MONKEYS CHILDCARE WELCOMES YOU TO BUSH BABIES

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and your child to our Bush Babies Nursery Unit for babies from 7months up to 2 years. Bush Babies are based at Monkspath School, within their own deignated building. Staff will discuss with you the individual requirements of your baby or child and will aim to care for your child in much the same way as you do at home.  Naturally, children develop at different ages with some still discovering how to move and sit, whilst others are crawling and taking those first steps.  Within the room the activities are planned with consideration for the age and stage of development of every child.

In Bush Babies we offer a cosy and loving environment where children can grow and flourish – a homely environment with different areas for babies to explore and discover the world around them, whilst being supported and cared for by practitioners who are dedicated to each and every baby’s individual needs and development.  The practitioners are responsive and considerate to babies’ and parents’ needs at this tender stage.

The care we provide is to offer an extremely high standard with a strong emphasis on the happiness and well-being of children and building good relationships with all parents/carers.   

Bush Babies provides a learning environment both indoors and outdoors.  An outdoor provision is an essential aspect of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and all children have access to the outdoor provision on a daily basis.

The practitioners who work within Bush Babies place a high value on the role that you as parents/carers play in your child’s education and we welcome your support.  Children’s experiences at home are highly significant and when parents and staff work together to support children’s learning, the results can have a measurable and lasting effect upon their development.  A successful partnership needs two way information sharing.  We very much look forward to developing this special partnership with you.  In order to provide consistency for your child we endeavour to mirror the routines followed by parents at home at all times. 

OUR VISION

At Bush Babies we have a passion for high quality care; love and learning are at the heart of what we do.                                                                                 

We keep each other happy, safe and secure in a loving nurturing family environment.  We value one another and make a positive contribution to everyone’s development - together we achieve this.

OUR AIMS

• To provide a safe and caring environment for the children, in which they can grow and develop confidently and happily. To provide the highest level of childcare possible, within carefully planned routines and a stimulating and language rich environment which provides each child with happiness and security.
  
  
• To provide opportunities for children to make friends whilst learning to share and care for one another. We encourage children to communicate their thoughts and feelings to others and provide activities which foster this in children. Children share the joy of observation, exploration and discovery and are allowed time and space to choose to rest, play alone or play with others. We provide a high level of care and commitment in a bright, cheerful and stimulating setting.
• To develop a shared partnership with parents and carers based on our mutual respect and interest in your child’s development and well-being.

HOW DO WE DO THIS?

Everyone within Monkeys is aware that all children are unique individuals with their own personality and we ensure each child in our care can develop at their own pace, whilst discovering that learning for life is fun and fascinating.

CHILDREN LEARN WHILST HAVING FUN

At Bush Babies, we devote our energies to creating a fun and loving environment whilst delivering the best in childcare and education. By giving our children these opportunities we create a positive and motivating experience that will, in turn, play a major role in your child's future learning and development.  Our friendly, highly-trained staff are focused on providing fun and education. They work to ensure your child develops as an individual whilst helping to nurture and encourage learning through discovery and enjoyment. We offer education through creativity and play, we pride ourselves in understanding the importance of instilling confidence and enthusiasm from an early age. We want our little ones to feel secure and happy from the start so they can't wait to come back tomorrow!

WHAT WILL MY CHILD LEARN

Once babies become more mobile, they explore their environment with greater concentration and curiosity.  Increasing mobility and language development enables them to find out and understand more about the world.

Babies enjoy messy play, music time, exploratory play, treasure baskets and sensory areas.

Babies can crawl, sit and explore the low level sand, water and foam sensory trays, feeling the coarse sand trickle through their fingers.  Or they might enjoy looking through low level windows, where they can see the seasons changing before their eyes.

Your child will start to learn all round development skills such as primary colours, shapes and counting.

Children get messy playing with spaghetti and jelly; they splash in the water, dig in the sand and paint masterpieces for you to take home and treasure.

Social interaction is beneficial to children of this age and your child will start to become aware of their peers and will develop friendships and make new friends.

When the time is right for each child we encourage and support children with potty training, growing toddlers need clear guidance in a safe and fun environment.

Within the toddler age group, play becomes more identifiable so the emphasis is on physical activity. With this in mind we plan our specific toddler activities for ‘play with a purpose’. 

During this age and stage of development there are incredible and joyous physical milestones to look forward to such as the development of speech and subsequent ability to communicate with others. 

By using a variety of educational toys and activities we can open up our big wide world for your children to safely explore and increase their physical awareness both inside and outside of all the rooms.

Encouragement and praise play a significant part of our ethos. As children become more able to take part we respond with focus on self-care activities as part of day to day play.  This will include dressing up, encouraging them to feed themselves, toilet training as these are essential to your child’s growing skills.

