Nursery News 16.5.2022

NURSERY NEWS
16th May 2022 – Edition 261
Find out About
A. Eggs Arriving
B. Big Nursery Art session with a professional artist.
C. What the children are learning about this week

A Eggs Arriving.
How Egg-citing!
This week we will be receiving a delivery from ‘Living Eggs’.
The eggs arrive almost ready to hatch, so we hope by
Tuesday or Wednesday we should see the chicks beginning to
hatch out from their eggs. We keep the chicks for about 10
days so that the children can watch them grow, and learn
about how to care for them. We plan lots learning
opportunities around the eggs/chicks over the next two weeks.
Updates to follow……

B. Big Nursery Art session with a professional artist.
On Monday 23rd May all Big Nursery children will have the opportunity to take part in
an art workshop with a professional artist.
Charly, from Colour and Craft Parties will work with children in small groups to
produce their own acrylic on canvas artwork. Each child will work at their own easel.
Charly will show children how to create a specific design, step by step, and the
children will paint alongside her. Your child will then bring their artwork home. We
can’t wait to see the paintings!

C What the children are learning about this week:
The theme in little nursery is Dear Zoo.
In Catkins the children will be listening to animal
sounds that are played to them on the iPod. The
children will listen to the sounds and see how many
they recognise. The children will play a game called
Sound Lotto with Mrs. McGrath, they will listen to the
animal noises that are played to them and try to
name the animal that makes the noise.
In room three, Mrs. Watson will set up a pet shop for the children to play in.
they will explore the role of shop keeper and customer as they use the tills
and write shopping lists. The children will also work towards matching images
of animals with animal toys.
In the link, Mrs. Brinkley will have an array of recycling for the children to craft
box models. They will be encouraged to make homes for animals in the pet
shop. Mrs. Brinkley will talk with the children about the materials that they are
using and the animals that the homes are for.
Outside, Miss Gaffney will be moving around the garden looking for
characters from the Dear Zoo story. She will encourage the children to look
high and low to see how many animals they can find.
The theme in big nursery is growing – chicks.
In room one, Miss Skai will be playing the Chicken Out
game with the children. The focus for this game will be
for the children to wait patiently and take turns. The
children will need to find matching pairs of animals,
every time they find a pair, they will place a chicken with their farmer. This
lovely game will build on the children’s memory recall to find animal cards that
have already been turned over.
In room two, Miss Howe will support the children with writing their whole
names on their work. Children will work towards forming their letters correctly
and holding their pencils effectively.
The children will be using different media to make their own chicks to bring
home. They will be able to create a chick using lollipop sticks, paper and glue.
They will have the opportunity to create another chick using yellow paint and
forks. The children will be shown that they can make similar items using
different methods.
Outside, Mrs. Patterson will have a washing line set up for the children to
wash and dry the clothes for our dollies. They will be shown how to peg up
their freshly laundered dolls clothes on the line and encouraged to hang them
up by themselves. There will be a lot of water play outside, so please
remember lots of spare clothes.

NURSERY NEWS
9th May 2022 – Edition 260
Find out About
A. Welcome back to Mrs Davies
B. Parentline
C. Summer Safety.
D. Some Dates for Your Diary.
E. What the children are learning about this week

A. Welcome back to Mrs Davies
Mrs Davies has now returned and is fully recovered from her
time in hospital.

B. Parentline

Click here for a link to the flyer

C. Summer Safety.
I would like to share with you some tips for the summer term. We still go outside
everyday, but we do limit how long children can go outside if it
is very hot. We encourage all children to drink plenty,
reminding them that their water bottle is always available. We
do encourage children to come inside for a rest in the shade.
We are very lucky in that our school remains fairly cool in the
summer, with lots of windows for ventilation.
We would ask you to apply sun protection cream to your child
before they attend morning or afternoon sessions. If your child
attends all day and you wish your child to have additional
cream applied at lunchtime, please send a bottle of sun
protection cream into school (please pass it to their Keyworker) and we will store it
safely in the classroom, out of the children’s reach. This cream should be left in
school. Ensure their name is on it. Staff will assist children to apply sun protection
cream at lunchtime. Please do not leave sun protection cream in your child’s bag.
We do not want children sharing their cream with their friends. One year we found a
pair of children applying it to their teeth to use as toothpaste.
Please provide your child with a cap with their name on when
the weather is sunny. Remember 2, 3,and 4 year olds cannot
always remember the whereabouts of clothing that can be
removed. Consider what you would like your child to wear at
school for safety. Children are still climbing and riding bikes so
long sundresses and strappy sandals are not always practical!
Messy Play: As the weather improves we take more and more activities outside.
More water is used and play can become much messier. Please ensure clothes are
play friendly and send in spares as children can become soaked if they pour water
down their clothes, even with aprons on! Wet sleeves are a constant problem– One
way to help solve this is to send your child into school in short sleeved clothes.

