​With the re-opening of schools and nurseries looking more and more likely for 1st June, I am sorry to inform you we will not be able to re-open Barking Pre-school.
After the response we received from parents; we would now only have 4 children returning to pre-school. Sadly; this is not financially viable whilst complying with the guidance.
Please be assured we are regularly assessing the situation and have an on-going risk assessment in place which is being used to write a COVID-19 Policy & Procedure document for when we are able to re-open. We are now aiming for this to be September 2020.

We will continue to liase with the primary school teachers for the children who will be moving on in September and will be creating transition reports which you will find on Tapestry in the next few weeks. We will also notify you when your Tapestry Learning Journey is available for download. If you have any concerns or questions about your child's transition, please email us.

For the children who will be joining us again in September, we will keep you updated on the current situation. We will need parent's to complete a questionnaire before starting back and may need to change the days your child attends to comply with the new guidance. This will all be arranged nearer the time once we have further information.

If you would like any more clarification or information on our decision to remain closed, please email us.
Thank you all for your understanding and co-operation during these difficult and unprecedented times. We really do hope we can all find some kind of normality really soon.

Stay safe everyone!

Shelley xx

Out of the 41 families we currently have in our setting, 9 have said they would feel happy to return, 5 were apprehensive and would like more details, 17 families said they would not be sending their child and 10 parents did not reply.

I am currently reading through all Government guidance, completing risk assessments and following checklists to see whether it would be beneficial to open for those 9 children.
What I can tell you is the pre-school experience would be very different to the experience your children are used to.
Government guidance suggests children are to be kept in small groups of 2/3 with 1 adult (the same staff member each time they visit) and where possible; they should be in different rooms. The children will not be able to mix with other groups. We have been informed we would not be able to use water/sand play, dressing up clothes, play dough and soft play equipment.
All toys and resources used must be cleaned with anti-bacterial cleaner once each child has finished playing with them and children are not to share resources such as pencils, paints etc.
Children would not be able to bring in toys or food from home and we would probably only offer the morning sessions to overcome the packed lunch issue.
Parents would be asked to hand over children in the car park and would not be permitted in the village hall.

This is just a very brief outline of what we are expected to do; in the event we do re-open for the six week period before the Summer holiday I will send a copy of our COVID-19 policy and procedures.

We are still awaiting guidance from Suffolk County Council (they have been extremely supportive) on the issues Early Years Providers face and are speaking to other providers daily to try to overcome the obstacles.

For the children who will be leaving us in July; I can confirm I have begun speaking to Reception teachers and we will do everything possible to make the transition in to primary school as smooth as possible. If you haven't already confirmed which school your child is attending, please do so as soon as possible. Without this confirmation I am unable to share any information with your child's reception teacher.
We will be arranging a leavers picnic/party for those who wish to attend as soon as it is safe to do so; we desperately want to say farewell to the children who will be leaving us.

Thank you again to everyone who replied to my last email, please don't forget to express your opinions on the survey below!

Stay safe

Shelley xx

Following on from the Prime Ministers announcement last night, I have just read through the 60 page document published on the Government website.
The plan outlines possible re-opening of Early Years settings from June 1st 2020, depending on the Government monitoring of the virus. I am still awaiting guidance from Suffolk County Council however I wanted to share the information I have we you as I receive it.


Here is the extract:

Step Two 
The content and timing of the second stage of adjustments will depend on the most up-to-date assessment of the risk posed by the virus. The five tests set out in the first chapter must justify changes, and they must be warranted by the current alert level. They will be enabled by the programmes set out in the next chapter and, in particular, by continuing to bolster test and trace capabilities, protect care homes and support the clinically extremely vulnerable. It is possible that the dates set out below will be delayed if these conditions are not met. Changes will be announced at least 48 hours before coming into effect. To aid planning, the Government's current aim is that the second step will be made no earlier than Monday 1 June, subject to these conditions being satisfied. Until that time the restrictions currently in place around the activities below will continue. The Government will work with the devolved administrations to ensure that the changes for step two and beyond are coordinated across the UK. However, there may be circumstances where different measures will be lifted at different times depending on the variance in rate of transmission across the UK. The current planning assumption for England is that the second step may include as many of the following measures as possible, consistent with the five tests. Organisations should prepare accordingly.
 ● A phased return for early years settings and schools. Schools should prepare to begin to open for more children from 1 June. The Government expects children to be able to return to early years settings, and for Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 to be back in school in smaller sizes, from this point. This aims to ensure that the youngest children, and those preparing for the transition to secondary school, have maximum time with their teachers. Secondary schools and further education colleges should also prepare to begin some face to face contact with Year 10 and 12 pupils who have key exams next year, in support of their continued remote, home learning. The Government’s ambition is for all primary school children to return to school before the summer for a month if feasible, though this will be kept under review. The Department of Education will engage closely with schools and early years providers to develop further detail and guidance on how schools should facilitate this.


In order for me to start planning for this possible change, could I please ask you to inform me whether you would be happy to allow your child to return to pre-school on 1st June if the Government says it is safe to do so.

The number of parents requiring childcare will determine the measures the staff and I would have to undertake to ensure your child is as safe as possible whilst in our care. This may include partial opening for a small number of children.

I will update you all as soon as I have any further information.

Sending love to all your little ones.

Shelley x