Goldstone Crescent
Dunstable
Beds
LU5 4QU
Phone: 01582 662600
Email: office@willownursery.co.uk
Latest News
Nursery News 12th September 2022
NURSERY NEWS
12th September 2022 – Edition 270
Find out About:
A. Department for Education update – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral
B: Newsletters
C: School Term Dates
D: Labelling belongings
E: A Good Start
F: Job Vacancy: School Cleaner
A. Department for Education update – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral
I have received the following communication from the Department of Education:
Following the announcement from Buckingham Palace of the death of our sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, a period of National Mourning has started and will continue until the end of the State Funeral. This is a period of time for reflection in response to the death of the Sovereign.
The official date of the State Funeral is 19th September 2022. This day will be a bank holiday and settings that are normally closed on a bank holiday should close on this day as a mark of respect. This will include Schools and Colleges.
Willow Nursery School will be closed on Monday 19th September
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.
Be aware that sometimes the Local Authority adjusts school holiday dates. I would recommend you check the holiday dates on their website before booking a holiday.
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?….
To start the year we spent two days, on Monday and Tuesday last week, holding stay and play events with all our three year old children and their parents. We used the first two days of term to allow all these parents and their children to visit the school, meet all the staff, and have a chance to play in the school together. We feel that this works well, as parents can share up to date information with staff, and children have their stay and play visit quite near to their start date.
On Wednesday 7th, the school reopened to pupils. We have a staggered approach to inducting all our pupils. We try to get all children started as soon as possible, and have quite a short time frame in which we try to enrol everyone, but we do have to make decisions about who can start when, so that we can meet all the children’s needs appropriately.
So on Wednesday 7th, we welcomed back all children who were already attending Willow in the Summer term. We also invited some new Yellow Group children to start, those that would be attending for 15 hours at the end of the week, so they could attend on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday.
What happens next?………….
During this week we will induct the rest of Yellow Group, with 6 children joining the school on Monday, 4 children on Tuesday and 1 child on Friday. All of our 3+ children will then be enrolled, a total of 49 children in the year group, with around 40 children attending in each session.
Catkins class begins to add new pupils this week. We add a maximum of four new children to each session, to enable staff to give their keyworker children their full attention. This means that it will take us two and a half weeks to induct the 20 new Catkins children.
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.
E: Job Vacancy: School Cleaner.
We are in need of some help!
Could you help us to keep our school clean and hygienic for our pupils?
Our staff take great care of our school and our resources. Mrs Brinkley is a full time Teaching Assistant in Little Nursery, but she is also our Caretaker. She does a fantastic job of keeping the school clean and well maintained. We are a small school, but it is too much work for one person after school. So Mrs Brinkley is assisted by Ms Gaffney and one other cleaner. Our former cleaner, Chloe has left because she took a full time cleaning position after completing her full time college course in July.
So in the short term, I have been helping out at the end of each day. The job is quite nice, cleaning two classrooms, their cloakrooms the nursery corridor and the two front offices. The pay is: £10:50 per hour (subject to confirmation by payroll.) Hours are 3:30pm to 5:00pm Monday to Friday, Term time only.
We will be advertising the position on the school website willownursery.co.uk and on a website where jobs in schools in Central Bedfordshire are advertised. ‘The Academy for Central Bedfordshire- Vacancies’. The full web address is: https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/info/118/the_academy_-_inspiring_futures/687/the_academy_-_vacancies
(Please note the advertisement may take 48 hours to appear on the Academy for Central Bedfordshire website).
We aim to have the advertisement/ person specification/ job specification/ application form on our school website by tomorrow, Tuesday.
The closing date for applications is Friday 23rd September 2022
Job Vacancy at Willow Nursery School
Job Title: Cleaner
School Name: Willow Nursery School
Location: Goldstone Crescent, Dunstable, LU5 4QU
Salary Range: NJC levels 1-2, £10:50 per hour (subject to confirmation by payroll provider)
Hours: 3:30pm to 5:00pm Monday to Friday, term time only.
