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Freshly Minted
Coin Street family and children’s centre newsletter
Issue 1 | March 2015
COMPETITION WINNER ANNOUNCED
There were many suggestions to rename the family and children’s
centre Newsletter, but one stood out as the most refreshing entry.
CONTENTS
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Pg.1
FAMILY AND
CHILDREN’S CENTRE
(F&CC) Pg.2
TRAINING AND
EMPLOYMENT Pg.3
STAFF ANNOUCEMENTS
Pg.3
NURSERY Pg.3 & 4
LOCAL NEWS Pg.5
EVENTS Pg.5
HAVE YOUR SAY Pg.5
T
hank you to everyone who
submitted a suggestion to
rename the Family and Children’s
Centre Newsletter. We were
looking for something new and
exciting that said something
about Coin Street. We are very
pleased to announce Jason Fox
as the well deserved winner.
Jason said, “Freshly Minted is a
pun related to minting new coins.
It sounds healthy and vibrant
and suggests new information
being made available, which is
what a newsletter does. It alludes
to the way that the centre helps
produce shiny new ‘coins’ – the
happy children and their families
who use the services.”
To congratulate Jason on his
success, he was awarded a £30
Amazon voucher. We hope he
and his son, Joe, enjoy spending
their winnings.
Special thanks goes to runners
up Rebekah Tagoe, Tissam and
Michelle Nightingale who each
received a £10 Amazon voucher
for their brilliant entries.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
30 March–10 April
Easter Holiday Club
See page 2 for more
information.
8, 9 and 10 April
Preparing for Interviews.
FREE course. See page 4 for
more information.
The winning entry, chosen by
Christina Mittelmaier, Chair of
the Parents/Carers VOICE! has
encouraged a complete redesign
of the newsletter.
If you would like to make any
suggestions for Freshly Minted or
have information you would like
to share with other parents and
carers, please send submissions
to Jenny Deeks at j.deeks@
coinstreet.org
Pictured above: Jason Fox with his son,
Joe.
24 April, 12.30–3pm
Parent/Carers VOICE lunch
Join us at the Coin Street
neighbourhood centre.
FAMILY AND CHILDREN’S CENTRE (F&CC)
TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT
Preparing for interviews
Deaf parents group
In partnership with Deaf
Parenting UK, Coin Street
f&cc have set up a special
group for parents who are
profoundly deaf or have a
hearing impairment and their
children.
Holiday Play Scheme
We had a very successful
Holiday Play Scheme during
the February half term. The
children enjoyed a variety of
sporting activities, arts and crafts
workshops and a scavenger
hunt at Bernie Spain Gardens.
The highlight of the week was
the visit to The Chocolate
Museum in Brixton. The children
learned about the history of
chocolate, how it is made and
were lucky enough to enjoy a
special tasting session.
The next Holiday Play Scheme
will take place during the Easter
holidays, from Monday 30
March – Friday 10 April. To book
a place for your child, visit www.
coinstreet.org and complete
the registration and booking
forms. For more information
please contact Carine Leung on
020 7021 1600 or
c.leung@coinstreet.org
Pictured above: Holiday Play Scheme
art workshop.
Home from Home
Lambeth Council
Children’s Centre Survey
Thank you to everyone who
has completed the Children’s
Centre Survey. Your responses
will help us to improve our
services and gives you the
opportunity to tell the council
why you value our provision,
and why it should continue to
be funded.
2
So far we have around 70
responses and are hoping to
get the views of 100 parents
and carers. Please share your
thoughts by visiting
http://bit.ly/1CdU7Sv
Meet with other parents
and have a go at making
homemade beauty products,
art, knitting and crocheting.
Receive advice and information
on parenting skills, increase
your confidence and improve
your wellbeing.
Tuesdays, 9.30am–12pm, term
time only. This course is by
referral only.
For more information contact
Hommie Beharry on
020 7021 1623 or
h.beharry@coinstreet.org
Pictured right: Home from Home craft
workshop.
The course is supported
by sign interpretation and
speech and language
specialists.
Thursdays, 10am-12pm,
monthly from 12 March. Free,
just turn up.
For more information contact
Hayley McGrane on
020 7021 1634 or
h.mcgrane@coinstreet.org
FREE course at Blackfriars
Settlement on 8, 9 and 10 April.
Learn good interview techniques
and the importance of body
language. This course is
available for Southwark residents
aged over 19 years.
For more information call
078 0937 7464 email
learner.support@blackfriarssettlement.org.uk or visit
www.blackfriars-settlement.
org.uk
STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS
New student Social Worker
Nikki will be joining the Family
Support Team Monday-Friday
until July 2015.
Nikki has a degree in law and
is currently completing an MA
in social work. She will will be
supporting the team in case work
management and to support
the delivery of referral sessions.
Please say hello to Nikki and
welcome her to the team.
Pictured right: Nikki
NURSERY
Chinese New Year
On Wednesday 18 February,
Investigators took a trip to China
Town in preparation for their
New Year celebration.
