Monday, 29 September 2014

Parent News

Dear Parents and Carers

We are celebrating pyjama day on Wednesday 8^th October for the nursery’s birthday, please come in wearing your pyjamas so we can have a day full of fun activities.

Policies

Please find attached our procedure for the ‘well child policy’.

Snails

The focus in the snails this week will be settling in new children and nursery rhymes. The children will have the opportunity to explore mirrors, looking at their reflection, bead mazes, treasure baskets, sensory balls, musical instruments, stacking cups and shape sorters. The children will also experience music, by singing nursery rhymes throughout the week. The older children will have the opportunities to play and balance using the standing beam and the musical piano, as well as using the walker in the garden to encourage cruising. Creative activities this week include ice cube play, flour glove play, and painting activities.

Planned activities within the Snails 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.

Amy – Day off Monday

Caterpillars

This week the Caterpillars team will focus on building towers using different construction materials. The children will have the opportunity to play and explore using whilst building towers, encouraging the children to notice changes in numbers. The children will also be encouraged to use their spoon during meal times throughout the week, to remember where objects belong in an insert puzzle. Creative activities this week include chunky chalks, painting with feathers, and cornflour play. The book of the week is ‘peek-a-farm’, as the children enjoy looking at the animals.

Planned activities within the 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 Alisha – Monday – Friday Annual leave

Stacy – Annual leave - Monday.

Ladybirds

The current interest in the Ladybirds is transport. The children will be encouraged to play on ride on toys in the garden, such as cars and bikes. The children will also be able to explore a range of creative activities which include, table painting with cars, painting with cars on paper, cars in damp sand, decorating a bus and play dough with vehicle cutters. The book of the week is ‘wheels on the bus’.

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 – Thursday

Bumblebees

This week the children will still be exploring the new room layout and settling in children. The children will be encouraged to develop their mathematic skills by transferring compare bears into separate bowls dependant on size, identifying shape using a shape puzzle, number sponge painting, and number puzzles. To help the children develop their understanding of the world, the children shall engage in den making and reading the story of the week, encouraging the children to do a car wash in the garden, and build a happy land village. Activities to support creative development include junk modelling, painting on foil paper, creating a collage using different materials, and making pizzas. Literacy development shall be supported, this week, through, reading the story of the week ‘Jack and the beanstalk’ and painting with cars.

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 which is now displayed on the large notice board outside the Bumblebees room.

Days off

Jani – Friday Jenni – Annual leave Tuesday – Friday

Alba – Tuesday

Jade – Annual leave all week

Butterflies

This week the butterflies will be learning about ICT and how to use the computer effectively. The children will explore how to use the mouse whilst playing ‘mouse land’ on the computer, how to make marks on ‘paint’ using mouse control, Alphabet soup and the counting game, all to help with the children’s mouse control. Creative activities this week include cotton reel painting, gloop play, and large paper painting. The children will also be focusing on the letter of the week, which is, ‘i’. They will also be focusing on a number of the week, this is number 8.

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

Lee – Thursday Afternoon Tara - Wednesday

Well child policy

Aim of policy

To give practitioners and parents guidance on how we judge a child to be well enough to attend nursery.

Points to consider

The health and wellbeing of the children in our care is of the utmost importance to us. However as every child is different we use the definition of a well child along with information from the Health Protection Agency to decide if a child is well enough to attend nursery.

Castle Daycare and Preschool aim to achieve this by:

The definition of a well child:

A child who is not dependent on Calpol or similar.
A child with normal bowel movements.
A child who participates in activities as they normally would.
A child who does not require a greater ratio.

Standard adult child ratios are:

1: 3 children under two years

1:4 children aged two to three years

1:8 children aged three to five

Monday, 22 September 2014

Parent News

Dear Parents and Carers

Policies

Please find attached our procedure for the Equality and Diversity procedure.

Snails

The focus in the snails this week will be garden time and settling in with new children. The children will have the opportunity to explore the treasure baskets in the garden, mirror play, peek-a-boo in the garden, using the walkers, playing with the dinosaurs in the sand pit. Tummy time will also be a focus in physical development this week, using soft play and the sensory dome. The older children will have the opportunities to play and balance using the standing beam and the musical piano. Creative activities this week include cornflour play, painting, and coloured water.

Amy – Day off Monday

Caterpillars

This week the Caterpillars team will focus on mark making. The children will have the opportunity to play and explore using their hands and tools, using paint, cornflour, gluing and sticking. The children will also be encouraged to explore heuristic play, to build towers and structures and to explore play dough. The book of the week is continuing from last week; ‘Family books’, the children will be able to explore their family books around the room.

