2nd February 2010

Help urgently required: visits to the Natural History Museum

We are planning to take all the three and four year olds to the Natural History Museum over the next month. But in order to do this, we need help.

Please talk to Michele if you are able to come along and help – there will be a list of dates going up soon.

We will be walking up to Caledonian Road Station and then getting the Piccadilly Line to South Kensington before spending time in the museum, especially in the dinosaur area.

Children travel free on the tube, but you will need to bring your Oyster card. You and your child will also need to bring a packed lunch with you. We do not recommend bringing a buggy.

The trip will be a great experience for the children, and they will be learning from the minute they set off up the road, use the lift at the station and follow the tube map.

The children need a high level of supervision – please volunteer some of your time if you can.

Under Fives Dental Health promotion

Did you know that Islington has one of the highest levels of tooth decay and tooth extraction amongst children in the whole country?

Dental problems in childhood can be painful and can affect children’s early speech.

On Thursday February 25th we are holding a dental health promotion event in the morning from 10am to 11.30am.

Come along and:

• Get free advice
• Register with a dentist (all treatment for children is free on the NHS)
• Pick up a free toothbrush and toothpaste for your child

For more information – contact Liz

Find more information about registering with a dentist for free treatment here.

25th January 2010

Important reminder: arrival times for children in the morning
At Kate Greenaway we have a flexible dropping-off system for all children. This is planned to help parents and staff settle children in, and also to help parents who have older children in school – we know you can’t be in two places at the same time!

But please remember that all children with morning places need to be in nursery by 9.30am. The reason for this, is that we want all the children to be able to take part in the day’s activities, and if children arrive throughout the morning the group becomes unsettled. It is also difficult for children who arrive later, as often the others are already formed in groups and busy.

If your child has a medical appointment or another reason to be late, we understand of course.

But otherwise please help the smooth running of Kate Greenaway by making sure that your child arrives by 9.30am at the very latest. This includes all children – babies, toddlers, 3 and 4 year olds, children with termtime places and children with extended day/year places.

Free theatre production for 2 to 5 year olds
Lewis Carroll Library on Copenhagen Street are hosting the Court Theatre Training Company on Friday 29th January.

They are producing short plays for 2 to 5 year olds on Myths and Fairytales – Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and more…

It’s free for any parent to come along with their child, starting at 10am. If you would like to take your own child, then please let your key person know during the week (by Wednesday at the latest) – thanks.

We will also take a small group over from Kate Greenaway: if you would like to help us with this, then please let Michele know.

12th January 2010

Staffing update

I would like to start the newsletter by introducing Anna to all parents and carers. Anna is working with us this term for three days a week as an additional nursery teacher, whilst Michele covers some of Jan’s responsibilities. Jan remains at Golden Lane this term as their interim head.

On Friday, our cook Yogi started her maternity leave – so I know that everyone will join with me in wishing her well. We are interviewing for a temporary cook this week.
We have a new Turkish-speaking Bilingual Family Support and Outreach worker, Duygu, working with us and the other local Children’s Centres. Duygu is holding a breakfast for Turkish-speaking families on Tuesday January 26th, 9am-10am, here at Kate Greenaway.

Snow

I am sure you were pleased at the efforts of everyone on the staff team to keep the nursery running all last week. We would like to thank parents of children with extended day places for agreeing to pick children up early during the period of severe weather.

Reminder: choosing a reception class for your child

All parents and carers are welcome to our meeting about choosing your child’s school, on Tuesday 19th January starting at 9.30am.

Parents wanted for telephone interviews
£20 in high street vouchers paid

The Family & Parenting Institute, and the Campaign for Learning, two independent charities, are looking for mothers, fathers and carers of 2, 3 and 4 year old children who are taking up childcare funding for the first time in January 2010, to be interviewed on the phone about what kind of support they need or would like to help their children learn and develop.

You will receive £20 in high street vouchers-accepted in Argos, M&S, Sainsburys and many more shops - for two, half hour interviews, one before the end of Jan and one 6 months later, at times to suit you. For more information:

n Ask Julian at Kate Greenaway for more details or
n Contact: National Family and Parenting Institute, The Provider Influence Team, Freepost, LON 12668, NW5 1YR


Email PI@familyandparenting.org

Telephone 020 7424 3481

5th January 2010 - Happy New Year from Kate Greenaway

New children settling in

This term we have 10 new children settling in to the Nursery and the Baby Nest. Awe stagger settling in to make sure that we can give plenty of attention to each child, and also to minimise the disruption to children already on roll. However, during this period the staff will be giving extra attention to the new children and this can be a little unsettling to children on roll. Please speak to your key person if you feel this is affecting your child.

Choosing a primary school for your child
If your child was born between 1 September 2005 and 31 August 2006 you will need to apply for a primary school place for September 2010/January 2011. You can ask for a paper form by calling 0207 527 5515 or you can apply online.

We are holding a workshop with Islington’s School Choice team here on Tuesday January 19th at 9.30am. At the workshop, you can ask questions about the best ways to go about choosing your child’s primary school and share ideas with other parents. Please remember that you must submit your form by Tuesday 2nd February 2010

Reminder of key dates, etc
Please check the list of dates below.

New Children’s Centre Programme
As well as continuing all our popular services, we have added swimming and an adult exercise class to our programme. Please have a look here (opens as a PDF in a new window) or pick up a copy from the front desk and find out what we’re offering for families.

Do you have a Maclaren buggy? Order your free elbow joint hinge covers
You may find the following information from their website useful:

Elbow joint hinge covers To obtain a set of hinge covers please go to http://covers.maclaren.co.uk/ and fill out the order form.

What are the basic precautions?

The main instructions are to:
Keep children clear of the stroller during opening and folding.
Always use the safety harness.
Always apply the brakes when stationary.
Never leave your child unattended – even with the harness fastened.
Don’t overload the buggy. Heavy items hanging from the handles can cause it to topple over.
Don’t let children play or climb on a stroller and don’t carry a second child on a stroller designed for one child.
Negotiate curbs carefully. Wherever possible always carry a stroller down flights of stairs.

...

You should also keep the buggy clean and check that it is good working order before you use it. If you have any problems, contact us on 01327 841320 (between 9am and 5pm) or contact one of our service centres (listed on our website).


Reminder: Key dates at Kate Greenaway 2010

Tuesday 5th January 2010
First day of Spring Term

Tuesday 19th January 2010
9.30am workshop: choosing a primary school for your child

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
Last day of extended year summer scheme.

On both Development Mornings and Review Days, the nursery remains open for children with extended day/year places

* 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.

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.