Blog update Friday 6th December

Blog update Friday 6^th December:

Open Evening:

Please be informed that we have scheduled our next Open Evening for Thursday the 30^th January. The evening will provide you with an opportunity to speak with your child’s Key Person and to have a look through your child’s individual Learning Journal, sharing progress made and any concerns regarding learning and development. Key Persons will have summarised each child’s development within the current term (Winter), and with your input, will devise ‘Next Steps’ for learning and development for the Spring term (January to April).

Timeslots for the evening have been put up in each room, please write your name down next to the timeslot that you would prefer. Please be reminded, that these are 10 minute timeslots, should you feel that this is not an adequate length of time to meet with your Key Person, then please speak to them about arranging a separate occasion.

Emergency Closure:

We would just like to bring your attention to one of our policies which may be relevant in the next couple of months, concerning the procedure that we are to follow in the case of heavy snowfall.

If as parents/carers you wake up to heavy snowfall, please follow these instructions:

·         Please visit our blog page at www.cranbrooknurseryclover.blogspot.co.uk, where we will endeavor to post relevant information of any closures.

·         Alternatively please telephone the setting after 8am (01293 887533).

Should we experience severe weather during the day whilst the nursery is open, we may ask parents/carers to collect their children earlier, for this reason it is vital that we have up to date contact numbers.

Our reasons for closure would be for the safety of parents/carers/children and staff members and to minimize the need for travel.

There is a copy of this policy on our Parents Notice Board just inside the door, please feel free to take a copy for your reference.

Christmas Card Letter Box:

There is a Christmas Card Post Box situated within the entrance hall, please use this to post cards for Baby Room and Nursery Room only. Pre-school will have their own Post Box which will be placed on the signing in/out table at the top of the entrance hall.

Louise and the team at Clover Court

Christmas 2013

Blog update w/c 25^th November:

Tatty Bumpkin:

Just to let you know that Tatty Bumpkin will now take place on a Thursday morning at 9.30.

Tatty Bumpkin is a yoga class for young children involving the use of music and props.

Tatty Bumpkin will provide one half hour session for nursery children, and one half hour session for pre-schoolers.

This extra curricula activity is of no extra cost to the parents, if your child/children are here on a Thursday during the sessions, and they would like to join in, then they may.

Christmas:

Firstly we would like to confirm our Christmas opening hours for you; we are open up until Christmas Eve, and then we are closed from Christmas Day (25^th), and then we are open again on Thursday 2^nd of January.

On Christmas Eve, we will be open from 7.30 – 16.00.

Our Christmas activity schedule will be e-mailed out to you this week, or feel free to request a paper copy if you’d rather.

Monday 16^th December – Parents and Carers have been invited to celebrate with Babies and Nursery staff with some mulled wine and mince pies.

Tuesday 17^th December – Father Christmas will be visiting us in his grotto, to deliver Christmas presents to all the girls and boys. The children will also enjoy a Christmas lunch.

Wednesday 18^th December – Parents and Carers have been invited to watch their children take part in our Christmas production of the ‘twelve days of Christmas.’

Thursday 19^th December – as above.

Friday 20^th December – same as Monday.

Monday 23^rd December – we will be having a Christmas Jumper Day!

Tuesday 24^th December (Christmas Eve) – we will be celebrating the night before Christmas by wearing our pyjamas for the day.

 

Louise and the team at Clover Court

Events and Procedure Updates

Blog update w/c 11^th November 2013:

Children in Need – Friday 15^th November

On Friday 15^th November, Clover Court Nursery and Pre-school will be celebrating Children in Need. We will be dressing up in spotty pyjamas, so feel free to dress your child in spotty pyjamas, or anything ‘Children in Need/Pudsey Bear’ related.

We will also be providing the children with a range of activities to promote the event, such as;

·        Face painting

·        Baking – cakes/biscuits

·        Patterns – stripes, spots, checked

·        Compare Bears – sorting and counting

We are looking forward to

Toddle Waddle:

On Sunday 17^th November, Cranbrook Clover Court will be supporting a sponsored Toddle Waddle being held at Tilgate Park raising money for The Children’s Burns Trust and the Queen Victoria Hospital’s Peanut Ward. The event takes place at 11am. There will be a raffle on the day, refreshments and a cake stall and a visit from the fireman with their fire engine!

Feel free to come along!

Signing in/out:

We are updating our procedures for signing children in and out of the building in-line with safeguarding requirements. When you bring your child in to Babies/Nursery/Pre-school in the morning, and at collection times, you will be asked to sign the register to confirm their attendance.

We thank you for your cooperation with this.