Contract Type: Permanent
Closing Date: Friday 23rd September 2022
Interview Date: Week beg 26th September 2022
We are looking for a part time cleaner to join our staff team here at Willow Nursery School. Main Purpose of role: · To clean classrooms, toilets, cloakrooms, corridors and staff areas to a good standard. · To ensure the cleaners cupboard is kept clean and tidy. We are a dedicated and committed team of early year’s specialists who are passionate about what we do. We aim to give our children the very best care and education in a positive, fun environment. We aim to provide clean and hygienic spaces for children to grow and learn. This school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will have to meet the requirements of the Person Specification in order to be offered the post. DBS Disclosure at Enhanced Level and a qualification check are required for this post
How to
apply:
For further details and an application pack, please visit the school website at: www.willownursery.co.uk, and click on school information – vacancies. We will accept electronic or paper applications. Electronic applications to be sent to the email address below. Paper copies to be sent to Willow Nursery School, Goldstone Crescent, Dunstable, Beds, LU5 4QU. Or contact: Name: Trina Evans Tel: 01582 662600 Email: office@willownursery.co.uk
Nursery News 11th July 2022
NURSERY NEWS
11th July 2022 – Edition 268
Find out About:
A. End of Term arrangements July 2022
B. Leavers Day –Friday 22nd July- 8:50am-11:50am
C. A case of Head lice in Big Nursery.
D. Review of the year- Results.
E. What are the children learning this week?
A. End of Term arrangements July 2022
The last day of term in July 2022 for all children will be Thursday 21st July.
This day will run as a normal Thursday. Timings of the day will be the same as all Thursdays.
B. Leavers Day –Friday 22nd July- 8:50am-11:50am
On Friday 22nd 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:
· Make party hats, Ice Cakes and eat them, Have Ice Pops, Make cheesecakes,
· Play with Monster trucks, sonic the hedgehog, rainbow playdough, dolls, post office, superhero things,
· Have songs and music, musical instruments, Dancing, bubbles and balloons
· Play musical chairs.
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: crisps, pizza, party rings, chocolate biscuits, fruit, cake
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. A case of Head lice in Big Nursery.
A parent kindly telephoned me today to inform me her child had head lice. I would ask that all parents check their child’s hair.
I have copied the following information from an NHS information website, which you may find useful.
Head lice and nits
Head lice and nits are very common in young children and their families. They do not have anything to do with dirty hair and are picked up by head-to-head contact.
Check if it’s head lice
Head lice are small insects, up to 3mm long
They can be difficult to spot in your hair
Head lice eggs (nits) are brown or white (empty shells) and attached to the hair
Head lice can make your head feel:
· itchy
· like something is moving in your hair
The only way to be sure someone has head lice is by finding live lice.
You can do this by combing their hair with a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb). You can buy these online or at pharmacies.
How to get rid of head lice
Important
You can treat head lice without seeing a GP.
Treat head lice as soon as you spot them.
You should check everyone in the house and start treating anyone who has head lice on the same day.
There’s no need to keep your child off school if they have head lice.
Wet combing
Lice and nits can be removed by wet combing. You should try this method first.
You can buy a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb) online or from pharmacies to remove head lice and nits.
There may be instructions on the pack, but usually you:
· wash hair with ordinary shampoo
· apply lots of conditioner (any conditioner will do)
· comb the whole head of hair, from the roots to the ends
It usually takes about 10 minutes to comb short hair, and 20 to 30 minutes for long, frizzy or curly hair.
Do wet combing on days 1, 5, 9 and 13 to catch any newly hatched head lice. Check again that everyone’s hair is free of lice on day 17.
Medicated lotions and sprays
Ask a pharmacist for advice if you have tried wet combing for 17 days, but your child still has live head lice.
They may recommend using medicated lotions and sprays. These kill head lice in all types of hair, and you can buy them from pharmacies, supermarkets or online.
Head lice should die within a day. Some lotions and sprays come with a comb to remove dead lice and eggs.
Some treatments need to be repeated after a week to kill any newly hatched lice.
Check the pack to see if they’re OK for you or your child and how to use them.
If lotions or sprays do not work, speak to a pharmacist about other treatments.
Some treatments are not recommended because they’re unlikely to work.
For example:
· products containing permethrin
· head lice “repellents”
· electric combs for head lice
· tree and plant oil treatments, such as tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil and lavender oil herbal remedies
You cannot prevent head lice
There’s nothing you can do to prevent head lice.
You can help stop them spreading by wet or dry combing regularly to catch them early.
Do not use medicated lotions and sprays to prevent head lice. They can irritate the scalp.
