New Community Services Programme out NOW

Our new Community Services programme is available to download here. The new programme is bigger and better - as well as continuing all our popular services, we are adding a weekly swim and exercise class.

December 2009 newsletter

Our latest newsletter has just been published; you can read it here (opens as a PDF).

7th December

Party Season at Kate Greenaway

Just to remind everyone…the Christmas Party for children on roll in the nursery is on Friday this week, from 3.30pm-5.30pm. We hope you will be able to come and stay or drop in with your child. There will be food to share, and also a puppet show for the children.

The end of year party for all children in our reach is on Saturday 19th December, 10.30am-12.30pm. All families with children under 5 are welcome to come along, and there will be food and music from around the world to enjoy as well as the usual programme of Saturday events.

If you would like to help set up either or both of these events, or help clear up at the end – then please let any member of staff know.

Even better, if you have a great idea for a stall or children’s activity – please let us know.

Swimming sessions
We are planning to book the small pool at Cally Pool for a session every week in the new year, and we are consulting parents about the best day and time to book. If you are interested, please sign up this week in the front office. The sessions will include a swimming instructor, and you will need to come into the water with your child (though you do not have to be able to swim).

Advance notice: closure of the Pod and front garden
From our most recent parent consultation, we know that many of you would like improvements to the front garden so that there is more available at Stay and Plays. We have successfully bid for money, and in the new year work will be going on to install a sand and water play area, climbing equipment, more storage, and more vegetable growing areas.

We don’t have a date yet for the works, but please be aware that the Pod and garden will be closing for Stay and Plays for one to two weeks early in the new year.

1st December 2009

Christmas Celebration at Kate Greenaway

We are planning a special Christmas celebration with the children on Friday 11th December, running from 3.30-5.30pm. We will be sharing food and having activities and stalls for children. If you’ve got ideas for stalls or want to help out in any way, then please let Julian or Michele know. The children will be cooking during the day to make food to share. We hope that if your child usually goes home at 3.30pm (or 11.45am) you will come and enjoy the celebration. If your child has an extended day place, then we hope you might be able to leave work early and come and join in with your child.

All children on roll are welcome, whatever day they normally come in.

Job vacancies at Kate Greenaway

We have two vacancies at the moment.

We need a part time Early Years teacher to work with us next term, 3 days a week. This post will help Michele to cover Jan’s secondment to Golden Lane, which continues for another term.
We also need a temporary cook for the Community Kitchen to cover Yogi’s maternity leave next year.

If you know anyone who would be interested – please let them know.

Job details are on our website.


Filming at Kate Greenaway

Please see an important message, below:

To all parents at Kate Greenaway Nursery

Would you be willing to help with an important new project that Kate Greenaway nursery is involved in?


I’m Julie, from a young people’s charity called Young People in Focus. We are helping young mums and dads who are in prison to learn how to play with their children. The project is funded by the Big Lottery.

Many young people in prison come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and may not have had very good experiences of playing when they were younger.

So now that they are parents, many are unsure about how to play with their child. This DVD will help support them, showing children of different ages (from babies to pre-school children) playing with toys, books, and games, and making things. The DVD will then be shown in prisons as part of a parenting course for young people.

Kate Greenaway Children’s Centre and Islington Council has agreed to help us with this important project. The filming will take place on one day at Kate Greenaway nursery. The children will be filmed playing in all the usual ways that they do at nursery. The Kate Greenaway nursery won’t be named on the DVD.

On the day of the filming, you will be asked to fill in a consent form if you are willing for your child to take part in the filming. If you don’t want your child to be filmed on that day, that’s absolutely fine too. It’s your choice. However, we do hope you will be willing to help us with this important work.

If you have any questions, please speak to Julian Grenier (headteacher).

Thank you!

Julie Shepherd

I am running the project at Young People in Focus so if you want to find out more you can call me (Julie Shepherd) on 01273 647324 (direct line with voicemail) You can also look at our website to find out more about us www.youngpeopleinfocus.org.uk

New jobs at Kate Greenaway

We are advertising for two posts:

• a cook for our community kitchen (temporary, to cover a maternity leave until the end of July 2010)
• a part time, 3-day per week teacher for the nursery school (temporary, to cover the secondment of our deputy Jan to Golden Lane, until the end of the Spring Term)

To read the job packs for these posts and to apply on line, please visit our website

24th November 2009

Dear parents and carers

Parent Forum

Thanks to everyone who came to the Parent Forum meeting on Saturday 14^th. As promised, here is a rundown of some of the main issues that were raised:

• Can we have more sessions around employment and Job Centre Plus?
• More English classes for people who are learning English as an additional language (ESOL classes)
• Could we have a weekday swimming session – hire Cally Pool just for families living in the Kate Greenaway reach?
• Pilates/yoga/aerobics – with crèche
• First Aid course for parents – with crèche
• Can we have more speakers attending groups e.g. Family Information Services, School Admissions, Libraries etc.
• More on Developmental Movement Play
• Can we have a Suggestions Box?

We’ll get back to you on all these issues soon. Julian and Kara

Parking on the estate

We’ve had a couple of incidents recently when residents have been angry or upset because their car has been boxed in by nursery parents dropping off or picking up children.

Please remember that you should not enter the estate in your car. If you need to use your car, then please use the meter bays on Copenhagen Street. Cars parked on the estate without permits may be clamped by Parking Control Services

We rely on the support and help of our local community in many ways – for example, parents of disabled children need special exemptions to be able to bring their cars to the nursery. So please help us maintain good relations – thanks.

17th November

Reminder: we are closed for all children this Friday for training and development and we are having a Development Morning on Monday 30th November.

