A - Z of Everything!
If your child is unwell, is waiting for a test result, has a hospital appointment, family day, is going on holiday or otherwise unable to come to The Barn for whatever reason, please go to the Parents' Forms page and complete an Absence Form.
We will always follow up on any absence that has not been notified.
Please speak to a member of staff if your child is returning to The Barn after a period of absence, with a medical condition that requires staff intervention, either on a daily basis or other situation e.g. antibiotics or inhaler.
Parents are advised that The Barn is unable to reimburse fees for periods of absence, irrespective of the reason for the absence.
We record all accidents and other incidents that happen at The Barn. This might include an accident that your child had or an incident that your child was involved in.
On each occasion, we will ask you to read and sign the form to show that we have shared what we know about the accident/incident with you, and explained any action that has been taken. We will also provide you with a copy of the form.
If your child has had a head injury, we will draw your attention to the Bump Letter on the back page on the Accident Form. Monitor your child carefully for 24 hours and call 112/999 if you are concerned about your child's injury.
At the start of the morning session, parents are asked to queue up with their children outside the front door. When you reach fhe front of the queue, please wait for the staff member on door duty to welcome your child and take him/her in through the front door.
The session times are:
9.00 am - 12 noon – morning session
9.00 am - 1.00 pm – morning session and lunch club
9.00 am - 3.00 pm – full day
The front door door closes at 9.15 am in the morning. If you arrive after this time, please ring the door bell.
Parents arriving to collect or drop off their child at lunchtime should go and queue outside their room door.
The timings are:
12 noon - 3.00 pm – afternoon session including lunch
12.30 pm - 3.00 pm – afternoon session without lunch *
Early bird club starts at 8.30 am for both Explorers and Discoverers children.
Parents arriving for early bird club are asked to come to the front door and ring the door bell. Children say goodbye to their parents at the door and a teacher will them through, register and help them to sort out their things.
Early bird club is an additional service and we ask for a termly commitment.
Early bird is available as an ad-hoc facility, subject to availability. Please speak to a member of staff or email the office if this is needed at any time.
All children are dropped off at the front door between 9.00 am and 9.15 am.
Any parent arriving after 9.15 am is asked to ring the door bell. A staff member of staff will meet you and collect your child’s belongings to take through into the room.
If you have any news/information that you wish to share at drop off, you are asked to tell the staff member so that it can be recorded in the day book.
If you would like to speak to your key person, supervisor or one of the managers, please let us know.
We always celebrate children's birthdays by singing the birthday song and giving them a special sticker.
If you have party invitations that you would like us to give out, please hand them to a member of staff.
Children often like to give a small treat to their friends. If you would like to send in something for your child to share with friends, then we suggest small packets of sweets or raisins or pieces of fruit that can go in the basket at the end of the day and be eaten at home. Alternatively, you might like to bring in individually wrapped cakes for the children to take home at the end of the session.
Unfortunately, due to the increasing number and variety of allergies that we are encountering, we are unable to give children birthday cake to eat at The Barn.
For the safety of the children, other parents and our neighbours, all parents are asked to drive VERY, VERY, SLOWLY in the car park and to be patient at busy times.
When parking in the car park, you are respectfully asked not to obstruct any of the entrances to the garages or park down the drive leading to the bungalows. When parking in front of the bungalows, please be careful not to nudge the fence as we wish to avoid upsetting our neighbours.
​Parking space in the car park is limited, and drivers are asked to be mindful of the gap between them and the next car – leaving just enough space for you and your child to get in/out safely! Additional parking is available by the church, with a footpath leading up to The Barn playground.
​We ask all parents to drive carefully through the narrow lanes leading into the village and to respect the local 30-mph speed limit.
Thank you for your co-operation.
In accordance with the statutory requirements of the EYFS, The Barn keeps records of:
The names, addresses and telephone numbers of parents/carers and emergency contacts in case of children’s illness, accident or other emergency;
Adults authorised to collect children from The Barn;
Medical details, consents, collection details and snack details
Allergies, dietary requirements and medical conditions of individual children;
Accidents; Existing Injuries
Incidents
We will only share information with Hampshire County Council, Head Teachers of schools during transition and with other agencies that you have authorised (such as Speech and Language Therapist, Educational Psychologist, Physiotherapist and the Area Inclusion Co-ordinator for North Hampshire).
Parents are asked to ensure that you advise us immediately informed of any changes to the information we hold for your child – including your home/mobile phone number and email address.
Parents are asked to ensure that your child wears comfortable, practicable play clothes that make it as easy as possible for your child to dress independently. Aprons are provided but accidents can and do happen! You will appreciate that we cannot be held responsible for damage to clothes, so please do not dress in best!
In the winter, coats, hats, scarves and gloves are needed as we take every opportunity to make the maximum use of our outdoor resources. Waterproof all-in-ones are recommended as they provide good protection.
The children play outdoors in all weathers and need both indoor shoes/slippers and outdoor shoes/wellington boots for wet or muddy play. If your child arrives at nursery wearing wellington boots, please do ensure that he/she has another pair of shoes to change in to for wearing indoors.
In the summer, your child might prefer to bring in his/her own sun hat. Alternatively, we have legionnaire style sun hats at The Barn and all children are encouraged to cover up during the warmer weather.
