Stower Vale Pre-school
Newsletter Autumn Term – 2021 – 2
Committee Meeting
To be held at Pre-school on Tuesday, 15th February 2022. We would like to welcome both our continuing Committee Members together with our new members, it was great to see so many new faces at the AGM! We have added a new section to our website under ‘About Us’ called ‘Our History’ giving a short history of the Pre-school over the years and the importance of our par犀利士
ent Committee to ensure the success of the Pre-school, please do have a look, there is also a printed copy on the notice board.
Toddlers
The Toddler group continues to meet every Wednesday in the School Hall 9.15am till 11.30am and is proving to be very popular and busy, if you would like any further information please speak to Sam.
Forest Area Visits
These visits will take place on the following days:-
Tuesday 16th, Friday 21st and Monday 29th November
Tuesday 7th December
Please make a note of the dates that your child will visit the forest area and ensure they are wearing long trousers/leggings and long-sleeved tops (there are stinging nettles and thistles in the area), as well as weather appropriate clothing such as outdoor coats/sunhats, wellington boots, waterproofs and named water bottle. A list of the dates is also displayed next to the notice board in the lobby.
Weather
Please ensure your child/ren have appropriate clothing for outdoors with them every day, coats, welly boots, waterproofs, hat and gloves.
Funding
If your child is funded in the Spring Term your funding form will be sent home for completion. Please remember to enter your child’s name as per their Birth Certificate and also fill in your complete address as per your Council Tax bill, this is to ensure there is no confusion when Dorset Council come to check the details and allocate the funding.
Easy Fundraising
We are registered with easyfundraising, which means you can raise FREE donations for Pre-school every time you shop online. Over 4,000 shops and sites will donate to us when you use easyfundraising to shop with them – at no extra cost to yourself! These donations really mount up and make a big difference to us, so we’d really appreciate it if you could take a moment to sign up and support us especially when shopping for Christmas. We have attached a leaflet with all the details, this is also displayed in the lobby. Thank you for your support!
Sickness
As we come to the winter months can we ask that parents/carers continue to be vigilant by being aware of the latest signs/symptoms of Covid-19, also please do not send your child/ren to Pre-school if they are unwell, our policies state “In the interest of the child, we believe that (with the exception of teething and in an emergency) a child, who requires medication for pain or fever in order to get through his / her day at pre-school, is not well enough to attend pre-school”.
We continue to follow guidelines within the setting, such as windows are kept open for ventilation, staff and children all continue to wash hands throughout the day, daily cleaning of busy areas in the room. In a small setting it is important that we keep any infections down to a minimum, we therefore appreciate your continued support with this.
Annual Childcare Sufficiency Survey
Dorset Council is asking parents and carers, including family members and Foster Carers to help us understand the needs when it comes to childcare provision for children 0-14 years old. Where a young person up to age 18 has special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) this also applies. Read the full press release for more information
Cllr Andrew Parry, Dorset Council Portfolio Holder for Children, Education and Early Help, has said: “Following last year’s survey, we have continued to work with the fantastic nurseries and childminders in Dorset, but some parents are still struggling to find a place that suits them. We want to improve services and make sure they are flexible, sustainable and cover what’s needed. We want to understand what parents need and if COVID-19 has continued to impact on their circumstances and choices. The views and experiences from the people using local childcare services, or struggling to find a place, are essential. I urge anyone that has children likely to need childcare to take part in the survey so that we can build an accurate a picture as possible of what is likely to be needed and where. This will help us to shape appropriate childcare provision for families with young children in Dorset.”
This is your opportunity to tell Dorset Council about your childcare needs, and experiences. You can have your say by filling out a short survey which will only take five minutes to complete. There is also the chance to win one of two £25 Amazon Vouchers (Terms and Conditions apply).
The survey closes at midnight on 19 November 2021
If you only receive a paper copy of this Newsletter we will email you the link separately.
Christmas
This year, due to the size of the Pre-school building and number of children/families attending, we will not be holding a nativity play but would like to invite you to join us for Christmas carols, mulled wine (non-alcoholic), warm mince pies/ginger cake and Santa’s Grotto on Friday 10th December at 4pm. Wrap up warm as this event will be held outside, siblings are welcome to come along too! Please return the slip if you are able to attend, thank you.
Christmas Jumper Week
We will be joining in with Christmas Jumper Day to raise funds for Save the Children, as Pre-schoolers don’t all attend all week, we will be holding a Christmas Jumper week instead and inviting children to wear their jumpers any time during the week beginning Monday 6th December. Information on how to safely make a donation will be sent home closer to the event.
Christmas cards
The Pre-school Christmas post box will be out from Monday 6th December for your child/ren to send their friends Christmas cards, the last day of posting is Friday 10th December.
Spring Term 2022
Please note that the Pre-school returns on Friday 7th January 2022 after the Christmas break, we appreciate this is an odd day to start the new term but this is due to the Spring Term funding which ends on Thursday 31st March and therefore ensuring that children receive their full entitlement of funded hours.
Dates for the Diary
Committee Meeting – 15th February
Forest Area Visits – 16th, 21st, 29th November, 7th December
Last day of term – 17th December
Christmas jumper week – 6th December
Back to Pre-school – 7th January
Please note all term dates and activity days are also posted on the Pre-school website
Carol singing and Santa’s Grotto
Name of Child …………………………………………………………
We will be attending on Friday 10th December
We will not be attending on Friday 10th December
Number of siblings attending…………….