thejaysdaycarenursery

Aprons and In the Moment Planning

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 10:44:59 GMT

IN THE MOMENT PLANNING AND MESSY PLAY

IN THE MOMENT PLANNING (ITMP)

At The Jays, we follow an ‘In the moment planning’ ethos which, despite the word ‘planning’ in the title, means that there are no ‘formal’ plans and we are led by the children’s interests ‘in the moment’.

First of all, children are not storing up their questions for tomorrow. Being in the moment means you are more likely to be ready with answers when and where they are relevant.

On top of this, many of their interests will be changing from week to week. By being ‘in the moment’, you can observe and work on a child’s interests as they arrive, rather than turning towards a pre-planned task when their interest might already have disappeared.

What’s more, the longer term cycle you find with traditional planning can often miss the target.

MESSY PLAY AND APRONS

ITMP can often mean spontaneous activities occur along with access to messy/sensory resources.

From experience, many children refuse to wear an apron and could possibly never engage in messy activities. When a child comes to a messy activity and starts to become engrossed with the resources. As educators, we might notice they haven’t got an apron on.

This little learner is totally engrossed in his play using their imagination and freely expressing themselves using their whole body; deep-level thinking is happening at this moment in time. He is curious about the marks made in the tray/puddle/on paper etc. Curious to investigate and find out what happens.

The synapse in his brain is on fire; brain development is happening at this very moment! ⭐️

Sadly this type of messy activity is viewed with negativity
Look at the mess?
It’s going to take ages to clean up!!
The parents will go crazy about his clothes.

As Early Years Educators, it’s our job to understand the importance of messy play and to place the child at the forefront of everything ❤️

We need to be mindful about insisting a child put to on an apron – or giving those ultimatums . “if you don’t put an apron on, you CANNOT play!”

Imagine being a child turned away from an exciting activity because they have to stop now what they are doing to put on a stiff, plastic often wet paint-splattered apron!

HOW WILL THIS IMPACT THE CHILD?

The child will walk away! The opportunity to be curious, discover, investigate LEARN, to have FUN, to become deeply engaged MISSED! We will have interrupted their thought process, a learning opportunity and brain development! REMEMBER, in the early years, children have short attention spans and are distracted easily so can’t easily pick up from where they left off. Think of it this way, if you are having a moment of quiet for yourself reading a book and someone keeps interrupting you, you can't concentrate can you?

Precious clothes may make children look cute, but sadly, they often make their wearers worried in case they get into trouble.

What message is this giving a child? My clothes are more important than my learning, fun & enjoyment!

Clothes will wash or maybe get a little ‘personally re-designed’ but Memories & learning opportunities last a lifetime.

PARENT PARTNERSHIP

Precious clothes may make children look cute, but sadly, they often make their wearers worried in case they get into trouble.

What message is this giving a child? My clothes are more important than my learning, fun & enjoyment!

Clothes will wash or maybe get a little ‘personally re-designed’ but Memories & learning opportunities last a lifetime.

A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH

From Nursery World

The survey of 2,000 parents reveals that almost two-thirds discourage their children from messy activities such as baking and sport.

Parents use excuses such as ‘You can do it tomorrow’, ‘It’s dirty’ or ‘There’s not enough time’ to dissuade their children.

More than two-fifths would prefer their children to play with an iPad overpainting.

The poll of mothers and fathers of seven- to 11-year-olds, commissioned by Persil, also reveals that parents’ dislike of messy play activities is rubbing off on their children.

A third of children, whose parents took part in the survey, admitted they don’t like dirt and mess, with close to half stating that looking ‘cool’ was more important than having fun outside.

For more than half of the children (61 per cent) watching TV is their favourite activity, followed by playing computer games (48 per cent).

A fifth of the children surveyed had never heard of a mud pie and of those that had, more than half had never made one.

Steven Chown, programme development manager for Play England, said, ‘The Persil survey confirms our own research that many parents are becoming more risk averse. Getting messy is part of a happy, healthy childhood and such play is linked with a range of cognitive and developmental benefits. Given the opportunity, today’s children would do exactly the same things as we did when we were children –climbing trees, making mud pies and splashing around in puddles – so it is important parents encourage this form of play and don’t worry too much about the mess.’

Give it a go at home. Let your children be free with some paint outside and really watch what they are doing and how they are learning! Maybe by sitting back and watching you might notice your children are following a type of schema (lots of advice online) and then you will know how to help their development ❤️

Then repeat the activity and interrupt them to put an apron on and evaluate how differently they interacted.

Spring & Summer Newsletter 2023

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 12:02:05 GMT

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome to the Spring and Summer Newsletter. As we head into the Summer Term it was clear time had run out for our Spring Newsletter so we have amalgamated the two together.

Welcomes and Goodbyes

We start by saying a very sad farewell to all our school leavers and others going off to pastures new; Emily O, James, Artie, Esmae, Max, Austin, Indy, Amber, Jack, Harvey, Emily, Haydn, Harper Y, Lilly, River, Archie, Gwen, George L, Jessie and William A. We wish them all lots of luck and happiness in their next stage in life and we are sure they will all love and relish their new big adventure. We will miss each and every one of them greatly.

As well as saying goodbye we are also lucky to welcome some lovely new children and families to The Jays; Hilda, Jago, Woden, Louis, Ophelia, Poppy W, Luca C, William A, Ginevra, Harper H, Mia, Wren, Reuben, Gabriel and Louie. We hope everyone has settled/settles well and enjoys nursery life We hope everyone has settled/settles well and enjoys nursery life.

We also have some staff change and would like to welcome Elleesse and Becca to our staff team. Elleesse has previous experience and is continuing her apprenticeship here. Becca is qualified and also has experience. Please do make them welcome.

Jack will be going off to America mid-May to gain experience working in Summer Camp. He will be missed here but we wish him well and may see him back in the future.

Sickness and Illness

We seem to have a lot of illnesses lingering and would be very grateful if you could be vigilant and ensure that children do not come to nursery if they are poorly particularly with high temperatures. If they are suffering from sickness or diarrhoea our policy is that they are not to return until 48 hours after their last bout. We don’t want to be in the position of having to close due to too many poorly staff having picked up the children’s illnesses. Many thanks for your cooperation and understanding in this matter.

Water Bottles

All Pre-school children are required to bring a water bottle with them. A sports bottle is best as the children find them easier to drink out of. This is so that they are able to access a drink whenever they want one in addition to the milk and water we offer at all meal/snack times. We will fill the bottle with fresh drinking water throughout the day. The bottle should be labelled with your child’s name. Please ensure this is taken home and washed at the end of the day. NB Babies and Toddlers are offered water throughout the day.

Summer Clothing

As we head into the warmer weather, please make sure your child has all of the following items every day and that these are labelled:

Full change of clothes

Sunhat
Jumper
Lightweight waterproof coat (just in case)
Wellies

Could you also make sure that all T-shirts and dresses have a sleeve so shoulders are covered please.

Fundraising

Many thanks to all of you who have helped raise money for our outdoor learning space. We have raised £1,078 so far!

If you are not already signed up to help, please do take a look – through easyfundraising you can help us raise funds simply by doing your everyday online shopping with over 3,300 big name retailers like Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com, eBay, Boden, and M&S.

We are continually trying to add to our outdoor resources so help like this, that is free too, is invaluable

Outdoor Learning

Clare continues to run Forest School with both Pre-School Children and Toddlers. This is proving very popular and we are planning sessions to try to ensure that all children who wish to take part are able to at some point. It is only possible to go to the woods when there are no high winds but we are fortunate in having the wonderful Moorhaven grounds to access at all times..

Beach School is also a lovely experience but we can only offer this to a limited number of children each week and for Pre-Schoolers only. Again, this activity is weather dependent.

Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather as we do go out come rain or shine and providing it is safe to do so. Ensure your child has:

Full Change of clothes
Jumper/Fleece
Long sleeved tops/t-shirts to layer up
Coat, Wellies and woolly hat

Refunds are not possible for sessions cancelled on safety grounds as high staffing ratio’s will already have been accounted for.

If you are interested in your child being put on the waiting list for either Toddler (age 2-3) or Pre-School (age 3-5) Forest school sessions then please let a member of staff know.

Drop off & Collection

Please could you also not drop your child earlier than your session time or collect later. This is having an impact on our staff ratio’s as we have part time staff who have either not yet arrived or are waiting to go home. We may have to re-instate early drop off/late pick up fees in order to re-imburse staff.

Fees

You should all have had an email regarding our fee increase from April. It is, unfortunately, necessary for the reasons already explained . We have kept it to a minimum and have sent out revised terms and conditions. Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you not have received the information.

Help Paying For Childcare

To find out if you can get help with your childcare costs please visit the childcare choices website

https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

You may be eligible for Tax Free Childcare, 2 year old funding, 3 and 4 year old funding, help through Tax Credits/Universal Credit or Childcare support whilst you study. Do take a look now.

Emails

We do our best to check emails throughout the day, however, there are occasions when we are with the children and it has not been possible to get into the office. If anything is urgent and you haven’t had a reply, please do telephone.

New Babies

We would like to congratulate those families who are expecting a new addition in the not too distant future and congratulations to those who have delivered their little ones safely. We do need to let you know that we are very busy and only have selected sessions in our rooms and our baby room has limited spaces until March 2024. If you would like to book your baby in and would like days guaranteed, please do book as soon as possible.

Blossom

We hope that you are all enjoying our online learning journal – Blossom. If you are not or are having problems with this, please do let us know. You are able to share photo’s and observations from home by clicking on ‘journey’ ‘add’ and follow the steps. Parents are now able to comment and like observations. This is a very welcome update which is something we requested and hope you will enjoy. This helps us to work on our ‘In the moment planning’ process where we build on children’s learning through their interests. Should you wish to know more about this way of planning, please ask your child’s keyworker or any other member of staff.

It is really important for us to hold up to date information on your child. Please can you check information on your Blossom account via the 3 dashes in the left hand corner ‘my profile’ and let us know if there is anything that needs changing i.e.change of address/telephone number.

Many Thanks

In The Moment Planning

ITMP can often mean spontaneous activities occur along with access to messy/sensory resources.

This little learner is totally engrossed in his play using their imagination and freely expressing themselves using their whole body; deep level thinking is happening at this moment in time. He is curious about the marks made in the tray/puddle/on paper etc. Curious to investigate and find out what happens.

The synapse in his brain is on fire; brain development is happening at this very moment! ⭐️

Please see attached on how you can help your child enjoy and learn from this type of play.

Dates For Your Diary

Monday 29th May – Friday 2 ^nd June

Half Term for Term Time Children

Friday 21st July

Last day of Summer Term for Term Time children

Save the Date

Friday 7th July

Tea Party

Bank Holidays (Closed Days)

Monday 1st May

Early May Bank Holiday

Monday 8th May

Bank Holiday King’s Coronation

Monday 29th May

Spring bank holiday

Monday 28th August

Summer bank holiday

Christmas Closure

4 pm Friday 22 ^nd December 2023 – 8 am Tuesday 2 ^nd January 2024 (Wednesday for Term Time children).

Enjoy The Summer From Everyone At Jays!

Autumn Newsletter 2022

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 11:26:38 GMT

Dear Parents/Carers

We hope you have all had a lovely summer and made the most of the sunshine although it was a little while ago now.

Welcomes and Goodbyes

We have had some lovely new children and their families join us. We would like to welcome Arlo, Betsy, Elijha, Fionn, Henry, Joseph, Odin, Rocco, Rory, Rowan and Winston. We hope everyone has settled/settles well and enjoys nursery life.

Sadly, we have had to say farewell to Hazel our lovely Creative Workshop superstar who worked with all our children. We are missing her greatly and hope she is enjoying her retirement and cuddles with her Grandson.

New Staff

We have been lucky to recruit Mollie who you have probably seen answering the door.

Mollie has experience working at another setting and is also qualified. Please do make her welcome.

Collecting & Drop Off

We have found that children are finding it easier to settle at nursery with the current procedure of dropping off at the door. They also seem to get ready to go home far more easily for us than for parents and given the high number of children we now have at the nursery we are keeping the current procedure in place for the time being.

We are more than happy for parents to come into the building if you wish as we are conscious that some of you are not familiar with the rooms your children are playing in. Please feel free to ask if you wish to come in.

We have noticed that it can get a bit congested at drop off and pick up time. For Pre-School children, please feel free to use the playground door.

Gate & Door

An Important Reminder:

When dropping off or collecting your child, please can you ensure the gate is closed. It can be quite busy with parents now having to wait outside and we wouldn’t want a child to run out of the gate.

Sickness and Illness

If your child is ill please do not bring them in.

If a child is suffering from sickness or diarrhoea our policy is that they are not to return until 48 hours after their last bout. Many thanks for your cooperation in this matter.

Gardening

We would like to introduce a lovely lady called Liz who is working as a volunteer to give children opportunities to learn about the environment through activities such as making bird feeders, gardening etc. Prior to coming here, Liz worked as a teacher in Plymouth and is now using her retirement to work with our pre-school children and will hope to incorporate the toddlers in the near future.

Facebook

Don’t forget you can find us on Facebook. We have a username to make finding us easier fb.me/jaysnursery We try to update it regularly with news of what your children have been doing at Nursery. It is also a great way of receiving important information. Please do share with your friends and family.

Outdoor Learning

Clare is back running her regular Forest School with both Pre-School Children and Toddlers. This proving very popular and we hope to add to the numbers going in the new year. Obviously it is only possible to go to the woods when there are no high winds but we are fortunate in having the wonderful Moorhaven grounds to access at all times.

Beach School is also a lovely experience but we can only offer this to a limited number of children each week and for Pre-Schoolers only. Again, this activity is weather dependent.

Blossom

We hope that you are all enjoying our online learning journal – Blossom. If you are not or are having problems with this, please do let us know. You are able to share photo’s and observations from home by clicking on ‘journey’ ‘add’ and follow the steps. This helps us to work on our ‘In the moment planning’ process where we build on children’s learning through their interests. Should you wish to know more about this way of planning, please ask your child’s keyworker or any other member of staff.

Update Information

It is really important for us to hold up to date information on

your child. We usually send out some update forms for you to check however, with Blossom, there is no need to do this. Please can you check information on your Blossom account via the 3 dashes in the left hand corner ‘my profile’ and let us know if there is anything that needs changing i.e.change of address.

Many Thanks.

Outdoor Space

As some of you may know, we have registered with easyfundraising and we need your help!

easyfundraising is a great website where you can help us raise funds simply by doing your everyday online shopping with over 3,300 big name retailers like Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com, eBay, Boden, and M&S.

Our contributions so far have helped towards our outdoor play structures. We are looking at what our next project might be and will keep you posted.

30 Hours Funding

If you are entitled to and are planning to use the extended 30 hours funding, we have to verify your 11 digit code by end December (children turning 3 in the Autumn term). If you have not received your form, please let me know. Please return your completed form asap. Thank you.

To find out if you can get help with your childcare costs please visit the childcare choices website https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

You may be eligible for Tax Free Childcare, 2 year old funding, 3 and 4 year old funding, help through Tax Credits/Universal Credit or even Childcare support whilst you study. Do take a look now.

Weather

With the weather in mind and looking ahead to nearer the end of the term, please be careful on Bittaford Hill as this can get very icy. You may wish to use the lanes near Wrangaton. Should we have a lot of snow, it would be advisable to contact the Nursery before leaving home or check our Facebook page or your Blossom App. We will endeavour to keep the Nursery open as far as is reasonably possible. If the Nursery does need to close, unfortunately fees will still be charged as we still have costs to cover.

