Friday, 1 March 2019

W/c 4.03.19


Dear Parents and Carers,

 

Nursery News:

 

30 hours Funding

If you would like to start claiming the 30 hours funding from April, please apply for your code by the 31st March.

Please also remember parents must reconfirm their eligibility every three months, so those nearing their deadline need to also act as soon as possible.

I have attached our settings 30 hour information so parents can have a read through and learn how we offer it here at Castle.

 

Parent’s Evening

A reminder that it is parents evening on Thursday 14th March.

Pop in anytime between 6.30-8.10, to chat to your child’s key person.

You can also have a look at the next room if your child is due to move up and have the chance to talk to other parents.

Hope to see you all there!

 

Mother’s Week

We will be celebrating Mother’s Day the week of the 25th March.  

During the week we would love all Mummies to come in for a little play, it doesn’t have to be a date your child attends. All you need to do is chat to the staff in your child’s room and sign up for a session! Come along and spend some time with your child at the nursery.

We will also be having a Mother’s Day breakfast on Friday 29th of March from 8-9am. Come along for a breakfast to start your day off J

 

Pancake Day

Next week we are celebrating Pancake day on Tuesday 5th March. All the children will be choosing their own toppings and make their own pancakes for tea.

 

Training

Sammy is on SENCO training on Wednesday. She will be taking over the SENCO role when Becci goes on Maternity Leave.

 

Dates for your diaries

14th March – Parents evening

15th March – Red Nose Day

25th March – Mother’s week
 

 
This week’s activities and event-

 

Forest School – During Forest School this week the children had lots of free time exploring the forest and choosing their own activities to do. They then found their own piece of wood and decorated it. They also found a tree with low down branches and had snack.

 

Nature Club -  During Nature Club the children created a nature bag and collected items to bring back to nursery to show their friends and to take home to show their families.

 

Music and Movement -  This week we had lots of fun pretending to be different vehicles moving to the music. We also shared instruments in pairs, taking it in turns to play the instruments to the music.

 

Next 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’s planned activities are also on the ILD’S.

 

Buttercups 

 

Topic of the month: Numbers

 

Monday – Leanne’s group are going to a walk to the nursery grounds exploring different things they can see and hear.

Tuesday – Sammy’s group is building their understanding while following instructions and naming objects. 

Wednesday – Hannah’s group will be singing ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’, building on their awareness of different body parts. .

Thursday – All children are creating numbers using number moulds in the indoor and outdoor sand trays 

Friday – Jamie ’s group are exploring mark making using ice crayons

Jamie is off Tuesday, Leanne is off Wednesday, Sammy is off Thursday and Hannah is in all week.

 

Bluebells

 

Topic of the month: Books and characters

 

Monday – Donna’s group are building their imaginative skills while play role play games with their friends. 

Tuesday – Megan’s group is selecting their own stories predicting what will happen next.

Wednesday – Ruby’s group are exploring animal puppets building their awareness off different emotions and feelings.

Thursday – Carla’s group is planting a variety of herbs supporting their knowledge and awareness of growth and decay.

Friday –  Chloe’s group will be making their own sausage rolls encouraging health and self-care skills and listening and understanding.

Donna is off Friday, Chloe is off Monday and Tuesday, Megan is off Thursday and Friday, Ruby is off Wednesday and Carla is in all week.

 

Sunflowers

 

In the Sunflower room each Key Person plans and implements their own Key Group activity, but the room works on the same area and aspect to ensure the activity is individual to each Key Group and therefore meets the specific Key Group’s individual needs.

 

This will work alongside their weekly planned activity list which you can see in the room and on the ILD’S.

 

Becci’s group 1 are creating their own pictures using a variety of media and materials.

Becci’s group 2 is building their motor skills while playing ball games in the garden.

 

Ines’s group 1 are making their own picture on the whiteboards building an interest in writing.

Ines’s group 2 will be developing their motor skills and health and self-care while making their own fruit skewers for snack!

 

Eva’s group is building their health and self-care knowledge while preparing their eating areas for meal times and preparing a variety of fruits for snack.

