Goldstone Crescent
Dunstable
Beds
LU5 4QU
Phone: 01582 662600
Email: office@willownursery.co.uk
Latest News
Nursery News 29th September 2025
NURSERY NEWS
29th September 2025 – Edition 384
Find out About:
A. Important dates
B. Parent Consultations
C. Display of Family Photographs- For All Children
D. Forest School Program
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 27th October 2025 to Fri 31st October 2025: Autumn Half term – School Closed
Thursday 18th December 2025 Last normal school day of the Autumn Term.
Friday 19th December 2025 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 5th January 2026 –Teacher Training Day- School Closed
Tuesday 6th January 2026 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 5th November and Thursday 6th November-School Photographer to visit.
Thursday 13th November 5pm- Open School Event ‘Walk In the Dark’.
Friday 14th November ‘Children in Need Day’ We make a collection for this charity.
Wednesday 19th November Open School Event Big Nursery Blue Group –Parents to watch Basic Skills Literacy Session.
Week beginning Monday 1st 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 20th 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.
These consultations will be on the telephone, will last 5 minutes and will be available at the following times:
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
Big Nursery will be having their Parent Consultations (on the telephone) during week beginning Monday 3rd November, 2025. Dates and times for appointments will be detailed in Nursery News 386 (published on Monday 13th October).
C. Display of Family Photographs- For All Children
Two weeks ago I told everyone about the display we would like to put up of Family photo’s in Big Nursery, and the booklet of Family photo’s we would like to create in Little Nursery. We have had a few photographs come in, 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
D. 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 Orange, Blue and Yellow group children by Summer 2026.
So, for your information, these are the seven activities the children will be participating in:
- 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!
E. What are the children learning about this week?
The theme this week is all about me
The learning intention this week is for the children to become more aware of the similarities and differences between themselves and others in more detailed ways and to identify themselves in relation to social groups and their peers.
The children have been bringing in family photos which have been put on a display board for everyone to see. Everyone is enjoying looking at all of the pictures, it is fun for the children to look for their own picture and also to see who they recognise in the other photo’s. The photographs are a big talking point for the children and prompt them to share memories and experiences.
This week the children will be encouraged to use mirrors to look at their facial features and then they can try to recreate their own image, using a variety of resources. Staff will support children by naming all of the different facial features, including those that may be trickier to remember such as chin, eyebrows, forehead, freckles etc. While the children are looking at their faces, staff will discuss with them the similarities and differences between them and their friends.
Nursery News 22nd September 2025
NURSERY NEWS
22nd September 2025 – Edition 383
Find out About:
A. What to put in your child’s change of clothes bag.
B Support for toilet training.
C. Applying for Primary School.
D. Willow Lending Library.
E. What are the children learning about this week?
A. What to put in your child’s change of clothes bag.
We ask that all children bring a small bag or backpack to school with items of spare clothing inside. Sometimes children may become very wet or messy when playing in the nursery and we cannot leave them in wet clothes. Sometimes children will have a toilet accident and require changing.
Please provide clothes that are easy to change. Please provide more than one pair of underpants/knickers/trousers/socks if your child is not yet reliable with their toileting. Put plenty of clothes in! Some children are changed three or more times a day!
We would ask that all parents provide a pack of wet wipes in their child’s bag to enable us to clean your child after a toilet incident.
We would also ask that parents provide some carrier bags in their child’s bag to put wet or soiled clothes into. A packet of Nappy sacks will do the job!
B. Support for toilet training.
We are very happy to support parents with toilet training your child. When you think your child is ready, talk to your child’s keyworker about your plans. We can then work together to help your child.
It is important that we transition from nappies to knickers or pants.
Please, no Pull Ups.
We are looking for children to begin to recognise the sensation that they feel when they need to urinate. It’s within those few minutes when children have to learn ‘be quick, let’s get to the bathroom!’ Children need to be able to feel when their underwear is wet too. If a child wears a pull up, it feels to the child the same as a nappy. During toilet training a child should learn that if they are wet they should be changed. We want to change children as soon as they wet, so they are in clean dry clothes. As staff, we cannot see if a child is wet wearing a pull up. If a child is wearing underwear we can usually see when a child is wet, and change them immediately.
C. Applying for Primary School. (Taken directly from Central Beds website.)
www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/info/5/school_admissions/496/apply_for_a_new_lower_or_primary_school_place
This applies to all children in Big Nursery, Dates of Birth: 1/9/21 to31/8/22
Apply for a lower or primary school place in Central Bedfordshire
15 January 2026 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:
- get an application form
You can download an application form - complete the form and ensure you have proof of your child’s date of birth, like a passport or short birth certificate (please don’t send us original documents; copies are fine)
- send the completed form and copies of documents to:
School Admissions
Central Bedfordshire Council
Priory House
Monks Walk
Chicksands
Shefford
Bedfordshire
SG17 5TQ
We need to receive your application by the 15 January 2026 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.
