Brochure for Mums, Dads and Carers (Part 2)

Rachel McMillan Nursery School and Children’s Centre McMillan Street, London SE8 3EH Tel: 020 8692 4041 Headteacher: Theresa Lane

Welcome to Rachel McMillan Nursery School and Children’s Centre (Part 2) September 2014 1 Rachel McMillan Nursery School and Children’s Centre Handbook (2014)

CENTRE ORGANISATION If we add all our part time and full time children together, there are around 190 places, which is quite big for a Nursery. Each child belongs to a shelter (class). Some children come in the morning and some in the afternoon so they are not here all the time. All the shelters open onto an outside play area that is appropriately staffed by adults and there is opportunity for children to ‘free flow’ throughout the shelters and the garden.

The children go into whichever shelter has a vacancy for their age group and they stay in the same shelter until they are ready to move into the next age group or onto primary school. This allows the children, the staff and you, the time to build good relationships. Each child has a Family Worker to support their learning and this is important for everyone involved in their development.

ABOUT THE STAFF All shelter staff are qualified professionals. Teachers have completed a recognised degree course, specialising in young children and early years practitioners have completed the equivalent of a two-year full time examination course at a college of further education or NVQ3 course in Early Years and Childcare, which is obtained through continual assessment. Our teaching assistants are all trained to at least NVQ2. Working together, they form a balanced team to meet your child's needs. There is a programme of continual professional development within the Centre for all staff.

CENTRE MEALS AND MILK Dinner money should be paid to the Office in advance for the week on MONDAYS. If your child is absent, money will be held over to the following week. At present they cost £7.00 a week (£1.40 a day). If you receive Income Support, job seeker’s allowance, child tax credit and an income of less than £13,230 or are being supported by National Asylum Support Service you may be entitled to free dinners, so please come and see us and complete a form.

The costs for breakfast and a snack tea for extended day children are included in the fee structure.

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The meals are varied and can be adapted to any dietary needs that arise because of medical or religious reasons, so please let us know. We try and ensure that all children taste the food they are offered but believe that meals should be relaxed and sociable. We will never make a fuss over food and will let you know if your child has only eaten a small amount. Our meals are provided by GS Plus, who have been awarded the ‘Food for Life’ Bronze catering mark from the Soil Association. For further information visit www.gsplus-catering.org Milk is available for every child who wants it and water is on offer throughout the day. We ask every family to bring in some fruit or a healthy snack for the children to share at snack time, when plain snacks such as breadsticks or toast are also offered.

STARTING YOUR CHILD It is very important that your child has a happy, easy and relaxed start to their time with us. To help this process, we arrange a home visit before your child comes to the Centre. This gives you and your child the opportunity to get to know a member of staff away from the hustle and bustle of the busy shelter.

Where this is not possible, or if you do not like the idea, we arrange a Centre visit at a quiet time as an alternative. These visits only last around half an hour.

Before your child officially starts, you are welcome to visit your child’s new shelter as many times as you wish, any day between 10.00 and 11.00 a.m. or between 1.00 and 2.00 p.m. This is a gentle introduction, which is not too daunting for anyone. When your child starts, we ask you to stay for the whole 3 Rachel McMillan Nursery School and Children’s Centre Handbook (2014)

of the first few sessions, even if your child wants you to go. Starting nursery is a great adventure, but it is also a new and busy world for a young child, with many unknown adults and children to get to know.

Every child settles at a different rate and it could be several weeks before your child is happy to let you leave. Initially, we will suggest you go for a short time and gradually increase this over a number of days. The length of time you stay is negotiated between you and the shelter staff, as you are the one who knows your child best.

Please don't worry if your child cries a little at first - it is perfectly natural.

Also some children settle quite happily but cry at a later date when the novelty wears off! We try to make starting at the Centre a happy time for everyone and this is why it may take several weeks before your child is staying for the whole session. Spending time on settling at this stage will make later transitions – such as going to primary school – much easier.

CURRICULUM The curriculum is a general term for everything we want the children to learn about and the way we foster and encourage them to develop their full potential.

