Walthampreschool.org



Newsletter Spring Term 1

Room 2

December 2020

Welcome to our Spring Term Newsletter – we hope you find the information useful. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact the main pre-school office where we will be happy to help.

Story of the Week

Our weekly focus books will be by the author Julia Donaldson for the first half of Spring Term. Each book will be shared throughout the week and activities and interests built around the themes within the book.

Interest Table

This term we shall be helping the children to increase their phonological awareness by concentrating on one sound per week. The interest table will help reinforce these sounds. Please bring in something beginning with the following:

4.1.21 – S, sss 25.1.21 – P, ppp

11.1.21 – A, aaa 1.2.21 – I, iii

18.1.21 – T, ttt 8.2.21 – N, nnn

Please note only one item per week. Further support to develop your child’s phonological awareness at home, might be to go on a ‘listening walk’ or to play word rhyming type games. Your child’s keyworker will always be happy to make suggestions and discuss ideas with you if you would like any resource and activity ideas for home learning . Please contact your child’s keyworker via Tapestry.

As Winter is approaching, we will be enhancing our environments with Winter activities and resources. We will be celebrating the Chinese New Year the week commencing Monday 8th February.

Circle Time

The children are participating in small group Circle time sessions every morning at pre-school. During this time, we are exploring numbers and colours, introducing sounds and participating in small games. This is a great way for the children to get a sense of the community , develop their confidence and social skills and improve their speaking and listening skills. It is important that children arrive promptly for the Pre-school session so that they do not miss out on their development in these key areas or interrupt the sessions for others due to arriving late. We thank you in anticipation of your support in ensuring that your child arrives at the correct time for their booked sessions.

Application for School Places September 2021

A reminder that the deadline for applying for your child to go to school in September, is 15th January 2021. If you need any help or guidance with the application, please speak to Mrs Rawcliffe.

Dropping off and Collecting Children – Pre-school and Out of School Club provision

A reminder that in line with the recommended guidelines from the NSPCC and in accordance with our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, all children attending our pre-school and out of school provision must be dropped off and collected by an adult or young person over the age of 16 years. Children attending the Out of School Club must be handed to and collected from, a member of the pre-school staff at the appropriate entry doors. This enables us to keep an accurate register of who is in attendance and ensure that all children are accounted for and safe.

Security / Child Safety

We are aware that some parents are not closing the gates behind them, despite the clear notices. This is a safety hazard to all children and we urge parents to close the gate at all times from 7.30am –

6.00pm. If you have another friend / family member who is collecting or dropping off your child, please alert them to the need to ensure all gates are closed.

OOSC Session Times

OOSC closes at 6pm prompt. We appreciate your cooperation in ensuring that all staff, parents and children have left the building and the site can be secured at 6pm. A reminder that a fine system is in place and will be applied when children are not collected on time. This fine will be £2.00 for every minute past 6 pm. This has to be strictly enforced to ensure that we remain in compliance with our insurance.

Pre-school Website

Our website is regularly updated with all Pre-school and Out of School Club information and events. This includes our menu for the term, pre-school policies, dates, etc. It is also an area where we celebrate learning so please take a moment to have a look. Our website can be found at

Parking

A reminder that no parent /carer cars are allowed on the pre-school and main school site at any time. This is to meet the safety and insurance requirements of our landlord, North East Lincs Council.

We appreciate that parking is difficult but request that all cars are parked with consideration of our neighbours on Manor Drive and away from the yellow zig zag lines outside the school gate, which are there to protect you and your children. Thank you for your understanding and co-operation on this matter.

Clothing

Please ensure:

• children’s tops, coats and bags are named to reduce the likelihood of them being mislaid

• children have a change of clothes in their bags for times that they need a change of clothing

• named hat, gloves and scarves are provided for colder weather

We have a lot of lost property in pre-school at the moment and ask that you discourage your child from bringing in toys and personal items which may easily get lost.

Packed Lunches

If you are providing your child with a packed lunch, please ensure grapes, mini sausage, tomatoes, etc. are cut in half lengthways to reduce the risk of choking. Also, a reminder that we promote healthy eating in our setting and would appreciate your support in ensuring that packed lunches contain healthy choices.

30-Hour Funding

All children are entitled to 15 hours Universal funding from the term following their third birthday. Under certain circumstances children are allowed an additional 15 hours Extended funding, generally known as ’30-hour Funding’. This is again available from the term following the child’s third birthday.

For information regarding all funding available and to apply for the 15 hours Extended funding please go to .uk . If you wish to apply for the extended funding to begin in January, you must apply and return your DERN code to the pre-school prior to the Christmas holiday.

Existing 30-Hour Funded Children

Having obtained 15 hours Extended funding you must ensure that you revalidate your claim before your allocated end-date. Failure to do this will result in you not being eligible for the funding from January and having to pay for any hours over the 15 universal hours taken.

Tax-Free Childcare

You may or may not already be aware of the Government’s Tax-Free Childcare offer. This is available to all working parents. Visit the Government website .uk for more information on how you could potentially save money on your childcare costs.

If you need any information relating to your child’s funding, please see Mr. Beal in the office.

Fundraising

A big thank you for supporting our recent fundraising events this term. We have raised £104.50 for

Children in Need and £62.80 for Christian Aid.

Outdoor Area

As the colder weather is now here and your child will be able to access the outdoor area at all times, could you please ensure you provide your child with named waterproof clothing and wellies.

Emergency Closure

Although we will always endeavor to keep our pre-school provision open, there may be occasions when the pre-school may have to close, for example due to extreme weather. In the event of a closure it will be announced on Lincs FM.

Due to our continued running costs all fees will still remain payable.

Invoice Payments can be made through online banking and our details are:

NatWest, Sort code – 53 50 10 Account No.- 04326881

(Please use your child’s name as a reference).

End of Term

• Pre-school (Rooms 1 and 2) will close on Friday 18th December and reopen on Monday 4th January.

• Nursery closes on Wednesday 23rd December and reopens on Monday 4th January.

• OOSC closes on Friday 18th December and reopens for Pre-school children on Monday 4th January and reopens for Primary School pupils on Wednesday 6th January.

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December Holiday Club

We will be running a Holiday Club for Pre-school and Primary age children on Monday 21st, Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd December. To enable us to organise staffing for the Holiday Club, please book places via the main pre-school office as soon as possible.

February Half-Term Holiday Club

The pre-school is closed for half-term week beginning 15th February. Please ensure that you have contacted the office prior to Friday 5th February if you need your child booking into any holiday club sessions. Nursery is open as normal during this week.

Spring Term Hot Lunch Menu

A copy of the full lunch menu for Spring Term, including tea options, is available on our website- please click on the following link to view.



May we take this opportunity to thank you for your support throughout a challenging 2020 and to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

from all at Waltham Pre-School.

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