Week Commencing 30th July

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

Nursery News:

 

Sunflowers Graduation

Thank you to everyone who came to the graduation. It was a fantastic turn out even with the hot weather!

A big thank you to all the Sunflower families who donated towards our dinner out, it is much appreciated.

It has been a pleasure looking after all the children and they are all ready for their school adventure!

 

30 hours Funding

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

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.

 

Dates for your diaries

4^th September – Term starts

27^th September – Parents evening

This weeks activities and events

 

In2 Sports –  During in2 sports this week the children have been playing with coach Alex! They developed their tennis skills by balancing a tennis ball on their rackets. They then formed pairs and helped each other and took turns to hit the ball to each other.

 

 

Next weeks 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: Summer

 

Monday – Sammy’s group are creating their own jungle animal masks using paper plates and mixed media.

Tuesday – Jamie’s group will be exploring different books building early literacy skills.

Wednesday – Sammy’s group is matching coloured objects encouraging colour awareness.

Thursday – Hannah’s group are singing favourite songs enjoying company of others.

Friday – Leanne’s group will be developing  motor skills while building towers using wooden blocks.

Jamie is off Monday, Leanne is off Wednesday, Hannah is in all week, Sammy is on holiday on Friday.

 

Bluebells

 

Topic of the month: Summer

 

Monday – Megan’s group is building on their understanding and use of Math words, by creating different shapes in the sand.

Tuesday – Maria’s group will be reading “Humphrey’s Play Time”, they will discuss the story and talk about Humphrey’s likes and dislikes. They will then create a picture of Humphrey. 

Wednesday – Ruby’s group are exploring shapes by painting with kitchen roll tubes, they will manipulate the tubes to create different shapes and marks.

Thursday – Donna’s group is exploring the farm and the farm animals developing their imaginations and language skills.

Friday –  Chloe’s group will be reading the ‘Room on the Brook’ story then creating their own broom snack out of breadsticks, chocolate and raisins.

Donna is off Friday, Chloe is off Monday and Tuesday, Ruby is in all week, Maria and Megan are on holiday 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 is baking their own biscuits. They will be measuring ingredients and using smarties to count.

 

Ines’s group are playing a group game developing their maths skills. They will be counting marbles and comparing their groups with their friends.

 

Topic of the month: Going to School

 

The letter of the week is: I

 

The children will be:

Writing the letter I

Exploring ice

Thinking of words that begin with the letter I

Creating the letter I with playdough

 

The Number of the week is: 7

 

The children will be:

Counting to 7

Making the number 7 with playdough

Clapping 7 times

Writing the number 7 in the sand

 

The shape of the week is: Diamond

 

The children will be:

Counting how many sides a Diamond has

Drawing a Diamond on the white boards

Creating the Diamond shape with their hands

Becci is off Wednesday and Ines is off Tuesday.

 

I work 7.30 – 6 on Monday’s, 7.30 – 4.00 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays and 7.30 – 2.30 Friday’s. So I will get to see you all in the morning, If you have any queries in the evening 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 will be a few changes to the tea menu over the next 4 weeks as the Chefs take it in turns to have their summer holiday.

Temporary menu’s will be displayed on the meal time bored.

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).

 

www.surreycc.gov.uk/fis
www.surreycc.gov.uk/fee
www.surreycc.gov.uk/feet  

www.surreycc.gov.uk/eypp

 

Our Policy of the Week: 

 

Early Help Assessment (EHA) policy

 

Aim of the Policy

 

To outline the commitment of our setting to the EHA approach and inter agency working.

 

Points to Consider

The EHA process, replaces the previous Common Assessment Framework (CAF) process.

The EHA process is a consent based approach and families will be involved throughout and must have given signed permission for the EHA to take place.

Purpose of the EHA

Children and families may need support from a wide range of local agencies. Where a Child and family would benefit from coordinated support there should be an inter-agency assessment.

These early help assessments should identify what help the child and family require to prevent needs escalating to a point where intervention would be needed by a statutory assessment.

The early help assessment is used to help practitioners gather and understand information about the strengths and needs, based on discussions with the family. The holistic assessment identifies the most appropriate way to meet those needs, and with consent of the family can support a team around the family approach.

Steps to take:

1.      Something will have triggered the key person, senior practitioner or SENCO to recognise a possible need in a child or young person. It may be a change in their behaviour, an action, consequence, development assessment or something else which alerts them.

 

2.      The key person, senior practitioner or SENCO will inform the setting manager, keeping them informed throughout the rest of the process.

