Mortimer Hall Pre-school

Dear Parents

Children returning to pre-school on 4.6.20

We do hope you have enjoyed the activity packs we delivered to you and the suggested activities that we posted on
Tapestry. Staff have phoned their key families and support / advice has been given to anyone who asked for it.

You now have details of the group your child is in / the member of staff leading that group /your staggered start and
collection times plus other information but we feel it is important to remind you of some of the changes that we will have to
make as a result of our risk assessment.

• No parents allowed on the premises (garden or hall).

• Be aware of social distancing at arrival and departure times.
• Children to bring a named plastic bag with a change of clothes that can be left at pre-school
• Children to bring a named bottle of water – normal snack will be provided with a choice of milk or water but we will
not have a water dispenser for children to use during the session. We will refill them as needed.
• Please try to walk or cycle to pre-school to avoid taking up car park spaces as we may need the space for social
distancing at arrival and departure times.
• Please complete and return the form that was sent to you as we need to ensure we have up to date medical
information, contact names and phone numbers.

We will have a maximum total of 15 children and they will be split in to 3 small groups. The government guidelines state that
they recognise it is virtually impossible for young children to socially distance and we will encourage it but have to accept
that they will mix within the small group.

The children will wash their hands on a regular basis and staff will encourage them to ensure it is being done properly. We
may also use hand sanitiser. All equipment will be cleaned on a regular basis and no group will share items with another goup
until it has been sanitized.

Working to ensure that re-opening pre-school in a way that give the least risk of covid-19 infection has been challenging but
we feel the changes we have put in place are as good as they can be. We also need to rely upon you as parents to keep us
informed of any illness and not to bring your child if they or any member of your household has covid-19 symptoms.

We will be concentrating on promoting personal, social and emotional development and this will include lots of communication,
language and physical play. Play will be more directed and we will not be able to have free play / movement – this will be a
big change for the children but we hope to manage this by using gentle reminders, encouragement and providing activities
to keep their interest.

This is a different / new way of working at Pre-school but we will still maintain our ethos of learning through play. We
believe that by using our many years of experience and our knowledge of the children we can make the changes work as well
as possible. We have had to make these changes to keep the Covid-19 risk low.

During the sessions we aim to take photos / observations of every group and we will try to make sure they posted on
Tapestry by that evening or the next day. Please look at your Tapestry account – this is a brilliant way of seeing what your
child is doing - you can look at the photos together and talk about them with your child.

If anyone has questions or comments please contact Janet by email – janetcrane56@gmail.com or telephone during pre-
school sessions (Mon + Thurs 9.00 – 12.00) 01865 604208

These sessions are now full so if you decide not to send your child please inform us quickly so that we can offer the place to
another child.

Best wishes

Janet and the Staff Team