Pre School

Statement of intent

The Nursery works with children, parents, carers and the community to ensure the safety of children. Every child has the right to be safe.

The Nursery aims to create an environment which encourages children to develop a positive self-image regardless of race, language, religion, culture or social background.

We want to help children to establish and sustain satisfying relationships within their families, with peers and with other adults.

We aim to  work with parents and carers to build their understanding of and commitment to the welfare of all our children.

We do have a duty to refer to social care if we suspect a child is at risk of significant harm. If we make a referral to social care, we will inform the parents/guardians concerned; unless to do so would place the child at increased risk of significant harm. Our first concern will always be the welfare of the child.

Legislation

• The Children’s Act 1989
• The Children’s Act 2004
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
• Children’s Act 2008
• Data Protection Act 1999

The Nursery works with the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB), of which the designated officer is Nigel Hatten (telephone 01452 426320).

The Nursery has set procedures for contacting the LSCB regarding safeguarding children.
If a report is made to the LSCB, the Nursery will act within the recommended guidelines in deciding whether the parents or carers should be informed at the same time as the referral. This will depend upon the nature of the concern. The Nursery notifies the registration authority (Ofsted) of any serious accidents or incidents that take place within the setting; this also includes any serious unexplained injury a child receives whilst in the care of the Nursery staff.

The Nursery acknowledges that abuse of children can take different forms; physical, emotional, sexual and neglect. When children are suffering from abuse, this may be demonstrated through changes in their behaviour or in their play. Where such behaviour occurs or when children’s play gives cause for concern, the nursery has a professional and moral duty to investigate, and if necessary, make a referral. We will always aim to notify and work with parents in the fist instance unless their is reason to believe that this may put the children at risk of harm.

The designated safeguarding leads

The designated safeguarding lead is responsible for promoting a safe environment for children and young people. They are the first point of contact for all staff and volunteers to go to for advice if they are concerned about a child.

The designated safeguarding lead has a higher level of safeguarding training and knowledge than the rest of the staff. Their role includes supporting staff to assist in information regarding concerns and support decision making about whether staff concerns are sufficient enough to notify children’s social work services or whether other courses of action are more appropriate, such as the completion of an Early Help Approach. At times the designated safeguarding lead may have a no names conversation with the community social worker to discus the appropriate response.

It is not the designated safeguarding officer’s responsibility to decide whether a child has been abused or not. That is the responsibility of investigative statutory agencies such as children’s social work services or the police. However, keeping children safe is everybody’s business, and all staff should know who to go to and how to report any concerns they may have about a child being harmed or at risk of being harmed.

Our designated safeguarding lead is: Mrs Libby PringleOur safeguarding deputies are: Miss Rebecca Greenow, Mrs Kerry Buckland

Teach your child to protect themselves and their body with the NSPCC pants campaign

• NSPCC support for parents
• NSPCC underwear rule

Please use the link below to find activities and ideas linked to the 7 areas of learning

• On Line Resources for Early Years and Foundation Stage Children

Developing independence

Independence is important because…

1. It promotes confidence and self-esteem as well as motivation and perseverance in school.
2. It fosters self-reliance, allowing your child to feel they have control over their choices.
3. It gives your child a sense of importance and belonging which is essential for building social relationships and for contributing to the world.
4. It develops their levels of self-awareness and sensitivity towards others which teaches them to help those around them and develop empathy.
5. It teaches them self-motivation as they can follow their own interests and complete tasks intrinsically opposed for external reward.
6. It provides them with the belief that they are competent and capable of taking care of themselves which makes them resilient to external challenges.
7. It allows them to become good decision-makers as they have the freedom to consider various options before choosing the one they feel is best.
8.  It develops other vital qualities such as patience, concentration, self-help, cooperation, self-discipline and self-trust.
9. It gives them the freedom to experience life fully and learn its many important lessons.
10. It makes them happy and healthy as they feel a great sense of achievement and success as a direct result of their own actions.

• Further information regarding independence
• Top tips for independence

Reading

Children benefit from adults who enjoy telling stories and can bring them to life.

Below are some tips to support  great story telling and share adventures in new and exciting ways throughout the day – with stories that spark and develop children’s imagination and creativity.

Tips and ideas:

• Use different voices, tones, intonations and pauses to build anticipation and suspense during story times
• Regularly update your book areas at home to provide material that meets the children’s areas of interests, including: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, magazines, comics, newspapers, recipe books, books showing people with disabilities as positive role models and homemade books
• Stories should match children’s current levels of development, interests and length of concentration
• Use story stones, shadow theatres and story boxes, making the children part of the story to encourage them to develop their own narrative
• Create small reading nooks, or pop up reading tents in a new spot each day

Developing a love of books early is essential to support lifelong joy with literacy and story telling.

• Bookstart reading ideas

What is fine motor development?

Fine motor skills are when children begin to learn how to use their muscles in their hands, wrists, and fingers. Children use their fine motor skills most when they are cutting paper with scissors, doing up buttons on their clothes, playing with blocks, picking up items with their hands, eating and also writing or coloring.

There’s so many fine motor activities for children to practice to develop fine motor skills. The more you have your child work on fine motor activities, the better their fine motor skills will become.

• Fine motor activities and suggestions
• Practical activities to support fine motor development

Cooking

The benefits of cooking with preschoolers:

1. Social-Emotional Development: Hands on cooking activities help children develop confidence and skill. Following recipes encourages children to be self-directed and independent, it also teaches them to follow directions and develop problem-solving skills.
2. Physical Development: Fine motor and eye-hand coordination skills are developing by chopping, mixing, squeezing, and spreading.
3. Cognitive Development: Cooking encourages children’s thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. It also allows children the opportunity to use the knowledge they have and apply it by counting, measuring, following a sequence, following directions, and cause and effect.
4. Language Development: Cooking offers the opportunity to develop language development by linking it to all other areas, including Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Arts, and Literacy. This is done by encouraging children to talk about what they are doing, counting, and watching materials change color, texture, and medium.

