Dear Parents/ Carers,
Welcome to our first newsletter of the new school year. The children who attend throughout the summer enjoyed the opportunity to get out in the community and resume their visits to the care home. I would like to give a warm welcome back to all our term-time children and families after their summer break. It really has been a quick summer but we hope that everyone enjoyed the lovely weather we experienced!!
Nursery Session Times:
I am delighted to welcome parents/carers back into the building to drop off and collect your children. Please ensure that you sign your child in and out on the sheets located at the nursery reception area. Whilst we appreciate that incidents or unexpected issues may occur from time to time I cannot express enough the importance of being on time to collect your child. We work to specific adult to child ratios and childrenās attendance and session times allow us to maintain ratios. If children are not collected on time then this has an overall impact on the service. If on the rare occasion something happens that means you are going to be late and you have exhausted all other avenues in ensuring your child is collected on time, it is important that you contact us immediately so that we can take appropriate action.
The session times are:
Morning nursery session opens at 8am and session ends at12:45pm.
Afternoon nursery session opens at 1:15pm and closes at 6pm.
Full Day nursery (equal to 2 blocks) session opens at 8am and closes at 6pm.
*Please ensure that your child is collected before the end of the session time.
Health and Safety.
Now that you are able to come in and out of the building to drop off and collect your child it is important that we maintain security and keep our staff and children safe. It is important that you are aware of who you might be letting into the building and the risk this could pose. You should also be mindful of the risk children being able to get out from the building if you are holding doors open for periods of time. Therefore, I ask that you do not hold the door open for others if there is no member of staff present at the door. Whilst I can appreciate that you donāt want to be rude to others it is important that staff know who is in the building at all times. Please alert office staff to your presence if someone lets you in.
Snacks and Lunches
All children who attend nursery are entitled to a free snack and lunch as part of their government funding. For those children who attend full-day or morning sessions have a snack early in the morning and then their lunch before they go home at 12:45pm. Those children who attend afternoon only have an enhanced snack of sandwiches, soup/yoghurt and fruit. These snacks/ lunches are prepared in line with national guidance, Setting The Table and are nutritionally balanced. These meals are also prepared in consideration of dietary and allergy requirements of children who attend our setting. It is therefore, very important that children do not bring food or sweets from home to nursery as this might cause significant harm to a child who may have a severe allergic reaction.
Administration of Medication.
If your child has a medical condition that requires them to have administration/ treatment during their session at nursery then you will be required to fill out some paperwork to allow us to this. We can only administer medication that has been prescribed specifically for your child by a medical professional. It must come in its original packaging clearly stating their name and the dosage. If the medication does not have these things they unfortunately we will not be allowed to administer it. This is in line with the requirements for Care Inspectorate.
Car Park Safety.
In the interest of health and safety we continue to monitor the car park. There have been a number of instances where cars have been parked in front of the gates to the nursery putting children in danger when leaving or entering the nursery as there is no pavement there. If there are no spaces outside we ask that you park on the street and walk with your child to the nursery entrance. Thank you for your co-operation.
Personal Belongings/Toys
You will have received a text message to inform you that a pram has gone missing from the pram shelter located in the playground. Unfortunately, that pram has not been returned. This is a rare occurrence for us and it is very disappointing to say the least. I can only assume that someone has gained access to the shelter on the rare occasion that no one was outdoors. It is with this in mind that whilst we will endeavour to ensure that personal belongs are kept safe I must remind you that all items left outdoors are done so at your own risk and liability.
As a team we endeavour to remember each individual childās clothing with over 100 children it can be a challenge. I would like to ask where possible if you could put your childās name on their belongings to support both your child in their independence skills and the staff team.
In all other circumstances (unless discussed with your childās keyworker to support transition), we ask that children do not bring any toys from home to nursery as they quite often get lost or damaged causing them distress and upset.
Staff Training and Development
This year on our first two in-service days the whole staff team participated in Child Protection including the impact of Domestic Violence, Fire Awareness and Information Security training. Throughout this year the staff team will have opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge to support us in implementing our School Improvement Plan and ensuring that we continue to provide a high-quality provision.
School Improvement Plan
For our school improvement plan we have identified the undernoted areas as our focus for improvement in providing high quality early learning and childcare.
- 1 Learning for Sustainability- Outdoor Learning and Digital Learning.
I have attached a copy of our Standards and Quality Report, where we reflect on the achievements we have made and how we identified the areas for development in our improvement plan. If you would like to give feedback please return the tear-off slip provided.
Curriculum- Learning and Teaching.
This term the children will be focusing on developing their literacy, numeracy, health and wellbeing through making choices/ decisions and setting up the environments now. We will also be welcoming our new children and families and supporting them in settling into the nursery routine. Spending time outdoors particularly in natural environments is good for all of us and especially for children, āchildrenās access to nature and outdoor play is positively associated with improved self-esteem, physical health, development of language skills and disposition to learning.ā (Davy, 2009 (57))(1). All children will have access to the outdoor learning environment in all weathers, all year round if they choose so. Therefore, I ask if you can supply them with a pair of wellington boots and suitable clothing to allow them to go out. We have waterproof suits that will keep the children dry.
Bank Holiday
Following the death of Her Majesty the Queen I can confirm that the nursery will be closed on Monday 19th of September as a bank holiday to mark her funeral. This is in addition to the bank holiday later in the week for the September weekend Friday 23rd and Monday 26th September 2022.
Toy Fund/ Fundraising.
Toy fund is very important to us and the children. This allows us to provide extra curricular experiences and learning opportunities for the children, for example, outings, baking and birthdays. We ask if you can afford to donate Ā£2.00 per week. Each child has their own personal zip-lock bag which you can find in the index file at the signing desk in the reception area. They are sorted in alphabetical order of their first name. The children can post their toy fund in the post box which will be in the cloakroom area. From time to time we may also host fundraising events (no more than twice a year) for specific events/ celebrations for example, Christmas or Summer celebrations. All the money raised through toy fund and fundraising is spent in consultation with children. This provides valuable learning experiences by developing their knowledge and understanding in numeracy as well as making choices and decisions in aspects of their learning.
Communication
I know that this has been a lengthy newsletter with lots of information but it has been some time since your last one. It is my intention to make sure that we publish a newsletter on a monthly basis to keep you informed. If you have any further questions or queries in relation to your child or any other aspect of the nursery please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone: 01415510504 or email headteacher@helenslea-nursery.glasgow.sch.uk
I have attached important dates for your diary, a copy of the term -time and 52 week holidays.
Kind Regards,
Julie and the staff team.