Nursery Key Information

Hello Everybody,

We are really looking forward to seeing you all in Nursery. Despite the challenging circumstances, we are doing all that we can to make you feel as prepared and as ready as possible for your first year with us and we’re looking forward to all the things that we have planned. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see all of you in person before the summer, but we felt that it would be helpful to share some information that parents and carers often ask for in the lead up to the summer holidays. As we have said throughout this time, things are changing on an ongoing basis and some of the points below are different to how we would normally operate as we have to ensure that we are following Covid-19 guidance. This is by no means exhaustive but we hope that it covers some of the key questions.    

• The morning Nursery session begins at 8:45am and ends at 11:45am.
• The afternoon Nursery session begins at 12:30pm and ends at 3:30pm.
• In line with Covid-19 guidelines and to avoid congestion, there will be a 15 minute window at the beginning and the end of each session for drop off and collection. 
• For morning Nursery, staff will open the gate by the entrance on Blanchland Terrace at 8:45am. This will remain open until 9:00am. 
• For afternoon Nursery, staff will open the gate by the entrance on Blanchland Terrace at 12:30pm. This will remain open until 12:45pm. 
• You will bring your child to the Nursery door and staff will take them inside. 
• If your child is unsettled when they come in, we have found that they settle much easier and quicker if parents and carers leave them with staff. If your child continues to be unsettled as the session begins, we will be in touch to let you know and to talk through next steps.
• If children are in Out of School Club, staff will take them to the Nursery for the beginning of their session and will pick them up from there at the end of the session.
• Similarly to the beginning of the session, there will be a 15 minute window in which to collect your child.
• For morning Nursery collection, staff will open the gate by the entrance on Blanchland Terrace at 11:30am. This will remain open until 11:45am.
• For afternoon Nursery collection, staff will open the gate by the entrance on Blanchland Terrace at 3:15pm. This will remain open until 3:30pm.
• Initially, parents and carers will come in through the Nursery gate and collect children from the outdoor sheltered classroom. This allows staff to see you all, have a chat and let you know anything that you need to while maintaining social distancing and avoiding congestion.
• Your child will have a Tapestry account for their Online Learning Journey. This will be set up and explained once you have started. If your child has come from another setting that uses Tapestry, let us know and we’ll transfer the account over. 
• Children will be given a library bag in the first couple of weeks that they will need to bring to school on a designated day every week. 
• Children will need to bring in a water bottle from home every day with fresh water, not juice.
• Fruit will be provided for every child, every day. 
• Your child will receive free school milk every day of the week. 
• Children will be going outside every day, using the EYFS yard that we share with Reception. Please make sure that they come to school with an appropriate coat, gloves, hat, etc.
• We use the school garden at regular times throughout the year. As we go out in all weather conditions and the garden can be muddy. We would appreciate it if you could bring a pair of wellies into school that can be left here at all times.    
• If you are late at the beginning of the session for whatever reason, please go to the pedestrian gate on Preston Avenue and office staff will meet you and take your child into the Nursery.
• Please ensure that everything that belongs to your child is clearly labelled with their name. We appreciate that a lot of money is spent on uniform, shoes, coats etc. and with a lot of children learning how to take care of their possessions, naming everything helps us massively to make sure that everything that they bring in also goes home with them.
• Please bring a spare change of clothes for your child to hang on their peg. If your child has an accident, a spillage or needs changing for any other reason, they will always be happiest in their own clothes. 
• While we appreciate and understand that all children develop at their own pace, if your child is toilet trained when they start Nursery it allows them to make the absolute most of their time during the session. Don’t worry if your child is still having accidents, we will be more than happy to change them. However, if staff are spending time changing children during the session, it takes away from teaching and learning time in the wider environment. If you need any help or support in how to toilet train your child, we will be more than happy to speak to you on your visit and support you throughout.
• If your child requires medication, school can administer this providing the medication is needed at least four times a day.  Medication must be in its original packaging and prescribed medication must be in your child’s name.  Over the counter medication and creams will only be allowed in school in exceptional circumstances.  If your child needs medication in school, you must bring it to the school office and sign to give permission for it to be administered.  Please ring the office to make an appointment before bringing medication into school.

The following bullet points will be relevant to you if your child is accessing 30 hours provision. If so, they will spend half of their time in the Nursery and the rest of their time in The KEEP (King Edward Extended Provision). On your visit date you will be shown where The KEEP is and which entrance and exit you will use. 

• While the Nursery sessions would normally have specified start and end times, there will always be a fifteen minute window to drop off and pick up your child if they are attending The KEEP for their additional 15 hours provision. 
• If your child is in morning Nursery, they will be in The KEEP in the afternoons. You will drop them off at Nursery between 8:45am and 9:00am and will collect them from The KEEP between 3:00pm and 3:15pm.
• If your child is in afternoon Nursery, you can drop them at The KEEP between 9:00am and 9:15am and will collect them from the Nursery between 3:15pm and 3:30pm. 

• Staff across Nursery and The KEEP plan and work together on a daily basis. While the class teachers remain in their settings across the day, one member of support staff stays with the children all day. For example, the same teaching assistant will spend morning in Nursery and will follow the children through to The KEEP for the afternoon session.  
• If your child is using the Out of School Club, staff will take them to their classroom in the morning and will pick them up from there at the end of the school day. 
• Your child will be having their lunch in school. In normal circumstances, there would be a hot meal option but due to guidance around Covid-19, we will initially be having packed lunches. We will share more information with you around school meals once we return in September. 
• Children who are in The KEEP will have their lunch in The KEEP before going through to Nursery for their afternoon session. Children who are in Nursery in the morning will have their lunch in the Out of School Club before going to The KEEP for their afternoon. Staff, alongside lunchtime supervisors, stay with children as they eat. If there are any concerns about your child not eating, we’ll get in touch with you as soon as possible.
• In line with Covid-19 guidance, parents and carers are not currently able to come into the school buildings. If you’d like to speak to a member of staff, you can ring the school office to arrange an appointment or a phone call. 

We hope that this information is helpful to you and will help with some questions that you may have. Sadly, we have had to make some slight changes to how we would normally welcome parents and carers into Nursery as we have had to plan in accordance with Covid-19 guidance. We would normally invite you into the Nursery at the beginning and end of sessions so that you could help your children hang their coats up etc. and collect them from the carpet. We hope to return to normal as soon as we can. Despite this, the experience that your child will have in Nursery will be no different to other years. We’re all very excited to welcome you and your families into our school community and we are looking forward to a brilliant year. 

As we said, it is by no means exhaustive and if you have something that you want to know or would like to talk about, contact the school office and one of us will be in touch with you as soon as we can. 

Thank you, 

The EYFS Team