All children follow the Early Years Foundation Stage, which is the same curriculum for any nursery child, wherever they go. This looks at the overall development of children. There are three characteristics of effective early learning which are Playing and Exploring, Active Learning and Creating and Thinking Critically.

Children start their learning through the three prime areas of Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Communication and Language. As they progress they will also learn through four specific areas of Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design.

Staff will work actively with you to make links between the child’s home learning and what they are doing at nursery.

Young children do not learn in subject areas - it is easier to understand that learning goes on continually throughout the day, whether children are working 4

with a specific adult at a supervised activity or playing alone, or with a group of friends. For the child, play is the way to explore, expand and consolidate their experiences and understanding.

We aim to build on what children can already do and what they are interested in. We hope to develop each child at their own learning pace.

We display information about what is going on in the shelters and welcome ideas and contributions about your child’s interests to help our planning BORROWING BOOKS All the shelters have a book corner and many of the books are available for you to borrow. We will give you a Book Bag to keep them in when your child starts with us - please try to take care of the books and ensure they are treated properly by all the family. Please return them when you have finished with them.

SAFEGUARDING At Rachel McMillan Nursery School and Children’s Centre we work hard to make sure that every child is kept safe from harm or neglect. Staff are trained in safeguarding and the Head is the designated person with the Deputy Head, the Early Years Coordinator and the Community Leader taking on this responsibility in her absence. We are required to record and report all safeguarding issues in accordance with Local Authority policy.

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EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES and INCLUSION We believe that every child should have the same opportunities, with regard to their sex, class, race, religion or physical ability. To ensure this equality, we continually challenge the traditional roles and expectations of both boys and girls. In all areas of learning we ensure that the Centre reflects and values the cultural diversity of the children and we encourage mutual respect and understanding of differences.

We believe it is essential to combat racism firmly and consistently, and will never ignore any racist incident. We will always speak to the child or adult concerned to establish the facts and make it clear that racism, in any form, will not be tolerated. We are required to record and report all incidents of a racist nature in accordance with Local Authority policy.

CENTRE RECORDS All staff are trained in observing young children and we keep records of their development and learning in their Profiles – you are welcome to look at these at any time.

The records focus on all areas of general development, learning and achievement. One of the main ways we show this is through each child’s Profile and Special Books of work samples, photographs and annotations. Parental contributions to these books are important so please add any experiences and home learning that you have shared with your child. The books are available in your child’s shelter.

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When a child leaves the Centre we complete a report that we send on to their next school. You will be asked to make a comment on the report when they leave. You will receive a copy of the report to keep.

CONCERNS OVER PROGRESS AND SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS We make every effort to support children in their learning and general development, but sometimes we need to work alongside other professionals. If you have any concerns about your child's development, please share them with staff. We will talk to you if we have any worries about your child.

We have an Inclusion Leader – Rachel Hogarth Smith (who is also our Deputy Head) – if you think your child may have additional educational needs Rachel is available to give you help and advice. Around ???? children received specific support last year.

Rachel (Deputy Headteacher) An Educational Psychologist, who advises and assists both staff and mums, dads and carers in meeting their child’s needs, visits us regularly. Some children may need additional help with learning, which can be arranged through this route.

We will always talk with you before involving you or your child with the Educational Psychologist.

We have regular visits from Speech and Language Therapists (SALT).

Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). They all come in to work with staff or groups or individual children who may have a developmental need or mums, dads and carers, when this is helpful.

We have frequent contact with local Health Visitors and GPs and with Social Care so please do not hesitate to talk to us if you have any concerns that you think we may be able to help with.

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SAFETY Every reasonable precaution is made to ensure the safety of the children, but inevitably accidents can happen. The outside area is always supervised and there are qualified staff who cope with cuts and bumps. If a more serious accident occurs we will try and inform you immediately. For this reason it is essential that we always have an up to date record of your current home or work number and details of a contact who can take charge of your child if you are unavailable. If there is a more serious accident we will call an ambulance.

Fire drills are held at least once in every eight weeks so that the children know what to do if there was a fire and the Centre is regularly inspected for safety issues. Please let us know if you see anything you think might be dangerous.