• Simple recipes to use with children

Why is it important to consider safety when allowing children access to electronic devices?

It is more important than ever to ensure that we as adults support and teach children how to be safe online. Evidence shows that:

• on average 3 to 4-year-olds spend over 6 hours online a week
• 54% of 3-4-year-old have their own device
• fewer then half of parents of 3 to 4 year-olds  agree that ‘the benefits of the internet outweigh the risks

While the world around us continues to change we are pushed to rely more heavily on the benefits of technology as a means of communication and entertainment. The EYFS recognises that knowledge and skills in technology are crucial for the modern world. Please use the links below to support you in ensuring your child remains safe online. You will also find a selection of websites included within our EYFS page,each are recommended to provide fun and safe activities to support your child’s development should you wish.

• NSPCC support to keep your child safe online
• Internet safety matters

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is how the Government and early years professionals describe and access the time in your child’s life between birth and age 5.

This is a very important stage as it helps your child get ready for school as well as preparing them for their future and allow them to be confident lifelong learners From when your child is born up until the age of 5, their early years’ experience should be happy, active, exciting, fun and secure; and support their development, care and learning needs. The EYFS frameworks aims to take account of the whole child, their welfare needs, learning needs, interests, strengths and areas for development. It is important to remember that this framework should be used only as guidance with recognition that every child is unique and will develop at a pace that is right for them.

Nurseries, pre-schools, reception classes and early years settings registered to deliver the EYFS must follow a legal document called the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.

The EYFS sets the standards that schools must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good progress through school and life. The EYFS also allows professionals to monitor any concerns and provide children with early support that helps them to reach their full potential.

The children are given opportunities to play and explore, to investigate and experience things and to ‘have a go’. They are active and develop their own ideas. They are all unique and will have different interests and abilities. The areas of development have been divided into 2 groups:

3 Prime areas:

• Communication and language
• Physical development
• Personal, social and emotional development

These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning.

As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

These 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities according to their unique needs. This is a little bit like a curriculum in primary and secondary schools, but it’s suitable for very young children, and it’s designed to be really flexible so that staff can follow your child’ needs and interests.

• What to expect when
• EYFS statutory documents

Healthy Eating

Here’s a look at what you should aim to include in healthy lunches for kids.

• Fruit: At least 1 serving of fruit.
• Vegetables: At least 1 serving of veggies.
• Protein: At least 1 serving of protein, whether it’s in the form of meat or poultry, nuts, legumes, or dairy.
• Complex Carbohydrates: Whole grains are essential for long lasting energy and proper toddler brain development.
• Fats: Toddlers need fats to grow properly so choose dairy products with fat and don’t shy away from plant-based fats like avocado.

TIP: I know that reality often looks less balanced, so try not to feel any guilt if you don’t check all these boxes every single lunch!

• yummy lunch ideas for 2’s – 15 lovely ideas for child’s lunch
• yummy lunch ideas for 2’s – 80 different lunch ideas

Healthy Teeth

• how to look after our teeth
• brush your teeth song

Wiggly Woo

Provided to YouTube by The Orchard EnterprisesWiggly Woo · Tumble TotsAction Songs: Wiggle & Shake℗ 2013 Avid EntertainmentReleased on: 2013-07-22Auto-genera…

Have a Good Morning, Have a Good Day

A fun song to wake up with a smile

The Weather Song

Have a look outside, play in the garden, pack a picnic? Share today’s weather and have lots of fun!

Makaton Topic – DAYS OF THE WEEK – Singing Hands

A fun way to learn the days of the week

Rumble in the Jungle

Room on the Broom

The 3 Billy Goats Gruff

Jaspers beanstalk

The Colour Monster

Mr Gumpy

Olivers fruit salad

• On Line Resources for Early Years and Foundation Stage Children

This page is designed to offer you support and guidance in providing physical education at home. We recognise how difficult it is to maintain an active lifestyle with current restrictions and hope the activities contained below help you and your child to develop your own physical fitness, health and enjoyment of physical activity.

NHS guidance suggests:

Children and young people need to do 2 types of physical activity each week:

• aerobic exercise
• exercises to strengthen their muscles and bones

Top tips for reading to your child

How to read a story to your child

If you can find the time beforehand, read the read-aloud book to yourself first, so you can
think about how you’re going to read it to your child.

On the first reading:

• Make reading aloud feel like a treat. Make it a special quiet time and cuddle up so
  you can both see the book.
• Show curiosity about what you’re going to read: ‘This book looks interesting. It’s
  about an angry child. I wonder how angry he gets…’
• Read through the whole story the first time without stopping too much. Let the
  story weave its own magic.
• Read with enjoyment. If you’re not enjoying it, your child won’t.
  Read favourite stories over and over again. On later readings:
• Let your child pause, think about and comment on the pictures.
• If you think your child did not understand something, try to explain: ‘Oh! I think what’s happening here is that…’
• Chat about the story and pictures: ‘I wonder why she did that?’; ‘Oh no, I hope she’s not going to…’; ‘I wouldn’t have done that, would you?’
• Link the stories to your own family experiences: ‘This reminds me of when …’
• Link stories to others that your child knows: ‘Ah! Do you remember the dragon in ….? Do you remember what happened to him?’
• Encourage your child to join in with the bits they know.
• Avoid asking questions to test what your child remembers.
• Avoid telling children that reading stories is good for them.