Term 6 2022 Newsletter  

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Dear Parents,

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Welcome back to Term 6,

 

We can’t believe that we are now entering the last term of this academic year and our little leavers are beginning their induction visits to primary school. Although as always we are completely in denial and are pretending we get to keep all of the children with us! Please let us know if your child has transition days coming up and we can make a note in the diary if they won’t be in, being collected early or being dropped off later.

 

Caterpillars

 

We now have caterpillars here with us at Woodpecker’s. We will be watching them grow and transition through their lifecycle before finally releasing them in the garden with the children. I am sure you will be hearing all about the changes at home. Please do not forget to share anything fun you do at home on tapestry. The children do love showing the grown ups and their friends what they have been up to and places they have been.

 

Hot weather

 

With the weather changing and becoming so warm and sunny, please could you ensure you have applied suncream to your child before they come in. We do keep the children indoors during the hottest part of the day and we are very lucky with the amount of shade we have in the garden, but the best protection when we do go out is suncream. If your child wishes to bring in their own sunhat that is fine, but please could you make sure that their name is written inside, trying to place 24 hats can be a challenge especially if the children can’t remember which one is theirs! We do have a large box of sunhats that the children can use if they don’t have their own or leave theirs at home.

 

Tuesday 26th July

 

We have had a few enquiries about Tuesday 26th July 2022. To clarify if your child’s sessions are funded by the Government and they would have attended on Monday 2nd May had it not have been a Bank Holiday, this Thursday is for you. This extra day ensures our funded children receive all of their funded hours and has been added onto the end of this academic term for this to happen. For fee paying parents please be assured you have not been charged for the Monday as it was a Bank Holiday. For all other children the last day of term is Monday 25th July (or the nearest session before this date).

 

Sports Day

 

We are holding our Sports Day, organised by Zac our lovely PE teacher, on Tuesday 19th July 2022. Cranbrook School have kindly agreed to let us borrow the top of their field next to us. This means parents will be able to park their cars in the carpark attached to the field. All children are welcome to attend and take part in the races but if it is NOT your child’s normal session please ensure an adult stays for the duration of the races as your child will remain your responsibility. Families and siblings are all welcome to attend but please be advised that dogs and smoking are not allowed. We are hoping to start at 10am and it normally lasts about an hour. Children who attend Woodpeckers on this day will then be taken back with the staff to finish their normal sessions.

 

Leavers Party Wednesday 27th July 2022

 

Please note that the Leavers Party is for our little people leaving for Primary School only and not for ALL children who would normally attend on a Wednesday. Even if your child does not normally come in on a Wednesday but they are off to Primary School in September we would love for them to come in and spend the morning with us. It gives us the chance to have lots of fun and party food on their last day. Drop off will be from 9am and we ask that parents come back a 11.30am to watch the children sing some songs and get their leavers present and certificate.

 

New Fees and Conditions Policy

 

A note from Helen.

 

Due to rising costs we have unfortunately had to increase our fees from September This is not something we do lightly. We have attached our new policy for your information.

 

Please note Under 3 Fees will be increasing from £5.60 to £5.70 an hour and Over 3 Fees will be increasing from £4.90 to £5.30 an hour. We have tried to keep these increases to a minimum as we appreciate that at the moment every penny counts.

 

We would also like to draw your attention to the slight change to timings for paying fees.

 

PAYMENT OF FEES

 

Invoices confirming children’s sessions and fees are given to parents/carers at the beginning of each term to ensure parents are aware of the sessions their children will be attending and the fees which are due.

 

Fees must be paid in full by the end of the term in which they fall due by cheque, cash, bank transfer or tax free childcare voucher schemes, with 50% falling due by the end of the first half term.

Late fees will incur a £5.00 charge per week. If you would prefer to pay monthly by standing order please talk to Mandy or Helen to organise this.

 

For an academic year,

Autumn Invoice (issued early September)

50% due by October half term

50% due by 31 December.

Spring Invoice (issued early January)

50% due by February half term

50% due by 31 March.

Summer Invoice (issued early April)

50% due by May half term

50% due by 31 July.

 

Fees cannot be carried forward to the next term.  If fees are not settled as detailed in the table above, your child will not be able to return to Woodpeckers for non-funded sessions until they are up-to-date or a payment plan has been agreed.  If your child is KCC funded (either Free for 2 or Free Entitlement Funding), you may be asked to reduce sessions to funded hours only until the fees are paid to ensure no further debt occurs.

 

Thank you for your understanding and support.

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Best wishes

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Mandy Swift 

Supervisor, Woodpeckers

SPORTS DAY!

Tuesday 19th July 2022

 

 LEAVERS PARTY!

Wednesday 27th July 2022

9am-12pm