All items of outdoor clothing should be clearly named. Many children have identical or similar coats and are not always able to recognise which item is theirs! Similarly, it is helpful if cardigans, hoodies etc. are named.
Practical footwear that is ‘closed’ at the toes and heels, allowing children to run, pedal, climb, crawl and move freely are needed for playing at The Barn.
For health and safety reasons, we cannot allow children to wear flip flops, crocs, clogs or other open toed/heeled shoes or sandals to The Barn. Please be aware that parents will be asked to change any child’s inappropriate footwear before leaving him/her at The Barn.
If you have arranged to collect your child early, you should go to the front door and ring the bell.
A member of staff will come to the door and ask you to wait whilst she brings your child out to you with his/her things.
If you wish to speak to your key person or one of the supervisors, this will be arranged. Similarly, if we need to speak to you, your key person or one of the supervisors will come out to see you.
All Explorers and Discoverers children who are leaving early should be collected before 2.40 pm.
The early collection window closes at 2.40 pm to ensure that we can maintain staff/child ratios in the rooms and to minimize disruption for children during their end of day stories and activities. Parents arriving after these times should go through into the playground and queue outside their designated room door.
It is important that we are informed of the name of anyone, besides the named parents/carers, who is authorised to collect your child, and that you inform us each time there is a change to the usual arrangements for collecting your child. Please speak to a member of staff or contact the office) to enable us to record the following details in our Day Book:
Name of the person collecting your child
Password
You will need to give the person collecting your child of the password, before he/she arrives to collect the child.
If the person does not know the password, we will contact you for confirmation before we let the child leave.
We will not allow your child to leave with another adult without your prior consent. This requirement will apply to everyone, regardless of their relationship to the child. The safeguarding of your child is our primary concern at all times.
To avoid any confusion, please ensure that the person who is collecting your child knows what time to arrive and where to go.
In the event that a child has not been collected and there has been no contact within 5 minutes of the end of the session, the following procedure will be initiated:
Staff will call the parents on the numbers provided for their mobile, home or work. If this fails the emergency contact will then be contacted as per the child's Contact Details form.
Staff will continue calling the contact numbers available every 5 minutes until contact is made.
In the event of no contact being made after 30 minutes have lapsed, the manager will ring the Social Services Emergency Duty Team and Ofsted to advise them of the situation in line with Hampshire Services for Young Children guidance.
A minimum of two members of staff will remain in the building until suitable arrangements have been made for the collection of the child. The child's welfare and needs will be met at all times to minimise distress and staff will distract, comfort and reassure the child during the process.
A late collection fee will be charged for late pick up after the end of the school day. The nursery school will issue parents with a warning letter on the first late pick up.
If a further late pick up occurs, then an invoice will be issued with a fine for lateness. In order to provide this additional care a late fee of £10 for the first 10 minutes and then £10 per 5 minutes thereafter, will be charged to parents. The fee covers the costs of paying two staff members to stay on the premises outside of their working hours, until the child has been collected.
Key person and your child Every child at The Barn has a key person – a named member of staff with whom your child has regular contact. Each key person has special responsibilities for working with a small number of children, giving them the reassurance to help them feel secure and cared for, and building relationships with you, the parents.
Your key person will usually be your first point of contact, making sure that the particular needs of your child are being met appropriately, and that records of development and progress are shared.
The supervisors and managers are also all happy to answer queries. We can arrange appointments to see parents or carers if they would like a longer discussion on any issues.
Learning journey file Your key person maintains a record of the progress your child is making in the Learning Journey file. Photographs, observations, records of conversations and interactions all support and provide evidence of progress.
Parents are invited to add to the Learning Journeys, including learning stories, photographs and descriptions of what types of activities the children have enjoyed at home, or any significant events, such as birthday parties, holidays or visits from family.
The Learning Journeys are kept in the home rooms and are available for parents and children to look at.
Curriculum and activities
Every Sunday evening, you will receive an email link to our Blog on the website, telling you about what is happening the following week. Do read and share with your child.
Information about our weekly topics, homelinks and the activities we have planned for the children is displayed on the notice board in the cloakroom, as well as information regarding snacks and a sign-up sheet for ‘stay and play’.
You will also find information about community events and services that are available locally.
Parents' evenings We hold parents' evenings twice a year where parents can look at the Learning Journey, talk to their key person about their child’s development and agree next steps.
Seeking feedback from parents At The Barn, are always interested in parents’ views of our setting. We ask parents for feedback after the Little Explorers sessions, to ensure that we are helping your child have the best possible start. Each year, we invite parents to complete a questionnaire to give us feedback.
And if your child has enjoyed a particular activity or shared any insights with you, please do let us know!
We believe that children and parents are entitled to expect courtesy and prompt, careful attention to their needs and wishes. We will give prompt and serious attention to any concerns about the running of The Barn. We anticipate that most concerns will be resolved quickly by an informal approach to your key person. If this does not achieve the desired result, we have a set of procedures for dealing with concerns and complaints and will make every effort to bring any concerns about the running of our The Barn to a satisfactory conclusion for all of the parties involved.
If you would like a copy of our Complaints Policy, please contact the office.