D. Some Dates for Your Diary.
2022 Summer term and school holidays
 Half term from Monday 30st May to Friday 3rd June – School Closed
 Monday 27th June – Additional Willow Jubilee Holiday – School Closed
 Thursday 21st July. Summer term ends.
 Autumn Term begins Monday 5th September 2022

D. What the children are learning about this week:
The theme in Little Nursery is mini beasts.
In Catkins, the children will be working towards shape recognition and
repeating simple patterns. The children will look at the patterns that they see
on butterflies, they will try to recreate the simple colour pattern that they see
on the wings.
In room three, the children will participate in a shared read of Feely Bugs with
Mrs. Watson. This is a lovely book that has a different sensory insect on each
page for the children to explore. At the end of their story, the children will
colour in their very own Feely Bug picture.
In the link, the children will be learning about different painting techniques.
Mrs. Brinkley will talk to the children about the various ways which marks can
be made. These techniques will include using fingers, marbles, sponges and
rollers to explore ways to make marks with paint.
Outside, Miss Gaffney will use clay and shells to help the
children create their own snails. The children will look at some
real life snails to take inspiration.
The theme in Big Nursery is life cycles.
In room one, Miss Skai will be talking to the children
about the butterflies that they are helping to grow. The
children are very excited to learn about and see the life
cycle of a butterfly. Miss Skai will also ask the children
to join her with a group read of The Very Hungry
Caterpillar.
In room two, Miss Howe will work with the children on writing their own
names. The children will be given a circle for each letter in their name. When
they have written their entire name, they will piece together the circles to
create a caterpillar name card. This will support the children with their fine
motor skills as well as recognizing the letters in their name.
Outside, there will be a huge focus on the mud kitchen and the children will be
encouraged to bake and create mud pies using soil and different utensils. The
children will also have the chance to splash around as Mrs. Patterson will
provide a lovely area for the children to play with water toys. Aprons will be
provided but please remember to provide plenty of spare clothes.

NURSERY NEWS

2^nd May 2022 – Edition 259

Find out About

Dunstable Locality Children’s Centre
Thank you for the donations of tissues
What the children are learning about this week

Dunstable Locality Children’s Centre

The children’s centres in Central Bedfordshire have been developed in line with the needs of the local community so no one centre is the same. Children’s centres work with partners to offer a range of services to meet your child’s needs all in one place.

There is a core set of services they aim to provide:

child and family health services including antenatal, postnatal, breast feeding and baby weighing sessions (drop-in)
advice on parenting and parenting programmes
information and advice to parents on childcare, early years provision and 2-year-old funded places
early education and school readiness, early communication support e.g. speech and language drop-ins
outreach and family support services including home visits
a variety of drop-in sessions

Click here for the link for the current timetable for Dunstable Children’s Centre

2. Thank you for the donations of tissues

A big thank you to all parents who have donated boxes of tissues this week. We are now well stocked for runny noses!

3. What the children are learning about this week

The theme throughout nursery is mini beasts.

In Catkins the children will be focusing on colour recognition. They will have a variety of mini beasts in the playdough and as they play, the children and staff will talk about the colours of the bugs that they see.

In room three, the children will be playing the Snail Race game, they will take turns to roll the dice and move their snails along the track. This teaches the children to wait for their turn and share with their friends.

In the link area, the children will be looking at patterns and symmetry. The children will create their own mini beast collages, using different colours and following set patterns.

Outside, the children will be building upon their fine motor skills by untangling spiders from stringy spider webs. To do this they have the choice of using tongs, tweezers or their fingers.

In room one, to celebrate Eid, the children will be making a crescent moon and star decoration. The children will talk about the meaning of the star and crescent moon as they make their decoration.

They will also have a shared read of Feely Bugs, an interactive story which encourages the children to explore the different textures on the pages and discuss what they feel like.

