Nursery News 14th October 2024

NURSERY NEWS

14^th October 2024 – Edition 348

Find out About:

A. Would you be interested in becoming a School Governor?

B. Parent Consultations

C. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Would you be interested in becoming a School Governor?

As yet, nobody has said that they might be interested. We are a friendly group! Please come and have a chat with me if you are thinking about offering your time. We value everyone’s contribution, and no particular skills are required.

We have a good crowd of parents here. This doesn’t have to be a long term commitment. Maybe you would like to volunteer for just one year?  It might give you an insight into what goes on behind the scenes in the management of schools, or you might just learn a little more about what all the children do in school.

We still have a vacancy, so I have to continue to try to fill it! Will one of you consider stepping up?

B. Parent Consultations

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

Now it is time for Big Nursery parents to book appointments to speak with your child’s Keyworker.

These consultations are offered to talk about how your child is settling in and the progress your child is making. 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:

Tuesday 5^th November  Miss Skai’s Red Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:00pm

Tuesday 5^th November Miss Howe’s Yellow Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:25pm

Thursday 7^th November Mrs Patterson’s Blue Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:25pm

Thursday 7^th November Mrs Cashmore’s Yellow Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:25pm

C. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week focusses on the storybook ‘Happy In Our Skin’. The children will be using mirrors to look at their reflections and adults will take these opportunities to talk to the children about what they can see. This can then evolve into an opportunity to discuss things that make us different, and any similarities that we may have with each other. Children will be learning the names of their friends and will be able to take photographs of each other using the ipads. After the photographs have been taken, the children can analyse them to identify familiar features such as eye and hair colour.

Mrs Patterson and Miss Gaffney are planning to set up a Pumpkin Patch in our outside area and are requesting donations of pumpkins. They are 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 items into the vegetables and even opening up the pumpkins to see what’s inside. It will be a very exciting week, full of art, science and cognitive and physical development. Thank you for your support!

NURSERY NEWS

7^th October 2024 – Edition 347

Find out About:

A. Display of Family Photographs- For Big Nursery Children

B. Parent Consultations- A reminder

C. Would you be interested in becoming a School Governor?

D. Public Health Information: How to keep your child healthy over the coming Autumn/ Winter season.

E. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Display of Family Photographs- For Big Nursery Children

A few weeks ago I told everyone about the display we would like to put up of Family photo’s in Big Nursery. We have had a few photographs come in, and we have put them on the wall. The children have been very interested in looking at the photographs, but a few were concerned they could not find pictures of their 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

B. Parent Consultations-A reminder

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 21^st October, 2024

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.

C. Would you be interested in becoming a School Governor?

Willow Nursery is a Maintained Nursery School, and is managed like other Government Maintained Schools.

As part of our structure we have a governing body, made up of volunteers, that come together to help the Headteacher to manage the school effectively. As part of our governing body we have two Parent Governors. (We have one in place, we are hoping to recruit a second Parent Governor)  Parent governors play a vital role on governing bodies, holding the unique position of having a parental viewpoint of the school. Through the children, they have a first hand experience of the delivery of the curriculum, and how the school is perceived from the ‘consumers’ point of view. This enables parent governors to bring a different perspective to the strategic management of the school.

More specifically governors:

• help the school with it’s strategy
• hold the headteacher to account for the school’s performance
• makes sure the school budget is properly managed

What commitment to Parent Governors have to make at Willow?

We ask that governors are available to meet for three governors meetings per year, one in each term. We generally meet at 4:15pm, sometimes we meet face to face, sometimes online and currently due to everyone’s commitments, we operate a blended approach with some people meeting us here at school face to face, and others joining us online. Meetings usually last 60-90 minutes.

We ask all governors to visit the school once a year during the daytime to carry out a short governor visit, so they can see how the school is operating, within an area they are interested in.

You do not need any particular experience, we just ask that you are interested in the development of your child’s school.

Our next meeting is on Monday 14^th October at 4:00pm, online.

So if you think this is something you might be interested in, have a chat with me, Mrs Davies and we can take it from there.

D. Public Health Information:

How to keep your child healthy over the coming Autumn/ Winter season.

We have received some information from Vicky Head, Director of Public Health, Central Bedfordshire Council. She has asked schools to share with parents ways you can keep your children healthy over the coming Autumn/ Winter season.

She says:

With the new school term starting, children spend more time together, which can lead to more colds,flu, and other illnesses.

Here are some ways to keep your children healthy and in school:

1.Keep your child’s vaccinations up to date.

Measles and whooping cough are still around. The best way to protect your child from getting sick is to make sure they have had all their vaccines. If you are unsure. you can ask your GP or use the NHS app to check.

2. Make sure your child gets the flu vaccine.

Flu can make children very sick. The Flu vaccine reduces the risk of needing hospital care. Most children from age 2 to 16 can get the vaccine. The vaccine is usually a quick, painless spray in the nose. There is also a version without pork ingredients. Children aged 2-3 can get the flu vaccine at their GP. Vaccinating your child also helps protect others, like family members, from getting the flu.

3.Teach your child good handwashing habits.

Washing hands helps stop the spread of germs. Remind your child to wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating. Teach them to use tissues for coughs and sneezes and to throw them in the bin afterwards.

4. Know when to keep your child at home.

Sometimes it is hard to know if your child should stay home. For minor illnesses, like a slight cough or cold, it’s usually OK to send them to school. But if they have a high temperature or a rash, keep them at home and speak to your GP

E. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is who is who in nursery. The staff will work with the children in the mornings on recognising different members of staff and learning their names. Staff will also encourage the children to try to remember each other’s names and use them during play.

Throughout the school we will also be focusing on becoming familiar with the sequence of numbers and being able to sing and say them in order. To support this, the children will be learning lots of number and action songs. Staff will teach the children how to represent numbers as they sing, this will be done by using props and fingers as concrete objects to count. To support your children with this objective you can sing with them at home, some popular songs are ‘5 currant buns’, ’10  green bottles’ and ‘1,2,3,4,5 once I caught a fish alive’.

