Parent News

Dear Parents and Carer,

We will be holding an Easter bonnet parade on Thursday 2^nd April at 10am. If your child doesn’t normally attend a Thursday, you are still more than welcome to join us in the parade. A prize will be awarded to the most creative Easter bonnet made by parents and children, an under 2’s prize and an over 2’s prize.

 

We are due to book our termly development meetings with parents, please see your child’s keyworker to arrange a date and time that is most convenient for you. Your child’s key worker will discuss their development for the spring term and any interests your child is showing.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in The Giant Wiggle, confirmation of how much we have raised will be announced shortly.

Please see your child’s keyworker if you are interested in organising a playdate. Your child’s keyworker will be able to provide further information about this. Dates and times are arranged to be most convenient with you and are carried out during the working week.

We would like to inform Pre-school parents that there has been a recurrent case of head lice; please can parents check their children. Thank you for this matter.

For children who are term time only, the end of term is Thursday April 2^nd and the beginning of the summer term is Mon April 13^th.

The nursery will be closed from 6pm on Thursday April 2^nd and will reopen at 8am Tuesday April 7^th due to the Easter bank holiday.

With regrets I would like to inform parents that Little Sports Stars will no longer be continuing with us, we are currently looking for a replacement.

We would like to apologise for the issues with the parent survey, especially question 5! This has now been rectified.

On Friday 17^th April at 4pm we are holding a question and answer session for those parents who have children that will be attending school in September this year. The session will be an hour long which will provide you with information on how we are supporting and extending your child’s learning. Please see Michelle if you wish to attend or require any further information.

Lastly, we are holding a Forest School taster session on Sunday 26^th April between 10am-12midday. We ask for this session to be parents only as you will be experiencing and taking part in activities. The session will be held at the site where the children attend, the Chantry Wood which is off Half Penny Lane. If you require a map, please see Lee. If you are interested in the session, please inform Michelle.

 

Policies

Please find attached our non-attendance policy.

Snails

The focus in the snails this week is Easter, spring and creative activities. The children will have the opportunity to make and create Easter baskets and listen to spring books. The children will also be able to explore the pop up tent and tunnel, to explore buttons and flaps on ICT toys, making faces in mirrors, play with the treasure baskets and explore the different sounds they make and the weights of the items. Outdoor activities include exploring with water play and boats and playing with musical instruments.

 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 outdoor play and new toys and equipment. Activities this week will include gluing and sticking, playdough, cornflour play, ICT toys, exploring sensory materials, and shape puzzles. The book of the week is ‘5 little ducks’. The Caterpillars will be looking at spring colours, pink and yellow in cornflour play, sand and paste. Outdoor activities this week include bikes and tunnels, connecting stars, mini top and sensory balls.

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 – Thursday

Alisha – Monday

 

Ladybirds

The current interest in the Ladybirds this week is ice play and Easter festivities. The children will have the opportunity to make Easter nests by carrying out a cooking activity. The children will be able to explore an animal ice kingdom, frozen teddy bears, completing Easter puzzles, making bunny rabbit masks, coloured ice play, decorating Easter eggs and ice pop painting. Outdoor activities include playing in the tents and tunnels, climbing using block play, rolling balls to peers and taking part in an Easter egg hunt. The story of the week is ‘we all went on safari’.

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        

Naomi – Tuesday

 

Bumblebees

This week the children will be focusing on Easter activities, painting, playdough, singing and building towers. Activities this week include group painting in the garden, tin foil painting exploring the colours yellow and green, building towers using cups, having a teddy bears picnic counting to 5, exploring and reading books from other rooms and puppet play by talking about emotions and feelings within a small group. The children will also be cooking this week and they will be making Easter nests. Outdoor activities this week include hoops, balls and bats, climbing on the climbing frame, moon sand and water play, bubbles, Easter egg hunt, and completing an obstacle course. The story of the week is ‘monkey puzzle’. There is also an additional focus this week which is encouraging the children to serve their own lunch and tea.

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 – Monday

Jenni – Tuesday, in the office on Thursday

 

Butterflies     

This week the butterflies are focusing on spring and Easter. The activities include Easter crafts, making bunny hats, Easter tree, painting the eggs and hanging them from the tree, Easter baking – making Easter basket cakes, making their own chicks. Outdoor activities this week are follow my leader, simon says, parachute games, bikes and traffic lights – learning about road safety, dolls and dolls clothes, planting seeds, sand play – building castles. The children will be focusing on the letter of the week, which is, ‘E’ and the number of the week, which is number 14.

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 – Thursday                                  

Tara – Tuesday

Lee – Term time only

Jade - Monday

 

Michelle is day off Thursday.

Non-attendance policy

 

Aim of policy

To give clear guidelines on what to do if a child expected at nursery does not arrive.

 

Points to consider

This policy needs to be made aware to all parents upon starting at the setting so they understand it is to protect children rather than intrude into personal lives.

Under the Early Years Foundation Stage providers must be alert to any issues for concern in the child’s life at home or elsewhere. By understanding why the child has not attended helps us to form a picture of their life outside of the setting. This policy links to our Child Protection policies.

 

Castle Daycare and Preschool aim to achieve this by:

• Asking all parents to inform the nursery if their child is going to be absent and the reason why.

 

• Recording on the registers when and child is absent and why, using the following code:

S = sickness

H= Holiday

A = unknown absence

 

• If a child is due in and has not arrived, the nursery will wait a reasonable time, depending on the child’s session and usual pattern of attendance, before contacting the parent to find out a reason for the child’s absence.

 

• This reason will then be recorded on the registers.

                   

• Patterns of non-attendance can be monitored through the registers.

 

• Where possible the nursery would encourage parents to contact the setting rather than the setting contacting the parent.

                   

• When contacting the parents the staff will do so in a sensitive manner whilst explaining the need for the phone call.

                   

• If a child claiming EYFE is off for more than two consecutive weeks or is regularly absent the manager will need to contact the EYFE team.

                   

• The social care team may need to be contacted. Please discuss this with your Manager and DCPO.