FAQs
Please find below our Frequently Asked Questions ...
How will I know how my child is getting on?
Please see our 'Communication' tab.
How can I best help my child at home?
Please see our 'Supporting Learning at home tab'.
How can I contact you or my child's key worker?
We would encourage parents and carers to approach us during drop off and pick up times. We would also welcome any communication either by phone (0141 570 7100) or email, schoolmail@carolside.e-renfrew.sch.uk or GillianL@carolside.e-renfrew.sch.uk If your child is on an extended placement and you need to contact the nursery playroom between 4-6pm please call 0141 570 7113. All other enquiries can be answered by calling 0141 570 7100 - the main school/nursery office.
Will the nursery support home learning in anyway?
Through Seesaw staff can sign point learning experiences, we also have a Support Learning at home tab. In addition to this, please follow us on X (Twitter) @Carolside_ELCC where we will post activities and ideas to support play and learning at home.
Will my child get snacks/lunch?
The nursery will provide a snack. Usually these consist of a wide variety of fruits, crackers, cheese, rice cakes, bread sticks and crudities.
We promote and encourage self service and growing independence during snack time and encourage the children to self-serve. We will make the most of our outdoor areas during snack time, which will allow us to continue to encourage children to eat together, enabling us to provide the children with the benefit of these useful social interactions.
East Renfrewshire Council provide lunch for your child and you can find the rotational menu here: https://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/article/1223/Nursery-lunch-menu Whilst we encourage your child to take this provision you are welcome to provide a packed lunch for your child instead if you wish. We do not need to know beforehand if they are going to have a hot lunch. During drop off a member of staff will ask what your child is doing for lunch that day.
Please provide your child with a water bottle. We will encourage your child to take regular drinks throughout the day. Please ensure all water bottles and lunch boxes are labelled.
Also please note that we are a ‘nut free’ school.
What items of clothing do they need?
Children will be encouraged to explore a range of different environments including water play, paint and the outdoors therefore we encourage children to wear clothes they don't mind getting dirty while we have fun! Please bring your child to nursery in comfortable, washable clothes, with sleeves which roll up easily and trousers which allow independence. We have a nursery t shirt that can be purchased from Stevensons in Muirend. We also have The Carolside Clothes tree that has a range of sizes of pre-loved nursery t shirts and jumpers. If you would like an item from here please email Mrs Gillian (GillianL@carolside.e-renfrew.sch.uk) and she can arrange for items to be sent home for you with your child. We are keen to promote this as the Equalities Committee have been focusing on reducing our carbon footprint and ensuring less clothes are being sent to the landfill sites.
What should I pack in their nursery bag?
We encourage our children to be as independent as possible however this also means that accidents can happen e.g. paint on their leggings or being too late for the toilet. Therefore we would kindly ask that all children bring with them a spare change of clothes including pants, socks, trousers and a top. We do have spares in the nursery so please do not worry if you ever forget to top up your bag! We also recommend bringing in warm items of clothes during the cooler months e.g. gloves and hats.
How do you safeguard against allergies?
If your child has any allergies, please discuss these with a member of staff before they join us for their first session. Our whole staff team will have a conversation at the start of each term to discuss and be made aware of all our children's allergies. We operate a badge system which highlights any children that have specific dietary or medical needs or requirements. We are a NUT-FREE establishment so please bear this in mind when making packed lunches or snacks for your child to bring to nursery. When taking part in any baking/cooking learning experiences, the ingredients are carefully chosen will all allergies and intolerances in mind. If we are aware of the allergy, for example, a dairy allergy - we will provide an appropriate alternative ingredient for the learning experience.
What if my child has an allergy/regular medication?
If your child has an allergy or requires regular medication please let either Mrs Gillian or Mrs Holmes our SCDO aware of this. Each child will have an individualised medical plan which is reviewed and updated each term. If your child requires medication to be stored on the premises it will be stored in an individual sealed box which is clearly labelled. If your child has a short course of medication e.g. antibiotics we will ask you to complete a Medical Administration form. The medicine will be safely stored and administered as required.