Alternatively, if you would like to share a compliment about The Barn, please write on the Parent's Feedback Bubble in the cloakroom. We would also love you to post a review on Google or tell your friends about The Barn on Facebook. Thank you :)
Snack cafe The snack cafe is open between 10 am and 11 am.
If your child has any particular dietary restrictions or food allergies, please speak to your key person/supervisor.
Water bottles We ask that children have water bottles that let them see how much they have drunk.
Metal water bottles with scren tops are not recommended as they can be heavy and tricky to open.
Please send in a clearly named drinks bottle each day – filled with fresh water only. Squash, juice, shakes etc. should not be put into the water bottle.
There is a tray provided in each room for you to place the bottle for your child to access during the session. The bottle will be available at all times for your child to have a drink and can be refilled during the day.
Early years education funding is being expanded from April 2024.
For full details, please click here to go to the Government Childcare Choices pages.
If you have any questions about funding, please contact us.
Important:
At The Barn, we take children from 2 years 6 months.
All places are offered subject to availability.
15 hours Universal Early Years Education funding is available for all children from the term after their 3rd birthday. We will print an EYE claim form on behalf of Hampshire County Council that you will be asked to sign. You do not need to do anything else.
15 hours funding is available for families of 2 year olds receiving additional forms of Government support. Eligible parents should apply for the code through the Government Childcare Choices website and then provide a copy of the confirmation letter from Hampshire County Council to The Barn.
30 hours funding is available for eligible working parents. Parents should apply for the code through the Government Childcare Choices website and then complete our 30 hours funding details form.
NEW: CHILDCARE FUNDING UPDATE
From April 2024, eligible working parents can receive 15 hours of childcare for their two-year-old.
Parents have until 31 March 2024 to apply for a code, with mid-January to the end of February being the optimum time to apply in case you need to provide further information to support your application.
From Sept 2024, eligible working parents can receive up to 15 hours of childcare for children aged between 9 and 23 months old.
From Sept 2025, - eligible working parents can receive up to 30 hours of childcare for children aged between 9 months up to school age.
To apply for a childcare code each parent needs to be working and earning the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum/living wage and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year. This means that each parent needs to earn from just over £8,600 per year to be eligible for 15 hours a week of childcare during term time.
Full details about childcare support are published on the Childcare Choices website , where you can explore the early education entitlements and other government help with childcare costs.
If you have any questions about funding, please contact the office.
Our Emergency Closure policy is for extenuating situations such as power failures as well as other extreme emergencies including extreme weather conditions and health emergencies. In these situations, we take guidance and advice from Hampshire Children’s Services Department and other authorities.
In the event of extreme weather conditions, before leaving home, parents are advised to:
Check your mobile phone for text messages and notifications
Check your email
Log on to Hampshire County Council schools website for updates:
http://www.hants.gov.uk/education/schoolclosures/
Listen to local radio. HCC provides updates local radio stations including Radio Berkshire, Heart Thames Valley, Breeze Newbury, Breeze Basingstoke and Bizz Basingstoke.
Call The Barn on 01256 782580 and listen to the recorded message.
Call The Barn before leaving home if local conditions appear to be deteriorating.
In the event that extreme weather conditions or other emergency situation necessitates the early closure of The Barn, we will send out an urgent message through the app and email all parents. In both situations, parents are asked to ensure that they monitor messages on their mobiles and emails as our primary methods of communication.
Early Years Foundation Stage (The EYFS) produced by the Department for Education, is the statutory framework for the early education and care of children from birth until 31 August following their fifth birthday.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requires that parents and carers are supplied with a short written summary of their child's development in the three prime learning and development areas of the EYFS, when the child is aged 24-36 months:
Personal, Social and Emotional Development;
Communication and Language
Physical Development,
For the majority of children who join The Barn, the EYFS progress check takes place after the health visitor check on children’s physical developmental milestones as part of the Healthy Child Programme. The aims of the EYFS progress check are to:
review your child’s progress, identify his strengths and determine if he needs extra support in any areas;
make sure that you understand your child’s development and that we know about his interests and needs so we can support him;
help you to support your child’s development at home;
agree how we can work together to support your child’s development, including how we will work with other education and health professionals, if necessary.
At The Barn, we also use the progress check as a record of your child’s developmental age/stage on entry and during their first weeks at nursery school.
The progress check is informed by the records in your child’s health book; your knowledge of your child; your thoughts and our early observations. At The Barn, the progress checks are begun during weeks 4-6 of the Little Explorers sessions. We then observe and learn more about your child during the first half term, once he/she has settled into the Explorers. Your child’s key person will be responsible for completing the progress check with you, and a time will be scheduled for you to sit down together for a conversation. You will be provided with a written summary, which should be secured in your child’s health book for reference by other professionals. We will keep a second copy in your child’s Learning Journey file. If there are any significant concerns, or if your child has a disability or identified Special Educational Needs, we will discuss and develop a targeted plan. The plan will identify any strategies, activities and actions that we will put in place support your child.
The EYFS Progress Check undertaken by The Barn Nursery School can be shared with the Health Visiting Service; other settings, where your child attends more than one currently or in the future; and Hampshire County Council’s Children’s Services, where appropriate.