The children will also be learning how to take turns on the bikes outside, we know that they are a very exciting resource and want everyone to be able to have a fair turn at learning to ride a bike. To enable this, we will introduce sand timers for the children to use to monitor when their time is finished and someone else should get a try.

NURSERY NEWS

30th September 2024 – Edition 346

Find out About:

A. Important dates

B. Parent Consultations

C. Forest School Program

D. Willow Lending Library.

E. 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 28^th October 2024 to Fri 1^st November 2024: Autumn Half term – School Closed

Mon 4th November –Teacher training day- School Closed.

Thursday 19^th December 2024 Last normal school day of the Autumn Term.

Friday 20th December 2024 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 6^th January 2025 –Teacher Training Day- School Closed

Tuesday 7^th January 2025 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 6th November and Thursday 7th November-School Photographer to visit.

Thursday 14^th November 5pm- Open School Event ‘Walk In the Dark’.

Friday 15^th November ‘Children in Need Day’ We make a collection for this charity.

Wednesday 20^th November Open School Event Big Nursery Green Group –Parents to watch Basic Skills Literacy Session.

Week beginning Monday 2nd December 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 21^st October, 2024

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 21^st October Mrs Brinkley’s Orange Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:55pm

Tuesday 22^nd October Miss Gaffney’s Blue Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:20pm

Wednesday 23rd October Mrs Cashmore’s Little Yellow Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations, between 1:00pm and 1:25pm

Thursday 24^th October Mrs McGrath’s Little Yellow Groups Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:35pm

Big Nursery will be having their Parent Consultations (on the telephone) during week beginning Monday 4^th November, 2024. Dates and times for appointments will be detailed in Nursery News 348 (published on Monday 14^th October).

C. Forest School Program

Mrs Brinkley has started teaching our Forest School program to Big Nursery Yellow 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 a small group once a week for 7 weeks. We aim to have worked with Yellow, Green and Red group children by Summer 2025.

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.

2. 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.

4. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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!

D. Willow Lending Library.

Miss Howe worked hard last year 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 J

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.

Free tips and advice in more than 20 languages on ‘sharing books with young children’ can be found at:

https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/tips-and-advice/reading-with-your-child-3-4years/#!?q=&sortOption=AtoZ&pageNo=1

E. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is ‘All about me’ and staff will be working with the children to teach them about the similarities and differences they may have with each other. Staff will talk to the children about themselves, each other and being part of the Willow Nursery community. We feel that it is important to have a strong sense of identity and this comes from knowing about yourself and those that are close to you.

During some activities, children will be encouraged to look at themselves in mirrors, to see their key features and will be encouraged to talk about what they can see. Staff will model language for those that are unsure of naming features such as cheeks, chin, eyebrows, etc. Other resources we may use to maximise the learning opportunities are playdough, potato heads, puppets and chalk drawings. Through using these tools, we can encourage the children to share similarities and differences they may have with each other. Children will be encouraged to celebrate their differences because this is what makes them unique. We have received lots of family photo’s from parents for our display board and these are often a talking point for the children. If you haven’t yet sent in a family photo, there is still time to do this. The children get very excited to have the opportunity to share their own experiences with their friends and their photo’s are a tool we use to support this.

NURSERY NEWS

23^rd September 2024 – Edition 345

Find out About:

A. Severe Rainfall.

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

C. Applying for Primary School.

D. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Severe Rainfall- an update.

The water was rising in Hadrian Academy Playground until about 9:30pm last night. At our rear boundary with Hadrian Academy the water in our playground was 30cms deep.  More rainfall was predicted overnight. I could not give a clear decision about whether the school would be able to open until I had arrived this morning.

There had been no leaks inside the school, and the toilets, heating, electrical systems, phone and internet were all working appropriately.

I was however receiving messages from staff who were stuck on their journey in to school.

Our ability to function as a school is also impacted upon what is happening in nearby schools. Staff children have to be looked after if their schools are closed, and again we cannot function here without enough staff.

We do, as a school, try really hard to remain open, during adverse weather conditions but in my 25 years of being here at Willow I have never seen Hadrian Academy’s field and playground become a lake!

Parts of our garden were very waterlogged. I did not want children playing in such wet mud. This is why our outside area remained closed for the day!

So, our plan for tomorrow Tuesday 24^th September is that we will be open, but I cannot be 100% sure of that until we see what happens overnight…..

Assume we are open. If we are closed we will endeavour to send an email at a similar time to the one this morning at approx. 8:15am

B. 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!

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

This applies to all children in Big Nursery

Apply for a lower or primary school place in Central Bedfordshire

15 January 2025 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)

Apply online for your school place

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

What you’ll need to apply

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.

Apply by post

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

1. get an application form
   You can download an application form (PDF)
2. 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)
3. 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 2025 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).

Apply by email

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

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

We need to receive your application by the 15 January 2025 deadline.

If Central Bedfordshire is not your council, you’ll need to apply through your home Local Authority.

You will need to look on your Local Authority Council’s website for further information on how to apply.

D. What are the children learning about this week?

This week, the topic in nursery is Maisy Goes Swimming. This is themed around the book written by Lucy Cousins. The children will be learning how to listen to familiar stories with increasing attention. They will be building on their recall skills and talking about the story and characters with each other and staff. Adults will ask questions relating to the story, which will improve the children’s ability to hold a conversation and allow them the opportunity to share their favourite parts of the book.

Music will be played outside throughout the week to help the children build their listening skills and also improve the confidence of those that want to join in with singing familiar songs. In keeping with the Maisy theme, the children will have the chance to paint portraits of the characters from the Maisy story. They will be encouraged to pay particular attention to the colours and features of their chosen character.