 

Topic of the month: Planting and growth 

 

The letter of the week is: J

 

The children will be:

Talking about the letter J

Thinking of things that begin with the letter J

Exploring the letter J alphabet shaker

Writing the letter J in the sand tray

 

The Number of the week is: 10

 

The children will be:

Counting to number 10

Exploring number puzzles

Clapping 10 times

Writing the number 10 in the water tray

 

The shape of the week is: Rectangle

                                                                                                                                                                      

The children will be:

Drawing a Rectangle and a shape

Counting the sides and corners

Comparing Rectangles and Squares

Becci is off Monday and Tuesday, Ines is off Tuesday and Eva is in all week.

 

Ottilia and Jenni are in all week.

I work all day on Mondays, early shifts on Tuesday and Thursdays, late shifts on Wednesdays and a middle shift on Fridays.

If you have any queries when I am not here please speak to your child’s Room Leader or Jamie.

 

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

 

Facebook

Castle Nursery and Preschool Facebook page promotes the company, engages with parents and team members across our nurseries.

If you would be interested in following this page, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/Castle-Nursery-and-Preschool-790319011138020/. We will be regularly adding events and photos to the page.

 

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!

 

Useful websites

Here are the links for the Surrey Family Information Service, Free Early Education (the 15 hours funding), Free Early Education for Two year olds and Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP).

 



 

Our Policy of the Week

 

Biting policy

 

Aim of policy

To give practitioners and parents guidance on how we handle incidents of biting, intervene in biting attempts, help prevent future incidences and try and stop biting behaviour from occurring in the first place.

 

Points to consider

It is always the aim of Childcare and Learning Group to manage negative behaviour by looking at ways to stop it occurring in the first place. We feel that by having a stimulating curriculum, well trained practitioners and an interesting and suitable environment, the children should be more interested in playing, exploring and learning. However some young children, especially between the ages of 14 months to 3 years, go through a phase of biting.  For most, biting will disappear once they are able to express their feelings and needs with words, but in some cases it can continue. Biting can be a very emotional issue for children, parents, carers and staff. Staff must make sure to handle incidents in a way that respects, supports and reassures both the child who was bitten and their family and the children and family of the biter. See the inclusion policy and Education policies.

 

Childcare and Learning Group aims to do this by

·        Responding calmly and quickly.

·        A member of staff will comfort and attend to the child who has been bitten.

·        Another staff member will speak to the child who has bitten.  It will be made clear to the child, in a manner appropriate to their stage of development, that this behaviour is not acceptable.

·        The member of staff addressing the biter will show that this behaviour is unacceptable by the tone of their voice, body language and if the child is old enough to understand by explanation, e.g. that it is wrong to hurt others.

·        Staff will supervise the reconciliation of both children as quickly as possible.

·        Staff present will consult on their understanding of the facts of the incident and then record these in the incident log, stating where, when it happened, who was present and how it was dealt with.

·        Both sets of parents will be informed separately and privately, without identifying the other child, at the earliest opportunity and maybe by phone or email if it is felt appropriate by the Manager.  If it is felt that the child needs medical assistance or is too distressed to stay in the setting, we will contact the parent/guardian as appropriate.

·        Staff in the child’s room will need to monitor both the biter and the children being bitten. Information such as if the child is biting or attempting to bite one child or a number of children should be recorded as part of a behaviour record.

 

If biting continues in the setting, the approach we will take is as follows:

·        We will speak to the parent(s)/Carers of the child who has been biting to reassure them that we will track the behaviour to identify any pattern.  This could be due to frustration, hunger, attention, teething, curiosity etc.

·        If a pattern is identified, we will draw up an action plan and a copy will be given to the parents and the staff, to be reviewed after two weeks, and we will adjust our routines accordingly.

·        Strategies that we may choose to use could be,

·        Separating the biter and the child who is bitten, this may be of use if the biter is only biting one child.

·        Shadowing the biter, where staff work 1:1 or in a lower ratio with the chid

·        Looking at care routines, is the child hungry/thirsty or do they need their sleep routines adjusted?

·        As each child is different we will look at each case of biting separately. However if the Manager feels the staff or child needs additional support they will seek advice from the Early Years and Childcare Service with the parent’s permission.

·        •We would speak to the parents of the child who has been bitten and explain that the other parents have been informed and we are working together to resolve the issue.

 

We are an inclusive setting, and we will work with parents to resolve any behavioural issues.

