Bring back the village. Or keep the doors closed?

Danielle Cowlbecknbsp;lt;[email protected];

7:25?PM (18 minutes ago)

We have launched a new children's magazine (plastic free...no easy feat!) called POPIN (www.popinmagazine.com). We have kept it plastic free, one for the environment side, but mainly to focus heavily on the arts and crafts side – we didn’t want to put plastic ‘tat’ on the front, so the child buys it and then discards the magazine! We actually want them to enjoy it; it’s high in content and quality and stands out from all other magazines on the shelves.?

We have single handedly managed to be stocked on the shelves at One Stop, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, McColls and nationwide newsagents; we also had a trial in Asda and have also been accepted by Waitrose. We handle all the print and distribution and accounts ourselves; this has been a massive task as most publishers use distributors and agencies.

Ours is all in house and we have been praised highly within the industry for what we have achieved and we are hugely proud of our small team. ?No one seems to have managed to come this far on their own and be consistent with it all, after 6 months solid. That is how strongly we feel about this; we haven't given up.

POPIN is based around the Early Years foundation and is a great resource for childminders as they provide this each month towards their Ofsted requirements, great for teachers, parents, grandparents and older siblings and all the family. We have a duty of care to teach, grow and develop the children that are at home from 0-5 years old so that when they start their reception years, they are at the required level. The content is carefully constructed to support the adult in teaching the child. ?

We are working with councils, children's services, health visitors,?school settings, nursery and private settings, libraries, MP's and more. We have got to start bridging this gap between the lack of knowledge for parents on how to effectively develop their child for their school years. Even more so with the lockdown catch up! I could talk at length on this subject but I digress.? ?

Our owner, Justine Maynard, has a huge background in theatre, script writing, journalism, producing, book writing and has worked with some pretty big names and companies across her career.

She owns our main company - Kids Active Media (www.kidsactivemedia.co.uk) which holds all of our publishing, music, theatre, streaming, animation, and the company owns all the IP's and licensing. It's a broad base here if you want to look at the website.

It is a children's entertainment brand and very organic and back to traditional roots at the heart of the family. They are based around real life events and people and raise many issues in society today. It is a broad age range from early years & pre-school (such as Gillie & Friends, to primary age with Kitty & Luna, up to secondary school age in terms of Olivia Lynn and Kema Kay.??

?The company blurb on the site:?

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Company Strategy??

Taking the most effective strategy used in children’s media we’ve structured our brands with the same approach - Exceptional Branding and Storytelling. Like Disney’s marketing strategy that revolves around the creation and maintenance of a brand image, we have moulded our storytelling, infused it with emotion and fun that hides the underlined educational purpose. Creating characters that appeal to children & adults, they will become loved and take on cultural roles in all aspects of Early Years Learning. The emotional connection will help us build brand loyalty and generate positive word-of-mouth amongst parents. Furthermore, by forming a community of characters we have the ability to create impressive experiences across many channels, merchandise, and digital platforms and shopping experiences, reinforcing brand identity and customer engagement.?

Kids Active are storytellers - we are educators! Creating content to entertain, inform and inspire children through the power of unique brands developed to up-sell education through entertainment. We have created a community of characters that individually help enhance creative play and have built a safe platform that parents can trust. Parents are the first and most enduring educators that a child will have, and research shows that regardless of the quality of surroundings, the most important fragment of children’s future starts with home-learning from an early age. Our brands, together with parents can ensure a good understanding of a child’s development whilst surrounding them with healthy learning.? ??

?The digital market has taken away the traditional way a child develops. Stats report that 59% of parents say digital media relates to the major cause of social-isolation and lack of communication - children the age of 3-years is embedded in these statistics. By encouraging positive parenting practices that promote safety, well-being, and permanency for children is important. The creation of POPIN magazine that’s packed full of fun, colourful entertainment that promotes education and positive parenting is the start of our timeless platform. Creating new media mixed with traditional values our multi-channels are where children will be educated through their own imagination. Alongside the magazine sits our multi-character led digital media and sensory merchandise. Following the seven elements of the EYFS, POPIN Magazine is enjoyed by all the family - from short stories, board-games, puzzles and fun fact, through to interactive QR codes that transport kids to digital gaming platforms, animation and merchandise.?

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This leads on to our Theatre company; again can you?please have a look at?www.katheatrecompany.com. Here is?the company blurb from the site:?

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Factual plays that start conversations, surrounding social factors, illness, bullying, and racism, aimed at children and young adults to get discussions started. Through visual arts we can reach out to young minds and help process thoughts and insecurities.?

Social matters are as important as the education curriculum and at times they define the way we are.?Throughout the year the nation supports social matters that affect all lives and societies, including Anti-bullying, Allergy Awareness, Cancer Awareness, Mental Health, Gangs and Racism.??

For a large percentage of our children and young adults, talking about personal issues is not easy.?The plays we produce help encourage open conversation or to help build self-confidence and awareness.?