There’s no need for children to stay off school or to wash laundry on a hot wash.
D.Review of the year- Results
I had two parents respond to my request to review the school year and to share their thoughts about things we do well and things we can improve. So thank you to those parents for taking the time to reply.
The children were very happy to tell me their views. I have collated their responses to the 5 questions I asked them. I have added the children’s views to the end of the newsletter. Some responses may make you smile.
Response to parents:
My first question to parents was what do we do well? One said “I feel (my child) has come on really well with his letters and writing his name. He recognises so many letters when we are out and about and the sounds they make when he puts them together”
I was very pleased to read this because the staff all spend a considerable amount of time teaching children about phonics. It is so exciting when children start to use their knowledge at home.
My next question: Is there anything we can do to improve? especially with regard to involving parents more.
One said: I really don’t think there is anything I can suggest to improve/ develop!! I’m sorry! I honestly feel that (my child) has had a great time at Willow and I don’t think there is anything I can suggest you need to improve on. I think the only way to get parents more involved, is to maybe once a term, invite parents to come and sit in on a session, but I know Covid is the only reason why this hasn’t happened. So again, I’m not really helpful lol! Just keep doing what you’re doing!!! Both X and X have both got on so well at Willow, so thank you for all you do.”
The other said: “The only thing I am thinking about is to make some WhattsApp group or place like dojo where we can see some photo’s/videos what kids are up to. It would be lovely to see them in action, interacting with other kids etc. Regarding parents in nursery even the ‘bedtime story’ will be great to see them listening as it was a few years back when (my son) was going to Willow.”
I am considering ways in which the school can become more open to parents in September. We have a very full structured program of open activities that we usually roll out across the year. I hope that early in the next academic year I will publish all those activities in a timetable so parents can see what we aim to achieve across the year.
Online videos/photos. We, as a staff have always felt very strongly about not putting images of our Willow children online. Mostly for safeguarding reasons, as you are not sure who has access to images and why they are watching. As adults we have say over what photos of us are published and shared, but children do not. Once an image has been added to the internet, it is there for all time. Our pupils are not old enough to give reasoned permission about their image being used.
Producing videos and photo reels is very time consuming. The Ofsted guidance regarding recording information about children’s progress has recently been updated to say that staff should not be recording lots of data about children, that assessment should not take staff away from actually working with the children. This is something I strongly agree with. Our staff create stimulating work environments, and challenge the children, by using language to intervene in the children’s learning, to stretch them, to get them to reflect on what they are doing and enabling them to move onto their next step in their learning. Staff should be busy interacting with children, in the moment, making the most of all the play experiences, not spending time uploading photo’s. My hope is that next year parents will be able to be in school more frequently, to see first hand the positive experiences their children have.
Willow Nursery School- Children’s Evaluation.
1. What do you like to do at Nursery? Have a tea party, Do Puzzles, Do football Play with toys Go on bikes. I like to play with Fire engines. Play with X and X. Play with Cars,play with bikes. Play with X I like playing with X and the things she plans for us to do. Learning and playing Play outside I like going outside and when it’s a little day. I like dinosaurs Playing and Unicorns Painting and water Playing cars Bikes Cars, Lego, Crystals, Drawing I like the slide, I like the monkey bars, I like hanging off the Monkey bars. I like playing with my friends. I like drawing. Slide Nursery Rhymes, Nursery toys, playing with toys. Be happy Play with babies in the home corner I like the slide, painting.
Playing on the slide Balancing Play on the slide Play with my friend X I like playing with X Like playing with the special tray. I like the jewels. Like playing on the slide- Like the teachers. Like playing with friends. Hulk role play. I like to eat snack. Being Spiderman and other super heroes. Playing with cars, Drawing, I like the new fence, cos it’s nice and clean. I like playing with my friends. I play in the mud. Looking for stuff, bugs. Out in the garden, going on the bikes. Messy Play tray, slide Playing with X, cutting out things. Play cars, play with penguins and Ice, playing with snails. Pancakes, bikes painting more pancakes Dress up as Elsa. Lollies Play draw, The Kitchen, Playing on Bikes Drawing Making Bug hotels, painting Play bikes, water tray made a flag Play with the dinosaurs. Like having friends Play with the crates, drawing things, playing on the bikes with X Stamps, playing in the water, colouring, I like the screen, I like when I go outside’cos I made a flag.