The information recorded for the Early Years Foundation Stage Progress Check will be stored securely and confidentially. Under GDPR, any confidential information regarding your child will not be passed onto organisations outside of those mentioned above without your prior consent. Issues of a child protection nature are excepted, and case information will be shared with the appropriate agencies.
Payment may be made using one or a combination of the following methods:
Bank Transfer
Please use your invoice number as the reference when making your bank transfer:
Barclays Bank The Barn Nursery School (Wootton) Ltd Account Number - 53295796 Sort Code - 201699
Childcare Vouchers
The Barn is registered with the following childcare companies. Please use your invoice number as the Reference so that we can correctly allocate payments to your account.
Name and ID/Account Number for Voucher Company
Allsave : CBARNN03
Apple Childcare : CA00008590
Busy Bees : 00035346
Edenred : P20274366
care-4 : 30493473
Co-operative : 85003328
Computershare : 0008177732
Fairecare : BARN0916
Sodexho : 165123
Cash
The Barn is registered to receive payments through the Government-backed Tax-Free Childcare scheme. Eligible parents receive an extra 20% towards childcare costs.
Click here to go to https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/
Note: When searching the site, please enter our full name:
The Barn Nursery School (Wootton) Ltd
We know that it can be complicated for parents to work out what is best for them and tax free childcare is not necessarily the best option for all eligible families.
The Family Benefits Advice Service can provide free advice and information on Tax-Free Childcare, Childcare Vouchers, Tax Credits and Universal Credit and calculate which form of financial support is best for your circumstances. Call 0800 028 3008.
We hold termly fire drills for the children, in line with our Fire Safety and Emergency Evacuation policy.
Parents are asked to familiarize themselves with the exit doors and to follow directions from our staff in the event of an emergency.
We have a minimum of three members of staff with a valid Paediatric First Aid qualification that includes Anaphylaxis training, on duty at all times.
All other staff have completed Refresher First Aid training.
On our blog, we have a selection of leaflets on a wide range of topics, including challenging behaviour, making friends and biting.
There is a wealth of information on the internet, some good and some not so good! We regularly post links on our blog that we recommend as being relevant and accurate!
If you have a concern about your child and would like some information, please speak to your key person or one of the supervisors. We have extensive resources that we are pleased to share.
Each child has a Learning Journey file that is maintained by the key person. Parents are also invited to contribute to the Learning Journey.
Each term a Progress Summary is shared with parents.
Children who are staying for lunch club, staying all day or arriving for an afternoon session all bring a lunch box to The Barn.
Please help your child by packing the foodstuffs in easy to open containers. If you prefer to wrap/bag sandwiches etc. it is a good idea to include a plastic plate or napkin for your child to eat from.
Unfinished drinks cartons and yoghurt/fromage frais from lunchtime will be emptied/thrown away at The Barn.
It would be helpful if the following guidelines could be followed when preparing your child’s lunch:
Please ensure that the lunch box does not contain any nut products. Peanut allergies are now quite common and we usually have at least one child with such an allergy attending The Barn school. This is a life threatening condition in which all contact with nut products should be avoided. Please check carefully the ingredients of items such as muesli bars, cookies etc.
We always encourage children to eat their sandwiches or savoury foods before any sweetstuffs. We also ask children to eat something before they drink their smoothies: when they fill up early on drinks, they tend not to feel so hungry...until a little while later!
Lunch is eaten in small groups with a teacher to help open, unwrap etc. However, it is helpful if food preparation such as peeling oranges or eggs is done at home.
Small, soft foods, such as grapes and cherry tomatoes, must be cut in quarters, length-ways, to minimise the risk of choking.
Savoury options for the lunch box might include ham, tuna, chicken, cheese or egg sandwiches, quiche, pasta salad, rice, vegetables, etc.
Some children prefer warm foods to cold foods and use a food thermos for pasta, rice etc.
Yoghurt in tubes which children suck has proven to be very messy. The children cannot open them and once open the contents seem to have a mind of their own! The staff would greatly appreciate it if you could avoid the tubes and send in pots of yoghurt or fromage frais to be eaten with a spoon.
Please do include fruit and/or crudités in the lunch box, to help encourage healthy eating habits.
Sweets – it may be better to save these for home!
For lunchbox inspiration, have a look at the following sites:
Kids packed lunch ideas - BBC Food
Lunchbox ideas and recipes – Healthier Families - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
100 Easy lunch box ideas for children | The Children's Nutritionist (childrensnutrition.co.uk)
We try to make sure that all uneaten food is put back into your child’s lunch box so that you can see how much has been eaten. Please include a spoon and/or fork if needed.
Your child’s lunch box should be clearly labelled on the outside, and your child needs to be able to recognise it!
And lastly, please consider the packaging that you use for your child's lunch, avoiding clingfilm and foil whenever possible.
Lunch club might be of interest to parents who do not feel that their child is ready for a whole day, but would like to gradually build up time.
Alternatively, it might just be convenient to have the extra hour before you collect your child at 1.00 pm. This facility can be used on a casual ad-hoc basis, or can be a regular feature.
The charge for this additional hour is detailed separately on the Fees sheet. Please contact the office if you would like to reserve a place for your child.