In room two, Miss Skai will focus on creating lady bugs using potato mashers to dip in paint and print. The children will also create their own glittery spider webs. They will look at different marks that can be seen on the bugs and try to replicate these marks with the tools available.

Outside, children will focus on maths and mini beasts. The children will have a tray of laminated spiders that have numbers on their backs. The spiders will have holes on their bodies for the children to thread some legs onto. They will match the amount of legs they add to the number on the back of the spider.

NURSERY NEWS

25th April 2022 – Edition 258

Find out About

A. Welcome to all our new families

B. Covid Update

C. Request for boxes of tissues

D. Primary School Places for September 2022

E. What the children are learning about this week

A. Welcome to all our new families

The beginning of the Summer term sees us enrol Spring born children in to the Nursery. These children have all had their third Birthday between the 1st January and 31st March 2022.

These children are known as Red Group. There are 11 children in Red Group. Five of them are already known to us, as they attended in Catkins Class, our class for 2 year olds. Six children are joining us from our waiting list. Mrs Brinkley is looking after all the Red group children.

I’m sure you have all noticed outside that we have three groups waiting in the morning each side of the front gate.

We are working very hard to ensure we take children in on time.

The gates open for the youngest bubble at 8:45am

The older bubble, beginning with Mrs Patterson’s Blue group, is scheduled to be invited in at 8:50am.

We would ask that all parents arrive at their allocated time slot. Parents arriving late slows down the whole process. We do understand that some parents have to be in two different schools at the same time, and that is not possible! We try to help all children to enter as swiftly as possible, but please understand staff are allocated to particular bubbles. If you arrive with your 2 year old at 8:52am you may see 5 or 6 adults outside and wonder why nobody steps forward to greet your child. By that time all the younger bubble staff have gone inside to support their children to hang up their coats and bags and prepare for register time. We will ask an appropriate team member to return to the front of school to meet your child as soon as possible.

B. Covid Update

From Friday 1st April 2022 there will no longer be free, universal access to testing for COVID-19 (LFD or PCR) in England, due to changes in government policy. With these changes, we are advising the following:

· Anyone with a positive COVID-19 test result will be advised to try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 5 days, which is when they are most infectious. For children and young people aged 18 and under, the advice will be 3 days.

· people with symptoms of a respiratory infection, including COVID-19, and a high temperature, or who feel unwell, to try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people where they can, until they feel well enough to resume normal activities and they no longer have a high temperature.

C. Request for boxes of tissues

We are running very low on boxes of tissues. We seem to have lots of runny noses! We would be very grateful for any donations of boxes of tissues for the children to use.

D Primary School Places for September 2022

On Tuesday 19th April 2022 it was National Offer Day. All parents who made on time applications to their Local Authority for a Primary school place for their child in September 2022 will have received notification of the school their child has been allocated.

The Central Beds Website says that: ‘All online applicants and those who have supplied an email address with their paper application will receive an email between 9am and 4pm with the outcome of their application. Parents who have not provided an email address with their paper application form will have their decision letter posted to them’

Every year there is always at least one family who has not applied for a primary school place. There are processes to follow for late applicants, please see your appropriate Local Authority Website, based on your home address, should you still need to apply for a place for your child.

We hope as many of you as possible were allocated your first choice of school. We are, as a school, able to access a Central Beds website which will tell us which school children who live in the Central Beds area have been allocated to. Sometimes we are unable to see which school children with a Luton Home address are allocated to. In coming weeks we may check with parents to ensure we have the correct information regarding your child’s destination School.

E What the children are learning about this week

The theme in big nursery this week is growing – animals.

In room one, Mrs Patterson will have a pet shop set up for the children to express themselves through role play. They will be able to act out the role of pet owners looking for products for their pet or even to buy a new animal to join their household. The children will have the opportunity to broaden their vocabulary when talking to each other and the adults as they play. There will also be a shared read of Handa’s Surprise for the children to take part in, they will follow the story and look at the illustrations together. At the end of the story, the children will discuss the exciting things that happened to the story’s main character.

In room two, Miss Skai will be focusing on patterns of animals. Miss Skai will provide the children with pattern sheets of different animals and ask them to continue the pattern that they see using paint and the appropriate colours. This will improve the children’s colour recognition skills as well as their fine motor movements. They will be encouraged to discuss how they will use their utensils to recreate their patterns. The children will be shown how to make animals out of paper plates and other materials and they will be invited to make their own animal to take home.