- get an application form
You can download an application form - complete the form and ensure you have proof of your child’s date of birth, like a passport or short birth certificate
- ensure you’ve protected all documents containing personal information
- send the completed form and copies of documents to admissions@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
We need to receive your application by the 15 January 2026 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. 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.
E. What are the children learning about this week?
The theme this week is Maisy Goes Swimming
This week the children will listen to the story ‘Maisy Goes Swimming’, they will be able to share their own experiences of going swimming with staff and their friends. This is an interactive book which teaches about the routine that Maisy needs to follow to be able to swim. Staff will discuss how independent Maisy is and how she gets dressed and undressed by herself.
Our learning intention this week is to listen to familiar stories with increasing attention and recall and to listen to stories and nursery rhymes. We have a lovely library at Willow and children are always encouraged to choose books to share and enjoy. After each book, staff like to talk about what has happened in the story and use the pictures in the books as conversation prompts for the children.
As we explore different nursery rhymes and songs with the children, staff will leave gaps for the children to join in with singing familiar rhymes and even encourage them to sing the entire song by themselves if they feel confident to do so. This will support the children with their communication and language development as they learn new words and sounds, singing is also great for building relationships. Singing songs in groups or alongside a grown up can show children that it is fun to be a little bit silly and loud sometimes.
Nursery News 15th September 2025
NURSERY NEWS
15th September 2025 – Edition 382
Find out About:
A. Progress so far….
B. Keeping Children Safe.
C. Milk and Fruit time.
D. Celebrating Birthdays.
E. Family Photographs
F. Early Years Pupil Premium
G. What are the children learning about this week?
A. Progress so far….
We had an unusual start to the term. The roof replacement work that was planned to be completed in the 6 weeks summer holiday ran over slightly due to the very hot, then very wet conditions. We began the term with roofers still busy on our roof. To keep the children safe, we chose to use just a small part of the garden, away from where the work was continuing. Even though some of the children were brand new to us, they coped very well.
I’m happy to say that last week we were able to fully open up our outside spaces. Children were able to spread out and enjoy the space. Things are going well. Staff are getting to know the children, playing with them, talking to them, sharing stories with them, and generally encouraging them to feel happy in school. When children feel secure and have good well-being, they will begin to learn.
So this week a few basics to help with the running of school:
B. Keeping Children Safe.
Parents entrust their children into our care. There are rigorous procedures in place outlined by the government to keep all children safe from harm. I think it is important to let you know about some of the procedures that may affect you and your family whilst being part of our School Community, and I will try to explain the reasons for having these procedures.
We need to know where children are if they are absent from school. If for any reason you decide to keep your child at home, on a day when your child should be at school please telephone in to school as soon as possible and let us know. When registers are completed at the beginning of the session we have to put codes in the registers regarding the reasons for a child’s absence. If we do not hear from you, you will receive a call from one of the office staff or the headteacher asking about the whereabouts of your child.
If you know in advance that you will be absent, for example for a medical appointment, please let staff know and the appropriate code can be entered in the register.
If you plan to go on holiday in term time, please fill in a holiday form (available from the office staff) which again will let us know the dates that you will be absent. Unexplained absences have to be followed up. If a child is absent for any length of time and we have not heard from their parents as to the reasons for their absence, the child become a ‘Missing Child’. In this circumstance we are compelled to contact the Police and Social Care.
We need to record all injuries. If your child has a fall or receives a bump in school that we are aware of, we will fill in an accident letter to tell you about the incident. This letter will be passed on to you outside, by a member of staff. There is another copy kept in school.
Please inform your child’s Keyworker if your child comes in to school with an existing injury that has occurred outside of school time. Staff must make a note of any existing injuries a child has. Our children at Willow are young. They are sometimes unable to tell us how they have hurt themselves. Please tell us if you know of any marks/cuts etc as it will save staff trying to work out what has happened.
Teach your child to use the toilet. Guidelines say that we should offer as little assistance in the bathroom as possible. With the three and four year old Nursery children we prefer to give children verbal assistance from outside their cubicle, only offering physical assistance if absolutely necessary. If an adult is needed to help a child in the bathroom another member of staff will always be aware, and support if necessary.
C. 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. Celebrating Birthdays.
We have a ‘Birthday Board’ in school where we display the names of staff and pupils who will be celebrating their birthday within the current month. We celebrate every individual child’s birthday during Keyworker time, with their colour group. We have a very real looking iced ‘fake’ cake with candles on. Staff make a fuss of the children on their special day (or near to it if their birthday falls at the weekend or in the school holidays). The birthday child is invited to sit at the front of the group, with their Keyworker. Everyone sings ‘Happy Birthday’ and the birthday child blows the candles out. The birthday child receives a special birthday sticker.
