Puddleducks newsletter

February/March 2025

Welcome to the 2nd half of the spring term

Windows

We would like to thank you for your support and patience while our windows were being replaced. I think you would all agree that although we have lost our lovely Victorian front door, they have done a good job of keeping the buildings character. The two large windows at the front will be replaced at a later date as these are supporting the roof. Once we know when this is happening, we will let you know.

General notices and reminders:

Funding

The “Working Parents Entitlement” for children aged 9 months, 2 years and 3+4-year-olds is means tested with HMRC. As parents you are responsible for applying for the funding on the government website www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

You will then be given a code which you need to pass on to us along with the national insurance number of the parent who applied for the funding.

As a nursery we must verify that your code is valid. Each term we must follow the local authority rules on when this code can be used. They provide us a date which each code must have a start date before for the funding to be used that term.

For the summer term, as Easter is late April, the beginning of the term is the 1st April. Therefore, all codes must have a start date on or before 31st March for us to be able to use it. Please do remember to re-confirm your codes as if the start date is after we want be able to use it.

Fees

You will find our new fee structure attached which will begin on 1st April 2025. Please note that we offer stretched government funding. This means that your funding entitlement is stretched over the 50 weeks of the year we are open. The Famly invoicing system is limited in what it will allow us to display on your invoice, if you would like a more detailed breakdown of how your invoice is calculated please email the office and we will provide this. Your April invoice will be sent our early to allow you time to make changes to Direct Debits etc, once you receive it, please let us know of any queries. Please remember that all fees need to be paid by 5th of the month. We are having an increasing number of people we are having to chase.

Sophie Randle-Chwa, Director

Family App

Please check your app daily in case any important updates have been added.

We will be uploading our newsletter on the app in the documents section. The document section can be found on the home page list. We will also be uploading our polices here as and when we update them.

Sickness and Holidays

Can we please ask that you register all sickness/absences on the app. This is a requirement from the local authority for all children who access funding.

Can we also ask that parents keep their phone numbers updated on the app, as in the case of sickness we will need the children to be collected.

Please remember that if your child has been sick or had diarrhoea they are not allowed into nursery for 48 hours after the last time they had symptoms.

If your child has been given antibiotics, we can only allow them to attend nursery and administer it here, after 24hrs since their first dose. All medication should be handed to staff in its original packaging which contains the child’s name, date of birth and dosage.

Security

Please could you make sure that all doors are closed behind you when entering and leaving the building. The door by the office is no longer on an automatic open/close so please do check it has been securely shut.

Ensure you close the gates behind you and secure them with the bolt as you enter and leave nursery. Never let any other person in, even if you know them.

This is ALL to ensure the safety and security of all our children. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Fire drills/ lockdown

We hold regular fire drills at the nursery which the children are familiar with. This term we will be talking to the children about our lock down procedure, with a view to begin undertaking regular drills next term. These will then become part of our normal practice.

Charity

Once again, we will be collecting Easter Eggs for Warwickshire Family and Children’s service. Every year they host an event for children in care who do not live with their brothers and sisters. The children’s ages range from babies to 18 years. This is a regular event to support National Sibling Day which always falls just before Easter, around the 10th of April. The aim is to be able to gift every child who attends an Easter Egg, which they will find by joining in a lovely Easter Hunt. We would be hugely grateful if you could help us support this. We will place a collection basket outside the office from Monday 24th February until Thursday 27th March. Social services will be collecting donations at 10am on the 27th of March.

Nestlings

This half term we will be focusing on “Nursery songs”, looking at a different song each week. We will be enjoying messy art activities connected to the song and learning the actions/Makaton signs. Please let us know via the app your child’s favourite song, this can be any pop, rock, jazz or classical song which we can play for them here. Our Nestling play list has a real eclectic mix.

As the weather is (hopefully) getting wormer, we will be making more use of the garden. So please ensure your child had the appropriate footwear and a coat. Do check the front of you child’s locker for notes regarding whether you need to bring in any more nappies or cream.

Staffing update

Clare will be leaving us as at the beginning of April, we wish her well in her new setting.

Ducklings

This term we will be looking at Animals, farm, jungle, insects, pets, and sea. If you have any photos of you visiting a farm, wildlife park or at home with your pet please could you sent them in via the app or email.

We will be doing different messy and art activities, playing with different types of animals, and doing animal puzzles, pretend play.

Just a reminder to let us know when your child’s 2-year check is. We must complete a form for you to pass on and some children have been called for them earlier that we have anticipated.

Pre School

Cygnets and Swans

This half term the children will be learning about growing. We will be exploring how we grow and what we need to help us grow. We will also include the life cycles of some animals and insects including frogs and butterflies. We will be finishing our topic by learning about what we can grow in the garden. We will be planting some of our own plants and vegetables in our plant pots and in the patch for us to watch, see how they change and taste some of the things we have grown.

The children will also be exploring some of the celebrations we have coming up, such as Shrove Tuesday, World book day, Holi, Mother's Day, and Easter.

Just a reminder that all children need to have a named water bottle with them daily. All preschool children are provided with a bag on their peg, we just ask that parents provide a named change of clothes for your child. Please could you make sure that all your child’s clothes are named, we seem to have many children leaving jumpers behind in the jumper basket, which we can’t return to their owner as they haven’t been named.

Staffing update

Max will be leaving us as at the beginning of March, we wish him well in his new setting.

SEND

If you ever have any questions, queries or concerns regarding your child’s development or behaviour, please do not hesitate to get I touch with me. You can contact me via telephone, email or in person. If I am unavailable, please leave a message for me and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Key dates

Week beginning Monday 24th February – term starts

Week beginning Monday 24th February to Thursday 27th March – Easter Egg collection for Warwickshire Children’s Services

1st April summer term funding begins

Week beginning Monday 14th April – Friday 25th April – Easter holidays

Friday 18th April – Nursery closed for Good Friday Bank Holiday

Monday 21st April – Nursery Closed for Easter Monday Bank Holiday

Monday 5th May – Nursery closed for bank holiday

Wednesday 14th May – Nursery closing at 5pm for staff meeting

Week beginning Monday 26th May – half term (Nursery closed for bank holiday Monday 26th)

Tuesday 26th June – Photographer in Nursery (individual and group photos)

Tuesday 15th July – Preschool (Swans) graduation