2. Is there anything you don’t like at Nursery?
When ‘X’ pushes me.
I don’t like going outside but sometimes I do go outside. Sometimes I miss my Mum.
Books aeroplanes and helicopters.
Cars
No
I don’t like that there is no stories.
Sometimes I miss my Mummy.
To play outside
Bananas
I don’t like my feet.
Unicorn
When my clothes get wet and I’m changing and changing. (water tray)
I don’t like going outside
Water tray, wet sleeves
I don’t like anyone pushing me or bullying me.
No
No, I like it
No.
No
I don’t like it when X is mean to me
Silly words
I don’t like swords to beat me.
I don’t like the hulk.
I don’t like playing with water cos my sleeves get wet.
I like nursery
When the kids are too noisy.
Painting.
No
Dinosaurs and cars
I don’t like playing in the water tray. I don’t like getting wet.
Children making really loud noises with the musical instruments, X running over my foot.
?
When X hurts me, I don’t like that,
I don’t like it when X is not my friend.
3. Tell me something you are good at now since coming to Nursery?
Reading
Basketball, Playing football
Puzzles colouring
Helping
Writing I’ve learnt to cut paper. I can paint. I can ride the bicycle with two wheels. Doing Painting Reading and writing I have learnt about Guinea Pigs. Writing Learning colours pink and purple Playing on the bikes I ride the fastest bike in school. Talking, riding Bikes Playing football, I’m very good at riding the tricycle Drawing now Listening, Making Music Painting Playing with toy dinosaurs, drawing pictures. Not hurting anyone Good at eating my lunch now. Balancing Good at getting clowns. Good at joining boxes together with sellotape Cutting out. Painting, playing outside. Star jumps, playing superheroes. Having Superpowers Running and faster running Playing games, playing outside. I am good at writing, I like writing words like dog. I’m good at writing numbers. Waterplay, colouring Writing, good at riding a bike. I’m good at numbers Listening with people, cutting and colouring Good at being happy On rope bridge- I can put my feet high up on the rope. Stories but I can’t read. Dancing Drawing I don’t like making Phonics Balancing on rope bridge. Can go upside down, jumping and colouring Good painting, making hats. Cutting
4.Tell me what you have learnt in Phonics:
Reading books
I need Miss Howe to teach me phonics. If Miss Howe wasn’t here I wouldn’t learn phonics.
A,m,d,b,c,k,
‘l,l,l,’
No
Letters
P,a,t,s
F,e,n,g
A, the sound
T,e
A,t,p
A,p
‘fffff’ action
A,p,d,r writing.
I’ve learned d,a,s,a,c,b
We make words with letters inside the pictures
T,t,t, tennis
Singing songs with Iggle Piggle
Numbers and letters
A new word. Letters
Letters, a lot of letters ‘s’ Learning
Numbers
Stories about the fish says ‘fff’
I don’t know.
Hairy Bear
I don’t know.
T l a c s r o b
Use letters to read and write n p t g
To learn letters Learning about Letters and numbers. Letters Biff and Chip Books. Letters Ive learned about reading I have learned about something but I don’t know H p e r colouring pictures, letters help you to read and write. Fff (does action) Letters are for reading and writing. Im learning phonics and we play word building-BAT
5.How can we make Willow better for the new children?
Don’t know.
All be friends
Switch the toys around, change the boxes.
I don’t want dinosaurs with Playdough. I like t rex.
I don’t know.
Switch toys, presents.
Make ball pits.
To learn hymns.
Make X’s little brother good. He needs to know abcd’s
Do the same things as we do.
More cars more bikes.
Nothing
More grown ups to play.
Play in the garden
More play , have lots of fun.
We can have some unicorns.
New Fishy toys for the water tray.
Coming to Nursery Makes me happy!
More toys LOL dolls and bottles.
Put a trampoline outside Inside Room 1 a ball pit
Put some dinosaurs out because my brother likes those.
Have a party.
Playdough- I like playdough.
Hulk Toys superheroes.
Bring my home here.
A house. My home here.
New toys- Elsa toys and Anna and Olaf and Sven and Christoff.
New painting aprons.
I don’t know.
Take (Willow Nursery) to Flitwick lower school.
