How things work in school

Coming and going

Why it's good to come to school every day

Children who come to school every day:

settle in well.
find it much easier because they have a steady routine.
strengthen their immune system.
take the first steps in reading, writing and maths. This helps them to get ready for Primary School.
have us plan things to do which match their interests.
learn the daily routine.
make good friends.

Taking holidays in term-time

Plan your holidays during school breaks. If you need to take a holiday in school term-time, talk to us first:

fill in the Holidays in Term Time form at the bottom of this page
hand it to the office, or email it
the Headteacher will let you know if you will keep your child's place.

Dropping off and picking up

Arrive no more than 5 minutes before the session starts. Make sure to pick up our child on time.
If your child arrives late or leaves early, tell the office. They will mark them on the register.
Tell us who can pick up your child every day or in special circumstances.
At pickup time, we won't release a child to someone we don't know. We won't release them to someone who is unfit from drugs or alcohol either.
If any of the phone numbers you have told us change, tell us straight away.

The nursery closes at 6pm. Staff are off-duty by 5:55pm. This lets them lock up the building on time. If you are going to be late, call us as soon as you can.

Fees for late pickup:

tell us before pickup: pay the usual rate per hour.
late without telling us: £10 for every 15 minutes. This pays for the unusual arrangements we have to make.

If you are often late, you will lose your child’s place.

Changing Daycare hours

We need 4 weeks' notice, if you want to change your child's Daycare hours. In this time, we make sure we have enough staff and do all the paperwork.

pick up a 'Request to change Daycare pattern' form from the Office
fill it out
return it as soon as you can.

If you need to ask for a change urgently, tell us why on the form.

School outings

When your child starts with us, we ask if we can take them on local outings. You can change your mind about this whenever you want.

For trips that are further away, like to the Science Museum, we ask you again. We invite you to come and help on these big trips.

Pushchairs, scooters and bikes

Please leave pushchairs outside, and make sure the entrances are clear. They are a fire risk if they're brought inside. Feel free to bring younger children in with you.

We can't promise that pushchairs, scooters, or bikes will be safe if left here... the squirrels like to steal food left in them.

While you are in school

In school, please:

walk quietly
tell us if you have an accident
close the gates and doors behind you
keep your phone and headphones in your bag or your pocket.
don’t make calls or take photos or videos.

What school fund is and how to pay

If you can afford it, please give some money to School Fund every week. Pay using the School Money website. This money helps us fund the children’s snacks, small group outings, and children’s entertainers.

Getting to know each other

What's happening in school?

We don't send you a detailed report every day. Time spent taking photos and writing updates is time not spent teaching your child.

Instead, we use the secure website Class Dojo. We post about the stories we read and the things we do. We share photos of big events, like when the drummers from Mbilla Arts came. You get your login and password for Class Dojo during the admissions process.

Facebook under Church Hill Nursery School and Low Hall Nursery School
Instagram at walthamstow_ns.

We use email and text to tell you about important things and big events. We call you if it's urgent.

If school has to close

We try to keep the schools open every day. We even do this if the weather is bad, or the heating breaks. However, there may be times when the staff and children are at risk.

If we need to close the school:

we decide to do this as early in the day as we can
we tell you as early as we can, by text message and email
we post it on this website and on the school Facebook page.
we tell the London Borough of Waltham Forest, who post it on the school closures page of their website
we update you if you if anything changes.

Please be patient, as these are very busy times for us.

If school closes during the school day

If there's a chance the school might close, we think about if it's safer for the children to stay at school or to go home. If we decide to send the children home, we won’t be able to call you. We will text you, email you, and post an update on our website.

Thank you for your patience if this unlikely event happens.

Please talk to us

Talk to your child's Key Person often. We want to know what you know about your child. This helps us to take best care of them:

We need to know their medical needs, allergies, or any special conditions.
We want to know about their social and emotional lives.
We want to know how they learn and behave at home.

If you can't get to see your Key Person, email them. Ask the office for their email address.

Join in

Do you have a skill you think the children would like to share? Can you do woodwork, or a style of dance? Please fix a time to come in and show us.
Bring in things we can use for junk modelling. We need empty food boxes, yoghurt pots, or old newspapers.
We invite you to all our special occasions. These include outings, and visits from theatre and musical groups. They also include our International Day in November and our end-of-term parties.
Help us to run our fund-raising and social events.
Volunteer with us.
Fill in the parent survey on Ofsted's Parent View website.

Library books

You can borrow books from our School Library. We have bilingual books in many languages for children who are learning English.
You can join the Public Library for free. A child can have their own Library Card. They can borrow up to 15 books at a time. The closest public library is Walthamstow Library. Its address is: High Street, Walthamstow, E17 7JN.

Being happy, healthy, and safe

When accidents happen

Tell us if you have an accident in school. We can give you First Aid. We also need to fill out a form to note what happened.

If your child has an accident in school, we record it.

If they're happy and keep playing, we tell you what happened at pickup time.
If they're not feeling well, or if it’s more serious, we call you straight away.
If your child needs to go to the hospital, a member of staff will go with them. They will wait with your child until you arrive. We ask for your permission to do this when your child starts at our school.

Please tell us if your child has an accident at home that could change their play or learning at school.

Every term, school governors review the number and types of accidents that happen.

When your child is ill

Please phone the school as soon as possible after the start of the session if your child is unwell. You can also email us.

Children can come to nursery if they feel tired.
Children can come to nursery if they have a mild cough or cold.
Children can't come to nursery for 48 hours after they have vomited or had diarrhoea.
We tell you if another child has an infectious illness, a skin condition, or head lice.

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

Please comb your child’s hair with a nit comb once a week. Add conditioner or oil to dry hair to make this a happier thing.

If your child needs medication

We can only give medicine which:

a doctor has prescribed
a chemist has labelled with your child’s name
has written instructions of what to do.

Either:

ask your doctor for medicine that is OK to take outside nursery hours
or get the ‘Parental Agreement to Administer Medicines’ form from the office. Fill it in.

Nappies

If your child wears nappies, please bring a named bag and:

two or three nappies
some wipes
a change of clothes

We will tell you when you need to bring more in.

We welcome donations of second-hand clothes in good shape. We need socks, underwear, pants, leggings, T-shirts, and skirts.

The NHS website has a helpful video about potty training.

Be safe in the sun

'Sunny' is when the UV forecast is '3' or 'moderate' (Cancer Research UK). In sunny weather, dress your child in:

loose clothes
long sleeves
dark colours
fabric that you can't see much sun through if you hold it up
a sun hat. Write their name in it.

Apply sunscreen with at least SPF15 and 4 stars at home.

Children who stay all day bring their own sunscreen. So do children with skin allergies. We help the children with it.

The children always have water. We remind them to drink when the weather is hot.

Clothes

Write your child’s name in all their clothes.
Dress your child ready to get messy and to climb. They explore inside and outside, all through the year, even when it's raining. They play to learn with clay, paint, glue, and mud.
Bring in a named bag (not plastic) with your child’s name on it. Put a change of clothes in the bag.

No jewellery or precious things

Do not let your child wear jewellery. They might get hurt by it.
Do not let your child bring precious things to school. They might get lost.

Birthdays

At birthdays, some families bring in small treats for the other children. Stickers are exciting. If you bring food, do not bring in things with meat, gelatin, or nuts.

holiday request - FANS Autumn 2020.pdf