Chipmunks-teddy-01

Chipmunks chatter, Weymouth

by Weymouth

Welcome

We would like to welcome all our new children and families this term, its lovely to see everyone settle in so nicely.

Our children that have been here over the Summer have had lots of fun exploring the outside and making use of our lovely outdoor spaces. We have been bug hunting, spent lots of time playing in the water and enjoyed being out on the bikes.

Our focus this term will be ‘all about me’, getting to know our children and their families. Also for those children who have moved to different rooms enabling time for them to settle in and their new key workers get to spend time with the children.

Wet Weather

Due to our traditional summer weather please ensure that you are providing wellington boots and named wet weather coats/all-in-ones for your children.

Recipe of the Term, Red Lentil Dahl

This serves 8

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped small

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 tablespoon garam masala

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon chilli powder, or to taste

1 ½ cups dried red lentils

1 can diced tomatoes

13.5 ounce can full fat coconut milk  coconut milk

3 cups vegetable broth  celery

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Half a lemon, juiced

3-4 cups baby spinach

4 cups of white rice  wheat

Method

  • In a large pot or pan over a medium heat, sauté the chopped onion in the olive oil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further 1 minute, until fragrant
  • Add the garam masala, turmeric and chilli powder to the pan/pot and stir into the onion mixture, add a few tablespoon of water if the mixture is too dry
  • Now add the dried lentils, canned tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetable broth to the pan. Stir well and turn the heat to high. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until the lentils are cooked and soft. Stir occasionally.
  • Cook the rice per instructions
  • Squeeze the lemon juice into the pan and stir in the spinach well until wilted. Add salt to taste.
  • Once the dahl and rice are cooked add the rice to the dahl and mix together.

Dates for the Diary

PHOTOGRAPHER

On 12th October we will be having Concept photography in to take photographs for any families that would like this. Closer to the time we will also be offering slots for sibling and family photographs.

 

PARENTS EVENINGS

We will be holding parents evening in November – more details will follow with a date and time.

 

HALLOWEEN

If you would like to come in fancy dress then please do so on Tuesday 31st October.

 

CHRISTMAS LUNCH

Our Christmas lunch this year will be on Tuesday 12th December. If your child doesn’t normally have hot meals but you would like them to have it please book and pay (£3.25) via the office.

 

 

FUNDING DATES FOR ACADEMIC YEAR SEPTEMBER 2023 – AUGUST 2024

Term dates September 2023 – August 2024                                                      ANNUAL STRETCH FUNDING

 

Autumn term

Spring term

Summer term

First day of funding

4th September

8th January

1st April

Last day of funding

22nd December

29th March

23rd August

No funding

NA

3rd-5th January

26th August – 30th August

 

Term dates September 2023 – August 2024                                                                           TERM TIME ONLY

 

Autumn term

Spring term

Summer term

First day of funding

4th September

8th January

15th April

Last day of funding

15th December

29th March

19th July

No funding

23rd-27th October

12th-16th February

1st-12th April

27th-31st May

chipmunks-chatter-Dorchester-January-2021

Chipmunks Chatter, Dorchester Jan 2023

by Dorchester

Chipmunks Chatter

Happy New Year to you all!

4th January 2023

I hope you are all well. This is a quick note with a few messages.

Illnesses – We were hoping that the week off would have made all of the bugs and illnesses go away, but I’m afraid we have had a few cases of chicken pox reported within the nursery so pleased keep an eye out for any signs or symptoms.

Nursery Updates – Please make sure that you all keep an eye out for emails, posters within our gatehouse and our Facebook page for any updates.

Address & Numbers – please make sure that you update us with any new addresses and telephone numbers to enable us to get hold of you in an emergency.

Bookings – please make sure that you let us know when you child is not attending whether it’s a holiday (give us 4 weeks notice for the retainer rate) or illness. We do worry when children do not arrive when they have been booked in! For those of you that give us dates on an as and when basis please make sure that you give us as much notice as possible we are getting much busier.

Outdoor clothing – please make sure that your child has appropriate clothing and foot wear to be able to play outside in all weathers.

Menu – apologies the weeks have gone by so quickly we haven’t as yet updated our menu. We will be carrying on with a few adaptions to the menu at present and see how well the children eat Dani’s wonderful food. As soon as we have the updated version we will pop it out on the gatehouse

Suggestions or concerns – as always, please do not hesitate to let us know of any worries, concerns or suggestions for the nursery to improve.

Many thanks for all of your support

Take care, Carolyn

classroom-01

Chipmunks Chatter, Weymouth

by Weymouth

January 2023

Happy New Year! I can’t believe we are already 2 weeks into January, All the children have settled back into Nursery life well and exploring their surroundings.

 

HELP PAYING FOR CHILDCARE AND THE COST OF LIVING

Are you getting all the help available to you to help with the costs of childcare? I have attached a couple of links with information on tax-free childcare, universal credit and tax credits which will hopefully be of use.

Childcare Overview.pdf.pdf (childcarechoices.gov.uk)

Save money on your childcare bills with Tax-Free Childcare – Parents guide to Tax-Free Childcare.pdf (childcarechoices.gov.uk)

Help for Households – Get government cost of living support

Childcare Choices | 30 Hours Free Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More | Help with Costs | GOV.UK

Childcare Choices – Top things parents need to know – Top things parents need to know__.pdf

 

SCARLETT FEVER AND STREP A/ NOROVIRUS

Scarlet Fever – Scarlet fever is usually a mild illness, however, should be treated with antibiotics to minimise the risk of complications and reduce the spread to others. Scarlett fever includes non-specific symptoms such as sore throat, headache, fever, nausea and vomiting, followed by a fine red ‘sandpaper’ like rash which typically first appears on the chest and stomach.