 

Louise and the team at Clover Court

New staff members

New staff members:

We would like to inform you that we have a new member of staff starting with us here at Clover Court on Monday 4^th November. Cat, who has an NVQ Level 3 in childcare, will be based in the Nursery Room. Please join us in welcoming Cat to our team.

Amandeep who was previously based in our Pre-school before going on maternity leave last November, will be returning as of Friday 1^st November. Amandeep will now be based in our Baby Room. Please join us in welcoming Amandeep back to Clover Court.

Louise and the team at Clover Court

Missing items

Thursday 24^th October:

Missing:

We are missing two pairs of trousers from our Pre-school room.

·        One pair are blue corduroy trousers, aged 1-2 years from Mother Care.

·        The other pair are black with a thin red band around the waist, these are aged 2-3 years.

Both pairs of trousers should have Liam’s name in them.

Could you also please see if you may have taken a pair of boy's wellie boots home by mistake, these were in a Book start bag.

Please can we ask you to have a look to see if the above items have been mixed up with your child’s clothing. If found, please return to Pre-school. Thank you.

Louise and the team at Clover Court

Tuesday 22^nd October:

Missing:

Girls bright pink Peppa Pig welly boots size 6.

These went missing during the middle of last week. If you think your child may have taken the boots home by mistake, then please can we ask you to return them to the pre-school room, thank you.

New chef:

We are pleased to say that we have found a replacement chef, who is due to start on Monday 4^th November.

Sam has the appropriate qualifications and has lots of experience in the catering industry, and is looking forward to becoming a part of our team here at Clover Court.

 

Louise and the team at Clover Court

Fluenz

Fluenz

What is Fluenz?

Fluenz is a vaccine to help prevent against influenza (flu). It is used in children and adolescents 24 months to less than 18 years of age.

How does Fluenz work?

When a person is given the vaccine, the immune system (the body’s natural defence system) will produce its own protection against the influenza virus.

None of the ingredients in the vaccine can cause the flu.

The vaccine targets three strains of influenza virus each year, following the annual recommendations by the World Health Organisation.

Possible side effects:

Like all medicines, Fluenz can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. Ask your doctor, nurse or pharmacist if you want more information about possible side effects from Fluenz.

Very Common (affects more than 1 user in 10)	Common (affects 1 to 10 users in 100)	Uncommon (affects 1 to 10 users in 1,000)
Runny or stuffy nose	Fever	Rash
Reduced appetite	Muscle aches	Nose bleed
Weakness		Allergic reactions; signs of an allergic reaction may include itchy skin rash, shortness of breath and swelling of the face or tongue.
Headache

 

Please let us know if your child is having or has had this vaccine so that we can identify the side effects, and not confuse them with other common childhood illnesses.

Louise and the team at Clover Court

Rose’s Last Day!

We would like to inform you that sadly our long standing Nursery Cook Rose will be leaving us. Her last day is on Friday 18^th October. Rose has been with Cranbrook as a company for 14 years, and has spent 8 of these working at Clover Court as our Nursery Chef. Rose will be working at Worth Park School as a third chef within a team of kitchen assistants, offering her a new challenge within her career. Rose will be dearly missed by the staff and by the children who have grown very fond of her.

We are currently interviewing for her position, and will inform you of any success.

Please join us in wishing Rose the very best of luck in her new job.

Louise and the team at Clover Court

Blog update – Friday 11^th October:

Baby Boy:

We are pleased to announce that Kim (from the Baby Room) has given birth to a baby boy! Baby Dexter was born at 6am on Thursday 10^th October, weighing approximately 7.5 lbs. Both Mum and Baby are doing very well. We look forward to meeting him very soon!

Halloween Party:

On Thursday 31^st October, we will be holding a Halloween Party. Activities for this day will include:

·        Fancy dress competition

·        Apple bobbing

·        Halloween crafts

·        Halloween baking

·        Party games

·        Party tea

If you would like to book your child in extra in order for them to participate in our Halloween Party day, then please speak to Louise (Manager) or Kelly (Deputy Manager).

Arriving early:

Can we please remind all parents not to drop their children off before their booked sessions, this is particularly important in the mornings. Please be aware that our staffing shifts, relate to the sessions booked for the children on a week-to-week basis. Therefore, if your child is not due in until 8.00am, please do not drop them off until this time.

We appreciate your cooperation with this.

