PURPLE POST February 2021

A warm welcome to the February edition of Purple Post

We hope everyone has enjoyed the snowy weather recently. Don't forget.... the clocks go forward on 28th March - we've also enjoyed some spring-like weather too; and hopefully a nice long and warm summer will follow.

Parenta 'virtual' coffee morning

On the 25th February, Parenta hosted a 'virtual' coffee morning, where we talked about a lot of current topics, including Covid-19 vaccinations, staff well-being, safeguarding and more! It was a great success and we are already looking forward to our next webinar.

Winter well-being post from HR

Winter can be a challenging time for anyone and with the uncertainty of the ongoing pandemic, it can leave us all feeling anxious, low and frustrated. To try and ease some of these feelings, we researched a number of resources and came up with a few tips to improve your well-being this winter.


  1. Stay hydrated – This may sound simple but Health professionals recommend that we drink 2 litres of water a day, which amounts to roughly eight glasses. Regularly drinking water can greatly benefit your well-being as it increases energy levels and brain function aiding concentration, as well as flushing out the toxins within our bodies.
  2. Get outside and soak up the sunshine (if possible) – Even if it’s just for a few minutes a day, make sure you get up from your desk and get outside. Whether it be sitting in your garden or your favourite spot in your local park, being outside and taking in the fresh air can significantly improve your mood and reduce stress.
  3. Take part in some exercise – This doesn’t have to be intense, it can be as easy as a circuit walk around your road or doing some exercises at your desk – as long as you’re moving you’re winning!
  4. Make the most of your sleep – The NHS recommends that adults try to sleep for 6-9 hours a night but it’s not just about how much you sleep it’s also about the quality. Sleep allows the mind and body to recover and restore itself, so it’s important to maximise the quality of your sleep. For tips on how to do this visit https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene/how-to-determine-poor-quality-sleep
  5. Learn something new – With all the time spent at home, set yourself a challenge to learn a new skill. Doing so will help keep both your mind engaged and body active which all contributes to maintaining your well-being.
  6. Do something that makes you happy – Allot a period of time a day to doing whatever you want, whether that be a hobby, eating your favourite food, watching your favourite program or talking with loved ones – anything, as long as it brings you happiness.

 

We hope that you found these tips useful and as ever, please do reach out to us, your Line Manager or a colleague should you ever want to discuss any aspect of the above.

Meet the Impreza team!

Claire - IT Services Manager


Claire has been working at Impreza for 8 years. If she could go on holiday now she would love to go to Barbados with her best friend. Claire also loves Indian food, thriller books, her cat ‘Socks’ and has wrestled in strawberry jelly… more than once!

Sam - Senior Project Engineer/Team Leader


Sam has been working at Impreza for 5 years. He would go to Koh Tao in Thailand with his girlfriend and daughter if he could go on holiday right now. Sam's favourite food is mac and cheese, loves dogs and has recently binge watched 'Marcella'.

Jordan B - IT Projects Engineer


Jordan has been working at Impreza for nearly 2 years. He would love to travel to see the Northern Lights in Iceland. Jordan's favourite food is lasagne, he also has a dog called Frank, is an "open book" and has recently binge watched 'The Bay'.

Tony - Senior Engineer and Security Specialist


Tony has worked at Impreza for 7 years. He would like to go to the Dominican Republic with his wife and children if he could to enjoy the sunshine and beaches. Tony's favourite food is Thai, is reading 'Killing Floor' by Lee Child and once played 'The Beast' in a school play.

Mike - Senior Support Engineer/Customer Relationship Manager


Mike has worked at Impreza for 14 years. If he could go on holiday he would go to the Maldives with his wife and enjoy the sea. Mike's favourite food is chocolate, has a cat and dog, has recently been reading the 'Game of Thrones' series and has recently watched 'Cobra Kai'.

Dan - Helpdesk Engineer


Dan joined Impreza 2 months ago. He would like to go to Nepal and go mountain climbing with a sherpa. His favourite food is Italian, is reading 'Alone on the Wall' by Alex Honnold and enjoys photography. Dan has also recently watched 'Peaky Blinders'.

Joshua - Senior Helpdesk Engineer/Dispatch


Joshua has been working at Impreza for 3 years. If he could go on holiday he would go to the Algarve for a golfing weekend with friends. Joshua also loves a decent chinese takeaway, has recently read 'Misery' by Stephen King and is a twin.

Jonathon - Helpdesk Engineer


Jonathon joined Impreza 18 months ago. If he could go on holiday he would either go to Canada or Australia. Jonathon also has a cat, recently watched 'The West Wing' and loves a chinese takeaway.