Outside, Mrs Cashmore will be focusing on building the children’s fine motor skills using tweezers to collect different characters and place them in matching pots. The children will be invited to make some binoculars and decorate them with animal print patterns, they will talk about the animals that they may have seen at the zoo and the patterns that they have seen on each animal. The children will be encouraged to look around the nursery and even at their own clothes for any patterns they can see using their new binoculars.

The theme in little nursery is keeping healthy.

In Catkins, the focus will be on dental hygiene and the children will be colouring in and cleaning up laminated pictures of teeth. They will use language to discuss how to clean effectively and how often we should brush our teeth.

Outside, the children will be focusing on the physical side of staying healthy and working on different movements and stretching in addition to ball skills throughout the week.

In the link, Miss Gaffney will discuss healthy eating and the children will use fruit to dip in paint and make prints on paper.

The children will take part in a shared read of ‘I Care for My Teeth’ and ‘Going to the Dentist’, they will talk about how they care for their own teeth and can share experiences that they have had with their own dentist.

NURSERY NEWS

28th March 2022 – Edition 257

Find out About

A. School Holiday next week

B. Thank you for the fruit donations

C. Lost money?

D. Have you lost a wireless ear bud?

E. Easter Holiday Activities

F. What the children are learning about this week

A. School Holiday next week

Next week is the school holiday for the children so the nursery is closed.

We reopen again on Wednesday 20th April 2022.

B. Thank you for the fruit donations

Thank you so much for your kind donations of fruit. We have plenty now to see us through until the end of term on Friday. The children have been enjoying the fruit at snack time.

C. Lost money?

Some money was found outside the school gates by the fence on Tuesday 22nd March. If you think you have lost some money whilst waiting for your child at nursery pick up, please come and speak to the office staff.

D. Have you lost a wireless ear bud?

A single wireless earbud was found in some bags of box modelling materials last week. If anyone thinks it may be theirs, please speak to the office staff.

E. Easter Holiday Activities

https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/holiday-activities

F. What the children are learning about this week

The theme throughout nursery is Easter.

In Catkins the children will be looking at shapes and numbers. The adults will model mathematical language to the children and show them how to manipulate the playdough to make simple 2d shapes. The children will make Easter hats and decorate them with stickers, sparkles and lots of colour.

In little nursery, the children will be making triangle shaped chicks using lollipop sticks, glue and ribbon. The staff will take the children on a hunt for pictures of Easter eggs and together, they will match the patterns on the eggs. The children will also be learning about light and colour as they make Easter egg suncatchers to place in their windows at home.

In big nursery, the children will be focusing on matching numerals and amounts, they will be asked to count the number of chicks and place them in an egg with the corresponding number on. The children will also take part in a shared read of Little Wooly Lamb, which will allow the adult to stretch the children’s vocabulary as they encourage discussions about animals that they have seen while at the farm or zoo.

In room two, the children will be decorating an Easter tree with Mrs. Patterson. This is a traditional activity that always engages the children, they love to display their work and it creates a real talking point for them.

Outside, the children will take part in an Easter egg hunt. They will search the garden in small groups and look for eggs that have been hidden by the Easter Bunny. Once the children have found their eggs, they can sit down in our outside kitchen area and eat them with their friends.

NURSERY NEWS

21st March 2022 – Edition 256

Find out About

Children’s Community Health Hub
Lack of fruit at snack time!
Box Modelling
Covid 19 Update
What the children are learning about this week

Children’s Community Health Hub

The Bedfordshire and Luton Children’s Community Health HUB is our one stop service for our Health Visiting, School Nursing 0-19 and our Looked after Children Teams for parents, carers and professionals. Our Luton Community Paediatric Service can also be contacted via this number, but for emails please continue to use their own dedicated email address.

To access the Health HUB call us on 0300 555 0606 or mail: ccs.bedsandlutonchildrenshealthhub@nhs.net

Our trained Hub administrators will be at the end of the phone to help and advise, and to signpost to you to the correct services.

2. Lack of fruit at snack time!

We have had very little fruit brought into school in the last week or so, to share at fruit time. I know we have some parents who regularly donate fruit, so a big Thankyou goes out to them. We ask that every parent consider donating a six pack of apples, or a bunch of bananas or a bag of satsumas once every six weeks. If all parents send in some fruit we have plenty to share at grouptime. We give children a small portion of fruit to have with their milk at snacktime, usually about a quarter of an apple/ banana/ satsuma. The children really enjoy their snacktime.

