Nursery News 28th September 2026

NURSERY NEWS

28th September 2026 – Edition 421

Find out About:

A. Important dates

B. Parent Consultations

C. Display of Family Photographs- For All Children

D. Forest School Program

E. Willow Pumpkin Patch

F. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Important dates

It is time to give parents an overview of the term, as most families are now enrolled and attending in Big Nursery and Little Nursery.

The school year has three terms, Autumn, Spring and Summer. Each term has a Half Term break in the middle of the term. So dates for this term are:

Mon 26^th October 2026 to Fri 30^th October 2026: Autumn Half term – School Closed

Thursday 17^th December 2026 Last normal school day of the Autumn Term.

Friday 18th December 2026 School open for Christmas Parties only (As a guide: Last year Little Nursery Party 9:00am to 10:00am Big Nursery Party 11:15am to 1:00pm, but this may change slightly when we begin planning for this year)

Monday 4^th January 2027 –Teacher Training Day- School Closed

Tuesday 5^th January 2027 First day of Spring Term- School open.

We have some other notable dates to share with you. Further information will be included in these newsletters nearer to the time, regarding each event.

Wednesday 4th November and Thursday 5th November-School Photographer to visit.

Thursday 19^th November 5pm- Open School Event ‘Walk In the Dark’.

Wednesday 18^th November Open School Event Big Nursery Green Group –Parents to watch Basic Skills Literacy Session.

Week beginning Monday 30^th November Open School Event: Big Nursery Parents invited in to watch their child’s Music Session.

B. Parent Consultations

We aim to offer all parents the opportunity to have a Parent Consultation with their child’s keyworker once per term

Little Nursery will be having their Parent Consultations during week beginning Monday 19^th October, 2026

These consultations are offered to talk about how your child is settling in. They are not compulsory, but if you would like an appointment please arrange this with your child’s keyworker when they are outside before morning sessions, or after afternoon sessions.

These consultations will be on the telephone, will last 5 minutes and will be available at the following times:

Monday 19^th October Mrs Chiriac’s Orange Group Consultations. 5 minute telephone consultations between 9:15am and 9:55 am

Tuesday 20^th October Mrs Whiting’s Little Yellow Group Consultations. 5 minute telephone consultations between 9:15am and 10:10am

Tuesday 20^th October Miss Gaffney’s Blue Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:45pm

Big Nursery will be having their Parent Consultations (on the telephone) during week beginning Monday 2^nd November, 2026. Dates and times for appointments will be detailed in Nursery News 423 (published on Monday 12^thOctober).

C. Display of Family Photographs- For All Children

Two weeks ago I told everyone about the display we would like to put up of Family photo’s in Big Nursery, and the booklet of Family photo’s we would like to create in Little Nursery. We have had a few photographs come in. We will be using them next week to stimulate discussions about ‘Family’.

We know people have lots of photos on their phone, but people do not always print them. I am suggesting that you might like to send a family photo to the school office, and we can print it off, and place it on the wall. The school email address is office@willownursery.co.uk

D. Forest School Program

Mrs Brinkley has started teaching our Forest School program to Big Nursery Red Group. I just wanted to tell you a little about Forest School at Willow.

Mrs Brinkley spent a year studying to become a Level 3 Forest School Practitioner. In order to support her work in school, all other school staff studied to become Level 1 Forest School Practitioners.

What is a Forest School? -this is a quote which outlines what a Forest School is and the ethos of them:

‘An inspirational process that offers children, young people and adults regular opportunities to achieve, develop confidence and self-esteem through hands on learning experiences in a local woodland environment’ (Forest School (England) network 2002)

Whilst we have some trees and shrubs, we acknowledge that we do not have a ‘Forest’, but Forest School teaching and learning is all about participating in activities in the outdoors, learning new skills, building strong relationships and thinking creatively. Mrs Brinkley has planned 7 activity sessions that Big Nursery children will take part in during their final year at nursery. Mrs Brinkley will work with Red group once a week for 7 weeks. We aim to have worked with Red, Green and Yellow group children by Summer 2027.

So, for your information, these are the seven activities the children will be participating in:

1.Fairy/ Gnome Dens. Children will use natural materials that they find in the garden to build a small den for an imaginary fairy or gnome.

Making Fairies or small people. Children will be shown how to make a fairy using twigs and clay. Children will be encouraged to make their own character, using their imagination to add hair, wings or other accessories.

3.Larger Dens. Working as part of a small group children will build a den from tarpaulins and ropes. Children will then join Mrs Brinkley inside the den for a story together.