How often do they go outside?
Children have daily access to our large outdoor environment. The Cabin garden is a wonderful grassy area with a mud kitchen, tyres, trees, water troughs and many more exciting opportunities. Our upper garden space has a large area for our bikes and trikes, building, sandpit, fairy garden and a grass area with lots of trees to hide behind. Your child will be able to free flow around each garden.
How do you deal with unwanted or negative behaviour?
We are committed to working in partnership with parents to promote positive behaviour among all children. Young children benefit from clear and consistent expectations, which help to give them security and a sense of fairness. At nursery children are encouraged to develop self-discipline, to show kindness and respect for others and for their environment:
· Gentle hands
· Kind words and voices
· Look after things/toys
· Walking feet
· Listening ears
Positive behaviour is a very important social skill, as well as being necessary for a good learning environment. Our staff are friendly, fair and consistent as they guide children towards acceptable behaviour. We use praise to reinforce good behaviour and draw attention to good role models. If a child experiences any difficulties with their peers, we encourage the child to be assertive, to remind the other child(ren) of the rules and to report the incident to one of the staff.
Starting nursery for the first time and learning to cope with sharing space and equipment can be tricky. The staff will deal with this sympathetically and help guide your child's choices. If a child continues to require support with their behaviour then we will discuss the matter with the parent/carer and work together to support the child towards positive behaviour.
How do you support toileting/nappy changing?
Our staff team will always be available to provide support with personal care/changing. In line with our changing policy, any child that attends nursery in nappies/pull ups will be changed regularly during the nursery session, unless of course they are soiled or uncomfortable. Please provide nappies and wipes in your child's nursery bag. Thank you.
Do I have to prepare my child for nursery?
It would be useful to have a conversation with your child in advance of them attending nursery for the first time to let them know what to expect during their first visit. Perhaps, show them our staff pictures or talk to them about what types of activities they might like to take part in during the nursery session. Take time to discuss that you will be leaving them with us for a short time but the staff know all about them and are excited to get to play with them. Twitter has a range of photos to showcase the range of experiences your child will be able to explore. On your child's Seesaw account you will find welcome videos to help familiarise themselves with their Key Workers. We have a robust settling and transition approaches in place including home visits. Please see our settling policy for more information.
What are the procedures for drop off and pick up?
Please use the main nursery entrance for all drop off and pick ups.
If your child has an extended hours placement with us from 8am - 6pm please use the main nursery door entrance for all drop off and pick ups, please ring the bell on arrival. We would encourage you to use allocated hours in early learning and childcare as this is valuable playing and learning time for your child but we also understand the need for flexibility for our families. Please speak to us if you have any questions about your 8-6pm placement.
If your child has a core hours placement with us from 9am -3pm, we have a drop off window from 9am-9.10am and the pickup window will be from 2.55pm-3.10pm. We kindly ask you to stick to these windows to allow us to be with the children in the playrooms for the majority of their session. If arriving earlier please queue on the right hand side (when facing the building). Please speak to Mrs Gillian if you require support with drop off/pick up times/settling.
To support your child on arrival, we will have members of staff on the main door during these windows, staff on the internal doors, staff in the cloakroom helping children if required to hang coats and bags and a member of staff supporting handwashing in the toilets on arrival and prior to pick up. When you drop off your child, a member of staff will sign them in and take note of who will be collecting your child at the end of the session.
If your child is coming for their settling visit, regardless of room and team please report to the main nursery door and we will greet you there.
How do I report an absence?
Regular attendance will ensure that your child is fully involved in the life of the nursery and benefits from all the learning experiences there. Absences are recorded and monitored and we would encourage you to phone if your child is going to be absent. Please contact us before 9.30 am on the day of her/his absence by telephoning 0141 570 7100.
In the interest of your child’s safety you should make a point of telling the teacher or key worker if he or she is to be collected by someone not known to the nursery. This avoids difficult situations when a child cannot be allowed to leave with an adult who is a stranger to the staff.
Please notify us of any holidays or planned absence in writing.