As my little boy moves closer with his transition to school and will soon be saying his goodbye to the team at Early birds for the very last time, I have been giving a lot of thought about what I could do as a "Thank You" to the nursery team. Caleb has been in three different groups since he started at the nursery and so it does not feel fair to get something just for the Pre-School team. There is also the wider support staff, such as the cooks and management who also play an important role in supporting my child whilst he is in their care. Finances, are tight so as much as I'd like to be able to buy everyone a little gift, that is just not possible. And, then there is the question of what to buy......

Do the nursery team really want all the parents to bring in the same wine or chocolates?

I worked for the NHS and the Trust I worked for, as a Thank you to all of their staff during Covid, the managers were given some money to buy everyone little gifts. Although the gesture was appreciated, it was such a waste of money as nothing I received was kept. Lots of random tat that was just re-gifted. I moved to a different Trust and the next year they also gave out staff Thank You gifts but this time it was in the form of a £50 shopping voucher. This was much more useful as I was able to purchase a new pair of much needed shoes for Caleb and some more nappies.

This got me thinking about doing something along the same lines for the nursery team. Rather than each of the nursery leavers bringing in random little gifts for the nursery team, if we all clubbed together and put what we would have spent on the gifts into one big money pot, as a collective we should be able to raise at least a couple of hundred pounds, if not more.

We could then give this money at the end of August to the team and let them decide how they want to use it. Perhaps it will pay towards a team night out or subsidise their Christmas meal? Our small contributions would have much more impact if used in this way.

I shared this idea with a couple of other nursery parents and they all appeared to agree this was a sensible idea, so following their feedback I've created this Just Giving page. Most online giving platforms charge for their service but I've been able to negotiate with a small local children's charity and they have agreed to let us use their platform for free. By doing it through a charity we can maximise any money collected as it will be eligible for gift aid. This means if you can afford to donate £10, with gift aid it is worth £12.50 or £20 will become £25.

Just Giving take a couple of weeks to process all the money they receive and so if you are happy to support this idea, please can I ask that your donation is made before the end of July, this will ensure all the money can be handed over to the team at Early birds at the end of August.

If you have any questions or suggestions or anything else regarding this initiative, please feel free to give me a call: 07931548861 Jason (Caleb's Dad).