To help you keep up to date, our newsletter KGE comes out every Tuesday in termtime and you can also read it by logging onto our website, http://www.kategreenaway.ik.org/. Please make a note of the important dates for the year ahead which are reprinted overleaf. If you are unsure about anything, please ask your key person or any other member of staff.

BikeStart

Thanks to all the parents and carers who have signed up for a taster BikeStart session. BikeStart is our scheme to encourage children to ride 2-wheel bikes, and we’re running it thanks for the support of TFL and the London Cycling Campaign. The scheme includes Saturday bike sessions for children aged up to 6, a link with Copenhagen and St Andrew’s Primary Schools, and special sessions at Kate Greenaway every Monday and Thursday afternoon.

We are looking for parent volunteers to help the children with the bikes on Mondays and Thursdays, 1.30-2.30pm. If you would like to help out then please speak to Julian or Michele.

Your child’s learning and development Birth to Five

If you didn’t get a copy of this last week, then please pick one up from the lobby. Other parents have said that it gives helpful advice and ideas.


Reminder: Key dates at Kate Greenaway 2009-2010

Friday 20th November
Whole centre and nursery closed for training and development

Monday 30th November
Development Morning Closure *

Friday 18th December
Last day of winter term

24th December – 1st January inclusive
Nursery closed for all children

Monday 4th January 2010
Whole centre and nursery closed for training and development

Tuesday 5th January 2010
First day of Spring Term

Monday 25th January 2010
Development Morning Closure *

Monday 15 – Friday 19th February inclusive
School half term

Monday 1st March
Development Morning Closure *

Thursday 18th March
Review Day **

Thursday 1st April
Last day of spring term

Monday 19th April
First day of summer term

Monday 10th May
Development Morning Closure *

Monday 17th May
Whole centre and nursery closed for training and development

Thursday 27th May
Review Day **

Monday 31st May – Friday 4th June inclusive
School half term

Monday 21st June
Development Morning Closure *

Friday 23rd July
Last day of summer term

Friday 13th August
Planned last day of extended year summer scheme (to be confirmed)


* On Development Mornings, the nursery is closed all morning and opens at 1pm. ** On Review Days the nursery is closed so that we can meet with every parent and carer to review each child’s development. The nursery stays open for children with extended day/year places.

Monday 9th November, 2009

Remember it’s Review Day - Thursday November 12th

If you have a core day termtime place, then you will have an appointment to meet with your key person to talk about your child’s development and learning. Your child will only come to nursery for a crèche place during your appointment time. This enables staff to meet with all parents and carers.

If you have an extended day/year place, then your child attends as normal and your key person will make an arrangement to meet with you.

At the meeting, you will have a chance to discuss how you think your child is getting on and find out about her or his learning and development in nursery. You and your key person will agree on how to help your child’s next steps of learning. If you have any worries about your child then please do feel confident to talk these through with your key person.

You will also get a free copy of a new publication about children’s development and learning from birth to five years old, which has been developed with the involvement of Kate Greenaway. You can also download this publication here.

Could we be greener?

Yes, we could.

Kate Greenaway is involved in Islington’s Sustainable Schools programme and we are looking at ways to be more environmentally friendly. We have already taken some steps e.g. the emphasis on outdoor play and growing vegetables; our mains water dispenser which reduces use of bottled water; recycling printer cartridges etc. We are currently working to recycle much more of our waste and will be involving the children in this. In the near future we are planning to increase our use of local and seasonal ingredients in the kitchen, to have a fruit and vegetable sale from the nursery once a week, and to set up a Freecycling scheme so parents can pass on children’s toys, clothes and equipment they no longer need. If you have any ideas – please let us know.

19th October 2009

Governor election


The results of our recent Parent Governor elections were very close with Helen and Heleanna winning, so they will both join the governing body. We are really delighted that so many of you voted. Thanks to everyone who took part.

Lucy Lloyd, chair of the governing body



School half term and other closures

Don’t forget that the last day of the school term is this Friday (23rd October). There is a week’s holiday so children return on Monday 2nd November.

This does not affect you if your child has an extended day/year place.

The nursery is closed for all children on Friday November 20th (for staff training and development).

BikeStart

We are extending our popular BikeStart scheme soon.

BikeStart (funded by the London Cycle Campaign) is a scheme to encourage children to learn to ride two-wheel pedal bikes without stabilisers. In order to build up to riding these bikes, we have a number of wooden bikes (without pedals) and wooden trolleys to encourage children’s confidence and develop their balance.

As well as four Saturday sessions, we are going to offer special sessions for children on roll after half term. These sessions will be on Monday afternoons 1pm-2pm, and Thursday afternoons 1.30-2.30pm (with reception children from St Andrew’s Primary School).

We really need some parent volunteers to make this project go well. If you are keen to get children riding bikes, and can come to one or both weekly sessions - then please let Julian or Michele know. The children will need help with helmets and general confidence-building – you can make a real difference.

9th October 2009

Stand out from the crowd: free workshops

Are you interested in returning to work or training for a job? Would you like some advice and support?

We are planning to offer a series of free workshops for personal, employment and career development.

If you would like to know more, there is information in the front lobby, and Simon from the Career Orienteer service will be coming to speak to parents and answers your questions next Friday from 10am. Please come along if you would like to find out more about this new project.

Problems with buggy storage

Earlier this week, the wrong buggy was accidentally taken from the store in front of the nursery by a parent. As many of us have the same buggies etc, it is easy to do this. But it was distressing for the parent concerned and gave rise to the worry that the buggy might have been stolen. So we need to try to minimise the chance of this happening again.

