Week Commencing 21st December

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

Parent diary 2016

I have attached our parent diary for 2016. This diary shows some of our important dates next year along with some of the festivals we will be celebrating.

 

Forest School

Forest school will be running again from 2016 for the Pre-School children. Lee our regional forest school leader who most of the children know will still be doing the sessions. South Hill’s forest school day is currently a Tuesday. Please speak to the Pre-School team for more information.

 

Christmas Closure

A reminder that the Nursery will be closed from 4.00pm on Christmas Eve so that we can send the staff home early for Christmas. We reopen as normal on Monday 4^th January 2016. A reminder though that the school term starts again on Tuesday 5^th. However funding doesn’t start until Monday 11^th January.

 

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: http://www.interactivelearningdiary.co.uk/

 

Policy of the week

We will be displaying a different policy every week at the bottom of this newsletter.

If you would like to see this or any of our policies please ask Jess.

 

Our Policy of the week: Biting policy

 

 

Useful websites:

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

 

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

 

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

Monday – Shula’s group will be practicing their self-care skills while feeding themselves at meal times and dressing themselves

Tuesday – Charlotte’s group is singing number rhymes encouraging awareness of number names

Wednesday – Mel’s group will be investigating paint while making festive pictures 

Thursday – Shula’s group are playing bubble games promoting simple language

Charlotte is off Monday and Thursday, Mel is off Tuesday, Nilem is off Monday and Shula is in all week.

 

Bluebells

Monday – Chloe’s group are exploring media and textures while using Christmas cutters and playdough

Tuesday – Donna’s group is discovering a variety of objects, they will be encouraged to recognise the differences in the objects in front of them

Wednesday – Almu’s group will be getting themselves ready for the garden and preparing for meal times, building confidence and independence skills

Thursday – Chloe’s group are making hot chocolate for snack while talking about Christmas

Donna is off Wednesday and Thursday, Chloe is off Tuesday, Almu is off Thursday and Megan is 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.

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: Talking about Christmas time!

 

The children will be encouraged to talk about Christmas, they will share what they already know about Christmas with their peer group! The children will be encouraged to create a Christmas picture for their family.

 

 

The letter of the week is: F

 

The children will be:

Writing the letter F with stencils

Watching feathers float in the air

Thinking of objects that begin with F?

Water and fish in the water tray

Playdough fun with F stencils

Singing ‘Five Little Frogs’

Alphabet fishing

 

Leanne is off Wednesday, Becci is in all week and Hector is off all 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 Castle Daycare and Preschool 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 and family who were bitten and the children and family of the biter. See the inclusion policy and Education policies.

 

Castle Daycare and Preschool 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 there is more than one incident of biting by one child in a recent period of time a behaviour record and ABC of behaviour should be started. The ABC of behaviour is a Surrey Early Years programme where preceding behaviours are identified to help see a pattern and create a solution. 

 

If biting continues in the nursery, 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 a fully inclusive nursery, and we will work with parents to resolve any behavioural issues.

 

 

Kind Regards

 

Jess Smith

Manager, SENCO

Week Commencing 14th December 2015

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

Carol Service / Nativity

Thank you to everyone who came to the Carol Service and Nativity Performances they were a great success.

 

Christmas Closure

The Nursery will be closed from 4.00pm on Christmas Eve so that we send the staff home for Christmas. We reopen as normal on Monday 4^th January 2016.

 

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: http://www.interactivelearningdiary.co.uk/

 

Policy of the week

We will be displaying a different policy every week at the bottom of this newsletter.

If you would like to see this or any of our policies please ask Jess.

 

Our Policy of the week: Behaviour Management policy

 

 

Useful websites:

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

 

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

 

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

Monday – Shula’s group will be story telling using puppets promoting listening and attention

Tuesday – Charlotte’s group are investigating the floor keyboard and electronic drums and guitar supporting early ICT skills

Wednesday – Shula’s group will be exploring paint with their hands encouraging an interest in the marks they make

Thursday – Mel’s group are discovering cornflour gloop while using tools and animals to make marks

Friday – Mel’s group is singing ‘Five Little Speckle Frogs’ using the story sacks gaining an awareness of numbers

Charlotte is off Monday, Mel is off Thursday, Nilem is off Monday and Shula is in all week.

