September opening

[Stargrower]

How daft!

I saw something about (non-Covid) guidance on improving children's dental health which is coming our way and it said it shouldn't be interpreted as "supervised toothbrushing"!  

Rings some kind of bell...stay at  home, go to work, don't go to work, go to work but not on public transport...

[zigzag]

Nothing surprises me anymore! When is the next guidance due? 

[sunnyday]

1 hour ago, zigzag said:

Nothing surprises me anymore! When is the next guidance due? 

I have got the idea that we have guidance due 24th August - the trouble is I have got no idea where I read that 

[louby loo]

51 minutes ago, sunnyday said:

I have got the idea that we have guidance due 24th August - the trouble is I have got no idea where I read that 

Me too.... but then again maybe I got that form you in the first place  🤣

[louby loo]

Oh .... and I've just been 'out' 'out' !!!!

Took my daughter out for lunch, first time she's been properly out on her own since having the baby 🙀  Dad's off work so we went out  

We did a couple of shops, obviously I had to buy the baby something 😊 found it quick difficult wearing a mask.  

When eating the only people to not follow the guidelines where a couple of around 60-70ish?   Very 'with it' so can't blame the age- but strolled in as if they owned the place, by-passed the sanitising station (difficult to miss) were about to pick there own table to sit at..... then got told off by Manager, and had to go and sanitise and wait! 😁

[lynned55]

On 17/08/2020 at 19:01, Mouseketeer said:

Is anyone else beginning to feel overwhelmed with all the decisions we’re having to make regards September with little to go on and even less in the way of committee support or other staff interest?

Yes, yes, yes (and yes again!) I'm sick of making decisions and then listening to others moaning or saying why are we doing this. 

 

[Cait]

On 14/08/2020 at 14:02, sunnyday said:

My middle granddaughter had her 4th birthday party at one of these soft play centres - one of her little friends had a bit of a bump and was bleeding - so off I went in search of their 'First Aider' "oh no sorry we don't have one" (WHAT!) okay says I, I'm a First Aider so if I could have your first aid box, I can deal with it myself "oh sorry we haven't got a first aid box" 😡 I had to 'behave' as it was her party, but honestly that can't possibly be legal......suffice it to say I have never been in one since

Crikey!  You should have named and shamed to your MP or the local media!  That’s really not on! 

[zigzag]

Just seen this on FB thought I would share.

FAQ

Question

Do I need to disinfect my play sand, and if so - how?

Answer

 

We asked the experts at Milton this question, and this is what they said:

The only reasons for a sandpit to be disinfected is if cats have urinated or defecated in the sand, or if the sand is extremely dirty (for example, if it has a very high level of use) as basic bacteria will not survive in a sandpit as the tonicity would be too high for them and the cell membrane would rupture (i.e., water would be drawn out of the bacteria’s cells into the drier environment surrounding them).

The recommended procedure for cleaning a sandpit is: mix a capful of Milton into 5 litres of water or add 1 Milton tablet to 5 litres of water, in a plastic watering can. Sprinkle the solution onto the sand. Turn over the sand after 15 minutes and repeat until the area has been covered. Ensure the sand is reasonably dry before children continue to play in it.

[louby loo]

8 hours ago, zigzag said:

Just seen this on FB thought I would share.

FAQ

Question

Do I need to disinfect my play sand, and if so - how?

Answer

 

We asked the experts at Milton this question, and this is what they said:

The only reasons for a sandpit to be disinfected is if cats have urinated or defecated in the sand, or if the sand is extremely dirty (for example, if it has a very high level of use) as basic bacteria will not survive in a sandpit as the tonicity would be too high for them and the cell membrane would rupture (i.e., water would be drawn out of the bacteria’s cells into the drier environment surrounding them).

This methoThe recommended procedure for cleaning a sandpit is: mix a capful of Milton into 5 litres of water or add 1 Milton tablet to 5 litres of water, in a plastic watering can. Sprinkle the solution onto the sand. Turn over the sand after 15 minutes and repeat until the area has been covered. Ensure the sand is reasonably dry before children continue to play in it.

This method was used when I very first went into childcare (I only  went to help out for two week holiday cover and seemed to stay a lot longer!!)

[Panders]

Rafa, I think that's the way for a lot of us.    It was meant to be something I did for a couple of years while the children were going through infant school, however, I stayed over 20 years and became the owner of  the pre-school too!

[Mouseketeer]

4 hours ago, Panders said:

Rafa, I think that's the way for a lot of us.    It was meant to be something I did for a couple of years while the children were going through infant school, however, I stayed over 20 years and became the owner of  the pre-school too!

Definitely, I stayed because my child hated it, was offered an assistant job when they went to school, in a very short time the manager wanted to step back to deputy, they took on a manager (supervisor) which was a disaster and after 6 months it was going to close, not really wanting the job I signed up for training and that was about 30 yrs ago and I still don’t want the job 🤦‍♀️

[sunnyday]

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak

 

[lynned55]

On 23/08/2020 at 17:31, Mouseketeer said:

Definitely, I stayed because my child hated it, was offered an assistant job when they went to school, in a very short time the manager wanted to step back to deputy, they took on a manager (supervisor) which was a disaster and after 6 months it was going to close, not really wanting the job I signed up for training and that was about 30 yrs ago and I still don’t want the job 🤦‍♀️

Ha, ha!! That's exactly what I did- stayed to settle my youngest, looked after an SEN child, did them a favour and stepped down from committee sec to playgroup assistant (just as a temp measure) and the rest is history- rather a lot of favours as it turned out (over 25 years) 

[Lilliputianplay]

Sand & Water

 

Hi there everyone - could I just please ask for some advice/ideas about how you are going about sand and water? Is anyone having it? If so how are you managing it? if not what are you doing instead.

