Goldstone Crescent
Dunstable
Beds
LU5 4QU
Phone: 01582 662600
Email: office@willownursery.co.uk
Latest News
Nursery News 10th November 2025
NURSERY NEWS
10th November 2025 – Edition 389
Find out About:
A School Photographer
B.Best Start In Life
C. Walk in the Dark event THIS WEEK
D. BBC Children in Need.
E. Baking Sessions
F. Wipes and Nappy Sacks
G. Local Visits
H. An Open School Event: For Big Nursery Blue Group Parents: Basic Skills.
I. What are the children learning about this week?
A School Photographer.
The School Photographer has returned ‘proof card photo packs’ of your child’s image to school.
We are distributing these to individual children (and their parents) when they attend school. Any Parent is welcome to come in and collect their child’s ‘proof card photo pack’ during school office hours (8:30am to 2:50pm) Instructions of how to order are included in the photo packs.
B. Best Start In Life
The Best Start in Life parent hub is a new government website to be found at www.beststartinlife.gov.uk
‘From pregnancy to childcare right through to starting school, get advice and support for your child’s development.’
This website has lots of information for parents. I’ve had a look and there is a wide range of information including:
- Week-by-week guide to Pregnancy.
- Breastfeeding support
- Baby and toddler teeth care
- Learning to talk
- School readiness.
Importantly, this website now replaces the Childcare Choices Website.
Best Start in Life has a Childcare and Early Years Education information tab which enables you to find out more about:
- 15 and 30 hours childcare support
- Universal Credit Childcare
- Tax-Free Childcare
There is also a Childcare support checker. By answering a few questions, the childcare support checker will check what support you could get.
You can then read more about a scheme, find out who qualifies and then apply.
You can also sign up for personalised weekly e-mails tailored to your stage of pregnancy or your child’s age, with personalised tips and activities to support your child’s health and development.
My message is: take a look……
C. Walk in the Dark event THIS WEEK.
Miss Howe is organising a ‘Walk in the Dark’, an activity for children and their parents to attend together, after school, on Thursday 13th November at 5:00pm.
Children will need to arrive, wrapped up warmly, ready to search the Nursery Garden for hidden soft toy animals. Children will need to bring a torch, because the garden is very dark in places! Brothers and sisters are very welcome too.
To keep everyone safe during this event, we would ask that children do not play on the fixed climbing equipment.
Staff will remind children of this rule. We hope all parents will assist us with this.
We will provide refreshments for everyone who attends. (Free of charge). We plan to offer hot dogs/ cheese rolls, biscuits and squash.
If you plan to come, please send an email to Mrs Selth cselth@willownursery.co.uk entitled ‘Walk in the dark’ detailing your child’s name and how many adults and children will be coming, so we can buy enough food…. We find this is a very enjoyable social event for the children, and for all the adults. It is a simple idea, but the children never usually see their school or garden in the dark and it looks very different.
D. BBC Children in Need.
Friday 15th November is Children in Need. As in previous years, we will collect money in Charity buckets, should anyone wish to donate.
E. Baking Sessions
Mrs Griffiths, a long standing volunteer at Willow, will be coming into nursery on a Tuesday morning to do some baking with the children. We will be baking things like pizza, biscuits, cakes and scones. We do try and make the recipes as healthy as possible. The same recipe will be offered for a number of weeks allowing all the children who want to bake to have a turn. If children have any allergies, we will speak to parents beforehand to ensure that everyone is safe. Children will take their baking home at the end of the day, with a list of the ingredients used in the recipes.
F. Wipes and Nappy Sacks
Please remember to put a pack of wet wipes and nappy sacks in your child’s change of clothes bag.
Nappy sacks are important, so that we have somewhere to place your child’s wet clothes to send them home. School is busy. Nappy sacks are not just used for toileting ‘slips’. Clothes become wet or messy through fun nursery activities or can become wet or muddy due to the weather conditions in the school garden.
If we are unable to find a child’s nappy sacks or wet wipes inside a child’s change of clothes bag, we will place a reminder note inside the bag to remind parents to include some.