More painting
Get some new stuff, go to the farm, come to visit me at my home: gave address.
A party, Dancing.
Make a show.
Maybe we could be kind to them.
E. What are the children learning this week?
The theme in little nursery is Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
In Catkins Mrs. Cashmore will be showing the children how to paint using forks. The children will have brown paint which they will dip their fork into. Mrs. Cashmore will then model how to pull the fork across the paper, making marks that will eventually look like bears. The children will add googly eyes and thumb print noses to complete their bear pictures.
In room three, Miss Gaffney will have the role play area set up for the children to act out the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The children will have bowls, beds and chairs for the children to use as props for their role-play.
In the link area, Mrs. Watson will be making porridge for the children to eat. The children will be guided through each step of the process and when they have made their porridge they can taste it. They will discuss what the porridge looks and tastes like and Mrs. Watson will support them in extending their vocabulary.
In the garden, the children will wear hats and gloves to look like the characters from the Goldilocks story. Mrs. Brinkley will support the children in retelling Goldilocks and the Three Bears, they will move freely around the garden acting out various scenes.
The theme in big nursery is an ice cream parlour/café.
In room one, Miss Howe will have a café set up for the children to play in. There will be a seating area for the children to role play as customers and there will be a kitchen area for them to make up the ice cream orders. Children will have pencils and paper available so that they can write down the customer’s order, they will then make the orders and deliver to the tables.
In room two, Mrs. Patterson will be getting messy with the children as they use glue and coloured paper to create ice lollies. The children will drizzle glue over paper to create colourful and shiny pieces of work to take home. Mrs. Patterson will also have Jelly Bath available for the children to investigate, they can explore the sensory texture by dipping their hands in and moving it through their fingertips.
Outside, Miss Skai will have a car wash. She will have the bikes out along with some buckets of soapy water and cloths. The children will be encouraged to work together to clean the bikes, they will then be able to ride their sparkling bikes around the playground and return them for the next person to have a turn.
Nursery News 4th July 2022
NURSERY NEWS
4th July 2022 – Edition 267
Find out About:
A. Arrangements for September 2022.
B. Reminder about consultations this week.
C. What are the children learning about this week?
A. Arrangements for September 2022.
We have finalised our plans for the beginning of term in September 2022. So this information is for all the families staying with us in September.
We had to make some changes to the way the school operates due to Covid in the last few years.
Some of the changes we have made have felt very positive. One of these changes was how we managed the first few days in September. So in discussion with the staff we have decided to roll out the beginning of the Autumn term in 2022 the same way as we did in 2021.
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 Catkins Class in Little Nursery…..
Little Nursery will reopen on Wednesday 7th September. In the Autumn term all children in Little Nursery are 2+ children known as Catkins Class. Children’s attendance patterns remain the same, unless you have spoken to me about additional hours for your child. New starters in Catkins Class have received paperwork advising parents what their child’s first day will be. In Catkins Class each Keyworker will settle only one of their new keyworker children in each session. New Catkins Class children have start dates somewhere between the 12th September 2022 and 23rd September 2022.
Catkins hours remain 8:45am – 11:45am for a morning session or 8:45am to 2:45pm for a full day session.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Big Nursery:
Monday 5th September 2022 and Tuesday 6th September 2022 have been scheduled as visit days. The school will not be open as usual on these two days. Attendance on these days is by invitation only. See details below:
Monday 5th September:
All children who are New Starters (have not attended Willow before) and will be in Yellow Group in September are invited to attend a Stay and Play session, lasting for one hour, with a Parent. Invitations were sent out on Friday 1st July to all these
parents. There will be 3 sessions during the day, so only 8 families will be invited to each session. Yellow Group have all been allocated a start date between Wednesday 8th September and Friday 16th September. These start dates have also been communicated to the brand new Yellow Group children, joining in September from our waitlist.
Tuesday 6th September.
This day will offer a transition session for all children (and their parents) in Miss Gaffneys/ Mrs Watson’s Green Group, Mrs Brinkley’s Red Group, and the Summer born children currently attending in Catkins class who will become Yellow Group in Big Nursery in September 2022.
We will offer a morning session or an afternoon session.
