Latest News

Nursery News 5th July 2021

Monday, July 5, 2021

NURSERY NEWS

5th July 2021 – Edition 231

Find out About:

A. Arrangements for September 2021.

B. Reminder about consultations this week.

A. Arrangements for September 2021.

We have finalised our plans for the beginning of term in September 2021. So this information is for all the families staying with us in September.

Covid 19 has impacted quite greatly upon our ability to show families around our school. In normal circumstances, I (as Headteacher), personally show at least two families per week around our school, to see if they would like to add their child to our waiting list. We usually invite the children joining the 3+ year to come to a visit afternoon to a ‘stay and play’ session with their parents. When a child starts parents are welcome to stay to help settle their child.

I am aware, that most parents of children attending Willow in September have not seen inside the school. So, we have planned a few days of induction to enable parents to come in to school with their children, to see what the school is like.

The regulations that we have had to follow in schools during Covid have not yet changed. It is very unlikely that any new guidelines will be released this side of the school Summer Holidays. So, Miss Howe and Myself have tried to plan the first week or so back, not knowing what rules will exist for schools, or indeed what will be happening with the pandemic. It is our hope that these arrangements that we have planned will happen in the way we have planned. We are optimistic.

We have kept numbers of families small at each event, to be safe, but also to give families lots of opportunity to meet all the staff, look around the school and ask questions. This does mean that these visit arrangements will take longer than one day.

We are aware that a number of our parents are working parents, and look fo the school to be operating for all children as soon as possible. We have made our plans trying to strike a balance for everyone’s needs.

However, if these plans change (due to Covid) we will do our best to get in touch with all parents as soon as possible. If I have anything to communicate to all parents I will put a ‘Latest News’ Story on our Website. Please check there first before ringing the school.

Let us start with Catkins class…..

Catkins Class will reopen on Wednesday 8th September. Children’s attendance patterns remain the same, unless you have spoken to me about additional hours for your child. New starters in Catkins Class have received paperwork advising parents what their child’s first day will be. In Catkins Class we wish to settle only one or two new children in each session. New Catkins Children have start dates somewhere

between the 13th September 2021 and 4th October 2021.

Catkins hours remain 8:45am – 11:45am for a morning session or 8:45am to 2:45pm for a full day session.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Main Nursery:

Monday 6th September 2021 and Tuesday 7th September 2021 have been scheduled as visit days. The school will not be open as usual on these two days. Attendance on these days is by invitation only. See details below:

Monday 6th September:

All children who will be in Yellow Group in September are invited to attend a Stay and Play session, lasting for one hour, with a Parent. Invitations were sent out on Thursday 1st July to all these parents. There will be 3 sessions during the day, so only 8 families will be invited to each session. Yellow Group have all been allocated a start date between Wednesday 8th September and Wednesday 15th September, to ensure we only take in 6 brand new children on any one day. These start dates have also been communicated to Yellow Group.

Tuesday 7th September.

This day will offer a transition session for all children (and their parents) in Miss Gaffneys Blue Group and Mrs Brinkley’s Orange Group.

We will offer a morning session or an afternoon session.

The idea of these sessions are that you and your child will arrive at school to have a scheduled meeting lasting ten minutes with your child’s current Keyworker and with your child’s new Keyworker

So, Blue Group children will meet with Miss Gaffney and Mrs Patterson

Orange Group children will meet with Mrs Brinkley and Miss Skai.

You will arrive at your specified appointment time, meet with your child’s Keyworker’s and discuss anything you wish to share to enable the transition into Main Nursery to go as smoothly as possible. You will then be free to move around the school together, both inside and outside. Classrooms will be set up with activities, and we invite you and your child to explore their new spaces and chat to staff who will be available to talk with you.

Morning session: 10 minute appointments will be available to choose from between 8:50am and 10:10am. Parents may choose to stay and play after their appointment, but all parents and children should leave by 11:00am.

