Summer officially begins

Dear Parents and Carers

Firstly thank you to those who attended our Mother’s Day Breakfast.  It was lovely to see so many of you.  A huge thank you to Emily and Wendy, our kitchen staff, for providing a yummy breakfast.

Now that Summer is officially here, could we please ask parents to provide their children with a named sunhat and named sun cream.  Thank you.

Please can we ask parents to take their child’s nursery bag home at the end of their week with us, as some children share a coat peg and space can be limited, especially as the children need bulky winter coats and wellington boots for our lovely English weather.  Thank you for your co operation.

It is lovely to see many of you requesting birthday cakes for your children, however could we please ask for at least one week’s notice if you would like to request a Birthday cake.  This gives the kitchen staff enough time to make it.  Many thanks

Policies

Please see the attached our procedure for the control of communicable diseases. 

Snails

The focus in the snails this week is gross motor skills.  The babies will have the opportunity for ‘tummy time’, whilst some of the older babies will be encouraged to pull themselves up to a standing position, with support.  This week the babies will experience foot and hand painting to make Easter cards and explore wet sand with toy animals associated with ‘Spring’. 

Alisha – Tuesday   Leanne - Tuesday

Caterpillars

The current interest in the Caterpillars is sensory exploration through paint and music.  The book of the week is ‘My first lift the flap,1,2,3’ book. This week the children will be encouraged to interact with each other during mark making activities. The children will also be supported and encouraged to create body movements to different types of music.  Planned activities within the Snails and Caterpillars surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off Jamie – Wednesday   Tara - Tuesday      

Ladybirds

The current interests in the ladybirds are the mountain train track and sand play.   The story of the week is ‘I’m a new big sister.’  This week the children will be encouraged to build the train track with the help of an adult and to make marks in dry sand.  Creative activities this week include, mark making with crayons and pencils, gluing and sticking to make Easter chicks and golf ball painting.  Planned activities within the ladybirds surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off   Abi – Monday       

Bumblebees

This week the children’s current interests are building blocks, puzzles and mark making.  The children will have the opportunity to complete simple puzzles in small groups, use colouring pencils to draw, focusing on the tripod grip.  Creative activities planned include mixing primary colours, discussing the changes that occur .  The book of the week is ‘Teeth are not for biting’.  Planned activities within the Bumblebees surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

The Bumblebees team would like to ask parents to provide sufficient changes

Days off    Jenni – Thursday     Jani – Tuesday

Butterflies                       

This week the children’s current interest continues to be ‘Spring’. The books of the week are ‘The Mouse’, ‘The red ripe strawberry’ and ‘The hungry bear’.   The children will be supported to develop their understanding of how to care for our rabbits and what they need to keep them well.  The children will make a chart to show this. Also, this week, the children will be encouraged to make ‘Spring inspired models’  Planned activities within the Butterflies surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off   Stani – Friday   Tracy – Monday   

Procedure for the control of communicable diseases

Aim of policy

To give clear guidance on how we will minimise the spread of infectious illnesses.

Points to consider

The Manager will be responsible for establishing and maintaining the appropriate Health Authority contacts for information and notification with regard to the control of communicable diseases.

Contacts are:

The Health Protection Agency’s (HPA) local Health Protection Unit (HPU):

Surrey and West Sussex Health Protection Unit

Telephone: 0845 8942944

Email: sshpu@hpa.org.uk

www.hpa.org.uk

This website gives up to date information on communicable diseases.

Castle Daycare and Preschool aim to achieve this by:

The Manager or Deputy Manager must notify the Health Authority and Ofsted immediately of any suspected outbreak of communicable disease at the Nursery.

Health Authority guidelines indicate that it is not necessary to operate a policy of exclusion for all child illnesses but it is important that staff and parents understands when exclusion is required.

Many illnesses are infectious before a full diagnosis can be made.  The Nursery must be aware of its responsibilities to protect the sick child and to prevent the spread of illness to other children in its care. 

