Dear
Parents and Carers,
Nursery
News:
Family
books
All
the rooms are going to be creating new family books, please can we ask you to
bring in a few photos so we can make one for every child. Feel free to email
them across and I can print them off for you. We aim to have this complete by
the end of November. Thank you in advance.
Babies
bonfire and Halloween party
A
reminder that it’s babies party Next Friday at 3.45, all parents and children
are invited too. If you are not in on that day but would like to come please
just let one of the baby team know.
Autumn/Winter Menus
The Winter menus will be starting in November,
please have a look through the attached menus and let us know what you think,
any suggestions are welcomed J
Dates
for your diaries
6th
December – Babies and Bluebells Christmas Parties
7th
December – Pre-schools Christmas Party
10th
December – Babies and Bluebells Carol Service - 4.30
11th
December – Pre-School Nativity Play – 9.45 and 4.15
This
week’s activities and event-
In2
sports – During
sports this week we warmed up as Halloween character building our motor skills.
We then continued to build our football skills while balancing on top of cones
and practicing kicking them off and chasing after them.
Forest
School –
This week during Forest School the children collected their own resources from
the woods and made their own magic wand. They then pretended to be pirates and
searched for treasure!
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:
Bonfire
Monday
– Leanne’s group will be developing their imaginative play while pretending to
have a bonfire picnic with small world resources.
Tuesday
– Leanne’s group is exploring different sizes while emptying and filling
containers.
Wednesday
– Sammy’s group are painting sensory bags and will be encouraged to observe the
marks they make.
Thursday
– Hannah’s group will be playing ‘Simon Says’ building listening and attention
skills.
Friday
– Jamie’s group is promoting hygiene routines while washing hands and preparing
snack.
Jamie
is off Monday, Leanne is off Wednesday, Sammy is off Thursday and Hannah is in
all week.
Bluebells
Topic
of the month:
Autumn
Monday
– Megan’s group is exploring the playdough and tools building an understanding
of how tools can work.
Tuesday
– Ruby/Carla’s group will be playing the ‘recycling game’, having fun
matching different items into different bins!
Wednesday
– Ruby’s group are carving pumpkins and exploring the textures while using
their imagination to develop ideas.
Thursday
– Donna’s group is building an interest in writing while making marks in
cornflour gloop.
Friday
– Chloe’s group will be celebrating Halloween by playing a group game of
Ghost bowling.
Donna
is on holiday Monday and off Tuesday, Chloe is off Monday and Tuesday, Megan is
off Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Ruby is off Monday and on holiday Tuesday
and Carla is on holiday Thursday and Friday.
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 building relationships with others while dressing up and taking part
in role play games.
Ines’s
group will be working together while reading and acting out the story ‘Room on
the Broom’ elaborating play ideas and supporting friendships.
Topic
of the month:
Autumn
The
letter of the week is: v
The
children will be:
Talk
about the letter v
Making
the letter v using playdough
Talking
about our favourite vegetables
Writing
the letter v in the water tray
Exploring
the alphabet puzzles
The
Number of the week is: 5
The
children will be:
Counting
to number 5
Grouping
5 objects
Writing
the number 5 on the easel
Jumping
5 times
The
shape of the week is: pentagon and hexagon
The
children will be:
Talking
about the two shapes
Counting
the sides and corners of the two shapes
Comparing
the two shapes
Becci
is off Wednesday, Ines is off Tuesday and Eva is in all week.
Jenni and Ottilia are in all week.
I work 7.30 – 6 on Monday’s, 7.30 –
4.00 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays and am covering at Shamley green on Tuesday and on holiday
on Friday.
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:
Government/ local authority free entitlement policy
Aim
of the policy
To outline what government/ Local Authority
entitlements are available for parents.
Points
to consider
Parents are
eligible to claim for Nursery Free Entitlement from the term following their
child’s 3rd birthday up until they start school.
All children, from
the term after they turn three, are entitled to 15 hours per week (for 38
weeks); this is known as the ‘Universal Offer’. This is currently offered as 3
hours per half day session for 38 weeks of the year (during term time).
Some children will
be eligible to receive 30 hours per week (for 38 weeks); this is known as the
‘Extended Offer’.
The Extended Offer
is only available to families where both parents are working (or the sole
parent is working in a lone parent family) and each parent is working for a
minimum of 16 hours per week and have an annual income of less that £100,000.
HMRC have developed
an online system that parents can use to apply for the extended entitlement. If
they are eligible, they will be given an eligibility code, which they will need
to present to the Childcare and Learning Group setting of their choice.
Parents will need
to reconfirm their eligibility every 3 months via the HMRC online system.
It is possible for
parents to claim for Free Entitlement at two settings as long as the maximum
hours that the child is entitled to are not exceeded.
Childcare &
Learning Group settings also offer the extended funding for those eligible. It
will be stretched across 51 weeks of the year so children will be entitled to a
maximum of 22 hours per week.
In order for
children to use the extended funding at our settings, they will need to attend
the nursery for a minimum of 3 full days per week and the remaining hours will
be charged and include the cost for meals.
For parents wanting
the extended funding on a term time only basis, we will only be able to offer
this to children attending full time term time only and these children will be
entitled to a maximum of 30 hours per week and the remaining hours will be
charged and include the cost for meals.
We are unable to
provide any ‘funded only’ sessions for the extended offer.
Two
year old Free Entitlement
This is an eligibility based funding from the term
after the child’s second birthday. Applications for two year old funding are
made via the local authority and places can only be allocated once eligibility
has been confirmed. Any sessions used outside of the funded hours will be
charged at the full fee rate. The session times that the funding can be used,
will be decided by the setting.
Free
Entitlement using the ‘Universal Offer’ only
Each setting has a limited number of Free
Entitlement only sessions available under either the three and four or two year
old funding depending on the setting and local authority.
Registration fees do not apply for Free Entitlement
only sessions. Free Entitlement only sessions will have no fees attached to
them, unless the children attend over the Free Entitlement only sessions or
choose to attend during the school holidays.
Free Entitlement only sessions are set sessions put aside by the setting
management. Parents will be offered only the sessions available that have been
created for the Free Entitlement only sessions.
The setting manager will be able to provide further
information on the sessions available and how they are applied.
Kind Regards,
Jess, Jamie and the South Hill Team