Afternoon session: 10 minute appointments will be available to choose from between 12:30pm and 1:50pm. Parents may choose to stay and play after their appointment but all parents and children should leave by 2:40pm.

All these meetings/ stay and play are optional. You do not have to attend, but it will be a way to see the school with your child. You may choose to just have the meeting

and then you and your child can choose to leave to go home. You may choose to have the meeting and then stay for a short time and then go. We cannot offer meetings at alternative times or dates as we are looking to get the school up and running as quickly as possible for those parents who are working.

Parents must stay with their children at this event.

Parents can arrange these appointments for Tuesday 7th September with Miss Gaffney/ Mrs Brinkley, during the telephone consultations that are scheduled for this week. If you do not have a telephone consultation this week with Miss Gaffney or Mrs Brinkley, please do not worry they will get in touch with you regarding a transition session in September.

Wednesday 8th September – Main Nursery Re-opens for regular Nursery sessions.

Blue Group and Orange return to Nursery, attending for their agreed attendance pattern. So for example, if your child currently attends for two and a half days at the end of the week, they would return on this Wednesday at 11:50pm with their lunch box.

Main Nursery hours are:

Morning session: 8:50am to 11:50am

Wednesday afternoon session: 11:50am to 2:50pm.

Full day session: 8:50am to 2:50pm

B. Reminder about consultations this week

We will have parent consultations for all the children on 6th, 7th and 8th July 2021 as follows:

Tuesday 6th July- Catkins children. Telephone consultation, a 10 minute consultation scheduled from 3:15 onwards with your child’s keyworker.

Wednesday 7th July- Blue Group Children, 10 minute Telephone Consultation with Miss Gaffney scheduled from 3:15 onwards

Thursday 8th July- Orange Group children, 10 minute Telephone Consultation with Mrs Brinkley scheduled from 3:15 onwards

Main Nursery children will have a Leavers Consultation, where staff will hand over your child’s year book. Therefore Miss Howe has decided these consultations will be face to face, but outside and seating will be 2 metres apart.

Tuesday 6th July -Green Group Children, 5 minute Face to Face meeting with Mrs Patterson scheduled from 3:15 onwards

Wednesday 7th July,- Red Group Children 5 minute Face to Face meeting with Miss Skai scheduled between 3:15 onwards

Thursday 8th July –Yellow Group children 5 minute Face to Face meeting with Miss Howe scheduled from 3:15 onwards.

If any/all of these parent meetings are cancelled due to covid, we will not be able to reschedule.

Nursery News 28.6.2021

Monday, June 28, 2021

NURSERY NEWS

28th June 2021 – Edition 230

Find out About:

A. Bookstart Packs.

B. Review of the Year

C. Queues outside school.

D. A case of Head lice in the Younger Bubble.

A. Bookstart Packs.

If your child attends the Main Nursery and is in Green, Red or Yellow Group they will bring home a big envelope containing a book from the Book Trust on WEDNESDAY 30th June . This book is for your child to keep. Book Trust is the UK’s leading reading charity. Every year they give over 5 million books and resources to children across the country. Children receive this pack in their final year in Nursery, so our younger children will receive them in future years.

B. Review of the year

At this time of year, we carry out a big review of our school. In the past few days I have been talking to children individually to gain their views about their school, with regard to what they like, what they think they have learned and what they would like to see change. All school staff and Governors are busy filling in questionnaires too.

This information helps us to plan our areas for development next year.

I always ask parents for their views too at this time of year.

We usually ask just two questions:

1. Please comment about what we do well at Willow.

2. Please tell us one thing you would like to see at Willow that you would consider to be an improvement and/or development. Please write a short email and send to office@willownursery.co.uk

It has been an unusual year for everyone. We have been following government advice, in a GOV.UK document : Action for Early Years and Childcare providers during the Coronavirus (Covid 19) outbreak. We have been unable to invite parents in to school. The experience families have had this year at Willow has been completely different to all previous years. We hope that at some point in the new school year we will be able to increase parent involvement. So, with this in mind I would like you as parents to share with us:

3. Any ideas regarding how parents could feel more involved with the school.

If you wish your comments to inform my review, please send your email by the end of this week, Friday 2nd July. I will then compile all the comments and respond to them in a future newsletter, on Monday 12th July.

