CHILDREN’S CENTRES NEWSLETTER Welcome to the first newsletter for Children’s Centres run by Bath and North East Somerset Council. It’s here to keep you up-to-date with what’s happening across our centres. Your local Children’s Centre aims to join up services for you and your young child(ren) (0-5yrs). Each Children’s Centre is different, with activities, services and facilities tailored to meet the particular needs of local children and families.
Top tips to keep your little ones safe in winter
Winter 2016 Edition
In This Issue...
Top tips to keep your little ones safe in winter
Bath College Taster Sessions
Incredible Years Course
Visit from our Chief Executive
Play and Explore
New Groups
Keep your children visible - Wearing something bright or fluorescent during the day and something reflective at dusk and in the dark.
Car seats - In order to work properly, car seats straps must be snug. Make sure your baby / child isn’t wearing clothing that’s too bulky and don’t put blankets between the straps.
Buy a carbon monoxide alarm - When the weather is colder you’re going need the heating on and this can cause a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and so buying a carbon monoxide alarm can help keep your family safe.
Prevent overheating indoors - Resist the urge to overbundle your baby or keep the nursery too warm. The perfect temperature is between 16 to 20oC.
Tobogganing in the snow - Choose a slope that’s not too steep and not close to a road, pond, line of trees or wall. Only let children sledge individually when they know how to stop. Consider a helmet - ideally a ski helmet, but a bike helmet is better than nothing.
Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit
College Tasters at Parkside and Radstock Children’s Centres Bath College delivered taster sessions in IT, English and Maths to help parents refresh their skills and find out about further courses and next steps. Parents found the IT Workshops particularly helpful, as this session included discovering time-saving keyboard shortcuts, top tips on using Microsoft Word and ways to keep your family safe online. Due to the popularity of these sessions we will be running E-Safety and IT for Work courses, with FREE Children's Group alongside. If you are interested in coming along why not give us a ring to find out more.
IT Taster at Parkside Children’s Centre “I found the IT Taster really interesting. The tutor was very welcoming and helpful and it was great having answers to my IT questions. I left feeling more knowledgeable and clear about what I need to do next”. (Danielle, Mum of 2)
Incredible Years Parenting Course The Incredible Years is a fantastic 12 week evidence-based course for parents. This parenting course is delivered on a regular basis from a Children’s Centre near you. The programme aims to: Promote
positive parenting
Improve
parent-child relationships
Helps
you to manage your child’s behaviour
Helps
you to support your child’s social and
emotional development. After completing this course, one mum said “I am more calm around the children, I shout less and I am more organised. I am a happier Mummy and smile more.” More courses are due to start across all our Children’s Centre areas in April 2016. To find out more speak to your Health Visitor or contact your local Children’s Centre.
Play and Explore Together We offer Play and Explore groups for families with children aged 0 to 4 years old. So why not take the opportunity for you and your little ones to come along and get involved with: Messy play Physical activities Singing and stories We provide a healthy snack, a designated baby area and high quality resources. Our groups offer a fantastic chance to meet other parents and develop social networks. Please contact your local Children’s Centre for further information. You can also take a look at our ‘What's On Guide’ for further information on the activities / services we offer.
Chief Executive visits our Children’s Centre Hubs
Catching Confidence, Keynsham Children’s Centre Chief Executive Jo Farrar has been visiting all our Children’s Centre Hubs finding out first-hand about the work we do across Bath and North East Somerset to support families with children under 5.
New Group - Toddler Time at Parkside (10am –11:30am) Come and bring your little ones to our new group on Tuesdays at Parkside Children’s Centre. Each week we will explore a different theme to stimulate your toddlers development, including: small world and role play, messy play and DIY, stories and rhymes, let’s get physical and shapes and numbers. This group costs £3.50 for 2 children and £1 for any extra children. We also offer Messy Play for children aged 0 to 5 and for older siblings in the school holidays and Sensory Heaven for babies. Our 5-week Baby Massage courses are delivered by Children's Centre staff who are fully trained and certified by the International Association of Infant Massage. So to find out more check out our ‘What’s On Extra’ or pop into your local Children’s Centre to find out what’s happening near you.
Contact Us: Our 3 main Children’s Centre hubs are open from 9am to 4:30pm Monday to Thursday and until 4pm on Fridays.
Bath East Parkside (main hub), Weston and St Martin’s (satellite centres) Main Address: Charlotte Street, Bath BA1 2NE Tel: (01225) 396662 www.parkside_childrenscentre@bathnes.gov.uk
Congratulations Donna A special congratulations to Donna Gaywood, our Children’s Centre Teacher for achieving a Distinction in her Masters in Education (Early Years) from Birmingham City University.
Somer Valley Radstock (main hub), Midsomer Norton, Peasedown, Paulton (satellite centres) Main Address: Church Street, Radstock, BA3 3QG Tel: (01225) 396660 www.radstock_childrenscentre@bathnes.gov.uk
Keynsham and Chew Valley Keynsham (main hub), Chew Valley (satellite centre) Main Address: 65 West View Road, Keynsham, BS31 2UE Tel: (01225) 395400 www.keynsham_childrenscentre@bathnes.gov.uk
Children’s Centre ‘Learning Community Nurseries’ St Martin’s (01225) 396002 Radstock (01225) 396577 Midsomer Norton (01225) 396858 Keynsham (01225) 395400
Check out
our pages:
www.facebook.com/bathchildrenscentres www.facebook.com/bathnessvcc www.facebook.com/ keynshamandchewvalleychildrencentres
How to access our services? If you would like to receive further support and access the services we offer speak to your Health Visitor or one of the Children’s Centre Team. Our ‘Request for Support’ form can be found on our B&NES website: www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/children-young-peopleand-families/childrens-centres
Family Information Service (FIS) FIS offers a range of help, advice and support on family-related activities. Their 1 Big Database (www.1bigdatabase.org.uk) is fantastic way to find out what organisations and events are available across B&NES. You can contact FIS by ringing (01225) 395343 Monday to Thursday 8.45am-4.45pm and 8.30am-4.30pm on Fridays. You can also email fis@bathnes.gov.uk or find FIS on Facebook at facebook.com/ bathnesfis.