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26th May 2020

Dear Parents,

We have been collecting information from all our customers and can now confirm that we will be opening on Monday 1st June.
We are pleased to welcome back all customers who wish to return to the Nursery and we look forward to meeting some of our new starters.

We have put in place all procedures from our risk assessments and the Nursery has been deep cleaned with steps taken to reduce contact between staff and create space for small groups in each classroom.

Please can we ask all parents to assist us with the following: –

Parents will be met at the front door. Hand over will happen at the door and parents are asked not to enter the building.

During Drop off and collection please wait in the car park area and only come to the door one at a time. This will ensure we do not have to implement staggered drop offs.

We will be displaying child friendly infection control signage throughout the Nursery and we will be implementing the advice from the government.

The most vital control measure will be promoting the importance of hand-washing for at least 20 seconds with warm water and soap.

Before leaving home
On arrival at the Nursery
After using the toilet
After breaks and group activities
Before eating any food, including snacks Before leaving Nursery

Boxes of tissues are available, and we will be ensuring that our children and staff understand that they must cover their cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue away (babies N/A)

At regular intervals throughout the day our staff will clean all touched objects and surfaces with Milton disinfectant solution.

As you can imagine it is a difficult time for many businesses and we have had to take steps to ensure we can continue. Therefore, we will be withdrawing any discretionary discounts as of 1st June.

We will be emailing all customers attending from 1st June with a seven-day payment term and any customers with an outstanding balance will be required to pay this in full before starting back at the Nursery.

We will be issuing credit notes to all customers for the days in the March when the Nursery closed, and all spaces will be held without charge for those parents choosing to keep their children at home at the moment.

We do not underestimate how difficult the recent weeks have been for us all and we have all been touched in some way by the coronavirus pandemic. We recognise the need to focus on the children’s emotional wellbeing as well as their return to the Nursery environment and this will be our priority.

Should you have any questions please contact us. We thank you again for your support during this transitional period.

We are looking forwards to seeing you all again soon.

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14th May 2020

Dear Parents,

 Following the latest guidance set out from the government, we are now preparing our Nursery environment in readiness for opening on Monday 1st June 2020.  This is subject to any further information that the five key tests set by government justify us opening.

The government have said, “We want to get all children and young people back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to learn, and because we know how important it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with their peers, carers and teachers. Children returning to educational and childcare settings in greater numbers will also allow more families to return to work.”

We have been issued with strict guidelines on managing risk and the rate of transmission of COVI19.

We are working hard to implement these changes and risk assess our environment.

These changes will take at least a week to accomplish and the whole team will be working hard to achieve this. 

The changes may look like or include the following: – staggered drop off and collection, small grouping of children, using more outdoor space more often, utilising our gathering rooms i.e. Dining room and main hall as further grouping areas.  Hand-washing for all children every hour. Etc.

Once we have completed our plan, we will send full details to all our parents with an invitation for your children to come back to Nursery.  At that stage, should you have any concerns or questions we will be able to answer theses for you.

A link to the government guidance is below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020

Thank you all for your support and messages during this crisis.  We are looking forwards to seeing you all again soon.

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8th April 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians

 I hope that you and your family are safe and well.  It has been a challenging time for all our children at Oakland Hall as they learn and adapt to the new but temporary normal during this global pandemic. I wanted to use this opportunity to once again thank you for your support and understanding at this time of rapid developments and significant anxiety.

We will be placing a freeze on all accounts from the end of March and on re opening the next invoice will include a deduction for the days not used in March due to COVID19.  Any key worker child that continued to attend will still be charged.

We will not be sending out any further invoices until we know the date on which we are able to re-open.  We will endeavour to give you as much notice as we can.

Any payments we receive from vouchers etc during this time will be put on your account as a credit.

We are unable to offer any refunds at this time and ask all our customer to please ensure that any outstanding payments on their account are paid in full as soon as possible.

We will not be asking you to pay any fees during our closure or any holding deposits and we hope you will support us by ensuring your accounts are up to date.  We will send statements out to you all shortly to assist with this.  This is of vital importance for us to during this time and we thank you for your co-operation.