The idea of these sessions are that you and your child will arrive at school to have a scheduled meeting lasting ten minutes with your child’s current Little Nursery Keyworker and with your child’s new Big Nursery Keyworker
So, Green Group children will meet with Miss Gaffney/Mrs Watson and Mrs Patterson
Red Group children will meet with Mrs Brinkley and Miss Skai.
Yellow Group Children will meet with their Catkins Keyworker and Miss Howe/ Mrs Cashmore
You will arrive at your specified appointment time, meet with your child’s Keyworker’s and discuss anything you wish to share to enable the transition into Big Nursery to go as smoothly as possible. You will then be free to move around the school together, both inside and outside. Classrooms will be set up with activities, and we invite you and your child to explore their new spaces and chat to staff who will be available to talk with you.
Morning session: 10 minute appointments will be available to choose from between 8:50am and 10:20am. Parents may choose to stay and play after their appointment, but all parents and children should leave by 11:00am.
Afternoon session: 10 minute appointments will be available to choose from between 12:30pm and 2:00pm. Parents may choose to stay and play after their appointment but all parents and children should leave by 2:40pm.
All these meetings/ stay and play are optional. You do not have to attend, but it will be a way to see the school with your child. You may choose to just have the meeting and then you and your child can choose to leave to go home. You may choose to have the meeting and then stay for a short time and then go. We cannot offer meetings 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.
Parents can arrange these appointments for Tuesday 6th September with the Little Nursery Staff, during the telephone consultations that are scheduled for
this week. If you do not have a telephone consultation this week please do not worry as staff will get in touch with you regarding a transition session in September.
Wednesday 7th September – Big Nursery Re-opens for regular Nursery sessions.
Green Group, Orange Group and Yellow Group (who have attended in Little Nursery) return to Big Nursery, attending for their agreed attendance pattern. So for example, if your child currently attends for two and a half days at the end of the week, they would return on this Wednesday at 11:50pm with their lunch box.
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
B.Reminder about consultations this week
We will have parent consultations for all the children on 5th, 6th and 7th July 2022 as follows: Little Nursery parents will have a 10 minute telephone consultation with their child’s Keyworker. They have been scheduled at the times below. Some of our staff work part time so will be unavailable at the times stated. Keyworkers have been in touch with parents to arrange appointments.
Tuesday 5th July- Catkins children. Telephone consultation, a 10 minute consultation scheduled from 3:15 onwards with your child’s keyworker.
Wednesday 6th July- Green Group Children, 10 minute Telephone Consultation with Miss Gaffney or Mrs Watson scheduled from 3:15 onwards
Thursday 7th July- Red Group children, 10 minute Telephone Consultation with Mrs Brinkley scheduled from 3:15 onwards
Big Nursery children will have a Leavers Consultation, where staff will hand over your child’s year book, so will have a shorter, face to face meeting.
Tuesday 5th July -Blue Group Children, 5 minute Face to Face meeting with Mrs Patterson scheduled from 3:15 onwards
Wednesday 6th July,- Orange Group Children 5 minute Face to Face meeting with Miss Skai scheduled from 3:15 onwards
Thursday 7th July –Yellow Group children 5 minute Face to Face meeting with Miss Howe or Mrs Cashmore scheduled from 3:15 onwards.
C. What are the children learning about this week?
The theme in little nursery is teddy bear’s picnic.
In Catkins, Mrs. McGrath will be baking biscuits with the children. The children will sit with a teddy of their choice at snack time and eat their biscuits.
In room three, Mrs. Watson will decorate biscuits with the children. Each child will get to decorate a biscuit with icing and sprinkles, they will then have a teddy bears picnic as they eat their tasty treats.
In the link, Mrs. Brinkley will provide the children with a variety of boxes and other materials so that they can create some box models. The children will be encouraged to create some large scale bears with the supplies that they have.
Outside, Miss Gaffney will focus on positional language by moving a bear in, around and on top of a box. Miss Gaffney will model the positional language to the children and then the children can take turns in placing the bear into different positions.
The theme in main nursery is transport – air and water.
In room one, Miss Skai will be working with the children on sequencing activities. She will work with the children to order the activities we do before we can go on holiday. The children will colour their work, use scissors to cut out the pictures and glue them down in the correct order.
The children will also have the opportunity to discuss any holidays they may have been on or be due to go on, as they make their own passports. Miss Skai will explain to the children that they need a passport if they are going on holiday on a boat or a plane.
