How things work in school

Coming and going

Attendance

We find that children who attend every day:

settle in really well.
find it much easier if they have a regular routine.
build up their immune system.
learn the early stages of reading, writing and mathematics which will get them ready for Primary School.
have play planned for them that responds to their interests.
understand the nursery routine.
make close friends.

Holidays

Take holidays only during school holiday times.

If you must take a holiday in term time, please fill out our Holidays in Term Time form to seek permission. Download the form at the bottom of this page.

Drop off and pick up

Arrive no more than 5 minutes before a session starts and collect your child on time.
If your child arrives late or leaves early, please tell the office so they can mark the register.
Tell us who can pick up your child every day and in special circumstances.
We won’t allow a child to be collected by someone who is unknown to us or who is unfit through drugs or alcohol.
If any of your phone numbers or your emergency phone numbers change, tell us straight away.

Late pick up

The nursery closes at 6pm and staff are considered to be off duty 5 mins beforehand to secure and exit the building by closing time.

If you expect to be late collecting your child, tell the nursery as soon as possible.

If notified, the additional time will be charged at the standard hourly rate.
Un-notified late collection will be charged at a rate of £10 per quarter-hour to cover emergency staffing and other arrangements.

Persistent late-comers will forfeit their child’s place .

We need 4 weeks’ notice to change the hours a child attends nursery. We use this time to make sure we will have enough staff in the school to take care of the children, as well as to sort out the admin.

Please collect a ‘Request to change Daycare pattern’ form from the Office, fill it in, and hand it back asap.

If you have a particular circumstance which means you are making an urgent request, please explain this on the form.

School outings

Before starting at Church Hill and Low Hall, we ask parents and carers to give their consent to us taking children on local outings. Parents can change their mind about this at any point.

When we go on trips further afield, for example to the Science Museum, we ask for specific consent and for parents and carers to join us to help out.

Pushchairs, scooters and bikes

Pushchairs have to be left outside as they are a fire hazard if brought inside. Please bring younger children in with you, and leave the entrances clear.

We can't guarantee the safety of pushchairs, scooters or bikes left on the premises, especially from the squirrels, who like to steal any food left in them.

While you are in school

Please:

move calmly through the school
tell us if you have an accident in school
close the gates and the doors after yourself
keep your mobile phone and headphones in your bag or pocket — don’t make calls, take photos or videos on nursery school premises.

School fund

We ask all families to make a weekly voluntary donation to School Fund. The money is used to provide children’s snacks, subsidise small group outings and pay towards children’s entertainers.

Getting to know each other

What's happening in school?

We don't provide a detailed report every day, as that would take the teachers and early years practitioners away from their job of teaching the children.

We use the password-protected website Class Dojo to share stories, activities, and things we have made in school, as well as information about what is going to happen, for example, when the drummers from Mbilla Arts visit us. You receive your login and password as part of the admissions process.
On Facebook we are Church Hill Nursery School and Low Hall Nursery School.
On Instagram we are walthamstow_ns
We use email and text for urgent information and major events, and call you if we need to.

School closure procedure

We will take every practical step to keep the schools open in the event of difficult weather conditions or possible failure of facilities such as heating systems. However, there will be occasions when the health and safety of staff and children is at risk.

In the unlikely event of us having to close for some or all children, we will decide this as early in the day as possible. If this happens, we will endeavour to keep families fully informed of the ongoing situation, but we ask for understanding at what will inevitably be a particularly busy time.

A decision to close before school starts in the morning

Once a decision is made to close the school, we will send all families a text message and an email. The news will be passed to the London Borough of Waltham Forest, who will post it on the school closures page of their website.

We will update this school website, put out a message on our facebook page, either Church Hill Nursery School/Low Hall Nursery School.

A decision to close the school and send children home during the school day

When a closure is being considered, the school will conduct a risk assessment to determine whether it is safer for the children to remain at school or be sent home. If students are sent home, it will not be possible for the school to telephone families. We will inform parents through text message, email, and an update on the website.

Thank you for your co-operation in the unlikely event of this happening.