All Children

Please can you ensure we have plenty of spare clothes. We do try to protect children’s clothes as far as we can but we do messy/wet activities and along with nappy/potty accidents we do not always have enough spare clothing.

Please could you also ensure that we have plenty of nappies and wipes. Please note, there is a £5 charge should we need to provide a nappy pack.

Please bear in mind during potty training that tight clothes and dungarees can make it difficult for your child. We do encourage independence here at nursery and tight clothing is very difficult to pull up/down especially when desperate!

Winter Clothing

Wet and cold weather is on its way so already please can you make sure your child has the following items every day:

Warm, waterproof coat.
Full change of clothes.
Wellington Boots.
Hat, scarf and mittens (please do not send gloves).

Please make sure ALL items are LABELLED.

Christmas Jumper Day

We shall be celebrating Christmas Jumper Day but for the whole of December

If you wish to make a donation to ‘Save the Children, feel free to make a personal donation online.

New Babies/3 year old funding and securing extra sessions

As you may be aware, we are now quite busy at nursery and session availability is quite limited. If you know you are likely to require extra sessions in the future i.e. when becoming eligible for the early years entitlement funding or expecting a new baby, please do book in your requirements as soon as possible as we hate to disappoint.

Christmas Festivities

We will hold a Pre-School Christmas Party on Thursday 8 ^th December. The lovely Billy Wiz will make an appearance and keep the children laughing with his characters antics.

On Thursday 15 ^th December the Pre-School Children will perform their version of ‘The Nativity’ for parents to come and see. Watch out for your invitation. Unfortunately we will only be able to invite parents of the Pre-School Room Children only.

Please note – We will be closing at 4pm on 23 ^rd December and not re-opening until 8 a.m Tuesday 3 ^rd January 2023. We will adjust your invoice accordingly

Dates For Your Diary

Friday 18 ^th November 2022

Children in Need – Pyjama Week – details to follow.

December 2022

Christmas Jumper Day/Month

Come to Nursery dressed in your favourite festive wear or decorations.

Make your own personal donations if you wish to Save the Children.

Thursday 8 ^th December

Pre-School Christmas Party

Thursday 15 ^th December

Pre-School Nativity

Friday 16 ^th December 2022

End of Term for Term Time only children.

Friday 23 ^rd December 2022

Shorter hours - Closing at 4 p.m.

Tuesday 3 ^rd January 2023

Re-Open 8 a.m. for our all year round children

Wednesday 4 ^th January

First day of Spring Term for Term Time children only

Monday 13 ^th February – Friday 17 ^th February 2023

Half term for Term Time only children

Merry Christmas From Jacqui And the Team

Summer Newsletter 2022

Wed, 18 May 2022 16:13:34 GMT

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome to the Summer Term and let us hope for some lovely weather over the coming months! Apologies for the absence of our Spring Newsletter but it has been a very busy time here at the Nursery.

Welcomes and Goodbyes

We start by saying a very sad farewell to all our school leavers and others going off to pastures new; Eddie, Isla, Sophie, Jocelyn, Mia, bay, Finley, Felix, Felicity, Marley, Etta-may, Ishbel, Jemima, Ben, Elowyn, Then, Rae, Seth, Toby and Hugo. We wish them all lots of luck and happiness in their next stage in life and we are sure they will all love and relish their new big adventure. We will miss each and every one of them greatly.

As well as saying goo dbye we are also lucky to welcome some lovely new children and families to The Jays; Archie, Aria, Daisy, Florence R, Florence C, Hudson, Hugo, Isaac B, Isaac W, Layla, Lilly, Luca, Luke, Mila W, Oscar, Phoebe, Remus, Samuel B, Samuel W, Rafael and Tommy. We hope everyone has settled/settles well and enjoys nursery life.

New Staff

We are very busy here at the nursery and are pleased to have recruited some new staff. We hope give a warm welcome to Stacey, Nadine and Bethany and also welcome back some previous staff members, Sarah H and Lucy. I am sure you will get to know them soon and help make them feel welcome too.

Congratulations

We would like to Congratulate Danell on the safe arrival of baby Luca. Danell is loving being a Mum and is enjoying time at home with Luca.

We would also like to Congratulate Hazel on becoming a Granny to baby Patrick. She is enjoying cuddles when she can.

COVID-19 update

With the restrictions removed we have all seen the increase in Covid infections. Largely these have been mild but some have had nasty side effects. The guidelines are now that children who are unwell and have a high temperature or symptoms of a respiratory infection/Covid-19 should stay at home and avoid contact with other people until they no longer have a temperature and they are well enough to attend. Testing is becoming difficult so it can be difficult to determine if they are Covid positive. Please be vigilant and if your child requires paracetamol, this is usually an indicator that they are not well enough to cope with a long nursery day.

Many thanks for all your support during this difficult time.

Sickness and Illness

Many thanks for everyone’s understanding with our requests regarding illnesses. We appreciate you not bringing in children with coughs, colds etc. particularly during this difficult time. It is not just about Covid but is also about trying to keep our staff well so that we can stay open to look after your children.

NB If children are suffering from sickness or diarrho ea our policy is that they are not to return until 48 hours after their last bout. We have noticed that one off bouts of sickness or diarrhoea can be early signs of Covid. Many thanks again for your cooperation in this matter.

Creative Workshop

This will be the last term of Hazel’s wonderful Creative Workshop. We are going to miss her wonderful sessions and we can’t thank her enough for the wonderful experience she has given to so many children over the last few years. She is hoping to put on a performance for you to see after having to cancel at Easter. Watch out for details. Do take a look at Facebook or Blossom to see the wonderful things they do along with the results of their lovely work displayed in the lobby area.

E-mails/Blossom Messenger

We do our best to check emails and messenger throughout the day, however, there are occasions when we are with the children and it has not been possible to get into the office or for the appropriate person to check messenger. If anything is urgent and you haven’t had a reply, please do telephone.

Annual Tea Party 15th Just Platinum Jubilee Theme

After the last 2 years of restrictions we are aiming to hold our Annual Tea Party and look forward to inviting parents and carers of all children at the Nursery. This is a lovely event which kicks off at 5 pm with a performance from our Pre-school children, a school leavers presentation a nd ends with a yummy tea for everyone. It gives you a chance to meet other parents and have a chat to the staff on a more informal basis. Invitations will be going out soon.

Outdoor Space

Many thanks to all of you who have helped raise money for our outdoor learning space. We have raised £905 so far!

We are continually trying to add to our outdoor resources so help like this, that is free too, is invaluable.

Water Bottles

All Pre-school children are required to bring a water bottle with them. A sports bottle is best as the children find them easier to drink out of. This is so that they are able to access a drink whenever they want one in addi tion to the milk and water we offer at all meal/snack times. We will fill the bottle with fresh drinking water throughout the day. The bottle should be labelled with your child’s name. Please ensure this is taken home and washed at the end of the day.

Helping paying for your childcare

To find out if you can get help with your childcare costs please visit the childcare choices website:

https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

You may be eligible for Tax Free Childcare, 2 year old funding, 3 and 4 year old funding, help through Tax Credits/Universal Credit. Or you maybe entitled to Childcare support whilst you study. Do take a look now.

Update Forms

With the introduction of Blossom, we no longer have the update forms as key information is available on your Blossom app. Please ensure that information on your profile page is up to date and ensure that any changes are notified to the office and we will get these changed for you.

Many Thanks.

New Babies/3 year old funding and securing extra sessions

As you maybe aware, we are now quite busy at nursery and session availability is quite limited. If you know you are likely to require extra sessions in the future i.e. when becoming eligible for the early years entitlement funding or expecting a new baby, please do book in your requirements as soon as possible as we hate to disappoint.

