Oakdale – December 2020

Welcome to the last Newsletter in our first year of opening!

It is hard to believe we are coming to the end of 2020 and our first year at Oakdale and what a year it has been.

However, through it all you, our parents and carers have been the greatest support and inspiration for us all to keep going. We have had lots of changes to practice and procedures at the Nursery to support the safety of the children and you have all helped us to put things into place. Throughout this all the children have been able to access the nursery and feel safe, secure and loved.

We have had a lovely end of year with Christmas seeing the close of our first year at the Nursery. The children have been so happy making Christmas activities, singing songs and dressing up in all those lovely Christmas clothes. We have all tried to have that Christmas spirit too and make it a really memorable time. You have helped us by helping us to deliver over 65 coats to our coat appeal to help those less fortunate than us and to keep them warm in this cold winter. Something to be proud off.

We have also had a great support from you to help us raise money for our newly formed charity. This is to help buy Christmas presents for those less fortunate, you again helped us by bringing in gifts we can give to the children and buying/ordering an Oakdale recipe book, a book that shares with you my recipes that I make for the children’s lunches.  We are again so proud and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support.

The Team

COVID-19

We will have to maintain our current practice for bringing and collecting children from the Nursery in January.

When you arrive at the Nursery please follow the arrows on the walls etc showing you the way you need to come into and out of the school areas. You can use the first car-parking area only as the main car park is for staff only and is being used as a walking area for parents of the  school and Nursery to enter and leave the School premises.

When you get to the gate with the intercom button on for the Nursery please press and wait for a member of staff to come out and collect your child from this area do not come to the Nursery door. We have since the return in June discovered that the children become less upset if we meet them at the gate and take them in with us.

When you are collecting your child, we will do the opposite when you press the intercom, we will then bring your child out to you at the gate. This will also give us a chance for a little handover discussion with you and if you have anything you need to ask, you can do this either at the start or end of session.

Please read all the updates we send to you regarding the Covid 19, its restrictions and the track and trace system. They also contain important information from the Peterborough City Council or from other professionals and are essential in our fight to beat this in our City.

Clothing, bags and tips

Just a reminder could you please ensure every item your child wears or brings into nursery is labelled with your child’s name. If you are happy to do so we have been asking for you to bring a bag that we keep in the nursery that has a name on the outside so easily recognised when we need to get spares out for your child.

If we need to return wet clothing, we will bring out in a disposable bag. This helps to stop transfer and cross-contamination of germs. We also have a lot of messy play available for the children, could you all ensure your child has at least one set of spare clothes at nursery on their peg.

If we need more clothing or different clothes for changes in seasons, we will bring the bag out and ask you to update the bag. You have been so understanding throughout the term.

Nappies and nappy cream can be brought in bulk to the nursery and we will inform you when we run out, so you do not need to keep bringing them in daily. This has worked well so we will continue to do this.

Family Photos

If you haven’t already done so, it would be great if we could have a family picture for each child. These pictures are being placed on our “growing together board” and we refer to this board to talk about our family members, it also is a place the children can go and look at if they need reassurance or need to see their family. We continue to add and update this board so if you want to send a extended family photograph from Christmas please do.

Things from home

Currently we will ask again that you discourage children from bringing things in from home to the Nursery. If they are needed to comfort a child, or to sleep with then please give to member of staff when we collect your child at the gate. If they need a soother to sleep with then we will of course give it to them at the appropriate time. At all other times it will be stored in a named sealed plastic bag again to prevent cross contamination.

Coats and hats

We may still need to have a warm hat, gloves, and wellington boots when we come back from the Christmas break, please remember to name them especially any new sets, so we know who they belong to. If you could bring a spare set in on the first day back and leave it with us, then again, we can always have it available.

The children know where to find their hat coat etc themselves as we keep them close to the door, so they have access to them. We have ordered and are still waiting for a new clothes rack that we can keep all the coats and outdoor clothes on which we can wheel in and out but it still not arrived when it does it will have more room for their belongings. Thank you.

Car park safety

We would like to remind all parents to take extreme caution when entering or leaving the car park to be aware that this is a very busy area and especially around dusk. You need to supervise you children and ensure they do not run into the road area or car park spaces.

It is difficult to see when reversing a car from a space and watching your surrounding areas clearly. Our children’s height means they could walk or stand behind a car and not be seen by the driver. We have asked on many opportunities that you do not park your cars in the main car park as this is reserved for school, nursery staff and other professionals only. Parents parking area is the spaces at the front car park only.

A child was seen getting out of a car, leaving the main car park and running across the car-park to join an adult that was walking with her children, this was very dangerous and thankfully the child reached her safely. Please follow the car park rules.

Spring term

It is hard to talk about the next term when so much is happening on a weekly basis but when we return after Christmas it will be the spring term and the children will be looking forward to another term at the Nursery. All the children are now settled and able to access the whole indoor and outdoor areas independently. They know all the adults and who to go to for support or help. They also can access all the resources and toys to support their learning and play every day. What will be happening in the big wide World will be a watch and see, with covid 19 hopefully slowly being controlled and things beginning to be more accessible to everybody. We will continue to follow the recommendations and again I hope we can have your support.

The children have a great understanding of the importance of handwashing within their routines of the day. They clean their noses throw away tissues and wash their hands as routine.

We have put together all the children’s Christmas crafts and they will come home with your child on their last day before Christmas in a bag which you can then quarantine for 72 hours if you wish. We will also add the cards that have been posted in the post box, these have been quarantined for at least 72hours already.

Babysdays

We have now ensured every child has had their starting points added onto the Babysdays system. Existing children have new next steps and an updated tracker available to see on the browser. You should have had your key person request form and if required your choice of consultation with your child’s keyperson by the selected method. If you have any further worries or concerns you can always talk to Sandra or Lucy at another date. They will be speaking to you about your child’s next steps that have been set and don’t forget you can always observe your child at home and share milestones on the system yourself, we love seeing photographs and observations that you share with us. If you are struggling to access the system, let us know and we will try and help you. If your child wants us to see a new toy they received at Christmas or an achievement that was achieved over the holiday maybe you could take a photo and upload it to the Babysdays so we can share it that way.

This will give the children the opportunity to show us and their friends their special item without physically bringing it into the setting.

Other

If there’s anything else you would like to speak to us about, please do not hesitate to give us a call or speak us in the setting when you drop off or pick up and we will try and help you then or the quickest way is to e-mail us.

No problem is too small to bother us with, if there is something that is bothering you, then it must be important to you, so just talk to us. We feel it is so important for us to have an open dialogue with you as parents/carers and first educators of your children. We want to earn your trust and respect so we can work in a true partnership with you for the successful educational journey your child is about to undertake with us at the Nursery. We have a curriculum based around the individual child, their interests, and the learning style that they like best. We can only do this if you feel you can share this with confidence.

We are really looking forward to continuing our great working relationship that we have built up with you this term. We will be closing on the 24th December at 1pm, if this is your child’s usual day in could you let us know if you will be attending this day so we can staff accordingly. The nursery reopens on Monday the 4th January.

We would like to take this opportunity to say you are the best parents and carers ever!

Thank you for the wonderful feedback, gifts, cards and wishes sent to us.

We would like to wish you and all your families a safe Very Happy Christmas.

Sandra, Lucy and the team