Please talk to us

Talk to your child's Key Person as often as you can about their needs and how we can meet them (medical needs, allergies or any special requirements, as well as social, emotional and learning). If you can't get to see your Key Person, ask the office for their email address.

Join in

If you have a skill you think the children would like to share, for example, wood working or a style of dance, please talk to your Key Person to arrange a time to come in and show us.
Bring in things we can use for junk modelling, e.g. empty food boxes, yoghurt pots, old newspapers.
We welcome you for all our special occasions, including outings, visits from theatre groups, professional organisations and musical entertainers, International Day in November and our end-of-term parties.
Help us run our fund-raising and social events.
Volunteer with us.
Complete the parent questionnaire on Ofsted's parent view website.

Library books

Our school library has books you can borrow, including dual language books in many languages for children who have English as an additional language.
Joining the public library is free. Each child and adult can have their own card and can borrow up to 15 books at a time. Our nearest public library is Walthamstow Library, High Street, Walthamstow, E17 7JN.

Being happy, healthy and safe

Accidents

Tell us if you have an accident in school. We can provide first aid, and will need to fill out a form to record it.

If your child has an accident in school, we will record it. If it is not serious, and they are happy to carry on playing, we will tell you about it when you pick them up. If they are not happy and/or it is more serious, we will call you as soon as possible.

If your child has had an accident at home which might affect their playing and learning, please let us know.

In the rare situation that your child needs to go to hospital in an emergency, if you have signed to give your consent, a member of staff will go with them and wait until you can join them there.

The number and type of accidents are reviewed by governors once a term.

Illness

Please phone or email the school as soon as possible after the start of the session if your child is unwell.

Children can come to nursery if they are tired.

Children can come to nursery if they have an everyday cough or a cold.

We follow the advice from the public health agency on how to deal with infectious diseases.

If you have concerns about your child's health, please talk to their Key Person.

The nursery will inform parents if other children are suffering from infectious illnesses or skin conditions or head lice.

If this is possible, please get into the habit of combing your child’s hair with a nit comb once a week. Adding conditioner or oil to dry hair can make this a happier process.

Medication

If your doctor prescribes your child medicine that they must take during nursery hours, fill out the form ‘Parental Agreement to Administer Medicines’ from the office. We can only administer medicine that has been prescribed by a doctor and labelled with the child’s name by the chemist.

Ask your doctor for antibiotics that don’t have to be taken during the session.

Nappies

Children who wear nappies should bring a bag with their name on it containing two or three nappies, wipes and a change of clothes. We give you a note when supplies are running low.

We welcome donations of good condition second-hand clothes, including socks, pants, trousers, leggings, T-shirts, and skirts.

The NHS website has advice about starting to use a potty, including a video.

Sun safety

In sunny weather (Cancer Research UK defines this as UV index 3/Moderate or above), please dress your child in loose, ideally long-sleeved clothing, and a sun hat with their name in. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends darker clothes made from fabric with a tight weave: hold fabric up to the light, and check if you can see the sun through it. Apply sunscreen with at least SPF15 and 4 or 5 stars at home.

We ask daycare families and families where children have skin allergies to send in sunscreen with their name on, which we help the children to apply. Please tell a staff member and the sunscreen will be kept safe, away from other children. We contact part-time families, asking them to apply sunscreen before they come in.

The children always have access to water, and we encourage them to drink when the weather is hot.

Clothes

Dress your child for a busy and messy time at school. They will be exploring both inside and outside throughout the year (including when it's raining), playing to learn with clay, paint, glue, and mud.

Please bring in a fabric bag (not plastic) with your child’s name on it, containing a change of clothes.

Write your child’s name in their clothes.

Jewellery and precious things

Please don't allow your child to wear jewellery as it might get lost, and they might get hurt by it.
Please don't allow your child to bring precious items including special toys and branded clothes to school.

Birthdays

Families sometimes bring small treats to share with the children to celebrate birthdays. Please keep this as simple as possible, and consider stickers as an exciting, tooth-friendly treat.

If you bring food, consider bringing fruit or pakoras, and avoid meat, gelatine and nuts.

holiday request - FANS Autumn 2020.pdf