Nursery News – Monday 6th July 2026

NURSERY NEWS

Monday 6th July 2026 – Edition 416

Find out About:

A. Parents Consultations Scheduled for this week- A reminder.

B. Lost Property

C. End of Term arrangements July 2026

D. Leavers Day –Friday 17th July- 8:50am-11:50am

E. Funding for Working Families- Ensure codes are in place /Renew codes.

F. Review of the year- Results.

G. What are the children learning about this week?

 

A. Parents Consultations Scheduled for this week.- a reminder.

Parents consultations will take place here at the school, face to face this week.

 

B. Lost Property.

Our Lost Property will be emptied at the end of term, and any unclaimed belongings will be disposed of. Please look through the Lost Property boxes that are in the storage trolley in the outdoor Library area

 

C. End of Term arrangements July 2026

The last day of term in July 2026 for all children will be Thursday 16th July.

This day will run as a normal Thursday. Timings of the day will be the same as all Thursdays.

 

D. Leavers Day –Friday 17th July- 8:50am-11:50am

On Friday 17th July school will open only for the Big Nursery children that are leaving us. The session will be from 8:50 am to 11:50 am. All Big Nursery leavers are invited to attend this session, regardless of your child’s normal attendance days. As children are attending for the morning only, no child will require a packed lunch. Children will require their water bottles. Children should arrive at 8:50 am and wait outside as usual.

We have consulted the children about what activities they would like to plan for their last day and this is what they have come up with:

Children may dress up if they want to. Children may come to school in a dressing up outfit if they wish. There should be no pressure on anyone to buy an outfit. Normal Nursery clothes are absolutely fine too.

We have arranged for children to:

  • Play with marble run, robots and toy pets.
  • Have Ninja songs, dinosaur dancing, a unicorn and dinosaur piñata, bubbles and balloons
  • Play pass the parcel.
  • Have Ice pops.

Children came up with some interesting requests which were not possible to fulfil: we had one request for coffee, coca cola and burgers were suggested, but we settled on juice and sandwiches. One child requested a tree house. We like their imaginative thought, but we couldn’t manage that one!

 

At 10:30 am all children will sit down together for a picnic time in the garden. Staff will provide the snacks the children requested: cake, cucumber sandwiches, Doritos, watermelon.

Keyworkers will talk to parents of children with food allergies to ensure their needs are met.

The morning will finish with a group time for each colour group, where all children will receive a certificate praising their individual skills and/or qualities.

11:50am Going Home Time- Parents to collect children from the front gate. Children will be dismissed in the regular way, with Blue group first, followed by Orange group then Yellow group.

 

E. Funding for working families- Ensure funding codes are in place /Renew codes.

A reminder about the eligibility checker:

Eligibility checker:

Eligibility will be checked via a childcare application developed by HMRC.

Parents are responsible for checking if they are eligible.

 

Parents need to visit the website www.beststartinlife.gov.uk This is where you will find the online eligibility checker.

 

Parents will be issued a code to take to the setting (nursery/ childminder etc.). 

There will be a grace period for parents where their circumstances change.  This will give parents the time to regain employment.

Parents must reconfirm their eligibility every three months via the HMRC online eligibility checker or else they will lose their entitlement, subject to the grace period.  Parents are essentially reconfirming that their employment status has not changed and they still meet the criteria. HMRC will send reminder emails to parents to notify them of the need to reconfirm.

For all parents who are entitled to funding for working families for your child, please ensure that your code is in place and valid by 31st August 2026, to enable us to receive funding for your child for the Autumn term.

The government will send out reminders to families to renew your code. Please be aware that sometimes the government email may go into your Spam/ Junk email folder. If you code is not valid you will not receive funding

 

F. Review of the year- Results

I have had two families (emails included below) who replied to my request for feedback from parents.  I always share what parents say, as there may be some points raised which other parents may relate to….

 

Dear Team,

I would like to say how incredibly happy we have been with Willow Nursery.

All the staff have been caring, kind and supportive throughout (my son’s) time at nursery. We have seen real positive changes in his confidence, independence and development since he started.

I was initially worried about whether he would be ready for school, but the team has done such an amazing job preparing him. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, I now feel confident that he is ready for this next step.

I honestly cannot think of any improvements, as our experience has been excellent from start to finish.

Thank you for everything you have done for (my son) and for supporting our family.

Kind regards,

 

Thankyou for your kind words. The staff really appreciated your feedback.

 

What does Willow do well? 

There is a lot of thoughtful planning that goes into everything the children learn – —in around being kind and building friendships. Both of my children have come on leaps and bounds in all aspects of learning and understanding. Willow provides a fantastic foundation for starting school.

Improvements/developments 

Snack Time

It would be lovely to bring back daily snacks and summer ice pops!