Please note that buggies and any other property are left in the nursery at your own risk. If you would like to lock your buggy to the rail using a bike or other lock, then we are happy for you to do this. Please fold up your buggy before locking it, so that others can do the same if they choose to.

The buggy area is close to reception and is generally watched over. However, if you are leaving a child’s bike you may wish to lock it up. Small scooters that fold up or anything else small can be left in the front office, again at your own risk.

Julian

October 5th

Governing Body

We are holding an election for a parent governor later this week.

The Governing Body is in charge of the overall direction of the Nursery School and Children’s Centre. So it’s important and can make a real difference to the lives of children and their families.
We think that the role of parent governor is really vital – after all parents have real first-hand knowledge of what’s best for their children. All the governors work to help the development of Kate Greenaway, and help us to improve through support and challenge.

So, when you get the letter later this week please don’t forget to have your say and cast your vote. There is one vote for each parent – so if we have two parents registered for a child, then each parent can vote; if you are a lone parent then you will get a single vote.

It’s Children’s Book Week

We are celebrating Children’s Book Week with trips to the local bookshop (Borders) and to the Lewis Carroll Library.

The theme of Children’s Book Week is Words and Pictures.

Books are so important to children’s development and learning – and such fun, too. So we hope lots of parents and carers will join us in the trips out next week. Don’t forget you can borrow books from the nursery collection and also from the library rack next to Marie’s desk. During the week we will be encouraging families to sign up for the local library – which is free and entitles you to borrow books and more.

If you have not had your free BookStart pack – please ask Michele for yours. If your child is over 4 years old then you get the next pack, the Treasure Box, which we can also give you.
So – ask for yours today, don’t miss out!

Children’s illnesses – ‘flu, Chicken Pox, etc

We have a child on roll now who has serious health difficulties, making him very vulnerable to ordinary infections and illnesses.

If you keep your child off nursery because of ‘flu, Chicken Pox or another infection – please could you call and let us know as soon as possible, and then we can let the parent and health team know too.

Julian

September 28th 2009

Dear parents and carers,

It feels like the first month of the new term is flying past. We are enjoying getting to know the new children and settling them in, helping children move from Baby Nest to the Nursery, and settling the other children back.

Don’t forget that you can see the weekly planning for both the teams on their display boards, so you know what experiences are being planned for your child’s group.

If your child is in the Baby Nest then we will ask you regularly about what your child is doing at home, so we can link home and nursery together as well as possible. If this trial in the Baby Nest goes well, then we will extend it to the Nursery too.

If you have any worries or concerns about your child’s development – however small – then do feel free to talk to your key person. We can often help your child with a bit of extra support, and can also involve other professionals like the speech and language therapist or psychologist with your agreement.

Open Day and launch of the Community Kitchen

Our open day on Friday 18th was a really big success – so thank you, everyone who came, brought food and joined in. We had over 100 people sharing the picnic in the garden and the launch of the kitchen went really well.

Later this term, we are going to be launching the next phase of the Community Kitchen. We will be running groups, drop-ins and taster sessions for parents interested in cooking and healthy eating. We are also planning to sell some good directly from the kitchen, and will be looking into running other food events at Kate Greenaway.

The children’s lunches are now going very well, with fresher and better meals and more staff sitting with the children.

If you would like to get involved in the Community Kitchen or you have more ideas – then please let us know, we are always eager to hear from you.

Letter about Swine Flu at Kate Greenaway: 24th September 2009

You can read our latest letter about swine flu here.

9th July 2009

Calling all parents…

Are you interested in getting more involved?

We have space for parents on our Governing Body. We meet every term and support the staff in making decisions about the nursery school and children's centre and planning for the future.

Some parents have already expressed an interest.

If you would like to as well please let Julian know by Tuesday 14 July and we will get in touch to talk to you about what it would involve. It's a great chance to find out more about Kate Greenaway and great for your CV too.

You can also find out more about being a school governor here.

Lucy Lloyd - Chair of the Governing Body
Andrea Ledward – Vice Chair of the Governing Body


Kate Greenaway Fun Day and picnic

A big thank you for everyone who came along, and special thanks for course to all those who helped to set up and tidy up at the end. We thought it was a really successful event, especially as it looked like it was going to rain for the most of the morning! We’ll give you an exact figure for how much we raised once we have taken all the expenses off, but it’s around £250. We will put it towards the development of the Pod garden, where we are planning to have a willow tunnel installed and a sand garden built during the next 12 months.

We’re already planning our next event, which is going to be on Friday September 18th. On that day, we are planning to launch our Community Kitchen and have stalls focussing on cooking and eating, and helping children to stay healthy. If you have any good ideas or would like to help plan this event – please contact Julian.

6th July 2009

This week there is a full summer newsletter, not just KG Express - you can read it here.

June 24th 2009

Parent Survey 2009

During this week and next, your key person will give you a copy of Islington’s Annual Survey. We hope you will be able to spend a few minutes filling the form in.

The surveys are then sent to Islington, who collate the findings – no-one here at Kate Greenaway sees them.

It is helpful to everyone if you give your views as clearly and honestly as possible; then we will know from Islington’s feedback what we are doing well, and what we should do better. There is a handwritten number on your form and envelope but this does not link it to you – each block of forms we give out is numbered, so that if there are groups of parents and users who are not responding, we can give out more forms or encourage returns.

But it is optional, and entirely your decision.

Last year we got a very high response rate – so please, if you have a few minutes, fill in a survey and return it in the envelope provided.

If you want a form: drop into Kate Greenaway and ask for one at the office, or phone Family Information Service on 020 7527 5959.

You can have the document in large print, Braille, audiotape or in another language.

There is no option to complete the form online, but you can email Family Information Service who can send you a copy.