Clay Faces. Children will mould a flat circular clay shape onto a tree trunk. Children will then add natural objects to the clay to create a face. Children will be shown how to make marks in the clay using sticks found in the garden. Children will compare their own features with those of their friends. Children will discuss similarities and differences.

5.Bug Hunt. Children will look around the garden areas, trying to find bugs to put into their bug collecting pot. They will tip their collections out onto a white paper surface, then use a magnifying glass to look carefully at the bugs. We will be teaching them about being careful with the wildlife and to look after nature.

Mud Kitchens, Mud Potions and Mixtures. Children will be provided with pots and spoons. They will have the opportunity to mix soil with sand and water to make liquid mud. Children will then be able to add leaves and grass, and anything else that they find in the garden, into their mixture.

Making Woodland Medals. Children will be shown how to use a hand drill to drill a hole in a small disc of wood in order to make a medal. Children will decorate their medals using felt tip pens

Mrs Brinkley’s Thoughts….

I am really excited to be now teaching our children ‘The Forest School Way’. The children are enjoying the new experience and their ideas are extending learning further. Forest School learning has so many benefits to the child’s learning and covers all areas to support the overall well being of the children.

Welcome to Forest School learning Willow!

E. Willow Pumpkin Patch

Mrs Patterson is planning to set up a Pumpkin Patch in our outside area and is requesting donations of a pumpkin. She is looking for pumpkins of all sizes to add to the patch, so, if you are able to add one to your shopping list, please do! There are so many activities that can stem from having a collection of pumpkins, including; transportation of pumpkins in wheelbarrows and on bikes, pumpkin painting, hammering golf tees into the pumpkins, using the pumpkins in the mud kitchen and even opening up the pumpkins to investigate what’s inside. It will be a very exciting project, full of art, science and cognitive and physical development. Thank you for your support!

(We did this last year and it was an amazing success. The children had so much fun!)

F. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is all about me

The learning intention this week is for the children to become more aware of the similarities and differences between themselves and others in more detailed ways and to identify themselves in relation to social groups and their peers.

The children have been bringing in family photos which have been put on a display board for everyone to see. Everyone is enjoying looking at all of the pictures, it is fun for the children to look for their own picture and also to see who they recognise in the other photo’s. The photographs are a big talking point for the children and prompt them to share memories and experiences.

This week the children will be encouraged to use mirrors to look at their facial features and then they can try to recreate their own image, using a variety of resources. Staff will support children by naming all of the different facial features, including those that may be trickier to remember such as chin, eyebrows, forehead, freckles etc. While the children are looking at their faces, staff will discuss with them the similarities and differences between them and their friends.

The skill that we will focus on this week is numbers and counting, this means that there will be lots of math’s resources out for the children to enjoy. Staff will encourage children to practice counting math’s resources as well as objects in the environment, they will model lots counting for the children to hear, learn and repeat.

NURSERY NEWS

21^stSeptember 202 – Edition 420

Find out About:

A. What to put in your child’s change of clothes bag.

B. Support for toilet training.

C. Applying for Primary School.

D. Willow Lending Library.

E. What are the children learning about this week?

A. What to put in your child’s change of clothes bag.

We ask that all children bring a small bag or backpack to school with items of spare clothing inside. Sometimes children may become very wet or messy when playing in the nursery and we cannot leave them in wet clothes. Sometimes children will have a toilet accident and require changing.

Please provide clothes that are easy to change. Please provide more than one pair of underpants/knickers/trousers/socks if your child is not yet reliable with their toileting. Put plenty of clothes in! Some children are changed three or more times a day!

We would ask that all parents provide a pack of wet wipes in their child’s bag to enable us to clean your child after a toilet incident.

We would also ask that parents provide some carrier bags in their child’s bag to put wet or soiled clothes into. A packet of Nappy sacks will do the job!

B. Support for toilet training.

We are very happy to support parents with toilet training your child. When you think your child is ready, talk to your child’s keyworker about your plans. We can then work together to help your child.

It is important that we transition from nappies to knickers or pants.

Please, no Pull Ups.

We are looking for children to begin to recognise the sensation that they feel when they need to urinate. It’s within those few minutes when children have to learn ‘be quick, let’s get to the bathroom!’ Children need to be able to feel when their underwear is wet too. If a child wears a pull up, it feels to the child the same as a nappy. During toilet training a child should learn that if they are wet they should be changed. We want to change children as soon as they wet, so they are in clean, dry clothes. As staff, we cannot see if a child is wet wearing a pull up. If a child is wearing underwear we can usually see when a child is wet, and change them immediately.