Other Nurseries and Schools still manage to provide snack time and ice pops even with children with allergies and I do feel snacks are needed as they burn so much energy, as the saying goes “food is fuel for the brain”

For the children with allergies, maybe they could have a dedicated little snack spot, or just be extra closely monitored while everyone is eating, or could the snacks be inclusive for everyone?

 

I have written at length in previous newsletters  (24th November and 1st  December 2025) regarding the reasons why we decided to remove snack-time from our timetable.  The main reason being the new Safeguarding rules around children being fully supervised when eating to prevent choking. When providing food, staff must sit watching children’s faces. Three staff would be required to provide snacks and observe two tables of children (6+6 pupils). Everyone has to be closely monitored. More than half our staff would be involved with snacktime in Room 5, and we could not supervise the free flow play of the other children with just two staff supervising three classrooms and the outside area. 

 

The new rules around supervision made snacktime unworkable in our setting.

 

We have prioritised reducing transitions this year, to put less demands on the children who struggle with transition times. (For example moving from free flow choosing time to structured grouptime, or into Lunch, or getting ready to go home.)

During the recent Heatwave we chose to bring children back to their base rooms at 10:00am and again at 11:30am to ensure children had a big drink. We stopped all play at this time and the outside area was closed. At this time we had around 6 children who would refuse to go back to their base room and would lay on the floor to protest against the transition and refuse to comply with the staff’s requests.

 

Nutrition requirements, from the Department for Education, for under 5’s state that as providers we should only provide children with water or milk to drink. It would be frowned upon if we were providing sweet flavoured ice pops to pupils on a daily basis.

We are planning to offer pupils ice pops on our Special Day, because the children have requested them and this is a one off, a special celebration for our Leavers, so treats are appropriate.

 

Parent App 

An app for daily updates and messaging would be a great addition. However, I’d only want this if it doesn’t distract from staff-to-child time or replace the wonderful end-of-year folders, which are such a lovely keepsake!

 

I do understand how nice it is as a parent to receive photos or short descriptions of our children, so we can peek into their world at Nursery. Staff are very busy organising activities for children, supervising the children and supporting their interactions with each other.

 

In the last few years the government has required staff to spend more of their time interacting directly with children in their play, and less time writing it down and recording it.

We are guided by the following government document:

Early years foundation stage statutory framework

For group and school-based providers Setting the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five

Dated: 11 October 2024 Effective: 01 November 2024

 

Here are some excerpts from this document:

 

‘Assessment should not involve long breaks from interaction with children or require excessive paperwork. When assessing whether an individual child is at the expected level of development, practitioners should draw on their knowledge of the child and their own expert professional judgement. Practitioners are not required to prove this through collection of any physical evidence. Recorded, written or photographic evidence is not required.’

 

Ongoing assessment

‘Ongoing assessment (also known as formative assessment) is an integral part of the learning and development process. It involves practitioners understanding children’s interests and what they know and can do, and then shaping teaching and learning experiences for each child reflecting that knowledge. In their interactions with children, practitioners should make and act on their own day-to-day observations about children’s progress…… However, there is no requirement to keep written records in relation to this.’

 

We have reduced the amount of writing we do and photographs we take on a daily basis. We create some observations to be recorded in each child’s ‘Yearbooks’ to show evidence of how children are working towards our 7 c’s curriculum. These books are handed to parents when their child leaves They will be handed out at parent’s consultations this week. Parents of children who are continuing at Willow will be offered the opportunity to look at their child’s Yearbook at our parent consultation evenings this week.

On a day to day basis we do not have photos or written observations to share. I want staff to be engaging with our children as much as possible. But we do balance this by trying to build up a ‘Yearbook’ of evidence showing your child’s progress during their time with us.

 

 

Willow Nursery School- Children’s Evaluation. July 2026

We ask all Big Nursery children 5 questions. Here are all their answers. I think they will make you smile!

1.   What do you like to do at Nursery?

Play with friends (6)

I like to find bugs

I like to go outside (3) and having big, big fun

I like to play with my best friend.

Dance

I like to play

I like to ride bikes (4)

Play with my Mummy.

I like to play with scooters.

I like to play with x (6)

I like to find woodlice and snails in the garden. I got a slug, a wiggly worm and a woodlouse.

I like Gruffalo books and the Giant book.

Finding snails.

Playing cars (4)

Playing football

Being friends

Playing mickey and Minnie mouse and Cinderella

Playing with clay.

I like playing with the kitchen (3), that’s it

Drawing (3),

Going in the cosy corner

I like lunch (2)

Playing ghosts

I like dinosaurs (2).

I like cutting paper (3)

I like pencils

I like to play with playdough

Playing toys (2)

Playing with animals (3)

Hide and seek and tag

Building (4)

Watch television

Climbing

Trains

Painting

Jumping in muddy puddles

My brother at nursery

Going home

Jumping

Aeroplanes outside

Playing with my friends

Don’t know.