Door Security:

Please be reminded of the need for security with regards to entering and leaving the premises. Please do not allow any other person through the doors with you unless clarified by a member of staff for familiarity. We hope you understand the importance of this procedure for maintaining the children’s safety.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Louise and the team at Clover Court

Blog update – week commencing the 7^th October:

Macmillan Coffee Afternoon:

We would like to say a huge thank you to all of our parents and relatives for supporting our Macmillan Coffee Afternoon which we held on Friday 26^th September. We managed to raise a grand total of £150.73 through our raffle and cake sale.

Thank you all very much for your kind donations.

Photographer:

On Wednesday 9^th and Thursday 10^th October, we will be having a professional photographer coming to our setting to take photos of the children. If your child is booked in on one of the days when the photographer is here, then they will automatically be on the register to have their photo taken. If you specifically do not wish for your child’s photo to be taken, then please let Louise (Nursery Manager) or Kelly (Deputy Manager) know. If you would like to book an extra session for your child on these days in order for them to have their photos taken, then please let us know so that we can check the availability for you. A minimum booking of a four hour session is required.

Casey:

We would like to welcome Casey to our setting as a permanent bank member of staff. Casey is currently based in our Baby Room as maternity cover for Kim, but you will also see her elsewhere within the setting.

Family photos:

We asked you a while ago to bring in some family photos that we could use for displays within the environment. We have had very little response from this, so if you have not yet brought in some photos, please do so, as these will be used to promote children’s personal, social and emotional development.

Louise and the team at Clover Court

Macmillan Coffee Afternoon

Blog update: 6^th September 2013

Macmillan Coffee Afternoon

On Friday 27^th September we will be holding a coffee afternoon in support of Macmillan Cancer Research. In order to fund-raise money in support of the charity, we will be serving tea and coffee, and selling a selection of home-made cakes made by members of staff. We would like to invite our parents/carers and other family members along to this event which will run between 2pm and 4pm. We will also be selling raffle tickets for the chance to win a big speciality rainbow cake made by our cook; these will be handed out during the week (commencing 23^rd) and will cost 50p a ticket.

We hope to see you all there!

Louise and the team at Clover Court

September 2013

Pirate Day - Thursday 19^th September 2013

On Thursday 19^th September Clover Court will be having a Pirate themed day. The staff and children are invited to dress up for the day. We will be providing activities such as:

·        Plastic boat racing

·        Eye patch making

·        Pirate hat making

·        Creating large collages

·        Treasure hunt

·        Pirate flag making

·        Create treasure maps.

 

 

Chelsey

We would like to inform you that Chelsey has been promoted to Team Leader at Buttercup Barn. Therefore her last day with us here at Clover Court will be on Friday 20^th September. Chelsey is away on holiday from the 10^th-19^th September.

Chelsey has been an asset to Clover Court for the past 4 and a half years and has gained lots of experience with working with toddlers, pre-schoolers and also with the after school/holiday club. Chelsey will be sad to leave the staff, parents and children that she has got to know well here at Clover Court, but she is looking forward to taking on more responsibility in her new role as a team leader. We wish her the best of luck!

 

Kim

We would just like to inform you that as of Wednesday 18^th September Kim from our baby suite will be going on maternity leave. I am sure you will all join us in wishing her the best of luck.

 

Nursery Self Registration board:

Nursery has recently introduced the new self-registration board. The children should be encouraged to find their own photo on the self-registration board and place it on a peg of their choice. The purpose of this process is to support the children’s Self-awareness and provide them with a sense of belonging.

 

Current interests

We have recently noticed that the children have become interested in different types of music. We would like to encourage the children to listen to the music using a variety of technology. We are looking for:

·        IPods

·        Docking stations

·        CD players

·        Unwanted children’s CD’s

If you have any of the above items that you do not use anymore, they would be greatly appreciated to further the children’s knowledge and development.

 

A huge thank you to all the parents and children for all your kind words and gifts that have now left to go onto school. We wish you much happiness and success, please do pop back to say hello.

We would also like to say a huge welcome to all the children that have recently joined us here at Clover. We are all very excited you have begun your learning adventure with us.

Chelsey:

We would like to inform you that our Chelsey has been promoted to Team Leader at Buttercup Barn. Therefore, her last day with us here at Clover Court will be on Friday 20^th September. Chelsey is away on holiday from the 10^th – 19^th September.

Chelsey has been an asset to Clover Court for the past 4 and a half years and has gained lots of experience with working with toddlers, pre-schoolers and with the after school/holiday club. Chelsey will be sad to leave the staff, parents and children that she has got to know so well here at Clover Court, but is looking forward to taking on more responsibility in her new role as team leader. We wish her the best of luck! 

If your child’s Key Person is currently Chelsey, then we will let you know nearer the time who her replacement will be. We appreciate your patience with this.