Reminder: Important Dates

Friday 3rd July
Summer Fun Day and Picnic

Monday 20th July
Last day of school summer term

17th August — 4th September (inclusive)
Nursery closed for all children

Monday 7th September
First day of the winter term

Monday 22nd September
Development Morning Closure *

Monday 26th-Friday 30th October
School half term

Thursday 12th November
Review Day **

Monday 30th November
Development Morning Closure *

Friday 18th December
Last day of winter term

24th December – 1st January (inclusive)
Nursery closed for all children

Monday 4th January 2010
First day of spring term

Monday 15 – Friday 19th February
School half term

Thursday 1st April
Last day of spring term

* On Development Mornings, the nursery is closed all morning and opens at 1pm. ** On Review Days the nursery is closed so that we can meet with every parent and carer to review each child’s development. The nursery stays open for children with extended day/year places.

22nd June 2009

Summer Fun Day

On Friday 3rd July it’s our Summer Fun day and picnic at Kate Greenaway. We are looking to go better than last year’s event, which was a fantastic get-together of over a hundred people sharing food and enjoying the garden.

The event runs from 3.30pm-6pm. We are planning to offer:

• 
  Lots of food to enjoy from different cultures and cooking styles
• 
  Face painting
• 
  Henna
• 
  Lucky dip
• 
  Smoothie and barbecue stall
• 
  Plant sale

Have you got any good ideas for a stall or an event? You might be able to help provide music, dance or other entertainment, or have a good idea for a stall? If so, then please talk to or email Julian or Michele. We will also be looking for parents to bring food to share with others.

Staffing update

There are a few changes happening to our staffing over the next few months.

Jan will be interim acting head of the Golden Lane Children’s Centre next term. Although we’ll really miss Jan for the term, I know that all the staff are really thrilled for her that she has been asked to take this post on, in recognition of all her achievements at Kate Greenaway.

Karen will be taking over as the team leader for Baby Nest, and Debbie will be taking on Karen’s post of leading on the extended day/year provision.

Anontella will be moving to Baby Nest, too, with Vicky moving to the Nursery Team temporarily whilst we recruit for a permanent member of staff.

In January 2010, Stacey will be returning from her maternity leave to resume her post with the Baby Nest team. We are nearly all set to get the Community Kitchen up and running from September, when we plan to take on cooking meals here and a whole range of other things, too, including selling lunches and ready-prepared meals to families.

Julian

12th June 2009

Review Day: we’re sorry


We unfortunately had to reschedule the Review Day for most children because we had under-estimated how much time it would take to put together the reports for the leavers and make sure we had the right information ready about all the other children, too. We made every effort to tell each parent in person, but we’re sorry if anyone got missed out and also sorry if it has caused you inconvenience.

We are meeting with all the parents of children who are leaving this week, and we will meet everyone else on Monday 22nd June. This means that if your child has a core day place, there will not be the usual nursery day on the 22nd, just a "crèche place" so you can meet with your key person. Families with extended day/year places are not affected, and staff will make individual arrangements to meet that group of parents.

The new date: Review Day for children with Core Day places is Monday 22nd June.

Please remember that Monday 15th June (this Monday coming) is a staff development morning. This means that nursery opens at 1pm for children with Core Day places.


Parentline Plus

Financial pressures can put families under strain, and with the current economic times, some families will be affected. Parentline Plus (funded by the Departments for Children, Schools and Families) offers parents emotional support and signposting to specialist advice on any issue from difficult toddlers to challenging teens and family rows.

Many parents have found Parentline Plus' 24-hour, free and confidential helpline 0808 800 2222 invaluable.

1st June 2009

Sunny weather

Although we have a well-shaded garden it’s still important to make sure that children do not get too much sun.

• Children must wear a T-shirt or other top which covers their shoulders (not vests, not strappy tops or dresses please).

• Children should also bring a hat to wear in the garden – you might want to label it with your child’s name.

• Please put plenty of sun cream on your child before the start of the day. We have some SP 15 sunscreen which we can put on children during the day, but we prefer it if your child has her or his own bottle of sunscreen.

For more information, go to NHS Direct

Dates

Important dates 2009-2010


Thursday 11th June
Review Day **


Monday 22nd June
Development Morning Closure *


Friday 3rd July
Summer Fun Day and Picnic


Monday 20th July
Last day of summer term


17th August — 4th September (inclusive)
Nursery closed for all children


Monday 7th September
First day of the winter term


Monday 22nd September
Development Morning Closure *


Monday 26th-Friday 30th October
School half term


Thursday 12th November
Review Day **


Monday 30th November
Development Morning Closure *


Friday 18th December
Last day of winter term


24th December – 1st January (inclusive)
Nursery closed for all children


Monday 4th January 2010
First day of spring term


Monday 15 – Friday 19th February
School half term


Thursday 1st April
Last day of spring term


* On Development Mornings, the nursery is closed all morning and opens at 1pm. ** On Review Days the nursery is closed so that we can meet with every parent and carer to review each child’s development. The nursery stays open for children with extended day/year places.

See Islington Term Dates 2009-2010

18th May 2009

Parents as First Teachers

Are you looking for some information or advice about

· Toilet training?
· Dealing with Tantrums?
· Sleep?
· Bilingualism?
· Managing fussy eating?
· Dental health?
· What might come next in your child’s development (3’s and under)?

Any family using any service at Kate Greenaway Nursery School and Children’s Centre can pick up advice on any of the above topics from the Parents as First Teachers programme (PAFT).

