Welcome to Fiveways

Half-Term

Dear Fiveways families

Can we remind you that February half term is from Monday 15th February?

We are back on Monday 22nd February 2021.

Have a great half term and keep safe

5Ways Playcentre Staff Team

Newsletter 2021 – Number 1

Well, what a start to 2021! We want to thank everyone for the lovely gifts and thoughtful words of support you shared with us in the days leading up to Christmas. We hope that you are all well and staying safe in this unsettling and difficult climate.

 As you know we are doing our best to support everyone, with priority being given to vulnerable children or those of key workers.Unfortunately, the current advice is to refrain from restarting our Breakfast Club and After School provision, but we will endeavour to do so as soon as it is deemed feasible.

 As a charity we are led by a Committee who are all volunteers. Some current members are due to leave so we need to encourage some of you to sign up! You don’t need any skill in particular, but enthusiasm and ideas are always welcome. If you think you would enjoy working within a warm group to support 5Ways, please contact us and we will pass your details on for an informal chat with a Committee member.They usually meet here about once a month.

Hattie and Pauline joined us last term and will be working in Afterschools and Bluebells once we are properly up and running again.

Also new for this term is our email address, hopefully you all received the email with this change before the end of the year. The new address is Office@fiveways-playcentre.co.uk and the phone numbers remain the same 01273 500257 or the mobile is 07865348751.

We intend to spend even more time outside this year; the children loved planting up the bulbs into the tubs that are now around the building so it would be lovely to carry on with this theme. If anyone is cutting back or taking cuttings, such as raspberry bushes or any other plants, we would appreciate anything you can spare. Please save, if possible, until we all return. Thank you.

There are a lot of activity ideas on Tapestry for Playgroup children. The topic for this term is “Winter” and we will then move onto “Houses and Homes”. If there are any specific activities your child enjoys or you think would enjoy, please let us know.

These times are difficult for all of us. Please trust that we will always do our best to provide a safe and stimulating setting for as many of you as we can. If you feel we can support you in any way please contact us. Please take care of yourselves and each other.

Best wishes

Pat, Grace and the Staff Team.

 

7th January 2021

Dear parents

Dear Parents/Carers

As promised in our email sent on Sunday the Trustees and Management have been reviewing the ongoing lockdown situation.

Thank you for your support and bearing with us whilst we have been sorting out staffing and the ability to safely reopen. In light of our ongoing conversation with Brighton and Hove Council and their decision to close council run nurseries to all but the children of critical workers and vulnerable children, we are contacting you to assess the need for places here at Fiveways.

Priority will be given to the above children first but, please contact us urgently if you would also like to take up a place, along with the days and times you would require so that we may decide if its practical and safe for us to run.

The sooner replies are received the sooner we can decide if we will be reopening from Monday 11^thJanuary.

Once again, many thanks for your unfailing support to us in these exceedingly difficult times.

5th January 2021

Dear parents

As you know, late last evening the government ended speculation about whether schools and nurseries could stay open – their direction was to close all schools but keep nurseries open, until at least mid-February.

Just 24 hours previously, the Prime Minister had said all schools and nurseries were safe. But the council had already advised schools to close for two weeks.

As a preschool rather than a nursery, Fiveways operates in sync with our local primary schools. This category/identity is directive of the way we are staffed, funded and furlough.

We have decided to close in line with primary schools.

It is hard for us to effectively communicate the complexities and pressures impacting on this decision, or the speed in which we have had to take decisions, which are then completely upended when government guidance changes.

I want to be emphatic that we are intensely aware of the inconvenience to parents in our decision. Many of our workers are married/partnered to keyworkers and are of course keyworkers themselves. Some of our staff are also currently isolating because of the virus.

We always have a positive and honest relationship with our families at Fiveways. We are not a financially motivated, profit-making organisation. We want to be open.

However, ultimately, we have had to make this decision in the best interests of staff, children, parents, and the long-term viability of the nursery.

We can only ask that you try to put blame for this inconvenience where it is due. We always want to open. We do all we can to do that.

Our managers have been working on the assumption of being open and were doing so until late last evening, trying to balance all interests. Awareness of the huge inconvenience and stress to parents is an incredibly significant factor for us. Health and safety of our staff is another. Balancing staffing and finance and funding streams is another.

As an independent charity, we are impacted in different ways financially than private or council-run nurseries and preschools.

This is not what we want. But very sadly, it is what, currently we feel we have to do.

We hope very much that by closing now we can reopen fully as soon as possible.

Very best wishes for a safe lockdown.

Jo Hathaway on behalf of the trustees