 ‘Messy’ play, hide and seek and memory games are introduced to help in their exploration of space and new textures, which through good staff role modelling, helps to promote respect and personal choice and of course lots and lots of fun.

Hats, bags and giant boxes are just some of the objects we use to encourage imagination and creativity during playtimes.  This is accompanied with music, picture books and finger rhymes developing listening skills, speech and language development through rhythm and sound recognition.

All children at Bush Babies and Little Chimps are allocated a key person; this member of staff will build a special relationship with both your child and your family, take prime responsibility for your child and will understand your child’s individual needs.

Staff will let Parents/Carers know at the end of the day what activities your child has been involved in, what progress they have made and all the activities and fun they have had during the day. 

Each child has their own special ‘communication book’ to enable messages to be relayed between home and nursery each day.  Within these books information about their day, including nappy changes, sleep times and feeding will be provided.

At Bush Babies we offer childcare that meets the needs of children of different ages and ensure that children have lots of fun as they grow and learn.

STAFFING

Bush Babies and Little Chimps are run by dedicated, enthusiastic, qualified staff and we believe they are our most valuable asset.  All of our staff are dedicated to the early year’s education of all children and are knowledgeable and enthusiastic, thus giving our children the best opportunities to achieve their full potential.  They are also committed to furthering their own professional development through attending appropriate courses and training to improve the quality of care offered to our children and to keep up to date on current research into early childhood issues.

In Bush Babies there is a ratio of one member of staff to three children.  All staff undergo Food Handling and First Aid training to become qualified First Aiders and hold current certificates to support this.  Furthermore, we have a member of staff who is the named DMS (Designated Member of staff for Safeguarding).  All staff are subject to safeguarding checks for your child’s safety.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE?

Your child can look forward to:

• Breakfast club on arrival in the morning (depending on what sessions they are attending)
• Play time (with activities such as; messy play, water and sand, musical instruments, role play)
• Snack time (where children help to serve their own healthy mid-morning refreshments)
• Outdoor play (mud kitchen, bikes, balls and hoops, role play, both adult and child led play activities)
• Circle time (children develop language skills, listening to others, reading and discussions on a wide range of topics)
• Introduce babies to different types of music
• Exploring sensory objects and natural resources
• Encouraging moving around; crawling, rolling, walking, skipping etc. and using their bodies in different ways to music
• Language groups (listening to CDs, story books - to help develop new vocabulary and promote a wide range of language)
• Lunchtime
• Sleep or quiet time
• Outdoor play and walks to: (the local library, shops or the park)
• Small groups for focused activities (counting games, practicing fine motor skills whilst painting, cutting, drawing, peg boards and threading beads)
• Snack time (where children help to serve their own healthy mid-afternoon refreshments)
• Singing and musical instrument activities (tapping out beats, clapping to a rhythm, following a sequence)
• Activities (both planned and unplanned, such as bug hunts, cooking, science experiments or role play, musical instruments, painting and collage, range of messy play, counting games and songs)
• Story time and listening to visual story sacks, encouraging imagination and exploring new language)
• Teatime Meal (depending on what sessions they are attending)
• Physical Movements (dancing and physical body movements to music, body stretches and ring games)
• Tidying up our toys to music
• Getting ready for home

MEAL TIMES

Parents are asked to bring either expressed milk or pre made formulas, this is because UHT which is the milk in the pre made formulas is sterile, this avoids any bacterial contamination for babies.  During the weaning stage we will work closely with you to introduce new and varied foods according to the routines and preferences of each family.  Babies will be encouraged to try different foods which are prepared in our school kitchen by the qualified cook.  These will be either blended, mashed or finger food depending on the babies age and parental choice.  Snacks are provided both morning and afternoon, these range from a variety of fruits, breadsticks, crackers and vegetable dips.

CURRICULUM

We understand the need for the children to grow and gain independence and we provide a warm, caring and safe environment within which children can thrive and excel. Bush Babies offers a full curriculum and provides a solid foundation for entry into Little Chimps from the age of 2.  Following the Early Years Foundation Stage framework (EYFS) enables us to focus on children as unique individuals, allowing us to map their progress over the seven key learning areas and identify where they may need help.  Children have their own ‘Learning Journeys’ where the child’s key person will make observations, assessments and take photographs, enabling us to ensure we plan for your child’s next steps. 

We will track your child’s progress in all areas but specifically the ‘Prime Areas’ which are:

• Personal, Social and Emotional
• Communication and Language
• Physical Development

The other areas are called the ‘Specific Areas’ which are:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Expressive Arts and Design
• Understanding the World

Our daily activities and play opportunities are planned through these areas and each child is treated as an individual and presented with lots of opportunities every day to develop and reach their full potential through play.  