Blossom

We hope that you are all joined up to our online learning journal – Blossom. If you are not or are having problems with this, please do let us know. We particularly enjoy seeing what activities and information you share from home so please do post photo’s etc. from home. Just click on ‘journey’ ‘add’ and follow the steps. This helps us to work on our ‘In the moment planning’ process where we build on children’s learning through their interests. Should you wish to know more about this way of planning, please ask your child’s keyworker or other member of staff.

We try to add photographs and observations onto Blossom

on a regular basis and when we are able to capture moments that are relevant and particularly notable.

We are aware that currently, you are unable to comment or like our observations/photo’s sent to you. Blossom have developed a 2 way messenger type element of the system which we have rolled out and hope you are finding helpful despite the few teething problems Blossom have had with the app.

Drop off/Collection

Just a little note to remind you that you are able to collect your child any time during their session. We do go for walks so if you are likely to arrive mid-afternoon and it is not your normal pick up time, it is worth letting us know so that we can make sure your child i sn’t too far away. Please could you ensure that you are not early dropping off or late collecting your child as it can affect our adult/child ratio’s particularly now that we are very bus y.

Pre-School children can be collected and dropped off at the Pre-School Room playground door particularly if the lobby area is busy.

Christmas Closure

I would like to give you notice of our intention to close the nursery from Friday 23rd December @ 4p.m. and re-open on Tuesday 3rd January 2023 @ 8 a.m. I know this may be difficult for some, but in the past we have remained open for a few children which is not financially viable. It has been a difficult decision to make but I think if Covid has taught us anything, it is that we must value our family time. The staff have worked tirelessly to keep the nursery open in difficult times so I hope you can understand the decision to close for these extra 3 days.

Many thanks.

EYFS/OFSTED September 2021

AS of September, OFSTED started inspecting against a new Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. In The Moment Planning will be foremost, high priority, in our everyday face to face contact with the children. OFSTED will be judging us on our knowledge of our key children and not so much on the paperwork side. There will be less expectations on written observations, which has been recognised takes us away from the children and more focus on the quality time spent with the children so you may not see so many observation/photographs posted on Blossom. Oral health has been identified as an area OFSTED will be judging us on. Healthy meals and reduced sugary content are expected. We will be more pro-active in what the Pre-School have in their water bottles, and we will only be offering milk or water for children to drink. This will be reflected in our policy (Healthy Eating). This is a really exciting, new introduction to the Early Years.

Sunscreen

We have been notified that there have been some Nivea suncreams that contain almond oil so we are no longer purchasing Nivea sun cream. You may wish to check any other sun cream you are using. We will use ‘Sunsense kids SPF50+’ (as long as we can get it) here at nursery as recommended by dermatologists. We hope this will be suitable for all children but if you do need to send in your own, please can you ensure that it does not contain any nut oils.

Many thanks.

Term Time Contracts

Please note, our term time contracts are based on our term dates and our term time staff work to this too. We will always try to accommodate term time children outside of these dates if at all possible, but please note that these may be charged at our adhoc rate and funding may not cover these days. A copy of our term time dates and holiday closures went out on our news via Blossom. You should be able to access this via your Blossom App - Nursery news.

Forest School

Forest School has resumed!

Lydia is on a phased return to work so our outdoor learning leader, Clare, is able to resume some Forest School sessions. For this term we will concentrate on our School Leavers and from September we will open this up to the rest of the Pre-School Room and our Toddlers.

Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather as we do go out come rain or shine. Long sleeves/trousers are a must to protect them from the long grass, nettles etc. Please ensure your child has:

• Full Change of clothes

• Jumper/Fleece

• Long sleeved tops/t-shirts to layer up

• Coat, Wellies and woolly/sun hat

• Long trousers

If you are interested in your child attending Forest School from September for either Toddler (age 2-3) or Pre-School (age 3-5) Forest school sessions please could you register your interest via email or Blossom for the attention of Clare as there are limited places and we will allocate on a first come first serve basis. Sessions will be held on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday with Toddlers going in the morning and Pre-Schoolers in the afternoon.

Dates For Your Diary

Monday 2nd May 2022

Early May Bank Holiday

Monday 30th May – Friday 3rd June

Half Term for Term Time children

Thursday 2nd June 2022

Spring Bank Holiday

Friday 3rd June

Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday

Friday 15th July 2022

Leavers Party

Monday 18th July 2022

Last day of Summer Term for Term Time children

Monday 29th August 2022

Bank Holiday – CLOSED

Monday 5th September 2022

First Day of Autumn Term

Monday 24th – Friday 28th October 2022

Half Term for Term Time children

Friday 16th December 2022

Last day Autumn Term for Term Time children

Friday 23rd December 2022

Friday 24th December 2021 – Close at 4 p.m

Re-Opens Tuesday 3rd January 2023 8 a.m

Enjoy the summer! - From everyone at The Jays

Autumn Newsletter 2021

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 10:47:38 GMT

Dear Parents/Carers

We hope you have all had a lovely summer and made the most of the sunshine although it was a little while ago now.

Welcomes and Goodbyes

We have had some lovely new children and their families join us. We would like to welcome Lottie, George, Cove, Finley, Flo, George H, Hugo, Isaac, Isla, Oren, Rae, Seb P, Stella, Seb R, Seth, Billy, William O. We hope everyone has settled/settles well and enjoys nursery life.

Sadly, we have had to say farewell to Claire who was working in our Pre-School Room and Dawn who was working in our Baby Room. We are missing them and wish them well in their new ventures.

New Staff

We have been lucky to recruit Mandy who you have probably seen answering the door. We have also recently held interviews and will have new staff joining us over the coming weeks. We will gradually introduce them at the door.

Collecting and dropping off

Although it is not how we would like it, we are all used to the new procedures. We do appreciate your co-operation with transferring children at the door. Please could we ask that you say your goodbyes and have hugs and kisses before handing over your child to staff in order to help with social distancing.

Please could you also ensure that only 1 adult comes to collect your child so that we can keep the area as clear as possible.

Due to the high rates of infection in our area we have chosen to keep this procedure in place for the time being.

We have noticed that it can get a bit congested at drop off and pick up time. For Pre-School children, please feel free to use the playground door.

Gate and Door

An Important reminder:

Sickness and Illness

If your child is ill please do not bring them in. Should they have a temperature or cough, please follow the government guidelines and isolate for 10 days or until a negative PCR test is received.

If a child is suffering from sickness or diarrhoea our policy is that they are not to return until 48 hours after their last bout. Many thanks for your cooperation in this matter.

Creative Workshop

Hazel runs her wonderful workshops on a Thursday morning incorporating music, movement, dance, planting, and creative arts. She plans to take account of the seasons and celebrations tying this all in together and linking songs, stories, movement and dance into the activities. She will be taking as much of this outdoors as possible using our lovely grounds, planters and outdoor classroom. We have seen some some lovely home grown produce and flowers and the children have enjoyed her displays in the lobby. She hopes to do one of her amazing performances with the children around Easter time for parents to see. The children love this time with her. Please do see the photo’s on Facebook and Blossom.

Facebook

Outdoor Learning

We have had to suspend Forest School whilst Lydia undergoes treatment. Clare (outdoor learning leader) has taken over as Pre-School leader in the interim. We are missing Lydia and hope she will be back working with us soon. We look forward to Forest School resuming in January all being well.

Blossom

We hope that you are all enjoying our online learning journal – Blossom. If you are not or are having problems with this, please do let us know. You are able to share photo’s and observations from home by clicking on ‘journey’ ‘add’ and follow the steps. This helps us to work on our ‘In the moment planning’ process where we build on children’s learning through their interests. Should you wish to know more about this way of planning, please ask your child’s keyworker or any other member of staff.

Outdoor Space

As some of you may know, we have registered with easyfundraising and we need your help!

Our contributions so far have helped towards our outdoor play structures. We are looking at what our next project might be and will keep you posted.

