Craigton Round up

Good afternoon everyone ,

we are making the most of the lovely late summer sunshine at the moment and spending as much time outdoors as we can. Be warned though that this wont last long so please ensure that your children are suitably equipped for more autumnal weather  - that means waterproof suits and footwear  please(once it gets colder they will need hats and gloves too). Each child also needs a full change of clothes and soft soled indoor shoes or slippers every day . We are very low on nursery clothing stocks so please make sure your child has these- all clearly named too!

Last week we had a visit from Zoolab , so the sunflowers and buttercups met all kinds of creatures - there were spiders and giant centipedes and frogs and cockroaches , rabbits and rats and loads more .  They learned how the animals use their senses in their lives and had the opportunity to handle them too- not everyone was keen!
And they wer not our only visitors - Joanne form Gardening 4 Kids came on Friday and oversaw the harvesting of our garden produce - we have already had tomatoes and strawberries and this time it was potatoes(a bumper crop!) and wildflowers that have  been used to bring the outdoors into the rooms as well as for some activities . Jo is currently undertaking some Forest  School  training and is looking forward to  sharing her new skills with us - please watch this blog for further infromation on this .

NHS Scotland are reminding us all that the Childhood Flu immunisation is now under way . This  is being offered to all children aged 2-5 years through their GP practice , and school aged children through their school . Please visit   link below for more information
http://www.immunisationscotland.org.uk/vaccines-and-diseases/seasonalflu/childflu.aspx

As we are approaching the season for all manner of nasty bugs and viruses , can I please remind you not to bring your child to nursery if they are unwell . Children will recover much more quickly at home . We do not have the facilities nor are we trained to care for ill children . Viruses and other bugs spread very quickly amongst  young children  so please help us all to stay as well as we can by not returning to nursery until fully recovered- we'd really appreciate your co-operation with this.
Our updated medication policy will be issued shortly to all parents- there have been some changes in guidance issued by the Care Inspectorate , one of which is that settings should not administer non prescription medication except in specific circumstances , and should not keep stocks of these medications in the setting( basically that means Calpol etc) we are looking closely at this and will issue a new policy soon . Be aware that this means we may not be able to give your child Calpol or similar if they have a fever , so it is even more important that children who are unwell not attend nursery.

We still have not received our partnership agreement/application forms for pre-school funding from Aberdeen City Council - this affects all partner provider settings in the city - its not just us! We have been told that the delay is due to the increased provision and that they will be issued soon .  Until  we get these and send in the applications , we are unable to deduct PS funding - I'll let you know as soon as we receive them .

We will soon be joined by some new faces in the schoolhouse - Tanya Iesipova and Kathleen Cooper will both coming part-time . Tanya has teaching experience and is currently studying Early Years care and education at college- she will be starting this week . Kathleen has many years experience in the care sector , and she will be starting towards the end of the month - a big Craigton welcome to you both!

And finally , please dont forget that the nursery will be closed on Monday 22nd September for the local holiday