 

Bluebells

Monday – Almu’s group are using the ipads to take photos of their friends and their favourite objects promoting ICT skills

Tuesday – Donna’s group is using coloured pencils to create a picture encouraging language skills throughout

Wednesday – Donna’s group will be practicing physical skills while using the bat and balls in the garden

Thursday – Megan’s group are looking at emotion pictures and stories investigating the emotions they know

Friday – Chloe’s group are playing the missing object game. The children will be encouraged to remember what objects have been hidden!

Donna is off Friday, Chloe is off Thursday, Almu is in all week and Megan is on holiday Monday – Wednesday.

 

Sunflowers

The Sunflowers have one detailed weekly focused activity to ensure all the children have the opportunity to take part in it.

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: Creating Christmas presents for our families.

 

The children will be practicing their fine motor skills while decorating their Christmas gifts for their families. Their hand eye co-ordination will also be supported while they are sticking different craft pieces on. The activity will be extended and the children will be asked to describe the different textures they feel throughout.

 

 

The letter of the week is: E

 

The children will be:

Writing the letter E with stencils

Thinking of objects that begin with E?

Finding animals beginning with E

Playdough fun with E stencils

Pretending to be Elephants

What can we see in the letter E bottle?

Using the E alphabet soup can

 

Leanne is off Tuesday and Wednesday, Becci is in all week and Hector is off Thursday.

 

 

Behaviour Management policy

 

Aim of policy

 

To clearly show how we manage behaviour of the children in our care. This policy will promote, encourage, reinforce and reward positive behaviour, enabling children to develop a sense of appropriate behaviour and a positive self-image.

 

Points to consider

 

Each child is different and will respond to different methods of behaviour management. The child’s key person can support other practitioners in managing behaviour by giving them information about the child.

 

Castle Daycare and Preschool aims to achieve this by:

• Never physically punishing a child. 

• Having a consistent approach to behaviour management and develop effective strategies using positive methods appropriate to the individual child.
• Promoting good behaviour at all times through praise and positive reinforcement.
• Practitioner’s role modelling good behaviour and language.
• Ensuing that all staff, students and anyone else working with the children is aware of how good behaviour is promoted and negative behaviour is addressed.
• Helping the children to understand the consequences of negative behaviour.
• Helping children to challenge bullying, harassment and name calling.
• Encouraging the children to be responsible through activities such as tidying up and creating their own rules.
• Reassuring children that they are valued even if their behaviour is sometimes unacceptable.
• Providing interesting, stimulating and fun activities, children who are not engaged in activities can become bored and misbehave.
• Providing adequate care routines. Children who are hungry or tired can misbehave.

 

Inappropriate behaviour almost invariably occurs when a child’s fundamental needs are frustrated.  The staff should always consider what the child’s needs are and how they can best be met in the Nursery.

Nursery staff will act as appropriate role models and should encourage the development of a positive self-image in the child. 

In order to function acceptably, children need to feel valued and accepted in a group – to feel secure with the adults caring for them and with the routine of the nursery.

Our staff will work with the children to agree acceptable boundaries.  Young children are still very egocentric and much of what society deems desirable, e.g. politeness, honesty, consideration for others, will be recognised and understood through expert role modelling.

We need children to understand what is required of them and why.  Staff at our nurseries need to give consistent messages and guidelines for acceptable behaviour.

Positive methods are more effective than negative ones in shaping the behaviour of children.  Rewards and distractions are preferable to punishment.  Children need to know that despite their inappropriate behaviour we still ‘love’ them.  It is the behaviour we dislike, not the child.  Nursery staff should praise a child whenever they can.  They should give individual time and attention to the child.

 

Staff should encourage children to talk over a problem, anticipate and remove potential problems or re-direct them.  Staff should value the tangible contributions that the child offers, including drawings and pictures brought from home.  Each child should be given the opportunity to ‘shine’ at a particular activity or skill.

