The Daisy Chain A-Z
Aims and Objectives – At the Daisy Chain Nursery children are able to learn through play in a happy, safe and welcoming environment. We offer a real home from home experience with home cooked food and a beautiful garden for outdoor fun and learning.
Activities – The activities that we provide are designed to extend the children’s knowledge and skills, and cover all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage Guidance. Our equipment is developmentally appropriate to the children in each area of the nursery and meets BSN Safety standard. Behaviour – All staff working at the nursery act as children’s role models. We encourage the children to be polite, by teaching them to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and to be friendly to everyone around them. Should you have any queries with the way we manage behaviour, please don’t hesitate to talk to us about it. Breakfast and Snacks – Breakfast takes place between 8 - 8.30am. We serve a variety of cereals offered with either whole. semi-skimmed or non-dairy alternatives. In addition, we offer toast with butter, jam, honey or marmite. Checks on staff – All our staff have undergone enhanced police checks through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Any students or visitors to the nursery who do not hold current DBS checks will be accompanied at all times by a qualified member of staff. Clothing – Please make sure that your child is dressed in appropriate clothing when attending nursery. All of the children have access to paints, glue, sand, water, mud in the garden etc, so please keep this in mind when selecting clothes for them to wear. We do have a range of Daisy Chain t-shirts and fleeces embellished with the nursery logo, and very reasonably priced. Please ask for more details. All outer clothing including shoes must be clearly named. Cooking – We know how much children love to cook and we will include it as part of the curriculum. We hope that the nursery kitchen will become a key part of nursery life, so that we can encourage healthy eating habits at an early age. Complaints – If you ever have any concerns with the nursery, please come and discuss your anxieties with your child’s key person or a member of the management team. We operate an open door and phone policy, and would encourage you to give us any feedback on areas where we can improve our service. Development Monitoring – We monitor your child's development using an online system called 'famly', which offers secure access to regular photographs and updates. Parents can also add to this journal, creating a wonderful two-way medium for us to share their developmental journey. Dietary Requirements – We can accommodate for a range of dietary requirements as well as allergies and intolerances. Parents/Carers should indicate clearly on their registration form and during pre-visits, details regarding their child's needs. Parents must keep the nursery updated with any changes to this information. Equal Opportunities – We operate a strict equal opportunities policy that applies to both staff and children. Each child and adult is treated as an individual regardless of age, sex, colour, religion or ethnic background. First Aid – Almost all our Nursery Practitioners hold a qualification in Paediatric First Aid. If your child requires first aid during the day an accident form will be completed and you will be asked to sign it when you collect your child. Funding – Hampshire County Council provides '2 year funding' (for qualifying families), 'Universal Funding', (up to 570 hours per year from the term after a child is three years old), and '30 hour funding', (up to 1,140 hours per year for qualifying families). Children must be registered with the nursery on the official headcount day. Please ask the management team for more details. The funding deductions are clearly indicated on your monthly billing. Free Flow Play – Free flow play offers children an element of choice. It helps them develop decision making skills and their independence. It is the role of the nursery staff to observe each child’s development, and present activities that will meet their next stepping-stone on the curriculum. By observing children as individuals rather than as one age group we are able to progress each child along the curriculum at a rate appropriate to their ability. Garden – We have a beautiful garden at the nursery, We will promote free flow play by providing activities outdoors that are usually associated with the indoors, e.g., dressing up, home corner and building bricks. In addition we enjoy all the garden has to offer in terms of growing vegetables, learning about the plants and trees and watching the families of birds that are nesting, as well as taking in plenty of fresh air and providing our children with space to exercise their bodies. Home Visits – As part of our settling in procedure we offer the option of a home visit. This is so the child can meet their key person from the nursery in their natural home surroundings. Home visits also provide staff with a chance to chat to parents about their child on a one to one basis, passing on any relevant information that may help settle your child into nursery. Health and Safety – The health and safety of all the children and adults at the Daisy Chain is of paramount importance. All of the children’s toys and equipment are checked regularly for any breakages or faults. We have a comprehensive Health & Safety Policy which is available for all parents to read. Please notify us if you have any areas of concern. Illness – We ask that you do not send a sick child to nursery. If your child becomes ill whilst at nursery, staff will contact you to come and collect them. If you are unable to collect your child, we will ask you to make arrangements for your child to be collected. We operate an exclusion period of 48 hours for sickness and/or diarrhoea as directed by the Health Protection Agency. At times (eg during a pandemic situation) we may alter our policy on attendance and sickness in line with government guidance, this information would be clearly communicated to parents/carers as and when necessary. If your child is prescribed antibiotics, please do not send them back to nursery until 24 hours after they have received their first dose and are well enough to be away from home. Joining in – We will encourage your child to participate in all aspects of nursery life. We are always happy to welcome parents/carers on our outings/visits to local schools, places of interest. Key Person System – All children are allocated a member of staff as their key person. This member of staff is responsible for the home visit (if chosen), settling the child into the nursery, making observations on the child’s development for their famly records and planning developmentally appropriate activities for your child. This staff member is your first point of contact at this nursery. Lateness – The nursery closes promptly at 6.00pm. Under Ofsted regulations we must ensure two members of staff remain with a child therefore please let us know as soon as possible if you believe you are going to be late so that we can make the necessary arrangements for their continued care. A lateness penalty of £10 will be charged