Newsletter – Spring Term 2022

Welcome 

Welcome back to the new year!

 We have had a lot of Covid cases reported in the nursery community since Christmas. I know we have said it many times but PLEASE monitor your children closely and continue to test the whole family prior to sending them in each week. Please don’t send them if any family members are positive. From previous experience it is very likely the whole family will be positive even if the little ones display few symptoms. They are still able to pass the virus to other families and staff. We are only able to keep the nursery running if we have enough staff. You have all done a brilliant job in keeping your children happy and confident in dealing with these very difficult times. Hopefully things will look brighter by spring and we can start planning some community events again.

 We will let you know by Tapestry if we have current positive cases who have been attending so please check your Tapestry account regularly. We are very aware of the anxiety this causes but please note that personal information regarding positive cases cannot be given out.

Tapestry 

It is sad that we still cannot operate our usual open door policy and welcome parents in to the nursery, but please be reassured by looking at pictures and comments on Tapestry. Please use this as a way of ‘chatting’ with your child’s key person. Staff check their messages regularly and will be able to respond quickly to any questions or worries. Please also add your comments and thoughts to the observations as it’s a great way to get to know you and your child. The staff work very hard at keeping you updated with pictures so please respond if you can and add pictures from home. In the near future we will also organise some meetings with your key person. 

Arrival 

Thank you for your patience, cooperation and excellent queueing skills at pick up and drop off times. We are currently full so we are trying to get everyone in and settled as quickly as possible without rushing the children too much. Please wait at the side until the drop off point at the front of the building is clear. As an important part of our risk assessment I’m afraid we have to continue asking about your child’s health and any possible symptoms each day.   

Lunches 

To help us keep a sanitised environment please send packed lunches in a hard plastic box which is easy to wipe clean. Please also remember not to pack any eggs or peanuts as we have children with allergies. Please note this includes chocolate spreads with nuts and savoury eggs. Please also cut grapes and sausages and cherry tomatoes lengthways due to possible choking. Finally, please clearly name their lunch box

Book bags

Please bring your child’s coloured book bag each day so they can bring home their works of art and please check them for important letters from us. Please don’t send in toys from home at this time and because they tend to get lost.

Uniform

If you would like All Saints uniform please order direct from the website www.myclothing.com and search for the nursery name.

Your invoices  

Please remember that we do offer a breakfast club (from 8.30 to 9) charged at £5 if that helps anyone. You can book a regular slot or use this service as you need it. 

Please can everyone check that you have filled in all the necessary permissions and child details (especially collection passwords and health details) on the Parent admin system. Thank you. You will get reminders from the system as well. We have recently completed fire drills and have noticed that several people have not recently updated their contact details. If anything has changed, e.g. childminder or people authorised to collect your child please update the details on the system.

Community events 

We are currently planning some exciting “Covid friendly” community events so look out for the PFA newsletter for more details. We are currently fundraising to replace the very uneven paving at the rear of the building with a child safe rubberised surface including a bike track.

Magic Wardrobe

We are still very much involved in supporting the local community by running the clothes bank for under 5’s. This operates from St Andrews hall. We are always looking for donations of good quality children’s clothes. Please drop off at nursery if you have had a clear out and have clothes for under 5’s that you are happy to recycle. It’s a huge help if you can sort and label the clothes (e.g girls 1-2 years)

Themes for this term that we will be exploring with the children are

Week 4   Family Celebrations   (Plus Chinese New Year)

Week 5 Our senses

Half Term W/C 14th February

Week 1 Minibeasts

Week 2  Bird watching

Week 3  Pond Animals/ Ducks (Hoping to hatch some real ducklings!) 

Week 4 Woodland animals

Week 5 Easter Plus Mothers Day

Week 6 Easter