Common diseases and symptoms requiring exclusion include:

·         Temperature of 101 deg F (38 deg C)

·         Chickenpox (Herpes-shingles)  

·         Measles

·         German Measles (Rubella)

·         Whooping Cough (Pertussis)

·         Mumps

·         Scarlet fever (Streptococcal infection)

·          

·         Contagious skin conditions

·         Diarrhoea and/or persistent vomiting (Gastrointestinal infection)

We will contact the parent to collect the child if they have three cases of vomiting and/or diarrhoea within a 24 hour period and request that they do not return for 48 hours after the symptoms have cleared.

A list of communicable diseases and minimum periods of exclusion is given on the HPA posters available on the office door .

The Manager or senior worker must be informed immediately if a child becomes ill while at the Nursery.  They will ensure that the child’s parents are notified as quickly as possible.

If the illness appears to be communicable, the child should be cared for by a member of staff but kept away from other children.  The parents should be encouraged to collect their child as soon as possible.

If a doctor confirms that the child has a communicable disease, the Manager will notify all other parents of their child’s exposure to infection within 24 hours.  This is particularly important with regard to Rubella, given the danger it represents to unborn children in the first trimester of pregnancy.

The Manager is responsible for the well being of the children and staff while they are in the Nursery.  No child or member of staff known to be suffering from a communicable disease or considered too ill to participate in normal nursery activities should be admitted to the Nursery.

Please check Health Protection Agency’s poster and website for up to date details on guidance on infection control and exclusion periods.

Mothers Day

Dear Parents and Carers

This week we shall be celebrating Mother’s Day by holding a  Mother’s Day breakfast in each room (8am – 9am).  All mummies are welcome, all we ask is that if you planning to join us could you please let us know so that we know how many to cater for.

Breakfast will consist of bacon rolls, croissants or pain au chocolat served with a selection of fresh juices.

Next Saturday is our information session on safeguarding children, consisting of our roles within the setting, looking at our own policy and procedures, with information and links on how we can keep our children safe, including cyber safety.  If you would like to attend please could you inform the office.  Thank you.

Policies

Please see the attached our policy for the administration of medicine and the Paracetamol suspension administration policy. 

Snails

The current interest in the Snails are gross motor skills and emotional well being.  The older babies will have the opportunity to practice standing whilst holding an adults hand whilst the younger babies shall be stimulated to hold an adults gaze, promoting eye to eye communication.  Other activities include treasure baskets and playing with musical instruments to promoting the grasping reflex.

Alisha – Tuesday   Leanne - Friday

Caterpillars

The current interest in the Caterpillars are activities that promote their fine and gross motor skills.  The books of the week will be a selection of the action books, such as ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’. This week the children will dance to music and be encouraged to pull themselves up to a standing position.  Creative activities, this week include feet painting and chalking.  Planned activities within the Snails and Caterpillars surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off Jamie – Wednesday   Tara - Monday

Ladybirds

The current interests in the ladybirds are sand, posting objects and painting.   The story of the week is ‘One Ted falls out of bed’.  This week the children will have the opportunity to do gluing and sticking, using sand.  They will also   create their own marks in dry sand. Planned activities within the ladybirds surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off   Abi – Monday       

Bumblebees

This week the children’s current interests are ‘The post office’ and water play .  The children will have the opportunity to explore with water and mud outside in the mud kitchen and blow bubbles in the garden.  The role play area will be made into a post office to extend the children’s imaginative skills.  Creative activities planned include mark making in corn flour, finger painting and drawing pictures of themselves with the aid of mirrors.   Planned activities within the Bumblebees surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off    Jenni – Thursday     Jani – Friday

Butterflies                       

This week the focus for the children will be ‘Mother’s Day’, with the letter of the week being ‘M’. The book of the week is ‘I love my mummy’.   The children will be supported to develop their understanding of families and how family groups differ.  Other creative activities will be organised around Mother’s day. Planned activities within the Butterflies surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off   Stani – Friday   Tracy – Monday

   

Procedure for the administration of medicine

Aim of policy

At Castle Daycare & Preschool, we put the safety, comfort and welfare of the children first, therefore we would expect a child suffering from a short term illness to be cared for at home until they are fully recovered.  However, we accept there are occasions when Nursery staff will be required to administer medication. This policy gives guidance to how we do this.

Points to consider

The definition of the term ‘medication’ in this context is taken to mean any medicinal preparations specifically prescribed for the treatment of non-contagious conditions.

