Zoom meeting 7.30 pm 6/07/21.
Kirsty – Owner/Managing Director
Sonya – Nursery Manager
Lisa G – Deputy Manager
Lizzy – Tigger room Leader
Rachel – Muddy Munchkins Leader
Emma – Office Admin
Sonya: All of you should have received an email with sessions and confirmed them.
All current Piglet children moving up to Tiggers will receive transition sessions within the nursery.
New Tiggers will be invited to, two settle sessions within the nursery and one settle session at Muddy Munchkins w/c 06/09/21.
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1st Session: 1 hour with Parent in the nursery to meet key worker visit the Tiggers room and gather more information from the Parent about the child.
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2nd Session: 1 hour without Parent dropped off at the Nursery main gate.
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Muddy Munchkin Session: 1 hour with Parent at Muddy Munchkins setting.
What to expect in Tiggers.
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Tiggers has a larger construction area to develop children’s interests.
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A larger book corner – Children take shoes off to use this area and place their shoes onto footprints, this helps to encourage counting and rules. If possible, please send your children in wearing slip-on shoes or Velcro fastening as this encourages their independence
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Maths area – activities and child lead learning
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Sheldon our pet tortoise – children are involved in his care.
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A large Roleplay area – Kitchen at the moment encourages independence, following rules, boundaries, imaginative play, co-operation, and sharing.
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Craft area – pen, pencils resources, messy play.
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Tiggers has a larger outdoor area – Mud kitchen, balancing, and bikes.
We follow children’s interests to develop their learning, please keep us informed of any likes and interests that your children have as this really helps.
Tiggers daily routine.
Tiggers are collected from the main gate walked up to the setting in a line. Upon entering the setting children are asked to put away their own Lunch boxes and hang up their own coats and bags and wash their hands. We begin each session with a circle time. Where the children can discuss the plans for the day and choose where they play. We have a self-serve snack, where the children wash their hands then choose their snack – with guidance. More play until tidy up and Lunch. Those children who do not go, then have lunch at 12.30. Please see our healthy eating guidance. We always send home uneaten food so that parent/carers are aware of what hasn’t been eaten. Please always speak to a member of staff if you have concerns.
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All Tiggers children will receive a Free Sunbeams Bag. Please feel free to customize the bag with a key ring so that your child can identify it. Please fill the Sunbeams bag provided with spare changes of clothes. Please label all of your clothes/coats/hats/shoes etc.
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Please ensure they wear appropriate shoes (no open toes) that they can manage themselves – i.e not laces.
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Please send children in with a waterproof coat, we go outside whatever the weather.
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Please do not allow your children to bring in any toys from home as with School they must leave them with you at the gate.
Recording of children’s development – Their first week is reported on ‘Footsteps’ then ½ termly updated via assessment book. We also use a toolkit ‘Welcomm’ which allows us to track and highlight areas that may need extra work.
Parent question: What happens to children who stay after 3 pm?
Lizzy: these children are lead into the Piglets room where they join any Piglets who will also stay later, they are settled and given snacks together and allowed free play until collected by Parent/carer.
Sonya: re-iterates Sunbeam’s bag only with key ring no need for an extra rucksack on nursery days – no names on bags, please.
Kirsty: re-iterates very simple healthy lunches – not too much.
Sonya: We have a speech and Language support a SENCO member of staff, Josie for any additional support necessary.
Nursery start and Finish Times
As Heatherlands School be continuing with staggered start times parents are still not allowed on school premises, we are still collecting Tiggers from Heatherlands main pedestrian gate on Library Road. In preparation for how they will be received when they start school. Please be aware that Piglet’s parents will be coming halfway up the Heatherlands drive to drop off at our Nursery Gate.
Please line up along the wall and down Library Road.
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Drop off at 9.10 am from the main gate.
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Collect and drop off at 12pm from the main gate.
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Collect at 3.10 pm from the main gate.
What to expect at Muddy Munchkins
Rachel: Muddy Munchkins drop is away from Heatherlands main gate please take your child to Branksome Rec Car park at 8.50 am and collect again from the Rec car park at 3 pm.
You will see x2 people carriers and an ‘A’ board, we are hard to miss. Please be prompt or let us know if you will be late as we leave promptly at 9.00 am.
Muddy Munchkin site is wooded and rustic, we have use of an indoor facility but chose to use it as little as possible. We have a base camp, mud kitchen, book corner, rope bridge, rope swing, and construction corner.
Our Muddy Munchkin day is very similar in routine to a Tiggers day with circle times, snack and lunch all at base camp. Occasionally lunching at the field or the river.