3. Box Modelling

Next week we are learning about recycling in big nursery so we will be needing lots of boxes to recycle into different creations! We would be very grateful for any of the following that you can offer…

Boxes, not too big. The biggest boxes we like are cereal boxes.
Plastic bottle tops
Yogurt Pots, butter tubs and other plastic containers
Toilet roll tubes
Egg boxes

4. Covid 19 Update

We have been made aware of several members of our setting who have tested positive for COVID 19. We are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with our local Public Health team. This letter is to inform you of the current situation and provide advice on how to support your child.

Our setting remains open, and your child should continue to attend if they remain well.

What to do if your child develops symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19

If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they should self-isolate and book a PCR test as soon as possible. This can be arranged via https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.

Typical symptoms of COVID-19 are a new, continuous cough, or a high temperature, or a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia).

Please note that we have seen that the additional symptoms of an upset stomach, runny nose, headache, sore throat, unusual fatigue (tiredness) or cold-like symptoms could be early warning signs of a potential COVID-19 infection.

If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they should get a PCR test and remain at home at least until the result is known.

If the PCR test is negative, the child can return to the setting once well again · If the PCR test is positive, the child should follow Government guidance for people with Covid-19

If your child does develop COVID-19 symptoms, you can seek advice from the NHS at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus-symptoms/.

If you are concerned about your child’s symptoms, or they are worsening you should contact NHS 111 at https://111.nhs.uk/ or by phoning 111.

How to help to stop COVID-19 spreading

There are things you can do to help to reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19: · get vaccinated – everyone aged 12 and over can book COVID-19 vaccination appointments now or attend a drop-in site. See https://www.blmkccg.nhs.uk/drop-in for clinic locations and times.

get tested and stay at home if you have symptoms
stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you test positive
consider taking a test even if you do not have symptoms
wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitiser regularly throughout the day
cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards
meet people outside and avoid crowded areas
open doors and windows to let in fresh air if meeting people inside
wear a face covering when it’s hard to stay away from other people – particularly indoors or in crowded places – and on school/public transport

Further information is available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

5. What the children are learning about this week

In little nursery the theme is growing.

Throughout catkins and little nursery, the children will be revisiting planting that they have done previously and the changes that have happened to their seeds. They will talk about how the seeds have changed and have now grown into cress and beans. The staff and children will discuss things their seeds needed to grow and will then plant some peas and carrots.

Children will also be thinking about who is special to them and why. They will work on their communication skills by sharing this information with their key workers.

In big nursery the theme is recycling.

In room one, Miss Skai will be playing a recycling game with the children. The focus will be on how we can recycle certain materials and the children will get to sort different resources into the correct containers. Miss Skai will explain to the children why it is a good idea that we recycle and reuse some items.

Miss Skai will also complete a group read of Josie and the Junk Box, the children will follow along with the story and gain an understanding that print has meaning.

In room two, Mrs. Cashmore will be focusing on junk modelling with the children. They will be encouraged to create some amazing box modelling masterpieces to bring home and share with you all.

The children will have the opportunity to reuse some bottle tops by decorating an uppercase image of their own initial. As the children work, they will be able to discuss other ways to reuse and recycle their rubbish.

Outside, Mrs. Patterson will be supporting the children in making a large scale recycling collage. The children will glue their recycling onto a large canvas and turn rubbish into art. Mrs. Patterson is planning to show the children that ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’.

There will be chalk available for the children to draw on the pavement. They will be encouraged to draw different shapes on the floor and fill those shapes with natural resources such as sticks and stones.

NURSERY NEWS

14th March 2022 – Edition 255

Find out About

Is your child ready to learn?
Being on time, a reminder…
Parking, a reminder…
What the children are learning about this week

Is your child ready to learn?

Central Bedfordshire Primary School Readiness Information

Starting school is a huge step in a child’s life – and it can be understandably daunting for both the child and their parents or carers.

That’s why we have produced a handy ’16 ticks’ leaflet of things which you can do with your child now to make sure that they’re ready for when they start school.

The list includes everything from being able to take off their coat and shoes and being toilet trained to being able to enjoy a book and being aware of other children and making friends.

Don’t worry if your child can’t do them all by September, if that’s when they’re due to start school – it’s not a competition.

However, by being able to do some, or all, of these things, it will really help them make that big step.

There will always be people on hand to help your child if they can’t do something.