Strep throat – this is a more severe or longer-lasting infection in the throat and tonsils. Children are likely to be more unwell generally with difficulty swallowing due to the pain.

Impetigo – this is a bacterial skin infection. It will start with red sores or blisters.

Norovirus – also known as the ‘winter vomiting bug’ it causes symptoms such as nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting. Symptoms can start very suddenly and the illness can last from 12 hours to three days. This is a very contagious bug.

 

Please remember there are lots of viruses that cause sore throats, rashes, colds and coughs circulating at the moment. Many of these are mild self-limiting and do not need any medical intervention. However if you think your child may have any of the above please follow these guidelines;

–        See your GP or contact 111

–        Make sure your child takes the full course of any antibiotics prescribed by the doctor

–        Stay at home for at least 48 hours after starting antibiotics

–        Do not return to Nursery until 48 hours after the last time your child vomited or had diarrhoea

 

 

 

 

 

DATES FOR DIARY

February half term

Monday 13th – Friday 17th

Easter

Monday 3rd April – Friday 14th

May Half Term

Monday 29th May – Friday 2nd June

There will be no funded sessions during these weeks unless you stretch your funding.

Please note the nursery will be closed on the following dates due to bank holidays

Friday 7th April

Monday 10th April

Monday 1st May

Monday 8th May

Monday 29th May

 

REMINDERS
please always provide spare clothes every day

Please bring water bottles

Please label everything

Please provide Ice packs in lunch boxes

Remember warm coats, hats and gloves for going outside

Medicines/inhalers must always come in original boxes with the child’s name on.

 

FREE COATS AND WELLINTON BOOTS

We have a selection of second hand coats and wellington boots which we are giving away for free. Please help yourself to anything you may need.

 

Many thanks

Becci Firth

Nursery Manager

chipmunks-chatter-Dorchester-January-2021

Weymouth Chipmunks Chatter – October 2022

by Weymouth

Ofsted

As I am sure you are all aware we had our Ofsted inspection recently.  We are still awaiting the report, however, I am pleased to say it was a positive experience for us as a setting and we had some fantastic feedback that we can’t wait to share with you all in due course.

Thank you to those that emailed in to give the inspector your feedback from a parents perspective and also to those parents who spoke with the inspector at drop off and collection times.

Children in need

14th November – 18th November

During this week we will be holding a treasure hunt each day for the children which they can be sponsored for to raise money for Children in Need.

We will also be ‘wearing something spotty’ all week and on Tuesday 15th and Friday 18th we will be holding a cake sale. If you would like to donate cakes for this then please let the office know and bring these in on Monday 14th or Thursday 17th.

Weather gear

Please ensure that your child brings all weather clothing to Nursery with them, ideally some that can be left here but if not then each time they attend.

We have lots of spare pairs of wellington boots that we will be putting under the gazebo for people to help themselves to before we take to a charity shop.

 

Halloween

On Monday 31st October we are having a ‘fancy dress’ day for those who would like to take part. This does not have to be a Halloween themed costume, it can be anything your child chooses! We will also be continuing with our Halloween themed activities.

 

 

Funding Dates

We will shortly be sending out our funding forms for the next term which starts in January 2023, if your child turns 3 before the end of December 2022 then you may be eligible for up to 30 hours free childcare. To check eligibility please go to 30 hours funded childcare for 3 and 4 year olds – Dorset Council.

Please note we require a funding form to be completed EVERY term which is submitted to Dorset Council, when you receive these forms from us they do need to be completed in FULL and returned by the deadline. A delay in returning the forms to us can delay the funding start date for your child.

 

Christmas party

Thursday 15th December

10am-12noon

Magic show, party games and a special visitor

Please call the office to book your child in if this is not their normal day.

Parents Evening

We will be holding a Parents evening on Monday 7th November between 6pm-7.30pm. If you would like to arrange a time to see your child’s key worker and discuss their learning then please call or email the office no later than Tuesday 1st November.

We will be opening one of our rooms so please feel free to bring your child/children and siblings with you, please just let us know in advance so we can cater for the age of the children attending.

There will also be tea and biscuits at the ready! 😊

Heritage and Culture packs

Thank you to everyone that has returned these, it is really helpful to see things that the children learn about and celebrate at home. From these packs we have been able to implement the following;

  • Numbers and words from diverse cultures using the correct spelling and context
  • Ensuring we have sufficient variety of fabrics, clothing from different countries
  • Offering things in different languages to those that request
  • Learning about what the children call their family members, for example ‘GiGi’ for Grandma.
  • Learning about family members jobs and being able to refer to these in play or circle times
  • Important days that your families celebrate – for example birthdays, Australia Day, Christmas and Easter
  • Learning about what the children enjoy doing when they are not at Nursery
  • Learning about the important people in the children’s lives



 

Useful links  (ctrl+click if viewing this on email)

30 hours funded childcare for 3 and 4 year olds – Dorset Council

15 hours funded childcare for 2 year olds – Dorset Council

Parents and carers (thebalancedsystem.org)   

Dorset Portage | Facebook

Children and families – Dorset Council

Dorset Family Information Service – Home | Facebook

The helpful guide for families with disabled children | Contact

Starting school for the first time – Dorset Council

Portland Food Bank (helpandkindness.co.uk)

Weymouth Foodbank (The Hub) (helpandkindness.co.uk)

Children’s Services – Children’s Advice and Duty Service (ChAD) privacy notice – Dorset Council

Get help for your family – Dorset Council

Talk PANTS & Join Pantosaurus – The Underwear Rule | NSPCC

Potty training: how to start & best age to potty train – ERIC

Steps 2 Wellbeing –