed to encourage and support young children's academic development.
- Researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and London undertook an independent study on the KidSmart Program.
Up to date 200 KidSmart units have recently been donated by IBM to nurseries and reception classes across Great Britain in the latest phase of the KidSmart Programme, bringing the total units donated to 500 in the UK.
The KidSmart Early Learning Centre is being integrated more closely into the curriculum, particularly in role play activities. For more information about Kidsmart visit their url at
www.kidsmartearlylearning.org.
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Small businesses dread Festive Season
A NEW regional survey revealed today that bosses feel the holiday is getting longer and causing staff to be distracted adding a further headache that lasts long after the hangover of the festive season.
Many Liverpool small business entrepreneurs find Christmas to be the most stressful and financially damaging time of year; with 47 percent of local bosses saying that it takes over two weeks for their business to get back on track after the festive season.
The research set out to question Liverpool owner-managers and assess the impact of Christmas on businesses in industries other than retail and leisure, which do not directly benefit from the seasonal period, and the results have unearthed the plight of the ELFS - Entrepreneurs Loathing the Festive Season.
The survey revealed a general feeling among owner-managers that Christmas is something to be endured rather than enjoyed, with the negative factors impacting on their businesses lasting well into the New Year.
Nearly 43 cited that the festive period was used as an excuse for late payment from clients leading to a cash-flow crisis at Christmas in which contributing factors concluded that staff were less focused on work and reported instances of financial loss during the seasonal period, adding gloom for business as the year closes. The survey also identified some interesting regional variations across the north of England that indicates differences between Liverpool attitudes towards trading at Christmas and other regions.
Simon Cook, Managing Director of Close Invoice Finance's Northern Operation
said:- "There is a growing feeling among many small business owners in the region that the Christmas season is getting longer each year. Our experience is that increasingly it affects productivity, distracts employees and can place a considerable strain on a company's finances. It seems now that the whole festive season is something they dread rather than look forward to.
In no way is this a case of ‘Bah, humbug’. Historically, we have seen more businesses cease to trade at the beginning of the New Year than at any other time" 
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