30 Hours Funding

2 year old Funding

If you are on a low income you may be eligible for 2 year old funding. Please check your eligibility at www.devon.gov.uk/twoyearoldfunding/

Update Information

It is really important for us to hold up to date information on your child. We usually send out some update forms for you to check however, with Blossom, there is no need to do this. Please can you check information on your Blossom account via the in the left hand corner ‘my profile’ and let us know if there is anything that needs changing i.e.change of address.

Many Thanks.

Weather

All Children

Please could you also ensure that we have plenty of nappies and wipes. Please note, there is a £5 charge should we need to provide a nappy pack.

Clothing/Winter

Wet and cold weather is on its way so already please can you make sure your child has the following items every day:

Warm, waterproof coat.
Full change of clothes.
Wellington Boots.
Hat, scarf and mittens (please do not send gloves).

Please make sure ALL items are LABELLED.

Christmas Jumper Day

We shall be celebrating Christmas Jumper Day but for the whole of December

– come to Nursery dressed in your favourite festive wear

for a small donation to Save the Children.

Christmas Festivities

All being well, we will hold our Christmas Nativity on 9th December (all Pre-School Children only). Parents of Pre-School Room children only, to come and watch and there will also be a Christmas Party for the pre-school children. The lovely Billy Wiz will make an appearance and keep the children laughing with his characters antics.

Sadly, we will not be able to invite all parents this year as we are still having to be careful in the face of Covid. We will be asking that only 2 parents per child attend and we will have to ask that siblings do not attend on this occasion. We hope you understand our decisions regarding this but want to keep everyone as safe as we can.

We will keep following the guidance re Covid-19 and let you know if the situation changes.

Christmas

Please note – We will be closing at 4pm on Christmas Eve and not re-opening until 8 a.m Tuesday 4th January 2022. We will adjust your invoice accordingly.

Dates For Your Diary

Friday 19th November 2021

Children in Need – Pyjama Week – details to follow.

December 2021

Christmas Jumper Day/Month – come to Nursery dressed in your favourite festive wear or decorations for a small donation to Save the Children.

Thursday 9th December

Pre-School Christmas Party and Nativity.

Friday 17th December 2021

End of Term for Term Time only children.

Friday 24th December 2021

Shorter hours - Closing at 4 p.m.

Tuesday 4th January

Re-Open Tuesday 4th January 2022 8 a.m and first day of Spring Term for Term Time children.

Monday 21st February – Friday 25th February 2022

Half term for Term Time only children.

Merry Christmas From Jacqui And The Team!

Summer Newsletter 2021

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 11:44:57 GMT

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome to the Summer Term and let us hope for some lovely weather over the coming months!

School Leavers and New Starts

We start by saying a very sad farewell to all our school leavers and others going off to pastures new; Penelope, Reuben, Oscar, Sophia, Niamh, Charlie, Clark, Evan, Penny, Katie, James, Joshua, Ayrton, Freddie, Tyler, George and Rowan. We wish them all lots of luck and happiness in their next stage in life and we are sure they will all love and relish their new big adventure. We will miss each and every one of them greatly.

As well as saying goodbye we are also lucky to welcome some lovely new children and families to The Jays; Amber, Barnaby, Connie, Esmae, Ezra, George, Haydn, Jessica, Penny, Sophia, Tiago and Tyler. We hope everyone has settled/settles well and enjoys nursery life.

New Staff

We are very busy here at the nursery and are trying to recruit new staff. Despite advertising we have not had any success as yet. If you know of anyone who might interested, please do ask them to get in touch. We can organise NVQ/apprenticeship training where required.

Leavers Party

After much consideration we have taken the decision to hold the leavers party in a reduced format. We will have a party here from 4 p.m. for the school leavers, they will have an opportunity to join in with a small presentation and some party games. At 5.30 they will have their presentation and ‘Good Luck Leavers’ cake to cut and share. If the weather is on our side, 2 adults per child may come and watch outside. We are very aware that we have done all we can to remain open in the face of Covid. Please could you collect your child at 5.30

Covid-19 Update

We are updating and reviewing things everyday and taking onboard guidance that we receive. For the time being we will be continuing with our enhanced cleaning regime and following our drop off/collection procedure. We have also had to make the decision to ask parents not to bring in food from home i.e. birthday cake. We can accept shop bought cakes in their packaging.

Sickness and Illness

NB If children are suffering from sickness or diarrhoea our policy is that they are not to return until 48 hours after their last bout. Many thanks again for your cooperation in this matter.

Water Bottles

All Pre-school children are required to bring a water bottle with them. A sports bottle is best as the children find them easier to drink out of. This is so that they are able to access a drink whenever they want one. We prefer for these to be filled with water as we encourage a healthy diet and find this a healthier option to juice and also, other children are very quick to realise if anyone has juice and will try to drink it!

The bottle should be labelled with your child’s name. Please ensure this is taken home and washed at the end of the day.

Easy Fundraising

Many thanks to all of you who have helped raise money for our outdoor learning space. We have raised £610 so far!

We are continually trying to add to our outdoor resources so help like this, that is free too, is invaluable.

Forest School

Forest School sessions are going really well. It has been fantastic to introduce the toddler children to our amazing grounds since September and they have learnt so much. The Children’s confidence, imaginations and physical skills have developed alongside their interest in and love of nature.

Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather as we do go out come rain or shine. Ensure your child has:

• Full Change of clothes

• Jumper/Fleece

• Long sleeved tops/t-shirts to layer up

• Coat, Wellies and woolly hat

If you are interested in your child being put on the waiting list for either Toddler (age 2-3) or Pre-School (age 3-5) Forest school sessions then please let a member of staff know.

Emails

Drop Off and Collection

Also, during this difficult time, Pre-School children can be collected from the Pre-School Room playground door particularly if the lobby area is busy?

Creative Workshop

Hazel’s new format of integrating music, art and the outdoors is working well. You can see the results of their lovely work in the lobby area as well as on Facebook and Blossom.

EYFS/OFSTED September 2021

AS of September, OFSTED will be inspecting us against a new Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. The staff are gearing themselves up and accessing training either on-line or in-house. There will be a few changes to how we operate. In The Moment Planning will be foremost, high priority, in our everyday face to face contact with the children. OFSTED will be judging us on our knowledge of our key children and not so much on the paperwork side. There will be less expectations on written observations, which has been recognised takes us away from the children and more focus on the quality time spent with the children so you may not see so many observation/photographs posted on Blossom. Oral health has been identified as an area OFSTED will be judging us on. Healthy meals and reduced sugary content are expected. We will be more pro-active in what the Pre-School have in their water bottles, and we will only be offering milk or water for children to drink. This will be reflected in our policy (Healthy Eating). This is a really exciting, new introduction to the Early Years.

Advanced Warning - Christmas Closure

I would like to give you notice of our intention to close the nursery from Friday 24th December @ 4p.m. and re-open on Tuesday 4th January 2022 @ 8 a.m. I know this may be difficult for some, but in the last couple of years we have remained open for a few children which is not financially viable. It has been a difficult decision to make but I think if Covid has taught us anything, it is that we must value our family time. The staff have worked tirelessly to keep the nursery open in difficult times so I hope you can understand the decision to close for these extra 3 days. Many thanks.

Blossom

We hope that you are all joined up to our online learning journal – Blossom. If you are not or are having problems with this, please do let us know. We particularly enjoy seeing what activities and information you share from home so please do post photo’s etc. from home. This helps us to work on our ‘In the moment planning’ process where we build on children’s learning through their interests. Should you wish to know more about this way of planning, please ask your child’s keyworker or other member of staff.

We try to add photograph’s and observations onto Tapestry on a very regular basis and when we are able to capture moments that are relevant and particularly notable. Every half term, your child will also be a ‘focus child’ for a week. This enables your child’s keyworker to ensure that all areas of learning and development are covered and they will carry out more in-depth observations and assessments.

