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Nursery News 16th September 2024

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

Hadrian Academy, Dunstable

T:  01582 618400 www.hadrianacademy.co.uk

 

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 9th September 2024

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 15th July 2024

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

 

Message from the Local Authority: For families who are using the ‘childcare for working families’ funding please remember: ·         To keep your childcare for working families place check your details regularly on your childcare account gov.uk/childcareaccount   For families claiming funding for ‘childcare for working families’ for the first time: ·       Apply for a childcare for working families code in good time. Do it before the summer holidays. childcarechoices.gov.uk   If you want to claim childcare for working parents from September 2024, please remember to apply for your code ahead of the 31st August 2024 deadline. Once you obtain your code, you must keep the code valid by reconfirming by the deadline date HMRC give you. If you do not, this will affect your funding from September 2024. You will need to keep regularly reconfirming until your child moves onto reception class.

 

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

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!

1.   What do you like to do at Nursery? Wear Princess Dresses Playing with my friends. Playing with ‘o’- Ninja  kids games, making things (junk modelling) Playing football, Play with A. Animals, train, going on a bear hunt. Playing outside, Playing Avengers Playing games-Ladybug with my friends I like finding bugs, making things. Playing outside with mu friend B, with the cars. Books I play with my friend Singing Having fun with G, Playing on the slide Playing with water and playdough Playing with my friends,finding snails, I like playing with Miss H Playing with my friends, Painting my mummy Pencils- drawing Play with Miss E Learn numbers (counted 1-20) I like to run and reading and drawing The keys and locks, Making things in room 2 Play outside I like to do running, I like walking, I like sliding down the slide. I like to run and play on the screen with ‘wobble’ I like to have lots of fun and play. I like to go outside. I Like making alphabets. Be a cat I like playing inside and outside, I like playing in the sandpit. I like the inside and outside cooker. I like playing playdough. Dress up I like to play ninja turtles. I love having my lunch when Mrs D reads a book Sticking things, Playing with the water. Playing outside, play on the slide, reading books.. I like to play outside, ride along on the bike, when we sing songs. Playing with dinosaurs. Happy at Nursery, Cars, Playing Outside –games Playing Ariel Play all around Playing in room 5 Climbing Frames, Slide, Playing Inside, riding the horse, Basketball, football. I like going down the slide. Play with toys, I play with the sellotape and the boxes. Play with my friend A. I like to have lunch. Playing snowball fights with Aston. Drawing pictures of a rainbow in the garden She shows me her happy face Doing the register with Miss S Play in all the rooms Reading, I like going outside Painting, eating lunch, reading books and learning. Down the slide

2.   Is there anything you don’t like at Nursery? Smiling She pretends to cry. When Mummy and daddy are at home. I don’t like everyone to push me. When my friend cried outside because he was hurt. When my friend trod on my hand and it made me cry. I don’t like it when people push me, when people don’t share Nothing makes me sad. I am sad today because there are no bikes. No When X jumps on me Throwing mud because it goes in my beautiful hair. Spitting Pushing When someone pushes me. When X tries to hurt me. I don’t like fighting, I don’t like being angry. When it rains my hair gets wet. I don’t like playing outside X hitting me. They pulled my elbow I like everything When the bikes are not out When people shout at me. I like Nursery, No. I don’t know. I don’t know No No No I like lots of things here, there isn’t anything I don’t like Spiky shells in room 5 No When I don’t play with my friends. When people get too loud. No Hitting me, pushing me. No spitting I don’t like finding worms and snails. They are disgusting! Hitting x2 I don’t like anybody pushing me I don’t like goggles. I don’t like staying when mummy goes home. I don’t like people shouting, shouting is for outside. When I’m feeling sad. No