Aaron - Helpdesk Engineer


Aaron has been working for Impreza for over 3 years. If he could go on holiday he would like to go somewhere with good food and wine. He is a foodie with 3 cats and has recently binge watched 'Breaking Bad'.

Jordan M - Office Administrator


Jordan joined Impreza 3 months ago. Jordan would love to go to Hawaii on an all-inclusive holiday with her boyfirend. Her favourite food is chocolate, has two dogs and multiple pet insects and has recently binge watched 'Bridgerton'. Jordan also lived in Spain for 7 years and speaks Spanish fluently.
REMINDER - Annual leave carry-over
Just a reminder that holiday carry-over from December 2020 to the 2021 holiday year will be as follows:
  • Colleagues that have not been furloughed during 2020 will be allowed to carry over up to 12 days (pro rata). 
  • Colleagues that have been furloughed will be allowed to take over the usual 5 days (pro rata). 
  • For colleagues that have been furloughed, the carry over days will need to be booked and taken by 31st March 2021. 
  • For colleagues not furloughed in 2020, a minimum of 5 carry over days must be used by 31st March 2021, with another 5 days used by 30th June 2021. The remaining 2 days must be used by 31st October 2021.
Have you been furloughed? How many days can I carry over? When do I need to use them all by?
I have been furloughed 5 days max 31st March 2021
I have not been furloughed 12 days max 5 days by 31st March 2021, 5 days by 30th June 2021, 2 days by 31st October 2021
There will be no opportunity to carry-over this leave beyond these dates. Please ensure that you book in your leave at the earliest opportunity to avoid losing your holiday. Holiday unused will be lost. 
Please don’t forget to use the staff intranet – it’s packed with resources to help us, our learners and our settings
A reminder that all Parenta resources to help ourselves, our learners and settings can be found here on our intranet, all in one handy place. We publish additional industry expert advice, news articles and crafts in our free magazine and on our blog.

Here are this month’s How to Guides and new additions to the staff intranet:


Spotlight on… Charlotte Mackelden
 This month, we caught up with Charlotte who was the Kudos winner for January!
 

Entice new customers with the power of testimonials!

We have received some amazing testimonials. The positive endorsements that we receive from our existing customers are not only a great way for giving praise to the individuals or teams concerned, but are used as a valuable marketing tool to attract new customers! 

Please ensure that after every positive interaction you have with a customer you ask them if they would be willing to send in a short testimonial and then follow up with the usual link https://www.parenta.com/testimonial/   
Julia Emson is honestly amazing. She helped me achieve my main outcome of Childcare Level 3. I honestly couldn’t have done it without her. Although I didn’t have the pleasure of starting the course with Julia, she took time to get to know me and she learnt and adapted her way of teaching to support me. Julia went above and beyond to help me and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. 

 She’s a credit to your team. 

 Thank you from the bottom of my heart Julia, and all the best for the future.
Jade, Old MacDonald’s Day Nursery 
I have had lovely feedback from the staff who are just finishing their courses. I know they were quite anxious in the beginning, especially with the first tutor they had not being very supportive or explaining tasks to them. I know the girls have come on massively over the last few months with Julia’s support and encouragement and it has been lovely being able to catch up with her myself to understand where the girls are with their college work and where we, as a setting can help them.
Chelsea, Old MacDonald’s Day Nursery
Lee organised candidates for us for two apprentice vacancies we had. She made the whole process so easy for us. She is the complete professional and understood all our needs as a business. I felt comfortable phoning Lee about anything to do with the process, and she kept in close contact with us. We now have employed two apprentices. We are so happy with the service, I wouldn’t hesitate going through Parenta again.
Beccy, Glebe House Day Nursery

Keep those high fives coming!

Thanks to all those who have been giving kudos throughout the month – please keep it going, it’s important now more than ever to give each other a deserved ‘pat on the back’. We have a winner for February – Katie Maclean – congratulations !

Don't forget you can start voting for our March employee of the month already. Keep that Kudos coming and please give recognition for all the hard work our colleagues are doing.

Welcome to:

  • Yasmeen Robinson
  • Joanne Flynn

Goodbye to:

  • Julie Norton
  • Clare Long
Did you know?
Sunday 28th March is the start of Daylight Saving Time, starting at 1 AM. So make sure you set the clocks an hour ahead, otherwise you might be a tad late to your next zoom meeting!

Most importantly, just enjoy the extra daylight and remember we will soon have the warm summer sun and finally be allowed to reunite with our friends and family again.

Let the countdown begin! 

Parenta Magazine

Our free monthly magazine is packed with news articles and advice pieces - all of which are written to help nursery managers with the efficient running of their settings and to promote the health, happiness and well-being of the children in their care. Please do read it and send the magazine link to your contacts.
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