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Hi all Just started my wrapping today - after a last minute shop as I wasn't happy with some of the original presents I brought. Need to knuckle down and get the wrapping done this weekend now. I'll do it while I watch some Christmas films and sip hot chocolate - starting to feel holiday-ish now and ready to settle down and do not very much for a week (one more shift to work on Monday though) ☺️🎄 Hope you all have a great Christmas !

Morning 😊 All good here- only I promised to make the GD a 'unicorn onsie' for Christmas - currently seriously wishing I hadn't made that promise though!! Best get back to the sewing machine... 😂 xx

Good morning - 'tis Friday Hope everyone is okay? Take care x

This December we will send out the last FSF newsletter. The newsletter has been going for pretty much as long as the Forum has - 20 years or so! We will be offering you something new - a Tapestry Education newsletter - which will include similar content to the FSF newsletter. We'll send out an email to everyone on the FSF newsletter mailing list, inviting you to sign up for our Tapestry Education newsletter. You can find out more here. Whether you have been receiving the FSF newsletter for many years, or have recently subscribed, we'd like to thank you all for welcoming them into your inbox every month. The Forum will still be here for you to connect, ask questions and offer advice.

Hi @Tweetinat and @CarolineD123, Just to let you know - we now also have an Attendance Report on Tapestry within our Management System! This tutorial will take you through it: Online Register - Attendance Report. 🙂 Best wishes, Alexandra

Hi @Tweetinat, Just to let you know - we now also have an Attendance Report on Tapestry within our Management System! This tutorial will take you through it: Online Register - Attendance Report. 🙂 Best wishes, Alexandra

Attendance reports for children are now available as part of Tapestry's Nursery Management System! Set a custom date range, filter by room, and easily view a child's: Number of days booked Number of days attended Attendance % Absence % Number of illness days Number of holidays 'Other' absences You can also export the data into CSV for your records.

Wow! Cait that is just beautiful

We are getting some amazing sunsets.

...but not for long - back into hiding tomorrow!

<whispers very quietly> the sun has come out of hiding - whoop!

Bit late but thought I'd check in and say hi! 👋 Decorations and tree all complete and enjoying the cosy feel of the twinkling lights in the evenings. Did a bit of a present inventory today and feel like I'm practically done - which came as a bit of a surprise really 😁 so just the wrapping to get to now. I don't finish until Christmas week and then back on 2nd as in nursery now...I do so miss the days of term time only pre-school!

Ohh! church cleaning - you just sent me on a trip down memory lane. My Mum used to clean our lcoal church every Wednesday and when i was on school holidays i went with her. I remember they used some hideous concoction with paraffin in to put on the wooden floor - it was then gone over with a huge electric polisher. I used to clean the candle stands and loved picking off all the dried dripped wax! Actually the best bit was going to a little cafe afterwards - i can lieterally remember skipping down the street!!! Thanks for sparking some long forgotten memories

Morning all. Lots of church cleaning going on! (and not by me 😮 ...I used to be on a rota when I ran the rainbows though) Sunny day, Ive finished until 7th Jan😂 now 😁 Party yesterday, and staff meail out last night. I've decided I need to make an effort to decorate the tree now, it's been up over a week sitting sad and bare... although that said, we have new** neigbours three doors down and they have lit up the missive oak tree in their garden so I recon I could have got away with not having a tree this year as we can see it from our living room!😂 ** I say 'new neigbours' , but the funny thing is they were our neighbours three doors down when we were in our first house almost 45 years ago! cx