You can also access by clicking the link here

2. Being on time, a reminder…

We are finding that more and more parents are arriving late in the mornings and this is becoming increasingly disruptive to the registration routines of the staff and the children.

We have well established drop off and collection routines. If parents arrive on time then we can all be safely inside by 8:55am.

We expect Little Nursery to arrive for 8:45am and Big Nursery to arrive at 8:50am.

3. Parking, a reminder…

Please can all parent’s consider the needs of our neighbours when parking your cars in the area local to the school. Please do not park across neighbours drives. We try to maintain good relationships with our neighbours. We are not able to control what happens outside school, we can only suggest that parents park with consideration.

4. What the children are learning about this week

In big nursery the theme is the three little pigs.

In room 1, the children will take part in a shared read of The Three Little Pigs with Miss Skai. After they have finished reading their story the children will piece together their very own storybook, they will use colouring pencils to decorate the pictures and staples to join the books together. Miss Skai will also be supporting the children with continuing patterns; they will be looking at the patterns on the clothes of the three little pigs.

In room 2, Mrs. Cashmore will have some sticks, straw and bricks available for the children to create houses for the three little pigs. The children will be talking about shapes as they make little piggy door hangers, they will also have the chance to create a collage of the big bad wolf. There will be the opportunity for the children to explore sponge painting, as they decorate the homes of the three little pigs.

Outside, Mrs. Patterson will be building dens with the children around the playground. She will discuss the materials that the pigs have used for their houses and the materials that we have in school for our dens. The children will be encouraged to role play as the little pigs and the big bad wolf. In addition to this roleplay, the children will play what’s the time Mr. Wolf? with Mrs. Patterson. This is a favourite among the children and encourages number practice as well as building social skills.

In little nursery the theme is hospitals.

In Catkins, the staff will be decorating ambulances with the children. They will discuss what an ambulance is for and where they go. The children will talk about times they may have seen or heard ambulances when they have been outside.

In the link, Mrs. Brinkley will support the children in creating a still life painting. They will look at a vase of daffodils and choose the correct colours to paint what they can see.

Miss Gaffney will have an ambulance roleplay in the garden and there will be a hospital set up in room three for the children to play in. The children will look after each other and help anyone who is ‘poorly’ or ‘hurt’.

NURSERY NEWS

7th March 2022 – Edition 254

Find out About

A. Lost property

B. Keeping children safe reminder

C. What the children are learning about this week

A. Lost property

Next week, we will be bringing out our lost property box that has been building up over the past few months. If you think your child may have lost something, please take a look. We would like to find a home for them all!

B. Keeping children safe reminder

Parents entrust their children into our care. There are rigorous procedures in place outlined by the government to keep all children safe from harm. I think it is important to let you know about some of the procedures that may affect you and your family whilst being part of our School Community, and I will try to explain the reasons for having these procedures.

We need to know where children are if they are absent from school. If for any reason you decide to keep your child at home, on a day when your child should be at school please telephone in to school as soon as possible and let us know. When registers are completed at the beginning of the session we have to put codes in the registers regarding the reasons for a child’s absence. If we do not hear from you, you will receive a call from one of the office staff or the headteacher asking about the whereabouts of your child.

If you know in advance that you will be absent, for example for a medical appointment, please let staff know and the appropriate code can be entered in the register.

If you plan to go on holiday in term time, please fill in a holiday form (available from the office staff) which again will let us know the dates that you will be absent. Unexplained absences have to be followed up. If a child is absent for any length of time and we have not heard from their parents as to the reasons for their absence, the child become a ‘Missing Child’. In this circumstance we are compelled to contact the Police and Social Care.

We need to record all injuries. If your child has a fall or receives a bump in school that we are aware of, we will fill in an accident letter to tell you about the incident. This letter will be passed on to you outside, by a member of staff. There is another copy kept in school.

Please inform your child’s Keyworker if your child comes into school with an existing injury that has occurred outside of school time. Staff must make a note of any existing injuries a child has. Our children at Willow are young. They are sometimes unable to tell us how they have hurt themselves. Please tell us if you know of any marks/cuts etc as it will save staff trying to work out what has happened.

Teach your child to use the toilet. Guidelines say that we should offer as little assistance in the bathroom as possible. With the three and four year old Nursery children we prefer to give children verbal assistance from outside their cubicle, only offering physical assistance if absolutely necessary. If an adult is needed to help a child in the bathroom another member of staff will always be aware, and support if necessary.

