Christmas at Craigton

Thank you to everyone who came along to the sunflowers concert last week . We always really enjoy this event - its so lovely to see not just parents but grandparents , aunties and uncles as well as brothers and sisters(many of whom have starred in previous productions!) Its a real family event and your participation is always warmly welcomed and greatly appreciated. We hope you all enjoyed the afternoon and it filled you with festive cheer.

And the following day we had the Christmas party ...........and Santa came!  It was very exciting indeed! There was dancing and music and games and party food and lots and lots of noise- great fun!

Id like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all the wonderful staff at Craigton . I'm sure that you will agree that everyone here works very hard to ensure that your children have the best possible experience whilst with us , and that the care they receive is amazing .  And that is all down to the staff at Craigton .......enjoy the break girls (and boy) .....you soooooo deserve it!

Many thanks too for all the lovely gifts we have received over the past few days- these are not expected at all , but they are always appreciated. I do hope that all the Craigton children (and their families) receive all they wish for this Christmas , and that you all have a wonderful , joyful and memorable festive .

From all of us to all of you - wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year ,

See you all on 5th January

Xmas Cards

Just to let you know that the xmas cards have FINALLY arrived - you will find them in your child's file ! :-)

Celebrations

Hello everyone ,
a reminder that it the Sunflowers Xmas concert at 3pm on Wednesday - please come along and join us for this seasonal spectacular , and stay to enjoy some festive refreshments afterwards. The on Thursday its the xmas party 2-4pm ........and   we are expecting an appearance from a very special visitor!

Sadly this week we need to say goodbye to Melissa(bluebells) and Isabel(buttercups) . Both are moving onto new ventures and we all wish you the very best for the future. Please stay in touch - we'll miss you! They're last day will be this Friday 19th .

In the meantime , Cari will be joining the buttercups for a little while , and we have two new staff starting after the christmas break - we'll tell you more about them then .

And finally another reminder to please let us know if your child will be off nursery for any reason - many thanks!

Inspection and Christmas

Hello everyone ,

We had the Care Inspectorate here on Tuesday and Wednesday for an unannounced inspection . This went well and we are happy with the outcome . I'm afraid I cant share any further details until the draft report is published , but will let you know once it is . Thank you to those of you who returned questionnaires , or were contacted by the CI before or  during the inspection - the comments that were fedback to us were overwhelmingly positive and are very much appreciated.

Some comments passed on from parents were about specific things in the nursery - I will post next week giving more detail about these  so please watch this space .  Please remember  that you can always raise any issues with us , either directly or through the Parent Forum . Your contributions are always welcomed .

And now that the inspection is over  ,we can now really look forward to enjoying the festive season at Craigton . Tomorrow (Friday 12th Dec) is Christmas jumper Day . This is organised by Save the Children so please wear your jumpers and follow this link to donate online    http://jumpers.savethechildren.org.uk/

The sunflowers concert is at 3pm on Wednesday 17th December - this event is always very well attended and is standing room only . There will likely be some elderly guests so please give up your seat if you are lucky enough have one ! Hope you can all join us for the performance as well as festive refreshments .

The Christmas Party is 2-4pm Thursday 18th Dec . All sunflowers and buttercups are invited to this very exciting event .........and it has been confirmed that Santa WILL be here !

And finally a reminder that the nursery will close at 6pm on Tuesday 23rd Dec and reopen 8am Monday 5th January

Childcare voucher information

Please see below information on a new scheme to update CCVs . For more information please visit the website .

Hello!

An update to childcare vouchers The Queen's speech, in June this year, included plans for a new scheme to help working parents with their childcare costs. This new scheme, called Tax-free Childcare (TFC), is scheduled to be launched in autumn 2015 and will work differently for parents to the existing childcare voucher scheme. At present, it looks like TFC is due to be run by the Government, through HMRC and National Savings & Investments. How is TFC different to the current scheme? TFC has much more complex eligibility requirements: Both parents in a two-parent family have to be in work to be eligible for TFC, each earning less than £150,000 a year and not receiving the childcare element of Universal Credit. TFC is also open to self-employed parents, whereas the current scheme is not. TFC will only be available for children under 5 initially or under 17 for children with disabilities, extending to all children under 12 within the first year (the current scheme is open to children aged under 16, or 17 if registered disabled). Another key difference is how parents pay in to the scheme: The current scheme works as a salary sacrifice deduction, so parents save tax and NI on their childcare vouchers. Under TFC, they will pay directly into TFC from their bank account (the employer is not involved). However, for every 80p they pay in, the Government will top up 20p, up to a maximum £2,000 per child, per year. This means that there will be many parents who are not eligible to join TFC or who would be better off staying with their employer's childcare voucher scheme. The existing employer childcare voucher schemes won't close - they will continue to run once TFC launches, but parents will need to already be registered on it to continue to use it.  If you'd like to find out more about the changes to childcare vouchers, please visit our website. Visit our website

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!!

Hello everyone ,

Each year we are amazed by your response to the Giving Tree Appeal and this year is no exception . Your generosity is awesome! We are all aware how busy and expensive this time of year can be , but you have  taken the time (and cash) to help children that you will probably never meet . And that is truly what Christmas is all about . As they are unable to thank you , may I do so on their behalf - you will bring some joy to children who are in great need of that - Thank you so very much .

Next Friday 12th December is Christmas Jumper Day  organised by Save the Children , They are asking everyone to wear a Christmas jumper that day , and donate online if you do so - we shall all be joining in and invite all Craigton children and  their families to do the same . For more in formation please visit       /http://jumpers.savethechildren.org.uk/

Please remember to have your xmas card orders back to us this Friday 5th Dec - they will be posted that day and we'd hate anyone to miss out!

A reminder that the Sunflowers concert will be on Wednesday 17th December 3pm - all welcome , and the Christmas party on Thursday 18th Dec 2-4pm(all buttercups and sunflowers are invited ) - watch this space for more details nearer the time .

If you are lucky enough to be heading away for the festive period , please let us know if you wont be at nursery - it really helps our planning to know who will be here- thank you .

And finally we will be closing at 6pm on Tuesday 23rd December and re-open 8am Monday 5th January

Staff news

Congratulations to Nicole(snowdrops) who is now an Early Years Practitioner . Nicole has been with us since 2010 when she started as a 4-6 girl. She has worked hard to acquire the skills and knowledge required to be a practitioner....so well done Nicole!

Sadly though we will soon be saying goodbye to Kelly(buttercups) . Kelly started at Craigton in 2008 and completed all her training here , qualifying at the end of 2010. We all wish you all the very best for the future Kelly - we'll miss you . Kelly's last day will be Friday 12th December .

A reminder to please return any Christmas card orders this week . They will be posted on Friday to ensure that the cards are here in time for the big day .