Welcome to the Blackberry House Day Nursery Newsletter! In our monthly issues we will be letting you know of the achievements and beautiful learning opportunities that children engaged in that month from across our four settings. We will also be providing you with two articles that will keep you informed within the sector and might even provide some helpful information! In this month’s issue we have covered all about Parent Zone and iConnect, as well as the importance of involving community in the nursery life.
Thank you for your continued support and enjoy reading!
Summary
This month our children were focusing on getting to know each other and some of the new faces that we have. We learnt all about our routines, likes and dislikes as well as what makes us who we are. We spent the entire month learning All About Me and found out the interests of our friends and adults.
We loved exploring our facial features, learning about the similarities and differences between our friends as well as talking about our homes and environments. We truly enjoyed talking about favourite colours, cars, places and toys as we all worked together to build those special bonds with each other.
Your child should now have an assigned Key Person who will be working closely on their development and learning throughout their journey at nursery. If you are still to find out the Key Person of your child, please speak to your nursery who will be able to advise you on this 😊
Under 3's
Our youngest children have turned into explorers this month as they participated in colour exploration activities that helped us learn about their preferences and interests. Babies were able to explore activities in the dark and in the light and compare the differences. They were also able to feel the different textures of gloup, paint and rice. Older children were also able to explore books about people and families, as we all looked at home activities shared on iConnect.
We also loved tending to our gardens as we explored new plants, and new resources! Babies and Toddlers absolutely loved pretending to be adults and play in the mud kitchen and with the water outside! Wearing our puddle suits and boots was also super fun! Babies loved exploring water and observing their friends splashing the water all over the garden!
Over 3's
Our older children have been looking at their families and what their home environment is like. We explored our family members, our houses and house numbers as well as talked about our lovely pets/animals. We absolutely loved talking about our favourite toys and found out lots about each other!
Preschool children were able to engage in many forest school activities during which they continued to explore the nature and the outdoor environments in their settings. We explored shapes and attempted to recreate them, we even explored numbers and practiced our maths skills as we counted various objects.
As we had a lot of rain across all of our settings, we managed to engage in some rainy-day activities! We all loved jumping in puddles (even the adults!) and exploring the water. Children were even able to explore some of the changed textures due to the rain, as well as observe the changes in nature as the summer comes to an end. We were super busy learning all about our friends, but most importantly we managed to build beautiful friendships and bonds with the adults too!
EFYS
ParentZone – Frequently Asked Questions
What is ParentZone?
ParentZone is a smartphone app that brings you closer to your child’s development in nursery. At blackberries it is important for us to communicate with our families regularly, ParentZone gives us the ability to give you instant access to the activities your child takes part in, and will give you an insight into what they have been involved in during the day.
How do I get ParentZone?
You can download the app for iOS or Android on the App Store or Google Play. You can also access ParentZone online at www.parentzone.me. You as parents/carers will be sent a link to your emails during the onboarding process to sign up for ParentZone.
Can I change my password and details?
It’s easy to change your password and even add security questions for extra security. We suggest you change your password every three months to make it even more secure.
What is a ‘Day In The Life Report’?
A Day In The Life Report shows you an overview of your child’s day at nursery. You will see their sleep times, nappy changes and meals, as well as any accidents and observations that have taken place that day. We at blackberries are in the process of developing this section of our ParentZone, but we do also supply daily diaries for children under the age of 2 in our care.
When this is fully rolled out you will be able to access this from the ParentZone home screen, select ‘Day In The Life Report’, which you will find underneath your child’s photo. Then select your chosen dates and the report will be emailed to your registered address.
How safe is my data?
All data on ParentZone is protected by a 256-bit, Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificate. Typically, your Internet banking will have 128-bit security, so ParentZone is twice as secure.
Where is my data stored?
Your data is hosted on secure UK-based, highly resilient servers. The secure data centres are certified to international ISO27001 standards, meaning they are tested against a strict security standard.
Who can view information on ParentZone?
You can decide if you would like other family members or carers to view information, but log ins can only be created by the Nursery Manager. Your data on ParentZone, including photos and videos, can only be viewed by you and designated family members or guardians, and our staff. Our Nursery Manager can set permissions for staff so that they can only access data for their key children. Staff can only log in within their working hours. If they need to log in out of hours, they have to get a pin number from our designated safeguarding officer.
Will my child’s photos end up on Google?
No, all data is securely stored and is only accessible via a secure log in, no search engine or external source can access it.
Can I delete my data when my child leaves?
Once your child leaves Blackberry house day nursery you will not be able to access ParentZone anymore, therefore any pictures you would like to keep will need to be downloaded before your child’s last day.
As a requirement of Ofsted, we need to keep certain data for several years. If you would like any data removed, please speak to the Head Office team.
Parents as partners
We at blackberries utilise ParentZone to connect with our families. We welcome parents to add to their children’s learning journey by adding observations from home, these can include pictures of what your child has been doing over the weekend or holidays, or updates on milestones for your child’s key person to see. This supports the team here at Blackberries to understand what your child is interested in and will mean we can incorporate that within the setting. You are also able to add comments onto the observations that have been uploaded to have an input to your child’s learning and development during their time with us.
What to expect from ParentZone?
We at Blackberry house day nursery group will give you a weekly update on how your child’s learning and development is progressing through observations. These observations may include pictures, but will always include links to the development matters and a description of the activity your child was involved in. Whilst we understand that parents love these updates, we expect our practitioners to produce a minimum of one observation a week. We have found that this provides parents with regular updates and allows our practitioners to have a good balance between spending time with the children in their care and the paperwork attached to that responsibility. We are in the process of introducing the daily reports which will detail your child’s day from their meals and nappies to their sleep.
Please contact your nursery if you are struggling with ParentZone and they will be able to help you out 😊
Benefits of Community Involvement in Early Years
In order to support our children’s extended learning and their enabling environments, practitioners need to think outside the indoor and outdoor setting environments too. Due to this our settings will often engage the outside community to further the children’s learning. It’s important for children to start building their sense of community from an early age as it supports their sense of belonging and understanding later on in life. At Blackberries, we offer a range of activities that are completed outside the nursery such as taking children on walks to a local shop, old town, care home, park or church. This helps the children learn about local services as well as start developing a sense of pride as people start acknowledging and recognizing them on their walks.
Throughout the year and as part of our curriculum, we also involve our further community in inviting them in and showing our children some of the professions in our local area. This may include a visit from a police officer, teacher, or a baker from a local bakery. Having these visits will not only enrich our children’s knowledge and experience but also touch on important matters such as staying safe and the importance of helping others. Involving children in our community will teach them to respect the local area and find out all about it! Providing new experiences for children will only further develop their learning and might create connections for them later on in life. They will also see themselves as part of their community and help develop their own personality, confidence and support their friendship-building skills.
If you have attended a local event or interacted in your community recently, let us know! We would love to show your child’s friends all about your experience and we’re sure they would love to share it too!
If you have a profession that you’d like to share with the children, please contact us and we would be happy to arrange a visit 😊 This could be anything from being a photographer and showing children how to take photos, a vet or a doctor showing the children the equipment or working in a supermarket and showing the children what this means. We would love to hear from you!
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