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September 2021 Newsletter
Welcome to the Breaston Pre-School September Parentmail!
Welcome back to all of our children, and a warm welcome to all of our new starters this term! We hope that everyone has had a fantastic summer, and we cannot wait to welcome you all back into Pre-School from Monday 6th September!
This email contains lots of information for our new starter families, but please ensure that you read it even if you've been with us a while to make sure that you are up to speed with everything going on at Pre-School this year.
Important Information
Please add newsletter@breastonpreschool.com to your contacts to ensure that you do not miss any important email messages. This email inbox is unmonitored so please use the email addresses below if you need to get in touch with us. If you wish to change your email address with us, please let us know.
Please also ensure that the address and telephone numbers we hold for parents/carers and emergency contacts are up to date. This is especially important for families that have been with us for a while. Just drop Sarah (below) an email with your updated contact details if you are unsure.

Telephone: 01332 874832 (Term time only, Mon-Fri 8.45-3.30)
  • manager@breastonpreschool.com - Sarah Gallacher
    Sarah is your first point of contact for all day-to-day queries or concerns regarding Pre-School. 
  • finance@breastonpreschool.com - Kelly Noble (also monitored by Sarah)
    Please use this email address for any queries or concerns regarding invoices and payment of fees.
  • kbrackett@breastonpreschool.com - Kayleigh Brackett
    Kayleigh is the person to contact if you have any enquiries/suggestions/concerns regarding fundraising, newsletters, advertising, or the website.
Children's keyworkers: Emilly, Amy, Hayley, Joanne, and Vicky, are generally available to speak to at Pre-School drop off/pick up, or you can ring during Pre-School hours. Please note that part-time members of staff may not always be available.

2021-22 Term Dates are available on our website HERE, with reminders of important dates coming up at the bottom of each newsletter. Please note that we follow Derbyshire County Council term dates, and while we try to match most of our INSET days to Firfield Primary School, this is not always possible.

The Useful Information page of our website HERE contains links to our most recent Ofsted report, instructions for downloading and using the ParentLink app (the main way that we share your child's learning, end of term reports, and invoices with you), our Fees Policy (and invoice dates), and a link to the guidance we follow regarding illness exclusion.
 Staffing Changes
We are pleased to welcome Hayley to the Breaston Pre-School team this month! Hayley is joining us as the new Deputy Manager and will also be a children's keyworker. Hayley holds a level 3 in Childcare and has many years of experience as both a deputy manager and as a keyworker. Hayley is very excited to meet all of the children and get to know them over the coming months.

Please also join us in congratulating Emilly on achieving her level 3 childcare qualification! Despite many setbacks and delays due to Covid, Emilly has persevered and has finally been awarded the qualification she deserves.
All of our staff at Pre-School are now at least level 3 qualified, to provide our children with the best possible teaching and learning.  

Last but not least, Joanne has taken on the role of SENCO at Pre-School and will be supporting our SEN children and their families, making sure that their needs are met during their time at Pre-School, as well as helping them prepare for the transition to Primary school.
Changes to the EYFS

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) has been reformed, and there is a new EYFS framework that all  Early Years settings have to follow from September 2021. These national changes have been made to better support all young children's learning and development. 
There are some elements of the EYFS that have not significantly changed and some that have. Below are some of the key points from the new EYFS reforms that include relevant changes which parents, carers, and children may notice or experience:

  • Staff will be spending less time on large amounts of written observations and assessments for evidence collection. This means they can spend more time supporting and engaging with the children and their learning and development needs. This may mean receiving fewer written observations than previously.
  • Children will no longer be assessed against statements from an age band category. Instead, staff will use their experience and knowledge to monitor if a child's learning and development is on track for their age.
  • The early learning goals (ELG) have been changed to become more clear and easier to understand. Staff will use their judgements to assess where children are in relation to these goals and inform parents and carers.
  • There is an emphasis on improving children's language and vocabulary through increasing opportunities for conversations, reading a wide range of books, and holding discussions around activities in other areas of learning.
  • Safeguarding and welfare of children is still a priority, with the added mention of teaching children about the importance of good oral health and how to keep teeth clean and healthy.
How could you help learning and development at home to support the new EYFS reform?
  • Read stories daily with your child and use them as an opportunity to talk about the characters and events in the story.
  • Have lots of conversations with your child throughout the day. Try to increase their vocabulary by using a wide range of vocabulary yourself.
  • Practise counting with your child and looking at small groups of items.
  • Encourage your child to hold a pencil properly (but don't worry if they can't or won't!)
  • Support your child's early reading development by playing sound recognition games (What noise does a cat make? If you hear a noise ask your child what it might be, etc) and singing nursery rhymes and songs.
  • Encourage your child to make healthy food and drink choices, especially related to sugar content and how this can affect teeth. Also, support your child to properly brush their teeth at least twice a day at home.
  • Plan activities that allow your child to be active and develop their strength through both large body movements as well as smaller, more precise movements.
More information can be found online at the gov.uk website, and we will update our website shortly with links.
 Fundraising
Breaston Pre-School CIO is a charity (registered number 1194534) and as such, we rely on fundraising to pay for resources and equipment for the children. We try to plan a variety of fun fundraisers throughout the year, and we hope that you enjoy participating and supporting Pre-School.

