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