Days off

Jamie – Friday Alisha – Tuesday – Friday Annual leave

Stacy – Annual leave - Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Ladybirds

The current interest in the Ladybirds is autumn and safari animals. The children will be encouraged to make and play with a safari animal jungle, to paint conkers, leaf printing, water and sand play with safari animals and gluing and sticking on Hedgehogs and Squirrels. In the garden the children will be able to play with the soft play, building a train track and singing action rhyme songs. The book of the week is ‘owl babies’.

Days off

Abi – Tuesday

Naomi is covering at one of our other nurseries Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Bumblebees

This week the children will be exploring the new room layout and settling in children. The children will be encouraged to develop their mathematic skills by transferring compare bears into separate bowls using tweezers, identifying colours, matching number to quantity using number cards and cars, shape puzzles, pouring water from one jug to another focusing on mathematical language. To help the children develop their understanding of the world, the children shall engage in den making, using a computer programme to draw pictures gaining mouse control, identifying animal sounds using the CD player and a car wash in the garden. Activities to support creative development include painting on the easel using spray bottles, mark making in the sand tray, practicing the letter of our names, and drawing using stencils and pencils. Literacy development shall be supported, this week, through, reading the story of the week ‘Dry bones’, activities will also be available for the children to participate in around this story. This week we also have a song of the week, this is to welcome the children who have recently started with us, learning the children’s and key workers names. The song is called ‘Welcome Song’.

Days off

Jani – Friday Jenni – Tuesday Alba – Wednesday

Jade – Annual leave Thursday and Friday

Butterflies

This week the butterflies will be learning about seasons, autumn. The children will explore leaf printing, learning about descriptive words that can describe autumn, conker counting and sorting. The children will also be focusing on the letter of the week, which is, t. They will also be focusing on a number of the week, this is number 5.

Days off

Stani – Annual leave Monday, Day off Friday Tracy – Tuesday

Lee – Thursday Afternoon Tara - Friday

Equality and diversity policy

Aim of policy

Castle Daycare & Preschool equality & diversity policy recognises that all people have a right to their distinctive and diverse identities and that all people are different and must be treated as individuals.

Points to consider

We provide a supportive, open environment where all children and employees have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Castle Daycare & Preschool will manage the provision of and access to - high quality affordable childcare. We will promote equality and diversity through our relationships with children, parents, families and carers.

Castle Daycare and Preschool aim to achieve this by:

Following the Disability Act 2006, the Equality Act 2010 and the Early Years Foundation Stage 2012.

· Ensuring all children can be included.

· Providing children with activities and learning opportunities to acknowledge promote and respect diversity in local communities.

· Providing positive images and role models which illustrate non-stereotypical roles, racial, cultural and religious diversity and disability in a way that has real meaning to the children and their families.

· Encouraging an understanding of spiritual development by reflecting all faiths and encouraging the tolerance of all faiths including the promotion and celebration of religious festivals and their meaning. Each individual Castle Daycare & Preschool will aim to enjoy and celebrate religious events personal/relevant to the community they serve.

· Having in place policy and/or procedures to deal with inappropriate practices and attitudes, action to be taken should discrimination occur.

· Inviting parents in the reviewing of our policies.

· Ensuring all our publicity will demonstrate an understanding of equality and diversity.

· Using language which is easily understood.

· Wherever there is a widely shared specific need or where individuals have common needs, Castle Daycare & Preschool will address these through a specific strategy.

· Recognising the need to monitor and review our policies and welcome challenges from, and the involvement of, our employees and customers in this process.

· Actively consulting with different individuals and communities to ensure that the services which are provided are responsive and reflect the diversity of needs.

· Valuing the diversity of all communities, and making our services, facilities and resources accessible and useful to every individual.

· Recognising that our ability to meet these diverse needs is improved by having a diverse workforce which generally reflects local populations and which has the skill and understanding to achieve our service objectives.

· Committing to valuing diversity in our workforce and to developing and training our employees to improve their ability to meet our goals; within an overall framework of equality.

Castle Daycare & Preschool:

· Believe that our employees have an important part to play in making this happen.

· Require every employee to recognise and discharge their own responsibility.

· Undertake to listen to our customers and to involve them in the development of services which recognise and value their diversity.

To ensure that we meet this policy at all times each nursery has dedicated Equality Officers who support all members of staff by:

Ensuring their team, room and garden area are promoting equal opportunities in their practice and environment.
Ensuring cultures and festivals are equally celebrated and promoted.
Ensuring the team has a good understanding of cultures and festivals and therefore can promote them correctly.
Attending training on equal opportunities, promoting inclusion, and cascade this back to the rest of the team.
Working together with the other Equality Officers and manager to create:

o A nursery that ensures every child is given the same opportunities regardless of their abilities.

o A nursery that positively promotes equality through the genders and cultures.

o A nursery that gives every child an open and accepting knowledge of the world around them.