We are aware that currently, you are unable to comment or like our observations/photo’s sent to you. Blossom have just developed a 2 way messenger type element of the system which we have rolled out and hope you are finding helpful despite the few teething problems Blossom have had with the app.

Dates For Your Diary

Friday 16th July 2021

Leavers Party

Tuesday 20th July 2021

Last day of Summer Term for Term Time children

Monday 30th August 2021

Bank Holiday – CLOSED

Monday 6th September 2021

First Day of Autumn Term

Monday 25th – Friday 29th October 2021

Half Term for Term Time children.

Friday 17th December 2021

Last day Autumn Term for Term Time children

Friday 24th December 2021

Friday 24th December 2021 – Close at 4 p.m.

Re-Opens Tuesday 4th January 2022

8 a.m.

Spring Newsletter 2021

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 11:18:36 GMT

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome back to a new term at The Jays. We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and we hope the year ahead brings some sort of normality.

We have had some lovely new children and their families join us. We would like to welcome Jemima, Matthew, Poppy, Austin, James P, Hanna, Arthur, Tommy, Charles, Benjamin and Toby. We hope everyone has settled/settles well and enjoys nursery life.

We would also like to welcome some new staff. Danéll has been with us a few weeks and you may already have met her. The children love her already. We would also like to introduce Jack and Heather who you will meet over the coming weeks. We have realised that with the new regime regarding pick-up and drop off it is not quite so easy to introduce new staff. Apologies for this, we will endeavour to introduce them to you at the door once they have settled in. We feel sure they will fit in well with our lovely team of staff.

Lydia and Clare are settling into their new role of Deputy to Jacqui and Gill is happily plodding on in her role in the office.

New Babies

We would like to congratulate those families who are expecting a new addition in the not too distant future. We do need to let you know that we have had an extraordinary number of bookings for all our rooms and our baby room is already heavily booked from January 2022. If you would like to book your baby in and would like days guaranteed, please do book as soon as possible.

Covid-19 Update

Sickness and Illness

Many thanks for everyone’s understanding with our requests regarding illnesses. We appreciate you not bringing in children with coughs, colds etc. particularly during this difficult time. If they are suffering from sickness or diarrhoea our policy is that they are not to return until 48 hours after their last bout. Many thanks again for your cooperation in this matter

Water Bottles

All Pre-school children are required to bring a water bottle with them. A sports bottle is best as the children find them easier to drink out of. This is so that they are able to access a drink whenever they want one. We prefer for these to be filled with water as we encourage a healthy diet and find this a healthier option to juice and also, other children are very quick to realise if anyone has juice and will try to drink it!

The bottle should be labelled with your child’s name. Please ensure this is taken home and washed at the end of the day.

Easy Fundraising

Many thanks to all of you who have helped raise money for our outdoor learning space. We have raised £535 so far!

Forest School

Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather as we do go out come rain or shine. Ensure your child has:

• Full Change of clothes

• Jumper/Fleece

• Long sleeved tops/t-shirts to layer up

• Coat, Wellies and woolly hat

If you are interested in your child being put on the waiting list for either Toddler (age 2-3) or Pre-School (age 3-5) Forest school sessions then please let a member of staff know.

Emails

Drop Off and Collection

Also, during this difficult time, Pre-School children can be collected from the Pre-School Room playground door particularly if the lobby area is busy.

Creative Workshop

Hazel’s new format of integrating music, art and the outdoors is working well. You can see the results of their lovely work in the lobby area and on Facebook and Tapesty.

Tapestry

We hope that you are all joined up to our online learning journal – Tapestry. If you are not or are having problems with this, please do let us know. Please remember that this is a two-way interactive process and we love to hear your feedback on what we share if even it is a ‘like’ so that we know you have seen it. We particularly enjoy seeing what activities and information you share from home. This helps us to build on our ‘In the moment planning’ process where we build on children’s learning through their interests. Should you wish to know more about this way of planning, please ask your child’s keyworker or other member of staff.

Update Forms

It is really important for us to hold up to date information on your child. We will be sending out some update forms for you to check and return within the next couple of weeks. Please look out for these and return them asap. These should have gone out last term but we held off as we were due to change systems. This will not be going ahead as the new system proved unsuitable.

Many Thanks.

Fees

You should all have had an email regarding our fee increase from April. It is a long time since we have had an increase but it has become necessary with rising costs. We have kept it to a minimum and have sent out revised terms and conditions. Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you not have received the information.

Help Paying For Childcare

To find out if you can get help with your childcare costs please visit the childcare choices website https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

You may be eligible for Tax Free Childcare, 2 year old funding, 3 and 4 year old funding, help through Tax Credits/Universal Credit or Childcare support whilst you study. Do take a look now

Dates For Your Diary

Monday 22nd – Friday 26th February 2021

Half term for Term Time only children.

Monday 1st – Friday 5th March 2021

World Book Week Information to follow

Monday 15th – Friday 19th March 2021

Comic Relief/Red Nose Day

Thursday 1st April 2021

End of Term for Term Time only children.

Friday 2nd April 2021

Good Friday - CLOSED

Monday 5th April 2021

Easter Monday - CLOSED

Monday 19th April 2021

First day of Summer Term for Term Time only children

Autumn Newsletter 2020

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 10:40:15 GMT

Dear Parents/Carers

We hope you have all had a lovely summer and made the most of the sunshine. Welcome back to our term time children and those who haven’t attended for a while. For some of you it has been an extended break! We hope you are all well rested and ready to face a new term and the new ‘normal’ here at The Jays.

Welcome

We have had some lovely new children and their families join us. We would like to welcome Mia, Oscar, Gwen, Eddie, Ernie, River L-C, Harper, Ethan, Ayrton, Sophie, Harvey, George, Lily, Mila, Rowan, River Z-D and Bertie. We hope everyone has settled/settles well and enjoys nursery life.

Goodbye

Sadly, in addition to our school leavers, we also said goodbye to Ralph, Romilly, Fran and Elsie who have moved on to pastures new. We wish them well with their new adventures.

Collecting and Dropping Off

Although it is not how we would like it, we are all getting used to the new procedures. We do appreciate your co-operation with transferring children at the door. Please could we ask that you say your goodbyes and have hugs and kisses before handing over your child to staff in order to help with social distancing.

Please could you also ensure that only 1 adult comes to collect your child so that we can keep the area as clear as possible.

Gate and Door

An Important Reminder: When dropping off or collecting your child, please can you ensure the gate is closed. It can be quite busy with parents now having to wait outside and we wouldn’t want a child to run out of the gate.

Please also remember social distancing. We would prefer that no more than 2 parents are in the lobby at any one time.

We have noticed that it can get a bit congested at drop off and pick up time. For Pre-School children, please feel free to use the playground door – just give a little knock.

Photographer

Our Nursery photographer will be in Nursery on Thursday 15 ^th October 2020 from 1.30pm-4.30pm. The photographs she takes are fantastic and they are returned in time for Christmas making great gifts. Please note this will be by appointment.

NB Children here on the day will automatically have their photograph taken so please let us know if you DO NOT wish your child to be photographed.

Illness and Sickness

If your child is ill please do not bring them in. Should they have a temperature or cough, please follow the government guidelines and isolate for 10 days or until a negative test is received. We have attached a flowchart, symptom checker and our Covid-19 safe operating procedures for your information.

If a child is suffering from sickness or diarrhoea our policy is that they are not to return until 48 hours after their last bout. Many thanks for your cooperation in this matter.

Creative Workshop

Hazel has re-started her wonderful workshops and has changed the format a little. Instead of termly themes she will be incorporating music, movement, dance, planting, and creative arts every term. She plans to take account of the seasons and celebrations tying this all in together and linking songs, stories, movement and dance into the activities. She will be taking as much of this outdoors as possible using our lovely grounds, planters and outdoor classroom. We are looking forward to seeing the lovely sensory path re-created and enjoying some home grown produce along with seeing some wonderful artwork and singing and dancing. She would love to do another performance for parents to see and will incorporate this as and when it is safe to do so. The children love this time with her. Look out for her wonderful displays and photo’s on Facebook and Tapestry.