The lunch club facility is subject to availability and a place needs to be re-booked each term. If the afternoon session is full, we are unable to offer lunch club. Because of the high demand for spaces, it is not always possible to offer lunch club in the summer term.
Being able to communicate is one of the most important skills we need in life. For a young child at nursery school, that means:
Playing and exploring
Asking for help
Problem solving
Making friends and having fun
Makaton is a sign and symbol language designed to support spoken language. Makaton uses speech with signs (gestures) and symbols (pictures) to help people communicate, building on early communcation skills such as pointing and gesture that we all use as part of our daily lives.
Makaton enables all children, including those with communication difficulties, children who find it difficult to listen and English as an additional language, to express themselves more easily. Having an effective form of communication which children can access from their earliest years can help avoid the frustration of not being able to communicate and build up a child's confidence and self-esteem. Makaton also gives us something useful to do with our hands!
At The Barn, we use Makaton to support all children to develop communication, attention and listening skills. We add a visual cue or gesture, we slow our speech down and use simpler language. We also use facial expression, eye contact and body language to give as much information as possible.
Makaton is used routinely throughout the day - when we wash our hands, eat our snack/lunch, at review time, tidy up time, story time and getting ready to go home. We also use Makaton to share our feelings and to communicate our needs and wants.
Young children develop their gross motor skills by learning to hold, grip, pull and push through play.
At The Barn, we help children to develop imaginatively, creatively and physically through varied and fun mark making activities such as play dough, sand, paint and water.
Children use triangular pens, round crayons, charcoal, chalks, oil pastels, wax pens and assorted brushes, both fat and thin. Available tools and accessories include scissors, glue sticks, hole punches, sellotape dispensers, papers, paper clips, split pins, string, ribbons, notepads, labels, stickers, envelopes and magazines and well as sticks, straws and play dough cutters. The list goes on and on!
Children practice directional push and pull and experience the resistance of drawing on lining paper during Write Dance and painting the outside wall with rollers and water or mopping the playground with soapy water. Through their play, the children are developing their large muscle control and fine motor movements.
The Explorers children bring home their markings at the end of the day and these are put out with their work. Our Discoverers children put their own work in their special 'pockets' which they then collect and take home at the end of the day.
Do praise and encourage your child's efforts. Scribbles and marks are the first steps to learning to write. Dots, lines and curves are all examples of the strokes and shapes needed to form letters, numbers and symbols.
And when your child is ready to begin writing his or her name, look together at the booklet in the book bag to see how to form the letter correctly. You will also find your child's finger name card which can be used to trace over with the finger or to write over with a felt pen which can be wiped and done again.
Before your child starts at The Barn, you will have completed a Health and Safety form with details of your child’s health, contact numbers, allergy details etc.
If any of these details change, please let us know in writing so that we can update your child’s records.
If you child is referred for any appointments, such as hearing test, eyesight test, please do inform your key person and update her on the outcome of the appointment so that we can support your child, as necessary.
Prescribed medicines Our policy is to manage medicines prescribed for a specific episode/condition, where it would be detrimental to the child’s health and well-being not to have the medication whilst he/she is at The Barn. In these circumstances, the medication is administered following consultation, agreement and written authorisation from parents.
If your child has been unwell and has been prescribed a course of antibiotics and/or other medication by your GP, do follow the advice regarding returning to nursery school. Children often need time to respond to treatment, for temperatures to return to normal limits and for normal eating/drinking patterns to return.
All medication must be in its original packaging, including the prescription labelling.
Please allow a few minutes to complete a 'Permission to Administer Medicine' form.
Where a condition requiring staff to administer medication lasts for longer than 10 school days, a Health Care Plan will be prepared.
Other treatments and remedies, including creams and non-prescribed medicines/over-the-counter medicines It is our general policy not to administer creams, lotions, salves, non-prescribed medicines (e.g. Calpol, cough mixtures ) as this responsibility rests with parents, and the appropriate care can usually be managed at home. Any exceptions to this policy are at the discretion of the managers.
If your child has been given any medication before coming in to The Barn (e.g. Calpol or Piriton), parents are asked to inform a member of staff and we will make a note in the day book.
Where we believe that a child is not well enough to be at The Barn, we will contact you and ask you to come and collect your child.
If you have any concerns about your child's health, contact your GP or call NHS 111. Advice is also available of the NHS Healthier Together website
As part of our duty to protect all the children in our care, our staff observe our mobile phone and electronic devices policy during opening hours.
Parents are kindly asked not to use their mobile phones whilst in the nursery school or when collecting or dropping off their children. We do this to ensure all children are safeguarded and the time for dropping off and picking up is a quality opportunity where we can catch up about your child.
Any parent seen using their phone inside the nursery school premises will be asked to finish the call or take the call outside the front of the building, away from the children.
We do accept that parents/carers may wish to use the cameras/recorders on their mobile phones/tablets during special events, such as concerts, dance afternoons and activity mornings. At these special times, staff will mention the same during the introductions.
The Barn operates a strict NO SMOKING policy on the premises and in the playground area.
This applies to everyone, including staff, parents and carers, visitors and tradesmen.
We have a duty to safeguard all children in our care, and we need to ensure that adults coming into The Barn are never alone with any child apart from those for whom they are responsible.