C. Queues outside school.

I have been approached by one of our childminders to ask all parents to be considerate of the needs of other parents /carers when waiting in the queues outside school. Her concern is that she can have up to 6 children with her, dropping them off to Willow and Hadrian Academy Schools, and she does not want the children to be asked to walk in the road. I do understand this, as these children are not her own children, but other people’s children in her care. I would kindly ask that when you are queuing outside school you try to leave enough space on the pavement so that others can pass you when walking single file. It is a narrow path, and I have always asked parents and carers to look out for the safety of each other’s children to enable us to keep all our children safe.

From my point of view, I do think that all parents are working really well together to fill and empty the school in an organised manner.

D. A case of Head lice in the Younger Bubble

A parent kindly telephoned me on Friday to inform me her child had head lice. I would ask that all parents of children in the younger bubble check their child’s hair.

I have copied the following information from an NHS information website, which you may find useful.

Head lice and nits

Head lice and nits are very common in young children and their families. They do not have anything to do with dirty hair and are picked up by head-to-head contact.

Check if it’s head lice

Head lice are small insects, up to 3mm long

They can be difficult to spot in your hair

Head lice eggs (nits) are brown or white (empty shells) and attached to the hair

Head lice can make your head feel:

· itchy

· like something is moving in your hair

The only way to be sure someone has head lice is by finding live lice.

You can do this by combing their hair with a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb). You can buy these online or at pharmacies.

How to get rid of head lice

Important

You can treat head lice without seeing a GP.

Treat head lice as soon as you spot them.

You should check everyone in the house and start treating anyone who has head lice on the same day.

There’s no need to keep your child off school if they have head lice.

Wet combing

Lice and nits can be removed by wet combing. You should try this method first.

You can buy a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb) online or from pharmacies to remove head lice and nits.

There may be instructions on the pack, but usually you:

· wash hair with ordinary shampoo

· apply lots of conditioner (any conditioner will do)

· comb the whole head of hair, from the roots to the ends

It usually takes about 10 minutes to comb short hair, and 20 to 30 minutes for long, frizzy or curly hair.

Do wet combing on days 1, 5, 9 and 13 to catch any newly hatched head lice. Check again that everyone’s hair is free of lice on day 17.

Medicated lotions and sprays

Ask a pharmacist for advice if you have tried wet combing for 17 days, but your child still has live head lice.

They may recommend using medicated lotions and sprays. These kill head lice in all types of hair, and you can buy them from pharmacies, supermarkets or online.

Head lice should die within a day. Some lotions and sprays come with a comb to remove dead lice and eggs.

Some treatments need to be repeated after a week to kill any newly hatched lice.

Check the pack to see if they’re OK for you or your child and how to use them.

If lotions or sprays do not work, speak to a pharmacist about other treatments.

Some treatments are not recommended because they’re unlikely to work.

For example:

· products containing permethrin

· head lice “repellents”

· electric combs for head lice

Nursery News 21.6.2021

Monday, June 21, 2021

NURSERY NEWS

21st June 2021 – Edition 229

Find out About:

A. Covid Coughs and Temperatures.- Our View.

B. Some children and adults are really scared of dogs.

C. Is your child ready to learn?

D. Updated Public Health Advice.

E. Parent Consultations July 2021

F. End of Term arrangements July 2021

A. Covid, Coughs and Temperatures.- Our View.

Cases of Covid 19 are currently rising rapidly, nationally, especially in schools. We are still required to keep protective measures in place in our schools. If a parent tells us that their child has a temperature or a cough, we are required to advise parents that they should seek a Covid test for their child.