The Local Council is pushing childcare settings to charge parents for consumable items such as nappy sacks and wet wipes. I am resisting this, as I feel free childcare should be just that – ‘Free’ . However this means parents must help us by providing these consumable items for their own child
G. Local Visits
All Big Nursery children will be going out of school in very small groups (max 10 children) during week beginning Monday 17th November to explore their local environment, from Goldstone Crescent to the postbox at the junction of Wilbury Drive. Staff to child ratio will be 1 adult to every 2 children. More information will follow in next week’s newsletter.
H. An Open School Event: For Big Nursery Blue Group Parents: Basic Skills.
Mrs Patterson teaches Big Nursery Blue Group children ‘Basic Skills’ on a Wednesday 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 Mrs Patterson’s Blue Group Group parents in to observe a 30-minute reading/writing activity on Wednesday 19th November.
A further invitation letter will follow to Blue Group parents so that we can match up time slots, so parents can join their child’s small group.
Big Nursery Orange Group will have their Basic Skills groups in the Spring Term 2026 and Big Nursery Yellow Group will have their Basic Skills groups in the Summer Term 2026.
I. What are the children learning about this week?
The theme this week is ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?’, which is one of our core books, and we will be focusing on reading skills.
Children will have the opportunity to read this story in the classroom, it will be offered to them as part of a group read. When we share ‘group reads’ it means that staff sit with a small group of three or four children, and we look through books together. We will make sure the children follow the pace of the book at the same time, turning pages and looking at the words and pictures on each page as a group. Staff will ask questions to encourage children to look closely and talk about what they can see. Our core book will also be available for children in the library, for those that want to sit quietly and enjoy the book at their own pace.
The children will learn about all of the animals and colours from the story as they hunt for story characters hidden around the garden. Once children find an animal character, they will be reminded of the story and asked to share what they can remember. Staff will model lots of descriptive words when they talk to the children about the characters and prompt children to do the same.
One of our learning intentions this week is to listen to and join in with stories and poems, when reading one to one and in small groups. We would like for all the children to share their favourite stories, rhymes, songs, poems or jingles and to show an interest in books, anticipating what might happen next.
We will also be teaching the children different ways to be kind and caring towards others. They are beginning to understand the school rules now and know that we must use kind hands in the setting. It is important for the children to learn that we can be kind to people in other ways such as helping them to find a friend or helping them to find a toy. Staff will provide lots of praise and encouragement when they see children being kind to others.
Nursery News – 3rd November 2025
NURSERY NEWS
3rd November 2025 – Edition 388
Find out About:
A. School Photographer visiting.
B. Parent Consultations, Big Nursery this week.
C. Walk in the Dark.
D. Can you help with some Tissues?
E. BBC Children in Need.
F. What are the children learning about this week?
A. School Photographer visiting.
A little reminder that a school photographer will be here on Wednesday 5th November and Thursday 6th November.
B. Parent Consultations, Big Nursery this week.
Big Nursery will be having their Parent Consultations this week! Parents have made appointments with Keyworkers, here are the times staff will be speaking to parents on the phone, as a reminder:
Monday 3rd November, Miss Skai’s Orange Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:20pm.
Tuesday 4th November Miss Howe’s Yellow Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:45pm
Tuesday 4th November Mrs Cashmore’s Yellow Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:55pm
Thursday 6th November Mrs Patterson’s Blue Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:20pm
Each appointment lasts only five minutes. Please help staff to remain on time.
C. Walk in the Dark.
Miss Howe is organising a ‘Walk in the dark’, an activity for children and their parents to attend together, after school, on Thursday 13th November at 5:00pm. Children will need to arrive, wrapped up warmly, ready to search the Nursery Garden for hidden soft toy animals. Children will need to bring a torch, because the garden is very dark in places! We will provide refreshments for everyone who attends. Brothers and sisters are very welcome too. If you plan to come, please send an email to Mrs Selth cselth@willownursery.co.uk entitled ‘Walk in the dark’ detailing your child’s name and how many adults and children will be coming, so we can buy enough food….
