11/09/23
Parents Letter September 2023
Welcome back 😊 We hope that you all had a lovely summer and would like to welcome all of our new starters to Jack in the box.
Safeguarding
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 follow the policies and procedures set out by the Warwickshire safeguarding team. If we have a concern, this will be recorded on a green form, you will be notified if we complete a green form for your child, should this not cause any risk of harm. Any green forms will transition with your child should they move to a different setting and when they progress into school.
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. You may also seek advice via the FIS family information service.
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.
Please ensure that all items are clearly labelled with your child’s name.
Indoor and outdoor shoes
From September we ask that children are provided with a separate pair of indoor shoes (if you decide to bring slippers these must fit your child’s feet and not be a trip hazard). We want to reduce the spread of germs and keep the indoor areas/carpets clean leaving mud outdoors.
Appropriate clothing
With the weather being so hit and miss at the moment we understand that it is hard to know what clothing to provide however, can we please ask that children are provided with a jacket/coat for outdoor play and appropriate footwear. On warmer days please ensure you apply suncream to your child prior to coming to nursery and provide a sunhat. Children will access the outdoor area in all weathers.
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. Please note any food waste will be sent home in your child’s 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, this means that the medication needs to have a prescription label with your child’s name clearly stated and the required dosage of medication. 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.
We have a nursery mobile device with whatsapp on, this enables us to send group messages with important updates/information. To enable parents are given the same information you will be added into a group for your child as opposed to separate messages to each parent/carer. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.
Tapestry Â
Please ensure that you have logged into your child’s tapestry account, for new starters parents will have received an email with login details to activate your account.
Staff will add weekly newsfeeds where you can see photos of activities the children have been participating in throughout the week (please note; your child may not be on all of the photos). During focus weeks you will receive more detailed information which is personal to your child and their development, this will also include information about their next steps of development and how you can support this at home.
Tapestry is also lovely for you to share with us any photos or updates of achievements, day trips, milestones reached at home.
Website
We regularly update our website with information regarding nursery, it may be parents letters, dates to remember or photos of activities that the children have particularly enjoyed. You can subscribe to the website to enable you to receive notifications of when updates are added to the website.
Halloween stay and play session
We would like to invite parents/carers into the setting to attend our Halloween stay and play session, dependent on numbers. The session will be on Tuesday 31st October            9.30-10.15am, if your child already attends during this session they will automatically participate, if you would like to book a place for your child this will be at a cost of £6 for the session.
Staffing
Management- Sam, Clare
Deputy Manager- Kirsty
Babies/Toddlers- Kirsty, Chloe, Nicola, Izzy, Molly
Preschool- Jade, Lauren, Vicky, Daisy, Stephanie
SENDco- Jade
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.
If your child will be attending solely for 15 hours these hours will be offered as 5 morning sessions or 5 afternoon sessions. All funding information can be accessed next to the handwashing station.
30 Hours Funding
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.
Dates to remember
October 30th-3rd November- No funding for 15 hour funded children.
Date to be confirmed (October)-Parents evening
Halloween stay and play session Tuesday 31st October
Santa visit (to be confirmed)
December 25th-1st January Nursery Closed
January 1st– 5th-No funding for 15 and 30 hour funded children Â
Thank you for your continued support.
Many thanks
Sam and Clare