We have a no-commitment fundraising committee - a group of parents who come up with fundraising ideas and help to run events. Currently, this is done via WhatsApp but we are hopeful to start having meetings in the pub again soon! We're looking for new members all the time, and anyone connected to Pre-School can join. If you have any ideas for fundraisers, or would be willing to help out either at in-person events or online, please email Kayleigh kbrackett@breastonpreschool.com. There's no minimum commitment so even the busiest of people can join and contribute when they can!

Friends of Breaston Pre-School is our new Facebook group for fundraising. We're looking forward to running our first fundraiser there soon, so please join and encourage your friends and family to join too!

There are other ways that you can help us fundraise too!
We're a crisp packet recycling collection point for Terracycle - so please save up your empty crisp packets and bring them in when we are having a collection (usually at the end of every term). Not only are you helping us raise vital funds, but you're also recycling and helping the planet! 

AmazonSmile - did you know that you can raise money for Pre-School every time you shop on Amazon, at no extra cost to you? Head to smile.amazon.co.uk and select Breaston Pre-School CIO as your charity, then make sure you use the smile.amazon.co.uk version of the website and select AmazonSmile in the settings on your Amazon app.

Easyfundraising.org - earn FREE donations for Breaston Pre-School by heading to EasyFundraising.org. Once signed up, simply shop via the links on the website to raise money for Pre-School. There are over 4700 retailers offering free donations, with big names like eBay, M&S, Argos, Sainsburys, and more!
October Fundraiser - volunteers needed!
We will be holding a sponsored walk event for the children at Pre-School the first week in October (4th-8th), involving taking groups of children out of Pre-School for a walk around the village. In order to do this, we need volunteers to walk with the children. The aim is to take at least one group in the morning session and one in the afternoon. If you can help out any of the days that week, please email kbrackett@breastonpreschool.com or let a member of staff know.
Keep an eye out for more information later this month!
Drop-off and pick-up procedures
One of our Covid policies changed drop off from parents and carers entering the building, to children being dropped off at the door. 
As a setting, we noticed that children were, on the whole, happier and calmer entering the setting without their parent or carer, and children who were upset at drop off quickly calmed down once inside. Many parents commented that they preferred it as it is a quicker way to drop their child off.
As a result, we will still be operating in this manner going forwards. 
We have however taken on board parent feedback and if parents and carers would like to enter the setting to settle their child, speak to their child's keyworker, and see the day's activities then they are more than welcome to do so. We actively encourage new starter parents to do so if possible, in order to build relationships with staff members and to settle their child if needed.
Parents and carers are always welcome in Pre-School. 

The procedure for pick-up will remain the same. If there is no-one on the outer door, please knock on the inner door to the hall and your child will be brought out to you. If you wish to enter to speak to your child's keyworker then you are more than welcome to do so.

Please do not attempt to drop off your child early for their session, as staff ratios are carefully calculated for the numbers of children in each session and we cannot legally accommodate more. If you wish to collect your child early, please let a member of staff know.
2020-2021 Parent Questionnaire
Thank you to the six parents and carers who have responded to our feedback questionnaire.
If you are a parent or carer of a child that attended Pre-School prior to the summer holidays, please click the link and help us to improve our service to you by telling us what you think. It won't take long and is completely anonymous unless you choose to disclose any personal details in your answers.
The questionnaire will close on Friday 17th September.
You can access it by clicking HERE.
Donations Box
There will be a box by the door at drop-off and pick-up for donations of items for use in our creative area. If possible we would love any of the following: cardboard boxes (any size and shape), toilet roll tubes, plastic bottle tops, shiny paper (sweet wrappers), yarn/wool/string, buttons, and ribbons.

We hope that you have found this email informative, but please don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions.
Take care and we will see you soon!
Breaston Pre-School
 
Dates for your diary

Thursday 2nd & Friday 3rd September - INSET days
Monday 6th September - First day of Autumn Term
Monday 4th - Friday 8th October - Sponsored Walk Event
Friday 22nd October - Last day before Half Term
Monday 1st November - First day back after Half Term
Wednesday 22nd December - Last day of Autumn Term
Thursday 23rd December - INSET day

For further dates, please see our website.
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Breaston Pre-school CIO
2 Main Street, Breaston
Derby, Derbyshire DE72 3DX
United Kingdom
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Breaston Pre-school CIO · Breaston Pre-School CIO · 2a Main Street, Breaston · Derby, Derbyshire DE72 3DX · United Kingdom

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