C. Applying for Primary School. (Taken directly from Central Beds website.)

https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/schools-and-education/school-admissions/apply-new-lower-or-primary-school-place

This applies to all children in Big Nursery, Dates of Birth: 1/9/22 to 31/8/23

Apply for a lower or primary school place in Central Bedfordshire

15 January 2027 is the deadline for on-time applications.

How to apply

if we’re your council, you need to apply through us
if we’re not your council, you’ll need to apply through them (find out who your council is on GOV.UK)

You’ll need proof of your child’s date of birth, such as a passport or short birth certificate. You’ll be prompted to upload a copy of this during your application.

Until 30 April – Apply online

Applying online is quick, simple and safe. In fact, nearly 95% of parents and carers apply online for a lower/primary school place.

After 30 April – You can’t apply online, download a form and email it to us

Please note: Email is not a secure medium. Please ensure you take appropriate steps to protect your child’s personal information.

download an application form (PDF)
complete the form and ensure you have proof of your child’s date of birth, like a passport or short birth certificate
ensure you’ve protected all documents containing personal information
send the completed form and copies of documents to admissions@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

We need to receive your application by the 15 January 2027 deadline.

Apply by post

If you can’t apply online, don’t worry; you can also apply by post. Here’s how:

get an application form
You can download an application form (PDF)
complete the form and ensure you have proof of your child’s date of birth, like a passport or short birth certificate (please don’t send us original documents; copies are fine)
send the completed form and copies of documents to:
School Admissions
Central Bedfordshire Council
Priory House
Monks Walk
Chicksands
Shefford
Bedfordshire
SG17 5TQ

We need to receive your application by the 15 January 2027 deadline.

Please don’t make both an online and postal application. We’ll only process the latest one (if it’s sent before the deadline).

D. Willow Lending Library.

Miss Howe worked hard to create ‘Willow Lending Library’ which has proved to be quite a success. We want to invite all new parents to explore our Lending Library:

Willow Lending Library

Welcome to Willow outdoor lending library. We are open every day from 8.15-8.45am and from 3.00pm-3.30pm.

Please choose 1-2 books with your child and write the names of the books under your child’s name in their colour group folder before taking them home to read together.

You can change the books as frequently as you wish.

Please look after our books.

*Please ensure that you have left the library area at 8.45am prompt before children start to enter the school gates in the morning. THANKYOU

Top Tips for Reading with your child

Let your child choose what they would like to read.
Make sure there are no distractions.
Sit close together. Encourage your child to hold the book and turn the pages too.
Look at the pictures. Talk about what can be seen on the page.
Ask questions and talk about the book. Give your child time to talk.
Have fun – there is no right or wrong way to share a story.

E. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is Maisy Goes Swimming

This week the children will listen to the story ‘Maisy Goes Swimming’, they will be able to share their own experiences of going swimming with staff and their friends. This is an interactive book which teaches about the routine that Maisy needs to follow to be able to swim. Staff will discuss how independent Maisy is and how she gets dressed and undressed by herself.

Our learning intention this week is to listen to familiar stories with increasing attention and recall and to listen to stories and nursery rhymes. We have a lovely library at Willow and children are always encouraged to choose books to share and enjoy. After each book, staff like to talk about what has happened in the story and use the pictures in the books as conversation prompts for the children.

As we explore different nursery rhymes and songs with the children, staff will leave gaps for the children to join in with singing familiar rhymes and even encourage them to sing the entire song by themselves if they feel confident to do so. This will support the children with their communication and language development as they learn new words and sounds, singing is also great for building relationships. Singing songs in groups or alongside a grown up can show children that it is fun to be a little bit silly and loud sometimes.

The younger children in the setting have been learning some action songs and have been joining in with songs such as Aga Do by Black Lace and Nelly the Elephant by The Toy Dolls. They get really excited when they hear the introductions to these songs; if you get an opportunity to have a dance, pop these songs on and enjoy a special moment with your children.

NURSERY NEWS

14^th September 2026 – Edition 419

Find out About:

A. Progress so far….

B. Keeping Children Safe.

C. Celebrating Birthdays.

D. Family Photographs

E. Early Years Pupil Premium

F. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Progress so far….

We are still in a period of settling in and getting to know everyone. We take things a day at a time, looking to tweak our strategies and organisation. We see individual children making small steps of progress: maybe venturing out into the outside space, or eating more than just a bite of a sandwich at lunchtime.

