11:23 AM SATURDAY 20th APRIL 2024 THE NURSERY SCHOOL IS CLOSED THE CHILDREN'S CENTRE IS CLOSED
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PARENT INFORMATION

How is my child kept safe?

Do I have to pay?

The 15 hour entitlement is free. We have a number of 30 hours early education spaces available for eligible working parents.

We also welcome donations of fruit and vegetables for the children to enjoy at snack time.

What should my child wear to school?

Nursery is a messy and active business! Please dress your child in clothes that are easily washable and cannot be spoilt. Clothes should be easy for your child to manage when going to the toilet. Tracksuit bottoms are ideal. Tight buttons, dungarees and belts are difficult for children.

Footwear needs to be safe for climbing and running. Wearing flip flops and open toed sandals can be very dangerous. Fastenings such as Velcro are much easier for children to manage than laces. If children wear wellington boots to school they should bring shoes to change into.

Whilst we support children in looking after their property, we cannot take responsibility if items are lost. We would advise you to put your child’s name in clothes that are taken off such as coats and hats.

How does the school celebrate birthdays?

Birthdays are very important for most children! We have a special pretend cake in school that we light candles on and sing happy birthday to the birthday girl or boy. We give a card. We ask you not to bring in anything yourself.

Not only do we want to promote healthy eating, we also need to be aware of allergies and foods that some children may not be able to have. We also feel it important that all children’s birthdays are celebrated in the same way and that parents do not feel pressurised to supply party food!

How is my child kept safe?

Children need to be kept safe both physically and emotionally and we aim to work in partnership with you to do this. You are asked to sign a number of permission slips prior to your child starting nursery covering things like emergency medical treatment. Information about allergies and illnesses are talked about during the admission interview.

How is my child helped to feel emotionally safe?

One member of our team will be your child’s key person. They will play an important part in settling in and will take a special interest in their progress.

Your child will be allocated a classroom and this is the room they come to and leave from at the beginning and end of each session.

During the session children may choose to go to other rooms to join in with different activities and will play in the garden. We call this ‘free flow’.

Our 2 year olds have their own base room and garden but as their security and confidence grows they are able to benefit from all the advantages of playing with, and alongside our 3 and 4 year olds.

At all times we make sure that there is the right number of adults available to look after children, according to legal requirements. All our staff have the relevant training and have undergone the necessary police and safety checks that all adults working with children have to undergo by law. We take the safety and wellbeing of each child very seriously.

Home visits and settling in

We have procedures in place to support children when they start nursery to make it an enjoyable process. All children are offered a home visit. You will have received information about this when you were sent a letter with your home visit date.

When starting, your child’s key person will explain the settling in process with you and give you some written information.

We carefully plan for children moving from our 2 year old to our 3 and 4 year old provision to ensure that each child is supported and ready to move on to the next stage of their education.

What should I do if I am going to be late when collecting my child?

Please telephone the school so that we can explain this to your child. It is very upsetting and worrying for a child to see all their friends get collected and to be left till last. We will, of course, stay with your child until you arrive but please make every effort to be on time.

What kinds of health and safety checks are in place?

The school has a health and safety policy that is reviewed on a regular basis and has a number of checks and systems in place. There are too many to detail here but please be aware of the following:

Dogs are not allowed on the school premises.
Garden gates are locked after a certain time so that children can play safely in the garden
Fire drills are held termly
The school is a NO SMOKING zone. Please extinguish your cigarettes before entering the school gates.
Equipment used in school meets legal safety requirements and is regularly checked for wear and tear.
Risk assessments are carried out for numerous events and activities

What are the arrangements for first aid?

A number of staff holds relevant first aid qualifications. All accidents are treated and recorded. If a child has a minor accident, a sticker explaining what has happened is placed on their clothing. Parents are informed directly if their child has a more significant accident. We ask for you to tell us if your child has an accident at home.

What is the policy on ‘risk taking’?

Naturally we want children to be safe. However, in order for them to grow up to be able to live in the wider world, they need to be able to consider situations and take ‘calculated risks.’

Whilst we make sure equipment is safe and that children will not come to significant harm, we need to encourage them to try things, to find out about their own capabilities and to learn by mistakes. As adults, we know how to run, but we learnt that by practicing it when young – and that included falling over a few times!

Mobile phones

We respectfully ask that mobile phones are not used in the nursery. During special events we ask parents to sign a form outlining the possible dangers of posting images on social networking sites and requesting that photos taken should be for personal use only.

What should I do if I am not happy with the school or centre?

In the first instance, speak to your child’s key person, class teacher, or session leader If you are still not happy then please arrange to meet with the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher or the Children’s Centre Co-ordinator. If this is not sufficient, you will be given a copy of our more detailed leaflet ‘Arrangements for resolving parent’s complaints’.