"It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself."
Joyce Maynard
Parents are encouraged to become as involved as possible in nursery life, and there is a lot for you to be involved in…
We pride ourselves on having excellent relationships with our parents. Snowy Owls 0-2's provide written and verbal feedback on your child's day, detailing eating, sleeping, activities, developmental progress and emotional well-being. They also provide a daily communication book where you can update us on events at home in case there is little time in the mornings for lengthy conversations before you need to go to work. Mums who don't drop off or collect find this particularly useful.
Tawny Owls 2-5's record all the same information and give full verbal feedback at the end of the day handover. They also have a communication book for staff and an 'All about the lives we live' board, where details of new events and experiences in children's home lives are noted and used to inform their individual learning plans.
We hold two parent's evenings a year where you get to discuss your child's overall happiness, development and progress at nursery and give feedback to us on your experiences. You can take the Learning Journal home to delight in the lovely photos and observations the staff make on their learning.
We hold three major events a year, a Spring Fun Day, a Summer Sports Day (see photos in the gallery) and a Christmas Party. These are always very well supported by parents and have featured special extras such as bouncy castles, mobile farms, exotic animal workshops and Santa's Grotto for you to enjoy with children and nursery staff. We are always very grateful to our PNA Chairwoman who rounds up parent volunteers for us, and Dad's who we persuade into the Santa suit!
We host a variety of evening talks and workshops for parents through our PNA (Parent Nursery Association). The most recent being 'Taming Tantrums' run by Positive Parenting Expert, Elizabeth O'shea giving advice on how not to loose your cool, when your toddler is loosing theirs! Her Ebook - Top 20 Parenting Tips is available to download here.
The PNA was devised with two goals in mind, to create a feedback group and to bring parents together for social meet ups. We have lots of parents moving into the Horsham area who may not know many other families and this help them settle in quicker and get to know a few familiar faces.
Ciara Keane is the Chairwoman of our PNA and she provides on going feedback through regular meetings with Hayley. She helps to organise and diary PNA events and acts as a sounding board for our ideas and future goals. Ciara is a regular fee paying parent and is always available to parents to share experiences with or ask questions to.
Fashion Evening for Mums at Blink Boutique - with personal stylist Jane Busby.
Christmas Cocktails and Sushi at Wabi, Horsham premier restaurant.
A large part of our successful self-assessment practises is built on the feedback you as parents give us. We have an open door policy and are always on hand to discuss any worries or concerns, as small as they may seem. Parents have manager's mobile numbers and are encouraged to call weekends and evenings if ever necessary.
We send out yearly feedback forms which provide us with your views on everything from the nursery meals, the performance of our staff, as well as your children's experiences. We use this information to assess whether we are reaching our goals and set new ones for the year ahead.
The philosophy of our Forest Schools is to develop confidence and curiosity within children in their early years through positive outdoor experiences.
