Safeguarding
Please ensure that children are presented appropriately, this includes, good personal hygiene for example; clean face and nose, brushed hair, clean and cut nails, good oral health, fresh nappy on arrival. In addition to this, they should be dressed appropriately for nursery and have everything that they are likely to need including spare clothes, outdoor footwear/indoor footwear (children cannot wear wellies indoors), nappies/wipes, long term medication, coats and hats. Children will access the outdoor area in all weather conditions throughout the day therefore, we ask that you provide wellingtons, coats, hats, puddle suits/waterproof trousers in cold/wet weather and provide suncream and sun hats in the warmer weather. We also advise providing spare clothes for children in case of them getting wet/muddy outdoors. Children will access a variety of activities such as sand, water, the mud kitchen, painting, exploration area these are all messy activities therefore, please be mindful of outer clothing such as coats/jackets, we advise wearing older clothes rather than something new.
Please ensure that you clearly label all of your child’s belongings! We cannot be responsible for items of children’s belongings going missing if they are not labelled. We have lots of jackets, hats, bags in the coat peg area and sometimes they can get placed on the wrong peg or dropped onto the floor therefore, it can be hard to distinguish which item belongs to which child. As you can appreciate we see lots of children each day and it can be hard to remember exactly what each child was wearing.
We also expect that children arrive safely to the setting, if they are arriving by car they should be securely strapped into an age appropriate car seat, also not leaving young children unaccompanied in the car whilst bringing others into nursery.
All staff are safeguard trained and we have three staff that have designated safeguard training, it is our duty of care to record and report any concerns that we may have.
We are also here to offer advice and support to children and their families, please feel free to contact us at any time if you feel you may benefit from some extra support or would just like to discuss any worries or concerns you may have.
Suncream
We require all children to arrive at nursery with suncream applied, if it has not already been applied you will be asked to apply it at the door. For children that attend for a full day, staff will reapply cream in the afternoon. All children are required to wear suncream regardless of their skin type.
Handwashing
Please use the handwashing station provided next to the outdoor shed to wash your child’s hands prior to coming into nursery to reduce the spread of infection.
Children’s bags/ belongings
Please ensure that you provide a bag for your child with any items they may require during their session at nursery. This should include; spare clothes (outfits including, pants, socks, trousers, tops) nappies, wipes, nappy cream.
Children bringing nappies can we recommend that you provide 5 to avoid your child running out, also enough wipes to at least last the duration of the day.
Can we please ask that children’s bags are not too big, we only have limited space for storage and we have lots of children attending.
Toys
Can we please ask that children do not bring toys from home into nursery. This can cause upset amongst the children and we cannot be responsible for toys and parts being lost.
Lunch and snacks
Please ensure that your child’s packed lunch consists of healthy foods for example, sandwiches/ wraps/ pasta/ crackers, a piece of fruit, a yoghurt, and a treat. Please do not send children with cold pizza, chicken nuggets as this is not a healthy option. If providing a healthy lunch for your child is difficult to prepare at home we can provide a packed lunch at a cost of £2.50.
We provide snacks in the morning and again in the afternoon for children with a drink of milk, water is readily available for every child throughout the day. Children will always be encouraged to eat their healthy options first. Please ensure that if your child requires their fruit to be peeled or sliced that this is done prior to being put into their lunch box, grapes and blueberries, tomatoes and cocktail sausages should be sliced vertically to reduce choking hazards. Children will also need a spoon for yoghurts/jelly.
Food waste
You may have noticed that children have been bringing food waste home within their lunch boxes, this is due to us recently having spotted a rodent in the nursery garden therefore, we are trying to reduce anything that may attract them including not putting food waste into the main outdoor bins. The issue is under control and we have contacted our pest control company who have been out to assess the situation which clarified that the issue did not stem from the nursery but from local neighbor’s. if you can provide a food bag for the waste we can ensure that all waste is put directly into the bag rather than lose in the lunchbox.
Absence
Please ensure that you inform nursery if your child is going to be absent. This may be due to a holiday, a day trip or sickness. You can notify us via phone, text, whatsapp or email.
If your child is absent due to holiday, illness or a day at home you will still be charged for this session, this includes additional hours during non-funded weeks, for example if your child receives 15 hours funding but attends for 18 hours per week, during non-funded weeks you are still expected to pay for the additional 3 hours therefore, we encourage you to use these additional hours and book your child in.
Medication
We are only able to give prescribed medication to your child whilst they are at nursery, we cannot give over the counter medication, this includes medication such as cough syrup, calpol and nurofen. If your child requires long term medication such as an inhaler, we will require a health care plan to enable us to administer this. You can get this from your child’s health visitor.