Parents often ask if they can treat all the children on their child’s birthday. We have been saying for a few years now, when asked, that due to allergies and parental choice, we would prefer parents to donate some special birthday fruit for all the children to share on their birthday.
For many years parents have wanted to provide sweets for our children. Sweets are problematic. Some parents would prefer that their child was not offered sweets for health reasons. Some sweets (for example, most ‘Haribo’ jelly sweets) contain gelatin, which makes them unsuitable for some children, for religious reasons. Even chocolate is unsuitable for some children with allergies.
New nutrition guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage, from the Department of Education, comes into force in September 2025. There is a new requirement in the safeguarding and welfare requirements in the EYFS that providers MUST take this guidance into account and should follow it unless there is a good reason not to.
Pg 28 of the guidance says:
Celebrations
Many families like to celebrate their child’s birthday and other special events by bringing in a cake or sweets to the setting to share. This can mean that some children are eating these unhealthy foods several times a week. The food and nutrition policy could include recommendations for special events to ensure any food brought in from home is balanced and meets the setting’s food guidelines (for example recommending fruit platters to share). Any food shared in the setting should be checked for potential allergens. Communication with parents and/or carers about these practices is key to ensuring they are informed and involved in supporting healthy eating habits at early years settings.
We must request, that as a school community, we should work together to promote healthy choices for all our children.
E. Family Photographs
We have themes that we work on with the children. We begin with learning about something all the children can be familiar with their family. The staff will be working with the children on various activities and talking to them about their families. To help the children understand we would ask if you could send in a family photo that they can share with everyone.
For Big Nursery Children The staff would like to include these photo’s as part of a wall display.
For Little Nursery Children The staff in little nursery will be creating a family booklet with the photographs provided and they will sit with the children to look through their booklet together. This booklet will be available for the children to look at whenever they choose and should be comforting to the children if they are missing home.
So, if you would like to send in a photo of your child and their family, please do so during this week (15/09/25) or at the beginning of next week. Please hand your photo to your child’s keyworker, so we can keep them safe. Please write your child’s name on the back of the photo, and if possible the names of other family members shown in the photograph. We will then be able to return the photos to you, later in the year.
F. 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.
G. What are the children learning about this week?
What are the children learning about this week? The theme this week is settling into nursery and nursery rules.
We will be teaching the children our school rules this week;
Kind hands
Looking eyes
Walking feet
Little voice
Listening ears
As we teach the children these rules, they will learn that it is important that they follow them in order to learn and play in a safe environment. We will also teach the children about self-care, including taking themselves to the toilet, washing hands and the importance of privacy. We always remind the children to try to close the door when they use the toilet and to adjust clothing where possible before they leave the toilet area.
We begin the school year by focussing our learning on things they are all familiar with in their lives. We begin by spending some time thinking about ‘Myself’. Perhaps starting simply by looking in a mirror and using their finger to point at their features in their reflection.
Just to put things in context….
In the space of the next few weeks, we move on to talking about our families. All families are different, but all children here have one! These activities encourage children to communicate about their lives, sharing their experiences with staff and other children while building social relationships.
We eventually move on to talking about the Nursery Community. We want the children to learn about all the adults who are here to help them in the nursery. Nursery adults are here to help you, when adults from your home are not. We want to build trust with our pupils. We want the oldest children to see themselves as an individual who is part of a wider school community. To learn that they are important, and that they belong.
Nursery News 8th September 2025
NURSERY NEWS
8th September 2025 – Edition 381
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 2025-2026 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 1st September 2025.
Tuesday 2nd September 2025.
Monday 5th January 2026
Monday 22nd June 2026
Monday 20th July 2026.
We have put Willow Nursery School dates for the 2025-2026 academic year on our website willownursery.co.uk on the ‘Calendar’ tab.
D: Labelling belongings
Label all lunchboxes clearly with your child’s name, on the top, so staff can see the name when the box is on the trolley. Label all drinks bottles and containers.
Label all coats and shoes, and any other items that children can take off-cardigans/jumpers/ fleeces. It is much easier to return items to owners when things are labelled.
E. A Good Start!
What has happened so far?….
We have enrolled all our new starters into Big Nursery. We have had 5 families join this year group that are new to the school. There are 43 children who are Big Nursery Pupils. We are getting to know everyone, trying to settle everyone in, and helping children to learn the daily routines that enable the nursery to run smoothly.
What happens next?………….
Little Nursery continues to enrol new pupils this week. We are expecting 13 new families in this year group.
We will have 28 children who are Little Nursery pupils.
I do have lots of information to share in these newsletters, but I will not share too much until everyone is enrolled in school.
