September Newsletter

We got “Good”!

As many of you know, we had our Ofsted Inspection in July, and I can confirm that we are “Good” in all areas! We are delighted with this, and can’t thank all of the parents enough for all of their support, kind wishes, and lovely comments on the day. The inspectors were impressed with the progress children make at the nursery and how quickly new children settle in and thrive due to the close partnerships with parents that are formed from the outset. For more on this, please follow this link:
Good on you, Shirehampton! — Snapdragons Nursery

Concept Photography are back…

We have concept photography coming into the nursery setting on Tuesday 31st October from 8:30am-2:30pm. All children who are in session on this day will have their photos taken. You will be given a proof sheet of all photos taken, and then you have the option to purchase these if you wish. You are under no obligation to buy them, if you’d like anymore information regarding concept, please do ask at the desk and we will be happy to help.

A gentle reminder….

With the weather getting cold and wet, please can we remind you that we need children to have weather appropriate clothes to wear to the garden. We do go outside in all weathers, so we would recommend bringing in a warm waterproof coat, a warm hat and some wellies and in extreme cold weathers please bring in some gloves/scarf if needed.. Please label all clothing, as quite often children do bring in the same piece of clothing, and can often get them mixed up. Thank-you.

Illness…

As we are coming into winter, unfortunately we do see an increase in illnesses. We do all we can to minimise these, including regular sterilising of our toys and resources and continuing our hygiene procedures with cleaning and handwashing. Please can we ask, if your child is unwell in themselves, they do not come into nursery until they are well enough to do so. We are also finding that children are having Calpol in the morning before sessions, please can you familiarise yourself with our Illness Policy, as we ask that children do not have Calpol, 4 hours prior to starting their session. The link to our Illness Policy is below:
Illnesses — Snapdragons Nursery

Dates for the diary that are coming up…

Grandparent Day- Tuesday 10th October 2023- We are inviting the grandparents in from 9:30am-10:30am to do some planting in our outside vegetable patch and have a biscuit with their grandchild/children. If you are interested in this, please do let someone on the desk know as we can book this in for you.
(This will be subject to the weather of course.)

Wear yellow for World Mental Health Day- Tuesday 10th October 2023- We will be wearing yellow to support World Mental Health Day!

Halloween- Tuesday 31st October 2023- We will be completing lots of Halloween activities. Please feel free to dress up on this day if you would like too. I am sure we will have lots of spooky music to go with the activities.

Parents Evening- 7th November 2023- We will be holding our parents evening from 6pm-8pm on Tuesday 7th November. This is an opportunity to book in with your child’s keyperson to have a short discussion about your child/children’s development. You do not have to attend this if you do not wish too. If you would like to, we will put time slot’s on the door of your child’s base room within the next 2 weeks for you to sign up for a time slot.

Spooks and Smores Night- Wednesday 15th November 2023- After our very successful Spooks and Smores last year, we are hosting this again for 2023! We are very excited for this event, and welcome all parents and children to come in from 4:45pm-6:30pm to enjoy some spooky activities as well as the amazing fire pit with smores with our Forest School leader Natalie.

October Half Term- 23rd-27th October 2023- If you are on a Term Time Only booking pattern, this is a gentle reminder about the Half Term week.

Staffing Update…

We have had a few changes to staff around the nursery and we thank-you for your patience whilst we have been sorting this. We have some new faces around the nursery. Welcome to Scarlett, who is our new Lunchtime Assistant in pre-school. Welcome to Kerrie, who is our new Nursery Apprentice in toddlers. Sadly we say good-bye to Owen our Nursery Chef, who is leaving to take on a new culinary experience. We have recruited a new chef, who will be joining us soon so look out for her!
We have also Welcomed Back Jessica Lennox-Gordon from her Maternity Leave. Jess returned in September and has resumed the role of Deputy Manager and Head of Early Years Practice. Suzanne has resumed her role as Head of Toddlers, however is now Third in Charge.

Your management team is myself (Jenna Schroeder- Manager), Jess (Deputy Manager), Suzanne (Head of Toddlers/Third in Charge). Lowenna is also available if you need anything, we are all more than happy to help!