Dear Parents,

Hope you had a good Christmas, I can’t believe it is the end of January already.

2 year old grant

The eligibility criteria for funded two year old places will change from April 2012. As you know the coalition government is introducing extra funded places for “disadvantaged” two year olds. The government have also decided the criteria by which “disadvantage” is determined. If your family meets any of the criteria below they may be entitled to a free place.

• Total household income below £16,190


• Income related employment support allowance


• Child Tax Credit (but not Working Tax Credit)


• Working Tax Credit and work less than 16 hours per week


• Income support


• Support under the immigration and Asylum Act (Part V1)


• Income based job seekers allowance

If you think you may be entitled for the grant please ask me for an application form. Will you ensure that you as a parent or guardian put your date of birth and national insurance number on the form. No applications can be processed without this information.

Once the application has been processed the applications will be shredded. Sure Start do not retain the information relating to your DOB or NI number. Sure Start will not pass this to, or share this with, any other department of the Council or Government.

By completing the form does not guarantee your child will be entitled to the grant. Eligibility checks will be undertaken by Sure Start, against government criteria.

If you feel that you do qualify for a place under the above criteria but have been refused a place, please contact the Admin and Finance Team on 01706 747241 who will re-check your application. If you are in receipt of any of the benefits above you may be asked to provide evidence of this to support your appeal. Families who have been initially unsuccessful put provide additional supporting evidence that they are eligible, will be offered a place, subject to availability, at the end of the appeal process.

Completing an application is not a guarantee of a place.

Good luck!!

3 year old grant

If your child/children attend nursery just for the 15 hours free entitlement, term time only, and they are with us during lunch or tea, we are implementing a charge for their meals.

The cost of a morning snack, lunch and pudding will be £1. 50p, and the cost of the afternoon tea will be £1.25p.

We have been able to absorb these costs since the grant started but now the hourly rate we receive from the Government is less than our fees.

If you wish you could provide a packed lunch/tea for your children, just let me know.

We will start to charge after the Easter Holidays.

News from the Baby/Toddler Room

Welcome to Amy Fawcett. Amy started work for Supertots as a Trainee, when her contract ended we were able to offer her a part time position. She is now working towards her level 3 in child care and education. Well done !

Chris has worked part time for Supertots for, would you believe it, 16 years (almost as long as me!). She now works full time, well done Chris!

Welcome to the new children who recently joined us. They are settling in beautifully.

The children have been enjoying activities about their favourite book ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’. We had a fabulous teddy bears picnic, what a mess but well worth it!

News from the Tiny Tots room

Julie will be leaving the nursery on Friday. We are sorry to see her go, but her new job is less hours and fits in better with her family. Good luck Julie!

Welcome to Shabana. Shabana is level 3 qualified with lots of experience. She worked alongside Julie for a week, and the children seem to have bonded very well with her.

Their favourite story at the moment is ‘The Gruffalo’. They are busy planning fun activities about the book. Sounds good!!

News from Big Room

Welcome to Lisa. Lisa is level 3 qualified and working towards a degree in Childhood studies. She has 11 years experience so a lucky find! The children adore her.

We have a lovely young lady starting on Monday 30th January. She is called Sarah and she will be working towards a level 2 as an apprentice.

The ‘theme’ at the moment in the Big Room is ‘ All about me’. The children love talking about their families, in particular sharing the photographs you very kindly brought in for them. Please keep them coming.

They love the junk modelling, again please would you bring in your unwanted junk. We especially want toilet tubes!

If you have a spare hour and you have a ‘skill’ you could share with us, such as baking, story telling, you are a nurse, fire person, police person anything really, we would love to see you.

News from Pre-school

The children have had a great time celebrating Chinese New Year, particularly making a 3 D dragon, called Rudy James. They had a Chinese tasting session, so they are ready now to have a night out in China Town!

We are planning activities around ‘Our Families’ at the moment. The children love taking about their family and pets etc. Please carry on bringing in photographs of you and your family, your house, pets etc. The tales we hear!!!

Spring is nearly upon us, and we will be planting seeds, and getting our garden ready. If you have any spare seeds, compost, garden tools, or even a plastic greenhouse, we would be very grateful. Garden tips would be useful too.

Finally have you applied for school? If not contact the Pupil Services Team as soon as possible.
FIND US ON FACE BOOK. We do report on the site several times a week about what activities the children are doing. We enjoy the feedback! (Search Supertots Nursery).

Thank you as always for your continuing support.


Kind regards
Gill and the team 

Dear Parents,

May I start by thanking you for your support on our Fun Day.

The children had a good day, we know this because they are still talking about the animals that visited the nursery, I hope you did to: It was lovely to see so many parents and friends.
We have purchased a swing, slide and a tent with tunnels for the toddlers. For the older children we have bought large building blocks, tools and a work station.

Baby Room

Hope you like the makeover in the baby room.  We have had a talk to all the babies asking them if they feel sick to ask their ladies for the sick bucket!! I am sure a cream carpet will be o.k.!!!

Tiny Tots

We will be having a beach party in July, before the children move to their new room. Details to follow.

2-3 room

Please would you return any nursery clothes you may have at home? It would be helpful if you would provide your child with a bag with spare clothes in it.
We will be having a themed party during the month of July. The children have been learning about different food and culture, so we thought an around the world party would be fun. Details to follow

Pre-school

Please bring back the children’s reading books.  I hope you have enjoyed the time spent with your children ‘reading’ these books.
I am waiting for prices from another company for the children’s uniforms, as soon as we get the information we will let you know so you can place your order if you wish. Wearing a uniform is of course not compulsory but the children do like wearing them, it is definitely better for you, and it prepares them for school life.

Transition from room to room and school 

The children have started visits into the different rooms. They are becoming more familiar with the different environments and I feel sure the transition will be easy for them all. Hopefully by the month of September all the children will have moved up.
We have had visits from several teachers, which was really nice.  They introduced themselves to the children and we were able to tell them a little about their personalities and their likes and dislikes. We know the pre-school are eager and ready to move on to school.   
May I remind you to cancel your standing order at the end of July for the months of August and September?
The early years grant finishes in July and unfortunately you will be charged the full rate for the two months, or up until they finish.

Outside play area

The children are in a good routine with outside play. They are able to have free choice now throughout the day, wet or dry, so it has been a great success.  
The parking seems to be a little easier now, although a few parents have pointed out that the markings would have been better set out at angles. This unfortunately cannot be changed but I promise you, you will not be fined if you park outside the lines, like I was in Rochdale, that’s another story!! 

Breakfast

Breakfast is served between 8.00 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. The tables need to be cleaned and ready for the day’s activities. If you have had a busy morning and the children have not eaten breakfast after this time please speak to the practitioners.  

Staff news

Congratulations to Julie who has successfully completed her level II in child care and education. She is eager to start her training for level III in September. Well done!!
Katie and Rebecca our trainees have just started their training for level II, so good luck to them. Amy the baby room trainee is well on her way with her training.
Lisa Wood will begin her training for level II shortly. She had a break from training whilst she had her little boy, but is now eager to begin again.
Kate, Samaria and Laura the pre-school staff are starting training for the Foundation Degree in September. Good luck to them.
Lisa Grundy, Noreen Parwez, and Hannah Tattersall are all pregnant!! We are of course delighted for them all, it must be something in the water so watch out.
Finally myself and all the staff would like to say ‘Good Luck’ to all the children, and their parents, who will be leaving to go to school shortly. Of course we will miss them but are happy in knowledge that they are leaving with fabulous social skills, an essential quality throughout life.

Kind regards
Gill and the team