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Nursery News 21.9.2020

NURSERY NEWS

21st September 2020 – Edition 200

Find out About:

A: Electronic Newsletters
B: School Term Dates
C: Nursery Organisation
D: Labelling belongings
E: A Good Start
F. Covid-19 Update
G. Willow Vulnerability
H. Contacting Us/ Contacting You.

A: Electronic Newsletters
We write a weekly Newsletter to parents to help keep parents up to date with
everything going on in Nursery. Up until now, we have always sent home paper
copies. Due to the Covid 19 situation, the government recommends that schools and
nurseries should communicate with parents by electronic means wherever possible.
This weekly newsletter will be emailed to all families on Mondays.
Copies of this newsletter will also be placed on our website willownursery.co.uk in
our ‘Latest News’ section.
Please do read the weekly newsletter as we share important dates, including parent
consultations, school photographer etc

B: School Term Dates
The Local Authority, Central Bedfordshire, publishes details of term dates and school
holidays on their website: Centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Type: ‘School term and holiday dates in Central Bedfordshire’ into your search
engine to find the correct page.
Be aware that sometimes the Local Authority adjusts school holiday dates. I would
recommend you check the holiday dates on their website before booking a holiday.

C: Nursery Organisation
Please look at our website, at the ‘Latest News’ section at the update dated 13th July
2020. There is a lot of information here regarding dropping off and collecting
children, and includes information on the ‘System of Controls to reduce the
transmission of Coronavirus’. All parents should read this information.

D: Labelling belongings
Label all lunchboxes clearly with your childs name, on the top, so staff can see the
name when the box is on the trolley. Label all drinks bottles and containers.
Label all coats and shoes, and any other items that children can take offcardigans/jumpers/ fleeces. It is much easier to return items to owners when things
are labelled.

E: A Good Start!
I would like to thank all parents for your patience and co-operation as we refine our
drop off and collection routines. We have to find a balance between:
1) working swiftly to admit all children as quickly as possible and
2) allowing keyworkers to have the opportunity to pass on/ or receive, verbal
information with parents.
The line will move quickly if parents are ready to put water bottles and lunch boxes
on trolleys, and are ready to send children in with their change of clothes bag.
In the last few days, all children have been admitted by 8:55am. This is good going!

F. Covid-19 Update
Central Bedfordshire Authority, our Local Authority has been publishing data since
the beginning of August on their website regarding the number of Covid-19 cases in
Central Bedfordshire. I have been monitoring this information. Up until now ,
Dunstable has not had any cases of Covid-19 reported on the website. The data only
shows the number of cases when a council ward has had two or more confirmed
cases of Covid-19. In the most recent week (week ending up to 16th September,
2020) there have been 7 confirmed cases in Dunstable:
Dunstable Watling council ward had 4 cases
Dunstable Northfields council ward had 3 cases.
This means that it is very likely that Covid-19 will begin to spread through our local
community.
The staff have been coaching parents and children through our drop off and pick up
procedures. I will now ask classroom staff to stay inside the nursery grounds to
maintain a social distance from parents wherever possible. Office staff may still
approach you to sign paperwork, as the government requires us to gain signatures
on some items.
Staff may choose to wear visors or face masks when outside with parents.

G. Willow Vulnerability
As an organisation, we are very vulnerable to temporary closure during the covid-19
pandemic.
In most schools teachers stand at the front of the class and maintain a 2m distance
from their pupils.
In Nurseries and other childcare settings we have no social distancing from our
pupils. All staff in school, including myself, the headteacher, and the office staff have
direct contact with children throughout the working day. If one of our pupils or staff
members had a confirmed Covid-19 case, test track and trace would likely close the
yeargroup. If that yeargroup was Main Nursery, it would likely close the school as the
Senior Leaders, Mrs Davies and Miss Howe both teach these children, so would be
isolating for 14 days, and the school would be unable to open.
One of our pupils has been asked to isolate by the track and trace system as
they have had contact with a confirmed covid-19 case.
This child is at home. They are not showing symptoms. This child will only access a
test should they show symptoms. If the child takes a test and is found to be positive
we contact a Department for Education Helpline and they advise us regarding who
should self- isolate.
My concern is that if this scenario was to happen in our school, rules about isolation
and/or school closure would be enforced rapidly.