We hope our Mighty Oak children have been continuing with their learning and using some of the useful online links provided in their work folders.  If you were unable to collect your work folder, please contact Hayley Thorpe and she will be able to provide you with useful links to continue your child’s learning.

While we must acknowledge the current situation, it is important not to forget that our children are used to working towards set goals at the Nursery and being rewarded with stickers and many well-done’s.  It is so important to reinforce positive feedback and give praise for even the smallest of achievements. We hope you are able to continue along this path whilst at home.

I hope you and your children get some much-needed rest over the Easter break, and we will continue to communicate with parents throughout the holidays and beyond during this changeable period. If you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please feel free to contact Hayley Thorpe, Nursery Manager.

 Stay safe and well.

Yours sincerely,

Gillian Dovey

Managing Director/ Owner

 

Millie's Mark

 

 

 

We are enormously proud to be awarded the Millie’s Mark for excellence.

Information for parents

What is Millie’s Mark?

As a parent, placing your child in an early years setting that
is endorsed with Millie’s Mark provides reassurance that all childcare practitioners know what to do in a paediatric first aid situation.

It acknowledges that children’s safety is at the forefront of the setting’s mind when they care for your child.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guidelines, which childcare settings in England are required to follow, state that just one person with a current paediatric first aid certificate must be on the premises and available at all times when children are present or on outings. (DfE 2017, page 22). In Scotland, there is no formal requirement for the number of paediatric first aid trained staff under the Health and Social Care Standards.

Millie’s Mark is a special endorsement for childcare providers
that go above and beyond minimum requirements by having
100% of staff trained in paediatric first aid, and also ensuring
that everything learned during the course is kept in the forefront
of practitioners’ minds so that they are confident, ready and capable.

Millie’s Mark is named after Millie Thompson, who died after choking on food at nursery in 2012 when she was just nine months old. Read more about Millie’s legacy at www.milliesmark.com/ about-us. National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) is delivering Millie’s Mark in conjunction with Millie’s Trust.

How does an early years setting achieve Millie’s Mark?

In order to apply for Millie’s Mark, 100% of staff working directly with the children must be qualified in paediatric first aid. The accreditation process then takes between three and six months.

The process involves being allocated a mentor, who supports the setting to check processes and procedures are up to the standard required through a setting audit, staff confidence audit, staff training matrix and floor plan review.

If areas for improvement are identified, the mentor works with the setting to develop an action plan. Once these steps are complete, nurseries upload evidence to the Millie’s Mark website. The evidence is assessed, and a percentage of nurseries receive a spot check.

Our TRUG is here!!

 

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The’ Growing Garden”

We are pleased to announce that our children can explore another garden at Oakland Hall. 

As well as our busy covered play area and Big ‘O’ we have added a growing garden.

Here we can explore all types of plants, vegetables and grow are own.

Taking in the new smells, textures and enhancing our motor skills.

This is an area to develop our sensory skills and see first-hand the

 importance of maintaining the delicate balance of nature around us.

For our scientist of the future!

 

 Ofsted-Registered-Tuition-Centre

All staff, pupils and parents at Oakland Hall are celebrating after being rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted. Everyone is ecstatic by the summary of key findings which are outlined below.

“Management demonstrates a strong commitment to continuous improvement and working towards excellence in all areas.”

“Partnerships with parents are well established. Staff are committed to working together with parents and encourage them to remain actively involved in their children’s learning, both in the nursery and at home.”

“Staff support children’s speech and language development effectively. They engage children in conversation and actively listen to what they have to say. The gestures and babbles of babies are responded to positively.”

“Staff observe children as they play. They use what they know about the children to plan interesting and stimulating activities that are rooted in their interests. Children are encouraged to be active and develop their physical skills in the nursery gardens.”

“Children are settled, happy and develop secure emotional attachments in this welcoming nursery. They readily go to staff for reassurance, a cuddle and to share their play experiences.”

To book a visit and have a look around our ‘Good’ Nursery please call 0845 838 8955 or email us at info@oaklandhall.co.uk

 

For the full report please go to https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/CARE/EY461296