D. Can you help with some Tissues?
Sometimes we ask parents for some specific donations that help our school.
In Winter months’ we see a rise in the number of coughs and colds within the school community. We teach all the children about the importance of using tissues hygienically to blow their nose, to try to stop the spread of germs. 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.
E. BBC Children in Need.
Friday 14th November is Children in Need Day. Parents often ask us what we are doing for Children in Need. –So as in previous years, we will collect money in Charity buckets, should anyone wish to donate. We do organise activities with a Pudsey Bear theme, and we try to share with the children that we are fundraising to help other children. Sometimes the Nursery children want to dress up because they see their older brothers and sisters dressing up for their school’s event. We are happy for children to dress up, or not to dress up. We do not wish any family to feel under pressure.
F. What are the children learning about this week?
The theme this week is Festivals and Autumn
The children will be learning about colour and light, especially the colours they may have seen in fireworks. Some children may have experienced fireworks due to having celebrations such as Bonfire Night and Diwali.
The learning intention this week is for literacy; to show interest in illustrations, words in print and words in the environment. There will be lots of opportunities for the children to look at words and pictures in different areas throughout the school, we have a large library and cosy corners for the children to snuggle down and explore some books. Staff will also encourage children to look for signs and logos that are around the school and talk about what they mean.
Our seven C’s learning intention is to show an interest in others. We have been working on learning everyone’s names and similarities and differences. We will teach the children to remember to use names when talking to their friends and to show an interest in what their friends like to do at school. This makes playing with others more fun, because the children are sharing their interests and allowing others to join in with their play.
Nursery News 20th October 2025
NURSERY NEWS
20th October 2025 – Edition 387
Find out About:
A. Important dates, a reminder.
B. Parent Consultations
C. Clothing for Winter Months.
D. Box modelling
E. Queuing Outside School
F. What are the children learning about this week?
A. Important dates, a reminder.
Mon 27th October 2024 to Fri 31st October 2025: Autumn Half term – School Closed
Wednesday 5th November and Thursday 6th November-School Photographer to visit.
B. Parent Consultations
Little Nursery will be having their Parent Consultations this week! Parents have made appointments with Keyworkers, here are the times staff will be speaking to parents on the phone, as a reminder:
Monday 20th October Miss Cashmore’s Red Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:30pm
Tuesday 21st October Mrs Chiriac’s Red Group Consultations. 5 minute telephone consultations between 9:30am and 9:45 am
Tuesday 21st October Miss Allen’s Little Yellow Group Consultations. 5 minute telephone consultations between 9:50am and 10:50am
Tuesday 21st October Miss Gaffney’s Green Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:10pm
Each appointment lasts only five minutes. Please help staff to remain on time.
C. Clothing for Winter Months.
The staff have asked that I write about appropriate clothing for the children during Winter months…
Winter is coming and conditions are becoming generally wetter and colder in the Nursery gardens. We go outside every day, in all weather conditions, so please make sure all children are appropriately dressed. A warm winter coat is important, preferably with a hood. We need children to learn to become as independent as possible with regard to their coats. At home, please encourage your child to put on their coat themselves. We know nearly all the Big Nursery children have the ability to do this, but they often ask for help. Please try to teach them to fasten their coat themselves.
Please can we ask that you do not provide ‘All In One Snowsuits’, as they are particularly difficult to get on and off. Staff do not have the time to assist children with these. Even in winter we have free flow play where children can choose to move from inside to outside as frequently as they wish, so throughout the day a child may have many occasions where coats are put on and taken off again.
Mittens are easier for children to put on themselves, rather than gloves. We do not mind helping the children to wrap up warm, because they love to play outside. Children enjoy the outside space even when it is freezing! Just remember to label mittens, hats and gloves with your child’s name so we can send them home with the correct child at the end of the day!.
Now for inside school….
Our school is generally warm, we set our classroom thermostats to 21 degrees C. So for the majority of the year the school is comfortably warm.