Outdoor Learning

We have had to suspend Beach School for the time being due to Covid-19. Clare has introduced further Forest School sessions and has structured some specifically for Toddlers so that they are also able to take part. These will be on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday with Pre-School children able to take part in the afternoon and Toddlers in the morning. If you haven’t had details yet and you think this is something your child will enjoy, please do not hesitate to speak to us. Due to the high cost and staff ratio, we do have to make a charge for this wonderful experience.

Don’t forget to take a look at Clare’s posts on our Facebook page and your Tapestry accounts.

Tapestry

Facebook

Outdoor Space

As some of you may know, we have registered with easyfundraising and we need your help!

Why are we doing this? Well – we really want to continue with upgrading our outside learning space. The children have been so happy with their new play equipment in the Pre-School playground that we are now in the process of building a similar structure in our Toddler and Baby outdoor area. We are hopeful that this will be completed soon. Thank you to all who have made donations to help towards this.

Update Forms

It is really important for us to hold up to date information on your child. We usually send out some update forms for you to check however, we are planning to move to a new system in January. New registration forms will be sent out later in the term to ensure we have all the details we need for our new system. Please look out for these and return them asap.

In the meantime, please let us know if you move house or change any of your emergency contact details.

Many Thanks

2 Year Old Funding

If you are on a low income you may be eligible for 2 year old funding. Please check your eligibility at

www.devon.gov.uk/twoyearoldfunding/

30 Hours Funding

If you are entitled to and are planning to use the extended 30 hours funding, we have to verify your 11 digit code by end December (children turning 3 in the Autumn term). Please bear in mind that some parents have found it can take up to 15 days to receive the code. Please note, we will send the relevant funding forms to you the half term prior to you being eligible for funding.

Weather

With the weather in mind and looking ahead to nearer the end of the term, please be careful on Bittaford Hill as this can get very icy. You may wish to use the lanes near Wrangaton. Should we have a lot of snow, it would be advisable to contact the Nursery before leaving home or check our Facebook page. We will endeavour to keep the Nursery open as far as is reasonably possible. Please can you make sure your contact details are up to date. If the Nursery does need to close, unfortunately fees will still be charged as we still have costs to cover.

Clothing

Wet and cold weather is on its way so already please can you make sure your child has the following items every day:

Warm, waterproof coat.
Full change of clothes.
Wellington Boots and indoor shoes.
Hat, scarf and mittens (please do not send gloves).

Please make sure ALL items are LABELLED.

Please could you also ensure that we have plenty of nappies and wipes. Please note, there is a £5 charge should we need to provide a nappy pack.

Christmas Festivities

We would normally have a Christmas Nativity for you to come and watch and a Christmas Party for the children. The lovely Billy Wiz usually makes an appearance and keeps the children laughing with his characters antics. Sadly, it looks as though this will not be able to go ahead this year. We will come up with some lovely ways to celebrate with the children and still make it a fun time for them.

We will keep following the guidance re Covid-19 and let you know if the situation changes.

Christmas Jumper Week

We shall be celebrating Christmas Jumper Week from the 7 ^th December

– come to Nursery dressed in your favourite festive knitwear or decorations for a small donation to Save the Children.

Dates For Your Diary

Thursday 15 ^th October 2020

Photographer in 1.30pm – 4.30pm

Monday 26 ^th October – Friday 30 ^th October 2020

Half term for Term Time only children

W/b 7 ^th December 2020

Christmas Jumper Week – come to Nursery dressed in your favourite festive knitwear or decorations for a small donation to Save the Children.

Friday 18 ^th December 2020

End of Term for Term Time only children.

Thursday 24 ^th December 2020

Shorter opening hours 8am-4pm

Friday 25 ^th December 2020

Christmas Day – CLOSED

Monday 28 ^th December 2020

Bank Holiday – CLOSED

Friday 1 ^st January 2020

New Years Day – CLOSED

Monday 4 ^th January 2021

First day of Spring Term for Term Time only children

Please note – We will be closing at 4pm on Christmas Eve. We will adjust your invoice accordingly.

From Jacqui and the Team

Summer Newsletter 2020

Mon, 11 May 2020 16:35:01 GMT

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome to the Summer Newsletter. First and foremost, we would like to say a very big THANK YOU to all our parents for being so understanding and supportive through this extremely difficult time. We would also like to give a big THANK YOU to all our staff too. To those coming into work and carrying on and going above and beyond and to those who are unable to come into work but are keeping in touch with parents and with the team here. Both situations bring

their own challenges. We are missing seeing everyone and can’t wait to see our little ones and staff team back here and get back to being our Jays family

School Leavers & New Starts

We will be saying a very sad farewell to all our school leavers; Joseph, Emily, Flissy, Skylark, Laila, Huw, Rory C, Rory H, Sam, Finley, Jenson, Scarlett, Rufus and Neve.

Hopefully we will see them back at Nursery before heading off to school but if not, we wish them all lots of luck and happiness in their next stage in life and we are sure they will all love and relish their new big adventure. We will miss

each and every one of them greatly. Please do come and visit and also send some photo’s in of your first days at school.

Given the current situation, we are aware that some parents have concerns about the readiness of their child for school. Please keep in mind that you have the right to delay your child’s school start date.

If you don’t think they are quite ready, they are welcome at nursery for another term or for however long you feel they need. They do not need to start school until the 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday - whichever comes first.

If your child’s fifth birthday is on one of those dates then they reach compulsory school age on that date. Schools should also keep their

place for them.

As well as saying goodbye we are also lucky to welcome some new

children to The Jays; Artie and Marley. We would like to give a

warm Jays welcome to you and your

families. When we get back to

normal, we look forward to getting

to know you much better.

Tea Party - Friday 10th July at 5pm

The Tea Party this year was going to be held on Friday 10th July at 5pm

We have our annual tea party for our leavers presentation and to celebrate the nursery’s birthday. It will be the nursery’s 25th Birthday but is unlikely that this

will go ahead. We will keep you posted. An Olympic theme had been planned but we may have to rethink this as they have been cancelled this year. If we do not go ahead, we will try to do something at a later stage and we will include our school leavers.

Creative Workshop

We have had to suspend Creative Workshop for the time being. The children had been taking part in music, dance and drama sessions and were getting ready to perform

‘Be brave little penguin’. I am sure you have heard some of the songs by now! Apologies for having to cancel the performance due to the Corona Virus restrictions. Hazel

will be back with more fun things to do soon.

2 Year Old Funding

If you are on a low income you may be eligible for 2 year old funding. Please check your eligibility at

www.devon.gov.uk/twoyearold funding/

30 Hours Funding

If you are entitled to and are planning to use the extended 30 hours funding, we have to verify your 11 digit code by 31st August. (children turning 3 in the summer term). Please bear in mind that some parents have found it can take up to 15 days to receive the code. Devon County have made it clear that if your code isn’t

verified by 31st August you won’t get any funding until January. Please note, we will send the relevant funding forms to you the half term prior to you being eligible for funding.

Tapestry

Please do keep in touch especially with your child’s key worker. If you are unsure about how to add observation and photo’s on Tapestry, please use this link and there is a useful parent tutorial that may be of help to you. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you are having any problems accessing your account and we will

do our best to help with this.

Beach School & Forest School

Beach School and Forest School were both going well despite the bad weather we were having prior to lock-down. Apologies for having to cancel a couple of sessions but sometimes it is beyond our control.