Kind Regards,

 

Jess, Jamie and the South Hill Team

 

Castle Nursery & Pre-School

Childcare and Learning Ltd

14 South Hill | Guildford | Surrey | GU1 3SY

Tel: 01483 533344 | Fax: 01293 772971 | Email: southhill@castledaycare.co.uk | Web: www.castledaycare.co.uk | Blog: www.castlenursery-southhill.blogspot.co.uk

 

Outstanding_Colour_EY                                                   recommend_stamp                                                                 

Friday, 22 February 2019

February 18th 2019


Dear Parents and Carers,

 

Nursery News:

 

Parent’s Evening

A reminder that it is parents evening on Thursday 14th March.

Pop in anytime between 6.30-8.10, to chat to your child’s key person.

You can also have a look at the next room if your child is due to move up and have the chance to talk to other parents.

Hope to see you all there!

 

St David’s Day

Next week we are celebrating St David’s Day. The children will be talking about Wales and building their awareness of the United Kingdom and where Wales is. Everyone will be trying welsh cakes for snack, exploring and describing Daffodils and exploring green and red media.

 

Dates for your diaries

14th March – Parents evening

15th March – Red Nose Day


 
This week’s activities and event-
 

Yoga / Baby sensory – This week in yoga the children explored different movements while moving as different animals. During baby sensory the babies explored light and reflections.

 

Forest School – This week at Forest School the children found a swing and had lots of fun having a turn swinging on it. The children then made a fire with Owen and toasted marshmallows for snack!!

 

Nature Club -  This week at Nature Club we went on a bug hunt. The children found worms, snails, centipedes, slugs and woodlice. The children put them in insect pots so they could take a closer look and when they had finished they took them back and released them.

 

Next 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’s planned activities are also on the ILD’S.

 

Buttercups 

 
Topic of the month: Animals


Monday – Jamie’s group are investigating the shape sorters building there colour and shape awareness.

Tuesday – Leanne’s group is building their understanding while following instructions and naming objects. 

Wednesday – Hannah’s group will be learning numbers through number songs.

Thursday – All children are celebrating St David’s day by trying Welsh cakes for snack and exploring Daffodils.

Friday – Sammy’s group are exploring the wooden reflective blocks encouraging an interest in their own reflections.

Jamie is off Tuesday, Leanne is off Wednesday, Sammy is off Thursday and Hannah is in all week.
 
Bluebells
 
Topic of the month: Farm Animals

 

Monday – Megan’s group are playing ‘Fish a Feeling’ building their emotion awareness.

Tuesday – Donna’s group is building their number awareness while counting and categorising the counting birds.

Wednesday – Ruby’s group will be making a sand city in the big sand pit, they will make the city out of Duplo blocks!

Thursday – Chloe’s group are drawing around their own bodies looking at similarities and differences.

Friday –  Carla’s group is singing songs while playing musical instruments. 

All children will be celebrating St David’s week, trying welsh cakes and exploring Daffodils.

Donna is off Friday, Chloe is off Monday and Tuesday, Megan is off Thursday and Friday, Ruby is off Wednesday and Carla is in all week.
 

Sunflowers
 
In the Sunflower room each Key Person plans and implements their own Key Group activity, but the room works on the same area and aspect to ensure the activity is individual to each Key Group and therefore meets the specific Key Group’s individual needs.

 

This will work alongside their weekly planned activity list which you can see in the room and on the ILD’S.

 

Becci’s group 1 is taking part in a turn taking game talking about our own and our friends feelings.

Becci’s group 2 will be building their listening and attention skills while taking part in a group game about days of the week.

 

Ines’s group 1 are celebrating St David’s Week trying Welsh cakes, exploring Daffodils and talking about the festival.

Ines’s group 2 will be building their mark making skills while creating their own picture.

 

Eva’s group are operating a game on the computer building ICT skills.

 

Topic of the month: Family
 
The letter of the week is: Ii

The children will be:

Talking about the letter i

Thinking of things that begin with the letter i

Exploring the letter i alphabet shaker

Writing the letter I in the water tray

 

The Number of the week is: 9

 

The children will be:

Counting to number 9

Exploring number puzzles

Jumping 9 times

Writing the number 9 in the air

 

The shape of the week is: Nonagon

                                                                                                                                                                      

The children will be:

Drawing a Nonagon shape

Counting the 9 sides and corners

Comparing Octagons and Nonagon

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

 

Ottilia and Jenni are in all week.

