Newsletter January 2016 Contacts During sessions: Out of hours : Newsletter Spring Term A very Happy New Year to all our families. We would also like to welcome the new children and their parents who have joined Bizzy Bears this term. This half term we will be learning about the season of Winter and following the children’s interests and incorporating these into our weekly planning. All this information can be found on the curriculum planning board in the corridor. Children are welcome to bring in items relating to our themes to show at circle time. Please may we ask that any other toys remain in the children’s bags to prevent lost items. Three and four Year old Early Education Entitlement and EYPP If your child’s third birthday is before December 31st 2015 they will be eligible for 15 hours/six sessions (depending on spaces) of free funding(not including lunch club). Parents/carers will need to complete a Parent/carer contract which will be issued week beginning 11 th January and will need to be completed by Thursday 21 st January. You will need to provide your child’s birth certificate (if applying for the first time) and a current utility bill (no older than 3 months) displaying your postcode. If you are eligible to certain benefits your child may qualify for EYPP a supplement which is paid directly to Bizzy Bears to improve outcomes for all children. To find out if you are eligible please visit the online eligibility checker at: If you are found to be eligible you will be given a reference number which you will need to include on your parent/carer contract. Policies We have reviewed and amended our Equality and Diversity policy and our Lost Child policy. A copy of our policies and procedures are available to parents and carers they are located in the changing rooms and on our website. Outdoor area We hope to move on with creating our outdoor area this month. We are having 2 sheds put in place for storage and our long awaited play house and sand pit are being constructed off site with view to being put into place in mid January. Once they are in place we will be able to utilise the space that we have left with other exciting activities! We hope to be using the garden when we return after the February half term.

Two Year old Early funded learning If you are a parent/carer of a 2 year old and receive certain benefits you could be entitled to 15 hours/six sessions of free early learning (not including lunch club) a maximum of 570 hours per year(depending on spaces). To find out if you are eligible please go to If you are eligible you will be given a reference number which you will need to give to us to apply for the funding. To claim funding for this spring term January – March we will need to receive your reference number, a copy of your child’s birth certificate and a utility bill displaying your current postcode which is no older than 3 months. All parent/carer contracts will need to be completed w/b 11 th January. Dates for your diary w/b 11 th January – Parent carers contracts for 2,3,and 4 year old funding to be completed Thursday 14 th January 9.15am-9.45am- Messy play Stay and Play Friday 15 th January- Primary school admissions close at 5.00pm Friday 12 th February – Pre school closes for half term Thank you We would like to say thank you to those parents who came in and helped preparing food for our Christmas party and also a big thank you to Saulyna’s mum who was kept busy face painting and making glitter tattoos throughout the party. A great time was had by all! Lunch club Sessions We have some spaces left on a Friday for children who wish to attend lunch club. Lunch club is an enjoyable social occasion where the children can sit and eat with their friends. Our lunch club session is from 11.45am-12.30pm, children are required to bring a packed lunch and the cost is £3.50. Severe Weather In the unlikely event that Bizzy Bears has to remain closed due to severe weather conditions, we will post this information on our own website and on the local radio: and FM (BBC radio Northampton) 96.6 FM (Heart) Questionnaire Summary Thank you to all those who took time to complete the questionnaire that was circulated at our recent parents evening. Copies of the summary will be available in the changing rooms for parents this week. We welcome your feedback and from this will be organising a parent voice meeting focusing on how parents can use Tapestry to upload their own photographs, comments and observations to their child’s learning journal. Dates to follow. Stay and Play sessions Children learn through play. We are inviting all children and their families to come along to our stay and play sessions where you can experience some of the activities that your child enjoys at Preschool, whilst also providing families with new ideas to try at home. Our next session is on Thursday 14 th January 9.15am-9.45am and is a messy play workshop, all parents, grandparents and siblings are welcome to join us to experience all things messy! We will be providing recipe cards to take away for home made playdough and cornflour goo.