There will also be lots of activities throughout the nursery that focus on strengthening muscles in the hands, including writing, drawing, playdough and painting. Lots of the children’s artwork will be displayed in the setting but much of their work will come home on Wednesday for you to look at and enjoy with your child.

NURSERY NEWS

16^th September 2024 – Edition 344

Find out About:

A. Progress so far….

B. Keeping Children Safe.

C. Milk and Fruit time.

D. Hadrian Academy Open Mornings

E. Can you help with some Tissues?

F. A Display of Family Photographs-For Big Nursery children.

G. Early Years Pupil Premium

H. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Progress so far….

Things are going well. The new children are really enjoying exploring the school. This generally means that every piece of play equipment is taken out of the drawers, and explored on the floor. The entire school floor is covered in toys! The staff are very patient. They begin by teaching the children where all the toys and equipment can be found, and where they should be returned to. 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. Milk and Fruit time.

The government provides all children at Nursery with a free carton of milk each day. All children in the nursery will be offered milk at mid-morning snack time. (Unless parents have informed us that their child has an intolerance to cows milk)

We aim to provide all children with a fruit snack

We ask all parents to donate some fruit, so we can share these at the snack table. We ask parents to donate a bag of fruit such as apples, satsumas or bananas, for all the children to share.  If every parent was to donate a small bag of fruit every half term, we will have lots to share.

D. Hadrian Academy Open Mornings

The Office Manager at Hadrian Academy has been in touch with us to ask if we could hand out Hadrian Academy prospectuses to all families in Big Nursery.

Mrs Barber (our Finance Manager) handed some out on Thursday and Friday of last week, and will continue to hand them to parents this week.

It may appear very early to be thinking about the next step in your child’s education when some children have only started at nursery last week.

However, all children that currently attend Willow Nursery, in Big Nursery, will leave Willow at the end of the Summer Term in July 2025. These children will begin reception class in your chosen Lower/Primary School in September 2025.

Applications for Lower/Primary School places must be made direct to your Local Authority by15 January 2025

I will provide more information about this process in my next newsletter.

So, in the meantime, Hadrian Academy would like us to make you aware of some Open Mornings they are running, to enable you to see their school.

Open Mornings:  Fridays on 4^th October, 18^th October, 15^th November, 6^th December 2024 – 9.30 – 10.30am

E. Can you help with some Tissues?

Sometimes we ask parents for some specific donations that help our school. During Covid, we were asked to teach the children about the importance of using tissues hygienically to blow their nose. As a staff we discussed which elements of the previous Covid requirements we would like to continue with. We think that the hygienic use of tissues, combined with frequent handwashing helps maintain a cleaner, healthier school environment. So, I am asking if all parents could help us by donating a box of tissues for the children to use, to help keep everyone healthy.

F. A Display of Family Photographs- For Big Nursery Children

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 of Big Nursery children that they can share with everyone. The staff would also like to include these photo’s as part of a display. So, if you would like to send in a photo of your child and their family, please do so during this week (16/09/24) 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 when we take our display down later in the year.

G. 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.

H. What are the children learning about this week?

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 them 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 top and outside so names can be seen quickly. This supports children with their lunchtime transition, enabling 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

9^th September 2024 – Edition 343

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. In September we see all existing children move keyworkers. 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.

However, for the academic year 2024-2025 the Local Authority did not set the 5 training days when the school is closed for staff training. Schools were advised to choose our 5 training days. We have planned our 5 training days to be:

Monday 2^nd September 2024.

Tuesday 3^rd September 2024.

Monday 4^th November 2024

Monday 6^th January 2025

Monday 7^th July 2025.

We have put Willow Nursery School dates for the 2024-2025 academic year on our website willownursery.co.uk on the ‘Calendar’ tab.

I have looked on the Central Bedfordshire website today. They have published dates for academic year 2025-2026. The academic calendar for 2025-2026 does not show when schools are closed for 5 training days. We have not made our decision yet as to when to schedule these training dates. When we have made our decision the term dates for academic calendar 2025-2026 will appear on our website.

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 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 13 families join this year group that are new to the school. There are 47 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 adds new pupils this week. We are expecting 10 new families.

We will have 30 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 main objective throughout Nursery is to help the children settle in to nursery life and to help them build relationships with their key workers.

The staff will be focused on teaching everyone how to access different resources and how to tidy up their toys when they have finished playing.

Staff will also focus on staying safe outside and taking turns with toys.

NURSERY NEWS

15^th July 2024 – Edition 342

Find out About:

A. End of Term arrangements July 2024- A reminder

B. Leavers Day –Friday 19th July- 8:50am-11:50am- A reminder

C. Financial Arrangements September 2024

D. The end of the 2023-2024 Academic Year is rapidly approaching.

Please note that all our previous newsletters are available on our website www.willownursery.co.uk

Should you require information about the arrangements for the beginning of September 2024, here at Willow, see the 1st July 2024 Newsletter- Edition 340.

A. End of Term arrangements July 2024

The last day of term in July 2024 for all children will be Thursday 18^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 19th July- 8:50am-11:50am

On Friday 19^th July school will open only for the Big Nursery children that are leaving us. The session will be from 8:50 am to 11:50am. 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.

C. Financial Arrangements September 2024.

A reminder to all parents staying with us into next year. We have increased our fees to be in line with the funding rates provided to us by the government. So, for those parents who are paying for spaces, these will be our rates from September 2024.

2+ children, one 3 hour session will cost £22.32

3+children, one 3 hour session will cost £15.66

D. The end of the 2023-2024 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 those parents who have kept us well stocked with fruit for snack time. The children have really enjoyed the ice-pops that parents have provided during the summer term. Parents have been very generous this year. We have enjoyed hundreds of ice pops! Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our collection of boxes and tubes for the children to build models with. This year group love building models. 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. All support is very appreciated.

