Allendale Pre-school, Shilburn Road, Allendale, Hexham, Northumberland, NE47 9PT
(01343)683042 allendalepreschool@googlemail.com http://www.allendalepreschool.co.uk
Welcome back, we hope you’ve all had a great Christmas and best wishes for 2016!
Over the holidays the staff have been working hard to change the Pre-school environment to better suit the needs and interests of the children, this will develop further over the next few weeks and be adapted as needed as the children settle back into Pre-school. If anyone has a beanbag or two they no longer want they would be appreciated for the quiet area! Soon a small library of story and rhyme sacks will be available for children to borrow to share with their families at home, if you are interested in helping develop this service please speak to a member of staff.
Each newsletter will feature a staff member and their role at Pre-school, so you can get to know staff better
Helena Castle
Deputy Pre-school Leader & Designated Safeguarding Person
Helena has worked at Pre-school since November 2012 after moving to the area from Yorkshire. Helena has a level 3 qualification in Childcare and Education
Helena previously worked in a private nursery for eight years as deputy manager where she cared for children from 3 months to 4 years.
She is responsible for all safeguarding at Pre-school, so if you ever have any concerns that you want to discuss please ask to see her.
Helena is also a key worker and is responsible for her key children’s records of progress, tapestry entries and planning for their next steps with parents.
Car safety We have seen a rise in the number of children being collected or brought to Pre-school in cars without using car seats, at Pre-school the safety of children is paramount. So to make sure all families are aware of the laws regarding the use of car seats the following information has been taken from the Government website:
- Children must normally use a child car seat until they’re 12 years old or 135cm tall, whichever comes first
You can choose a child car seat based on your child’s height or weight.
- Height-based car seats are known as ‘i-Size’ seats. They must be rear-facing until your child is over 15 months old. Your child can use a forward-facing car seat when they’re over 15 months old. You must check the seat to make sure it’s suitable for the height of your child.
- Weight-based car seats must be rear-facing until your child weighs more than 9kg. After that the seat your child can use (and the way they must be restrained in it) depends on their weight. You may be able to choose from more than one type of seat.
| Child’s weight | Car seat |
| 0kg to 25kg | Rear-facing baby carrier, or rear-facing baby seat using a harness |
| 9kg to 18kg | Rear- or forward-facing baby seat using a harness or safety shield |
| 15kg to 36kg | Forward-facing child seat (high-backed booster seat) using a seatbelt |
| Over 22kg | Booster cushion |
Mobile phones and social media – just a quick reminder that Pre-school is a mobile free zone. Staff, committee, visitors and families are not to use phones on the premises unless supervised within the office. Tapestry – we hope you enjoy using Tapestry as much as possible, please remember photos from tapestry are not to be shared on social media or the internet incase there are children in the background that have not given permission. I hope you can understand the need for these conditions but if you have any questions please speak to a member of staff.
Bills – bills are to being issued monthly in arrears with immediate effect, this means sessions for January will be billed in the first week of February with a payment date of 15th. We hope a monthly billing system will be beneficial to all families. As always, if you are experiencing any difficulties please speak to Dani.
Fees – the bank details for paying fees are
ALLENDALE PRE-SCHOOL
Sort code : 30-94-19
Account number: 00588800
Fees are still payable for sessions that are missed due to holidays or illness as the staffing is organised termly when sessions are requested from families, this is also in our Policies and Procedures available from Pre-school or our website http://www.allendalepreschool.co.uk
If you are moving or decide to send your child to another setting our Polices state that we are given half a terms notice in writing, if notice is not given a bill will be sent for the sessions that have been pre-booked.
Term dates –
| Open on | Close on | |
| Term 1 | Thursday 3rd September | Friday 23rd October |
| October half term | ||
| Monday 2nd November | Thursday 17th December | |
| Christmas holidays | ||
| Term 2 | Tuesday 5th January | Thursday 11th February |
| February half term | ||
| Monday 22nd February | Thursday 24th March | |
| Easter holidays | ||
| Term 3 | Monday 11th April | Friday 27th May |
| May half term | ||
| Monday 6th June | Wednesday 20th July | |
Grapes – Please ensure any grapes in packed lunches are cut in half length ways to help reduce the chance of choking
Getting involved! There are many ways to be involved with Pre-school and your child’s first steps in education, you can volunteer to help at a session – do some baking, read stories, craft activities, games, go for an outing with staff and children, help create resources such as story sacks or rhyme bags. We are always looking for opportunities to fundraise to help keep our fees low, if you have any ideas or would like to organize an event please speak to a member of the committee or staff. You can join the committee; the committee directly influences every aspect of Pre-school and how it runs, they meet half termly and help with organisation and fundraising.
Thank you to everyone for their continued support of Pre-school, if you ever want to speak to a member of staff please phone, ask in person or email them at any point of the day from 8.30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday
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