All children have different starting points on their educational journey with us, and children’s progress is very individual to them. Our job is to support children with their next steps when they are ready to make them.

Things are going well. Staff are getting to know the children, playing with them, talking to them, sharing stories with them, and generally encouraging them to feel happy in school. When children feel secure and have good well-being, they will begin to learn.

So this week a few basics to help with the running of school:

B.Keeping Children Safe.

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 in to 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. Celebrating Birthdays.

We have a ‘Birthday Board’ in school where we display the names of staff and pupils who will be celebrating their birthday within the current month. We celebrate every individual child’s birthday during Keyworker time, with their colour group.

We have a very real looking iced ‘fake’ cake with candles on. Staff make a fuss of the children on their special day (or near to it if their birthday falls at the weekend or in the school holidays). The birthday child is invited to sit at the front of the group, with their Keyworker. Everyone sings ‘Happy Birthday’ and the birthday child blows the candles out. The birthday child receives a special birthday sticker.

D. Family Photographs

We have themes that we work on with the children. We begin with learning about something all the children can be familiar with their family. The staff will be working with the children on various activities and talking to them about their families. To help the children understand we would ask if you could send in a family photo that they can share with everyone.

For Big Nursery Children The staff would like to include these photo’s as part of a wall display.

For Little Nursery Children The staff in little nursery will be creating a family booklet with the photographs provided and they will sit with the children to look through their booklet together. This booklet will be available for the children to look at whenever they choose and should be comforting to the children if they are missing home.

So, if you would like to send in a photo of your child and their family, please do so during this week (14/09/26) or at the beginning of next week. Please hand your photo to your child’s keyworker, so we can keep them safe. Please write your child’s name on the back of the photo, and if possible the names of other family members shown in the photograph. We will then be able to return the photos to you, later in the year.

There are some families that sent photographs in last year, if you did this you do not need to send in more as we will re-use these.

E. Early Years Pupil Premium

What is Early Years Pupil Premium?

The Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) is designed to narrow the attainment gap between young children from low-income families and their peers by improving the facilities, equipment and learning experiences to benefit the growth and development of eligible children.

This information has been taken from Central Bedfordshire’s Website.

Nurseries, pre-schools, childminders, and other childcare providers can claim extra funding through the Early Years Pupil Premium.

This applies to 9 months to 4-year-old children whose:

parents receive certain benefits
have been adopted
are in care

The provider can use the funding to improve the quality of the early years education that they provide. This could include, for example, additional training for staff on early language development.

How to apply

If you believe you are entitled to funding, please contact your childcare provider.

How do I qualify?

The child must attend a setting in Central Bedfordshire. Parents/carers who receive any of the following will qualify for the Early Years Pupil Premium:

Universal Credit – your household income must be less than £7,400 a year after tax, not including any benefits you get
Income Support
Income-based Job Seekers Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit, providing you do not also receive Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

Or, if they have been:

looked after by us (the Local Authority) for at least 1 day
adopted from our (the Local Authority) care
left care through special guardianship, and subject to a child arrangement order setting out with whom they are to live (formerly known as residence orders) in Central Bedfordshire

You can find out more about the early years pupil premium on the GOV.UK website.

If any parent has considered the eligibility criteria and believes their child is eligible please telephone or email the school office and together we can make a claim.

F. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is settling into nursery and nursery rules.

We will be teaching the children our school rules this week;

Kind hands

Looking eyes

Walking feet

Little voice

Listening ears

As we teach the children these rules, they will learn that it is important that they follow them in order to learn and play in a safe environment. We will also teach the children about self-care, including taking themselves to the toilet, washing hands and the importance of privacy. We always remind the children to try to close the door when they use the toilet and to adjust clothing where possible before they leave the toilet area.

NURSERY NEWS

7^th September 2026 – Edition 418

Find out About:

A. Welcome

B: Newsletters

C: School Term Dates

D: Labelling belongings

E: A Good Start

F. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Welcome

Hello Everyone!

Welcome back to those families who were with us last term. We are very lucky to have such helpful and sensible children in our school. Even with just a six week break we notice the children have developed greatly in that time.

Your child’s Keyworker will greet you and your child(ren) within their colour groups, when families begin to assemble outside in the morning. I expect Keyworkers to be outside 5 minutes before school begins, so if you have something brief to pass on to your child’s Keyworker, this will be possible.

A warm ‘Hello’ is extended to all our new families. We are still having a few tears, as children are learning to spend some time away from their parents, perhaps for the very first time. So far, we have been very impressed with the children’s behaviours and attitudes, so ‘Thankyou’ to all parents for the support you are giving to your children to make their transition into Nursery successful.