A very big thank you is given to the parents and grandparents 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 2024 Leavers are quite a remarkable bunch! As a group they get on very well with each other. We have seen many year groups pass through the school over the years, and I can say that this group have been quite special. As a group, they are kind and tolerant. They generally manage their own disputes with little adult support. There is definitely a love of learning amongst this group. In the past year we have been focussing on introducing core books to our curriculum. We have 12 core books that we roll out across the year, spending three weeks looking at one book. This group have really engaged with this new style of teaching. They love books!

This year group has an amazing sense of humour. There is a lot of role play going on and we hear interactions between happy busy children. Children’s characters and sense of self are well defined.

Maybe the effects of Covid are becoming more distant, maybe these children have been impacted less…..  This year Willow has certainly been a Happy Place!

What will the next year group bring? The children that have been based in Little Nursery are developing well. When I walk through there are happy, chatty children, all playing well together, I think we have another strong year group on the horizon.

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

9th July 2024 – Edition 341

Find out About:

A. End of Term arrangements July 2024

B. Leavers Day –Friday 19^th July- 8:50am-11:50am

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

D. Review of the year- Results.

E. What are the children learning about this week?

A. End of Term arrangements July 2024

The last day of term in July 2024 for all children will be Thursday 18th July.

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

B. Leavers Day –Friday 19^th July- 8:50am-11:50am

On Friday 19th July school will open only for the Big Nursery children that are leaving us. The session will be from 8:50 am to 11:50am. 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 dolls, cars, teddies and trains
• Have songs and music, dancing, party lights, bubbles and balloons
• Play pass the parcel.

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, carrots, apples, cheese, crisps, ice creams and ice pops

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.

C. 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.childcarechoices.gov.uk. This is 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 your child, please ensure that your code is in place and valid by 31^st August 2024, 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

D. Review of the year- Results

I have had one family 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….

1. Please comment about what we do well at Willow.

Really happy with our daughter’s development during her time at Willow. She looks forward to spending time at the nursery and we are pleased with any changes during X’s time (potty training and leaving the dummy at home) have been supported and encouraged. The newsletter is a great asset to be able to talk to her about what she has been doing during the day.

It is good to hear feedback that your daughter enjoys her time here. We ultimately want children to be happy during their time here. I am pleased you read the newsletter and find it useful. I usually spend a couple of hours a week planning and writing the newsletter, and I’m never sure how many people read it!                                                                  Mrs Cashmore (one of our teachers) always writes the section ‘What are the children learning about this week?’ We know that two, three and four year olds are not very good at explaining what they have been doing at school!  We share this information so you can talk at home and extend your child’s learning. It is good to show interest from early on, so you can continue to support your child as they get older, and begin to get homework in primary and secondary school.   Leigh Davies

2. Please tell us one thing you would like to see at Willow that you would consider to be an improvement and/or development.

Would like to have more regular catch up’s with key worker on our daughter’s day to day to know what she has been doing and anything she has enjoyed doing at nursery.

This is a very valid point. I do take this on board. This comment often appears here in our yearly review. We are quite a big setting. We dismiss up to 87 children at the end of the session. Our priority is to release children safely to their parents. If every parent had just 1 minute with their keyworker on handover it would take 87 minutes to speak briefly to everyone….. So this is not really possible. 

We have tried to help matters by sending keyworkers out early in the morning to speak to parents before school. I know some keyworkers are better than others at this, but I will try to encourage them all to be available outside 5 minutes before school begins in the morning, in September.

I am aware that Keyworkers are not always available at the end of the morning session, or at the beginning of the afternoon session. This is because we still have a school full of children to care for, and we have to squeeze in a 30 minute lunch break for all the staff. Arrivals and departure time at lunchtime requires every member of staff on duty to be involved with children somewhere in the school.

The new funding for Working Families initiative will bring change to the school. Individual children will  be staying for more sessions. Going forward we are likely to have less coming and going and children’s patterns of attendance will be more regular for the youngest children. Two year old children from working families are currently entitled to 15 hours of funded education. In September 2025 this will rise to an entitlement of 30 hours for two year olds from working families. Less children will do more hours and fill our school.

We induct children termly. Each termly cohort has their own Keyworker. We are tidying this up from September and making this information more explicit to parents. In September, ten children will be starting in little Nursery who became two years old between April and August. They will be known as Little Nursery Yellow Group, and if they attend Nursery at the beginning of the week, their Keyworker will be Mrs Cashmore, and if they attend at the end of the week, their Keyworker will be Mrs McGrath. My plan is, going forward, that parents in 2+Little Nursery will be able to speak with their keyworkers in the mornings. There will be 5 children in this colour group at each end of the week for the year 2024-2025. So we hope a brief daily catch up will be possible.                                                                                                       Currently the 2023-24 Little Nursery Yellow Group comprises of 16 children, choosing to attend random patterns of attendance, with three different keyworkers assigned.

I hope that in the Autumn term space will allow us to have some dates in our diary as  stay and play sessions, so, if parents wish, they can come into school with their child and join them in play, and of course, get to know staff.

I feel the school will feel more consistent and settled if younger children do begin to stay for more sessions. It is new to us…. We shall see. Leigh Davies

Willow Nursery School- Children’s Evaluation. July 2024

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

E. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is ‘Children’s Choice’.

The children have been asked what they would like to do around nursery this week. They have been encouraged to think of their favourite toys and activities and we have planned around them.

In Catkins, the children have chosen to have lots of dressing up clothes. They will be using their imagination as they play and staff will expand the children’s ideas by creating props to support their role play. Staff will model lots of language to extend the children’s ideas, they will ask questions, sing songs and comment on games being played. There will also be some sensory items to experience through the week, that the staff will introduce in different play scenarios.

In Catkins garden, the children have asked for bikes and cars. They will enjoy moving around the garden, using their feet and legs to push the vehicles around. Staff will encourage the children to wait for their turn and share the toys.  They will be praised for being patient and kind.