Please help us to keep the children safe by always closing all the gates.

BEHAVIOUR IN THE CENTRE The behaviour of the children in the Centre is generally very good as the children are involved in exploring and learning happily. Rules are very few and are based on common sense. They relate to the physical safety of the children, 8

basic hygiene and cleanliness. We encourage the children to show care and consideration for others in all aspects of Centre life.

As part of the settling-in process children will start to enjoy being part of a large group. Staff will always support children to manage their own behaviour through discussion. Occasionally a child may be withdrawn from a situation for a very short period of time. If there is any real concern about a child's behaviour we will always discuss it fully with you and agree the way forward together.

CLOTHING AND JEWELLERY There is no Centre uniform (we have a red sweatshirt that you can buy from the Office if you want to) but it is essential that children wear suitable clothing for their busy day. Please do not dress them in their best clothes, as some activities are very messy. Although there are aprons, we cannot guarantee that they will not get paint or glue on themselves and they will not enjoy an activity if they are worried about their clothes.

Flip-flops and loose shoes are not allowed, as they are dangerous outside where children are climbing and running.

If your child has a toilet accident, as all young children do at times, we have some clothing for changes - please return these at your convenience. It would be good if each child could bring a change of clothes with them and a regular supply of nappies if needed. Remember the children can have difficulties with buckles, belts and braces so try and avoid clothing which may delay a child reaching the toilet in time.

Jewellery other than studs should not be worn. Necklaces, bracelets and hooped earrings can get caught in equipment and may cause injury.

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STARTING PRIMARY SCHOOL You should start looking at Primary Schools soon after your child's third birthday. The Primary Schools Admission Information comes out on the council website in September and tells you about available schools and how to apply.

Applications are completed online to the local authority and need to be done by January. Look out for advice sessions on applying for Primary Schools held at Rachel McMillan Nursery School and other Children’s Centres. Schools encourage visits, so please make an appointment to look around the schools you are interested in. If you are not successful in obtaining a place for your child in the school of your choice you have the right to appeal and the local authority will advise you of the procedure to follow. Children usually transfer to Primary School in the September after they are four.

OTHER CENTRE FACILITIES Rachel McMillan Nursery School is also a Sure Start Children’s Centre. As well as providing education and care for young children, we have a range of other facilities for mums, dads, carers, the community and professionals working with young children.

We work closely with health, social care, employment services and community services to support families in the local area.

SHELTER 5 Orchard and Meadow Two fully equipped training rooms for a full range of courses both for mums, dads and carers, staff and the community.

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Shelter 5 Downstairs This is the family drop in room. It is fully equipped for children and adults and is where the Baby Club and Stay and Play groups meet. Look on the timetable for days and times.

The Family Room This is a room where you can go and sit and have a coffee or read a book or have a chat.

GOVERNORS We have a Governing Body comprising of mums and dads, staff, and representatives from the Local Authority and the wider community. A list of Governors is displayed on a notice board in the garden.

The Governing Body meets regularly and is involved in all aspects of Centre life such as finances, the curriculum, building and personnel issues.

Our Chair is Ann Jefferson, a local authority governor. Ann has been involved with the Centre over many years. You may contact her in complete confidence at any time by leaving a note with the Office staff.

COMPLAINTS We hope that your time at Rachel McMillan will be happy and that both you and your child benefit from everything we can offer. However, problems and misunderstandings can arise, in which case there is a clear procedure to follow.

Firstly, no one can deal with your complaint unless we are aware of it, so please talk to the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher or Chair of Governors as soon as possible. If you do this verbally, you will receive a verbal reply, and if you raise 11 Rachel McMillan Nursery School and Children’s Centre Handbook (2014)

a matter in writing, you will receive a written reply. We will deal with your complaint as soon as possible but if time is needed to consider the points you have raised, you will be kept informed of this.

If you are unhappy with the response, we will advise you on contacting Governors directly. Unresolved complaints will be referred to Royal Greenwich Children’s Services at The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, Woolwich, SE18 4DT or you can ring Ofsted 0300 123 1231.

If there is anything extra you think we should include in this booklet please let us know for our next copy.

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