We are being very vigilant in school listening out for children with new, continuous coughs. We will send a child home if we feel a cough is persistent, and advise parents to seek a Covid test for their child.

However, this is a complete minefield at the moment. We have had a child who is suffering from Chronic Hayfever, who has been off school for some time, and the doctors advice has been that residual congestion remains on the child’s chest due to hayfever.

We know of at least two children in recent weeks who have had a cough, that have seen their GP and been prescribed antibiotics for an infection, and they were told to return to school when they felt well enough.

Children who suffer from asthma are feeling the heat and high pollen counts, which is making their asthma worse.

But, if you, as a parent, are waiting in the queue outside in the morning, and can hear a child coughing and coughing it is a worry knowing that your child may sit next to the coughing child at register time or lunchtime, or may spend half the day playing with the child who is coughing.

So we will do our bit by being vigilant, and looking for children who are coughing, but we ask parents to do their bit by not sending in to school children who are unwell.

B.Some children and adults are really scared of dogs.

A parent has spoken to me about her, and her child’s fear of dogs. She is concerned that a number of families are joining the queues outside school with their dogs. It is a busy space, and families are quite close. I know all our Willow family dogs are well handled and well behaved. However, there will be more than one child out there in the queue who is petrified of dogs. I would kindly ask that if you choose to bring your

pet to school that you consider waiting over the road with your dog and bringing your child over when all the other children from your child’s colour group have gone in. Keyworkers do look out for all their keyworker children arriving and will know that you are there. The same would apply at going home time too. The younger bubble are really good at staying at their waiting spot until their keyworker signals to them to move down. We need Red and Yellow groups to wait at their colour spot until called forward. This will allow a clear space at the gate for our dog owners to pop over and drop off/ collect their children.

I am asking our dog owners to please consider those adults and children who are not comfortable around dogs. I know an argument could be that our small collection of well behaved pups would allow children to get to know animals and be less scared of them, but the line outside school is not the place for this, as parents do not have choice about being here, or indeed the choice to move away to avoid the dog.

C. Is your child ready to learn?

We are in the final half term of the school year, and our thoughts do become focused on those children who are leaving us. We prepare children’s records to transfer to Primary Schools and we summarise children’s progress with parents. We now begin to question, are our leavers school ready?

One tick from ‘the sixteen ticks’ to work upon:

To be able to take off coat and put on shoes.

Children need to be as independent as possible. It is not just the ability to take clothing off that is important, children need to put their belongings in a place where they can be found again, which in school is on their peg. As temperatures rise children will take layers off to try to keep cool. Encourage them to look after their belongings at home. To put their shoes in the place where they should be stored. Also: To be toilet trained and able to visit the toilet alone. Children come into Catkins class in varying stages of toilet training. We support all parents when they feel their child is ready to be toilet trained. Not wearing nappies anymore is a huge achievement for both child and parent. Your child is on their way to independence. Children also need to be taught how to use a toilet independently. Children need to be shown how to manage their clothing, how to use toilet paper to wipe their own bottom, how to flush the toilet and how to wash their hands. They also need to be allowed to try this on their own at home. Children should be confident toilet users by the time they leave Willow to go to Primary school.

D. Updated Public Health Advice.

We have received some updated Public Health Advice after the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s speech on the 14th June 2021. Schools have been advised to keep all, current protective measures in place until there is a further announcement on Step 4 of the roadmap.

We have been waiting to see if there would be any changes to the Covid rules which the school must follow before planning the end of term.

Our plans are now in place, which I will share with you below.

However, Covid may impact upon any of the plans we have put in place. We currently have a small number of pupil families where one parent is isolating due to contact with a positive Covid case. It is very likely that a confirmed case in one of our pupils will close a bubble. Case numbers are growing in schools generally. Staff may have to work from home if their children are asked to isolate.

If we cancel something we have planned, we will not have time to reschedule.

E. Parent Consultations July 2021.

Following, guidelines for schools, we should, wherever possible, use electronic means to meet with parents.