In the Link, the children have asked for painting and messy play. To provide these opportunities, the staff will set up an easel for free painting and a tray of cooked and dyed pasta for the children to investigate. The pasta will be dyed different colours and staff will talk to the children about this and the colours they have used in their painting. The children will have access to water play and exploration at the beginning of the week.

In Room 3, the children have asked for the train track to be set up and for dinosaurs. They have also stated that they would like lots of pink items! Staff will set up a small world scenario where the children can play with a variety of dinosaurs in an exciting setting. They will set up a simple train set for the children to see initially, then encourage the children to expand the track. They can make it bigger and more exciting, adding bridges, tunnels and lots of scenery. The children can help look for as many pink items as they can find.

In Room 2, the children are excited for summer and have asked for ice creams. Staff have been talking about the weather and different ways to cool down, including having ice pops at school for a treat. The children will be shown how to create pictures of ice creams, using paint and stamps.

They can also try their hand at bubble painting. This is an activity that the children have previously been introduced to, where they blow into paint using a straw and press their paper onto the bubbles to create a unique bubble effect picture.

Outside, the children have been helping staff to retrieve lost balls, hoops and beanbags. They have been discussing taking care of their toys and have asked if they can use these toys next week. Staff will encourage the children to use these toys in a sensible way so that they don’t get lost or stuck in the trees again. They have also chosen to have the bikes next week. Children will be able to practise riding the two wheeled bikes and will be supported with turn taking and being kind.

NURSERY NEWS

1st July 2024 – Edition 340

Find out About:

A. School Closed Monday 8^th July, Training Day

B. The Importance of Arriving on Time

C. Admissions -Adding children’s names to our contact list

D. Arrangements for September 2024.

E. Reminder: parent consultations this week.

F. What are the children learning about next week?

A. School Closed Monday 8^th July, Training Day

Willow Nursery School will be closed to all children on Monday 8^th July. All staff will be receiving training. School will be open as usual on Tuesday 9^th July. Next week’s newsletter will be emailed to parents on Tuesday 9^th July.

B. The Importance of Arriving on Time

We have very well organised arrangements for arrival and departure times. Our aim is to take children in to school swiftly, so that they can get on with their learning.

We are finding a considerable number of families are arriving late. Once Keyworkers go inside with their children, they assist their children to settle, take registers and begin the day with ‘drips’. Each week the staff teach a particular focus in the first few minutes of the day. For example ‘Big Nursery’ have been working on the names of 3D shapes and describing how many edges, corners and faces these shapes have. We ‘drip’ feed this knowledge to the children over one week with the hope the children will learn it. Children arriving late miss this learning opportunity. Late children are disrupting settled groups.

By 9:00am the office staff should be getting on with their work. Each time a child arrives late, they must be escorted individually to their Keyworker group, and a mark be added to the already completed and totalled registers.

We are losing too much work time due to late children.

We are looking to tighten up our families punctuality. Procedures are clear. Please help by complying with the following requests:

• If you know in advance that your child will absent, we ask that you inform us by completing an absence form (available from office staff) and handing this to the office staff so that the correct absence codes can be added to the registers.
• If your child is to be absent on a particular day we ask that you call the school office before 9:00am, so that the correct absence codes can be added to registers and keyworkers can be informed.
• Arrive on time. Some families are arriving up to 20 minutes late. Children are missing learning.
• Arrive a little early to be able to speak to keyworkers before school begins. Keyworkers are available before school as parents begin to gather outside. Parents who arrive late will be unable to talk with their child’s keyworker, as they will be busy teaching.

Be aware that the office staff will telephone and/or email families if a child is absent and a parent has failed to let us know. We expect all families to ring before 9:00am. We should not have to ring any families.

As part of our School Improvement Plan we will be looking at improving attendance and punctuality. As our pupils are ‘Non-Statutory’ (they are not of compulsory school school age) it is not our duty to report attendance figures to the Department for Education in the same way as Primary and Secondary Schools are obliged to do. We are, however, obliged to encourage all families to be punctual and have good attendance. It is our role to encourage this in readiness for attending School.

In September we will be re-introducing our ‘Late Book’. Families who arrive late will be asked to fill in the ‘Late Book’ and record why they are late. The Senior Leaders will monitor the ‘Late Book’.  We will offer advice and support to families, who need it, to enable them to get to school on time.

We will be looking to educate families about the importance of education. We are not here to ‘tell parents off’, we are here to encourage everyone to give their children the very best start. Children cannot learn what we would like them to if they are not here!

So remember, at Willow, we expect families to work with us to provide a good education for all our pupils.

C. Admissions -Adding children’s names to our contact list

The new free funding for working two year olds is having an impact on our admissions procedures. We need to ensure we are able to offer some spaces to pupils the term they turn 2 years old. Then we have to ensure we have enough space, and staff for those children to continue with us until they leave to join the 4+ in the Primary School of their choice.

This is a bit of a puzzle which we have been planning for a while now.

We will continue to take children’s names onto our contact list from birth. We will use this contact list to offer spaces to children the term after they turn 2, or the term after they turn 3, subject to availability. I predict the school will fill at age 2, with only a few spaces available at age 3, if any.

We will no longer be able to offer siblings priority to spaces in our setting. Our admissions policy will be based purely on length of time on our contact list. Those who have their name down first on our contact list will be contacted first to be offered a space at age 2. (Only one category of children will jump to the top of the list for enrolment, and that will be children who are in Care, ie Foster Care.)

Make sure you have your younger children on our contact list. Put the word out to friends and family that they should put their child’s name on Willow’s contact list sooner rather than later should they want their child to attend here.

D. Arrangements for September 2024.

We have finalised our plans for the beginning of term in September 2024. So this information is for all the families staying with us in September.

We are aware that a number of our parents are working parents, and look for the school to be operating for all children as soon as possible. We have made our plans trying to strike a balance for everyone’s needs.

Let us start with Little Nursery…..

Little Nursery will reopen on Thursday 5th September.

