Friday 27 June 2014

Week commencing 30th June


Dear Parents

 

Staffing

Megan our student is now doing bank staff work with us over the summer.

For those of you who haven’t already seen Megan whilst she has been volunteering in Sunflowers we will be introducing her to you.

Megan will be helping us cover staff holidays and days off.

 

School leavers 2015

If your child is going to school in September 2015 and you have not received your treasure book pack please let Jess know.

 

Menus

There are no planned changes to this week’s menu.

 

Missing

We are missing blue gap jogging bottoms. If you have picked these up by mistake please let the Sunflower team know.

 

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:


 

Buttercups

Monday – Nilem’s group is having a teddy bear picnic as they build language skills and vocabulary.

Tuesday – Nilem’s group will be looking after the plants in the garden by watering them

Wednesday – Julia’s group are exploring real resources such as magazines, kitchen items and washing materials

Thursday – Charlotte’s group is exploring objects that have been hidden away.

Friday – Magda’s group are building social skills as they play with the playdough together

Charlotte is off all week, Julia is off Tuesday, Magda is off Monday and Nilem is off Friday.

 

Bluebells

Monday – Leanne’s group is building towers and gross motor skills at the same time!

Tuesday –Sophie’s group are building number skills as they play outside with the number mats

Wednesday – Donna’s group will be reading books about families and talking about their own families

Thursday – Donna’s group is talking turns as they play with the balls

Friday – Rose’s group are creating nature pictures from objects they have found in the garden

Donna is off Friday, Leanne is off Tuesday, Sophie is off Monday and Rose is in all week

 

Sunflowers

Books of the fortnight

30th June – 7th July – Mountains - Simon and Schuster Young Books

Monday – Chloe’s group are telling stories to their friends

Tuesday – Becci will be supporting the children as they build fine motor skills by using the scissors

Wednesday – Chloe’s group is getting creative as they make pictures with water balloons and paint

Thursday – Jess’s group will be reading the book of the fortnight and discussing it as they build their communication skills.

Friday – Jess’s group is working together as they plant in the garden.

Jess is off Wednesday, Chloe is off Thursday and Alison works 9.30-2.30 Monday to Thursday

Thursday 26 June 2014

Procedure for the administration of medicine


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:________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

·         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.

Thursday 19 June 2014

Week Commencing 23rd June


Dear Parents

 

Exciting news

From September it will be easier to see what your child has been learning at Nursery and how this links to the Early Years Foundation stage.

Using a secure online program called the Interactive Learning Diary we will be able to record observations, add photos and videos (videos!!!) and link them all to the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Each parent will then be given a password enabling them to see their child (and only their child’s) learning journey.

Parents will be able to add their own observations, photos and videos so that we will be able to create a picture of each child’s development at both nursery and home.

This system will enable the staff to link to the Early Years Foundation Stage much quicker, to do more frequent observations that are less time consuming and spend more time with the children and less time on paperwork.

The system is very secure, with the same level of security as internet banking.  

 

There will be more information on the Interactive Learning Diaries in the newsletters over the next few months and at the September Parents Evening.

 

Still missing

We are missing a boys royal blue Gap hoodie. This has Gap written on in white and has the child’s name on the label.

If you have taken this home by mistake please can you return it to the Sunflowers team. It’s a little boy’s favourite top!

 

School Leavers

It’s getting to that time of year when everyone is leaving to go to school (sob)

Just a reminder that we ask for a  month’s notice and that you will need to make sure all voucher payments have been stopped in plenty of time.

Any overpaid voucher money may be returned to your voucher provider and you will have to claim it back from them.

The School Graduation ceremony will be on Thursday 17th July from 3-5 pm.

 

Menus

There are no planned changes to this week’s menu.

 
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 we are celebrating Ramadan

 

Buttercups

Monday – Charlotte’s group will be looking at books about emotions and practising facial expressions in the mirror

Tuesday – Magda’s group are playing with animal puppets as they read animal stories together

Wednesday –  Julia’s group will be dancing to music, exploring Sari material and tasting Nann bread as they learn about Ramadan

Thursday – Nilem’s group is exploring different materials as they glue and stick pictures

Friday – Julia’s group are building up their fine motor skills as they draw on the chalkboards

Charlotte is off Tuesday, Julia is off Monday, Magda is off Friday and Nilem is off Friday

 

Bluebells

Monday – Donna’s group is reading a story about Ramadan and having popadoms for snack

Tuesday – Rose’s group are looking at and exploring different objects in the garden.