We currently have three staff trained to offer advice and information from PAFT (Jan, Dawn and Liz) and Kara, Kulwinder, Eileen, Yussef, Sadia and Fatema will be joining us soon. The programme includes clear information sheets on these popular topics for parents (and many more) and also information on what to expect at each stage of development for children from birth to three.

There are two ways to pick up some information or discuss a parenting issue with us, either come along to the PAFT stay and play group on Thursday between 10 and 12 (you don’t have to have your child with you if they are in nursery) or simply ask one of us to arrange a time to meet with you.

For more information contact Jan.

More information about PAFT is available here.

Reminder about dates

We are closed for all children on Thursday and Friday this week, for staff training and development.

School half term is Monday 25th-Friday 29th May inclusive. Children with extended day/year place continue to attend during this week - but don’t forget that
Monday 25th May is a Bank Holiday.

If you are not sure about anything please ask your key person.

12th May 2009

Starting school

If your child is four years old before 31st August 2009, then you will have been notified of your primary school place by Islington. If you have not, or you have any questions or problems with school admissions, please let Julian or Michele know.

Transition to primary school is a really important step for all children. This is how we work with schools to support the children:

• The school will arrange a time for your child to visit, see the classroom, playground, dining hall etc and usually meet the classteacher. Please let us know if your child is visiting her or his school: then your key person can talk to your child in nursery about it.
• We encourage the reception teacher and/or teaching assistant to come and visit the children here at Kate Greenaway, too.
• If your child has special educational needs, we will arrange a transition meeting between our staff and the school staff.
• We will complete an end of nursery report, which you contribute to, and which is then sent to the primary school.
• We will give your child’s Profile Book to you, and we encourage you to share this with the reception teacher.

Asthma in childhood

We are running an Information Morning here at Kate Greenaway on Thursday May 14th from 10am-12pm with a specialist asthma nurse. You can find out about the best ways to administer medication, advice on exercise for asthmatic children, and how to spot the signs that your child’s asthma is getting worse and needs medical attention.

Anyone who has worried about their child’s breathing or had to take their child to A&E knows how distressing this can be, so if this affects you please come along on Thursday.

5th May 2009

Swine Flu Alert

I am sure you are aware of the current alert about swine flu, and you will be receiving information from the government about this during this week.

There is currently no need for nurseries, schools etc to close or to take any special actions. The best thing we can all do is to follow basic hygiene precautions, including:

• Covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible
• Disposing of dirty tissues promptly and carefully
• Maintaining good basic hygiene, for example washing hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to face or to other people
• Cleaning hard surfaces (e.g. door handles) frequently using a normal cleaning product
• Making sure children follow this advice

If your child shows flu symptoms, please keep him or her off nursery until better and either contact your GP by phone for advice or contact NHS Direct.

Please do not take your child to the GP surgery unless you are advised to do so. For up to date, local advice contact Islington council.

Swine Flu Information from central government is available on 0880 1 513 513 and here.

African Bag Gardens at Kate Greenaway

In the community team we are having a go at creating some African Bag Gardens this year. We got the idea (and the sacks!) from Send a Cow, a charity that supports people in some African countries to grow food in small spaces. We have been planting seeds for radishes, rocket, beans and sunflowers with lots of families who attend stay and play groups at the Centre and we plan to transfer them to our bag gardens very soon.

Check out bag gardens from Send a Cow and then check out our gardens! If anyone has a supply of smallish rocks (about half a brick size) to help us make the sacks stable please let Jan know.

Thank you!

Community Kitchen - vacancy for a nursery cook

Community Kitchen Cook: advert text

Read all about the Community Kitchen campaign in Nursery World

Scale 6 – £25,263 - £26,742 pro rata, 25 hours per week

Do you share our passion about offering babies, toddlers and young children the very best food whilst they are in nursery? Do you have the skills to work with children, parents and other professionals to make a real difference to families’ health and wellbeing in inner London?

Kate Greenaway is a delightful Nursery School and Children’s Centre with 51 places for children aged from six months to rising five year olds, close to King’s Cross station in Central London. We are developing an exciting new project, the “Community Kitchen”, in partnership with the Duke of Cambridge, a local award-winning organic restaurant.

You will be working with an assistant to prepare and cook fresh meals every day for the children on roll, using seasonal and mainly organic ingredients. You will be part of an experienced and supportive staff team and working in a friendly, child-centred, community-focussed environment. You will have specialist support, advice and ongoing training from the team at Duke of Cambridge.

You will need to be a good, creative cook, with knowledge of and interest in food and nutrition. You will need to have some experience of running a kitchen (sourcing food, planning menus, financial control). Knowledge of health and hygiene standards and statutory requirements is essential.

You will be required to plan, source, and cook healthy, nutritionally-balanced meals for children and staff, with a particular attention to reflecting the cultural diversity of the neighbourhood. As well as managing the whole process of preparing and cooking meals for the nursery, you will be involving children in food preparation and cooking, and helping to run cook and eat workshops and other events with parents.

The successful application will be passionate about food from growing and sourcing through to the use of local and seasonal produce, and have a keen interest in the environment, recycling and the use of organic produce. A commitment to working with and inspiring children and families will be vital.

If you are excited by the unique opportunity as we are, we hope you will apply for the post. Please note that you must use the Application Form: we will not accept CVs.

If you are interested in this post, we hope you will be able to come and visit on Tuesday 5th May between 9.30am-11am.

You can also discuss the post informally by contacting Julian Grenier, headteacher at Kate Greenaway, on 0207 527 4853 or send me an email


To apply for this post please contact the Recruitment Team on 020 7527 5812 or by email, quoting ref: ED/5079. Please note: you cannot obtain an application pack for this post until Tuesday 5th May. The application pack will include the full details for the post.

Closing date 5pm 13th May.