Good morning - 'tis Friday (Cait got in first 🤣 but I have to say it, would feel unlucky not to) Cait - your Church cleaning team/rota seems a lot more organised than ours - we were down to just three of us when we carried out our 'Christmas clean' - never mind, we did a super job, so good to look back as we leave and see what we had accomplished... How is everyone - when do our working friends break up? This is the only time of year that I do miss not being at pre-school. Been a funny old week here - two funerals for friends - both on the same day - that was all very sad. Other than that I have been fairly busy but nothing more than my usual routine. Have youngest granddaughters end of term performance with her drama club on Sunday, Monday will be 'carols on the green' with her primary school choir so really looking forward to both of those events. Poor Mr S - he waited in all day on Wednesday for an 'oxygen risk assessment' thing - one of those 'anytime between 8am and 5pm' type arrangements - guess what 'someone' (hangs my head in shame) had the wrong day 🤦‍♀️ so he had to repeat the process yesterday... Still need to buy for both of my lovely daughters-in-law - I feel a Next online order/delivery coming on 😉 Wish we could have a little sunshine to replace this horrible 'grey' but at least it's not forecast to be blowing a hoolie for this weekend so I will settle for that! Take care all x

Well it’s Friday, and my day for sanctuary duty at church. Cleaning the brasses and filling up the candles - oil ones these days except the Advent wreath. Others go vacuuming and polishing, flowers etc. It’s only every couple of months as it’s a good rota, we do two Fridays on and then six Fridays off this year!

Oh my goodness- what madness 😳 Glad it went well though.

It went very well😀. Even though I didn’t sleep and was at the nursery at 4am unpacking!!

Give me strength! 🤦‍♀️ How did it go?

Hi everyone Does anyone have some knowledge of the Employment Allowance via HMRC? We have lots of confusion surrounding this. Each year when we apply, we read through the current eligibility, which I find vague and confusing, particularly relating to the de minimus aid rules and which employers qualify. We have always thought we qualify particularly when the HMRC eligibility criteria states: De minimis state aid limits are likely to apply to your business if both of the following are true: * your business is located in Northern Ireland * your business makes or sells goods or wholesale electricity (neither of which apply to us) and also states: Check if you’ve received any de minimis state aid - if so, you should have been told in writing. (I don't believe we have ever had written advice that we have received de minimus aid.) Our recent NDNA newsletter email reported this: Purnima Tanuku OBE, CEO said: “The Government must recognise that by increasing the number of hours of funded childcare available to parents, they will disadvantage nurseries in England: they won’t be eligible to apply for the employer allowance because more than half of their income will be public funding.” So this makes it sound like the Early Years Entitlement we receive is de minimus aid? Before I spend half my life queueing to speak to someone at HMRC, who I do not have faith will be able to answer my question, I wondered if anyone here had any knowledge please? Thank you in advance.

So I’m closing my nursery next Wednesday and opening new setting at new address in Jan 2025( already got registration certificate) I get a call today for Ofsted to say they inspectingbcurrent setting tomorrow even though closing next Wednesday!! Totally crazy! I have already packed up most of my equipment and moved some too!!

Totally agree with you, I was very much at the bah humbug, ‘what is the point in all this’ stage until our grandchild arrived and it so worthwhile again, have the best time 🎅🏻 🎄 🎁

hope you are all staying safe. I have never known wind so bad. I literally got blown off my feet this afternoon no real damage but quite scary to be unable to stay on my feet! I hadn't planned to go anywhere else over the weekend and just as well as my village is now cut off by fallen trees - our amazing local farmers will be out to remove ASAP. I am feeling kind of festive and thinking about 'things' I think we all have our traditions as to how we spend Christmas and perhaps do similar things each year. There's the presents, cards, food etc etc to sort for the big day. I am not particularly religious (no offence to those who are!) and i was just dwelling on what it all means for me. It may be a bit of a cliche but for me it isn't about presnts etc (although i LOVE putting thought into what to buy and seeing people's reactions) it's about time with those closest to me. Christmases come and Christmases go but this year it is an extra special one for us. It will be our first Christmas as Grandparents to three beautiful children. I am so excited i feel just like i did as a child at Christmas many moons ago. Stay safe folks wherever you are

Yes, we felt our trip was more 'frivolous' just meeting family and freinds for some Christams markets etc. I hope he finally get here safetly. It seems a lot windy-er here now! Watching SCD and have heard a few pots and things going over outside.

Famous last words - he has only just reached Paddington 🤦‍♀️ In his defence he has a very good reason for coming down this is following a family bereavement 💔