Pitmedden Primary Nursery Handbook
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Pitmedden Primary Nursery Handbook Academic Year 2018/2019 Nursery Staff Head Teacher – Mrs Janet Hill Early Years Senior Practitioner – Mrs Claire Rennie Early Years Practitioner – Diane Meldrum Early Years Practitioners – Wendy Thomson, Sarah Paterson, Dannielle Cruden, Carla Kelman, Jill Taylor, Donna Stratton and Kate McBrien Office Staff – Mrs Allan and Mrs Day The Janitor – The Cook – Mrs Buchan Our Aim: We aim to provide an environment rich in play based experiential learning encompassing all areas of the curriculum, capturing that sense of wonder and building on this through meaningful discussion and exploration. Mrs Claire Rennie Early Years Senior Practitioner I have been working with children since leaving school. Over the years I’ve worked in a variety of settings, from crèche and nurseries to fostering and out of school care. My qualifications are an SVQ level 2 & 3 in Early Years and Childcare and SVQ Level 4 in Play work and recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Childhood Practice Degree from Aberdeen University. Mrs Diane Meldrum Early Years Lead Practitioner I have worked in childcare on and off since leaving school, working in a variety of settings. I have my SVQ Level3 and 4 in Childcare learning and Development. I look forward to continuing my childcare journey at Pitmedden. Miss Dannielle Cruden Early Years Practitioner Dannielle is an Early Years Practitioner working full time at Pitmedden nursery. Qualified with an SVQ 3 in Early Education and Childcare and is working towards her BA Childhood Practice Degree. She previously worked in the private sector until joining the nursery team at Pitmedden in 2017. Dannielle has a passion for drama and expressive arts. Mrs Wendy Thomson Early Years Practitioner I’ve been working with pre-school children now since 1997. I’ve worked in a private nursery and as a nanny before coming to Pitmedden Nursery. I love working with the children and that every day is different, my passion is in outdoor and messy play activities. Wendy has an NVQ level 2and 3 in Childcare and Education. Mrs Sarah-Jane Paterson Early Years Practitioner I have been working as a nursery nurse since October 2006 at a private nursery in Elgin. I am enjoying working at Pitmedden School Nursery. I studied Childcare and Education at Moray College and graduated with an HNC in Childcare and Education in 2005. Miss Carla Kelman Early Years Practitioner Carla joined the team Early 2018 and has a background working in private nurseries. Carla has her SVQ level 3 in Childcare and Early Years. Ms Jill Taylor – Early Years Practitioner Jill joined the team in August 2018 working Thursday and Fridays. Jill’s background is in nursery and child-minding, she has an SVQ level 3 in Childcare and Education. Mrs Donna Stratton – Early Years Practitioner Donna has several years’ experience in nurseries and works with us on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Donna has her SVQ Level 2 and 3 in early years and Childcare. Mrs Kate McBrien – Early Years Practitioner Kate has several years’ experience working in a variety of settings. Kate has her SVQ 3 and is in the process of working towards her BA Childhood practice Degree. Kate works with us as lunch time cover from 11-2pm daily. Nursery Classes There are two Nursery classes, which meet for five sessions each week. Orange Group Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday from 8:00 till 11.55am/1pm Thursday and Friday from 1pm till 4:10 pm Yellow Group Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 1pm till 4:10pm Thursday and Friday from 8am till 11.55am/1pm As we are a trial site for the 1140 expansion of early learning and childcare we are open extended hours of 8 am to 6pm daily. This means that although the two coloured groups remain just now there are children that cross over between groups and some that stay all day. Arrival and Departure Parents and children should enter by the main nursery door on Oldmeldrum road. This door is unlocked at 8.45-9 am morning session and 12:45-1pm for afternoon. The door is locked at all other times and the bell can be used to alert staff of your presence. Please be patient at this point as staff will come and answer the door but the children will always be their priority. There is a cloakroom area where you can change your child into indoor shoes ready for the session. The children will place their snack card on the fridge and the option to self-register at the sign in table then go off to free play. Parents should let the member of staff on register know if anyone different is collecting their child and complete this information on the clipboard on the table. Staff will be available to talk about any aspect of your child’s development and learning at the start or end of session or at an alternative time by prior arrangement. Due to the very short turn around now in nursery ALL children must be picked up by 12:50pm morning sessions and 5:50pm afternoon sessions. Please make sure you or the person collecting your child is on time. A daily snack is provided. A menu is put up each week for Lunch and snacks are displayed on the white board. The snack menu is chosen by the children using the Grow Well choices and Setting the Table guidelines. We would appreciate any ideas you or child may have for the snack menu. There is a charge of £0:50 per session for snack. You can pay cash or cheque, weekly on Mondays or termly at the beginning of term. You will receive a slip of how much you need to pay based on the number of sessions you have chosen to attend. Cheques should be made payable to “Pitmedden Nursery”. Parents will be asked if their child has any special dietary requirements at the start of the year and additional forms handed out. At the end of each session, a member of staff will open the classroom door and call each child, in turn, to meet their parent/carer. If your child is going to be absent, for any reason, please let the nursery staff know, or telephone the school on the day. The school office is required to contact parents if a child has not arrived in nursery. Please note that if your child has vomited or had diarrhoea, they must stay away from nursery until 48 hours after symptoms have stopped. The Nursery Golden Rules We listen to our teachers We share toys and take turns We play gently with our friends. Chose it, use it, put it away. We walk in the room and corridor. We are careful with the toys. Behaviour Rules are in place to ensure that all children enjoy a safe and stimulating environment where positive behaviour is promoted and children are encouraged to think of others as well as themselves. If there are problems, we will deal with them sensitively and discuss this with you at an early stage. Behaviour in the nursery is developed and supported through Restorative Practice. Young children learn by example and watching others. They will be supported in the nursery when required and a member of staff will talk through what has happened, who has been hurt and what we should do now and how we can do things differently next time. Please speak to the nursery staff if you have any concerns about your child’s behaviour. The school has a Restorative Practice leaflet you can have for more information. Key Worker Each child will be allocated a Key Worker, who will monitor and record their progress through all areas of the curriculum. Your child’s photo will be on a display showing their key worker in the corridor. Nursery Sessions The children will be involved in a range of activities daily. The white board in the corridor area shows what things we are doing each week. Notifications for specific day’s focus are displayed in the cloakroom. This can be an outdoor day/baking day/physical day/trips etc. We try to ensure that each group receives the same opportunities without repeating activities daily for those attending full day sessions. 8.00/12:50 - After placing their snack card on the fridge, the children can go off to free play. Around 9:05/12.40pm, the “story bell” will be rung and children gather in the hedgehog room. There will be a discussion about the activities for the session, day and weather board are filled out by the children interactively and we have a visual timetable, which is changed every session. OLI, our special owl, will remind the children of the current learning intention. We pick a book of the week this is read to the whole class daily and sometimes in small groups with key workers. There are a number of learning areas in the room and resources are changed regularly and are child led. If you want to look at the learning potential of each area there are laminated sheets linking play to outcomes of the Curriculum for Excellence. Children should have suitable outdoor footwear and waterproof clothing every day. We go outside as much as possible on a daily basis. There are regular Forest School sessions when the children will be at either our secret garden in the village or in Pitmedden Gardens in the woods. On the outdoor days parents will be asked to drop off and pick up at Pitmedden Gardens car park. Please speak to nursery staff in advance if you have any concerns.