For this reason, a member of staff will offer to take your child through to the toilets, or alternatively, she will need to accompany you.
We recognise parents as the first and most important educators of their children. Our staff works in partnership, with you, the parents, in providing care and education for your child. There are many ways in which parents take part in making The Barn a welcoming and fun place for children and adults, such as:
exchanging knowledge about their children's needs, activities, interests and progress with the staff;
sharing their own special interests/skills with the children;
helping to provide and make the equipment and materials used in the children's play activities;
taking part in events and informal discussions about the activities and curriculum;
signing up on the parent's calendar to come in and spend some time playing with the children. Spending some time at nursery enables parents to see what the day-to-day life of the setting is like and to share the experience with their children. Parents are welcome to stay for the whole session, stay for half an hour or maybe join us for lunch or for a walk;
building friendships with other parents'
collecting and recycling recourses for children to use in the creative workshop - including corks, newspapers, shells, stamps, loose parts etc.
In the event that your child comes to The Barn with a pre-existing injury, bump, lesion, etc. please tell a member of staff, who will then ask you to complete an Existing Injuries form before you leave.
In the event that we notice an injury that has not been reported, we will contact you to discuss and ask you to complete a form when you arrive to collect your child.
At The Barn, we believe that children flourish best when they have clear, consistent boundaries and know how what is acceptable behaviour. They should be free to play and learn without fear of being hurt or unfairly restricted by anyone else.
We aim to provide an environment where children can learn how to behave and socialise with others: how to make friends, be kind and share. Children who learn to regulate their own behaviour from a young age have an important life skill that will help prepare them for life in the wider world.
All children are familiar with our Barn mantra, and you might well hear these words at home!
Kind hands,
Kind words,
All friends.
Whilst at The Barn, children will have moments when they demonstrate and see or experiernce 'unwanted' behaviours, and this is normal. What is important is how the behaviour is managed by the teachers, how we help the children to manage their feelings and how adults model and support children in considering the feelings of others.
Our Promoting Positive Behaviour Policy sets out graduated responses that our staff follow. If you would like to have a copy of the policy, please contact the office.
At The Barn Nursery School we work with children, parents, external agencies and the community to ensure the welfare and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life. Children have the right to be treated with respect, be helped to thrive and to be safe from any abuse in whatever form.
We support the children within our care, protect them from maltreatment and have robust procedures in place to prevent the impairment of children’s health and development. In our setting we strive to protect children from the risk of radicalisation and we promote acceptance and tolerance of other beliefs and cultures.
To safeguard children and promote their welfare we aim to:
Keep the child at the centre of all we do
Keep and open mind and be prepared to 'thiink the unthinkable'
Ensure staff are trained right from induction to understand the child protection and safeguarding policy and procedures, are alert to identify possible signs of abuse (including the signs known as softer signs of abuse), understand what is meant by child protection and are aware of the different ways in which children can be harmed, including by other children through bullying or discriminatory behaviour
Be aware of the increased vulnerability of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and other vulnerable or isolated families and children
Ensure that all staff feel confident and supported to act in the best interest of the child, share information and seek the help that the child may need
Ensure that all staff are familiar and updated regularly with child protection training and procedures and kept informed of changes to local/national procedures, including thorough annual safeguarding newsletters and updates
Make any child protection referrals in a timely way, sharing relevant information as necessary in line with procedures set out by the Hampshire County Council.
Ensure that information is shared only with those people who need to know in order to protect the child and act in their best interest
Keep the setting safe online using appropriate filters, checks and safeguards, monitoring access at all times
Ensure that children are never placed at risk while in the charge of nursery school staff
Identify changes in staff behaviour and act on these as per the Staff Behaviour Policy
Take any appropriate action relating to allegations of serious harm or abuse against any person working with children or living or working on the nursery school premises including reporting such allegations to Ofsted and other relevant authorities
Ensure parents are aware of our child protection policies and procedures and know how to view/access a copy of any policy
Regularly review and update our Safeguarding and Child Protection policy where appropriate and make sure it complies with any legal requirements and any guidance or procedures issued by the Hampshire County Council.
The Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) at The Barn Nursery School are: Sharon Cooper and Rebecca Wells. It is their joint responsiblity to:
Provide adequate and appropriate staffing resources to meet the needs of all children
Give staff members, volunteers and students regular opportunities to declare changes that may affect their suitability to care for the children. This includes information about their health, medication or about changes in their home life such as child protection plans for their own children
Ensure that we abide by the requirements of the EYFS and any Ofsted guidance in respect to obtaining references and suitability checks for staff, students and volunteers, to ensure that all staff, students and volunteers working in the setting are suitable to do so
Ensure that volunteers, including parents and students, do not work unsupervised
Ensure that we abide by the requirements of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and the Childcare Act 2006 in respect of any person who is disqualified from providing childcare, is dismissed from our employment, or resigns in circumstances that would otherwise have led to dismissal for reasons of child protection concern
Ensure that we have procedures for recording the details of visitors to the nursery school and take security steps to ensure that we have control over who comes into the nursery school so that no unauthorised person has unsupervised access to the children
Ensure that all visitors/contractors are supervised whilst on the premises, especially when in the areas the children use
Ensure that the staff are aware of how to safeguard the whole nursery school environment and be aware of potential dangers on the nursery school boundaries such as drones or strangers lingering
Ensure that all staff have access to and comply with the Whistleblowing Policy which will enable them to share any concerns that may arise about their colleagues in an appropriate manner
Be alert to signs of inappropriate staff behaviour may include inappropriate sexual comments; excessive one-to-one attention beyond the requirements of their usual role and responsibilities; or inappropriate sharing of images. This is not an exhaustive list, any changes in behaviour must be reported and acted upon immediately
Ensure that all staff participate in daily meetings as well as individual reviews. The managers will always make time to discuss any issues relating to individual children, child protection training and any needs for further support. Staff should never wait for a meeting to raise a concern.