Little Nursery hours remain 8:45am – 11:45am for a morning session, 11:45am-2:45pm for an afternoon session or 8:45am to 2:45pm for a full day session.

Children’s attendance patterns remain the same, unless you have spoken to me, Mrs Davies, about additional hours for your child.

New starters in Little Nursery will receive paperwork advising parents what their child’s first day will be. New Catkins Class children have start dates somewhere between the 9th September 2024 and 13^th September 2024

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Big Nursery:

Wednesday 4th September 2024 has been scheduled as a visit day. All children who are transitioning from Little Nursery to Big Nursery in September 2024 are invited to attend a Stay and Play session lasting for 90 mins, with a parent. The purpose of this visit is to give you and your child the opportunity to meet the Big Nursery staff, explore the Big Nursery classrooms together and say ‘Hello’ to your child’s Keyworker. Little Nursery Keyworkers will distribute paper invitations to Little Nursery parents at this week’s Parent Consultations, for you to keep as a reminder for September. There will be three sessions:

9:00am to 10:30am For Green and Red group children.

11:00am to 12:30pm For Yellow group children already attending Willow

1:00pm to 2:30pm For new Yellow group children, joining us from September.

These stay and play visits are optional. You do not have to attend, but it will be a way to see Big Nursery with your child. We cannot offer these visits at alternative times or dates as we are looking to get the school up and running as quickly as possible for those parents who are working.

Parents must stay with their children at this event.

Thursday 5th September  – Big Nursery Re-opens for regular Nursery sessions.

Green Group, Red Group and Yellow Group (who have attended in Little Nursery) return to join Big Nursery, attending for their agreed attendance pattern.

Children attending for 30 hours will begin on Thursday 5th September.

Children attending for two and a half days at the end of the week will begin on Thursday 5th at 8:50am.

Children attending for two and a half days at the beginning of the week will begin on Monday 9th September.

Big Nursery hours are:

Morning session: 8:50am to 11:50am

Wednesday afternoon session: 11:50am to 2:50pm.

Full day session: 8:50am to 2:50pm

E. Reminder: parent consultations this week.

This week we will be having face to face parent consultations for all the children across the week on 1^st, 2^nd and 4^th July 2024.  Please bear in mind that all consultations will be 5 minutes long.

Little Nursery:

Monday 1^st July–

Miss Cashmore, Catkins Yellow Group Children-between 3:15pm and 4:05pm

Mrs McGrath, Catkins Yellow Group Children-between 3:00pm and 3:35pm

Miss Gaffney’s Green Group Children- between 3:15pm and 3:55pm

Mrs Brinkley’s Red Group Children- between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Tuesday 2^nd July

Miss Tyler’s Catkins Orange group children– between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Thursday 4^th July–

Mrs Watson’s Blue Group Children- between 3:00pm and 3:55pm

Big Nursery:

Monday 1^st July-  No appointments scheduled.

Tuesday 2^nd July

Miss Skai’s Orange Group Children- between 3:15pm and 3:55pm

Miss Howe’s Yellow Group Children – between 3:15pm and 4:10pm

Thursday 4^th July–

Mrs Patterson’s Green Group Children -between 3:15pm and 4:25pm

Miss Cashmore’s Yellow Group Children -between 3:15pm and 4:00pm

F. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme throughout nursery is the story ‘Peace at Last’.

In Catkins, the children will have a picnic area set up and lots of teddy bears. They will combine the two, to have a teddy bear’s picnic. Staff will sit with the children and pretend their teddies are eating and drinking the food. They will model lots of play and language to support the children with their small world role play. Adults will also encourage the children to use their listening ears as they play different sounds from the book. The children will be asked to name as many sounds as they can.

In the Catkins garden, the children will focus on improving their ball skills. Everyone will focus on different skills each day. These skills will include; kicking, throwing, catching and playing lots of different ball games. Staff will promote turn taking and offer lots of words of encouragement to the children.

In the Link, the children will recreate characters from the story using playdough. This activity is great for building fine motor skills and strengthening the muscles in young people’ s hands. As the children play, adults will use language from the story to encourage children to retell the tale. They will use lots of descriptive language to explain how they are playing with the playdough, ie squeeze, roll, flatten etc.

In Room 3, the children will be able to play in a house similar to the house of Mr Bear in the book. They will have lots of props to be able to recreate the story and act it out as all three characters. Staff will also set up an area for the children to retell the story on a smaller scale. There will be figures and a dolls house for the children to play with.

In Room 2, the children will explore the literacy side of the book. There will be opportunities for children to make familiar words from the story. They will use paint, stampers and their phonics knowledge to create words that have appeared in the story ‘Peace at Last’.

In Room 1, the children will play Bingo Bears, which is a colour matching game. The game prompts children to look at the colours that they need to name and match to complete the game. Staff will encourage children to be as independent as possible when naming colours but will offer support when needed.

Outside, the children will investigate water and its properties as the water tray is set up outside. Children will be asked to wear aprons each time they are at the tray, and replace them after they have finished. There will be also be an easel set up so that the children can enjoy the weather outside and explore painting in the garden.

NURSERY NEWS

Monday 24th June 2024 – Edition 339

Find out About:

A. Review of the Year

B. Ice Pops, Please, not Lollies.

C. Availability in September 2024 of additional sessions for children already attending Little Nursery.

D. Willow Nursery School’s Ofsted Report

E .What are the children learning about this week?

A. Review of the year

At this time of year, we carry out a big review of our school. In the last few days Miss Howe, Mrs Cashmore and Miss Allen have 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 and Governors 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:

1. Please comment about what we do well at Willow.
2. 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 28^th June. I will then compile all the comments and respond to them in a future newsletter, on Tuesday 9^th July.

B. Ice Pops Please, not Lollies.

Thank you to all the parents who have donated some ice pops. We will definitely be having them every day this week as the weather has been forecast to be very hot.

