Weather and Inspection report

Hello everyone ,

well it looks as if winter has arrived with a vengeance! We are making the most of this though - the older children have been out in the garden today playing in the snow and the babies are investigating some snow which has been brought into them - they are having a great time with this!  Thank you to you all for ensuring that the children have suitable outdoor clothing- they are all warm and cosy in their suits! Please remember though that all children will also need soft soled shoes or slippers for indoors and a full change of clothes each day - thank you.

This weather is not all fun and games though - Please be aware that if there is  heavy snow or very icy conditions we may need to close the carpark - if this happens it will be posted on here so please check the blogspot rather than waiting for the email notification. If we do close it , the chain will be across the entrance so please slow down if the conditions are bad . Given the traffic chaos across the area last night and this morning , it looks as though many  journeys may  be affected for a few days- if you think you may be late , please arrange to have someone else pick up your child(and call to tell us) . We'd appreciate closing on time as we do need to ensure that all staff get home safely too.

Over the next month or so , we will be moving the blog onto a new parent area on the website and you will then be notified immediately of any new posts/content . We will need to create accounts for this gradually before we abandon the old blog entirely , so there will be a crossover period when you will get the notifications twice - please bear with us while this process is happening . More information on this will be issued soon .

A big Craigton welcome to Holly Whitehouse and Orla Greensmythe who both joined us in the schoolhouse this week  . Holly has just left school  and will be part-time initially - she is hoping to gain some experience with us  before going to college later this year to study Early Years . Orla is with us on a 13 week work placement and will be here Tuesday to Friday afternoons .

We have a parent forum meeting scheduled for next week, so please let any member know if you wish to raise anything - Names and photos of the forum members are on display in each building .

We have now received our inspection report from the Care Inspectorate . We were inspected on 8 of the 16 Quality Statements and graded on each of these -grades range from 1(unsatisfactory) to 6(excellent) . Anecdotal evidence suggests that in the past year since the closure of several nurseries , the grading criteria has been tightened and that 6's are very unlikely to be awarded . We are therefore happy to have been graded at 5 for 7 of the QS's and 4 for 1. Once this has all been fedback to staff at a meeting this week , and the Parent Forum next week , the full report will then be on display in each department , and a link posted to view online . Thank you to all of you who returned questionnaires , replied to emails or spoke to the inspector over the two days of the inspection- its very important that your views on the nursery are represented and we all appreciate your support in this .
But most of all a huge thank you to all the staff - Im sure you will agree that they are what makes Craigton such a special , warm , welcoming and fun place , and how hard they all work to ensure that your children(and you) have the best possible experience whilst with us. Thank you all :-)

And finally please note that the nursery will be closed on the following dates this year:
Easter Monday - 6th April
MayDay - 4th May
Local holidays 13th July and 28th September