Child Care Okehampton

Newsletter March 2015

Posted on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 in Newsletters

Stepping Stones Newsletter

March 2015

Dear Parents / Carers

It appears that Spring is finally in the air, with the warmer weather we are seeing crocuses, daffodils and catkins as we take Bertie for his walks in the local areas.  On noticing Frogspawn the other day, we took several children to the park to collect some. These will be observed in the nursery and children will monitor and learn about the lifecycle of a frog.  Over the weekend they have already turned to tadpoles and the children are now waiting in anticipation, for the next stage.

As always we are trying to keep you informed of your child’s learning within the Nursery. Each group takes into consideration all of the children’s learning and interests to plan for the forthcoming week, to make it more accessible to parents it is now published on our website (ssdn.info) as well as displayed in the foyer with suggestions of how learning can be continued at home.

Tapestry 

A big thank you to all parents who post observations from home on Tapestry, Children love looking at the posts and commenting on them.  It is also a great help in obtaining observations to further improve learning goals.   There has been an interest from local Pre Schools and Children Centres who are now  looking to implement the same system, having seen how successful it has been for us.
School Holidays

The funded children will break up for the Easter Holidays on Friday the 27th March and will return back to Nursery on Monday the 13th April.  Please note the whole Nursery will be closed on Good Friday (3rd April), Easter Monday (6th April), and the two May Bank Holidays (4th and 25th May).  Half Term takes place on the week commencing 25th May inc.

Spaces Are Filling Fast

Please note that spaces for September particularly in the Butterfly Group are becoming limited.  To avoid disappointment, please inform us as soon as possible if you wish to extend or change your hours.  It is on a first come, first serve basis.

Children Going To School

During the summer Term, there is an expectation that some children will be attending their new primary schools for visits.  If this is the case could you please let Hayley know of any forthcoming dates that your child will not be at Nursery.  Likewise could you please inform Hayley of your child’s leaving date, in preparation for the Summer Holidays. Please note our last day of the Summer Term is Monday the 20th July.

Children’s Hours

Can I remind parents that we need to be precise on the hours that your children are attending Nursery.  If your child’s start time is 10.00 then that is your expected arrival time.  Likewise if your child’s departure is 4.00, that is when we expect parents to collect.  If you need to drop off earlier or pick up later, this can be arranged with prior notice.  It is crucial that we are able to maintain ratios at all times and with parents failing to abide by their set times, this can make planning very difficult.  If after reading this you wish to alter or readjust your times please speak to the Team Leader of your group, who will be happy to oblige

Absence

If you child is not going to be attending Nursery on their set day, could you please inform us at your earliest convenience.  It is now our policy to telephone parents, if children do not attend and we haven’t been informed.

Cooked Lunch or Packed Lunch?

To ensure that we have enough lunches on each day can we please insist that cooked meals must be paid for and ordered by 9.00 on the day in question.

In accordance to the Early Years Foundation Stage (2014), we request that packed lunches are healthy, balanced and nutritious.

Drinking Water

Children’s bottles and containers have been causing us concerns, as they were not labelled or children could not identify their own, leading to possible cross contamination if not monitored properly.  To overcome this problem we have now installed new water dispensers which the children absolutely love using and has enabled them to become independent in recognising and identifying their needs.

Sleeps

Recently we have had a visit from our Early Years Coordinator, who has advised us to re-consider the sleeping arrangements for our children.  It has been pointed out to us that sleep helps to aid brain development, therefore by allowing children a permitted time is not actually beneficial and we should be allowing children to awaken in their own time and not a specific time as suggested by many parents.  Where as we will continue to follow parent’s requests we do however ask you to take into consideration the above information when making the decision.

Social Evenings

Our Social Evenings are becoming a success, with more and more parents attending.  On the 27th of April we would like to invite you to our ‘Lets get Messy’ Evening with the opportunity to explore textures and colours with a range of creative and sensory experiences that you can enjoy at home with your child.  We look forward to seeing you and don’t forget all attending will be entered into a free prize draw.

Many thanks for your ongoing support and if you have any suggestions on how we can improve, we would love to hear from you.

Best Wishes

Clare and Chris Acton.