The Equality Officers for this nursery are:

Amy Pickering, Stani Zidekova, Naomi Shotter, Alisha Beswick, Alba Barrera Palma

Monday, 15 September 2014

Parent News

Dear Parents and Carers

Policies

Please find attached our procedure for the health and hygiene procedures.

Snails

The focus in the snails this week will be creative development and settling in with new children. The children will have the opportunity to explore painting activities with cars. Tummy time will also be a focus in physical development this week, using soft play and the sensory dome. The older children will have the opportunities to play and balance using the standing beam, walkers and the musical piano.

Amy – Day off Monday

Caterpillars

This week the Caterpillars team will focus on developing the children’s confidence with different physical activities. The children will have the opportunity to play and explore using the pebbles to build structures and balance them. The children will have support by their key person to encourage children to walk a few steps. Creative activities this week include, floor painting, body painting, gluing and sticking, and play dough. The book of the week is ‘Family books’, the children will be able to explore their family books around the room.

Days off Jamie – Tuesday Alisha – Monday

Ladybirds

The current interest in the Ladybirds is mark making. The children will be encouraged to mark make in the sand using their feet, finger painting, chalk drawing, painting with different shaped items and painting with patterned rollers. In the garden the children will be able to play with balls and explore the rock island with the dinosaurs. The book of the week is ‘boo moo!’ and ‘family books’.

Days off

Abi – Wednesday

Kopila – Annual leave - Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Bumblebees

This week the children will be exploring the new room layout and settling in children. Activities this week will include, typing on the keyboards, completing shape puzzles, letter factory to help recognise the first letter of their name, identifying objects that are different in sizes, and feeding the dolly’s lunch. The children will be encouraged to develop their mathematic skills by matching number bean bags to the correct numbered mat, differentiating the compare bears using tweezers, and completing nine piece puzzles. To help the children develop their understanding of the world, the children shall engage in pretend play using the happy land to make a village, and exploring how the CD player works by using the buttons. Activities to support creative development include spray paint bottles on large paper, table painting with dinosaurs, cornflour play, and exploring flour and water mixture using our hands.

Literacy development shall be supported, this week, through, reading the story of the week ‘The Ravenous Beast’ and listening to the Gruffalo on the CD player. This week we also have a song of the week, this is to welcome the children who have recently started with us, learning the children’s and key workers names. The song is called ‘Welcome Song’.

Days off

Jani – Wednesday Jenni – Tuesday Alba – Friday

Butterflies

This week the butterflies will be learning about seasons, autumn. The children will explore songs about weather and seasons, which colours represent which season and to talk about the differences between them. The children will also be encouraged to make a picture using paper, shapes and glue. The children will also be focusing on the letter of the week, which is, a. They will also be focusing on a number of the week, this is number 9.

Days off Stani – Friday Tracy – Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Lee – Thursday Afternoon

Health and hygiene procedures

Aim of policy

To give guidance on procedures to keep the children and nursery environment as clean and healthy as possible.

Points to consider

1. Staff should make every effort to help the children to understand that cleanliness will help to keep them healthy.

2. To reduce the risk of cross infection, provision must be made for each child to be allocated a bed and bedding for his and her exclusive use, labelled accordingly. A supply of clean tissues must be available for wiping runny noses etc. No disposable material must ever be re-used.

3. Children must be accompanied to the toilet whilst assistance may be given in wiping bottoms, washing hands etc, staff should encourage and show children how to do as much as possible for themselves at the same time ensuring that good hygiene is practised.

4. Children should be given the opportunity to use the toilet before going out to play, in order to minimise movement into and out of the building and to ensure that supervision of the outside play area is maintained.

5. Cleaning children’s hands and faces before and after meals must be carried out in a hygienic manner, using one flannel per child. Used flannels must then be put in for washing.

6. When changing nappies, staff must wear disposable gloves and aprons and ensure that the child is in a clean nappy when the parent is due to collect.

7. Specified tabards worn by staff during nappy changing or cleaning tasks must not be worn whilst undertaking any other tasks i.e. during meal times, play activities etc.

8. Ensure cupboards are stocked with disposable gloves, aprons, wipes, cotton wool, nappy bags and individual labelled barrier cream.

9. Soiled clothes will be rinsed through and returned.

10. All cupboards are to be kept clean and tidy.

11. All toys, games and equipment should be sterilised or thoroughly washed/cleaned monthly or as appropriate. E.g. notification of communicable illness.

12. All toys, games and equipment must be checked for safety prior to use.