We are so enjoying meeting all our pupils and getting to know them, and hopefully, over time we will get to know all their parents too.
F. What are the children learning about this week?
Mrs Cashmore is the teacher who writes an article every week in the newsletter to share with parents the experiences your children will be having in school. This is to enable you to be part of your child’s learning journey, so you can talk together about their new learning when you are at home.
So for this week:
The theme this week is settling in and nursery rules.
This week, the children will be settling in and learning the rules and routines of school life. It’s all very exciting, as the children have moved into their new classrooms, met their key workers and are making new friends. Our school rules are designed to provide a happy and safe environment for everyone and they are displayed in each classroom. Staff will be reminding children of the rules throughout the week and explaining how important it is that we follow them at all times.
Children will be learning where to put their coats and bags as they come into school, each child has their own peg which clearly displays their name and a picture to 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 outside, on the top so names can be seen quickly. This supports children with their lunchtime transition, enabling us to help them to swiftly find their lunchboxes and take them to their assigned seats. Please also remember to label your child’s drink bottle as many children do not yet know which bottle is theirs and may get mixed up with someone else’s drink.
As the children settle into their new routines, they will become more secure and confident to leave their parents. While they are at school, some children may have toileting accidents, or eat and drink less than usual but this is often due to them adjusting to their new environment. We understand that each child progresses at their own pace and we thank you for your continued support and patience with these matters.
Nursery News 21st July 2025
NURSERY NEWS
21st July 2025 – Edition 380
Find out About:
A. Lost Property
B. Remember to put your younger children on our wait list.
C. School re-open dates for September 2025
D. Department for Education: Early Years Foundation Stage Nutrition Guidance
E. Choking Hazards.
A. Lost Property.
Our Lost Property will be emptied at the end of term, and any unclaimed belongings will be disposed of. Please look through the Lost Property boxes that are in the storage trolley in the outdoor Library area.
B. Remember to put your younger children on our wait list.
Please remember to add your younger children’s names on our waitlist. We are no longer able to give preference to children who have had brothers and sisters in our school. We look purely at how long children have been on our wait list for each termly cohort when we allocate spaces. Please encourage friends and family members to put their child’s name down as soon as possible, to have the best chance of being offered a space in the future.
C. School re-open dates September 2025
Monday 1st September School Closed Staff Training Day
Tuesday 2nd September School Closed Staff Training Day
Wednesday 3rd September School Open.
· Brand new families have been advised of their start date.
· Existing families should continue with their child’s current attendance pattern.
· Some existing families have increased their child’s sessions from 15 to 30 hours. These children will start on 3rd September.
D. Department for Education: Early Years Foundation Stage Nutrition Guidance
The Department of education has released a new document that we, as a Nursery School must take notice of, and comply with. It comes into force 1st September 2025.
Summary
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards that early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn, develop well and are kept healthy and safe.
From September 2025, we intend to include a new requirement in the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the EYFS that providers must have regard to this nutrition guidance. This means providers must take this guidance into account and should follow it unless there is good reason not to.
This guidance will support providers to understand how to implement the existing EYFS requirement that states: ‘Where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks, these must be healthy, balanced and nutritious’.
Why this guidance is important
Providing healthy, balanced and nutritious food ensures that all children:
• Get the right amount of nutrients and energy they need while they are growing rapidly, which is especially important for children who might not have access to healthy food at home. This can help prevent children from becoming overweight or obese.
• Develop positive eating habits early on. Children’s early experiences with food can shape future eating habits. This can impact children’s long-term health including maintaining a healthy weight, and good oral health.
The early years are a crucial time to reduce health inequalities and set the foundations for a lifetime of good health.
There is some very good advice within this document. We do have a Willow Nursery School Nutrition Policy, but in light of this document we will update it. We may have to introduce new guidelines around foods that are brought into school. This will include fruit snacks, the content of Lunch boxes and birthday treats.
Food brought in from home
Having a food and nutrition policy in place and communicating this to parents and/or carers can help them to understand your regulatory obligation to provide healthy, balanced and nutritious food to children and encourage healthier food choices for packed lunches. It is important to ensure that food provided from home aligns with the healthy options offered by the setting, so that children receive consistent messages about nutrition.
I am suggesting that parents might like to read the document, so you can see the content of it, and understand the framework we are required to work within.
This is the internet address to take you to this document:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-nutrition
We will update you in the Autumn term of any changes made to our Nutrition Policies.
F. Choking Hazards.
Within the Nutrition Guidance above, there are many electronic links. I would like to draw your attention to one of these from the ‘Food Standards Agency’ regarding choking hazards and how foods should be prepared.
We will use this advice with regard to our packed lunch guidelines. So please have a look to familiarise yourselves with the advice.
