NEWSLETTER

Autumn 1

Welcome to the next academic year! We have got new management, new routines, and new resources. The team spent time bringing out all the contents of the two cupboards we have access to in the village hall and did a substantial sort out with the aim to be organised to suit our pack away needs. This is one of our greatest challenges but one we face with strength and smiles.

Dates to remember

Christmas

Our Christmas concert is on Friday 20th December.

The setting will close for Christmas at 12.30 on this day.

Remembrance Day

For those who don’t already know, the Village celebrate Remembrance Day with the laying of a poppy wreath by two of our children representing Stepping Stones. This will take place Sunday 10th November.

Sports Day

Sports Day will be on the Thursday 12th June 2025 in the morning.
We held this event at Alrewas Cricket Club and do close the setting for this event. We are intending to organise a picnic in the park after our Sports Day which will be in the afternoon.
We will let you know closer to the time.

Friday 13th June- We take the older children to see the Sports Day at the local school.

Monday 6th January – CLOSED INSET

DATES MADE EASIER

Parent Consultation Monday 16th September Remembrance Sunday 10th November Christmas Concert Friday 20th December (We close at 12.30pm) INSET DAY Monday 6th January (SETTING CLOSED) EASTER FAMILY BINGO - TBC Sports Day Thursday 12th June (SETTING CLOSED) End of Year presentation Friday 18th July - TBC

Staff Uniform

We are excited to let you know we are in the process of getting our own uniforms. Our t-shirts will be a bright red colour so we will not be missed!

This will be a gradual process due to funds, but we are excited to have our own image which makes us stand out.

We will no longer be providing Stepping Stones uniform, as we have found many children do not wear it.

NEW GROUPS

We will no longer using the term ‘Stepping Up’ , this was used to describe the children who are getting ready for school.

We have now arranged for 3 groups, butterflies who will be those getting school ready, bumble bees and lady birds. This will support the day to day running of the setting. Any queries regarding this please speak to a member of our team.

Parent consultations

We would like to invite the parents of those children who are in ‘Butterflies’ who will be going to school in September 2025 the opportunity to attend a parent consultation presentation which will consist of information informing you of what we intend to do with your children for the next up and coming year.

This will take place on Monday 16th September at 2.30pm – 3.00pm.

If you cannot attend this, then you are more than welcome to speak to Chris on another occasion.

Trips

Our aim is to provide children with the best curriculum possible offering a variation of different types of learning. Our aim is to use the community as our focus.
Alrewas has many attractions that can provide us with so many learning opportunities and we would like to take advantage of this.

Watch out for more information on this and hopefully get to see us around and about the village.

Sleeping arrangements

As you should have already been told, we are no longer putting children to sleep in pushchairs, but have purchased sleeping mats to accommodate sleepers.

You do not need to bring your pushchair anymore.
If your child does need a sleep then a blanket, sheet, snuggly/soother needs to be provided every time they attend the setting. THIS NEEDS TO BE LABELLED and cannot be left here due to our lack of storage.

Resources/Donations

We have decided to make a wish list of all the things we will fundraise for, this way it gives you the opportunity to see what we would like to buy and us the chance to enjoy meeting these targets.
We are a charity and this does impact how much money we are allowed to spend!

If you or anybody you know works in a trade that can support us we would be truly grateful! We once had somebody work in ‘Partners’ and provided us with a bulk of paper, this was a great resource for us. We are always on the lookout for bags of play sand and everyday items.

Do you know of any big companies that would like to donate to a local charity?

If you would like to donate our details are

SteppingStones Pre School Play & Learn Charity No

090154	64250706

2 year old check

It’s important when you get your child’s two year old check appointment to let us know, so we can provide the health visitor with a report. This is a mandatory report we must fill in and put into your child’s file.

Pets

If anybody has any pets they would like to bring in, we would love to take this opportunity to use this in our learning opportunities.

Theme

We will be looking at the Gruffalo this term. This will lead onto woodlands, Halloween/Bonfire, Stickman and before you know it Christmas.

Parent Chat

If you need to chat to any member of staff, your child’s key worker or the manager, you can phone/email/arrange a meeting to discuss any of your queries. We do not want you to feel like you cannot ask us any questions. We are here to teach and support your children, and we love doing this!