I do hope you are well and continue to be safe with your families.
After the speech last night (Sunday the 10th of May) we have some sort of indication as to when we may be able to re-open.
June the 1st would appear to be the earliest date we will be able to open our doors again, subject to the R number being less than 1.
As some of our parents/carers start returning to work we may get requests for childcare but at this moment in time we are still governed by the Key Worker and vulnerable child list. Until this is changed we will carry on as we are, open at Tynemouth Nursery at Billy Mill.
We do expect a lot more information to start coming out today and later on this week. We will keep you posted on how this effects us.
We are working on plans as to how we re-open and how we can make our workplace as safe as possible for staff, parents and children. We have our own ideas and we will be combining this with advice from the Dfe, Ofsted, Council, Management and all the many Nursery groups that collectively advise on things we will have to do and comply with.
Again a big thanks to those at Billy Mill and to everyone please rest assured we are continually monitoring and working on what we have to do to re-open safely, when we are able to.
Captain Tom had a very fitting special birthday present today, being promoted to the rank of honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College. His birthday also will be marked with a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypast by a Spitfire and a Hurricaine above his Bedfordshire home.
The children of Key Workers at Billy Mill spent much time and love making birthday cards for Captain Tom and sent them along with 140,000 other cards, from people and children up and down the country, all who have taken Tom to their hearts for his amazing walk that raised millions of pounds for the NHS.
This made it all the more amazing when this responce came in this morning:
‘ Hi,
Just a note to say your cards have arrived and have been placed in the great hall with all the other birthday cards. My sister works at Bedford School and originally comes from Tynemouth, she couldn’t believe it when she opened your cards on Major Tom Moores behalf. As it is impossible to thank everyone who has sent cards she asked me to do it on her behalf. I still live in Tynemouth so I am delighted to email you and to thank the children.
Kindest Regards,
Veronica Holland’
Thank you so much Veronica for this message, I know it has made eveyone at Tynemouth Nursery at Billy Mill so happy on this very special day.
So from everyone at Tynmouth Nursery Group and Zone4kids, Happy Birthday Captain Tom, we salute you!
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed our landscape beyond
belief. It has brought huge challenges to every single member of the world’s population.
This is a challenge that we have all risen to and whether it is a Key Worker
working on the front line treating patients with Covid-19 or a Grandma missing
out on cuddles from her grandchildren as she stays home to protect the NHS, or
those who ensure they keep 2 metres from other people during their weekly shop, they have all played their part in beating
this pandemic and getting us back to normality as soon as possible.
We as a Nursery Group with seven settings have created one
hub at Tynemouth Nursery at Billy Mill to look after Key Workers and vulnerable
children from all our settings and indeed any new parents who need our help.
The team at Billy Mill are from all our settings and are doing
a fantastic job helping those parents/carers who need our help to carry out their
essential duties in beating this pandemic. The staff themselves have become Key
Workers and it is fitting that we all think of them with NHS workers and other
Key Workers on the now regular Thursday night applause at 8.00pm.
We will continue to monitor numbers and if demand for Key
Workers childcare increases, we will deploy more staff to Billy Mill and if
demand increases further, we will re-open more settings as appropriate.
We will not turn away any Key Worker or Vulnerable child, there
will always be childcare available at one of our Settings.
We chose Billy Mill as it is the most central nursery of all
our settings and has good road links to the Coast and Newcastle.
Although in many ways it would have been easier and
financially more sensible to close all our settings we had a strong determination
to play our part in this challenge and offer the childcare needed to those on
the front line. We are more and more certain as each day passes that this was
the right decision.
Other nurseries are closed and concerned about their future
as government changes in funding and furloughing have had a major impact on their
future sustainability.
I wanted to make sure that all our Parents/Carers who are
currently ‘on hold’ know that we are a long established company, incorporated
in 1999, we are resilient and we have done everything in out power to manage
this situation and steer our way through this crisis. We will be here for you when
this is over!
Kaye and I are passionate about delivering the very highest quality
of childcare. We are having the nurseries checked and ‘serviced’ on a regular
basis so we can open very quickly as and when everyone gradually gets back to
normal.
If needed we will introduce new settling in sessions and we
will do everything in our power to make sure coming back to nursery is as
smooth and as stress free as possible.