I am at a meeting on Monday, working all day Tuesday, an early shift Thursdays, late shifts on Wednesdays and a middle shift on Fridays.

If you have any queries when I am not here please speak to your child’s Room Leader or Jamie.

 

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

 

Facebook

Castle Nursery and Preschool Facebook page promotes the company, engages with parents and team members across our nurseries.

If you would be interested in following this page, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/Castle-Nursery-and-Preschool-790319011138020/. We will be regularly adding events and photos to the page.

 

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!

 

Useful websites

Here are the links for the Surrey Family Information Service, Free Early Education (the 15 hours funding), Free Early Education for Two year olds and Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP).

 



 

Our Policy of the Week

 

Biting policy

 

Aim of policy

To give practitioners and parents guidance on how we handle incidents of biting, intervene in biting attempts, help prevent future incidences and try and stop biting behaviour from occurring in the first place.

 

Points to consider

It is always the aim of Childcare and Learning Group to manage negative behaviour by looking at ways to stop it occurring in the first place. We feel that by having a stimulating curriculum, well trained practitioners and an interesting and suitable environment, the children should be more interested in playing, exploring and learning. However some young children, especially between the ages of 14 months to 3 years, go through a phase of biting.  For most, biting will disappear once they are able to express their feelings and needs with words, but in some cases it can continue. Biting can be a very emotional issue for children, parents, carers and staff. Staff must make sure to handle incidents in a way that respects, supports and reassures both the child who was bitten and their family and the children and family of the biter. See the inclusion policy and Education policies.

 

Childcare and Learning Group aims to do this by

·        Responding calmly and quickly.

·        A member of staff will comfort and attend to the child who has been bitten.

·        Another staff member will speak to the child who has bitten.  It will be made clear to the child, in a manner appropriate to their stage of development, that this behaviour is not acceptable.

·        The member of staff addressing the biter will show that this behaviour is unacceptable by the tone of their voice, body language and if the child is old enough to understand by explanation, e.g. that it is wrong to hurt others.

·        Staff will supervise the reconciliation of both children as quickly as possible.

·        Staff present will consult on their understanding of the facts of the incident and then record these in the incident log, stating where, when it happened, who was present and how it was dealt with.

·        Both sets of parents will be informed separately and privately, without identifying the other child, at the earliest opportunity and maybe by phone or email if it is felt appropriate by the Manager.  If it is felt that the child needs medical assistance or is too distressed to stay in the setting, we will contact the parent/guardian as appropriate.

·        Staff in the child’s room will need to monitor both the biter and the children being bitten. Information such as if the child is biting or attempting to bite one child or a number of children should be recorded as part of a behaviour record.

 

If biting continues in the setting, the approach we will take is as follows:

·        We will speak to the parent(s)/Carers of the child who has been biting to reassure them that we will track the behaviour to identify any pattern.  This could be due to frustration, hunger, attention, teething, curiosity etc.

·        If a pattern is identified, we will draw up an action plan and a copy will be given to the parents and the staff, to be reviewed after two weeks, and we will adjust our routines accordingly.

·        Strategies that we may choose to use could be,

·        Separating the biter and the child who is bitten, this may be of use if the biter is only biting one child.

·        Shadowing the biter, where staff work 1:1 or in a lower ratio with the chid

·        Looking at care routines, is the child hungry/thirsty or do they need their sleep routines adjusted?

·        As each child is different we will look at each case of biting separately. However if the Manager feels the staff or child needs additional support they will seek advice from the Early Years and Childcare Service with the parent’s permission.

·        •We would speak to the parents of the child who has been bitten and explain that the other parents have been informed and we are working together to resolve the issue.

 

We are an inclusive setting, and we will work with parents to resolve any behavioural issues.

Kind Regards,

 

Jess, Jamie and the South Hill Team

Castle Nursery & Pre-School

Childcare and Learning Ltd

14 South Hill | Guildford | Surrey | GU1 3SY

Tel: 01483 533344 | Fax: 01293 772971 | Email: southhill@castledaycare.co.uk | Web: www.castledaycare.co.uk | Blog: www.castlenursery-southhill.blogspot.co.uk