 

Thanks xxxx

[anju]

2 minutes ago, Lilliputianplay said:

Sand & Water

 

Hi there everyone - could I just please ask for some advice/ideas about how you are going about sand and water? Is anyone having it? If so how are you managing it? if not what are you doing instead.

 

Thanks xxxx

Hi, we had water with some sort of detergent in it before the summer holiday. When we restart we will do the same for water and we might have sand too and clean it with diluted steriliser sprayed on it at the end of each day; we haven’t made a final decision about the sand yet. 

[sunnyday]

Has anyone had an email from Ofsted today with a 'survey' - is it 'legit'?

[sunnyday]

19 minutes ago, sunnyday said:

Has anyone had an email from Ofsted today with a 'survey' - is it 'legit'?

Actually - scrub that - I clicked on the link and it was all very straightforward (legit or not!) just required Ofsted number and an answer re are we open now, do we intend to open from September......

[zigzag]

7 hours ago, sunnyday said:

Actually - scrub that - I clicked on the link and it was all very straightforward (legit or not!) just required Ofsted number and an answer re are we open now, do we intend to open from September......

Yes I had that, answered it and because it was so simple, panicked that it wasn’t legit!🤭

[zigzag]

I’m ready! Gosh it’s hard trying to strike a balance of welcoming and safe and manageable! Won’t know if I have it right until the children come in! 

[sunnyday]

Ah zigzag it all looks lovely

[louby loo]

Looking good Zigzag 😃😁

[anju]

43 minutes ago, zigzag said:

I’m ready! Gosh it’s hard trying to strike a balance of welcoming and safe and manageable! Won’t know if I have it right until the children come in! 

Looks fab! Well done 🙂

[sunnyday]

Can I just ask please - are you all planning to clean everything, everyday......

That is my plan, but I have been looking at some classroom/room set ups on Twitter and thinking 'you can't possibly clean all of that' everyday

I don't want 'my' children to miss out because I have misunderstood what we need to do

[anju]

33 minutes ago, sunnyday said:

Can I just ask please - are you all planning to clean everything, everyday......

That is my plan, but I have been looking at some classroom/room set ups on Twitter and thinking 'you can't possibly clean all of that' everyday

I don't want 'my' children to miss out because I have misunderstood what we need to do

Hi, we have sets of things eg several boxes of smaller amounts of duplo, mobilo etc and then at the end of the day soak that day’s collection in dilute steriliser and leave it to dry on a towel. Dressing up stuff we have a few sets of a few items and will do the same. Surfaces like door handles, tables, toilets, sinks are cleaned several times during the day with anti bac wipes - we do it every time the children are sitting down so it’s easier to remember. The adult toilet we each wipe the sink and loo after we use it. At the end of the day we were cleaning surfaces again and also mopping the floor. It’s time consuming and expensive in terms of cleaning products and staff hours unfortunately. We aren’t having as much stuff out as usual. We only have one bubble and aren’t cleaning outdoor equipment. 

[anju]

39 minutes ago, sunnyday said:

Can I just ask please - are you all planning to clean everything, everyday......

That is my plan, but I have been looking at some classroom/room set ups on Twitter and thinking 'you can't possibly clean all of that' everyday

I don't want 'my' children to miss out because I have misunderstood what we need to do

We have also covered up (with fabric) lots of our storage units which we used to let the children pull out and choose whenever

[sunnyday]

Thank you anju

[anju]

1 hour ago, anju said:

Hi, we have sets of things eg several boxes of smaller amounts of duplo, mobilo etc and then at the end of the day soak that day’s collection in dilute steriliser and leave it to dry on a towel. Dressing up stuff we have a few sets of a few items and will do the same. Surfaces like door handles, tables, toilets, sinks are cleaned several times during the day with anti bac wipes - we do it every time the children are sitting down so it’s easier to remember. The adult toilet we each wipe the sink and loo after we use it. At the end of the day we were cleaning surfaces again and also mopping the floor. It’s time consuming and expensive in terms of cleaning products and staff hours unfortunately. We aren’t having as much stuff out as usual. We only have one bubble and aren’t cleaning outdoor equipment. 

Dressing up stuff we wash in the washing machine - I realised I made it sound like we soak it in steriliser 😬

[sunnyday]

13 minutes ago, anju said:

Dressing up stuff we wash in the washing machine - I realised I made it sound like we soak it in steriliser 😬

No I didn't think that you did😂

[sunnyday]

11th hour guidance again 😡

I won't be staying open if my area goes into local lockdown - not a chance

[anju]

47 minutes ago, sunnyday said:

11th hour guidance again 😡

I won't be staying open if my area goes into local lockdown - not a chance

I saw that on the news - crazy isn’t it?! 🙄