Ensure that ratios are maintained at all times and that the deployment of staff within the nursery school allows for constant supervision and support. Where children need to spend time away from the rest of the group, the door will be left ajar or other safeguards will be put into action to ensure the safety of the child and the adult.
Ensure that Safeguarding training is an agenda item at each staff meeting.
The Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy is held in the Policies file in the Discoverers' room. If you would like a copy of this policy, please email the office.
Sessions A session is 3 hours of play and fun-filled learning. The session times are:
9.00 am – 12 noon – morning session 9.00 am – 1.00 pm – morning session and lunch club 9.00 am – 3.00 pm – full day 12 noon – 3.00 pm – afternoon session
Explorers (rising 3's year olds) are required to attend a minimum of 2 sessions per week, over two days.
Discoverers (children who will become four between 1st September and 31st August of the school year) are required to do a minimum of 2 whole days per week.
All sessions are offered subject to availability.
We are sometimes asked to accommodate requests for an extra session at short notice.
Subject to a space being available, we will always try to accommodate any request.
Additional sessions are charged at the session rate.
Please contact the office to discuss any availability.
Please apply for sessions for your child using the Session Request Form.
All children attend for a mix of morning and afternoon sessions and all day.
All Explorers children start with a minimum of two mornings a week and all Discoverers children attend for a minimumof 2 days a week.
We try very hard to accommodate parents’ session requests for their child, but this may not always be possible due to the popularity of certain days/sessions and the size of the year group. There is usually greater flexibility at the beginning of the autumn term when the numbers of children in the Explorers' room is lower, and less choice of days/sessions in the summer term when we have completed our intake for the school year.
All sessions that are allocated to your child are automatically carried forward to the following term. However, before the new term you will have an opportunity to confirm your child’s days/sessions and to request additional/alternative sessions. All sessions are offered subject to availability.
Unfortunately, we are unable to reduce the number of sessions your child does during the term. The deadline for informing us of a reduction in sessions is end of the half term holiday before the term in which the reduction in the number of sessions will take effect. This position is regrettable but unavoidable, as our staff are timetabled and committed on a termly basis and we are also restricted by the conditions of the Early Years Education (EYE) grant.
The EYE grant form for eligible children is distributed at the end of each term, after sessions for the following term have been confirmed.
I​mportant: Notes:
Parents requiring specific sessions/days to fit in with work commitments/plans are asked to contact us at the earliest opportunity. This also applies to parents who are considering increasing attendance beyond the 15 hours universal entitlement. Whilst we make every effort to accommodate requests, all sessions are offered subject to availability.
Sessions/days for children receiveing 30 hours funding in the Explorers' room are automatically reserved in the Discoverers' room. This is done to ensure that working parents are able to continue to meet work their commitments.
The Barn aims to provide an environment that promotes health and well-being for all children parents and staff by ensuring:
high standards of personal hygiene and practice
that we maintain a clean environment
Handwashing is one of the most important ways of controlling the spread of infections, especially those that cause diarrhoea and vomiting, and respiratory disease. Children are encouraged to always wash their hands after using the toilet and before.
Coughing and sneezing easily spread infections and children are encouraged to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue and to wash their hands after using or disposing of tissues.
If your child is not feeling quite right, and you are unsure as to whether you should send him/her to The Barn, The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has a useful guide for parents and carers, Click here to go to Should your child go to school/nursery today? The information in this guide is taken from the Public Health England (PHE) guidelines “Health protection in schools and other childcare facilities". PHE set out specific guidance for a variety of infections and complaints and any recommended exclusion periods/comments under the following headings:
Rashes and skin infections
Diarrhoea and vomiting illness
Respiratory infections
Other infections
Sickness and diarrhoea are very common children complaints. For all childcare settings and schools, and PHE guidance states that a should not come into nursery school for 48 hours after the last episode of being sick or having diarrhoea. All parents are kindly asked to ensure that they follow the 48-hour guidance.
Children who are on antibiotics should not come into nursery school for 48 hours after the last episode of being sick or having diarrhoea
In all instances where a parent is concerned that their child is unwell, the guidance is always that they should seek medical advice. Contact your GP or call NHS 111.
General guidance
If your child has not been themselves at home but is not showing signs of illness when brought into nursery school, please make the member of staff on the door aware of this and let them know the best contact number for you to be reached on throughout the day. The information will be recorded in our Day Book.