Nursery – self-registration board:

As of week commencing the 19^th August, the nursery children will be encouraged to find their photo on the ‘self-registration’ board and place their photo on a peg with their bags and coats. The ‘self-registration’ board is situated on the left, just inside the entrance door. The purpose of this process is to support the children’s self-awareness and provide them with a sense of belonging.

Sports Day:

We would like to say a big thank you to all of our parents of our over two’s and pre-schoolers for supporting the staff and the children with our annual sports day. We were really proud of how hard the children worked, and the involvement of the parents. We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did!

Open Evening reminder:

We have our termly open evening on Tuesday 20^th August. If you have not yet put your name down to attend, but would like to come, then please ask a member of staff to add you onto the schedule.

 

Louise and the team at Clover Court

 

Blog update w/c 22^nd July:

Room transfers:

We would just like to inform you that Kelly. C (from the Nursery Room), will be transferring into Pre-school, and Sarah (from Pre-school) will be transferring into the Nursery Room. Letters will be sent out regarding the assignment of new Key Persons.

As a setting, it is good practice to encourage the staff to have a swap around with rooms and age groups for their own personal development.

We appreciate your understanding and support of the staff through this process. Any questions, please feel free to speak to Louise (Manager) or Kelly (Deputy Manager).

Open Evening:

We have scheduled our next Open Evening for Tuesday 20^th August. Please remember that your attendance at these evenings is not compulsory, but it allows you as parents who know your children best, to have an input into the planning for their learning and development and to share the progress that they are making.

The evening will be organised according to timeslots of 10 minutes. Schedules for timeslots will be put up in each room (Babies, Nursery and Pre-school) for you to assign your names if you would like to attend.

Sport’s Day:

Every year we like to organise a sporting event for our over two’s and pre-schoolers, this year, this will be held on the afternoons of Tuesday 13^th and Thursday 15^th August (13.45-14.45). Parents and carers are invited along to watch and cheer for their children during the activities which include;

·         Sack race

·         Egg and spoon race

·         Running race

·         Balancing the bean bag on the head

·         Hurdles

There will also be an obstacle course for the parents to take part in.

Attendance tables will be put up by the end of the week in Nursery and in Pre-school. If your child is booked in on that day and you would like to attend, please put your name down, and the amount of people that will be coming (max. of 3 per child).

If your child is not yet booked in, and you would like them to take part, then please speak to Louise (Manager) or Kelly (Deputy). Equally, if your child is only booked in for the morning session, then it may be possible to extend it, in order for them to join in.

Communication Books:

The nursery team have re-introduced the use of communication books. Each child will have their own communication book that will be written in on a regular basis by your child’s key person. If you would like to write in the communication book in return, there are baskets on the shelf in Beach room for you to place the communication book.

Treasure Bags:

We are currently implementing a sensory area within our Ash Room (physical room). As part of this we are putting together treasure bags which will contain different sets of sensory items; for example, metals, woods, natural objects, etc. We would like to ask the parents to help us collect objects for these bags;

·         Paper / cardboard objects: Egg boxes, notebook, sturdy cardboard tubes, greaseproof paper.

·         Wooden objects: Door wedge, small turned bowl, dolly pegs, egg cup, wooden egg, spoons, curtain rings, coaster, bracelet, block, napkin rings, dowel, empty salt and pepper cellars.

·         Leather, textile, rubber, or fur objects: Small knitted toy, bean bag, piece of flannel, velvet powder puff, bags of herbs, bag of lavender, leather key ring, coloured ribbons, leather purse.

·         Rubber objects: Ball, bath plug with chain, soap holder, door stop, coaster.

·         Metal objects: Honey drizzler, an egg cup, curtain ring, egg poacher, measuring spoons, tea strainer, whisk, powder compact, bells, lemon squeezer, small bowl,

·         Natural objects: A lemon or orange, coconut shell, grass rope, sheepskin, pumice stone, loofah, shells, pine/fir cones, driftwood, avocado stone, large pebbles.

·         Brushes: Scrubbing brush, pastry brush, baby's hair brush, nail brush, makeup brush, paint brush, shaving brush, wooden toothbrush.

·         Other objects: small vanilla essence or food colouring bottle, hair rollers, small mirror, scent bags, bone shoe horn, ceramic bowl

We would really appreciate your support with this.

Lost Property:

We are missing a pair of shorts from the pre-school room. The shorts are from Next, sized 3-4, and are brown/khaki green. If you think your child may have gained a pair of shorts which match this description, could we please ask you to return them to the pre-school room. Thank you!

Louise and the team at Clover Court