]]>There has been a bit of confusion about this date, but the 23rd is definite. St Joseph's return on the 21st and Hobbayne on the 22nd - there is also a teacher's strike on the 24th April but Hanwell Bunnies will open for business as usual from the 23rd.
Have a good holiday!
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]]>Hopefully an article about us will be in the Ealing Times, as well as in Ealing's magazine 'Perfect Practices' in the future.
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I fully intended to delegate this to someone else this year, but all the templates are on my computer, it doesn't take long to email a few invites or print off a few begging letters, it's just a question of doing it to a deadline...
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Please get in touch if you would like to add an agenda item, or have something you would like to raise.
]]>We are only required to head-count children at our setting receiving NEG on a certain day of January - all settings including schools have to do the same.
We have submitted our data electronically using a secure system. The penalty for not submitting the data is withdrawal of the Nursery Education Grant to help parents of over 3s.
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Our constitution is almost identical to the pdf document above, I'd like to propose we adopt the new constitution at the next AGM primarily because this one's in digital format so that I can email it across when grants agencies request it!
]]>The current level of £8.21 per session is in place until the end of this financial year. Letters will go out to all providers in receipt of NEG ahead of the summer term updating everyone of any planned changes to the rate.
Kind regards
Charles
White
- British
- Irish
- Traveller of Irish Heritage
- Gypsy/Roma
- Any other white background
Mixed
- White and Black Caribbean
- White and Black African
- White and Asian
- Any other mixed background
Asian or Asian British
- Indian
- Pakistani
- Bangladeshi
- Any other Asian background
Black or Black British
- Caribbean
- African
- Any other Black background
Chinese
Any other ethnic background
We were intending to change our ethnic monitoring form to reflect our community, but we may be able to do that by adapting this form slightly so that everyone is satisfied.
]]>The Committee also need to be police-checked - I have had a hard time trying to get Ofsted to send me a batch of their forms so that I can put pressure on committee members to complete a CRB form, but I finally have them. In the meantime, Ofsted have been writing to committee members telling them they can't make a decision about their suitability, so we really need to sort this problem out fast and get all the forms filled in.
It's a time-consuming and labourious process... although I understand why it's necessary it's yet another thing that is required of me as Chair, and it may be something that I have to delegate to the Playleader in the future, as committee members are more likely to see her on a daily basis so that the forms can be filled in.
]]>We are now seen as a satellite to the Copley Close Children's Centre, and are taking on children referred to us by Outreach Workers where possible, up to a maximum of 4 sessions per week. I found out at this meeting that we can claim the cost of this back through the Ealing's 'Children in Need' fund.
]]>Today I spoke to Jane Smith, our area SENCO, who is very understanding, and she will be speaking to her manager, Vina Mistry, to see if we can use agency staff to cover SEN staffing. Previously we have been told Ealing has a policy not to cover this... however, we are being encouraged as a voluntary setting to do a 'Full Cost Recovery' when charging outside agencies - and this means taking into account our Financial Manager's time for setting up pay arrangements, as well as my time (given free) for drawing up contracts etc. Using agency staff is quite possibly a cheaper option if all our employment costs were taken into account.
We are an inclusive playgroup committed to Equal Opportunities, and yet providing for Special Needs children is very difficult for us currently when financial margins are so tight.
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Just can't believe it... it has taken us 5 years to get to this stage, and we've done it!!!! The Outdoor Play Company even made us a gate for the side passage so that the children could safely have the run of the whole grassed area when the weather improves.
Huge thanks to John Lyons Charity (£1500), Ealing Council (£2000) and Local Network Fund (DfES) (£7000) for giving us the grants to complete this project.
Am thinking about having a little opening ceremony sometime??
]]>I've uploaded all the new ones into the Newsletter Folder of the 'Media' section of this blog... now I need all the committee members to read through them all before they can be agreed on the next committee meeting of 29th February.
http://www.blog.co.uk/srv/media/media_items.php?album_ID=255340
Hopefully if you click on the link you can go through them one by one at your leisure - happy reading!
]]>We have applied for £2000 from the Small Grants scheme at Ealing Council but will not hear results of that until March, and have asked the William Hobbayne trust for donations but have not heard anything either.
Our aim is to get external funding to subsidise these places, it ticks a lot of boxes for external funders and means we can fulfil our equal opportunities obligations.
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We gave the forms out at the Xmas party and they are also being put out each session so that parents who want to can have their say. The feedback is anonymous and completed forms can be put into the suggestios box.
Out of those completed to date, every single one says that we always help, and that we always treat people well.
Some of the suggestions we have had are about involving dads more, and getting a nicer Outside Area (in hand!).
Some of the comments about what we do well are lovely, involving the staff smiling, knowing people's names, distracting children when they are upset. The staff should be very proud of what they have achieved, it hasn't happened by accident.
The forms are based on the Children's Centre feedback forms that I heard about at the Area Board meeting that I went to before Xmas. They are very simple but effective - a very good idea.
]]>After all these years of trying to secure funding and work out what's best, we've finally done it! Thank you to all the committee members in the past who've tried to get this off the ground, we got there in the end!
]]>We had a really interesting chat and she listened very hard to the reasons why financially things are always going to be a struggle. She also runs provisions across the borough on behalf of the PLA, and so understands the pressures.
I pointed out that the Pre-School Learning Alliance as well as the SureStart guidance on the 3/4 year old funding expects provisions to have equal opportunities at its core, and yet the financial reality of delivering that is very complicated and quite frankly unsustainable without more funding - or at the very least without a greater understanding of our situation by councils and government.
I'd like to thank Lesley for giving up her morning to hear our point of view and to see our Playgroup in operation.
]]>We had to make a decision as to who to admit - we went by age of applicant, and gave out a few more places to those children who were oldest on the list, so that they will get 2 terms of Bunnies before going to Nursery.
We have offered 2 children spaces after referral from Clarissa of EASE. I have contacted Claire Welsbey, Children's Centre co-ordinator, to try to find out whether funding is available though Children in Need (Ealing) to help fund these and other subsidised places.
We still have between 5-10 children who ideally want a space before starting Nursery, but the chances that they will get a space now are unlikely. One of the families has just moved into the area - which is why a 1st come 1st served policy cannot always be used in an area of relatively high population mobility such as Hanwell.
]]>We contacted the parents we can offer places to by phone and have heard back from most of them now, so we will be full again come February. We have a few spaces to fill as 2 children are leaving to go to Nursery in Jan. We are holding open a place for a referral from Clarissa, outreach worker at EASE.
]]>This is the maximum amount of grant that can be awarded! The Grant application form was long and arduous and took a lot of my time to complete, so it's very good to know it's been worth it.
The Outdoor Play Company are able to re-commence their work in the 3rd week of January (weather permitting), so cross fingers the Church Property Committee will give the project the go-ahead too.
This morning I had to post off various forms by the 19th Dec, and drop in our original application to Santa at the PLA to write us a reference for the work. Hopefully we will get the funding released in the New Year.
]]>I explained in some detail the position in Ealing, explained our particular position at Hanwell Bunnies and the difficulties we were having as a direct result of the Nursery Education Grant.
I totally agree with the Government agenda of making education free to 3 and 4 year olds - but making life so difficult for groups such as ours so that we find it hard to continue is hardly a solution - and it hardly benefits the children it's meant to be helping...
Ms Lawton explained that the Education Grant from central Government to the LEAs is not ringfenced at all - to cater for different local needs. The Government are arguing that the LEAs are getting enough to allocate the funds out fairly to all sectors, and are now asking the LEAs to conduct a cost-analysis of Early Years settings to prove how much it costs to run them.
It is all far too political for my liking. I'm not sure whether there is any place in Ealing or the Government's grand plan for committee-run charity pre-schools - I think they want the variety of childcare in the marketplace but are not prepared to listen to our problems or see us as special or in need of extra support. By the time they've realised we were doing quite a good job, we'll all have disappeared... I really don't want that to happen to Hanwell Bunnies - do you?
]]>I went to the Area Board this morning, thank you for inviting me.
I need the answers to 2 questions so that we can plan for our survival next year.
a) When exactly will the NEG level for 2008-9 be set?
b) I have heard that Sustainability Grants have been scrapped. Is this true, and what other options do we have to make up the NEG shortfall after April 08, assuming that the NEG rise will still not match our costs?
Having the answers to these questions will help us overt a crisis - I don't know if you've ever run a Charity or a small business before, but there is very little room for manouevre and what may seem trivial amounts of money to you spell survival or failure to us. Please bear in mind 70 Hanwell families per year rely on us to manage our Playgroup, currently 5 of those families in need. Ealing, please support us in whatever way you can.
Thanks
Liz at Hanwell Bunnies
For the purposes of your business planning NEG levels are likely to be plus inflation although the amount will be confirmed as soon as the 2008-9 budgets are finalised. Sustainability funding has been ended in favour of more targeted support given based on the sufficiency of childcare audit which is now almost complete. This information will inform funding priorities for 2008 to 09 and will be publicised in the new year.
Kind regards Charles