Latest News

Nursery News 5th October 2026

Monday, October 5, 2026

NURSERY NEWS

5^th October 2026 – Edition 422

Find out About:

A. Parent Consultations- A reminder

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

C. Local Schools offering School Tours/ Open days for families looking for reception class places in September 2027

D. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Parent Consultations – A reminder

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

Little Nursery will be having their Parent Consultations during week beginning Monday 19^th October, 2026

These consultations are offered to talk about how your child is settling in. They are not compulsory, but if you would like an appointment please arrange this with your child’s keyworker when they are outside before morning sessions, or after afternoon sessions.

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

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

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

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

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

Make sure your child gets the flu vaccine.

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

3.Teach your child good handwashing habits.

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

Know when to keep your child at home.

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

C. Local Schools offering School Tours/ Open days for families looking for reception class places in September 2027

Dunstable Icknield Lower School has been in touch with our school office, asking us to share with you information about their upcoming Open Days:

EYFS OPEN DAYS

CONSIDERING SCHOOLS FOR YOUR CHILD?

Admissions are now open for Reception places in September 2027

We will be holding Open Sessions in our new EYFS area, starting at 9am, on:

Monday 5^th October

Tuesday 6^th October

Wednesday 7^th October

There will be an opportunity to hear from our new Senior Leadership Team and tour our updated facilities, as well as ask any questions you may have about your child starting school.

Their address is Burr Street, Dunstable, LU6 3AG. Tel 01582 663709

Website www.dunstableicknield.co.uk

I have looked at schools local to Willow Nursery School to see if they are offering open days too. All information is taken from the individual school’s website.

Hadrian Academy

Open Mornings for Reception.

We are delighted to be able to invite prospective parents and guardians, whose child starts school in 2027 into Hadrian Academy for an informal tour of our school in action.

Our Open Mornings will take place on:

Tuesday 20^th October 2026 at 9:30am

Thursday 12^th November 2026 at 9:30 am

Thursday 3^rd December 2026 at 9:30am

There is no need to book, just come along at 9:30am.

Their address is Hadrian Avenue, Dunstable, LU5 4SR Tel: 01582 618400

Website: hadrianacademy.co.uk

Vale Academy

We’d love to welcome you into our Dunstable primary school community! Come and see our vibrant classrooms in action, explore our fantastic facilities, and experience the exciting learning opportunities we offer every child. There’s no better way to get a real feel for what makes our school so special. Come and see it for yourself!

We currently have the below dates available for a school tour:

Wednesday 7th October 9.30am – 10.30am
Wednesday 14th October 10.30am – 11.30am
Thursday 15th October 9.30am – 10.30am

Their address is: Wilbury Drive, Dunstable, LU5 4QP Tel:01582 211150

Website:thevaleacademy.co.uk

St Christophers Academy

Open Day!

Everyone is welcome-

Come and meet our dedicated team, look around our school and ask any questions you may have.

Monday 12^th October 2026 9:30am to 12:30pm

Come along to:

Explore our school facilities
Meet our dedicated teachers
Learn about our curriculum, enrichment activities, and support services
Ask any questions you may have about joining our school community

Book via the school office and come along and see what makes our school such a special place to learn and grow.

We look forward to welcoming you!

Their address is: Gorham Way, Dunstable, LU5 4NJ Tel: 01582 500960

www.stchristophersacademy.org.uk

D. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is ‘who is who in nursery?’

This week each morning the children will see photographs of each member of staff and they will learn the names of the staff. This is to help the children to feel more at ease with the staff and to encourage children to use names when talking to someone. We will talk about the importance of addressing people by their names and recognizing who each person is and where they work within the nursery. Learning the names of the people around you, helps to build confidence and create a sense of self.

The learning intention this week is for the children to be able to count up to five items, recognising that the last number said, represents the total counted so far. Children will be taught lots of number songs to help them count in order and they will be encouraged to check their counting by using fingers to represent the numbers. Staff will model number language throughout the week and will give children targets such as ‘please give me one or two things’. This helps to check the children’s understanding and confidence with numbers and amounts.

The skill we will be focusing on this week is riding a bike. We have a large selection of bikes for the children to use, including two wheeled bikes, tricycles and tandems. We will provide a timer to support the children to take turns on the bikes and play fairly. All children are encouraged to ride safely and to park their bikes up in the designated parking area after their turn.

Nursery News 28th September 2026

Monday, September 28, 2026

NURSERY NEWS

28th September 2026 – Edition 421

Find out About:

A. Important dates

B. Parent Consultations

C. Display of Family Photographs- For All Children

D. Forest School Program

E. Willow Pumpkin Patch

F. 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 26^th October 2026 to Fri 30^th October 2026: Autumn Half term – School Closed

Thursday 17^th December 2026 Last normal school day of the Autumn Term.