However, unlike your homes, we have a lot of outside walls in each classroom and lots of windows. Our doors to the outside areas, situated in Room 1 for Big Nursery, and in Room 4 for Little Nursery are open for the majority of the day to allow for continuous free flow play. So, when weather temperatures outside begin to drop, it may feel a little cooler inside school. We would suggest sending your child to school in warmer clothing than they would need at home. We would always suggest adding layers, so children can adjust what they wear.
Parents may not be aware that staff act similarly to a child’s parent when checking a child’s wellbeing. We do act if we think a child is too hot, or too cold, and adjust clothing accordingly.
When we have extreme winter temperatures, we do limit how long we spend outside. We close outside, to maintain warmth inside, and allow shorter play periods outside, making sure no child gets too cold.
D. Box Modelling
We are running very short of recycled materials for our box modelling area. We would be very grateful for recycled materials that the children can use to create models. Children love boxes, but not too big please. The biggest boxes we can store are cereal boxes. Tiny boxes are useful, or unusual shapes. Plastic bottle tops make good buttons and wheels. Yogurt pots, butter tubs and other plastic containers are interesting to glue together, but please ensure they are clean. Toilet roll tubes become superhero cuffs, covered in foil. Egg boxes are great places to glue coloured tissue.
E. Queuing Outside School
A parent has asked that we add a note to our newsletter, to ask parents if they could try and queue near to our fence and leave space on the path for others to pass.
We know it is very busy outside in the mornings and evenings. We know some families visit more than one school, and the majority of our parents have to get swiftly off to work, so we ask that parents are considerate of each other.
I do sometimes suggest to parents that it may be easier to walk along the path over the road, before crossing to join their colour group queue.
We encourage our pupils to be polite and show kindness within our school community. We know our Willow parents are just as supportive of each other, and can work together for positive outcomes. You are a nice lot!
F. What are the children learning about this week?
The theme this week is keeping healthy. This week the children will be learning about how to make healthy choices and explore the importance of hygiene and exercise. Staff will be encouraging the children to go outside and be physically active.
Staff will explain how important it is to stay hydrated throughout the day, especially when exercising and getting hot. Staff will model lots of language for the children, so that they understand the meaning of words such as ‘hot’, ‘thirsty’, ‘tired’ etc. After lots of movement, the staff will encourage the children to think about how they feel by asking questions like ‘are you puffed out?’ or ‘is your heart beating faster than normal?’, and they will explain that these are the effects that exercise has on our body.
We will also be learning about oral hygiene and how important it is that we look after our teeth. There will be lots of activities to show the children how to brush their teeth properly and staff will talk about visiting the dentist and making healthy food choices.
We will also be focusing on scissor skills. The children will learn how to use scissors safely and effectively. We will be providing lots of cutting opportunities to upskill our children and encourage them to cut appropriate materials such as paper, card and boxes in the creative areas. Scissor skills are tricky to master so we aim to provide as much practice as possible.
Nursery News 13th October 2025
NURSERY NEWS
13th October 2025 – Edition 386
Find out About:
A. Parent Consultations
B. Willow Pumpkin Patch
C. What are the children learning about this week?
A. 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:
Monday 3rd November, Miss Skai’s Orange Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:20pm.
Tuesday 4th November Miss Howe’s Yellow Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:45pm
Tuesday 4th November Mrs Cashmore’s Yellow Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:55pm
Thursday 6th November Mrs Patterson’s Blue Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:20pm
B. Willow Pumpkin Patch
Mrs Patterson and Miss Howe are planning to set up a Pumpkin Patch in our outside area and are requesting donations of a pumpkin. 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 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 week, 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!)
C. What are the children learning about this week?
The learning intention this week is for the children to know some of the things that make them unique, and talk about similarities and differences in relation to friends and family.
The theme this week is ‘Happy in Our Skin’, so 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 our i-pads. After the photographs have been taken, the children can analyse them to identify familiar features such as eye and hair colour. Staff will highlight the similarities that they may have with children and each other, they will explain that we are all unique even though we may have some similar features or habits.
Our seven C’s learning intention is for the children to be able to feed themselves. Staff encourage the children to be as independent as possible during lunch and snack times. They are asked to get their own lunch boxes and drinks bottles and to feed themselves with as little support as possible. Our aim is for the children to understand the importance of being able to do things for themselves and how things become easier with practise.