H. Contacting Us/ Contacting You.
Contacting Us.
Staff will be trying to socially distance from parents. We would like communication
between staff and parents to continue. Should you wish to communicate to your
child’s keyworker in school please send an email to office@willownursery.co.uk and
we will pass on the message to the staff member. Staff are very busy all day when
the children are here, but we may email back if necessary, or the staff member may
be able to call you at the end of the day.
Please telephone the office if you have a query, and the office staff will do their best
to help you, but again it is unlikely you will be able to talk to a class teacher as they
are busy in the classrooms.
Contacting You.
We will send a weekly newsletter to you by email.
We have a system called ‘Groupcall’ which allows us to send a text message to all
families of our pupils. We tend to use this in an emergency. Sometimes we will send
you a text alert telling you to look on our website. willownursery.co.uk
We can post information on our website, in the ‘Latest news’ section. We used the
website to update parents during the spring lockdown. If there is a further lockdown
we will use our website to communicate to parents. Please familiarise yourself with
our website.
Please ensure all our contact details for you are up to date, otherwise we will send
out messages and you will not receive them.

Update 13th July 2020 Plans for September 2020

Update 13^th July 2020 Plans for September 2020

On the 2^nd July the Government updated: ‘Actions for Early Years and Childcare providers during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.’ –This document details measures we must put in place to reduce coronavirus transmission. The guidance sets out the public health advice that early years settings must follow.

These measures make up a ‘system of controls’, which we must follow and these are as follows:

System of controls

This is the set of actions early years settings must take.

Prevention:

1) minimise contact with individuals who are unwell by ensuring that those who have coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms, or who have someone in their household who does, do not attend settings

2) clean hands thoroughly more often than usual

3) ensure good respiratory hygiene by promoting the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach

4) introduce enhanced cleaning, including cleaning frequently touched surfaces often using standard products, such as detergents and bleach

5) minimise contact between groups where possible

6) where necessary, wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)

Numbers 1 to 4 must be in place in all settings, all the time.

Number 5 must be properly considered and settings must put in place measures that suit their particular circumstances.

Number 6 applies in all specific circumstances.

Response to any infection:

7) engage with the NHS Track and Trace process

8) manage confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) amongst the setting community

9) contain any outbreak by following local health protection team advice

Numbers 7 to 9 must be followed in every case where they are relevant.

Organisation within the Nursery

The new guidelines:

From 20^th July, early years settings will no longer be required to keep children in small, consistent groups. Restrictions on group sizes in early years will be lifted. For us, this means children will not be required to be in just one room. We can return to our normal ‘Open plan’ layout which allows children to choose from a variety of activities in both inside and outdoor areas.

However, Nurseries should consider how they can minimise mixing within settings, for example when they use different rooms for different age groups, keeping those groups, and their staff, apart as much as possible.

We are encouraged to avoid visitors entering the Nursery as much as possible.

Parents and carers should not be allowed into the setting. Children should be dropped off and collected at the door/gate.

Children should not use water fountains to drink water. Children should bring a named water bottle into school for use during the school day.

What impact will these guidelines have?

We are a large Nursery. I have decided that we will split the school into two halves.

Catkins class will gain the use of Room 3. This will give Catkins Class access to more sinks, to help with handwashing. They will also have more space to use. Miss Gaffney will join the existing Catkins team, working alongside Miss Tyler, Mrs Brinkley, and Mrs McGrath.

Usually children move from Catkins into the Main Nursery when they reach the age of 3 and are entitled to 15 hours of funding for 3 year olds. This academic year, until July 2021, all children in Catkins Class will remain in Catkins Class. We will in fact operate two year groups.

Children leaving Willow Nursery in July 2021 will attend the Main Nursery. We will create a year group, that no other children will join during the year. This will create a very stable environment. This year group will be staffed by: Miss Howe, Mrs Patterson, Miss Skai, Mrs McGowan, Mrs Evans and myself, Mrs Davies. This age group will use Room 1, Room 2 Room 5 and Outside. This floor space allocation meets the space requirements advised by Ofsted.