We will resume these sessions as soon as we are able. We already have a lists of children wanting to take part from September. If you would like your child to take part please email to let us know. We will prioritise the eldest first to ensure that everyone gets to go if they want to before they go onto school. These sessions are open to 3 and 4 year olds. A letter will be sent out with a booking form. If you don’t receive a letter and you think this might be something your child would enjoy

please speak to a member of staff

Summer Clothing

For children that are still attending, just a reminder that as the better weather approaches please could you make sure your child has all of the following items every day and that these are labelled:

Full change of clothes
Sunhat
Jumper
Lightweight waterproof
coat (just in case)
wellies

Could you also make sure that all T-shirts and dresses have a sleeve so

shoulders are covered please.

Facebook

Please do take a look at Facebook and ‘like’/’share’ and comment on our page. The staff have taken up the challenge are doing an amazing job of posting stories, songs and activities. You can find us here

Emails

We do our best to check emails throughout the day, however, there are occasions when we are with the children beyond 6 0’clock and it has not been possible to get into the office. If anything is urgent and you haven’t had a reply, please do telephone. Whilst we are on a 3 day week the telephones have been diverted so should still be answered but please do leave it to ring longer.

Work In Progress

The children haven’t had much opportunity to enjoy the new preschool playground but I am sure they will continue to have great fun when they return. We are planning to make some changes to our baby toddler play area. Once we know where we are when the current crisis is over we will look at how we can progress this.

Many thanks to all of you who have helped raise money for our outdoor learning space. We have raised £325 so far!

Every time you shop, we receive a small donation to say ‘thank you’ and it’s completely free too! We want to raise as much as possible please sign up and help us at

Dates For Your Diary

25th – 29th May

Half Term

Friday 10 th July

Tea Party - The Jays 25 th Birthday

Party, performance and Leavers Presentation – ON HOLD

Monday 20th July

Last day of Summer Term

Monday 26 th August

Bank Holiday – Nursery Closed

Monday 7th September

First day of Autumn Term for Term Time Only Children

Thursday 15th October

Photographer 2pm – 5pm

26 th – 30th October

Half term for term time children

Missing You

Mon, 11 May 2020 13:49:06 GMT

Missing You

We put together this video clip for all our children who couldn't come to Nursery/Pre-School during the corona virus pandemic. We hope you like it

In The Moment Planning

Mon, 11 May 2020 13:45:12 GMT

In The Moment Planning

‘We are moving from forward planning to In the Moment Planning’. You can see more detail about this on our Home Links page. If you have any queries about this please do not hesitate to contact us.

Virtual Tour

Mon, 11 May 2020 13:40:51 GMT

Virtual Tour

We were very nervous doing this video and are amateurs is this field so please excuse all the glitches etc.! We are much better at childcare! I hope it gives you an indication of our setting. It looks a little bare as displays and toys have been taken away for replacement, cleaning or health and safety reasons re corona virus. We filmed this virtual tour during the coronavirus lockdown when we remained open for children of our Critical and Key workers but couldn't have physical visits for prospective parents. Out of hours visits by arrangement if your child needs to start nursery/pre-school imminently.

Spring Newsletter 2020

Mon, 11 May 2020 12:38:18 GMT

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome back to a new term at The Jays. We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and we wish you all a happy and prosperous new year.

Welcome

We would like to welcome Laila, Penny and Reuben. We hope they are settling in well and enjoying nursery life. We have also welcomed back Jo who has taken on a role working with the children – a bit different to her office life!

Questionnaire

We have sent out questionnaire’s as your opinion and input is important to us. If you haven’t already completed your questionnaire, please could you let us have them back by 14.2.20. You can find more copies in the lobby area.

Many Thanks.

Photographs

Please note, if your child is not

in any photo’s on Facebook it is

purely as we do our best not to

show faces and sometimes your

child may be in one that we

cannot publish.

Forest School

Forest School is going very well and the children are enjoying building dens, toasting food on the campfire, using tools, exploring the forest and being very creative.

Facebook

Don’t forget you can find us on Facebook under The Jays Day Care Nursery, Pre-school and Forest School. We try to update it regularly with news of what your children have been doing at Nursery. It is also a great way of receiving important information i.e. should nursery need to open late or close due to bad weather.

If you are happy with your childcare, please do recommend us on Facebook or Google. If not, please do come and talk to us and we can try to put it right.

Beach School

Beach School is also very popular and the children are

having fun rock pooling, building structures, cooking as

well as learning about the environment, climate change

and safety on the beach. Do look at Facebook and your Tapestry accounts for more detail and some lovely photographs and see what they have been getting up to. Lots of fun!

Forest School and Beach School are open to children in the Pre-School Room. Sessions are fully booked at the moment but if you are interested in your child taking part, please do let us know and we will add them to the waiting list.

Illness/Sickness

If your child is ill please do not bring them in. If they are

suffering from sickness or diarrhoea our policy is that

they are not to return until 48 hours after their last bout.

Many thanks for your cooperation in this matter.

Help Paying For Childcare

To find out if you can get help with your childcare costs

please visit the childcare choices website https://www.childcarechoices. gov.uk/ You may be eligible for Tax Free Childcare, 2 year old funding, 3 and 4 year old funding, help through Tax Credits/Universal Credit or Childcare support whilst you study. Do take a look now.

Fundraising - Outdoor Learning Space

Many thanks to all of you who have helped raise money for our outdoor learning space. We have raised £287 so far! If you are not already signed up to help, please do take a look – through easyfundraising you can help us raise funds simply by doing your everyday online shopping with over 3,300 big name retailers like Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com, eBay, Boden, and M&S.

Every time you shop, we receive a small donation to say ‘thank you’ and it’s completely free too! We want to raise as much as possible so please sign up and help us at https://www.easyfundraising.o rg.uk/causes/jaysdaycare/ We would also like to thank the parents who have given private donations. We have put this towards buying some outdoor learning resources such as bikes, steppingstones, mud kitchen resources etc. that all the children will benefit from. Work is on-going in the front garden. Apologies for the inconvenience. Can’t wait for it all to be finished.

Creative Workshop

Hazel is busy developing the children’s Music, Dance and

Drama skills. You will get to see them in action on 26th

March performing from the book ‘Be Brave Little Penguin’ – further information to follow. Do take a look at Tapestry and Facebook for pictures and information and also see the wonderful display Hazel creates each week with your children’s work, that can be seen in our lobby.

Sports Relief

Send you children along in their sporty clothes ready to join in with our sporty theme this week. We will be doing lots of physical activities in support of sport relief. A donation pot will be in the reception area outside the office.

Children In Need

What a great time we had when Pudsey came to visit. Everyone loved him and were very sad when he had to go home. A big thank you to his organisers for letting him visit. Hopefully we will see him again next year. We managed to raise £85 Many thanks to everyone for supporting this event.

In The Moment Planning

The nursery is in full swing with ‘In the moment’. Each child will be a focus child for a week each half term. You, as parents, will be part of this type of planning. By supplying us with your child’s interests at home and things they may have seen or been involved in i.e. weddings, holidays, visits from family, photo’s etc. it will help us prepare the different rooms to meet the needs and interests of your child. Should you wish to know more about this way of planning, please ask your child’s keyworker or other member of staff.

Dates For Your Diary

Monday 17 th – Friday 21 st February

Half term for Term Time only children

Monday 4th – Friday 6 th March

World Book Week Dressing up

Monday 9th – Friday 13th March

Sport Relief Week

Thursday 26th March

Be Brave Little Penguin

Friday 27th March 2020

End of Term for Term Time only children

Friday 10 th April 2020

Good Friday - CLOSED

Monday 13th April 2020

Easter Monday - CLOSED

Tuesday 14th April 2020

First day of Summer Term for Term Time only children

Friday 8th May 2020

Closed - Bank Holiday

Monday 25 th – Friday 29th May 2020

Half Term for Term Time only children

Monday 25th May 2020

Closed - Bank Holiday

Friday 10 th July 2020

Tea Party

Monday 20th July 2020

Last Day of Term for Term Time only children