B: Newsletters

I (Mrs Davies) write a weekly Newsletter to parents to help keep parents up to date with everything going on in Nursery. This weekly newsletter will be emailed to all families on Mondays.

Copies of this newsletter will also be placed on our website willownursery.co.uk in our ‘Latest News’ section. Previous Newsletters are also available within the latest news section, should you need to search back for some information.

Please do read the weekly newsletter as we share important dates, including parent consultations, open school events etc

C: School Term Dates

The Local Authority, Central Bedfordshire, publishes details of term dates and school holidays on their website: Centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

Type: ‘School term and holiday dates in Central Bedfordshire’ into your search engine to find the correct page.

We are a Local Authority School, and as such we follow the Local Authority term dates.

We have put Willow Nursery School dates for the 2026-2027 academic year on our website willownursery.co.uk on the ‘Calendar’ tab.

D: Labelling belongings

Label all lunchboxes clearly with your child’s name, on the top, so staff can see the name when the box is on the trolley. Label all drinks bottles and food containers.

Label all coats and shoes, and any other items that children can take off-cardigans/jumpers/ fleeces. It is much easier to return items to owners when things are labelled.

E. A Good Start!

What has happened so far?….

We have enrolled all our new starters into Big Nursery. We have had 5 families join this year group that are new to the school. There are 41 children who are Big Nursery Pupils. We are getting to know everyone, trying to settle everyone in, and helping children to learn the daily routines that enable the nursery to run smoothly.

What happens next?………….

Little Nursery continues to enrol new pupils this week. We are expecting 13 new families in this year group.

We will have 24 children who are Little Nursery pupils.

I do have lots of information to share in these newsletters, but I will not share too much until everyone is enrolled in school.

We are so enjoying meeting all our pupils and getting to know them, and hopefully, over time we will get to know all their parents too.

F. What are the children learning about this week?

Mrs Cashmore is the teacher who writes an article every week in the newsletter to share with parents the experiences your children will be having in school. This is to enable you to be part of your child’s learning journey, so you can talk together about their new learning when you are at home.

So for this week:

The theme this week is settling in and nursery rules.

This week, the children will be settling in and learning the rules and routines of school life. It’s all very exciting, as the children have moved into their new classrooms, met their key workers and are making new friends. Our school rules are designed to provide a happy and safe environment for everyone and they are displayed in each classroom. Staff will be reminding children of the rules throughout the week and explaining how important it is that we follow them at all times.

Children will be learning where to put their coats and bags as they come into school, each child has their own peg which clearly displays their name and a picture to help with peg recognition. It is important that children can identify their belongings, so we ask parents to label all property clearly to support this.

As the lunches are stored together according to colour groups, we request that parents clearly label lunch boxes on the outside, on the top, so names can be seen quickly. This supports children with their lunchtime transition, enabling us to help them to swiftly find their lunchboxes and take them to their assigned seats. Please also remember to label your child’s drink bottle as many children do not yet know which bottle is theirs and may get mixed up with someone else’s drink.

As the children settle into their new routines, they will become more secure and confident to leave their parents. While they are at school, some children may have toileting accidents, or eat and drink less than usual but this is often due to them adjusting to their new environment. We understand that each child progresses at their own pace and we thank you for your continued support and patience with these matters.

NURSERY NEWS

13th July 2026 – Edition 417

Find out About:

A End of Term arrangements July 2026

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

C Lost Property

D Remember to put your younger children on our wait list.

E School re-open dates for September 2026

F The end of the 2025-2026 Academic Year is rapidly approaching!

A. End of Term arrangements July 2026

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

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

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

On Friday 17^th 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.

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.

C. 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.

D. Remember to put your younger children on our wait list.

Please remember to add your younger children’s names on our contact list. We are no longer able to give preference to children who have had brothers and sisters in our school. We look purely at how long children have been on our contact list for each termly cohort when we allocate spaces. Please encourage friends and family members to put their child’s name down as soon as possible, to have the best chance of being offered a space in the future.

E. School re-open dates September 2026

Tuesday 1^st September School Closed Staff Training Day

Wednesday 2^nd September School Closed Staff Training Day

Thursday 3rd September School Open.

Brand new families have been advised of their start date.
Existing families should continue with their child’s current attendance pattern.
Some existing families have increased their child’s sessions from 15 to 30 hours. These children will start on 3rd September.