School readiness
If your child is starting school in September we continue to encourage school readiness and you can support this at home too. Children will be expected to have skills of independence including, dressing themselves, putting on their own shoes, fastening buttons and zips, using a knife and fork correctly, wiping their own bum after toileting, reciting numbers and holding a pencil correctly.
We understand that the initial transition process for the majority of schools is gradual with children beginning with part time sessions, if you require your child to continue at Jack in the box until they start school full time please let us know.
Induction day at school for your child will be 5th July, if you could also let us know if your child will not be at nursery on this day.
Could you please ensure that you take the time to complete the school readiness health questionnaire, the QR code to access this can be found in the preschool window or via the website compass-uk.org/sr-hq
We would like to wish all of our school leavers the best of the luck for the future and we hope they enjoy their new adventure 😊
Preschool graduation
Preschool graduation for school leavers, will take place on Wednesday 26th July 2-3.30pm children will participate in a disco, party games and have some party food. This session will be at a cost of £6.00, if you would like to book a space for your child please do so by 19th June. If your child already attends during this session they will automatically take part.
Graduation photos
We will be taking photos of the children in a graduation cap and gown prior to them leaving. If you would like your child to be photographed please let us know by 19th June, along with the amount you would like to purchase (we cannot guarantee orders after this date). Photos can be purchased for £2 each.
Staffing
Management- Sam, Clare
Deputy Manager- Kirsty
Babies/Toddlers- Kirsty, Chloe, Nicola, Izzy, Molly
Preschool- Jade, Lauren, Vicky, Stephanie, Daisy
SENDco- Jade
Congratulations to Jade and Connor who are expecting their first baby, due in January 2024 😊
15 hour funded places for 2,3 and 4 year olds
Funded hours will be offered between 8.30-11.30am and 1-4pm, any hours before, in between and after these times will be charged at the hourly rate. If for example you would like your child to have their funded sessions in the morning but would like them to stay for lunch you have the option to book them in 8.30-1 (space dependent) your child would receive funding 8.30-11.30am and you would pay from 11.30-1pm.
30 Hours Funding
From September 30 hours funding will be offered as 24 hours per week, across 4 days for 47.5 weeks of the year. Funding will be offered between the hours of 8.30-11.30am and 1-4pm. Children are able to do a full day however, anything either side and in between the funded hours will be payable at the hourly rate. Please note that there are limited spaces allocated for 30 hour funding, children do not automatically receive this at our setting even if you have applied for it and been accepted.
Late Collection
We understand that on occasion you may be late for collecting your child from nursery due to work, traffic, siblings etc. If you are going to be late collecting your child please ensure that you notify us via telephone or messaging the nursery mobile.
Late pick ups are charged at £1 per minute.
Rotas are set to cater for staff:child ratios and these are completed in line with children’s drop off/collection times, also staff have to collect their own children.
Creative Flair
Preschool children participate in creative flair music and movement sessions on a Thursday morning, this is charged at a weekly rate of £2 per child and is to be paid in cash each term.
Nursery library
We have a nursery library situated inside the keyworker room next to the main entrance. You are welcome to come in and choose a book to take home and share with your child, our only request is that you look after this book and return it. It would be lovely if you could upload a photo of you and your child enjoying sharing a book on tapestry 😊
Oral Health
Good oral health habits need to be formed from the earliest age, tooth decay is largely preventable however, it is still a serious problem among young children.
At nursery we have an oral health bear, in turn children will bring the bear home to talk about oral health routines and participate in some healthy eating activities. When your child brings the oral health bear home please take some photos and share them to tapestry, it would also be lovely if you can write in the book provided about your experience with the oral health bear.
Resources
If you have any of the following items that you would be willing to donate please let us know;
Cable reels (large or small)
Shells
Wooden mug/cup stand
Plastic tubes/guttering
Pine cones
Logs
Planks
Wooden rings
Plant pots
Paintbrushes
Picture frames (wooden/plastic we can remove the glass insert)
Buttons
Pegs
Wooden utensils
Pallets
Fake plants
Dates to remember
19th June- ensure you have confirmed graduation photos/orders and graduation party place.
24th July- 1st September- no funding for 15 hour funded children
26th July- Preschool graduation party 2-3.30pm (please book a place)
14th August- only 12 hours funding for 30 hour funded children
21st August-1st September- no funding for 30 hour funded children
4th September- all children return to nursery
Thank you for your continued support.
Many thanks
Sam and Clare