for children collected after 6.00pm. Medication – If your child is on prescribed medication, then we are able to administer this on your behalf, subject to you signing a medication form. If your child is asthmatic and uses an inhaler, or may need an epipen administered, we will need spare medication kept at nursery at all times. All prescribed medicine must be in the original packaging and clearly labelled, with the child’s name and dosage required. Medication will be kept in a cabinet, in a sealed box out of the reach of the children. Nursery Fees – We accept payment by Bank Transfer, Standing Order, Childcare Vouchers and Tax Free Childcare. Open door Policy – If you have any concerns with your child at nursery, or with the way in which the nursery is operating, please feel free to speak to a member of the management team at any time. We rely on the honest feedback of parents/carers to ensure that we can continue to improve and exceed our high standards.We are happy to share all our policies and procedures with parents/carers on request. Outings – We will be organising outings for the children. Parents/carers will always receive notification about this and a signed consent form may be needed for some trips. Opening hours – We are open Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm for 51 weeks of the year, We are shut between Christmas and New Year and on all recognised Bank Holidays. Fees are adjusted to account for these closure dates. Parents in Partnership – It is our intention to make parents feel that they know everything the nursery has to offer their child and how staff work to achieve this. This nursery provides many opportunities for parents and staff to communicate effectively with one another about the children. We offer key person evenings, pre-visits, home visits and access to famly, our online development tool which creates a journal of your child's development that both you and the nursery can contribute to. Pre-visits – Before your child starts at nursery, we offer two pre-visits, and more if required. These offer parents and their child to meet the child’s key person and the other staff and to familiarize your child with the nursery environment. Qualifications – All room leaders hold an NVQ3 or equivalent qualification and have at least 5 years experience in a nursery setting. Our Nursery Practitioners are qualified to a minimum of level NVQ 3 or equivalent. All our staff access regular training and would be delighted to discuss their areas of expertise with you. Registration Form – If you would like your child to join us, and we have confirmed that we are able to offer them a place at Daisy Chain please complete a registration form and return it to us as soon as possible. A registration fee of £40 will need to be paid at this point. Safeguarding Children- All parents and carers must be aware that we are obliged by law to inform Social Services if we have concerns about a child’s welfare. The safety of the children in our care may include a duty to share confidential information with others involved in protecting children. Sunshine – During our summer months, please provide your child with a sunhat. We offer to provide sunscreen for a small annual fee. Alternatively, parents can supply their own. Snack Time – We provide children with a varied snack menu, including fruit, vegetable sticks and a range of healthy dips that the children seem to adore! We encourage the children to pour their own drink of either milk or water. Suggestions and Comments Box – If you have any suggestions for our nursery, please feel free to share them, either in person, or by sending us an e-mail, or message on famly. We are always open to new ideas! Transition to School – We have developed excellent links with the local primary schools to make the transition from nursery to school as easy as possible for the children. Reception teachers are invited into the nursery in the summer term to see the children where they are comfortable. We provide parents with an information pack on school-readiness and support the children with a focussed transition program in the months before they leave us. Tax-Free childcare - Many families will benefit from using this government scheme. For more information visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk Upset Tummies – Please do not bring your child to nursery if they have diarrhoea, or are vomiting. Both these illnesses spread very quickly amongst children of this age. Please allow a clear 48 hours from the last episode of illness before they return. Where possible, we will rearrange their session for another during the same week. Vouchers – The nursery is able to accept digital vouchers. Please let the Administration Manager know if you wish to use these to offset your fees. Vegetable Patch – We have incorporated a vegetable patch into the garden so that the children can grow their own flowers and vegetables and take pride from tending plants. If the vegetables are a success we will incorporate them into the snack or lunchtime menu! What you need to provide for your child – As part of registration we provide your child with a Daisy Chain Bag. Please use this everyday to ensure we have a spare set of clothes (in case they get messy or wet), and a suitable hat for the season. Please name all items of clothings, as it very difficult to remember who owns what! We ask parents to bring in enough nappies for the session; however we supply wipes, and nappy sacks. Parents will need to supply formula until their child moves onto whole milk. Wellies – We would like the children to have the opportunity to play in the garden in all weathers so would ask that you provide a pair of wellies to keep at nursery. Please remember to replace them when your child’s feet grow! Waiting List – We operate a waiting list at the Daisy Chain and places are available on a first come, first served basis. eXtra Sessions – If you require an additional session for your child, please see the Administration Manager, or a member of the Management team. We are always happy to swap a session in the same week if we have availability, we don't charge for making this change. Yummy food! - We know how important good nutrition is to the healthy development of our children, and nursery is the perfect place to start educating children about healthy eating. The nursery offers both a winter and summer menu. Each season has a 4 week menu; each week rotating on itself to ensure that every child experiences all our dishes. Those children who are at nursery for a full day will have access to at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day. The meals are prepared on site by qualified staff. All our sauces are made from fresh ingredients and we make all our own cakes to avoid unnecessary additives. Our staff will eat with the children, encouraging them to taste the food and engaging in conversation to make meal times a social part of the day. We encourage the children to talk to us about the foods that they enjoy and would appreciate feedback from parents regarding the menu selection. Zzzzzzzzzz – We have a separate baby sleep room for the babies (0-2 year olds) on the first floor. Sleep mats are provided for those Squirrels and Wise Owls who need a rest after lunch. |