The children bought a variety of
resources including chopsticks,
bowls, spoons and a selection
of Chinese fruits. After travelling
back to the nursery by bus, all
of the children enjoyed practicing
with their chopsticks in the role
play area, tasting lots of exotic
fruit.
On Friday 20 February, Jo and
Kathia cooked delicious Chinese
meals for the children. Lunch
included Chinese chicken wings
with rice and crispy seaweed
and for dinner they had chow
mien, vegetable spring rolls
and prawn crackers. To finish
off the celebration, each child
cracked open a fortune cookie,
something they all really enjoyed.
3
NURSERY
LOCAL NEWS
Red Nose Day
On Friday 13 March, the nursery
children and staff took part in a
variety of exciting activities for Red
Nose Day helping to raise £200
for comic relief.
Discoverers made delicious
cupcakes which quickly sold out
thanks to the Coin Street staff.
Sam volunteered to makeover
the children with some fun face
painting and they all took part
in a Red Nose hunt around the
nursery.
We would like to thank everyone
who gave a donation, every
penny counts. The money we
raised will help children in the
UK and abroad lead happier
healthier lives.
Pictured left: Doing something funny for
money on Red Nose Day
The importance of outdoor play
It is our responsibility to ensure
the children who attend the Coin
Street nursery access outdoor
activities on a daily basis. The
NHS recommends children
under five take part in three
hours of exercise a day, as
well as a mixture of light and
energetic activity. As a child
care provider, it is our aim to
encourage a healthy and active
lifestyle, as well as exploring new
ways to enjoy outdoor play.
As part of her university studies,
Kate Hobbs, Early Years
Manager, recently circulated a
questionnaire to parents and
practitioners focusing on taking
risks and facing challenges while
playing outdoors. Several of the
participants responded to say
they felt the outdoor space at the
nursery could be improved, so
we have been looking at how we
are able to facilitate this.
4
The staff and children in the
nursery have been making
obstacle courses and see-saws
to experiment with height and
balance. Initially the children
were a bit scared but with lots of
encouragement and practice the
children’s confidence is growing.
Pictured right: Children enjoying playing
outdoors
Active Kids Vouchers
You can help inspire children
to lead healthier lives by
collecting Active Kids Vouchers
every time you shop with
Sainsbury’s. Simply collect
your vouchers when you make
The council have proposed the
closure of Waterloo and Minet
libraries. The plan for the profit
made from selling the sites, is to
create a £10million endowment
fund for the culture and library
services.
There are also ambitious plans
to generate income in local
parks with a new events strategy
to bring a cultural festival to
Lambeth and hold more events
across the whole borough.
You can have your say about
these proposed changes to
Lambeth’s cultural services
by completing the online
questionnaire by midnight on
Friday 24 April 2015. To complete
the survey or find out more ways
to have your say, visit http://bit.
ly/1ydrjWD
EVENTS
Now, the children are exploring
with the climbing frame,
planks and other resourses
to create their own obstacle
courses showing us that they
are much more comfortable
with undertaking risks and
challenges.
There are many benefits to
outdoor play, from increased
movement to improved risk
assessing and experimenting
with imagination. We apologise
if this increased amount of
exploration and independence
has had an impact on the
amount of washing you’re doing
at home. Muddy knees and
sand in shoes are just some of
the unfortunate side effects of a
healthy sense of adventure.
Lambeth Cultural Services Consultation
Easter egg hunt at Gabriel’s Wharf, 3-6 April
Hunt for delicious chocolate eggs
this Easter weekend at Gabriel’s
Wharf. If you spot an egg in one
of the designer craft shops, just
pop in and claim it.
Saturday 4 April from 1-4pm
underneath the bandstand.
There will also be a FREE Easter
craft workshop for children on
For more information visit http://
bit.ly/1FQifie
Children must be accompanied
by an adult to participate.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Freshly Minted is a newsletter
Nursery Gate
We kindly ask that parents
and carers do not allow
children to open the nursery
gate or press the exit button
for the nursery door. This is to
ensure the safety of all of the
children in the nursery.
a purchase and pop them
into the collection box at the
Nursery entrance. We will then
exchange the vouchers for an
exciting range of equipment
and experiences to encourage
a healthy and active lifestyle.
for you, the parents and carers
who access our services. We
want it to include relevant
information that interests you.
If you have a submission or a
suggestion, we want to hear it.
Have you got a birthday or
celebration coming us that you
would like to share with other
families? A special thank you to
a member of staff? What about
some local news or offers that
you want other families to know
about?
Please send all your comments
and suggestions to Jenny Deeks,
Head of Family and Children’s
Centre, j.deeks@coinstreet.
org and we’ll try to include them
in the next issue of Freshly
Minted.
Coin Street neighbourhood centre, 108 Stamford Street, South Bank, London SE1 9NH
020 7021 1600 helpdesk@coinstreet.org www.coinstreet.org
facebook.com/CoinStreet
@CoinStreet
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