Birmingham Sikh nursery is a little school of calm
Birmingham Post - Life & Leisure - Post Features - Birmingham Sikh nursery is a little school of calm
As well as the nursery, it runs a complementary school for more than 300 Sikh children, funds a lectureship in Sikh studies with Birmingham University, part-funds postdoctoral research in religion, civic society and the United Nations and has helped to develop the syllabus for religious education in Birmingham. The trust also supports a college in Kericho, Kenya, and schools in Pakistan and India. Its next project is to set up the first year of a primary school next door to the nursery.
These initiatives are only possible because of the willingness of the community to give of their time and talents. The word “nishkam” which runs through means the impulse to serve selflessly.
“The love and devotion which the volunteers poured into developing the nursery is priceless,” says Ranjit Singh Dhanda, who helped to oversee the half million pound nursery development . “Whether it was to renovate the space, or imagine how it would be run, people have been generous with their time and enthusiasm.”
Balwinder Kaur Sembi, who is responsible for the baby room, and has one child in the nursery, Harpreet, aged two, was one of the original dreamers for the nursery.
“The plans for the building of the nursery were underway,” she says, “but we needed to think about what sort of a nursery we wanted to have. So about two years ago, the mums of the gurudwara got together and formed a playgroup. We asked ourselves – what would our dream nursery be? What would be our ideal?”
They wanted the nursery to feel like a home. They wanted the children to feel loved and cared for. They wanted simple practices like meditation, circle time and the sharing out of food to make a difference to children’s all round development.
“We developed these routines in the playgroup and then we took them into the nursery,” says Balwinder.
“It’s fantastic that the Early Years Foundation Stage, which puts so much focus on how children develop, really complements our vision. At playgroup we also learnt a lot from the elders who would come in. They would pass on their knowledge, things like putting a touch of ginger into the food to help with runny noses. There was ginger in that pizza today.”
Birmingham Post - Life & Leisure - Post Features - Birmingham Sikh nursery is a little school of calm
As well as the nursery, it runs a complementary school for more than 300 Sikh children, funds a lectureship in Sikh studies with Birmingham University, part-funds postdoctoral research in religion, civic society and the United Nations and has helped to develop the syllabus for religious education in Birmingham. The trust also supports a college in Kericho, Kenya, and schools in Pakistan and India. Its next project is to set up the first year of a primary school next door to the nursery.
These initiatives are only possible because of the willingness of the community to give of their time and talents. The word “nishkam” which runs through means the impulse to serve selflessly.
“The love and devotion which the volunteers poured into developing the nursery is priceless,” says Ranjit Singh Dhanda, who helped to oversee the half million pound nursery development . “Whether it was to renovate the space, or imagine how it would be run, people have been generous with their time and enthusiasm.”
Balwinder Kaur Sembi, who is responsible for the baby room, and has one child in the nursery, Harpreet, aged two, was one of the original dreamers for the nursery.
“The plans for the building of the nursery were underway,” she says, “but we needed to think about what sort of a nursery we wanted to have. So about two years ago, the mums of the gurudwara got together and formed a playgroup. We asked ourselves – what would our dream nursery be? What would be our ideal?”
They wanted the nursery to feel like a home. They wanted the children to feel loved and cared for. They wanted simple practices like meditation, circle time and the sharing out of food to make a difference to children’s all round development.
“We developed these routines in the playgroup and then we took them into the nursery,” says Balwinder.
“It’s fantastic that the Early Years Foundation Stage, which puts so much focus on how children develop, really complements our vision. At playgroup we also learnt a lot from the elders who would come in. They would pass on their knowledge, things like putting a touch of ginger into the food to help with runny noses. There was ginger in that pizza today.”