Through the arts, streaming these productions directly through assemblies and classrooms, we can bring matters to the forefront, so they engage more openly, understand others and different social needs. More importantly we can?GET KIDS TALKING.?

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You will see that these are real life issues, and we started the campaign of #GetKidsTalking. One being our live theatre show of Room 46 - surrounding lock down for our youth. It was an incredible show and to be streamed via schools to get kids talking about it all and how they coped and their feelings. It was also a crucial piece of media so that adults could understand better what these children and young adults actually felt.?

Considering the Covid Enquiry is still in place, it is very current and needs to be brought to the public's attention. The BBC were really supportive of this and gave us a few articles on mainstream and live on air. The Mayors were really great too. The cast got a standing ovation and quite rightly so as it was very emotional; the claps were so loud from the adults as they could get an idea of 'wow, this is what they went through'.

Here is the article. Covid: Room 46 musical emulates experiences of teenagers during lockdown - BBC News

?We also have Olivia Lynn on our books as a country singer. One of our streams is surrounding her story of being bullied - incredibly powerful. And now, she has had numerous number ones in the music charts and is going from strength to strength; her suicide attempt didn’t win and bullies didn’t win.?Please look at these amazing people we have on board. Kema Kay from our 'Shine' production has gone on to remarkable things also. The production spun off into a TV show.

They are real, heartwarming, inspirational true-life stories and very current in today’s world. These streams support the social curriculums in schools. We all need to work together to raise today’s children. There isn’t enough support available or fast enough.

Adults are to protect children collectively as a ‘village’. Parents, authorities, services, carers. We all need to pull together. ?

?With the publishing side of POPIN Magazine, it has been produced to bridge the gap between the crucial and pivotal development stage of the early years in children, up to school?starting age. For some children in underprivileged areas, they are missing this vital early year's education because they are not attending a childminder or pre-school setting. This then also increases the pressure on the school in reception years, to then pull these children up to industry standard to the level they should be at.??

?POPIN's message is to 'Bring Back The Village'. It is jam packed with carefully constructed material to show the adult how to successfully apply these activities and techniques to develop and grow their child. But in a fun and enjoyable way, so both the adult and child aren’t aware they are being educated. If it’s fun...you learn.?It is also a special bonding time for that child to be focussed on and have time dedicated to them.

?Unfortunately, some children are starting school and still cannot count to 20 or hold a pencil correctly. It is our duty as an adult to grow, nurture, care and protect a child, not just our own child, not just on our own as one person. We cannot raise children alone. Our society has changed massively.

Grandparents can’t support their grandchildren as before....because they are still in full time employment.?POPIN can be used via childminders, teachers, parents at home, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, everyone! It's great family fun so also great to put down the technology and do some crafts, cook, play games, do activities, read - all the things that the early years children need to develop.??

The company is a small company with a big heart and big ideas; we are also totally self-funded at the moment. We would love to get the Essex audience behind 4 workings mums, who really do believe we can make a difference with the materials that we are producing, and with the message we are trying to get across. We are down to earth and real life. We are not a corporate outfit; we are Mums that are juggling the same pressures and stresses and time constraints as our audience.

Our team has an extensive background in most industries between us...and 11 of our own children collectively. So, we need to bring back the village and help support all children and get involved. We are big on communities, so this is a great chance for us to raise awareness for the brand and get our message out there.??

?If you could give the websites a once over (Kids Active Media, KA Music, KA Publishing, It's Gillie, Kids Active Theatre, Olivia Lynn etc) that would be great. We can then all see what one women, Justine Maynard, has achieved.?

She truly is an inspiration and I really hope she gets the recognition she deserves for all that she has achieved, for her creativity and for the tower of strength, both mentally and physically, that she exudes: and even better from our Essex audience as it’s home turf.

For myself, a single mother of 3 boys, the company certainly does represent the ‘bring back the village’ vibe. She is such a great employer and so supportive and flexible and really believes in you. She has allowed me to work and do a job I love. We need more Justines! I don't think I have seen someone work so hard and it's inspirational. ??

Again, this opens another angle. By running a company the way Justine is, I am earning a wage, I have a higher level of self-esteem and respect and my voice is heard with my ideas. Having worked in many different careers, on becoming a single mother, it is incredibly scary trying to find an employer like KAM (didn’t think they existed!), and working out how to juggle it all, or how you will be judged, and I was able to do so because of Justine.

Because of her own background, she understands and is very down to earth and it gives you mutual respect and you forge a team mentality very quickly. It seems to be forgotten a lot these days.?I am seen, heard, and understood. And I get to have fun! This only adds back into my pot which I can then fuel back into my family. I could talk for hours about it all!

And this is why it takes a village; not closed doors and silence and heads down and all for one. ?

Thanks so much for reading! And more importantly, thank you Justine Maynard

#BringBackTheVillage?

Much Love, Danielle x?