In room two, Miss Howe will show the children what a hot air balloon is and explain to them how they function. The children will then be given the resources to create their own 3D hot air balloon picture. Mrs. Cashmore will focus on shape recognition and will support the children in making a boat using different simple shapes.
Outside, Mrs. Patterson will be encouraging lots of water play, there will be a range of boats and chutes for the children to explore. Mrs. Patterson will also support the children with some investigative science by exploring which items will sink
or float when placed in water. Children will be asked their opinions on why some items sink and why some float.
Nursery News – Tuesday 28th June 2022
NURSERY NEWS
Tuesday 28th June 2022 – Edition 266
Find out About:
A. Review of the Year
B. What are the children learning about this week?
A. Review of the year
At this time of year, we carry out a big review of our school. In the next few days I will be talking to children individually to gain their views about their school, with regard to what they like, what they think they have learned and what they would like to see change. All school staff and Governors are busy filling in questionnaires too.
This information helps us to plan our areas for development next year.
I always ask parents for their views too at this time of year.
We usually ask just two questions:
1. Please comment about what we do well at Willow.
2. Please tell us one thing you would like to see at Willow that you would consider to be an improvement and/or development. Please write a short email and send to office@willownursery.co.uk
Covid continued to have quite a big impact upon the past academic year.
We had hoped that in this academic year we would be able to begin our program of events where invite parents in to school. Due to Covid restrictions continuing in both Autumn and Spring terms we felt we were unable to roll out our usual parent involvement opportunities
The experience families have had during Covid is completely different to previous years. We hope that at some point in the new school year we will be able to increase parent involvement. So, with this in mind I would like you as parents to share with us:
3. Any ideas regarding how parents could feel more involved with the school.
If you wish your comments to inform my review, please send your email by the end of this week, Friday 1st July. I will then compile all the comments and respond to them in a future newsletter, on Monday 11th July.
B. What are the children learning about this week?
The theme in big nursery is transport on land.
In room one, Miss Skai will be doing a shared read with the children, the book The Big Red Bus is about animals and friends that take the bus to school. Children will be encouraged to talk about their own journeys into school, including how they travelled and what they have seen on their way.
Miss Skai will also support the children with number work, they will be creating number train pictures, focusing on the numbers 1-10.
In room two, Miss Howe and Mrs. Cashmore will be showing the children how to drive toy cars through paint and looking at the marks made by the tyres. It will be exciting to see the different tyre tracks made as the toys move through the different coloured paints. The children will also be able to recall work they completed last week, when they used split pins to make parts of their bear pictures move. Miss Howe will model how to make a bus to the children and the wheels will be held on with split pins, allowing the wheels to spin. Miss Howe, will sing ‘The Wheels On The Bus’ with the children as they work.
Outside, Mrs. Patterson will be using plastic crates and wooden blocks to create different vehicles. The children will use their imagination to drive the ‘cars’ or ‘buses’ etc. to their desired destinations. In addition to this, weather permitting, there will be lots of water play. Please remember to pack spare clothes in your child’s bag.
The theme in little nursery is sports skills.
In Catkins the children will work on their movement skills and spatial awareness as they traverse an obstacle course set up by Mrs. Field. The children will be supported where necessary but urged to attempt the course by themselves.
In room three, there will be a shared read of Maisy Goes Swimming and the children will make medals with Mrs. Watson, as they discuss teamwork.
In the link area the children will be exploring colours and colour mixing with Mrs. Brinkley, there will also be a range of box modelling materials available so they can sculpt their own models.
Outside, the children will be improving upon their ball skills with Miss Gaffney, they will work towards being able to kick, catch and throw balls to each other.
Nursery News 20th June 2022
NURSERY NEWS
20th June 2022 – Edition 265
Find out About:
A. Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday- A reminder.
B. We are running short of tissues….
C. Parent Consultations July 2022
D. End of Term arrangements July 2022
A.Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday- A reminder.
Willow Nursery School will be closed on Monday 27th June, 2022.
B. We are running short of tissues….
We are running very short of tissues. Children seem to have colds year round, plus some children suffer from hay fever. We would be grateful for donations of tissues.