Shortlisting morning of 14th May.

Selection process (interview and practical tests) 19th May.


Kate Greenaway Nursery and Children’s Centre is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.


Letter to applicants

Dear applicant

Thank you for your interest in the post of Community Cook at Kate Greenaway Nursery School and Children’s Centre. I hope you will find the application process works smoothly for you and I look forward to reading your application.

About Kate Greenaway

We are a small Nursery School and Children’s Centre located close to Kings Cross. We have 51 places for children aged from 6 months to rising 5 years old. We think that Kate Greenaway is a good place to work, with a highly committed and friendly staff team and excellent relationships with parents. As soon as you come in, there is a special atmosphere – very focussed on what is best for young children, with a strong emphasis on play and enjoying our fantastic garden. There is a very full and popular programme of groups for parents and carers with young children, too.

If you agree that “seeing is believing”, then please come along to our open morning on Tuesday 5th May, 9.30-11am, when you can have a tour and also meet Tascha, the chef from the Duke of Cambridge.

To find out more, have a look at our website, email me or phone for an informal discussion (all contact details are in the letter heading above).

About the Community Kitchen

We are really excited by this new project, which is all about improving the quality of the food at nursery, and working with parents and the wider community to promote healthy eating.

We start with enjoyment and participation – children relishing meals which are freshly cooked and prepared with locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients, and taking part in vegetable growing and good preparation. So you will need to enjoy the company of young children and be ready to be patient, take time with them, and involve them (with the support of the nursery staff, of course). You will also be enthusiastic about working with small groups of parents, and doing informal cooking and tasting sessions as part of our “Stay and Play” programme. Occasionally you may be asked to work on a weekend or evening.

Working closely with the Duke of Cambridge, you will be devising nutritionally-balanced menus which are appropriate for the age-group and which celebrate the ethnic and cultural diversity of the neighbourhood.

You will also have a firm grip on costs in the kitchen and help to raise extra revenue, for example by selling fresh and frozen meals to staff and parents.

Your people-skills will be very good – you will need to support, encourage and manage the assistant cook, work closely with nursery staff and parents, and have lots of initiative and flexibility.

A few words about the application form
Please note the following points, Make sure you submit a good application form that does you justice!

• Please read the guidance from Islington Council carefully, and follow the advice given.
• Please do not submit a CV – we will not consider it. You must outline your skills and experience in your personal statement. We would prefer this to be typed and the maximum length we recommend is 2 pages of A4.
• We are committed to safer recruitment. This means that you must give 2 referees, one of whom is your current or most recent employer. You must also provide a full employment history without any gaps.
• Please make sure you can be free for the whole of Tuesday 19th May for the selection process, should you be shortlisted.

Thanks once again for your interest in this post.

Julian Grenier

27th April 2009

Here we Grow

We are planning to repeat our popular ‘Here we grow’ project from last summer, so we will be having sessions during the nursery day when you can come and work with Venti in our lovely garden.

The first of these sessions is on Thursday 30th April between 9:00 and 11:30am, please speak to you key person if you would like to come along. If you took part last year, please dig out your old pots and return them so you can plant something new for this summer.

Sunny weather

On sunny days, to prevent your child from getting sunburn or sunstroke please make sure your child is wearing a T-shirt that covers their shoulders, a hat and that you have applied sun cream. You can bring sun cream to nursery to be applied during the day, please remember to label the bottle with your child’s name and give it to your key person.

The children have been engaging in lots of water play; check their bags to make sure they have a change of clothes.

Keeley

Sadly for us, Keeley is going to be leaving Kate Greenaway later this term (in June). Keeley is an excellent nursery education worker, and we wish her well with her plans.

Community Feast on Wednesday at York Way Community Centre

This Wednesday In York Way Community hall we are holding a fabulous ‘Community Feast’.

Some local families are coming in to cook some traditional dishes from Somalia, Bangladesh and Eritrea and we’ll some provide other snacks too so everyone can have a taste.

EVERYONE is welcome to join in at 11.30-12.25 in the hall or you can join us at the stay and play session in the pod anytime from 10 am and we’ll walk over together at 11.25. Hope to see you there!

20th April 2009

Welcome back…

to everyone who has been off over Easter. Today is the first day of the school summer term in Islington and we have plenty going on for the next few weeks at Kate Greenaway.

The Tree House is nearly complete in the garden, and we expect children to be able to play on it later in the week as a reward for all the sawing, shaving and sanding they did last month. Our approach to outdoor play was recently featured in The Guardian and on Play England’s website .

We’re also delighted that we have been shortlisted for an architecture award (the RIBA award) for the recent refurbishment at the front.

The kitchen

If you’ve been here a few years you will know about the Community Kitchen Campaign when parents got together to get us our of the Scolarest catering contract and to raise money for a new kitchen. We currently get our meals from Thornhill Primary School, but by the end of this term cooking should move on-site. We will be distributing a survey about nursery meals soon to catch up on parents’ views.

The 175th Anniversary of the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Demonstration: music, stalls and children’s entertainment in Edward Square this Saturday

175 years ago, over 100,000 people gathered for the start of a march in Copenhagen Fields to defend Trade Union Rights – the six Tolpuddle Martyrs from Dorset had been sentenced to seven years transportation into slavery in Australia for forming a Trade Union.

On Saturday, this great demonstration will be commemorated in Edward Square (just around the corner from here on Copenhagen Street) with stalls, music and celebrations from 1.30pm. Kate Greenaway is organising children’s entertainment and we hope you will stop by and enjoy the day as well as remembering the people who took a stand all those year ago. Read more here.

