Cribbs Causeway to open on October 19th

After a short delay, we have now received confirmation of our registration from Ofsted, giving us the go-ahead to open our new Cribbs Causeway nursery next Monday, October 19th.

We have a selection of open days planned over the next two weeks, allowing parents to tour the setting and see the fantastic facilities available. All tours are by appointment only, so if you haven’t yet booked a tour, then you will need to do so here. Update 26/10/2020: New tour dates available for November.

We’ll have more information coming, but for now we hope that all the families waiting to start at Cribbs Causeway are excited for their children to begin! If you would like to register your child, you can complete a registration form and Trudy, the Nursery Manager, will get back to you to confirm when it is you’d be able to start.

Updates to our COVID-19 procedures

Dear parents and carers,

We are well into two months in having reopened fully post lockdown and believe the policies and procedures are working well. Most of the children and employees have now returned to nursery and are enjoying nursery life to the full. 

However, considering the most recent government guidance, there are a few areas of our safe operating procedures we would like to reaffirm and elaborate on.

1. We are currently operating in bubble groups and will continue to do so until at least January 2021. We believe this helps us to minimise any potential spread of the virus which could then involve families, children and employees having to self-isolate for up to 14 days.

2. Staggered drop off and pick-ups will also remain in place until January 2021. This might involve parking a little further away, modifying your drop off or collection times or even bringing an umbrella. When you are waiting, please can we ask that you try and observe social distancing with other adults as much as possible.

3. We will continue not to have parents, carers and visitors in the nursery buildings. The children have settled really well, and it makes the handover much smoother and more efficient. Your manager is always on hand if you have any concerns or wish to discuss anything. Many parents have said that it is much easier separating on drop off so at least that is one positive in this unusual situation!

4. We are not offering any before, after school or holiday provision for school aged children until October, at least. Although the government has said that such provision can operate, it is not advised that different groups of children from more than one provider should mix and this also applies to several different age groups. If there were to be a confirmed case, this could have a negative impact on the nursery children but also on several schools. We believe the risk is too high at the moment to undo all the good work we have put in place up to now. In addition, the schools are all operating their own transition arrangements for returning to school which would make it difficult to organise collections. Once they are operating normally, we will review this.

5. Nursery children can attend more than one setting but it is preferred that they only attend one. Once again, this enables us to reduce the risk of the virus spreading and impacting on two settings. Please discuss with your manager.

6. If you have a reception aged child and have problems with childcare because of the phased entry to school, it is important that you speak with your nursery manager. Although we cannot take or collect children from school, if the nursery has a spare room for reception aged children, we will try our best to help you in those early weeks. We cannot mix schools so it would depend on where there is the greatest demand.

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We believe that the processes we have in place remain relevant and continue to be the best way to protect everyone connected with the nurseries.

We are pleased that holiday destinations have opened up but would like you to bear in mind the following points:

1. Parents/carers and employees must inform Snapdragons of any travel plans in or out of the country. This is relevant for where there is at least one overnight stay.

2. Children and employees who are absent without explanation will continue to be contacted.

3. It is vital that you observe government advice in respect of self-isolation rules when returning from abroad. If the government has advised 14 days self-isolation, you will be required to pay fees for the time your child is absent.

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I hope that you won’t regard this as being over cautious but as more children return to nursery it becomes increasingly important to ensure we are referring to the terms of our safe operating procedures and adapting, as necessary, to continue to keep everyone as safe and well as possible.

As a reminder about Covid-19 symptoms advice: 

1. If a child/adult displays symptoms (a new, continuous cough, a high temperature and/or loss of taste or smell) they will be sent home and advised to get a test. If the test is negative, they can return to nursery once their symptoms have gone and they are better. Please show a copy of the negative result to the nursery manager.

2. If a child attending nursery or employee has a positive test, they must remain off nursery for 7 days and their household and all those in their bubble must isolate for 14 days. If the test result is positive, they must phone the nursery immediately so that we can alert other families, employees, Public Health and Ofsted. Please follow ‘Stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (Covid-19) infection’.