Please pay particular attention to KIT LIST as they change through the seasons – we have been testing PJ’s this summer as a cool long sleeve long trouser alternative. Please label your child’s kit – including pants.
Follow our separate Facebook page @MMforestnursery to find out what your child has been up to on the day they have attended.
The healthy eating policy is the same for Muddy Munchkin but please avoid sending lunch boxes to pack your child’s lunch into a bag instead which will fit into the child’s backpack.
Unfortunately, our Zoom meeting was cut short please read the further information we would have liked to have given you and any emailed questions from parents with our answers.
Sickness.
If your child is not well and you have administered Calpol then they are likely too ill to come to nursery. Please keep them off this will help to protect our staff and other children from illness.
We will however administer Calpol if your child has been prescribed it.
If your child has Antibiotics prescribed, please allow 48 hours into the course before they come back to the Nursery.
Sickness and diarrhea please allow 48 hours from the last episode before returning to the Nursery. Occasionally we may ask children to stay off for 72 hours in serious cases.
Accident and Incident forms.
We will fill in a form whenever something happened to your child in the setting. We will phone you to explain and you will be asked to sign the form to say that you have received the information. Please also tell us if your child comes into Nursery with an injury from home, we will log it in the same way with a signed form.
If your child cannot attend Nursery, please inform us as soon as possible with the reason for not attending.
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Please also remember to apply sun cream to your child in the mornings we will re-apply when needed throughout the day.
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We have medication forms for Antibiotics and if asthmatic we will need an inhaler and spacer to stay in the setting.
We do try our best to remain in communication with you through many streams:
Feedback forms
Facebook posts
Notice Boards
Emails
Parent Forums
Parent consultations are our parents’ evenings, now via a telephone call.
Many Parents also start Whatsapp groups.
We have always had an open-door policy which is not possible at this time, but please call us if you would like to find out how your little one is getting on or you have any questions.
If your child is upset when coming into the setting and you would like to know when they have settled, we can call you to let you know.
Questions:
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Parent question: My child, unfortunately, runs off!!! He has no fear, we have tried numerous things with him as well as speaking to the health visitor about it but apart from telling us to hide from him, they could not advise us further. This is obviously worrying us being so free in the woods.
Response: Muddy Munchkins is a safe and enclosed space that you will notice when you visit the setting. The children are supervised at all times by experienced professionals. The first month of Muddy munchkins the children stay within base camp learning the rules and boundaries.
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Parent question: My child is not fully potty trained yet. We are doing everything we can to make sure he is ready for September, but he is taking a while to adapt to it. Will this be a problem?
Response: This will not be a problem if you do not manage to succeed by September, we will work together with you
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Parent question: If I didn’t want my child to go to muddy munchkin on a day can I send her to the tiggers room instead?
Response: Sorry. No, we will not be able to accommodate your child into the nursery on a day that she has been allocated to go to Muddy Munchkins.
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Parent question: Will she use a separate backpack for muddy munchkins or the same shoe bag they use for tiggers?
Response: A separate backpack for Muddy Munchkins, please.
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Parent question: Did you say there would be a taster session for the muddy munchkins and if so when would this be?
Response: Yes, you will be invited to a settle session at Muddy Munchkins within w/c 6th Sept. Please keep a lookout for an email detailing your settle sessions.
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Parent question: What type of car seat is used on the people carriers to muddy munchkins?
Response: We use 3 point harness, Type 0, and Type 1/2/3 car seats all with high backs.
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Parent question: When my child is on a 9 to 5 day so I assume she still be taken back to sunbeams after Muddy Muchunchkins?
Response: Yes, your child will be brought back to join her friends in Tiglets after school club.
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Parent question: We are using the pre-school as childcare whilst we work so can we drop our child off any earlier than 0910? as we were assuming we would be dropping her off at 0900.
Response: Sadly 9.10 am is the only slot that Heaterlands have given us at the gate. You could consider booking your child into our Breakfast club and drop her at 8 am or 8.30 am.
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Parent question: What is the pickup time if we are booking till 5?
Response: When collecting at 5 pm you will be able to wait for your child at the main entrance to our nursery (Sunbeams entrance is halfway up the school drive and has colourful cut out balloons on the gate) The school has given us permission for our parents to be allowed onto the drive after 5 pm.
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Parent question: What week will the settles be organised for? We need to give notice to her current nursery.
Response: Our settle-in week will be w/c 6th Sept.
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Parent question: Is there any element of a handover with a team member and parent at pick up?
Response: There is a chance for a very short chat with our team at the handover and you will be informed if there is anything significant to mention. However, we are considerate towards confidentiality and prefer to inform you via a telephone call. Please also take a look at our daily Facebook posts for pictures and details about the children’s snacks and activities day by day.