Wednesday – Sophie’s group will be making curry playdough

Thursday – Rose’s group is reading the alphabet book and using letter cards to recognise letters

Friday – Sophie’s group will be painting their own moon pictures for Ramadan

Donna is off Wednesday, Leanne is off Friday, Sophie is off Monday and Rose is in all week

 

 

Sunflowers

Books of the fortnight

16th – 23rd- June –  Bridges - Simon and Schuster Young Books

30th June – 7th July – Mountains - Simon and Schuster Young Books

Monday – Chloe’s group are going to be playing counting games in the garden

Tuesday – Becci is reading the story of Ramadan to the children and talking about Ramadan

Wednesday – Chloe’s group will be looking at their faces and drawing self portraits

Thursday- Jess’s group will be making graduation hats

Friday – Jess’s group are creating moon pictures for Ramadan

Jess is off Tuesday, Chloe is on holiday all week, Becci is in all week and Alison works 9.30-2.30 Monday to Thursday

First aid policy


First aid policy


 

Aim of policy

 

Castle Daycare & Preschool have a duty to provide a safe place of work, with suitable arrangements for welfare. We must ensure that there is adequate first aid provision for children and staff that may become ill or are injured at the nursery.

 

Points to consider

We will provide information and training on first aid to all employees within 6 months of employment to ensure that statutory requirements and the needs of the Nursery are met.

 

Castle Daycare and Preschool aim to achieve this by:

 

A suitable person must be appointed to take responsibility for first aid provision and maintenance of the first aid box under the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations. A suitable person is someone who has undergone training and achieved a standard, which is approved by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

 

The person responsible for first aid provision in this nursery is _______________________

 

Should employees have concerns about the provision of first aid within their Nursery, they should inform the Manager to enable them to investigate and rectify the situation if necessary.

 

The person responsible for the implementation of this policy is the Manager.

 

First aiders will be appointed to assist the Manager in dealing with accidents and emergencies, which may occur at the Nursery. The following three steps are the most important in the provision of adequate and effective first aid cover:

 

1.      Ensure that all employees are aware of the procedures to be followed in the event of illness or injury at work.

2.      Ensure that an appropriate number of first aiders are recruited and trained (allowing for holidays, etc) and that a sufficient number are present in the workplace at any given time.

  1. Maintain adequate first aid equipment and facilities appropriate to the degree of risk, including for those employees who work away from site.

 

 

First aid boxes will be located in accessible locations around the nursery and be signposted.  They should be regularly checked and replenished by a nominated person and contain:

 

Guidance card

2 sterile eye pads, with attachment

4 Triangular Bandages

1 Non-allergenic Micropore tape

6 Medium-sized sterile unmedicated dressings

2 Large sterile unmedicated dressings

20 blue plasters in kitchen/ food preparation area

 


Medication and tablets will never be stored in the first aid kit

 

In this nursery the first aid kits are located at:
 

 

Current lists of first aiders are available to see in each room in the nursery.

Friday 13 June 2014

week commencing 16th June


Dear Parents

 

Sun cream

As it’s been so lovely we have been making the most of the nice weather by playing outside. Please can you make sure your child has a labelled sun cream and labelled hat.

 

Missing

We are missing a boys royal blue Gap hoodie. This has Gap written on in white and has the child’s name on the label.

If you have taken this home by mistake please can you return it to the Sunflowers team. It’s a little boy’s favourite top!

 

Graduation

Don’t forget it’s the Sunflowers graduation on Thursday 17th July 3-5 pm.

This is a party for all the school leaver children and their parents.

If your child is not in on this day they are more than welcome to come in with an adult.

On the day we will have a party, enjoy a party tea and shed a few proud tears at the graduation ceremony!

 

Menus

There are no planned changes to this week’s menu.


 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:


 

Buttercups

Monday – Magda’s group are playing turn taking games with Magda and each other

Tuesday – Nilem’s group will be blowing and catching bubbles outside.

Wednesday – Magda’s group are exploring ice cubes in the water tray

Thursday-  Charlotte’s group is making marks in paint with toy cars and stampers

Friday – Julia’s group will be singing number songs and reading number rhymes.

Charlotte is off Friday, Julia is off Monday, Magda is off Tuesday and Nilem is off Friday

 

Bluebells

Monday – Donna’s group will be using the ABC book to name objects

Tuesday – Rose’s group is getting creative as they fill balloons with water and toy bugs and freezing them to make ice eggs!

Wednesday – Donna’s group are exploring different musical instruments

Thursday – Leanne’s group will be rolling and kicking balls to each other

Friday – Sophie’s group are exploring toy bugs with magnifying glasses

Donna is off Friday, Leanne is off Wednesday, Sophie is off Monday and Rose is off Monday.