Parents should inform staff if they have administered medications such as Calpol or other pain relief or anti-histamine to the child prior to them coming to nursery school. This information is vital if
we need to call for medical assistance.
Parents are asked to keep us informed about their child’s health and complete the online Absence Form if their child is unwell and unable to attend nursery school. This allows us to communicate information to staff and parents, as well as Health Protection and Ofsted if it is a disease that requires notification. This is particularly important in case a child has to come into contact with a pregnant member of staff or parent.
Parents should inform the nursery school if their child has been admitted to hospital, and the discharge instructions must be followed prior to the child attending nursery.
If you have any questions, please contact the office.
The snack café is open each morning between 10.00 am and 11.00 am.
The snack will be varied and will include fresh fruit, raisins or vegetables and one of a selection of brioche, tortilla or bread sticks.
If your child has any allergies or dietary requirements, these should be recorded on the Medical Details form and the appropriate arrangements/procedures will be put into place.
We promote the safety and welfare of all staff and children and therefore ask parents and visitors not to post, publically or privately, information about any child on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We ask all parents and visitors to follow this policy to ensure that information about children, images and information do not fall into the wrong hands.
We ask parents NOT to:
Send friend requests to any member of nursery school staff
Post any photographs to social media with other children in them (e.g. Christmas concert photographs or photographs from an activity at nursery school), without the permission of all parents concerned.
Parents/carers are invited to share any concerns regarding inappropriate use of social media by contacting the office.
We make the most of every opportunity to enjoy our lovely rural location, and the children play outdoors all year round, come rains or shine! Parents are asked to apply an all day suncream sun cream before bringing their chilldren into The Barn children during the warm weather. There are lots of different brands and formulations for children, and ideally you want a product with factor 50+ protecton. We found that a quick search online will display lots of options.
For safety reasons, parents are asked not to leave any sun cream in children's bags.
Sunglasses Children’s eye care is important and needs to be protected. Children are always on the go and their sunglasses should match their active lifestyle, fitting snugly and close to the face.
The NHS recommend sunglasses with wraparound lenses or wide arms with the CE Mark and British Standard Mark 12312-1:2013. Search for the polycarbonate, impact-resistant, scratch-proof lenses that won’t pop out of the frames, unless your doctor recommends glass lenses.
To find out more, have a look online. https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/kids/best-kids-sunglasses-a9535086.html
Important: Please show your child how to put on and take off their sunglasses and how to safely store the sunglasses in their backpack when they are not being worn.
Please be aware that The Barn Nursery School does not accept liability for any breakages, loss or injury relating to the wearing and/or use of sunglasses.
We always ask the children to remove their sunglasses when indoors.
Sun hats Hats with a wide brim or caps with a peak also help to protect the eyes and face. At The Barn we have a supply of legionnaire style hats for children to borrow if they have forgotten to bring in one from home.
The Barn is owned by Richard and Abigail Compton-Burnett, who together share responsibility for the management of The Barn.
Clare Stanley and Lisa McPherson are the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Leads and together are in charge of all aspects of educational practice at The Barn.
We ensure that each chid is given care and attention with our generous staffing ratios.
Lisa is the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) and Designated Safeguarding Lead, with Clare as the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead. We welcome volunteers and students to work at The Barn on placements. Volunteers and students are supervised at all times and are not counted in our ratios.
We do occasionally need supply cover. If you have a level six teaching or a minimum of a level 3 child care qualification and feel you might like to do this, please talk to Clare or Lisa.
Abigail is responsible for administration.
Most children are appropriately toilet trained and able to manage their own needs competently before they start The Barn. Of course, there will be occasional accidents and relapses! This is not a problem as we have a good supply of spare clothing for such times.
However, there are some children who require toilet training or special arrangements with toileting in The Barn. We are able to support your child and will work with you to meet your child’s needs effectively and sensitively. We ask that where children are wearing nappies, they should be the ‘pull-up’ variety.
Children should each have a named changing bag with spare clothes or spare nappies. Wet/soiled clothing will be double bagged and returned at the end of the session.
If you are planning to start toilet training your child, please catch up with your key person so that we can all work together and provide consistency.
Children often like to arrive at The Barn with special toys from home. This practice, although lovely to see, can be very difficult for staff to manage and invariably causes distress to the children at some point during the day. Despite our very best efforts, some home toys get mislaid, lost and even broken.
We ask that parents leave toys and other treasures at home or in the car – and that they explain to their children that the toy will be safe and waiting for them when they come back from The Barn. Of course, this request does not include comfort toys or similar items. We understand the need for, and importance of, these special items, especially to some of our younger children.
Cleaning your hands is the single most important factor in helping to reduce the risk of contracting or spreading infection.
During a typical day at The Barn, all children regularly wash their hands. This includes:
on arrival
before and after eating their snack / lunch
before cooking activities
after doing creative activities, including painting and glueing
after blowing their noses, coughing or sneezing
after visiting the forest area
after going to the toilet
To help, we have included a copy of the poster that is displayed next to the basins in both washrooms.
At this time, essential visitors only are invited to enter the building.
All visitors are asked to read the Visitors notice concerning smoking/vaping, mobile phones, emergency procedures and use of the toilets.
Visitors sign in and out and are accompanied at all times.