I like to play with potions.

I like to play with my friends inside and outside.

I like to play with balls.

I’m happy when I play with the water.

I like being with my group.

I like my phonics with the rrrrr sound

Play with children

With the buggy

Like to paint

Playing in the sandpit

I like riding on the bikes

I like painting

I like to eat lunch in school.

 

 
2.   Is there anything you don’t like at Nursery? 

No

No

I don’t like anyone bullying me.

I don’t like X being my best friend.

I don’t like x hitting my friend.

I don’t like X punching (2)

I like nursery!

If no one wants to play with me.

Playing with my mummy and daddy.

Playing dinosaurs, I don’t love dinosaurs

I don’t like the fire truck

I like everything!

Nothing

I don’t like eating.

I don’t like cutting things.

Mud kitchen and painting. I don’t like using playdough

X smacking me (6)

Don’t like not playing with children.

Toys

Closing the door

I don’t like people that don’t have kind hands. That makes us sad

Anyone pushing me down the slide

Being squished

I don’t like if boys don’t press (flush)the toilet

If someone knocks my tower over it makes me sad

Sand

Red

I don’t like hurting myself, when I run and fall.

I don’t like seagulls nipping my chips at the seaside.

I don’t like cars.

 
3.   Tell me something you are good at now since coming to Nursery?

Bugs

Football

bikes

I’m good at roly poly’s, I do them at home.

I know how to run (2)

I know how to climb

I can ride the 2 wheeler bike.

Eating chocolate!

I am good at building (3)

I am good at chopping trees with my Dad

I like playing with my plant pots like a drum.

I’m good at counting

Helping my teachers.

Signing at group time (2)

Getting costumes on

I’m good at playing at nursery

I’m good at dressing up

Running (3)

Cutting paper (2)

After school I do gymnastics, I’m really good at that.

Football and kicking.

I’m good at doing hugs.

Tunnels

Doing dance with x and x

I can write my name.

I’m good at doing homework, I do maths

Playing outside

Phonics (2)

The bear, the giraffe, the elephant (naming animals he can see)

Finding snails

Learning numbers, learning A,B,Cs

I am good at building with magnets

Playing with x

I’m good at drawing

I know what to do to make a medal, like I did already.

I like playing with dinosaurs

Riding bikes

Being happy

Good at my trousers.

Spiderman

Lotto

I’m really good at doing flips.

I’m really good at being dogs and cats.

Going home.

Washing the flowers.

Making cards

Adding star stickers.

Drawing
4.Tell me what you have learnt in Phonics:

I done i n g p s d

s t p a m

ppp

Numbers and letters s f c

The delivery man gave me phonics.

O is for Octopus. Gruffalo.

There were 5 in the bed.  m, a

A m s

I don’t know (2)

Number e

Number blocks

Whats phonics again? A,d,f,e

Letters a,s,d,p

E, I, h

I can’t remember

O, a, d, s

Nanny and Grandad

I like balloons and watching t.v.

About lions, s for sun and e for …

Playdough

Numbers

Letters a, s, t

Dance, a,b,c,d

S a t –‘sat’

Phonics (2)

Learning people

Running

P is for Peppa Pig, S is for Saw

S,e,n,u

Rrrrrrr h

N,a,m,p and signing

I love it, I got squished. Not letters

I like talking and being cheeky in phonics

M, a, t. I, p, ck

I just scratched my neck

Rrrr The dog with the rug.

My name

S p m n

Snake, ants, tennis,
5.How can we make Willow better for the new children?

Not sure

I don’t know.

Play with them?

Talk to the children.

Make cakes and put them in the oven.

Being kind and make everybody happy.

Good

Hadrian

Make a better room in the little nursery, make it new

By playing catch and pass the parcel

Butterfly toys (2)

Toys (3)

Belle dressing up

I like everything

Not throwing or kicking, not pushing, no dogs!

Have a party (2)

If I had my daddy, giraffes

Make me happy

Make it like a princess

Lightening McQueen

A paw patrol puzzle

Getting the new transformers out

Train track

Sweeties and doughnuts

Find something nice

Get nursery tidy

Work with others

Nope

I don’t know.

Get an electric dinosaur that moves itself and we can do the buttons.

More sticks inside.-  That are plastic.

Exercises inside.

Pink clay.

Playing

Have a real baby to play with.

 

 

G. What are the children learning about this week?

As we move towards the end of the summer term we ask the children who are leaving us to decide what activities they would like to see in the classrooms. We ask them to reflect on what they have particularly enjoyed during their time with us. Staff try to offer all the activities that they request within the last two weeks of term.

We are expecting relatively hot weather conditions this week. Please remember to provide a hat for your child.

Remember:

No Hat,

No Outside!