Parents have been very generous. Some parents have sent in ice lollies. Again very generous, but some brands are not suitable for children with allergies. On Thursday I went to get ice pops from the school freezer and found some ‘Rowntrees Watermelon’ Lollies. They had an allergy warning on them:

May contain: peanuts, nuts and egg. Not suitable for consumers with a milk allergy.

So, I would ask parents to just provide Ice Pops as I have never found ice pops to be unsuitable for those with allergies. We do currently have two children at Willow who have severe allergies to some of the foods advised in the allergy warning so please help us to keep all our pupils safe.

C. Availability in September 2024 of additional sessions for children already attending Little Nursery.

Back in May, I wrote a short piece about our enrolment processes during the summer term, so here is an excerpt from Nursery News 333 and some updates….

Our next task is to enrol children from our waitlist aged 3+ who are due to start with us in Big Nursery in September 2024. This may take a few weeks. We completed this task last week. Big Nursery is now full for September 2024. We are no longer adding names to our contact list for a space in Big Nursery 2024-25

Then we will be looking to enrol children eligible to start in our 2+ Little Nursery in September 2024. We are just awaiting the return of paperwork from these families. We consider our 2 year old places to be full now for the Autumn term.

As this work is now almost complete, we can turn our attention to the children who are already attending Willow.

We have two groups of children currently in Little Nursery who will remain in Little Nursery in September 2024. Some time ago, in March 2024, we asked Little Nursery Blue Group (Children date of birth 1.9.21 to 31.12.21) parents to select which attendance pattern they would like for their child when they will become 3+age, in January 2025.

Last week I asked Little Nursery Orange Group  ( Children date of birth 1.1.22 to 31.3.22) parents to select which attendance pattern they would like for their child when they become 3+age range in April 2025. These parents will return their paperwork by Wednesday this week.

We now need to go to these parents in Little Nursery Blue and Orange Groups to see if any parent would like additional spaces for their child from September 2024 until they become 3+age.

AS PART OF THE PARENT CONSULTATIONS NEXT WEEK, I WILL BE JOINING MISS TYLER ON TUESDAY EVENING, AND MRS WATSON ON THURSDAY EVENING.  We can talk about additional sessions for your child, should you require some, at that appointment.

The final part of Summer Term arrangements is to provide transition information to families of children in Little Nursery Yellow group (Date of birth 1.4.21 to 31.8.21). We aim to have this paperwork ready to hand to you at next weeks’ parent consultations..

Thank you for being so patient. We have 8 termly cohorts of children here in the Nursery during the Summer Term, so it takes some time to meet the needs of each group.

Sometimes things happen, beyond our control, that slows down our processes. Which seems to bring me along quite nicely to:

D. Willow Nursery School’s Ofsted Report

I hope you all received an email on Thursday 20^th June regarding our recent Ofsted inspection. We are very proud of our result being judged Good overall with recognition that our ‘Behaviour and Attitudes’ judgement was deemed to be Outstanding.

Approximately once every four years Ofsted re-write their standards for Ofsted inspections. Ofsted and the government are always looking to drive an improvement in educational standards in schools. Ofsted then set out to assess all schools within a four-year cycle.

We have been told that the ‘bar has been raised’ and the standards Ofsted currently are looking for are higher than ever.

We, as a Maintained Nursery School receive a full School’s Ofsted Inspection. The standards that Willow is measured against are the same standards used to inspect all Primary and Secondary schools.

So I have added some information from the Ofsted School Inspection Handbook, so, if you are interested you can see for yourselves how rigorous these Inspections are. All writing below in purple is from the Ofsted handbook.

For example, these are the grade descriptors for a ‘Good’ outcome under the heading ‘Quality of Education’:

Good (2)

The curriculum is broad and ambitious for all pupils.

• Leaders adopt or construct a curriculum that is ambitious and designed to give all pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils (including pupils with SEND), the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. This is either the national curriculum or a curriculum of comparable breadth and ambition.
• Pupils study the full curriculum; it is not narrowed:
  • in primary schools, a broad range of subjects (exemplified by the national curriculum) is taught in key stage 2 throughout Years 3 to 6
  • in secondary schools, the school teaches a broad range of subjects (exemplified by the national curriculum) throughout Years 7 to 9. The school’s aim is to have the EBacc at the heart of its curriculum, in line with the DfE’s ambition where this applies, and good progress has been made towards this ambition.
• The curriculum may undergo necessary changes (for example, following a review by leaders or to take account of COVID-19) and certain aspects may be more developed than others. Where this is the case, these changes do not prevent all pupils having access to an appropriately broad and ambitious curriculum. Where adaptations to curriculum breadth are made for particular pupils, there is a clear rationale for why this is in those pupils’ interests, and, where appropriate, there is a clear plan for returning all pupils to studying the full curriculum.
• Reading is prioritised to allow pupils to access the full curriculum offer.
• A rigorous and sequential approach to the reading curriculum develops pupils’ fluency, confidence and enjoyment in reading. At all stages, reading attainment is assessed and gaps are addressed quickly and effectively for all pupils. Reading books connect closely to the phonics knowledge that pupils are taught when they are learning to read.
• The sharp focus on ensuring that younger children and those at the early stages of reading gain the phonics knowledge and language comprehension necessary to read, and the skills to communicate, gives them the foundations for future learning

The planning and implementation of the curriculum supports a strong impact on pupils’ learning.