 

Sunflowers

Books of the fortnight

16th – 23rd- June –  Bridges - Simon and Schuster Young Books

30th June – 7th July – Mountains - Simon and Schuster Young Books

Monday – Chloe’s group are drawing self portraits as they describe themselves

Tuesday – Becci is supporting the children’s understanding of the world as they explore the garden using magnifying glasses

Wednesday – Chloe’s group will be playing “What’s the Time Mr Wolf” as they practice counting skills

Thursday – Jess’s group is practising writing their names

Friday – Jess’s group are creating pictures with paint and sticks!

Jess is off Tuesday, Chloe is off all week so Becci will be covering, Alison works 9.30-2.30
 
Have a lovely Father's day and enjoy the Sunshine!

Well child policy


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

Thursday 5 June 2014

week commencing 9th June


Dear Parents

 

Father’s day week

It’s not too late to sign up for Father’s week next week!

We would like to invite all of our Daddies in to play any day on the week commencing 9th June. We will also be having a Father’s day tea party on Friday 13th from 4 – 5pm.

So Daddies why not join us for Sports stars, have a sing along with Custards music or even speak a little French at our French lesson?

Please see your child’s room for the signup sheet.

 

School Leavers

It’s getting to that time of year when everyone is leaving to go to school (sob)

Just a reminder that we ask for a  month’s notice and that you will need to make sure all voucher payments have been stopped in plenty of time.

Any overpaid voucher money may be returned to your voucher provider and you will have to claim it back from them.

The School Graduation ceremony will be on Thursday 17th July from 3-5 pm.

 

Lost something?

We have found a silver charm by the buggy sheds, if you are missing one please let me know.

 

Menus

There are no planned changes to this week’s menu.


 

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:


 

 

Buttercups

Monday – Julia’s group will be exploring ICT toys

Tuesday – Nilem’s group are dancing to the Tumble Tots action CD!

Wednesday – Charlotte’s group is singing songs and rhymes together when they go outside

Thursday – Nilem’s group are building fine motor skills as they explore playdough

Friday – Magda’s group will be making shortbread biscuits to enjoy at Tea time with our Daddies!

Charlotte is on holiday this week, Julia is off Tuesday, Magda is off Monday and Nilem is off Thursday

 

Bluebells

Monday – Leanne’s group will be playing with the farm animal toys as they make animal sounds and build their vocabulary.

Tuesday – Leanne’s group is using the compare bears to develop our counting and sorting skills

Wednesday – Donna’s group are choosing the nursery rhymes they want to sing at circle time.

Thursday – Rose’s group is making their own textured paints

Friday – Sophie’s group are making their own stories using the animal puppets

Donna is off Friday, Sophie is off Monday, Leanne is off Wednesday and Rose is in all week

 

Sunflowers

Books of the fortnight

2nd – 9th June –  At the Airport - Simon and Schuster Young Books

16th – 23rd- June –  Bridges - Simon and Schuster Young Books

30th June – 7th July – Mountains - Simon and Schuster Young Books

Monday – Jess’s group are finding numbers in newspapers and magazines and putting them into order

Tuesday – Becci is supporting the children to explore what happens when they mix colours

Wednesday – Chloe’s group will be developing their writing skills as they practice writing their names

Thursday – Jess’s group will be playing a throwing game with water balloons!!!

Friday – Chloe’s group is making yummy chocolate truffles for the Father’s day tea party!

Jess is off Tuesday, Chloe is off Friday and Alison works 9.30-2.30 Monday to Thursday
 
Caroline and the South Hill team x

Risk assessment policy


Risk assessment policy

 

Aim of policy

 

To give guidance on how and when to complete risk assessments.

 

Points to consider

Risk assessments are to assess hazards to anyone on the nursery premises, or in case of external trips to the children, staff and parents in our care.

 

The Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) considers risk assessment to be:

“a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people to enable you to decide whether you have taken enough precautions or you should do more. It should identify and take into account all significant factors that can affect the chance and extent of harm and reach a conclusion on whether and how the management of such factors needs to be improved to eliminate or lessen that chance”.

 

There are five points to consider when carrying out a risk assessment:

Identify the hazard

Decide who may be harmed and how

Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

Record your findings and implement them

Review your assessment and update if necessary

 

See the current Nursery Risk assessments

 

Castle Daycare and Preschool aim to achieve this by:

 

Carrying out thorough and regular risk assessments on all aspects and areas of the nursery.

The person responsible for carrying out risk assessments in this nursery is
 

 

Daily Health and Safety checks should also be made to ensure no hazards arise between risk assessments.

 

The person/people responsible for carrying out these daily checks are

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

More information on how to complete risk assessments can be found at: