Family Engagement & Events Feedback
Thank you to each and everyone of our families who took the time to complete our family engagement and events feedback form. We were completely overwhelmed by the amount of positive feedback received and also extremely grateful for the constructive suggestions we were given on how we can improve moving forward.
Below are areas suggested for improvement by our families and our plan on how we intend to do so in the future.
What you said ….
Making sure children have jumpers/jackets/water bottles as appropriate on sports day.
What we done/will do…
As our numbers increase on whole centre events we may need to recruit some additional adult support from our families. Water stations are taken down to sports day however, if your would prefer your child bring a water bottle please speak to staff and we will ensure your child has it. Unfortunately, we are not always as lucky with the weather as we hope for, therefore being prepared with children’s jackets/jumpers on standby (instead of last minute dash) is absolutely something we will ensure is done next year – clothing being named will support us in this.
What you said…
More options of stay and play.
What we done/will do…
We are hopeful to run a variety of opportunities for you to come to centre and play with your children we will offer this in a variety of different ways, including scavenger hunts, bookbug sessions, set activities, free play, themed days etc.
What you said….
As much notice as possible to accommodate working hours.
What we done/will do…
We are working towards creating a family events calendar which will list all planned events for families over the 2024/2025 term. These will include, sports day, graduation, stay and play, interactive sessions, bookbug etc.
What you said…
There was a lot of different requests for donations throughout the year which can be stressful.
What we done/will do…
As a centre we receive no source of income for extra curricular expense, such as outings, family sessions, spare clothes, sun creams, celebrations or gifts. We rely solely on the weekly contributions made by our families to our children’s fund. We recognise that we have not been communicating this as well as we could have, and letters with information surrounding our children’s fund have now been sent out to families (end of May). We are hopeful moving forwards this will eradicate our need to request for additional donations.
What you said…
Parent voice – what do parents see as a priority for fundraised money, what shared learning experiences they’d like to participate in, etc.
What we done/will do….
We completely agree, we would love for our parents to be more involved in the daily running of our centre, creating opportunity for their voice to be heard. We are hopeful this year may be the year that the early years centre establish its very own parents forum.
If this is something you would be willing to contribute your time to, please let us know by emailing kady.tamburrini@eastdunbarton.gov.uk with your note of interest.
Enabling Environments – Learning Through Play
We have been working hard over the past year to enhance the learning experience we offer our children both indoors and out. We have considered out curricular delivery process and used Plan, Do, Study, Act cycles to track progress, making adjustments as we go. Recently we have used enabling environment audits as a tool to ensure that the environment we offer for our children continuously cultivates curiosity, creativity and independence for all.
Over the coming weeks we will work alongside our children to redefine our playrooms into an environment that arouses excitement and wonder for our littlest learner. Staff will participate in, in house training, aimed at refreshing and enhancing their knowledge on scaffolding children’s learning by enhancing and extending children’s play. Staff will work together to resource the environment in a way which offers a fresh and invigorating experience, accessible to all children, promoting a sense of autonomy over their learning.
Using a mixture of both child and adult led learning opportunity, we aim to make learning fun, exciting and accessible to all.
We believe the real learning takes place, when children don’t know they are learning at all.
The best way for our children to learn is through PLAY!!!
Centre closure dates 2024-25
Click on the link to access centre closure dates for 2024-25. Voting days do not effect the centre therefore we will remain open as normal.
EXTENDED YEAR Calendar 24-25
Centre Outings
We are planning on taking small groups of children out to the local soft play over a 5 week period starting next week (8th July 2024). We will aim to ensure that each child has had the opportunity to attend, by arranging our outings for a different day each week. Each child should have now completed an EV3 form, if not we will need this to be return prior to your child attending. Additional information will be sent home informing families of your child’s outing day/date and arrangements no later than Friday 5th of July. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please do not hesitate in speaking to a member of our team.
Staffing
We would like to welcome Amy & Zoe to our team.
Amy & Zoe joined our team this week after successfully securing permanent posts in centre, both ladies are experienced early years workers who worked within East Dunbartonshire Local Authority Centres prior to coming to Colquhoun Park.
Amy will be working full time in centre (35hrs) between the hours of 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and Zoe will be working part time in centre (30hrs) 12pm to 6pm Monday to Friday.
Amy & Zoe will be spending the next few weeks getting to know children, families, centre staff and routines.
Please be sure to give them a hello when you see them!
Amy
Zoe
Children’s Reports
Final keyworker reports will be sent out for all our children on Wednesday 31st July 2024.
Keyworkers for 2024/25
We are in the process of matching your child with their keyworker for next year, information will be sent out over the next week informing families who your child has been paired with for 2024/25.
Animals that no longer live
animals. We got to see a chicken called Nando, a tortoise called Michelle, snakes, cockroaches, leaf insects, and even a tarantula! 
Stay & Play sessions 