Children leaving Willow Nursery in July 2022 or 2023 will attend in Catkins Class. We will ensure the teaching and assessment reflects the ages of the children in the group. Miss Tyler and Mrs McGrath will focus on the developmental needs of the youngest children, whilst Mrs Brinkley and Miss Gaffney will support the older children to help them work towards age related expectations. All Catkins children will use the bigger classroom space, but we will ensure every child has appropriate support and care, suited to their age.

Arrival and Departure

Parents are not allowed into the Nursery.

We will have a very structured drop off and collection at the front gate.

Arrival:

Parents will be asked to queue outside the school at the appropriate drop off and collection times. Staff will be outside to assist parents to follow our arrival and departure routines. Children in Catkins class should arrive promptly at 8.45am. We will have a designated point outside on the pavement where Catkins parents and children should wait. Main Nursery Children should arrive for 8:50am. There will be three colour groups of Main Nursery Children Green, Red and Yellow, grouped together by their age. We will ask these parents and children to queue in specific places outside on the pavement along our fence to cluster children from the same colour group together. My hope is that Nursery staff will be available for 5 mins outside to talk to parents should parents wish to share information.

Please queue with your child, holding their hand and try to maintain social distancing between you and the next family. Only one adult should assist your child to arrive at school, and where possible we ask that this adult is the same each day.

At 8:45am Catkins staff will arrive just inside our front gate to take children to Catkins Class.

A staff member will open the front gate. The parent and child at the front of the queue should step forward towards the gate. The child should then leave their parent, walk through the front garden to the right, towards our side gate, where staff will assist children to their classroom entrance. The child’s parent will then place the child’s water bottle/ and or lunch box on the trolley at the gate. Parent should then leave. Children and parents waiting outside in the queue should move forwards, trying to maintain some social distancing. Once Catkins are admitted we will then begin taking the main Nursery children in to school.

At 8:50am we will invite Green Group children to enter through the front gate, one at a time as described above. Once Green Group are in we will admit Red Group, and finally Yellow Group. Children will be admitted in this order, so we can place them with the correct teacher in the correct room for registration.

If parents work with us this admission process will be very quick.

Departure

Please arrive at your child’s departure time and wait socially distanced along the path outside the front entrance. Your child’s group will arrive at the side gate in the nursery garden. As individual parents step up to the gate we will call their child to come out to the front gate. Parents should then hold their child by the hand and move off together.

Office staff

Office staff will be available outside at the start of the day to assist parents with: Making Payments, Letting us know if someone different will be collecting your child, filling in medication forms, filling in change of address or telephone number forms. Again parents will not be able to come into the school office. We have a covered area in our front garden with two benches which will be used as our ‘outdoor office’.

Communication with parents:

I have written an individual letter to the parent of every child who will be in Main Nursery in September. This letter explains which colour group your child will be in, the name of their Keyworker, their attendance patterns and the date for their first day at Willow Nursery. This letter will be posted to you this week, but I fear it will not reach your homes until the school is closed. If you have any questions, queries or anxieties, try not to worry, most things can be solved in September. Our school office reopens on 7^th September 2020.

Settling In

Coronavirus has had a great impact on our setting. Our April intake of Red Group did not occur due to lockdown. So this September we have to induct both Red and Yellow children at the beginning of term. We want to get all children into Nursery as quickly as possible. We have decided to have this induction plan:

Monday 7^th September:

Catkins class opens. Catkins parents have been advised by telephone of their child’s start date.

Induction visits for all Main Nursery children who are new to Willow Nursery School.

Tuesday 8^th September and Wednesday 9^th September:

Main Nursery children, who were attending Catkins Class or Main Nursery before Lockdown  begin this week. Start dates are staggered depending upon your child’s attendance pattern.

Monday 14th September and Wednesday 16^th September:

Main Nursery children, who have not attended Willow Nursery School before, begin this week. Again with staggered start dates due to their attendance pattern.