• The school’s curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment.
• The curriculum is successfully adapted, designed or developed to be ambitious and meet the needs of pupils with SEND, developing their knowledge, skills and abilities to apply what they know and can do with increasing fluency and independence.
• Teachers have good knowledge of the subject(s) and courses they teach. Leaders provide effective support, including for those teaching outside their main areas of expertise.
• Teachers present subject matter clearly, promoting appropriate discussion about the subject matter being taught. They check pupils’ understanding systematically, identify misconceptions accurately and provide clear, direct feedback. In so doing, they respond and adapt their teaching as necessary without unnecessarily elaborate or individualised approaches.
• Teachers ensure that their own speaking, listening, writing and reading of English support pupils in developing their language and vocabulary well.
• Teachers create an environment that focuses on pupils. The textbooks and other teaching materials that teachers select – in a way that does not create unnecessary workload for staff – reflect the school’s ambitious intentions for the course of study. These materials clearly support the intent of a coherently planned curriculum, sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment.
• The work given enables pupils to achieve the aims and ambition of the curriculum, which is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge.
• Over the course of study, teaching is designed to help pupils to remember long term the content they have been taught and to integrate new knowledge into larger ideas.
• Teachers and leaders use assessment well. For example, they use it to help pupils embed and use knowledge fluently, or to check understanding and inform teaching, or to understand different starting points and gaps as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders understand the limitations of assessment and do not use it in a way that creates unnecessary burdens on staff or pupils.
• Any remote education is well integrated within course(s) of study, and is well designed to support the wider implementation of the school’s curriculum.

The impact of the education which pupils receive is strong, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.

• Pupils develop detailed knowledge and skills across the curriculum and, as a result, achieve well. This is reflected in the work that pupils produce.
• Pupils read widely and often, with fluency and comprehension appropriate to their age. They are able to apply mathematical knowledge, concepts and procedures appropriately for their age.
• Where available, impact is reflected in results from national tests and examinations that meet government expectations, or in the qualifications obtained. Teacher assessed grades from 2020 and 2021 will not be used to assess impact.
• Pupils are ready for the next stage of education, employment or training. They have the knowledge and skills they need and, where relevant, they gain qualifications that allow them to go on to destinations that meet their interests and aspirations and the intention of their course of study. Pupils with SEND achieve the best possible outcomes.

In order for the Behaviour and Attitudes judgement to be outstanding, the school must meet all of the good criteria securely and consistently and it must also meet the additional outstanding criteria.

Outstanding (1)

• The school meets all the criteria for good in behaviour and attitudes securely and consistently.
• Behaviour and attitudes are exceptional.

In addition, the following apply:

• Pupils behave with consistently high levels of respect for others. They play a highly positive role in creating a school environment in which commonalities are identified and celebrated, difference is valued and nurtured, and bullying, harassment and violence are never tolerated.
• Pupils consistently have highly positive attitudes and commitment to their education. They are highly motivated and persistent in the face of difficulties. Pupils make a highly positive, tangible contribution to the life of the school and/or the wider community. Pupils actively support the well-being of other pupils.
• Pupils behave consistently well, demonstrating high levels of self-control and consistently positive attitudes to their education. If pupils struggle with this, the school takes intelligent, fair and highly effective action to support them to succeed in their education.

Good (2)

• The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and conduct. These expectations are commonly understood and applied consistently and fairly. This is reflected in pupils’ positive behaviour and conduct. Low-level disruption is not tolerated and pupils’ behaviour does not disrupt lessons or the day-to-day life of the school. Leaders support all staff well in managing pupils’ behaviour. Staff make sure that pupils follow appropriate routines.
• Leaders, staff and pupils create a positive environment in which bullying is not tolerated. If bullying, aggression, discrimination and derogatory language occur, they are dealt with quickly and effectively and are not allowed to spread.
• There is demonstrable improvement in the behaviour and attendance of pupils who have particular needs.
• Pupils’ attitudes to their education are positive. They are committed to their learning, know how to study effectively and do so, are resilient to setbacks and take pride in their achievements.
• Pupils have high attendance. They come to school on time and are punctual to lessons. When this is not the case, the school takes appropriate, swift and effective action.
• Suspensions are used appropriately. The school reintegrates suspended pupils on their return and manages their behaviour effectively. Permanent exclusions are used appropriately as a last resort (see statutory guidance on school exclusion).
• Relationships among pupils and staff reflect a positive and respectful culture; pupils are safe and they feel safe.

E. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is air and sea transport

In Catkins, the children will learn about flying through space in rockets. Staff will show the children images of rockets and model to the children, how to create their own rockets out of recycled materials. They will use tubes, paper and pens to decorate their rockets and will be encouraged to fly them outside.

In Catkins garden, the children will be investigating water. They will explore transporting water using pipes, jugs, buckets and other containers. Although the children will have access to aprons, they will likely get quite wet. Please provide spare clothes, including shoes and socks for the days your child attends.

In the Link, the children will build on their fine motor skills as they fold paper aeroplanes. They will be shown how to fold paper along specific lines to create a plane that they can take into the garden and fly. As they work, staff will talk to children about travelling on planes and encourage them to recall their own experiences such as holidays or times when they have seen planes in the sky.

In Room 4, the staff will work with the children to create box models of planes and boats. They will talk to the children about air and sea travel and share personal experiences to encourage conversations. Children will be shown how to attach materials together using glue and tape. The children will have the opportunity to paint pictures of the many types of sea and air transport that they have learnt about during the week.

In Room 2, the children will use magnets and tweezers to create words linked with travel and transport. The children will be encouraged to use tweezers to pick up and arrange letters to create new words. There will be word templates to support the children with their spelling and they will have the chance to spell any other words that they link with transport.

In Room 1, the children will focus on improving their fine motor skills by cutting and sticking pictures to create a suitcase that is suitable for them to go on holiday. The children will discuss with staff about locations that they would like to visit and they will cut out images that are suitable for the place that they have chosen. Staff will encourage the children to be as independent with their work as possible but will support where necessary.

Outside, the children will have a lot of fun with water play. They will have access to the water tray, boats and other water toys. Children will be encouraged to wear aprons, but may get wet. They will learn about staying safe in the sun and the importance of wearing a hat and sun cream. Staff will reinforce the importance of staying hydrated to the children and they will be reminded to cool down in the shade/ inside school and drink lots of water.