 

Children should know that staff like their family.  Staff should develop partnerships with parents and ensure that parents are fully informed about support and the policies and strategies used for managing unacceptable behaviour.

 

Nursery staff should be consistent in their treatment of children; there should be fairness in access to toys, etc.  The same treatment should apply for both the individual and the group.  The rewards given should be consistent – in praise for actions, favours and privileges.  Staff should remember to reward children when they are good.

 

The staff should be aware of making emotional moral judgements.  We believe if a child is labelled; there is a danger of negative expectation.

 

Account must be taken in each case of the age and stage of the child’s development and staff should modify their expectations in light of the child’s level of maturity and ability.  Goals should be specified precisely in language everyone, including the child, can understand.  They should be broken down into small steps, starting with what the child can be relied upon to achieve and building up slowly.

 

If sanctions are carried out, they should be appropriate – they should also be given at the time of the inappropriate behaviour, be relevant and fair.  Never issue a warning or condition that is unrealistic – be prepared to carry it through.

Methods of dealing with unacceptable behaviour

Distraction

To avoid potential unacceptable behaviour – divert the child’s attention.  Offer the child something more attractive and positive to do – if possible, let them ‘help’ you to do something.  This may be particularly useful with young children who do not understand verbal reasoning.

Individual attention

Physically removing the child from the situation can stop undesirable behaviour by giving the child time to stop and think away from the problem, object or situation.  If a child needs to be removed from a group activity, the time spent outside the group gives them a chance to see what they are missing.  Such time out should be brief but immediate.  The child should not be removed from the room unless this sanction has not worked. 

 

Reprimand initially should be a private affair between the member of staff and child.  In the nursery, staff members need to have established the meaning of talking to the child ‘in a stern voice’ – this is not shouting.

 

Staff should remember that there is a need to ‘build a warm bridge’ again as soon as possible – conflicts should never linger.

Removing the object

This can work in the same way as taking the child away but an alternative activity should be offered.

Physical restraint

This can help with tantrums where a child is in danger of hurting themselves.    If physical intervention is seen as appropriate, ensure that the intervention is achieved with minimum force and for minimum time.  (As per Safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare as part of the Statutory Framework for The Early Years Foundation Stage). Any time physical restraint is used, an incident form must be completed.

 

Biting behaviour must be recorded in the Incident Book but staff should not disclose the name of the biter when talking to the parents of the bitten child. See the biting policy

 

In this setting the Behaviour Management officer is Caroline Laidlaw

Any child presenting difficult behaviour on a regular basis should become the subject for close observation.  Staff should identify:

 

·       The nature of the behaviour

·       Factors or circumstances which trigger it

·       Timing – when and for how long

·       People involved

·       How does it end

 

The observations need to be written and examined for identifiable patterns and then decisions made about future handling.  Such written observations can provide objective evidence in discussion with parents and other professionals.

 

An incident book should be kept in the nursery to record incidences of severe inappropriate behaviour, i.e. behaviour that causes injury to another child.

 

Staff should share their anxieties with others and remember that they are only human and may need time out too.  It is not a sign of personal failure to ask for help and advice; it is a sign of maturity, intelligence and understanding.

Staff should always take time to stand back from situations and observe.

 

Never physically punish a child.  A common sense guideline is that staff should only physically remove a child from a situation if they are at physical risk of endangering themselves or the safety of others.

 

SMACKING, BITING OR SHAKING OF CHILDREN IN THE NURSERY IS FORBIDDEN

 

Remember that corporal punishment (smacking, biting, and shaking) is illegal, as is depriving a child of food or drink or forcing a child to consume it. 

In addition, staff must not use practices that humiliate or frighten children such as poking fun, sarcasm, shouting, using derogatory language, verbal or physical threats or taunts.

Violence or abuse of a child by a staff member will result in instant suspension pending a full investigation which will lead to dismissal if proved to be valid.

Any programme of behaviour management needs to be continuously evaluated.

There are no hard and fast rules or answers to dealing with problem behaviour – what may be an answer for one child’s individual needs may not be suitable for another.

