Your Children Are Provided with a Range of Healthy Snacks Which Include the Following
Snack time
Your children are provided with a range of healthy snacks which include the following: fruit platters, oatcakes with a range of toppings, wholemeal sandwiches, bread sticks with a selection of fruit and vegetables and they are offered a choice of milk or water to drink. The children use Makaton sign language to inform staff of their choice of food and drink and they have a colour coded snack card which details any dietary needs, preferences and allergies. None of our snacks contain nuts and take into account children’s allergies, in line with our current food policy.
Lunch Club
Lunch club operates every day from 12.15-1.00. Two or three members of staff supervise it and it costs £5. You need to provide your child with a suitable packed lunch (please no products containing nuts-see lunch club leaflet). It is important to ensure there is a place for your child before leaving them. Places can be pre-booked. Payment is required at the time of booking and is non-refundable.
Extended session
We are open until 3.00pm on a Tuesday and Friday afternoon. Fourmembers of staff plus the manager supervise this session and it is planned appropriately for the curriculum needs of the children who are staying for the day. Activities and experiences include cooking, making a garden, assembling an orchestra and plenty of games and stories. It costs £10 and can be used as a funded session.
Fees
Fees are due in the first week of each half term. You are welcome to add payment for lunch clubs and afternoon sessions to your fees, but please show the breakdown of your payment. Fees can be paid directly into the Busy Bees bank account. The sort code is 207409, the account number is 93640272 and account name is Busy Bees (Marshalswick)Ltd. We also accept childcare vouchers and are currently registered with Care 4 (78909081), Edenred (P522022), Busy Bees (00029342), Faircare (BBMA0311) and Computershare Vouchers (0008112031). To register with a new voucher provider you need to provide them with our Ofsted number which is EY343615. When paying by bank transfer or vouchers, please ensure that you use your child’s name as a reference.
Birthday Celebrations
To celebrate the children’s birthdays we have a pretend birthday cake and the children blow out candles on this. Parents and carers are invited to come in early to share this event with their child. Some parents choose to bring in sweets to share with all the children. In February, we questioned all the parents about their views on this. The overwhelming majority felt the social aspects of this sharing and celebrating far outweighed the health implications and we have decided that we will carry on with this tradition. However, we display a birthday sweet laminate to inform parents about a birthday celebration and parents/carers are welcome to use a different exit if they do not wish their child to receive sweets. (Questionnaire result summaries are available to read). Please also check with a member of staff the suitability of sweets that are to be distributed.
Parking
Due to safety issues with children arriving on foot and in pushchairs we ask parents not to park in the car park. We have also had numerous complaints from the occupants of the flats next to us. There is ample parking on the roads near by and at both the car parks at the Quadrant and next to Sherwood Park.
Sickness
If your child has an infection or has been vomiting or had diarrhoea, you must not bring them in until 48 hours have elapsed. Please inform us if you child has head lice, scabies, worms, impetigo or other infectious diseases, since these may affect other children, parents and staff.
Medicines
If your child needs to take medication at Busy Bees, prior consent must be given. A form needs to be completed and signed and records will be kept to show name of medication, dosage, time of administration and person administrating it.
Accidents
If your child has an accident, this is recorded by us and shared with you at the end of the session. You will be asked to sign to confirm you have read the statement and have discussed any advice given. In case of an emergency you will be contacted at the time of the incident and it is important that accurate contact numbers are provided. We require two numbers in addition to those of the parents.
Outside Play
We view the outside as a valuable learning environment and use it daily. Our Nursery children also take part in a weekly ‘forest school’ activity session in Sherwood Park/Woods. Please can you dress your child appropriately and bring spare shoes/plimsolls/slippers as necessary. Please could you also ensure that your child’s coat is clearly named-many children have the same coat! In the case of hot weather, please can you apply sun cream before arriving at Busy Bees and provide a named sunhat.
Working in Partnership
We are sure your child will settle in quickly. If you have any concerns, please share these with us. We have two quiet rooms where private discussions can take place in confidence. We also have a range of policies and procedures which you are welcome to read and explain fully how we operate.
We regard Busy Bees as a partnership with the home environment and want you to feel welcome and involved in your children’s learning.
We use a key personapproach where each member of staff has a small group of children they are responsible for. Your child’s key person will help with your child’s transition into, within and from, our setting, take responsibility for monitoring progress and work with you to ensure our provision supports your child’s individual needs and interests.
We use the foyer for information about our curriculum and other issues/news that we feel might be of interest to you. We value your opinions - you are the experts on your children- and there is also a comments/suggestions box in the foyer. We regularly use questionnaires to gather yours and your children’s views on the experiences on offer and invite you to a variety of workshops, information evenings, social events, including tea/coffee mornings, celebrations, concerts and sport’s day!
We hope you all enjoy your time at Busy Bees!