30th March 2009

Our new toy library launches on Thursday

Kate Greenaway has a new Toy Library. It’s free to join, you just have to register and then you can borrow toys, books and other resources for your child to play and learn with for a week.

We are having a launch event on Thursday 2nd April from 10am-12pm. The Toy Library will then be open every Monday and Friday morning.

If you would like more information, then please email Jan

Important dates 2009-2010
Friday April 3rd
Last day of the Spring Term
(We are open for children with extended day/year places)

Monday April 20th
First day of the Summer Term

Monday May 11th
Development Morning Closure*

Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd May
Kate Greenaway is closed for all children for staff training

Monday 25th-Friday 29th May inclusive
School half term (We are open for children with extended day/year places)

Thursday 11th June
Review Day*

Monday June 22nd
Development Morning Closure*

Friday July 3rd
Summer Fun Day and Picnic

Monday July 20th
Last day of Summer term
(We are open for children with extended day/year places)

Monday August 17th-Friday 4th September (inclusive)
We are closed for all children

Monday 7th September
First day of the winter term

Monday 22nd September
Development Morning Closure*

Monday 26th-Friday 30th October inclusive
School half term
(We are open for children with extended day/year places)

Thursday 12th November
Review Day*

Monday 30th November
Development Morning Closure*

Friday 18th December
Last day of the winter term
(We are open for children with extended day/year places)

Wednesday 23rd December
Last day of nursery for children with extended day/year places

Monday 4th January 2010
First day of the Spring Term

* On Development Mornings the nursery is closed for the morning and opens at 1pm.
* On Review Days the nursery is closed and children only attend for a crèche place during the meeting.
The nursery is open as usual for children with extended day/year places on both Development Mornings and Review Days.

March 16th 2009

Monday 16th March, 2009

Can you help us build the new climbing frame?

On Tuesday 17th March we are building our new climbing frame with the help of the children. This means that children aged 3 and over will get an amazing chance to use real woodworking tools and build a real structure.

To make this event work well, we need parents to come and help and work with the children. All parent helpers will also get an opportunity to do some of the work themselves, too. We are expecting this event to be publicised in the council’s newspaper and in the local press, so look out for a good story about Kate Greenaway over the next few weeks.

More news about the garden

We are currently planning a new scheme with St Andrew’s school to enable Reception children at St Andrews to use the garden for one session a week in a group of 6. The aim of this project is to build better links across the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) which states that children though to the end of Reception should access a play-based curriculum with plenty of opportunities for outdoor play.

Reviewing your child’s development and learning
If you have not yet had your review, please speak to your key person to book a time.

News from the Community Services

From this Saturday, the 21st of March, Kate Greenaway will be open every Saturday between 10.30am and 12.30pm for all children aged 0-5 and their Mums, Dads and Carers.

‘Bikestart’ our popular stay and play session with a focus on bikes will run for the first two Saturdays. We are also hoping that we also get a visit from some local fire fighters too, complete with fire engine!

Following Bikestart we’ll be offering fun stay and play sessions in the nursery with full access to our huge garden. On Saturday the 4th of April we will be giving free goody bags to everyone who can come as well as having a music session with guitar and instruments. Hope to see you there!
Jan

New Climbing Frame

Please check the next posting for the regular edition of KG Express

Can you help us build our new climbing frame?

On Tuesday 17th March we are building our new climbing frame with the help of the children. This means that children aged 3 and over will get an amazing chance to use real woodworking tools and build a real structure.

The workshops are very carefully managed and a formal risk assessment has been completed. Pictures of the contractor, Touch Wood, working with children on a previous structure are on display at Kate Greenaway.

To make this event work well, we need parents to come and help and work with the children. All parent helpers will also get an opportunity to do some of the work themselves, too. We need parents for slots of half an hour at a time throughout the day, at the following times:

9am-9.30am
9.30-10am
10-10.30am
11-11.30am
11.30am-12pm
1-1.30pm
1.30-2pm
2-2.30pm

If you are able to come, please let your key person know today or as soon as possible. If you have any questions about the sessions, please contact Julian.

9th March 2009

Review Day is on Thursday 12th March

The purpose of our Review Day system is to ensure that all parents are kept fully up to date with their children’s development and learning in nursery. It is also an important chance for us to learn from you about your child’s development at home. Together, we will then plan to support your child’s development and learning through our planning system.

What to expect

Your key person will make an arrangement to see you on Thursday (if you have an extended day/year place the appointment may be on another day). You will have a chance to look at the most recent observations and assessment of your child and talk about then with your key person. Your key person will discuss what sort of help, experiences and activities will help your child to keep learning and developing.

If you have any worries or concerns about your child, the meeting is a good time to raise these. Remember that as a Children’s Centre we can arrange for you to see the Clinical Child Psychologist or the Speech and Language Therapist – so just ask if you have any concerns about your child’s speech, language, behaviour, sleeping or feeding routines, or emotional development. If your child is learning English as an additional language we have an excellent booklet which Antonella has just written as part of her work towards a degree in Early Childhood Studies.

Arrangements:

Children with extended day/year places attend as normal.

Nursery is closed for children with a core day place (9am-3.30pm) although they do have a crèche place during the meeting only.

World Book Day

We had a really successful World Book Day celebration on Thursday – thank you to the many parents and carers who helped out with the trip to Borders. We are planning to take all the children who missed out on separate trips to the shop. We really need parents to support this, so please contact Michele if you can help.

March 2nd 2009

It’s World Book Day on Thursday 5th March

We are celebrating the day with Lewis Carroll Library, and by taking groups of nursery children to Borders Books (opposite Chapel Market). We have a free £1 Book Token for every child. You can either buy a special £1 children’s book, or put the token towards another book you want.

