Nursery News 23rd January 2023

NURSERY NEWS

23rd January 2023 – Edition 285

Find out About

 

A. Parent Consultations for Big Nursery.

B. Mrs Evans, Finance Officer, Leaving the end of this week.

C. Nappies or Pants… Not Pull Ups.

D. Request for Tissues

E. NEU strike dates.

F What the children are learning about this week?

 

A. Parent Consultations for Big Nursery.

We aim to hold Parent Consultations every term. Big Nursery Consultations will be taking place during the week beginning 6th February 2023. Parent Consultations are not compulsory, but if you would like an appointment please arrange this with your child’s keyworker when they are outside before sessions begin. These consultations will be on the telephone, will last 5 minutes and be at the following times:

Miss Howe Monday 6th February between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Mrs Cashmore Tuesday 7th February 3:15pm to 4:15pm

Mrs Patterson Wednesday 8th February 3:15pm to 4:15pm

Miss Skai Thursday 9th February 3:15pm to 4:15pm

 

B: Mrs Evans, Finance Officer, Leaving the end of this week.

Mrs Evans, our Finance Officer, will be leaving at the end of this week.  She has been a very effective part of our team since 2016. She is moving on, to a full time year round position now her children are a little older.  Mrs Evans has done a superb job during her time with us. Technically, she is a whizz, smoothly managing administration processes in the office. Her interpersonal skills are outstanding, liaising with parents and staff accurately and always with a smile. She always finds time to talk with our pupils and is interested in what they have to say.  Mrs Evans will still be around from time to time, I’m pleased to say, to help us with transitioning information to our new Finance Officer.

On that note, I am pleased to report that we have had three very good applicants for the Finance Officer position. We have already interviewed two applicants, we have one final interview to conduct this week.

I will update you, through the newsletter, when we appoint our new Finance Officer.

In the meantime, please be kind to myself, Leigh Davies, Headteacher, and Mrs Selth, our part time Office Administrator, when we try to offer assistance to parents during this handover period. There may be periods when staff are not available to answer the phone, but please, in that situation, leave an answerphone message, we will get back to you.

 

C. Nappies or Pants… Not Pull Ups.

The Little Nursery Staff have been talking to me about the number of children attending nursery in Pull Ups. As a staff we are very happy to support children at whatever stage of toilet training they are in.

We would ask that parents put their children in Nappies or pants/knickers for Nursery due to the volume of children that require changing in any one session.

Changing a nappy can be done without removing all of a child’s clothing from the waist down.

A child in a pull up will need to have all their clothing removed from the waist down including shoes, in order to put a new pull up on.

When you feel ready to toilet train your child we would ask that you put children in pants/knickers. We can then see if a child is wet, and change them immediately.

At Nappy time, a member of staff may have to routinely change 8 children. A member of staff can be held up for 30 minutes if they have to change 8 pull ups. The same staff who are changing Nappies are the ones playing with, teaching, and playing with your child. I would prefer staff to be having quality interactions you’re your children, rather than changing pull ups for extended periods.

 

D: Request for Tissues

We are running very short of tissues for use in the classroom. Please help us by donating a box of tissues.

Little children are mostly unable to manage their runny noses, so it is important to staff to have tissues available in each teaching area to enable staff to react promptly and keep children clean.

We do encourage children to wipe their own noses, to be as independent as possible. Good availability of tissues in numerous places around the building helps children too.

 

E. NEU strike dates.

The National Education Union has balloted its members and they are preparing to strike nationally.

I am a member of the NEU, but I am not planning to strike.

At this time I would like to share with you the planned strike days for schools in our geographical area: the eastern region.

1st February 2023

1st March 2023

15th and 16th March 2023.

Willow has three Qualified Teachers Myself (Mrs Davies), Miss Howe and Mrs Cashmore. Teachers do not have to tell me if they plan to strike. However, I believe the teachers here do not plan to strike at the moment. I will do my utmost to keep the school open on strike days.

 

However:

  • Many Willow staff are parents of school age children. If local schools close we may have childcare issues for our own children.
  • The majority of staff at Willow are teaching assistants. If their union were to strike, the school is much more likely to be affected.

 

F. What the children are learning about this week?

The theme in little nursery is farm animals.

In Catkins, the children will be making sheep pictures with Mrs. McGrath. There will be templates for the children to decorate with cotton wool and they will also add legs to finish their artwork. Mrs. McGrath will talk to the children about the texture of the wool and about where they might see some real sheep.

In room three, Mrs. Watson will be supporting the children with using one handed tools. She will have cardboard cow templates and lots of wool for the children to wrap around them. Mrs. Watson will model simple descriptive language for the children to help build their vocabulary.

In the link, Mrs. Brinkley will have lots of paint available for the children to explore colour and colour mixing. They will have the chance to use a variety of tools to paint with, including cotton buds and paint brushes. Mrs. Brinkley will prompt discussions about what happens when the paints are mixed together.

Outside, Miss Gaffney will use wooden blocks to create a farm. She will provide animal hats and tabards for the children to use. They will be encouraged to work as a team and focus on resolving any conflicts that may arise when playing and building together.

The theme in big nursery is people who help us – doctors.

In room one, Miss Skai will have a hospital role play for the children to use. She will provide doctors and nurses uniforms, medicine bags, and medical equipment. There will be a bed for the patients to lie down when they need medical attention and pencils and paper for the children to make notes on.

In room two, Miss Howe will be explaining the uses of different medical equipment to the children as she supports them in making their very own medical bags. Children will have images of medical equipment to cut and stick into their bags, which can then be carried around the school and incorporated into their play.

Mrs. Cashmore will be talking to the children about the optician and why it is important that we must visit them to check that our eyes are healthy. She will provide a Snellen Eye Chart to show the children what they may see in a visit to the optician and then they will be encouraged to try and make their own version of this, writing as many letters as they can.

Mrs. Patterson will be working outside and teaching the children about Chinese New Year. She will talk about Chinese culture and how at Chinese New Year it is traditional to celebration this by taking part in a dragon dance. This involves dancing with a giant dragon head and is very exciting for the children to explore.