3.   Tell me something you are good at now since coming to Nursery? Laughing A,B,C,D’s Really good at football now I have learned about books. I am good at reading books. Making things, making shapes. Good at running fast. Ilike to play doctors. Reading books I know how to do balancing Number 8 (child just watched numbertime programme, number 8) Good at running fast. At first I didn’t know how to then my friend X showed me Playing football. Keys and numbers. Playing hide and seek outside. When I was little I was in Catkins. Now I am in big nursery and I am looking at the flowers On the screen. Being a baby I’m good at riding the bikes. I can do the easy bike with one foot. New Games, Being a good girl and friend Good listening, writing my name, washing my hands. Drawing with my friend. Football Playing with my friends Running fast, like Sonic! Building animal cages. New letters, building things, Wolf game…. Dinner time! Drawing pictures Playing football, my name (spells name out) Friends Good at catching things. My name I do loads of letter ‘s’ snake. I’m good at drawing and writing my name. Doing Cartwheels, climbing and drawing, I love to write numbers. I’m good at doing number 5 and number 2 I love catching balls outside and I can kick high into the school I am good at drawing I’m good at sticking stuff and making stuff. Running, because I’m like dash! Sounds-letters I’m good at writing my name. Balancing, climbing on the green things (ropes) outside I’m good at playing with A. When I’m feeling sad, I’m good at finding something to play. Writing my name Being a cat

4.Tell me what you have learnt in Phonics: ‘a’ ‘g’ ‘p’ ‘p’ I think ‘c’ It was a long time ago, I can’t remember. Letters, numbers, ‘s’ ‘a’ ‘I’ ‘e’ ‘t’ S,a,n,m,I,d,t I’ve learnt new letters like ‘o’ ‘on’ ‘off’ ‘on’ ‘o’ is our new sound. ‘s’ ‘a’ ‘t’ ‘p’ ‘a’ ‘s’ ‘e’ The car mat. I don’t know, Wait! Actually I do! We did two words! ‘c’ ‘k’ ‘a’ ‘s’ ‘I’ ‘m’ ‘n’ ‘s’ ‘a’ ‘t’ ‘I’ ‘p’ ‘n’ ‘m’ No I learnt ‘c’ ‘c’ cat ‘p’ ‘p’ ‘p’ ‘f’ for fish, ‘f’ ‘r’ ‘o’ ‘g’ frog. We did lots of phonics. ‘t’ ‘n’ ‘a’ ‘m’ ‘c’ ‘m’ ‘n’ ‘s’ they help us to read and write G,I,a,s,n,d,o,castanets,e,m,t I,p,m, snake ‘t’ ‘s’ ‘c’ ‘k’ ‘o’ ‘a’ ‘i’ T,c,s,l,I,m,p,e,o,n,a,d,g, Snake, ‘m’ ‘p pig’ ants on my arm. ‘n’ ‘m’ ‘a’ ‘s’ ‘I’ ‘a’ rain rain go away. Taking a picture. ‘k’ ‘k’ sounds like ‘a’ (does action) ‘a’ ‘p’ ‘g’ I know sound like ‘p’ ‘I’ ‘a’ ‘m’ ‘a’ ‘n’ ‘s’ ‘p’ ‘m’ (showed the actions too) Jumping around ‘I’ ‘o’ my name. Learning new letters like ‘g’ ‘c,c, cow’ ‘c,c, cat’ ‘d,d,d, dog’ ‘h,h,h,hippo’ ‘pig’ ‘a’ ‘I’ ‘d’ ‘s’ ‘o’ ‘p’  it’s good to keep doing it. We learn new things. ‘s’ ‘a’ ‘c’ ‘o’ ‘g’ ‘d’ (showed me actions) Numbers, ‘s’ I know my name ‘a’ Ants on my arm. Ants on my arm

5.How can we make Willow better for the new children? Not sure I don’t know. Dinosaur and train track Build another one. Teddy bears with a carrot We could do more dressing up. Add flags and glitter everywhere I don’t know. The school is old, maybe buy a new school. If my daddy came to school with his tools. We could paint colourful pink, blue and white. New bags, shoes, dress, More races and a pool party. I think we should get a big trampoline I think we should buy a soft play and lots of dancing. Make the biggest tower, grow more flowers. Dinosaur track More books A TV, quad bike. McQueen toys More children More princesses at nursery. Shoes Fire Truck Make it tidy-all the children make it messy. Play outside Have all the toys and bikes out. Everyone plays everywhere. I don’t know. Some other bricks. New Bricks, Yellow Brown or orange bricks. A pool party. There are lots of things here already. Fix the door. Yesterday it broke. Race cars. A big teddy and a pillow. Learning and playing 10 sizes- balance bar. Spider Man and his team bikes. Share and be kind Play outside I don’t know Be quiet, you can’t be loud. Everyone playing will make everyone happy Decorations- superheroes and lovehearts for girls and boys. Paint the windows, paint the cupboards yellow

 

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

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.