 

3.      key person, senior practitioner or SENCO will prepare their evidence and their developmental assessments of the child to support their concern.

 

4.      The key person, senior practitioner or SENCO will need to seek further information to help clarify the problems or issue, and prevent needs from escalating. At this point, the family is engaged.

 

5.      The key person, senior practitioner or SENCO requests permission from the family to seek involvement from the local authority EHA team. At this stage, it may only be a second opinion observation. A part of this process will be checking to see if an early help assessment or team around the family is already in place for the family to ensure you are working together.

 

6.      The LA EHA team will support the setting with the current processes for an EHA. A Team around the Family (TAF) will be established and a lead professional appointed.

 

7.      When an early help assessment has been completed, practitioners are able to see the family's needs holistically and not fragmented. They will work together to support the needs and development of the child within the family.

What is the role of the lead professional?

The early help assessment will be undertaken by a lead professional who will provide support to the child and family, act as an advocate on their behalf and coordinate the delivery of any services.

The lead professional role, is not necessarily a setting representative. It could be undertaken by a general practitioner (GP), family support worker, health visitor or special educational needs coordinator.

Contacts:

In this setting the SENCO is: Becci Pullen

Our local authority EHA contact person is: Surrey South West Hub (Guildford and Waverley)

The EHA team contact number is: 01483 519722

The web link for this settings local authority EHA information page is:

earlyhelp@surreycc.gov.uk

www.surreycc.gov.uk/earlyhelp

 

 

Kind Regards,

 

Jess, Jamie and the South Hill Team

Week Commencing 23rd July

Dear Parents and Carers,

Nursery News:

 

Sunflowers Graduation

A reminder that the Sunflowers School Leavers Graduation is NEXT Thursday 26^th July from 3.30-5pm.

We will be having soft play equipment, a Theatrebugs session, party tea and the Graduation Ceremony will be 4.30-5pm.

We look forward to seeing all the School leaver parents and families there J

 

30 hours Funding

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

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.

 

Dates for your diaries

23^rd July – Term ends

26^th July – Sunflowers Graduation

4^th September – Term starts

27^th September – Parents evening

This weeks activities and events

 

In2 Sports –  During sports this week we continued to practice our football skills. The children took turns in making passes to their friends and dribbling the ball around cones.

 

Forest School –  During this week’s Forest school it was the next groups first session with Owen, our new Forest School Leader who has been working with Lee for the last term. The children learnt all about the Golden Rules and discovered the Forest as some of the group were new to Forest School! The children then created their own clay face on a tree!

 

Nature Club –  In this week’s Nature club the children had a picnic tea and had lots fun climbing a tree!

 

French –    This week in French the children have developed their colours further by reading a story about an elephant that ate colourful food and became a rainbow!

 

 

Next weeks 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: Summer

 

Monday –Hannah’s group will be finding their own body parts while singing ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ and playing ‘Simon Says’.

Tuesday – Jamie’s group is building relationships while exploring family books and looking at their family pictures with their friends.

Wednesday – Jamie’s group are mixing ingredients together while making their own banana ice cream!

Thursday – Leanne’s group is building an interest in stories while reading the ‘That’s not my …’ Books.

Friday – Sammy’s group are discovering shredded paper and animals encouraging names and sounds.

Jamie is off Monday, Leanne is off Wednesday, Sammy and Hannah are in all week.

 

Bluebells

 

Topic of the month: Summer

 

Monday – Ruby’s group are going on a ‘Bear Hunt’ to the Castle grounds taking their nursery teddy bear!

Tuesday – Donna’s group is practicing operating ICT while taking their own photos with the Ipads and ICT cameras.

Wednesday – Megan’s group will be building their understanding of different emotions while reading the ‘Colour Monster’ book.

Thursday –  Maria’s group are decorating their own shapes building their confidence with shapes.

Friday – Chloe’s group will be creating their own mini fish tank building their understanding and attention. (If any of you have empty/ spare jam jars at home please bring them in next week).

Donna is on holiday Wednesday – Friday, Chloe is off Monday and Tuesday, Megan is off Thursday and Friday, Maria and Ruby are 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 are “Going on a Bear Hunt”. First of all they will read the story, they will the create their own props and act out the story together.

 

Ines’s group will be building their listening and attention skills while working in a team and taking part in races in the garden. They will also create their own trophy!

