OOSC Newsletter September 2020

Welcome back, we are so happy to see you all after an extremely challenging time. As you are all aware the Before and After school Club was closed at the end of March due to Covid 19 and a lockdown was enforced by the government. Lockdown must have been so difficult for you and especially the children missing their friends and family. We are so excited now to reopen and we are ever so thankful for your patience and support through these uncertain times.

First and foremost, we would like to take this opportunity to welcome back Milly and Hayleigh from maternity leave and re-joining the team after having their baby boys Jenson- George and Ethan. We are so happy they are back in the Honey Bears family. Milly will take on her Manager role and Hayleigh will be based in nursery and the after-school club.

We would like to welcome Sophie Wood to the team. Sophie will be working in the Before and After school Club Monday to Friday 7-9am and 3.00-6.00pm. Sophie is very experienced in the field and has extension knowledge in the EYFS, working within all age groups and is Level 3 qualified.

Staggered Times

There have been a few changes to the routine of collecting the children from school insight of the pandemic, staggered times have been implemented to ensure the children are not mixing with different year groups and we will endeavour keep the children in their bubbles. However, there WILL be times during the sessions where bubbles will be mixed but we will attempt to keep the children within their bubble groups. A risk assessment has been compiled, so please ask for a copy if required. In addition, please could you sign it and hand it back A breakdown of the staggered times is below:

Drop Off

When dropping/picking up your child, please be patient as there will be a queue system in place so please adhere to the markings which are 2 metres apart. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause in addition, parents may be asked to collect their child at a staggered time.

Before lockdown, years 3 and 4 were based at the school until 5pm however due to the school’s updated risk assessment both year groups will now be collected straight from school to Honey Bears. Parents of years 3 and 4 could you kindly please collect your children from Honey Bears. We will update you on any new changes regarding this.

Teatime

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer hot food as it is not viable due to the staggered times. A sample menu will be displayed on the door to give you an idea of what the food we will be serving. We are in the process of producing a healthy and varied menu for the children as well as incorporating Startwell. Startwell is a program to help children to eat healthily and move more. A healthy lifestyle can make a big difference to the types of foods they choose and the amount and types of activity they do throughout life.

Important dates to remember:

• 23rd October to 30th October – Holiday Club (trips tbc)
• 21st and 22nd December – Holiday Club (trips tbc)
• 23rd December to 4th January 2021 – Closed

Please ask a staff member for a holiday booking in form should you wish to book your child in for holiday club for October.

Late Collections

We would like to remind all parents to follow our protocol should you get caught up and know you will be arriving late. Firstly, could you contact Honey Bears on 0121 382 5057 and state why you are running late and how long you expect to be. Secondly, if this happens on a regular basis you will be charged £5.00 for every 15 minutes you are late, as stated within the contract you have signed upon admission and the Late Collection Policy. If your child is normally booked in for 5pm, but you require them to stay until 6pm, this has to be booked and confirmed with Milly, Jodie or Michelle, in advance so we can arrange the correct staff ratio. if you require your child to stay until 6pm when your normal collection time is 5pm or you require any other additional sessions you will be informed of the additional charge and this will have to be paid as a separate payment to your monthly fee so we can keep track of payments. You can pay this with cash or by BACS and it must be paid on the week that the additional session takes place.

Gentle Reminder

If you require to change your sessions, please inform us by email or letter and this requires two notice for the change to be actioned. Also, please could you inform us if your circumstances have changed i.e. change of medication, if your child requires medication, change of address etc so we can update our files accordingly.

Safeguarding

We would like to remind you that our Designated Safeguarding Lead’s (DSL) are Milly, Gail, Michelle, Jodie and Chloe. All our staff have completed training in Child Protection and /or Advanced Safeguarding. If you have any concerns, please discuss them with our DSL’s or you can gain advise yourself by calling 0121 303 1888 to speak to an advisor at the Children’s Advice Support Service (C.A.S.S).

Recent Staff Training

Over the lockdown period all staff have been completing various training courses to update their knowledge, these are some of the courses staff have completed:

• Effective teaching and learning
• In the moment planning
• Physical development
• Maths and literacy in the early years
• Inclusion equality and diversity
• Understanding children’s emotions

We want to keep parent partnerships as strong as we can to ensure your children receive a holistic approach to their care. Should you want to speak to staff about your child or any change in circumstances and feel you can’t at the door then please do not hesitate to pass over a written note that we will keep confidential or call us.

We would like to take opportunity to thank you for continued support through this difficult time.