C. What the children are learning about this week

In big nursery the theme is the story of The Gingerbread Man.

In room 1, Mrs. Patterson will set up the baker’s shop for children to role play in. There will be a shop-front, cakes, tills, baskets and trolleys. The children will be able to be both the baker and the customer, which will enhance their imagination skills. Mrs. Patterson will also have gingerbread men ready for the children to play a number game. They will have to roll the dice and check the number, they will then place the correct number of raisins on their gingerbread man. If the children are lucky, Mrs. Patterson will let them eat the raisins that they use.

In room 2, Miss Skai will have the easels out for the children to paint their own gingerbread men. She will provide a picture for reference if the children need it but they will be encouraged to paint their own interpretations. Miss Skai will provide materials for the children to create collages which will be put on display in the nursery. There will also be a number of sensory bags out for the children to explore and use their language skills to describe the textures that they can feel.

Outside, Mrs. Cashmore will be playing gingerbread tag with the children. They will take it in turns to sing the gingerbread song and wear a special gingerbread man hat. The children will run from the gingerbread man and he will try to catch them. This game will help the Mrs. Cashmore teach the children about what happens to their bodies when they exercise, we will talk about how their heart beats faster when they have been running.

In little nursery the theme is planting.

In Catkins, Miss Tyler will be talking about planting and what seeds need to help them grow. The children will then plant some cress seeds to take home in the coming weeks. The children will water their seeds and watch them change into cress.

Outside, Mrs. Watson will be planting beans with the children. She will talk to them about what the seeds need and how they will change as they grow. The beans will stay at school and the children can ensure they get enough light and water. After a few weeks, the children can bring their plants home.

In the link area, Miss Gaffney will have a large scale canvas out for the children to paint on and express themselves artistically. She will encourage them to make large movements with their brushes and look at the marks that they will be making. Miss Gaffney will also have some cooked spaghetti on a builder’s tray for sensory play. The adults will model language that the children can use to describe how the spaghetti feels in their hands.

NURSERY NEWS

28th February 2022 – Edition 253

Find out About

Thank you for the donations of materials for our box modelling area.
Being considerate when queuing before the nursery day
Covid update
Dunstable Locality Children’s Centre
What the children are learning about this week

1. Thank you for the donations of materials for our box modelling area.

Thank you all so much for saving your boxes and containers for our box modelling area. We have plenty now to keep us going for a few weeks!

2. Being considerate when queuing before the nursery day

Just a reminder when queuing up outside the school gates, that it is a public footpath and other pedestrians may need to use it. Please stay as close to the fences as you can to allow others to pass.

3. Covid update

From Thursday 24 February, the Government removed the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test. However, the guidance COVID-19: people with COVID-19 and their contacts, published 24 February 2022 clearly outlines that: Children and young people and staff with COVID-19 should not attend their education setting while they are infectious. They may take an LFD test from 5 days after their symptoms started (or the day their test was taken if they did not have symptoms) followed by another one the next day (24 hours apart). If both these test results are negative, they should return to their educational setting, as long as they feel well enough to do so and do not have a temperature.

*If no negative test results are received prior to day 10 then self-isolation finishes at midnight on day 10*

4. Dunstable Locality Children’s Centre

There is a core set of services they aim to provide:

child and family health services including antenatal, postnatal, breast feeding and baby weighing sessions (drop-in)
advice on parenting and parenting programmes
information and advice to parents on childcare, early years provision and 2-year-old funded places
early education and school readiness, early communication support e.g. speech and language drop-ins
outreach and family support services including home visits
a variety of drop-in session

5. What the children are learning about this week

The theme in nursery is nursery rhymes.

In Catkins, the children will be using different resources to decorate nursery rhyme pictures, while they are working they will be encouraged to sing nursery rhymes.

In little nursery, the children will use tools such as scissors, staplers and glue to make props to use when they are singing. The children will have great fun flipping pancakes for shrove Tuesday, after they have made their pancakes they will be able to eat them at the table.

In the garden, the children will have an obstacle course to complete as well as the chance to play a hook a duck game while they sing the song 5 little ducks.

In room 1, Mrs. Patterson will be making shape pictures with the children. The children will be asked to choose appropriate shapes for their pictures and Mrs. Patterson will model the correct mathematical language for these shapes.