 

Topic of the month: Going to School

 

The letter of the week is: H

 

The children will be:

Writing the letter H

Singing ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’

Thinking of words that begin with the letter H

Finding objects in the environment beginning with H

 

The Number of the week is: 6

 

The children will be:

Counting to 6

Making the number 6 with playdough

Jumping 6 times

Writing the number 6 in the air

 

The shape of the week is: Hexagon

 

The children will be:

Counting how many sides a hexagon has

Drawing a hexagon on white boards

Creating the hexagon shape with their hands

Becci is off Wednesday and Ines is off Tuesday.

 

I work 7.30 – 6 on Monday’s, 7.30 – 4.00 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays and 7.30 – 2.30 Friday’s. So I will get to see you all in the morning, If you have any queries in the evening 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 will be a few changes to the tea menu over the next 5 weeks as the Chefs take it in turns to have their summer holiday.

Temporary menu’s will be displayed on the meal time bored.

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).

 

www.surreycc.gov.uk/fis
www.surreycc.gov.uk/fee
www.surreycc.gov.uk/feet  

www.surreycc.gov.uk/eypp

 

Our Policy of the Week: 

 

The prevent duty policy

 

Our responsibilities under the Prevent Duty are to look out for and report any concerns of users in our setting (children, parents, staff, visitors) displaying possible signs of engagement, intent or capability of radicalisation or terrorist activity.

 

Our Managers and lead team members have undergone basic training in identifying the signs and actions to take if they have concerns and all team members will be taking part in the training in line with their training plans.

 

If anyone has any concerns about any setting users, refer to the Safeguarding policy and follow the steps.

 

*Reminder: In this setting, the Safeguarding Representative is: Jess

 

Aim of the policy

 

To give guidance on how practitioners can follow the Prevent Duty (2015) as set out in the Counter- Terrorism and security Act 2015.

 

Points to consider

 

In order for childcare providers to fulfil the Prevent duty, it is essential that staff are able to identify children who may be vulnerable to radicalisation, and know what to do when they are identified. Protecting children from the risk of radicalisation should be seen as part of childcare providers’ wider safeguarding duties, and is similar in nature to protecting children from other harms (e.g. drugs, gangs, neglect, sexual exploitation), whether these come from within their family or are the product of outside influences.

 

Childcare providers can also build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and enabling them to challenge extremist views.

 

Practitioners need to be aware of when to make a referral to the Channel programme. Channel is a programme which focuses on providing support at an early stage to people who are identified as being vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. In Surrey we contact the MASH team who would then liaise with Channel.

 

In order to meet the Prevent Duty staff must:

·        Be able to identify children who may be vulnerable to radicalisation and know what to do when they are identified.

·        Work in partnership with police, Channel police practitioners and local authority

·        Take action when they observe behaviour of concern

·        Focus on children’s personal, social and emotional development, ensuring children learn right from wrong, mix and share with other children, value other’s views, know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and challenge negative attitudes and stereotypes.

·        Make referrals to the MASH Team if there are concerns that an individual may be vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism or extremism.

 

The main way Childcare and Learning Group work to prevent radicalisation is to promote British values. These are not unique to Britain; these values are universal aspirations for equality.

 

British values are:

Democracy

The rule of law

Individual liberty

Mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

 

These values are imbedded in our practice in the following ways:

 

Democracy

·        Practitioners recognise and model respect for every child and their family

·        Building children’s self-confidence and self-awareness

·        Involving children in decisions making. What toys will they choose, deciding on the golden rules of the setting, choosing how an area is set up.

·        Ensuring children know their decisions count.

 

·        Involving parents in decisions in the setting, through questionnaires, weekly newsletters and policy reviews.

 

The Rule of Law

·        Supporting children to manage their feelings and behaviour in appropriate ways.

·        Talking about emotions and other people’s feelings

·        Talking about why rules are important

·        Encouraging children to think about how they can resolve conflict

 

Individual liberty

·        Supporting children’s personal emotional and social development in particular self-confidence and self-awareness

·        Allowing children to take risks and try out new ideas.

·        Thinking about the characteristics of effective learning and how children are engaged, motivated and thinking.

·        Encouraging children to recognise success

·        Allowing enough time for children to complete activities and return to them

·        Encourage group discussions to talk about feelings and recognise everyone has different opinions.

 

Mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

·        By supporting children’s understanding of diversity and challenge negative behaviour 

·        Role model an inclusive attitude to different faiths, culture and beliefs

·        Encouraging turn taking

·        Exploring role play

·        Supporting the children to recognise similarities and differences.

·        Being involved in the wider community

·        Working in partnership with parents

·        Providing resources that challenge gender, cultural and racial stereotyping.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Jess, Jamie and the South Hill Team