Newsletter - November 2018

Important Dates for your Diary
Tuesday 20th & Thursday 22nd November - Parent Evenings
Wednesday 28th November - Inset Day - pre-school is closed
w/c 3rd December - Non-Uniform Week - ‘bring-a-bottle’
Saturday 8th December - Christmas Fair, 2pm - 4pm
Wednesday 12th & Thursday 13th December - Christmas Concerts - more information to follow
Thursday 20th December - Last day of term
Friday 21st December - Inset Day - pre-school is closed
Monday 7th January - Start of Spring Term

Session Fees
Invoices for session fees have been issued; all invoices are issued for the term up to the 21st December and should be paid by Wednesday 21st November.

Session Requirements
Letters will be coming home regarding session requirements for after Christmas; it is imperative that parents respond promptly so that we can accommodate requests for changes and increases to sessions. Some children will become eligible for their government funded hours (their ‘free’ place) for the first time and the appropriate paperwork will be issued prior to the end of this term. All parents are advised to visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk to find out what they may be entitled to and how to access it. Any questions please speak to Jayne.

Essential Supplies
We would like to inform all our parents that we will be changing how we calculate our ‘Essential Supplies’ contribution with effect from January 2019. These will now be calculated at a rate of 50p per session, per week, per half term. So for example a child attending three sessions per week for the first Spring half term of 6 weeks would be calculated as follows; 
3 sessions per week x 50p x 6 weeks = £9 for the half term. 
This contribution helps us to provide all sorts of things that keep pre-school operational; everything from baby wipes to art supplies to cleaning supplies.
Historically pre-school has been funded through government funding received for all children aged three and over, by modest fees and lots of fundraising. Over the years we have seen our expenses increase but the government funding has stagnated. Simply put we can not survive as a pre-school by relying on the government funding and so find ourselves having to ask our parents to help out more and more. This is not a decision that we have taken lightly and is one that has been made to ensure that we can continue to operate to the highest standards possible.

Student Placement
We always try to work with our local colleges and support students who are undertaking their childcare qualifications. This year we have a young girl by the name of Lucy who is joining us on Wednesdays and Fridays and will be with us until early June.

Inset Day
Please be advised that we have added in an Inset Day on Wednesday 28th November and therefore pre-school will be closed. Please note that as a result the scheduled Inset Day for Wednesday 20th March 2019 has been cancelled.

Cake Sale Success
Thank you to everyone who baked and bought during last term’s cake sale; you raised a fantastic £99!

Christmas Fair – Saturday 8th December - 2pm - 4pm
Please note that the date for the fair has CHANGED and it is now SATURDAY 8TH DECEMBER 2PM - 4PM
Plans are now under way for our first major fundraiser of the school year; this is always a lovely festive event with Santa in his grotto and lots of lovely things to do. But in order to make it a success we need lots of helpers; so if you can help out in anyway or have any ideas for a stall or know a local company who’d like to donate a prize for our raffle then please speak to either Jayne or any of our committee (Helen - Maisie’s mum or Nikki - Charlie’s mum).

Non-Uniform Week- w/c 3rd December
To help support our Christmas Fair we will be having a non-uniform week starting 3rd December and all we ask in return is the donation of a bottle of something for our bottle tombola; wine, beer, perfume – anything you like as long as it’s in a bottle!! Thank you!

Have you seen our new grass?!
So a big thank you has to go out firstly to Tesco and everyone who voted for us in their Bags of Help scheme, as well as everyone who has contributed to any of our recent fundraisers because we have now been able to re-vamp our grass. Whilst the Summer this year was lovely with plenty of sunshine and very hot, our grass didn’t fair very well and by the end of June had turned to dust!
So in stepped ‘Artificial Lawns 4 U’ (www.artificiallawns4u.com) who over half term have transformed our weed patch into a lovely, bright and inviting grass area by installing artificial grass. This means we will be able to use this area all year round and it will look good all year too...no more mowing for the ladies! The company were great, gave us a really good deal, were able to fit in around our school holidays and have done a fantastic job. We can’t wait to get out and play on it :)

Up-to-date Information
Please remember to let us know if there are any changes to your circumstances as this could be vital to your child’s well being whilst at pre-school. For example changes in family circumstances, developmental concerns, moving house, contact details (it is vital that we have your correct phone number) or anything else which you feel may be of importance. Parents can either speak direct to a member of staff, use Tapestry or drop us an email.

Policies & Procedures
In order for pre-school to operate effectively and within the legislation laid down by the Early Years Foundation Stage we have a set of policies and procedures to follow. These are available within pre-school for parents to read and we are now in the process of uploading them to this website. Any questions please speak to Jayne.

Coats & Bags
Could we please ask parents to help us by placing their child’s bag/back-pack on the bottom of the coat rack underneath their child’s peg; this ensures there is enough space for their coat on the peg itself. Red book bags should be placed in your child’s drawer. Many thanks for helping with this.

Family Photos
We have a fab display taking shape (see the door to the back room) but we are missing some of you! So please get your family photos into us as soon as possible if you haven’t already done so. Thank you!