So we are strong, we are up for the fight, we are determined to play our part in beating this virus and we are determined to be ready for you as soon as you need us and are allowed to return to nursery.
We opened more nurseries on the 1st of June for all children to attend nursery.
The nurseries that opened on the 1st of June were:
Tynemouth Nursery
Tynemouth Nursery at Jesmond
Zone4kids at Whitley Lodge
Tynemouth Nursery at Billy Mill, which had been open for key workers, is now open for all children from 1st June.
Tynemouth Nursery at Battle Hill (formely Tynemouth Nursery at T.M.C.) will re-open on the 31st of August.
Zone4kids at Coquet Park will re-open on the 1st of September.
Please see our safety video below:
We hope to open all our other settings when we are given permission from the colleges and schools they are attached to.
More updates to follow.
Posted on the 24th March 2020:
In light of the Government announcement regarding the closure of all schools and nurseries from Friday (20 March 2020), we are committed to provide a service for Key Workers and Vulnerable Children who still require childcare in these uncertain times.
At the moment we have closed Tynemouth Nursery at North Shields and Tynemouth Nursery at T.M.C. as of the 24th March. Tynemouth Nursery will close on Friday the 27th of March.
Both Zone4kids and Tynemouth Nursery at Jesmond will close on Tuesday the 31st of March.
All Key Workers and Vulnerable Children from these settings will be looked after at Tynemouth Nursery at Billy Mill.
TYNEMOUTH NURSERY AT BILLY MILL WILL REMAIN OPEN
Key Workers
The Government has released a list of industries with Key Workers:
Health and social care
Education and childcare
Public services
Local and national government
Food and other necessary goods
Public safety and national security
For further information on Key Worker definitions, please visit the following links:
Children that are vulnerable are those with Special Education Needs, including children that need support with behaviour management. Other vulnerable groups of children are those with English as an additional language, those in receipt of 2 year or EYPP funding, with parents in the armed forces, where court orders or restricted access arrangements are in place and those that are, or who have previously been looked after by the local authority or who are known to Social Services.
This is not an exhaustive list, but the examples highlight what considerations should be taken into account to deem a child as vulnerable.
At
Tynemouth Nursery Group and Zone4kids we prioritise safety for all our staff
and children and we are therefore committed to reducing the risk of Covid-19 to
everyone. We are following all of the government guidelines on managing the
risk from Covid-19 and have implemented internal procedures to help us react
quickly in the event of a direct link to any of our settings to effectively
manage the situation.
A
coronavirus is a type of virus and coronaviruses are common across the world.
COVID-19 is a new strain of coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, China
in January 2020. The incubation period of COVID-19 is between 2 and 14 days.
This means that if a person remains well 14 days after contact with someone
with confirmed coronavirus, it is unlikely that they have been infected.
The
following symptoms may develop in the 14 days after exposure to someone who has
COVID-19 infection:
Cough
Difficulty
in breathing
Fever,
high temperature
Generally,
these infections can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune
systems, older people, and those with long-term conditions like diabetes,
cancer and chronic lung disease. There is no evidence that children are more
affected than other age groups – very few cases have been reported in children.
With
this in mind, and to minimise the risk to children in our care we are asking
staff and families that have travelled to affected areas, not to attend nursery
until they have completed a 14-day period of self-isolation in the UK after they
return from their travels. We will continue to monitor and review this strategy
once we are confident that the risk has been reduced or government guidelines
change.
We
are also reducing the risk by ensuring effective hygiene practices are in place
for both children and staff as advised by Public Health England by ensuring
staff and children:
Wash
hands frequently with soap, especially before eating or handling food, after
toilet visits, or when hands are contaminated by respiratory secretions after
coughing or sneezing.
Cover
their mouth and nose with a tissue when sneezing or coughing, and to discard
the tissue immediately into a bin.
Do
not share food/ drinks/ utensils etc with others.
Clean
and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces e.g. toys, tables and
chairs, etc.
Ensure
supplies such as hand soap, tissues, and paper towels are available for
children and staff’s use.
We
remain vigilant in ensuring regular and effective cleaning is carried out and
we will continue to monitor the health of children in our care and will react
quickly in the event of any rise in temperature or changes in behavior.
If
you have any questions, please speak to a senior member of staff or you can
find further information at the below links.