In Bush Babies we lay down the foundations so that when your child leaves us to enter our next room in “Little Chimps”, they leave happy, educated, independent, confident and with all of the social skills needed for their next big step!         

SETTLING IN       

As we all know and appreciate every child is unique and different and may therefore require different settling in sessions.  We usually use part of the first week as settling in sessions, for this reason we do not charge you for this week and payments will start from the second week your child is with us.

On the first day your child is with us for their settling in day, please be prepared to stay with them for about an hour. 

On the second visit we invite you to come into Bush Babies for a one hour visit.  After 10 minutes you can leave your child but we ask that you stay on the nursery premises.  We will provide you with tea or coffee and if your child is unsettled and we feel it necessary we can call on you to help settle your child. Whilst your child is playing, we go through your Admission documents and ensure we have all paperwork completed and you understand about the payment process. The induction process depends on each individual child and if your child experiences any difficulties during the settling in period we can continue with more inductions. 

A further meeting will be scheduled for one week later with your child’s key person and then at the end of your child’s first month with us to ensure you are confident and happy about how your child has settled with us.  Parents/carers are welcome to come and speak to staff if they have any concerns at any time.

EQUIPMENT

Clothing – What do I need? - Children have the best fun whilst getting messy, so at times need changing if they have had lots of fun in the sand or messy play, for this reason we ask that you bring and leave a set of spare clothes in your child’s pump bag which hangs on your child’s personalised coat peg.

As children love to be outdoors and do not mind the cold, we take the children out in all weathers, so please send your child in appropriate clothing; hats, gloves and of course a warm coat.   It is imperative that all clothing is named. Children can sometimes have little accidents when they are either in the process of being toilet trained or when they are engrossed in play and forget!  Lots of spare pants and trousers are really useful as children may get upset when we put them in something different to their own clothes.

Wellingtons – Your child will also require a named pair of wellingtons.

DROPPING OFF AND COLLECTING YOUR CHILD

Due to planned staffing levels and the number of children in each session, we require you to drop your child off and pick your child up at the designated times.  If your child is ill or has had an accident at home please let us know by 10am if your child is not going to attend Nursery on that day.  Late collection of children after 6pm will be charged at a rate of £10 for each quarter hour.

SECURITY

On arrival into Bush Babies, we ask that you sign your child in on our daily register, and also sign your child out when collecting them at the end of each session.

For your child’s security and ours, please inform us either personally, by letter or by telephone if someone different is going to collect your child.  We ask that you give the person collecting your child your chosen password as we will ask them to tell us this when they come and collect your child. 

PAYMENT

• Registration Fee - When you complete your child’s booking form to secure your child’s sessions with us, you will be asked to pay a non-refundable registration fee of £50. When your child starts with us in Bush Babies we provide a special bag where spare clothes and their individual daily diary can be put. 
• Invoicing – In the month prior to your child starting with us you will be issued with an invoice for the following month and also a letter outlining the procedure for accessing your Parent Pay account and how to activate it. Your child will be given their own unique Parent Pay number which you will need to register online to enable you to pay for your child’s sessions. We require payment in advance before your child starts with us. 
• Payment – All childcare fees are payable in full in advance on the first day of each calendar month. Late payments occur a late fee charge of £15 per week.
• Childcare Vouchers – We accept childcare vouchers from all recognised voucher providers. If parents are paying by childcare vouchers, these must be submitted the previous month to ensure we have them in our system for the first of each month.  Any outstanding balance after vouchers have been paid must be paid immediately by Parent Pay.  If you intend to pay using childcare vouchers, please speak to the Manager or Deputy prior to your child starting so that we can inform you of our registration number.
• Grant Funding – Government funding is available for children aged 2 years in the term following their second birthday, subject to meeting criteria. Children will receive 15 hours per week of government funded hours, (term time only).  Please speak to the Manager if you think you might be eligible.

CANCELLATION

• Notice Period – If for any reason you need to withdraw your child from our nursery, we require four weeks written notice in advance. If you make a request to change days or sessions, you will need to complete a ‘change of day/hours application’ and the Manager will inform you if we are able to accommodate your changes.  Please note: sessions may not be transferred.
  
• Sickness and Holiday Absence – We are not able to issue refunds on occasions when your child has been sick or absent due to holidays.

OPENING HOURS

Bush Babies  is open from 7.45am until 6pm, we are open 50 weeks of the year. 

BUSH BABIES CLOSURES

• Unscheduled Closures – In the event that we have to close the Nursery, we will endeavour to give as much notice as is reasonably possible. We are not able to refund any missed sessions.
  