Only the Manager or a senior worker (deputy or senior practitioner) is authorised to administer medicines.  Details of all medicines administered must be recorded on the medication authorisation form.

Castle Daycare and Preschool aim to achieve this by:

·         A manager or senior staff member will administer prescribed medication or Paracetamol Suspension on written instruction from a parent.

·         Children should not attend the nursery if suffering from a communicable disease or one that requires special treatment during the day, change of dressings etc unless staff have received the necessary training. 

·         Long term illnesses or conditions requiring specialist training and support (such as diabetes) will be assessed as described in our special needs policy and individual health care plan will be completed and agreed with the parent/carer.

·         Medication will be stored away from the children in a secure place. At this nursery medication is stored:

In the office or in the fridge in the staff room

·         Medication must be in correct containers, clearly labelled to indicate:

·         Child’s name

·         Date of prescription

·         Use by date

·         Dosage

·         Any other relevant information

·         The parent/guardian must enter medication details on the medicine authorisation form, including:

·         Date of instruction

·         Name of child

·         Type of medication and dosage

·         Method of administering dose

·         Time of dose and duration of treatment

This instruction should be signed by the parent and counter-signed by the Manager or senior worker.

Two members of staff must be present to administer medication – one of whom shall be the Manager or senior worker.

The medication label, the authorisation form and the child’s identity must be carefully checked prior to administering the medication.

Do not administer further medication if the child spits out, vomits or spills part of the dose.  This should be recorded on the administration form (comments).

Replace the medication in the designated area for medication.

Record times of doses on the child’s daily record sheet and medicine authorisation form and alter accordingly if the previous dose is administered earlier or later than stated – (record the reason for this)

For long term medication, such as inhalers and epi-pens, individual protocols should be made, documenting in more detail information about when and how the medication should be administered.

The parent must sign the administration record at the end of the child’s day/ session.

 

Paracetamol Suspension administration policy

Aim of policy           

To ensure that the administration of non-prescription Paracetamol Suspension (Calpol) medication is administered correctly and safely to any children who require it.

Points to consider

Paracetamol Suspension will only be administered in an emergency and with permission obtained from a parent or authorised guardian.

Castle Daycare and Preschool aim to achieve this by:

Paracetamol Suspension will be kept on site as an emergency provision only.

Paracetamol Suspension must be kept in a labelled container in the medication cupboard.

Paracetamol Suspension is for the use of the reduction of body temperature in nursery children who have a body temperature exceeding 37.5°C unless the child’s core body temperature is naturally lower, this should be requested in writing by the parent.

 To help lower the child’s raised temperature:

Take off the child’s outer clothes, leaving them in simply their vest and pants/ nappy. (Cover with a cotton sheet if they shiver). Please keep privacy in mind.

Keep the room at a normal temperature (18- 20°C) or cooler by opening windows and use a fan to circulate the air, but do not aim it directly at the child.

Give plenty of fluids to drink.

Sponge the child’s body and head- not hands and feet- with lukewarm water with a face flannel.

Contact parent and obtain further permission, in addition to the already obtained signed long term preventative medication form for the administration of Paracetamol Suspension

Give the oral Paracetamol Suspension as prescribed by the parent; however the guidelines stated below must never be exceeded.

o     3-6 months: One 2.5ml spoonful

o     6-24 months: One 5ml spoonful

o     2-4 years: One 5ml spoonful and one 2.5ml spoonful

o     4-6 years: Two 5ml spoonfuls

o     Do not repeat dose.

When judging the child’s fitness to stay at nursery take into account the well child policy .

Sports relief

Dear Parents and Carers

This week we shall be supporting sports relief. The children in each age range shall be carrying out activities to support their gross motor skills, taking turns and working as part of a team, both indoors and outdoors.  Please see a staff member in your child’s room for more details.

To support ‘Sports relief’ the children are welcome to wear something red, on Friday March 21^st, whilst making a donation for the charity.  There shall be collection buckets in each room on Friday.  

Many thanks to those parents who have returned the parent survey.  These are invaluable when evaluating our practice and service.  Please could I ask that any remaining surveys which you would like to provide, be donated by Monday March 24^th.  The feedback shall be consolidated and published in April’s blog.

