Advice from Public Health England

What is the coronavirus?
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus has been spreading since it was first reported in December 2019.

Symptoms include fever and respiratory symptoms including coughing and shortness of breath. Generally, coronavirus can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease.

If you develop these symptoms and have recently travelled to an area where the coronavirus is being widely reported or believe you may have come in contact with the virus then you should stay indoors and call NHS 111 informing them of the details linking you to the virus.

A case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Brighton & Hove?
An individual has tested positive and has been taken to a hospital where they are being well cared for.

Public Health England is the lead organisation responding to the situation. Public Health England is working with partner organisations to take measures to prevent any possible further spread of the virus.

Anyone who may have been in contact with the virus is currently being identified and will be contacted directly by Public Health England.

What should I do?
If you are feeling unwell and have not been contacted by Public Health England, then there is no need for concern.

You should continue to treat your symptoms as usual for seasonal flu or a common cold. If you feel unwell and do not know what you should do, then call NHS 111.

As always, if you have symptoms of a cold or flu, then there are measures you can take to bugs spreading:

· Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitiser gel.

· Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after using public transport. Use a sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.

· Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

· Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

Where can I find more information?

Information for the public: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public
Blog and frequently asked questions: https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2020/01/23/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-what-you-need-to-know/

Travel advice for those travelling and living overseas: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus

Battery Recycling

Millions of batteries are thrown away each year even when they still have lots of useful life left in them and even if they are completely drained end up creating long-term contamination in landfill sites.

From this week we will have a battery recycling container available to all parent to use. It also has a handy battery testing facility to see if there is any life in them before you throw them away, If you batteries are completely drained simply put them into the pot and we will make sure the go to the correct recycling facility once the container is full.

Cleaning Drinking Cups and Bottles

Recently some of the parents have been asking about cleaning drinking bottles as some of them can be difficult to access.

Sistema who manufacture some of the most popular bottles recommend that after use you remove the cap from the bottle, extend the pop up sipper to the open position and put the top either in the dishwasher or hand wash and then place in water for five minutes with a sterilising solution.
Under normal use this should be sufficient to clean the cap. They do however have videos available detailing how to fully clean the bottles which I have included below.

Twist N Sip Bottle Cap Cleaning Instructions Video from Sistema Plastics on Vimeo.
Davina Bottle Cleaning Caps instructions from Sistema Plastics on Vimeo.
Wave and Gripper Bottle Cap Cleaning Instructions from Sistema Plastics on Vimeo.

Another popular brand is Munchkin, so I have included the video for cleaning their Miracle Cups.



It is recommended that plastic drink bottles that are continually in use should be replaced every 12 months.

Purple People Food Bank

Purple People Kitchen Food Bank
The volunteers of the Food Bank are making an urgent appeal for donations in kind or in cash to allow them to continue with the vital work they do for residents of Portslade and West Hove, to meet with the increasing demand on the service they offer.

So to help out, this year we have decided to collect items for the food bank throughout December. Each week we will be asking parents to bring in any donations that they can spare. We will be concentrating on a different type each week and plan to take the donations to the food bank on Friday. 

Our plan is to collect the following items...

Monday 2nd December - Friday 6th December : Tins (especially Tinned Meats, Tinned Fish and 

                                                                                        Tinned Meals)

Monday 9th December - Friday 13th December : Toiletries (such as toothpaste, shampoo, 

                                                                                                  body wash, etc)

Monday 16th December - Friday 20th December : Tea, Coffee, Hot Chocolate, UHT Milk, etc

Good Luck

A big thank you to everyone that brought in food, helped out and attended today's leavers Party at Baby Ducks. We would like to wish everyone that is moving on to a new school or childcare great things for the future.

Name Writing

This week the children that are getting ready for school have been practicing writing their names ...

Setting the butterflies free

Today we set our butterflies free. After watching them grow each day from really small caterpillars to butterfies.