F. The end of the 2025-2026 Academic Year is rapidly approaching!

We find ourselves rapidly approaching the end of another year at Willow. I have some ‘Thankyous’ that I would like to share. Firstly, I would like to thank each and every parent who has chosen Willow for their child. Parents rarely realise that our funding is directly linked to the number of pupils we have, so without your children, there would be no Willow.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our collection of boxes and tubes for the children to build models with. The sellotape that parents donated has been constantly in use. There is always a little group gathered by the sellotape dispenser waiting for a turn. Thank you to all the families who have responded to our requests for tissues throughout the year. Parents have been very generous. All support is very appreciated.

A very big thank you is given to our two volunteers who have given their time regularly throughout the year to support the teaching and learning in the classrooms. This support really alters the adult to child ratio’s we can provide. We can offer a wider range of activities, but ultimately the greatest benefit is there are more people to hold conversations with your children.

The 2026 Leavers are a group of very individual children. The majority of children play in pairs or trios. The children always seem to be trying to build friendships with each other, as we repeatedly hear ‘Will you be my best friend?’

We have some very strong personalities within our group of leavers. Some of these individual personalities clash in what appear to be love-hate relationships. In some situations, we hear raised voices as two children have a disagreement, but we also have times where the same pairings caringly look out for each other saying ‘Are you okay?’ and behave supportively.

We seem to have some very wise and tolerant characters too. They have wide and varied talents. This group of leavers has a very large amount of children who joined the nursery aged just two and then enrolled for 30 hours (for working families) when that became available. It was this cohort that began the shift in attendance pattern, so that the majority of pupils now attend for 30 hours. We have tried hard to expand our planned opportunities to keep these children busy and engaged. We have really got to know this year group. They are a close ‘family’ of pupils. We will miss them.

What will the next year group bring?

Strong friendship bonds are already forming. Staff know the children very well. The 2027 leavers now step up to be the ‘Big Children’ and that brings a level of responsibility to them.

The tiny two year olds just like taking their shoes off and dancing with big smiles on their faces, and that is how life should be when you are two.

So to the families that are staying with us, I look forward to seeing the progress that your children make in the next twelve months as they grow and mature, and I hope all the children will experience some fun with us during that time.

The only thing left for me to say is ‘Have a Safe Summer’.

Leigh Davies

NURSERY NEWS

Monday 6^th 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 16^th 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

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 31^st 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 (24^th November and 1^st 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?

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!

NURSERY NEWS

Monday 29th June 2026 – Edition 415

Find out About:

A. ICT systems and telephones now working.

B. Heatwave-last week.

C. Chickenpox update.

D. What are the children learning about this week?

A. ICT systems and telephones now working.

Our ICT technician arrived very early this morning to switch on all our ICT equipment and ensure it is all operating effectively and safely.

We are happy to say everything is all now working. Telephone and email communications have resumed as normal. Mrs Evans is no longer working from home.

B. Heatwave-last week.

I would like to offer my thanks to the whole school community for working together during the period of extreme high temperatures during the Heatwave last week.

We used our knowledge of how heat impacts our school to plan our days. It is possible to go outside for a short period of time in the morning before the day reaches its peak temperatures. Mornings have been hot, but fairly normal in terms of play, as children can access both inside and outside areas.

At 11:30 we chose to close outside and bring all children inside for the rest of the day. We ensured children drank more water, by having whole school hydration breaks (like in the world cup!) at 10:00am and 11:30am, and the children have responded well to our request to drink lots more water than usual.

The afternoons have been very hot and sweaty for all those that were here, both adults and children.

Pressures on family life have changed in recent times. Funding initiatives from the government has meant that the majority of families attending Willow are now working families.

We decided we would try our hardest to stay open. We do always think about the impact closing Nursery will have upon all families, but we do give particular consideration to the stress closing Nursery would bring to those parents that work. Being a parent with a young child is a very demanding period of time in anyone’s life. Add to that the need to be in work, and have childcare close due to heatwave issues and this puts parents in a difficult and stressful position. I hope our flexible approach regarding normal attendance/ reduced attendance/ stay at home and get in the paddling pool, has met everyone’s needs.

For those children who were in school for full days last week they should be recognised as being real ‘troopers’. They have tried so hard not to lose their ‘cool’. The slightly reduced pupil numbers achieved by parents choosing to keep children at home, or choosing to collect children early really helped. Everyone in school just had a little more space.

The staff team has been amazing throughout the challenges of last week. We have a number of staff with underlying health conditions that are exacerbated by hot weather conditions. The staff team pulled together, maintaining a fun play environment whilst meticulously monitoring individual pupils to protect their health and well-being.