Being ever positive about the British summer weather, could we please ask parents to provide their children with a named sunhat and named sun cream for the coming summer months.  Thank you.

Policies

Please see the attached the policy for the late/non collection of a child. 

Snails

The current interest in the Snails continues to be sensory exploration.  This week the babies will explore wet sand and hand painting.  Alisha and Leanne will also give the babies some ‘tummy time’, encouraging them to roll.

Alisha – Tuesday   Leanne - Tuesday

Caterpillars

The current interest in the Caterpillars is building structures.  The books of the week will be a selection of the ‘Touch and feel’ stories. This week the children will be encouraged to walk independently, with support from their keyworkers, if needed. The children will also be supported and encouraged to complete simple puzzles.  Creative activities, this week include the exploration of  playdough and gluing and sticking.  Planned activities within the Snails and Caterpillars surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off Jamie – Monday          Tara - Friday          

Ladybirds

The current interests in the ladybirds are playing with balls in the garden and dressing up in the role play area.   The story of the week is ‘The loudest roar’.  This week the children will be encouraged to roll a ball to and from their keyworkers.  They will also be table painting to create their own marks. Planned activities within the ladybirds surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

The Ladybirds team would like to ask parents to provide photographs of family members, pets, friends and any other significant people in their child’s life, for their family books.  For more information, please see a staff member.

Days off   Abi – Monday       

Bumblebees

This week the children’s current interests are weather and role play.  The children will have the opportunity to explore ‘Happyland’ plat sets to extend their imagination.  Creative activities planned include painting pictures of weather conditions, using sponges and shading in pictures of  the sun, using different mark making materials.  The book of the week is ‘Splosh’, from the series of Kipper books.  Planned activities within the Bumblebees surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off    Jenni – Thursday     Jani – Tuesday

Butterflies                       

This week the children’s current interest continues to be  ‘Spring’. The book of the week is ‘Jack and the beanstalk’.   The children will be supported to develop their understanding of how things grow, decay and change.  Planned activities within the Butterflies surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off   Stani – Friday   Tracy – Monday    

Late/non collection of child

Aim of policy

To give clear guidance to practitioners and Parents of what will occur should late or non collection of a child occur.

Points to consider

Castle Daycare & Preschool work in close partnership with parents and recognise the importance of sensitivity and empathy should this procedure need to be implemented.

In the event that a child is not collected by an authorised adult at the end of the day to cause as little distress as possible, we will ensure the child is cared for safely by an experienced and qualified practitioner who is known to the child.  Two staff members will stay with the child until the parent arrives. One member of staff will be ideally their key person the other will be a senior team member.

We will inform parents/carers of our procedures so that, if they are unavoidably delayed, they will be reassured that their child will be properly cared for.

Procedure to follow

If parent/guardian/carer is repeatedly late collecting their child it is the responsibility of the Nursery Manager/Deputy to discuss this with them.

In those instances where a parent is over 15 minutes late and has not made contact with the nursery the following procedure must be followed:

1.            Person in charge to attempt to make contact with parent / carer.

2.            Person in charge to notify the area manager who in turn will contact other management team members if needed.

3.            Person in charge to attempt to contact parent’s employer (if they work)

4.            Person in charge to attempt to make contact with those authorised to collect the child.

5.            If after all reasonable attempts to contact parent carers and emergency contacts have failed then the nursery manager will evaluate the situation, i.e. length of time the child has been left, whether it’s a reoccurring problem, or if contact numbers are disconnected. Upon which she will contact a member of the operations team before contacting Social Services.

6.            The last two team members on duty are required to stay with the child until collected.

Social services contact number: 03456 009 009

Emergency out of hours team: 01483 517898

Ofsted contact number: 0300 123 1231

7. Person in charge to keep Area Manager up to date at each stage. A full written report of the incident must be recorded by the person in charge.

8. Depending on circumstances, Castle Daycare & Preschool reserve the right to charge parents for the additional hours worked by our staff.

It is imperative that throughout the implementation of the procedure the child is not distressed.  The situation must be explained to all contacts calmly and clearly.

Spring is here!

