You all know about Jasmine's history. We've spoken in length about her tough start to life. As a result of that we've had to hold her back from so much. Being told by the 4 separate hospital consultants we're still registered under that "you can't leave her with anyone else. She's got to be with one of you two for safety" meant that nursery, or even a few hours alone with Nanny has been out of the question for nearly 4 years of her life.

In September we decided to take the plunge. She'd clearly outgrown Mums & Tots and needed interaction with her own peer group. We decided to look into Pre-School. We looked a 3 locally. We told all of them about her history prior to viewing and were understandably apprehensive about making this huge step. Of the 3, one stood head and shoulders above the rest. The quality of care, the attention to detail, & most importantly, the desire to deal with her issues head on, rather than avoid the subject (which the others did) meant that Kings was clearly the place for us.

The morning before she started, I sprinted door-to-door to measure the time it would take to get to her in an emergency. It took 3 minutes exactly. On her first morning we worried about her reaction. She looked at us, looked at the learning area and told us "You can go now. Bye!" and off she went! She's not looked back since. She now goes for 5 sessions a week. She loves school. She loves her teacher Jo. She's come on leaps and bounds. The staff are all absolutely phenomenal with all of the children and clearly love what they do.

The school itself gets such minimal funding though. They just about get by on what they've got, which simply isn't good enough. 2nd hand toys, 2nd hand books; it's just not right. This place plays a vital role in the development of our next generation. So, I want to give them something back for the amazing work they do every single day. I've asked what they want to raise money for and they've specified it. So please, give what you can.