C. Parent Consultations July 2021.
We will have parent consultations for all the children on 6th, 7th and 8th July 2021 as follows: Little Nursery parents will have a 10 minute telephone consultation with their child’s Keyworker. The plan is to schedule them at the times below. Some of our staff work part time so will be unavailable at the times stated. Keyworkers will be in touch with parents to arrange appointments.
Tuesday 5th July- Catkins children. Telephone consultation, a 10 minute consultation scheduled from 3:15 onwards with your child’s keyworker.
Wednesday 6th July- Green Group Children, 10 minute Telephone Consultation with Miss Gaffney or Mrs Watson scheduled from 3:15 onwards
Thursday 7th July- Red Group children, 10 minute Telephone Consultation with Mrs Brinkley scheduled from 3:15 onwards
Big Nursery children will have a Leavers Consultation, where staff will hand over your child’s year book, so will have a shorter, face to face meeting.
Tuesday 5th July -Blue Group Children, 5 minute Face to Face meeting with Mrs Patterson scheduled from 3:15 onwards
Wednesday 6th July,- Orange Group Children 5 minute Face to Face meeting with Miss Skai scheduled from 3:15 onwards
Thursday 7th July –Yellow Group children 5 minute Face to Face meeting with Miss Howe or Mrs Cashmore scheduled from 3:15 onwards.
Your child’s keyworker will contact you to arrange an appointment, either by speaking to you at arrival or departure times, or failing that giving you a call on the telephone.
D. End of Term arrangements July 2022
The last day of term in July 2022 for all children will be Thursday 21st July.
On Friday 22nd 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. We are going to consult the children about what activities they would like to plan for their last day, and try to enable their ideas. There will be no charge for this session.
E.What are the children learning about this week?
The theme in Catkins is Aliens Love Underpants.
In Catkins the children will be creating a sensory collage, they will collect different textured materials to glue onto a paper pair of underpants. The children will look at the colours and patterns that are on their fabric as they stick them to their template. Miss Tyler will also support the children in washing lots of pairs of underpants and hanging them out to dry.
In room three, Mrs. Brinkley will be reading the story of Aliens Love Underpants to the children. Mrs. Brinkley will encourage the children to share their thoughts on the story and make predictions about what might happen next. A key talking point for the children will be the patterns that appear on the illustrations and children will be asked to see if they can spot any patterns around the nursery. After reading the story together, the children will have the chance to make an alien hat.
In the link, Miss Gaffney will be using playdough and playdough resources with the children to create aliens of their own. She will have corn flour available for the children to really get stuck into and explore messy and sensory play.
Outside, Mrs. Watson will provide the children with clipboards and pencils, so that they can explore the garden and look for hidden numbers. The children will be encouraged to try and write the numbers that they find. Children will be encouraged to look high and low and Mrs. Watson will support the children in holding their pencils effectively.
The theme in big nursery is Science.
In room one, Mrs. Patterson will be making rockets with the children. She will give each child a pipette, a rocket template and a straw. They will then be shown how to assemble all of these items and create a rocket that flies through the sky.
Mrs. Patterson will also ask the children to join her with a shared read of a story called Wind. The children will all have a copy of the same book and will follow the story together, at the end of the story the children can have a short discussion with Mrs. Patterson about the weather.
In room two, Miss Skai will complete experiments with the children focused on items that sink or float. She will have a range of items and ask the children to make predictions about what they think will happen when the object is placed in the water. The children will then analyse their predictions and discuss the results.
Miss Skai will also have some sunflower seeds to plant with the children and together, they can talk about how the seeds will change and grow. The children will continue to watch the seeds grow and point out the changes that they notice. Everyone will get to take home the sunflowers that they have planted after they have grown a little.
Outside, Miss Howe will be making paper helicopters with the children, they will colour in their helicopters and cut along the lines, building upon their fine motor skills. Children will show that they can follow directions and fold their helicopters along specific lines and Miss Howe will model this for the children to copy. A paperclip will be placed at the bottom of the helicopter and children will be encouraged to drop the helicopter from the top of the climbing frame. Children will watch what happens when they drop their helicopters and they will be asked what they think will happen if aspects of the helicopter are changed. Predictions will be made and further experiments carried out to check if the children made the correct predictions. There will be lots of mini experiments throughout nursery to challenge the children’s thought processes, but because science can be explored anywhere, please encourage your children to continue exploring science outside of school and they can share their experiences with us when they return to school.