To make the trip a success, we need lots of parents to come with us so that the children can enjoy looking through the Children’s Book section of the shop and can choose a book to buy with their token. If you have some free time on Thursday please speak to Michele – your help will be much appreciated.

During the week, the children will also be making their own books in the nursery, and taking part in lots of experiences to give them a really good introduction to early reading and enjoying children’s literature.

Julian


Community Psychology at Kate Greenaway

Dawn Cutler is our local community psychologist and is often at the Centre. She is a specialist in issues such as sleep, food, behaviour and toilet training as well as exploring how it feels to be a parent. She often supports parents who are struggling with a particular issue or in setting routines or boundaries with their children. She is available for free one to one sessions with parents, just ask a member of the community team.

Dawn also regularly attends our Thursday ‘Being a parent’ stay and play (10am-12pm) and our groups for young babies, so you can also drop in and meet her there.

Ask Jan, Dawn or Liz if you would like more information.

23rd February 2009

Monday 23rd February 2009

Dear parents and carers,

Do you want to know more about your child’s speech and language? Do you have any worries or concerns?

You can get free, informal advice from a speech therapist at Kate Greenaway.

Fiona (speech and language therapist) joins in our Monday Stay and Play session every fortnight and is available to give advice and information about language development to any parent who drops into the group. You can also book a half hour individual appointment with her - just ask one of the community team.

For expectant mothers and their families and those with young babies the Speech and Language Therapy service also offer a special session called ‘Bumps to Six Months’ all about early language development.

The next one is at Killick Street Health Centre on February 27th 10.30am-12.00pm, you can book a place or just turn up.

Dates for the term ahead

Thursday 12th March
Review Day
We will be offering parents and carers a meeting with their child’s key person.
The nursery is closed for children with a core day termtime place (9am-3.30pm) - we offer a crèche place during the meeting. For children with extended day places we are open as normal.


Monday 23rd March
Development Morning
The nursery is closed for the morning for children with core day termtime places (9am-3.30pm) – we open at 1pm. This closure is to enable staff training and development


Friday 3rd April
Last day of school term

February 2nd 2009

News from the nursery

Dear parents and carers,

Firstly, an apology for the missed issues of KGe. We have been really badly affected by staff sickness over the last fortnight, but we hope we have come through the worst of the winter bug now.

Despite all that, we have made a good start to our “Science Fortnight”. Most of the key groups have now visited the Science Museum, with one more trip on Tuesday, and we have really appreciated parent support for these visits. It’s sometimes hard to know which is the best part of the trip – the tube, the museum or the packed lunch! We have heard children asking fascinating questions, watched them making sense of Tube Maps and Oyster cards, and seen how they excited they have been by the water, light and sound play at the museum. Don’t forget that if you want to go back with your child, the Science Museum is absolutely free and tube travel is free for young children too.
Julian and Michele

News from the Community Services

Calling first-time parents

Do you know anyone who has recently had their first child?

We are running a short course for first time parents at Killick Street Health Centre at 10.30am on Fridays (January 30-February 27th).

We plan to offer a wide range of information to families including development in the first year, feeding and weaning, sleep, dental health, play and information about local services for families with young children. We offer all this information through our stay and play sessions too, so families who can’t make Fridays or who have older children can pick up what they need there. Please ask any member of the community team if you’d like to know more or come along on Friday!

Jan

12th January 2009

WELCOME back to Kate Greenaway, and a warm welcome also to all new parents and carers. KG Express comes out every Monday, and you can also read it on our blog www.kategreenaway.blogspot.com. On the back of this sheet are the key dates for the rest of the school year. This term, we also welcome Kara to the Community Services team. Sarah and Maggi are now working in Baby Nest, with Stacey on maternity leave.

 Science Fortnight 26^th Jan- 6^th Feb   

The children learn about science and the natural world through meaningful and exciting experiences. We are having a Science fortnight to extend the children’s interests in water play, the weather, materials, how things work, and what happens when I do this……?

As part of our focus we are also going to visit the Science Museum. There are three visits booked so children can go in small groups with their key person. We will need about 4 parents per visit to help us although we are very happy to take more parents along. Please look out for information and speak to your key person if you would like to come with us.  Michele

News from the Community Services

We have started the year with a new programme of ‘stay and play’ groups which run every morning from 10-12 and are open to everyone with a child aged 0-5. On Thursdays our theme is ‘being a parent’. Drop in (with or without your child!) to find our more about common issues that face parents such as tantrums, sleep and eating problems, toilet training  and much more. We also have all sorts of information about child development and ideas for activities to try at home.

News from the nursery

We listen and talk to children throughout the whole nursery session, and at key group time we put a special focus on communication. Please don’t come through to collect your child until 11.45am or 3.30pm – if you collect your child early or go into nursery, the children get distracted. If you need to pick an older child up from school, then please could you come at 3pm before the group starts? 

Dates for 2009

First day of spring term (all children)
Monday January 5th

Development morning*
Monday 19th January

Closure for training and development
Friday February 13th

Half term for children with termtime places
16th-20th February (inclusive)

Review Day*
Thursday 12th March

Development morning*
Monday 23rd March

Last day of spring term for children with termtime places
Friday April 3rd

First day of summer term for children with termtime places
Monday 20th April

Development morning*
Monday May 11th

Closure for training and development
21st-22nd May

Half term for children with termtime places
25th-29th May (inclusive)

Development morning*
Monday June 15th

Last day of term for children with termtime places
Monday 20th July

Last day of extended nursery
Friday 14th August


*On Development Mornings and Review Days we are closed for children with core day places for the morning. Children with extended day places attend a crèche provision in the morning.