3. If a contact of a person testing positive seeks a test and the test delivers a negative result, they must still continue to self-isolate for the remainder of the 14 day isolation period as they could still develop coronavirus within the remaining 14 days.

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As we approach autumn, it is likely that seasonal coughs and colds will increase. However, we have seen a big decrease in the level of sickness within the nurseries and this might, in part, be attributed to the fact that children and employees are only attending if fit and well. We would therefore be grateful if you would continue to only bring in your children when they are well. We are happy to give emergency Calpol to children who become unwell and will contact you so that you can arrange collection. If your child is struggling with teething, it is important that you let their keyworker, or the manager know and send in teething granules or similar to help with any discomfort.

We will continue to update you as we receive more information and will try our best to maintain a safe and happy environment for everyone. Thank you all for helping us to achieve this. 

Best wishes

Rosemary, Paul, James and Jennifer

Boris Boosts Sales of Snapdragons' Facemasks!

Snapdragons Atworth have launched their own range of facemasks to raise money for charity after nursery chef, Charlotte Chivers, was diagnosed with cancer. Charlotte faces an operation, chemo and radiotherapy at Royal United Hospital, Bath, and asked for the money raised to go to Bath Cancer Unit Support Group to thank them for their care.

The red gingham facemasks match our Snapdragons aprons and are being handmade by our Inclusion Manager, Alison Shires, who has also made scrubs for the NHS during lockdown. Each mask will raise £5 for the cancer charity.

Alison says her sewing machine is red hot, but she’s very happy to sew for such a good cause. She also thanked the immaculate timing of Boris Johnson’s mandatory mask order for boosting sales!

Charlotte, who has been shielding at home with her two sons in preparation for her operation, says, “I’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness I’ve received from my friends at nursery, including all the children and parents. The team at Atworth is like an extended family and I feel so lucky to have their support. I know we’ll get through this together.”

Did you know Snapdragons Atworth is the first and smallest nursery in our family? It was started 22 years ago in a Wiltshire farmhouse which was then the home of owners!

Finding the food

We’ve made it easier than ever to find out what your child will be eating whilst at Snapdragons, with the introduction of a revamped Healthy Eating page. Whilst we’ve always offered access to our menus there, you’ve been left to find the week you’re looking for, which can sometimes be confusing and slow and we know that, as busy parents, you don’t have thyme for that.

The new page will now show you today’s menu as soon as you scroll down, giving you a quick and easy glance of what is coming up.

We’ve also added a search function too, allowing you to look ahead and find the lineup of meals for a specific date (within the current season).

These new features will hopefully make your lives easier and allow you to be more involved with your child’s eating experience at Snapdragons. We hope you all enjoy the upgrades!

Redland's Grand Design

Snapdragons Redland has received a special delivery of not one, but two, shiny new awards to hang in the atrium. We are very proud that the beautiful Redland refurbishment, which was nominated by Bristol City Council Building Control for The LABC Regional Building Excellence Awards, was a regional winner in two categories: Best Public Service Building and Best Educational Building.

The LABC Awards area are the largest business to business awards in the UK and we are incredibly happy to have been recognised. Next step is the national finals, so we’ll keep you posted. Incidentally, last year’s overall winner of the Best Public Service Building was the highly praised SS Great Britain Trust Building on Bristol’s Harbourside so we feel we are in great company.

The building prior to development

According to Paul Everall CBE, Chief Executive at LABC, "These awards are different. They aren’t about good looks or fancy design (although many winners incorporate both). They are about quality and standards. No other building awards look at how well buildings are put together from start to finish and the skills and competencies of those who design and construct them. We are immensely proud of everyone involved – they show the way ahead for the industry."

So, many congratulations to our Bristol-based architect William Durman and construction company Oakland Construction who worked so hard on designing and building such a sensitive conversion in the Cotham and Redland conservation area. Particular praise is due for the design of the airy, glass atrium which links the previously detached Victorian villas combining sleek modernity without compromising the original buildings.