As I am writing this today, we all finally experienced a cooler night, so had the opportunity for better sleep. I am hoping that the weather in the next few weeks will revert to seasonal ‘norms’ and provide us with more comfortable conditions for playing and learning in.

C. Chickenpox Update.

We have had another case of chickenpox reported this morning in the two-year-old class. So, please be aware that it is still transmitting at school.

D. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is Peace at Last

This week the theme is based on the book Peace at Last by Jill Murphy. Children will be listening to the story and discussing the characters and events of the story with staff. Staff will encourage the children to look at the pages of the book and all of the little details on each page. This promotes conversations, as the children will want to share what they can see and share experiences of their own. Staff will encourage children to listen to each other as they talk and to wait for their turn to talk. Staff will teach the children that it is good manners to wait until someone has finished talking before they take their turn.

Our learning intention this week is for children to recognise the impact of their choices and behaviours on others and to understand that sometimes these actions can hurt the feelings of others. To implement this, we will talk to the children about being kind and empathetic. We will encourage children to consider how they might feel if something was said or done to them. We will also pay close attention to positive behaviours such as sharing and using good manners. It is important that the children understand that their words and actions also have an impact on others. Staff will give lots of praise for kindness and consideration when it is carried out, they will also be modelling the type of language and behaviour we would like to see the children use.

NURSERY NEWS

Monday 22nd June 2026 – Edition 414

Find out About:

A. Reminder Monday 22^nd June 2026 is a training day for staff. School Closed

B. Review of the Year

C. Can you help with some Tissues?

D. What are the children learning about this week?

A. TODAY Monday 22^nd June 2026 is a training day for staff. School Closed

B. Review of the year

At this time of year, we carry out a big review of our school. In the last few days staff been talking to the Big Nursery children individually, to gain their views about their school, with regard to what they like, what they think they have learned and what they would like to see change. All school staff are busy filling in questionnaires too.

This information helps us to plan our areas for development next year.

I always ask parents for their views too at this time of year.

We usually ask just two questions:

Please comment about what we do well at Willow.
Please tell us one thing you would like to see at Willow that you would consider to be an improvement and/or development.

Please write a short email and send to office@willownursery.co.uk

If you wish your comments to inform my review, please send your email by the end of this week, Friday 26^th June. I will then compile all the comments and respond to them in a future newsletter, on Tuesday 6^th July.

C. Can you help with some Tissues?

Sometimes we ask parents for some specific donations that help our school.

We are in the hottest part of summer. We would hope that colds and runny noses would be over by now. However, this is not the case!

We have almost run out of tissues. So please, when doing your shopping, consider picking up a box of tissues for our children. We really appreciate parents’ donations, as it enables us to have boxes of tissues close at hand, all around the school and in the garden, so we can do our best to keep children’s noses clean.

D. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is transport – air and water

Staff will work with children to teach them the different types of transport that can be used on the water and in the air. Summer holidays are fast approaching and many children will be going on summer holidays. Some children are lucky enough to be travelling out of the country and this can be used as a discussion point to share personal experiences of air and water travel. There are many resources in school that can showcase different transport and how we use it, including books, toy airports and water play with boats and submarines which will all be available for the children to explore. Staff will model lots of language as they discuss things they have seen while on their own travels and they will encourage children to share their own experiences.

Our learning intention this week is for the children to practice skills of assertion, negotiation and compromise and to look at adults for support in conflict resolution. We will be assisting children as they consider the best way to solve conflicts no matter how big or small. Lots of praise and support will be given to children who try their best to show understanding and kindness to their friends. All children are different and have varying abilities when it comes to being able to problem solve, but being able to try their best or ask for help is key to them becoming successful.

We will focus on cutting skills this week and there will be plenty of books, magazines and paper for the children to cut. Staff will support the children in holding their scissors effectively to be able to make snips in paper and, for those that are able, to cut carefully and with purpose.

Our target for the most skilled children is to be able to neatly cut along a curved shape.

NURSERY NEWS

15th June 2026 – Edition 413

Find out About:

A. Reminder: An Open School Event: For Big Nursery Yellow Group Parents: Basic Skills.

B. Reminder Monday 22^nd June 2026 is a training day for staff. School Closed

C. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Reminder An Open School Event: For Big Nursery Yellow Group Parents: Basic Skills.

Miss Howe’s Yellow group parents have been invited in to observe a 30 minute reading/writing activity on Wednesday 17^th June.

Mrs Cashmore’s Big Nursery Yellow group parents have been invited in to observe a 30 minute reading/writing activity on Thursday 18^th June.