Nursery News 6th October 2025
NURSERY NEWS
6th October 2025 – Edition 385
Find out About:
A. Parent Consultations- A reminder
B. How to keep your child healthy over the coming Autumn/ Winter season.
C. A case of Headlice in Big Nursery.
D. What are the children learning about this week?
A. 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 21th October, 2025
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.
B. How to keep your child healthy over the coming Autumn/ Winter season.
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.
- 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.
- 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
C. A case of Headlice in Big Nursery.
A parent kindly telephoned me today to inform me her child had head lice. I would ask that all parents check their child’s hair.
I have copied the following information from an NHS information website, which you may find useful.
Head lice and nits
Head lice and nits are very common in young children and their families. They do not have anything to do with dirty hair and are picked up by head-to-head contact.
Check if it’s head lice
–Head lice are small insects, up to 3mm long
-They can be difficult to spot in your hair
-Head lice eggs (nits) are brown or white (empty shells) and attached to the hair
Head lice can make your head feel:
- itchy
- like something is moving in your hair
The only way to be sure someone has head lice is by finding live lice.
You can do this by combing their hair with a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb). You can buy these online or at pharmacies.
How to get rid of head lice
Important
You can treat head lice without seeing a GP.
Treat head lice as soon as you spot them.
You should check everyone in the house and start treating anyone who has head lice on the same day.
There’s no need to keep your child off school if they have head lice.
Wet combing
Lice and nits can be removed by wet combing. You should try this method first.
You can buy a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb) online or from pharmacies to remove head lice and nits.
There may be instructions on the pack, but usually you:
- wash hair with ordinary shampoo
- apply lots of conditioner (any conditioner will do)
- comb the whole head of hair, from the roots to the ends
It usually takes about 10 minutes to comb short hair, and 20 to 30 minutes for long, frizzy or curly hair.
Do wet combing on days 1, 5, 9 and 13 to catch any newly hatched head lice. Check again that everyone’s hair is free of lice on day 17.
Medicated lotions and sprays
Ask a pharmacist for advice if you have tried wet combing for 17 days, but your child still has live head lice.
They may recommend using medicated lotions and sprays. These kill head lice in all types of hair, and you can buy them from pharmacies, supermarkets or online.
Head lice should die within a day. Some lotions and sprays come with a comb to remove dead lice and eggs.
Some treatments need to be repeated after a week to kill any newly hatched lice.
Check the pack to see if they’re OK for you or your child and how to use them.
If lotions or sprays do not work, speak to a pharmacist about other treatments.
Some treatments are not recommended because they’re unlikely to work.
For example:
- products containing permethrin
- head lice “repellents”
- electric combs for head lice
- tree and plant oil treatments, such as tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil and lavender oil herbal remedies
You cannot prevent head lice
There’s nothing you can do to prevent head lice.
You can help stop them spreading by wet or dry combing regularly to catch them early.
Do not use medicated lotions and sprays to prevent head lice. They can irritate the scalp.
There’s no need for children to stay off school or to wash laundry on a hot wash.
D. What are the children learning about this week?
The theme this week is ‘who is who in nursery?’
This week each morning the children will see photographs of each member of staff and they will learn the names of the staff. This is to help the children to feel more at ease with the staff and to encourage children to use names when talking to someone. We will talk about the importance of addressing people by their names and recognizing who each person is and where they work within the nursery. Learning the names of the people around you, helps to build confidence and create a sense of self.
The learning intention this week is for the children to be able to count up to five items, recognizing that the last number said, represents the total counted so far. Children will be taught lots of number songs to help them count in order and they will be encouraged to check their counting by using fingers to represent the numbers.
The skill we will be focusing on this week is riding a bike. We have a large selection of bikes for the children to use, including two wheeled bikes, tricycles and tandems. We will provide a timer to support the children to take turns on the bikes and play fairly. All children are encouraged to ride safely and to park their bikes up in the designated parking area after their turn.