 

Kind Regards

 

Jess Smith

Manager, SENCO

Week Commencing 7th December

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

Carol Service

A reminder that it is the Babies and Bluebells carol service next Monday 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 also next week. There will be two nativity plays this year.

Tuesday 8^th December at 9.45

Tuesday 8^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 5 minutes before their performance time dressed in their outfits. If their outfits are here if you could bring them in 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 don’t panic about costumes, it’s not the west end! Tea towels on heads are exactly the sort of standard we are aiming for. For any more information please see the Sunflowers 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.

 

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: http://www.interactivelearningdiary.co.uk/

 

Policy of the week

We will be displaying a different policy every week at the bottom of this newsletter.

If you would like to see this or any of our policies please ask Jess.

 

Our Policy of the week: Transition policy

 

 

Useful websites:

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

 

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

 

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

Monday – Shula’s group will be reading Hanukkah books and exploring Hebrew letters in aid of Hanukkah

Tuesday – Charlotte’s group are investigating water, bubbles and sea creatures encouraging communication

Wednesday – Shula’s group will be decorating baubles for Christmas promoting an awareness of festivals

Thursday – Mel’s group are dancing to Jewish music with their friends supporting making relationships

Friday – Mel’s group is colouring Hanukkah pictures developing fine motor skills

Charlotte is off Wednesday, Nilem is off Monday, Mel is off Tuesday and Shula is in all week.

 

Bluebells

Monday – Megan’s group will be practicing independence skills, they will be encouraged to put on their own shoes and coats throughout the day

Tuesday – Donna’s group is celebrating the festival of Hanukkah by reading Jewish stories and listening to Jewish music

Wednesday – Megan’s group will be exploring the book box and reading stories together promoting their interest in books

Thursday – Almu’s group are playing a memory game with different coloured blocks encouraging understanding and attention skills

Friday – Chloe’s group are helping each other set up for meal times by giving out their friend’s cutlery, bibs and plates developing an awareness of others

Donna is off Friday, Chloe is off Thursday, Almu and Megan 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.

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: Creating Christmas bits!

 

The children will be creating Christmas art work for their families! They will be using a variety of materials allowing the children to explore media and textures. They children will need to think about what they are going to create before they start. They will have group discussions about their work and why they are making the gifts.

 

The letter of the week is: D

The children will be:

Writing the letter D with stencils

Making Dens in the garden

Finding animals beginning with D

Making Dog sounds

What can we see in the letter D bottle?

Talking about names beginning with D

 

Leanne and Becci are in all week and Hector is off Thursday.

 

 

Transition policy

 

Aim of policy

 

Moving rooms or going to school can be an exciting and stimulating time; however change can cause some anxieties and upset. At Castle Nursery we want to ensure every child’s transition is as smooth as possible.

 

Points to consider

 

The parents may be as anxious as the children regarding transitions but through our strong work with parents we aim to alleviate any worries and support the whole family.

 

Castle Daycare and Preschool aim to do this by:

 

·       6-8 weeks before the child is due to move rooms the parents will be sent a letter discussing the expected date of the move. This will be discussed by the child’s current key person with the parents.

·       The parent’s will be given the opportunity to visit the child’s next room at a convenient time. They will be introduced to their child’s next key person who will show them around the room, discussing routines and activities. They will also answer any other questions the parents have.

·       The child will start having visits into the next room prior to them moving up.

·       For the first few visits they will be accompanied by their key person, this key person will support the child and introduce the new key person and other staff.

·       Both key people will work together to ensure the child is confident and happy in the new room.

·       The parent’s will be kept informed of how the visits are progressing by both key people.

·       The child’s visits will be gradually increased so they can experience meals and rest times in their new rooms.

·       If the child is not settling as well as we would like, the current key person may spend longer helping the child to settle in or the settling in period may be extended.

·       Pegs, drawer names and other details will be already displayed before the child starts visits in order to help them fell a sense of belonging.

 

 

Kind Regards

 

Jess Smith

Manager, SENCO