Week Commencing 12th December 2016

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

This week’s events:

 

Forest School – This week at Forest School the children created their own fire and had yummy marshmallows for snack. The children explored inside a tree and had great fun.

 

In2Sports –  This week we were developing our hand eye co-ordination and motor skills while throwing small balls around the garden (pretending they were snowballs). They then had some fun playing a game where the children had to freeze when one of their friends caught them.

 

Theatre bugs –

 

 

Up Coming Events

Tomorrow - Christmas party – 3.30-5.00pm.

Monday 12^th December – Carol Service – 4.15pm.

Tuesday 13^th December – Nativity plays – 9.45am and 4.15pm.

Friday 16^th December – Christmas jumper day – Save the children

Fridays 23^rd December – Close for Christmas

Tuesday 3^rd January – Open!

 

Next week:

 

Carol Service

A reminder that it is the Babies and Bluebells carol service on Monday 12th at 4.15pm.

There is no cost to see the carol service but we are limiting seats to 2 per family due to space. It would be appreciated if bags and coats were hung on your children’s pegs to save space in the Bluebells room.

All of the children will be able to take part in the Carol Service and if your child is not in on Monday afternoons and you would like them to take part please may you bring them in dressed in their outfit at 4.05/4.10.

Please be aware that we allow parents to take photographs so if you would rather your child not take part please let us know.

 

Nativity

The Nativity performances are Tuesday 13^th. There will be two nativity plays this year.

Tuesday 13^th December at 9.45

Tuesday 13^th December at 4.15

There is no cost to see the nativity play but we are limiting seats to 2 per family. Please sign up to which performance you would like to see in Sunflowers. This is a first come first served booking system.

All of the children will be able to take part in the nativity and if your child is not in on Tuesday please bring them in 10/5 minutes before their performance time dressed in their outfits. If their outfits are here if you could bring them in 15/10 minutes before their performance time then the team here will get them changed. If you are unsure what performance your child is in please speak to the Sunflower team.

Please be aware that we allow parents to photograph the production so if you would rather your child not take part please let us know.

 

Staff News

I hope you have all had the chance to meet Jessica in the baby room and Chloe M who will be supporting all rooms.

Chloe in Bluebells will be using her holiday for the year before her maternity leave next year, therefore her last day before maternity leave will be Monday 16^th January. As most of you know Carla will be taking over Chloe’s Key Group in the 2-3’s room.

One of our current floating staff members will be stepping into the bluebell room from February to work alongside Donna, Megan and Carla, I will keep you updated on who this will be in the New Year.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

 

Term Dates

A reminder that the last day of term is Wednesday 21^st December 2016.

The new Spring term begins on the 3^rd January 2017.

The Early Years funding finishes on Friday 16^th December and will begin on the 3^rd January.

 

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:

http://www.foundationyears.org.uk/ 

 

This week’s planned activities are also on the ILD’S.

 

Buttercups

 

Topic of the month: Christmas

 

Monday – Sammy’s group are learning number names while sorting and grouping cars and animals

Tuesday – Charlotte’s group will be practicing putting on their own hats and shoes before the garden building co-operating with caregiving experiences

Wednesday – Sammy’s group is building their understanding while choosing their own puzzles to complete

Thursday –Charlotte’s group are creating their own Christmas cards using various colours and materials

Friday – Nilem’s group will be exploring the toddle boxes and tunnels building gross motor skills

Charlotte is off Wednesday, Jessica is off Thursday, Nilem is off Wednesday and Sammy is in all week.

 

Bluebells

 

Topic of the month:  Winter and Arctic Animals

 

Monday – Megan’s group are talking about Father Christmas and what we would like to ask him for, the children will then create a picture to post in our post box

Tuesday – Donna’s group will be exploring different emotions they know while naming the emotion dolls

Wednesday – Carla’s group are making their own playdough animals building listening and attention skills

Thursday – Donna’s group is discovering the small world arctic animals, they will be using their imagination to create their own role play games

Friday –  Chloe’s group are having their own role play tea party with their friends imitating everyday actions

Donna is off Friday, Chloe is off Thursday, Megan and Carla 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. The Key People link this activity to their individual Key Groups.

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: role play game with friends

 

This week the children will be building their imagination skills while taking part in a role play game with their friends. The children will be encouraged to choose their own dressing up outfit and theme. The children will engage in imaginative play based on real life experiences. They will be supported to play alongside others and engage in the same play. The activity will be extended and the children will lead and act out their own individual idea.

 

Topic of the month: Christmas

 

The letter of the week is: D

 

The children will be:

Writing the letter D

Naming animals that begin with D

Making Dog sounds

Thinking of words that begin with D

 

The Number of the week is: 14

 

The children will be:

Counting up to 14

Writing the number 14

Singing 14 current buns

Grouping 14 objects together

 

The shape of the week is: Heart

 

The children will be:

Drawing  a heart shape

Making a heart shape with our hands

Making a heart shape with playdough

Leanne is off Monday, Becci is off Wednesday and Ines is in all week.

 

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.

Follow the link below: www.interactivelearningdiary.co.uk

 

Our Policy of the Week: 

 

Physical intervention

 

Aim of policy

 

To give guidance on what physical intervention is and when it is appropriate.

 

Points to consider

 

There are three types of physical handling:

 

Positive handling

• Giving guidance to children, such as how to hold a paint brush or when climbing
• Providing emotional support, such as placing an arm around a distressed child.
• Physical care, such as toileting or first aid.

 

Physical intervention

Physical intervention can include mechanical and environmental means such as high chairs, stair gates or locked doors. These are appropriate ways of ensuring a child’s safety.

 

Restrictive physical intervention

This is when a member of staff uses physical force intentionally to restrict a child’s movement against his or her will. In most cases this will be through the use of adult’s body rather than mechanical or environmental methods.

 

When can restrictive physical intervention be used?

Physical intervention can be justified when:

 

• Someone is injuring themselves or others
• Someone is damaging property
• There is a suspicion that, although injury, damage or crime has not yet happened, that it is about to happen.

 

What type of restrictive physical intervention can and cannot be used?

Any use of physical intervention in a setting should be carried out with reasonable minimal force. Where it is judged that restrictive physical intervention is necessary, staff should:

 

• Aim for side to side contact with the child. Avoid positioning themselves in front (to reduce the risk of being kicked) or behind (to reduce risk of allegations of sexual misconduct)
• Aim for no gap between the adult’s body and child’s body, where they are side to side. This minimises the risk of impact and damage.
• Aim to keep the adults back as straight as possible.
• Be aware in particular, of head positioning, to avoid head butts from the child.
• Hold children by “long bones” i.e. avoid grasping at joints where pain and damage are most likely.
• Ensure that there is no restriction to the child’s ability to breathe. In particular, this means avoiding holding a child around the chest cavity or stomach.
• Avoid lifting children

 

 

Recording and reporting

It is important that any use of restrictive physical intervention is recorded. This should be done as soon as possible and within 24 hours of the incident. According to the nature of the

incident, the incident should be noted in other records such as the incident/accident records.

After using restrictive physical intervention, the setting should inform the parents. Parents should also be given a copy of the record form(s)

 

Monitoring

After use of restrictive physical intervention, information recorded should be used to review the individual behaviour plan so that the risk of needing to use restrictive physical intervention again is reduced. Monitoring this information will also help develop the settings ability to meet the needs of children without using restrictive physical intervention.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Jess, Charlotte and the South Hill Team