The children’s skills are really coming along as we head towards the end of the year. We hope you will enjoy the opportunity to see your child working within a more structured, adult led session.

B. Reminder Monday 22^nd June 2026 is a training day for staff. School Closed

C. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is transport – land

Staff will explain to the children what the word transport means and that there are many different modes of transport. There will be a variety of different resources throughout the school for the children to fully explore this topic. Staff will use these resources to expand the children’s vocabulary, they will explain that on land we can travel by car, train, bus, bicycle, motorcycle and on foot.

Our learning intention this week is for the children to talk extensively about things that are of particular importance to them. This means that they will learn to talk about people and things that are not present and they will use language to share experiences and thoughts. This will be promoted by having discussions with the children, and encouraging conversations by asking open ended questions. Staff will often relate to the children as they talk about things that are of importance to them. These discussions help to build bonds between the staff and children. Children are more likely to share more thoughts as their confidence grows.

The younger children have been exploring music and movement with their friends and will continue to do this during their sessions. They have been listening to some traditional party songs such as ‘Agadoo’ by Black Lace and ‘Nellie The Elephant’ by The Toy Dolls (1984 version). The children look forward to this activity every day and have been dancing very enthusiastically. It is lovely to see them coming together as a group and sharing this very special experience. Staff wanted to share this news with parents to encourage you to play these songs at home and have a little dance with your children.

NURSERY NEWS

8th June 2026 – Edition 412

Find out About:

A An Open School Event: For Big Nursery Yellow Group Parents: Basic Skills.

B. Parent Consultations July 2026

C. End of term arrangements July 2026

D. What are the children learning about this week?

A. An Open School Event: For Big Nursery Yellow Group Parents: Basic Skills.

Miss Howe teaches some Big Nursery Yellow Group children ‘Basic Skills’ on a Wednesday morning. Mrs Cashmore teaches some Big Nursery Yellow Group children ‘Basic Skills’ on a Thursday morning.

The children move to a quiet space in Room 5 where they work in small groups (approx. 8 children) to learn reading, writing, mathematical skills and problem solving.

We would like to invite Miss Howe’s Yellow group parents in to observe a 30 minute reading/writing activity on Wednesday 17^th June.

We would like to invite Mrs Cashmore’s Yellow group parents in to observe a 30 minute reading/writing activity on Thursday 18^th June.

A further invitation letter will follow to Yellow Group parents so that we can match up time slots, so parents can join their child’s small group. Blue Group had their Basic Skills groups in the Autumn Term 2025 and Orange Group had their Basic skills group in the Spring Term 2026.

B. Parent Consultations July 2026.

We plan to have face to face parent consultations for all the children on 7^th and 9^th July 2026. All consultations will be 5 minutes long. Staff will be in touch with you to arrange an appointment time.

So for Little Nursery, All the Children who will be staying with us in September

Tuesday 7^th July–

Miss Gaffney’s Green Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:35pm

Mrs Brinkley’s Red Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 3:55pm

Miss Allen’s Yellow Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:20pm

Miss Tyler’s Blue group children, Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 3:35pm

Mrs Chiriac’s Red group children Five minute appointments available between

1:00pm and 1:30pm

So for Big Nursery, All the Children who will be leaving us in July:

Thursday 9^th July–

Mrs Patterson’s Blue Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Miss Skai’s Orange Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Miss Howe’s Yellow Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 3:45pm

Mrs Cashmore’s Yellow Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 3:55pm

C. End of Term arrangements July 2026

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

On Friday 17^th 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. We are going to consult the children about what activities they would like to plan for their last day, and try to enable their ideas. There will be no charge for this session.

D. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is The Smartest Giant in Town

The children will be listening to and sharing the book ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’. They will get to know the characters and learn how they are so kind to each other. The characters in the story talk to each other about how they feel in different situations and the staff will use this as a discussion point for the children to explore their own emotions. This fits with our learning intention to talk about how others might be feeling and respond according to their understanding of the other persons needs and wants. We will be encouraging everyone to be considerate of each other and to remember to be kind.

We will be talking to the children about different things that may affect our mood such as being hungry, tired and hot. When the weather is hot we give the children lots of reminders to take breaks from the sun, wear sunhats and drink plenty. It is important that children understand that it is okay to feel a range of emotions but also that there are different ways to manage the way we feel so that it doesn’t affect others.

As a staff, we work hard to teach the children how to manage their emotions and to understand that the way they feel is important. We model different ways to communicate with each other and offer solutions to support the wellbeing of the children.