Friday 18th December 2026 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 4^th January 2027 –Teacher Training Day- School Closed

Tuesday 5^th January 2027 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 4th November and Thursday 5th November-School Photographer to visit.

Thursday 19^th November 5pm- Open School Event ‘Walk In the Dark’.

Wednesday 18^th November Open School Event Big Nursery Green Group –Parents to watch Basic Skills Literacy Session.

Week beginning Monday 30^th November 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 19^th October, 2026

These consultations will be on the telephone, will last 5 minutes and will be available at the following times:

Monday 19^th October Mrs Chiriac’s Orange Group Consultations. 5 minute telephone consultations between 9:15am and 9:55 am

Tuesday 20^th October Mrs Whiting’s Little Yellow Group Consultations. 5 minute telephone consultations between 9:15am and 10:10am

Tuesday 20^th October Miss Gaffney’s Blue Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:45pm

Big Nursery will be having their Parent Consultations (on the telephone) during week beginning Monday 2^nd November, 2026. Dates and times for appointments will be detailed in Nursery News 423 (published on Monday 12^thOctober).

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. We will be using them next week to stimulate discussions about ‘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 Red 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 Red group once a week for 7 weeks. We aim to have worked with Red, Green and Yellow group children by Summer 2027.

So, for your information, these are the seven activities the children will be participating in:

1.Fairy/ Gnome Dens. Children will use natural materials that they find in the garden to build a small den for an imaginary fairy or gnome.

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.

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.

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.

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. Willow Pumpkin Patch

Mrs Patterson is planning to set up a Pumpkin Patch in our outside area and is requesting donations of a pumpkin. She is looking for pumpkins of all sizes to add to the patch, so, if you are able to add one to your shopping list, please do! There are so many activities that can stem from having a collection of pumpkins, including; transportation of pumpkins in wheelbarrows and on bikes, pumpkin painting, hammering golf tees into the pumpkins, using the pumpkins in the mud kitchen and even opening up the pumpkins to investigate what’s inside. It will be a very exciting project, full of art, science and cognitive and physical development. Thank you for your support!

(We did this last year and it was an amazing success. The children had so much fun!)

F. 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.

The skill that we will focus on this week is numbers and counting, this means that there will be lots of math’s resources out for the children to enjoy. Staff will encourage children to practice counting math’s resources as well as objects in the environment, they will model lots counting for the children to hear, learn and repeat.

Nursery News 21st September 2026

Monday, September 21, 2026

NURSERY NEWS

21^stSeptember 202 – Edition 420

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.)

https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/schools-and-education/school-admissions/apply-new-lower-or-primary-school-place

This applies to all children in Big Nursery, Dates of Birth: 1/9/22 to 31/8/23

Apply for a lower or primary school place in Central Bedfordshire

15 January 2027 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)

You’ll need 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.

Until 30 April – Apply online

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

After 30 April – You can’t apply online, download a form and email it to us

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

download an application form (PDF)
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 2027 deadline.

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 (PDF)
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 2027 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).

D. Willow Lending Library.

Miss Howe worked hard 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

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.

The younger children in the setting have been learning some action songs and have been joining in with songs such as Aga Do by Black Lace and Nelly the Elephant by The Toy Dolls. They get really excited when they hear the introductions to these songs; if you get an opportunity to have a dance, pop these songs on and enjoy a special moment with your children.

Nursery News 14th September 2026

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

NURSERY NEWS

14^th September 2026 – Edition 419

Find out About:

A. Progress so far….

B. Keeping Children Safe.

C. Celebrating Birthdays.

D. Family Photographs

E. Early Years Pupil Premium

F. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Progress so far….

We are still in a period of settling in and getting to know everyone. We take things a day at a time, looking to tweak our strategies and organisation. We see individual children making small steps of progress: maybe venturing out into the outside space, or eating more than just a bite of a sandwich at lunchtime.

All children have different starting points on their educational journey with us, and children’s progress is very individual to them. Our job is to support children with their next steps when they are ready to make them.

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. 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.

D. 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 (14/09/26) 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.

There are some families that sent photographs in last year, if you did this you do not need to send in more as we will re-use these.

E. 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.

F. 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.

Nursery News 7th September 2026

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

NURSERY NEWS

7^th September 2026 – Edition 418

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.

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.

We have put Willow Nursery School dates for the 2026-2027 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 food 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 41 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 24 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 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.

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