Dear
Parents and Carers,
Road
Closure
A
reminder that there will be an emergency road closure of Castle Hill in place
for approximately 3 weeks. As the road is so narrow unfortunately the safest
option is to close Castle Hill while SGN are working on it. So to get to and
from the nursery Warwick’s Bench and South Hill will be open as usual. Please
be aware parking around South Hill may be limited during this time.
Food
Hygiene Rating
We
had our food hygiene inspection on Tuesday and we are pleased to let you all
know we were rated 5 stars again!! J
Wonder
Years Training
As
some of you know Mel and Shula from the baby room have been attending a Baby
training program for the last 9 months. The aim of the program was to raise the
quality of babies and toddlers experiences and boost the status of
practitioners who work with babies and toddlers within a full day care
settings.
Shula
and Mel have now completed the course and received the highest marks possible
on the audit completed last week! The baby team has worked really hard on this
program and this has been shown from the success of the audit. Well done
Buttercups! J
Lost
Hat
Bluebells are missing a blue
and white striped hat. Please can you all keep a look out for it just in case it has been taken home by
mistake!
Family photos
Buttercups are updating their family board in their
rooms, please can you bring in or email us a family photo of you all.
Interactive
Learning Diary
Don’t
forget to check out all the exciting things your child has done this week, on
their ILD profile.
We
aim to put at least one observation up per week.
Policy
of the week
We will be displaying a different policy every week
at the bottom of this newsletter.
If you would like to see this or any of our
policies please ask Jess or Charlotte.
Our Policy of the week: Outings policy
Useful
websites:
Here are the links for the Surrey
Family Information Service, Free Early Education (the 15 hours funding), Free
Early Education for Two year olds and Early Years
Pupil Premium funding.
Menus
There are no planned changes to this week’s menu.
See attached document for the weekly menu.
If you would like to see a copy of our allergens
menu at any time please ask!
This week’s activities
Each key person will be responsible for designing
an activity based on their key children’s needs; however, all children who are
in on that day will have the opportunity to access the activity too.
If the key person is on holiday or off, another
staff member will be able to lead the activity in their place so that the
children do not miss out.
For more information on the Early Years Foundation
stage, the guidance we use to support our planning and practice, please visit:
This week’s planned activities are also on the
ILD’S.
Buttercups
Monday – Mel’s group are singing ‘Miss Polly had a
Dolly” with their peers and pretend dolls supporting making relationships
Tuesday – Charlotte’s group will be discovering
trays of cornflour gloop with small rakes developing manipulative skills
Wednesday – Shula’s group are looking at family
photos building an interest and an awareness of themselves and their families
Thursday – Shula’s group will be encouraged to copy
actions while listening to the ‘Sticky Kids’ playlist with their friends
Friday – Mel’s group are looking through the
sensory animal books promoting an interest in books and sounds
Mel is off Tuesday, Nilem is off Monday, Shula is
off Wednesday – Friday and Charlotte is on holiday all week
Bluebells
Monday – Donna’s group will be using the cars and
garage to encourage the children’s language and imagination skills
Tuesday – Chloe’s group are developing their
knowledge and understanding of growth while planting their own seed and growing
watercress pots
Wednesday – Megan’s group is creating a finger gym
using a variety of materials promoting handling skills
Thursday – Almu’s group are using the compare bears
to support language and problem solving skills
Friday – Megan’s group is using an octopus shape
and mini objects to practice their counting skills while placing objects into
the octopus legs
Donna is off Friday, Chloe is off Thursday and Almu
and Megan are in all week.
Sunflowers
The Sunflowers have one detailed weekly focused
activity to ensure all the children have the opportunity to take part in it.
This will work alongside their weekly planned
activity list which you can see in the room and on the ILD’S.
This week’s activity is: recognising and discussing
a variety of emotions
This week the children will be working together in
small groups to build their knowledge and understanding of different emotions.
All children will be encouraged throughout to recognise and express their own
feelings. The children will be asked questions and be supported by their Key
Person to answer the questions confidently. The activity will be extended and
the children will think about real times that have made them happy and sad.
The letter of the week is: K
The children will be:
Writing the letter k with stencils
Jumping like kangaroos
Finding things that begin with the letter k around
the room
Making kites
Drawing out the letter k with our hands
Talking about the differences between kicking k and
curly c
The Number of the week is: 15
The children will be:
Counting to 15
Writing the number 15
Counting out 15 objects
Drawing 15 dots
The shape of the week is: Octagon
The children will be:
Talking about the octagon shape
Drawing an octagon
Counting how many sides an octagon has
Leanne is off Monday, Becci is in all week and
Hector is on holiday all week.
Outings policy
Aim
of policy
To
give clear guidance when taking children out of the nursery on outings.
Castle Daycare and Preschool encourages appropriate outings
for all children. Regular walks and visits within the local community all
contribute to a child’s learning.
Points to consider
For all outings on foot or by vehicle the following
procedures must be followed:
- Written permission must be obtained at the time of registration of the child. Authorisation must be checked prior to the outing.
- A risk assessment must be done prior to the outing – taking into account hazards such as transportation, live animals and zoos, illness etc.
- Clear details of destination, route and expected times for arrival and departure should be left at the Nursery.
- Staffing ratios must be maintained at: 2-3 years maximum 10 children ratio 1:2. 3-5 years maximum 30 children ratio 1:4. 5 year plus, maximum 30 children ratio 1:8. Ratios stated are the maximum limits, smaller ratios maybe required. The Manager will decide on outings ratios on an individual basis after doing a risk assessment.
- A first aider must be present and a suitable first aid box must be taken. Any treatments for allergies or medical conditions must be taken in a clearly labelled container with medicine administration form.
- The senior person in charge must be aware of the lost/missing child policy and be confident to take appropriate action if needed.
- Contact details, allergy information and any other relevant details on each child to be taken.
- A member of staff must take a mobile phone with them in case of emergency.
- The children must be counted before setting off (on the coach/mini bus if used) and counting must be ongoing at regular intervals throughout the outing. If the group is broken up into sub-groups a designated person in charge must be assigned and that person is responsible for counting the children at regular intervals.
- A label must be attached to all children showing the name of the nursery and telephone number of the Nursery. Additionally it should also show the mobile telephone number of one of the staff members on the outing. This label must be displayed on the child in a manner which is visible and is not easily removed by the child.
- Toilet facilities must be provided for the children at regular intervals.
- Food and drinks must be provided at similar times to those in the Nursery and additional drinks should be offered if the weather is warm or if energetic exercise is part of the day.
- Meeting points must be pre-designated and times arranged when all the party should assemble. These must be strictly adhered to.
- Transport must be fully insured; drivers' details satisfactory and all seats must have 3 point safety harnesses or equivalent. The maximum seat capacity of the vehicle must not be exceeded.
- All children should have spare clothing.
- At the conclusion of each outing the staff member in charge will complete a review of the outing noting the following:
- Any particular problems with transport (e.g. coach arriving late, no seat belts etc).
- Any particular problems with the venue (e.g. nowhere to shelter during rain).
- Any particular problems with specific children (illness, distress, etc).
- Educational benefits of the visit.
- Comments from parents and recommendations for future visits.
Prior
to each new outing the Senior Practitioner/Practitioner in charge of the outing
will refer back to the reviews and take accounts of comments when preparing for
the next outing.
Kind
Regards
Jess Smith
Nursery Manager