  In the event of adverse weather, we will endeavour to open the nursery as normal.  If the nursery is open and operating normally, fees will be charged regardless of whether your child has attended.

• Scheduled Closures - We are closed on all Bank Holidays and the Christmas holiday period between Christmas and New Year.  Fees will be calculated with these closures accounted for and fees are payable as normal.

POLICIES

Equal Opportunities Statement – We endeavour to develop an environment in which the value of each and every child is fully recognised.  We plan a curriculum which is accessible to all, regardless of race, gender, social class and religion. We encourage all children to play and work together developing mutual respect.  All children are encouraged to express themselves in all aspects of play and to work together co-operatively and constructively.

Child Protection – Safeguarding Children - Little Chimps and Bush Babies comply with all relevant safeguarding children procedures and conform to all appropriate documentation and other guidance from the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB).  All staff have relevant DBS checks and undertake regular child protection training and will be vigilant to signs and evidence of physical, sexual and emotional abuse or neglect.  Where we have any concerns regarding the safety or welfare of a child in our care, we are obliged to report our concerns to Solihull Borough Children’s Services for advice.

No Smoking and Alcohol Policy - Monkspath School including Monkeys Childcare, Little Chimps and Bush Babies has a policy of no smoking or alcohol within the school environment.

Parents as Partners – At Bush Babies and Little Chimps we fully appreciate how important it is to make sure that the transition from home to nursery is as smooth as possible.  We appreciate that parents are the main source of information about their child and we hope that we can work in partnership about information sharing and working together to help each child progresses through each stage of their development.

Complaints Procedure – We pride ourselves in having excellent communication with all our parents and developing strong partnerships together.  In the event of a parent feeling unhappy with any aspect of care/service that we provide, the Manager is always available for you to talk to and investigate the matter immediately.  We pride ourselves that excellent communication is the key to a successful partnership together.

Confidentiality Policy -  It is our policy to ensure that confidentiality is paramount.  This is particularly important about children’s personal and private information, issues concerning a child, parent or members of staff.  Breach of confidentiality will be dealt with in the strictest confidence in line with the Data Protection Act.

Administration of Medicines and Accident Procedures – If your child requires any medication during the day, we require you to complete a ‘medication consent form’.  We will administer prescribed medicines that parents have signed for and if it is absolutely necessary in order to complete a course of treatment, such as antibiotics.  Calpol will be given if required and parents will need to complete an agreement for this to be administered.  Parents will be called prior to administrating children with Calpol.   Written records are kept of all medicine administered to children and parents sign to acknowledge this when collecting their child.  Medicines will be stored in a secure cupboard/fridge and be clearly labelled with the child’s name and dosage to be given.

We will require a ‘care plan’ to be completed for children with specific medical needs, who need to have regular medication in nursery.  Please ensure that you have discussed this with your child’s key person and updated the admission form.

In the event of an accident at nursery, we follow clear procedures.  If your child has a bump to the head, we will inform parents by telephone and an accident form will be completed, signed and countersigned.  When you come and collect your child you will be asked to read and sign the form.  If the accident is thought to be serious, we will ask parents’ to come and collect their child or in extreme circumstances a member of staff may seek emergency attention immediately.  (Parents will always be kept informed of any actions taken by the nursery).

For all minor accidents we record these on minor accident forms and parents/carers are requested to read the accident form when collecting their child and countersign the form.  A copy will be given to all parents/carers

Sickness and Illnesses - All children need to be absent from nursery for 48 hours after sickness or diarrhoea to prevent any infection to other children, therefore we ask that children do not attend Bush Babies or Little Chimps in these instances.

We are unable to cater for children who are unwell, so will endeavour to contact parents/carers immediately to collect children who are taken ill during the day.  Please ensure that we have your up to date contact telephone numbers and any necessary medical details about your child.

Supporting Children with Additional Needs  -  At  Bush Babies and Little Chimps we welcome all children including those with additional needs. The needs and progress of children are monitored to ensure we are providing an independent learning programme for each individual child.

Positive Behaviour  -  We believe that every member of our nursery should be treated fairly and feel valued and respected. We are a caring community at Monkspath School and this in turn includes Bush Babies and Little Chimps at Monkeys Childcare.  Our values are built on mutual trust and respect for all. The Behaviour Policy is designed to support the way in which all children can learn and play together in a supportive way.  It aims to promote an environment where every child feels happy, safe and secure. We expect every member of the nursery to behave in a considerate way towards others.  We aim to help all children grow in a safe and secure environment, and to become positive and increasingly independent members of the nursery who develop personal responsibility for enabling the good care and welfare of others.

CONTACT US

If you would like any further information or have any questions please either:

• Email: [email protected]
  
  
• Telephone: 0121 703 1820
  
  
• Mobile: 07980 172151