In room 2, Miss Skai will be using toy cars dipped in paint for a mark making activity. Miss Skai will encourage the children to dip the wheels in the paint and then move the vehicles across paper. Together, they will look at the patterns left by the wheels and Miss Skai will ask the children to describe what they see.

Outside, the children will go on a nursery rhyme hunt. When the children find a nursery rhyme card, they will sing the song they have spotted. This is the perfect chance for the children to learn the words to many songs.

NURSERY NEWS

21st February 2022 – Edition 252

Find out About

Welcome back to Mrs McGrath
Get Well Soon for Mrs Davies
Letting us know if someone different is collecting your child
Not putting food in children’s backpacks
Bookstart Treasure Packs
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Public Holiday 2022
What the children are learning about this week

Welcome back to Mrs McGrath

Mrs McGrath is back this week after her maternity leave. She will be re-joining Catkins class part time, at the end of the week.

2. Get Well Soon for Mrs Davies

As you all know, Mrs Davies has been unwell. She has recently had an operation and is now recovering. She will be back with us as soon as she is able to.

3. Letting us know if someone different is collecting your child

It is really important that you tell us if someone different is collecting your child. If we do not know about someone different collecting your child, we will not let your child leave until we have spoken to you. We have to keep the children safe.

4. Not putting food in children’s backpacks

Due to a serious allergy in big nursery, we do not have any food in the classroom. Please do not put any food in your child’s backpack/school bag. If any food needs to be passed on to a grandparent or childminder, please hand to a member of staff who will ensure it goes home with the child.

5. Bookstart Treasure Packs

If your child attends the Big Nursery and is in Blue, Orange or Yellow Group they will bring home a big envelope containing a book from the Book Trust on WEDNESDAY 23^rd February. This book is for your child to keep. Book Trust is the UK’s leading reading charity. Every year they give over 5 million books and resources to children across the country. Children receive this pack in their final year in Nursery, so our younger children will receive them in future years.

6. Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Public Holiday 2022

As you will be aware, an additional bank holiday has been announced for 3rd June 2022 for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The Department for Education (DfE) has laid regulations to reduce the minimum number of sessions schools are required to meet in the academic year 2021/22 as a result of this additional bank holiday.

Most schools will be on their half term breaks in the week commencing 31 May 2022 and the DfE has advised that schools and councils should observe the Bank Holidays on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd June. In practice, this means that where this additional bank holiday falls during half-term week, schools will be able to identify another day of ‘holiday’ elsewhere in the year on which staff will not be required to work and will be given an equivalent day’s paid leave.

To reflect the additional bank holiday, the School teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) 2021 reflects a change in the number of days that teachers must be available to work under their terms and conditions for this academic year. Teachers will be required to be available to work on one less day for the academic year 2021/22, An extra day of holiday, therefore, will need to be allocated by individual schools.

After discussion with the staff and governors, Willow Nursery School will be closed for an additional days holiday on Monday 27th June 2022.

7. What the children are learning about this week?

The theme in little nursery this week is showing care and concern for wildlife.

In Catkins, Miss Tyler will be talking to the children about wildlife and what animals they can see in the garden. Miss Tyler will support the children in threading cereal hoops onto pipe cleaners which will build on their fine motor skills and using these to feed the birds. The children will bring these bird feeders home for you to put in your gardens.

Mrs. Watson will be doing a similar activity, using lard and bird seed to make a different type of bird feeder. Mrs. Watson will talk with the children about ways in which we can look after wildlife in our surrounding areas.

In little nursery, Miss Gaffney will be helping the children to remember the school rules, reminding them to be kind to each other and share when they play. These are very important social skills for the children to learn.

Mrs. Brinkley will be making binoculars with the children for them to use in the garden. These will help them to spot any local wildlife.

The theme in big nursery is Goldilocks and the three bears.

In room 1, Mrs. Cashmore will have a goldilocks and the three bears role play area set up for the children to act out the story. There will also be an area for the children to think about maths and the language of size. The children will work on creating patterns with different sized bears, focusing on the language of big, medium and small.

In room 2, Mrs Patterson will be working with the children to create images of the different characters. The children will be using paint and materials to create their pictures. There will be a sensory opportunity for everyone to explore the texture of porridge oats, when filling and emptying different sized bowls.

Outside, Miss Skai will be focusing on movement and playing the game ‘move like a bear’, where the children need to move in different ways around the playground. Miss Skai will also have some laminated bears of different sizes for the children to apply their threading skills.