Hanover St ELC Newsletter, August 2021

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ELC Newsletter, August 2021

Welcome back!

Welcome back to all mums, dads, carers, and of course, our wonderful children and the fabulous nursery team.  A special welcome must go to our new families who are starting at Hanover Street in August. Welcome to Hanover Street!

 

We hope you all had a restful, fun but safe summer. There was some great sunshine to enjoy and to get out and play in! 🌞

 

 

Where has the name “nursery” gone?

You will hear us moving away from naming our class of children “nursery”. We will be using the phrase ELC more and more. This stands for Early Learning and Childcare which is being used nationally to show the wide range of play, development and care that is experienced and delivered during children’s time here. So, you, your children and the staff are part of the Hanover ELC team!

 

 

The ELC team – staffing

Before the Summer, we said goodbye to some members of our team. ☹

  • Miss Amy Milne. Amy joined us as a volunteer, who then applied for a Modern Apprenticeship, which she has now completed. We wish her luck in one of Aberdeen’s first Outdoor Nurseries, at Duthie Park. Go for it, Amy, and remember your wellies!
  • Mrs Juliet Bentley successfully completed her training also. She is now an EYP at Mile End Nursery. Keep spreading your sparkle, Juliet!
  • Miss Hannah Gillilan finished her EYP training with us too. She is now at Woodside nursery – one of the shiny new builds as part of the nursery expansion. Good luck Hannah; you can do it!

So, as you can see, it has been a busy year for qualifications!  I’d like to say thank you to the whole nursery team in supporting these trainees. They have been patient, kind and answered many questions.  This support and nurturing have not gone unnoticed. However, of course, this has been modelled by Mrs Sarah Lemmon our SEYP, who had led much of these efforts – leading the team in nursery (sorry – ELC!)  developments, guiding on project work, above and beyond her own university training.  Thank you Sarah. ❤

  • Mrs Laura Henderson also said goodbye. She has chosen to focus on her gift hamper business, along with doing some EYP supply work. You may see her on her new stall in the Trinity Centre. Show your support by liking her Facebook page – “Just a Wee Gift!”

 

 

We now say hello to a few new staff members, in their place:

  • Miss Ellie Fraser has been appointed as our new EYP (Modern Apprentice).
  • Mrs Justyna Grzonka has been appointed as our new ELC Support Worker.
  • Mrs Samina Adnan is helping us as a Casual ELC Support Worker.

 

They will all happily introduce themselves to you all as soon as they start in post.  We welcome them all with open arms into our ELC setting.

 

 

Nursery Hours

Due to the expansion of ELC hours, Hanover Street ELC sessions will now be from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday.

These extra hours will have a few other implications for staff, children and families:

 

New Routines: These extra hours mean new routes for everyone. Children will be here almost twice as much, they will receive lunch and snack and may require some rest or even sleep!  Staff will be becoming familiar with new staff roles (ELC Support Worker), rotas for staff hours (it will not simply be 9am to 3pm for staff, it may involve staff starting and finishing between these times), and a rota for staff lunches also. There will be a lot for our team and children to become familiar with. Please support us in any requests as detailed below.

 

Dropping Off and Picking Up: We ask that as far as possible, all children are dropped off and picked up promptly. The nursery is a busy place, and the staff have to set up and organise activities within a tight timeframe, so please do respect these times.

 

Outdoor Clothing:  With a longer days comes more opportunity to spend time playing and learning outside – in all weathers! We have outdoor suits in nursery. Please do consider providing your own set also, in the event of changing when the bad weather comes. We encourage a few thinner layers for underneath jackets, etc, instead of one thick jumper for example.  See here for info: https://muddyfaces.co.uk/outdoor-hub/outdoor-clothing/layering-explained

Simpler Downloadable PDF – http://www.inspiringscotland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Practitioner-Tips-What-to-Wear-for-Children.pdf

 

Snack:  Snack will now be fresh fruit and milk/water. It will be funded by the Government and parents will no longer be asked for £2 a week to fund this.

 

Lunches: Lunches will be prepared by the Kitchen Team in school. They will be served in the playroom by the ELC staff. We have 40 children, so this will be served in 2 sittings of 20.  Lunches are made to order from the kitchen each day. We need to inform the kitchen what these choices are before 9.30am. We will therefore ask you to complete a lunch slip each week so that we can inform the kitchen clearly and promptly.

 

Sleep:  Children may get tired. We have sleep mats and blankets being supplied by the Council. Children will NOT be made to sleep (e.g. “all will have a sleep at 2pm”). But there will be a quiet rest area made in the nursery, where children can retreat to, supported and monitored by staff. We will be creating a sleep policy to support this.

Toileting and Changes of Clothes: Please provide around 3 changes of pants and socks, and 1 change of clothes.  More if you think your child will need this.

Key Workers and Childcare Plans

Key Workers will be meeting with families soon in the regular review of Childcare/Personal Plans.

Under legislation, new families must have theirs completed within 28 days of starting the service. Continuing families will have their plans reviewed at least every 6 months.

 

We have labelled our key groups this year:

  • Red (Mrs Scott)
  • Blue (Mrs Barkovska)
  • Green (Mrs Gauld)
  • Yellow (Miss Anderson)

 

Please remember – you are always supported by the whole team – not just your key worker.

COVID-19 Risk Assessment and Relevant Procedures:

Mr Markey, our Head Teacher, has updated the School Risk Assessment in line with recent National Updates. This has been sent to your email and is also available on the school website: https://hanover.aberdeen.sch.uk/school-related-covid-19-info/

We will be maintaining most procedures from before Summer. This will be reviewed again in September.

Please continue to follow guidance, with mask wearing, handwashing, etc.

Communication – SeeSaw, GroupCall, Email, School Website and Twitter

SeeSaw – is our main way of communicating.

Examples of your child’s learning can be accessed here. Staff will post photos and other things, and connected family members can like or comment securely on these.  It is also a communication tool where the school, ELC staff and parents can communicate securely. .  We ask that this is used respectfully however, and within reasonable times for staff to maintain a work-life balance..

 

GroupCall – is the text messaging and email service that the school uses. Quick reminders are often sent via text message and documents are often sent via attachment on email.

 

School Website – https://hanover.aberdeen.sch.uk/ – shows more generic information, for example ELC and school policies, termly class updates, holiday and weekend activities, and community news.

Twitter – @HanoverStSch – this posts general school information, linked to the school website. Things from Aberdeen City Council Education and other community events are often retweeted here also.

 

Emergencies? – contact the school on 01224 569880 or the ELC Mobile on 07741 236509 (both at top of newsletter).

 

Useful Reminders…

●        Term dates – are available here: https://hanover.aberdeen.sch.uk/termholiday-dates/  The local holiday September Weekend is not too far away.

 

Thank you for your time in reading this newsletter! With it being the start of term and school year, it’s a LONG one!

 

Miss Gillian Forbes, DHT 😊