Fledglings News- January 2026

This newsletter is mainly about FUNDING and our FEE INCREASE

Funded childcare:  The website for you to apply for your funding code and tax free childcare changed last year to www.beststartinlife.gov.uk  The extended 30 hours funding for working families who meet the criteria is currently from the term after the child is nine months.  Our funded childcare policy is set out in the permission of your child’s profile on Famly and is available on our website.  Universal funding of 15 hours per week term time is available for all families the term after the child is three years old.

Examples as follows:                        April if child 9m between 1^st January & 31^st March

September if child 9m between 1^st April & 31^st August

January if child 9m between 1^st September & 31^st December

We invoice per academic year and average the funding per month to help keep the cost to you the same each month.  The current invoice period is from 1/9/25 to 31/8/26. Dates covered as follows:

Autumn term 2025 (Sep-Dec)

1/9/25-26/12/25: 17 weeks payable, 14 weeks funding available

Spring term 2026 (Jan-Mar)

5/1/26-27/3/26: 12 weeks payable, 12 weeks funding available

Summer term 2026 (Apr-Aug)

30/3/26-28/8/26: 22 weeks payable, 12 weeks funding available

Our fees will be increasing to £87.62 per day from April 2026.  This remains competitive with other local nurseries.  However, we are letting you know in good time if you wish to give notice for your child’s place at Fledglings.  Please see our policy regarding the notice period required.

We will send our new funded childcare policy with the new fees and extra charges on Famly for you to sign in March.  However, please find below the average monthly charges which will take effect from April.  This may not be the exact amount you will be paying due to the fees changing mid-year.

Our policy of the month is ‘safer sleep’… At Fledglings Nursery we operate a Safe Sleep Policy that specifies the “back to sleep” position. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the unexpected death of a seemingly healthy baby for whom no cause of death can be determined.  In the belief that proactive steps can be taken to lower the risk of SIDS in childcare settings and that parents and childcare professionals can work together to keep babies safer while they sleep, this Nursery will practice the following Safe Sleep Policy:

·     All key persons will receive training on our Infant Safe Sleep Policy and SIDS risk reduction.

·     Babies will always be placed on their backs to sleep unless there is a signed sleep position medical waiver on file. A copy of the waiver will be placed in the baby’s sleep area. If the child is under 6 months of age, this waiver must be signed by the child’s doctor; a parent’s signature is accepted for children over the age of 6 months.

·     FSID recommends that babies are placed on their backs to sleep, but when babies can easily turn over from the back to the stomach, they can be allowed to adopt whatever position they prefer to sleep. We will follow this recommendation: please discuss with your key person your preference when the baby turns onto his\her side or stomach.

·     FSID recommends that using a dummy at the start of any sleep period reduces the risk of cot death. If a dummy forms part of your child’s sleep routine, it will always be used at sleep times. FSID recommends that the dummy should be stopped when the baby is between 6 and 12 months old. (The key person will work with parents to phase out dummies sensitively, taking into account children’s emotional needs.)

·     Visual supervision is required at all times. At least every 10 minutes the key person or any member of staff will visually check on the child; looking for the rise and fall of the chest and if the sleep position has changed. These checks will be recorded. We will be especially alert to monitoring a sleeping baby during the first few weeks the baby is in our nursery.

·     Steps will be taken to keep babies from becoming too warm or over heating by regulating the room temperature, avoiding excess bedding and not overdressing or over-wrapping the baby; room temperature will be kept between 68-72oF degrees (16-20oC).

·     All babies must sleep in a cot or on an approved surface. Babies may not sleep in a nesting ring, car seat, bouncy chair etc.

·     Laid feet to foot end of bed/cot, head not at the top.

Research from The Lullaby Trust Uk, have advised that cot death can occur (rarely) when using car seats, bouncing chairs and buggies when the baby’ head drops and causes suffocation. Car seats and buggies do not allow the child to move comfortably when sleeping and cannot be cleaned effectively. It needs to be clear from the onset and be included in the policy, the setting’s position on this.

·       Babies heads will not be covered with blankets or bedding; babies cots will not be covered with blankets or bedding.

·       Under 1’s to be on a firm mattress.

·       Loose bedding, pillows, bumper pads, etc. will not be used in cots. We prefer not to use blankets; but will allow a small blanket, which will be tucked in at the foot and sides of the cribs.

·       Clean sheet per child shown by name of child washed weekly (more if needed).

·       Sleeping children not to woken unless emergency or going home.

·       Awake babies will be given supervised “tummy time”.

·       Toys and stuffed animals will not be allowed in the child’s cot.

·       A safety approved cot with a firm fitting mattress and tight-fitting sheet will be used. Cot mattresses will be cleaned daily and sanitised between children. Cots will be cleaned weekly. All babies will have their own bedding that is laundered weekly and changed as often as required.

·       Only one baby will be in cot at a time, except in the event of an emergency or during a fire drill.

·       No smoking is permitted on the premises and key persons who smoke will ensure that their clothes and breath do not smell of smoke when caring for babies.

·       To promote optimal growth, development, and well-being, Fledglings does not impose a limit on sleep duration. Children under the age of three will have uninterrupted rest or sleep time until at least 2pm each day. This rest period is crucial for essential brain development and aids in emotional regulation