Dear Parents and Carers

Spring is officially here and with all of the bad weather we have recently had, our garden is looking a little tired.  Therefore we are planning a garden revamp.  To help us with our plans we are asking parents to email ideas of what they would like to see in the garden for their children.  From this we will correlate your ideas along with our own and then invite you in to help us with the revamp.  If you are interested in joining us, please could you email Michelle with your ideas.  Thank you.

Friday March 21^st is Sport’s Relief. Each room will be planning activities to raise funds.  Please see a member of staff for more details.

On Saturday March 22^nd, Lee is holding a parent taster session for our parents (10am -12pm) at the Chantry woods.  Lee is planning on introducing the forest school sessions to children aged 2-3 years however all parents are welcome.  Lee will be explaining the benefits for children taking part in our forest school, whilst also asking parents to take part in some of the activities that are planned for the children.   Please see Lee in the pre school or the poster on the front door for more details.

We would like to welcome Tara Love to the Caterpillars team and Jade Holland to the Bumblebees team. Tara is a qualified practitioner with experience of working in a pre school setting and is looking forward to working with the under two year olds, whilst Jade is currently undertaking her level 3 qualification and also has experience of working within a day care setting.

I am also pleased to announce Stani’s promotion, in the pre school, to senior practitioner.

Policies

Please see the attached the outdoor policy. 

Snails

The current interest in the Snails is sensory exploration.  This week the babies will explore corn flour and play with musical instruments.  Alisha and Leanne will also encourage the babies interests in the exploration tent and activity mats.

Alisha – Monday

Caterpillars

The current interest in the Caterpillars is role play, shape, space and measure and Rhyme time.  The story of the week is the action book, ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes. This week the children will be encouraged to babble during play, learn the actions to songs and to fill and empty containers filled with different materials.  Creative activities, this week include, painting and mark making with chalk, amongst others.  Planned activities within the Snails and Caterpillars surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off Jamie – Wednesday   Tara - Thurs            

Ladybirds

The current interests in the ladybirds are ‘Stories, the sandpit and role play.   The story of the week is ‘Turn it up Doris’.  This week the children will have the opportunity to play in the sandpit, complete with ‘Creatures in the desert’, paint using string and explore playdough. Planned activities within the ladybirds surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off   Abi – Tuesday       

Bumblebees

This week the children’s current interests are climbing and mark making.  The children will have the opportunity to experience an obstacle course on the bikes, outside and use the parachute to play games.  Creative activities planned include, sponge painting and drawing using crayons.  The book of the week is ‘The Hungry Caterpillar’.  Planned activities within the Bumblebees surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off    Jenni – Thursday     Jani – Tuesday

Butterflies                       

This week the children’s current interest is ‘Spring’. The book of the week is ‘The Lazy Ladybird’.   The children will be talking about how things grow and will get to prepare a ‘spring salad’.  The children will also be encouraged to watch and discuss how the weather changes over the following week.  Planned activities within the Butterflies surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off   Stani – Friday   Tracy – Tuesday   

Outdoor Policy

Aim of policy

Castle Nursery believes children should have the opportunity to explore the outdoor environment for long periods of time and children know they can play outside every day and when they choose too. This policy shows how we aim to do this. This policy links to Every Child Matters (2003) and The Early Years Foundation Stage (2012)

Points to consider

·         The outdoor environment will enable the children to enjoy a rich environment full of irresistible stimuli, real experiences, hands on experiences with nature and explore open ended play. Whilst doing so they will be covering all areas of Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

·         The outdoor environment will enable children to take risks and challenges in a safe and secure environment. Staff will ensure rules for outside are clear and consistent to manage behaviour and safety.

·         Staff must ensure children have adequate protection taking into account the weather, children’s age and stage of development to ensure play can continue. Children should have sun cream applied before coming to nursery and re applied frequently throughout the day. Sun cream should be supplied by the parents and a bottle kept at nursery along with a sunhat. Warm clothes and wellies should also be supplied in other weathers.

·         The outdoor provision supports inclusion and meets the children’s individual needs in which it offers a variety of experiences for the children to participate in.

·         The children have the opportunity to access the outdoor area every session.

·         The outdoor area will be risk assessed regularly.