Mary Reid

One of the things I discovered when I took on this role is that the Mayor is the President or Patron of a good number of organisations in the Borough. So I do get invited to chair or speak at several AGMs. 

Yesterday evening it was the turn of Global Arts Kingston, who ran the very successful Global Arts Bazaar a couple of weeks ago.  It was encouraging to learn about the range of activities and performances that they have been promoting and their plans for the future.

Some weeks ago I chaired the AGM for the Pensioners Forum, and today they kindly invited me to their summer lunch.  Many of them have grandchildren, and even great grandchildren, so they asked me to tell them about my ideas for my charity.  I'll be blogging about this in more detail shortly, but it will offer opportunities for young people to bid for funds for their own projects. 

Then this evening I gave out certificates to dozens of people who had completed courses in childcare and playwork. The event was organised by the RBK's Early Years and Childcare Service in partnership with the educational providers (Kingston and Merton Colleges, Kingston University and the North Kingston Centre). The qualifications ranged from introductory certificates right through to university degrees. 

Today the care of children in their early years is recognised as an important discipline in its own right. Careers have been opening up for many years, partly because of the increased demand for pre-school childcare.  In the future, we are building six new children's centres in Kingston and developing extended schools, and these will require professional leadership from people well qualified and experienced in early years provision. It was good to meet and congratulate so many people who are working and studying in this field.