Nursery News 5th June 2023

NURSERY NEWS
Monday 5th June 2023 – Edition 299.

Find out About
A. Willow Nursery School Ofsted Inspection Report
B. We are now enrolling two year olds, to begin at Willow Nursery School, in September 2023
C. Fees Increase from September 2023
D. Ice Pops
E. Mud Kitchen Ingredients
F Things to bring to school, Things to leave at home.
G. What the children are learning about this week?

A. Willow Nursery School Ofsted Inspection Report
As you are all aware, we had an ungraded Section 8 inspection on 21st April 2023. Our Inspection Report has been made available to us today. I have attached the report to this email for you to read. Ofsted Inspections are important. Ofsted Inspectors are experienced educators. Myself and the Senior Team respected the Inspectors findings, but remember they were here for just one day. Their aim is to help with school improvement and development, as well as measuring schools against standardised criteria. The standards required of schools is ever increasing. The bar is constantly being raised. The Lead Inspector told us that for schools to maintain an Outstanding grading moving forward, they would have to be functioning as a beacon school, with other schools visiting from far and wide to see the very best practice. We have always worked extremely hard, as a team, to provide the very best education we can for the children in our Local Community, and we still continue to do so. We have listened to the Inspectors about what the school needs to do to improve, and we have already started working on new ideas.

B. We are now enrolling two year olds, to begin at Willow Nursery School, in September 2023
Children who already attend Willow Nursery School in our two year old class do not need to do anything. If there are any younger brothers or sisters that you wish to enrol in the Little Nursery in
September 2023 speak to Mrs Davies. We are looking to enrol children who will be aged two by 30th September 2023. (Children with dates of birth from 1/9/20 to 30/9/21) Please ensure you have put your younger children on our contact list. If you have any friends or family who are looking for a two year old nursery space, please do tell them to get in touch.

C. Fees Increase from September 2023
We have not increased our fees since 2016. We have always tried to charge as low fees as possible to help our families. We have looked at what other similar settings charge and discussed this with School Governors. Our fees from September 2023 will be: £15.00 for a three hour session in Big Nursery 3+, and £18.00 per session in Little Nursery 2+. Children who receive 15 or 30 hours free funding do not pay fees for their free funded sessions.

D. Ice Pops
We are moving swiftly towards the hottest part of the year in school. To help keep the children cool and hydrated we like to offer children ice pops when it is very hot. We also use the ice pop snack break as a way to encourage children to sit quietly inside or in the shade for a few minutes. We would ask all parents to consider buying a box of ice pops to donate to school for us to share with the
children. We have a freezer in the classroom to store them in.

E. Mud Kitchen Ingredients
We have a wonderfully messy mud kitchen in the garden. During the summer months, children are encouraged to get creative, mixing muddy mixtures. We provide soil and water, and children add grass, leaves or anything else they can find outside. Mrs Patterson has asked if parents have any out of date herbs or spices that they would like to donate to the mud kitchen. Please nothing sweet though, if we start playing with sweet substances we will attract ants!

F. Things to bring to school, Things to leave at home.
Please can we remind parents to provide spoons or other necessary cutlery for your child’s lunchbox. Our spares in school disappear over time. We have seen an increase in the number of children
bringing toys to school. Please encourage your children to leave personal toys at home. Children become upset if they get lost or broken, and personal toys can often cause arguments between children

G. What the children are learning about this week?

The theme in Little Nursery is The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

In Catkins, Mrs McGrath will read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to the children. The children will then create their very own caterpillars. Mrs McGrath will support the children as they count out and stick down circles to create their caterpillar, they will then add eyes and legs to their artwork. In Room three, Miss Gaffney will be helping the children to make name caterpillars. They will work hard to write out some of the letters in their name and focus on holding their pencils in an effective way. Miss Gaffney will support children by modelling how to write the letters in their names. In the link, Mrs Watson will use inflated balloons to create caterpillar paintings. She will support the children with dipping the balloons in different coloured paints and then pushing them down gently onto paper. The finished effect should look like a colourful caterpillar. Mrs Watson will talk
to the children about the different colours that the children are using. She will also explain that the caterpillar changes into a butterfly over time. Outside, Mrs Brinkley will be teaching everyone how to transport items safely from one area to another. She will encourage the children to think about safety and working as a team. They will transport large urns filled with water to the sandpit. The children will be shown that the sand changes consistency when water is added and is better for building and creating sandcastles.

The theme in Big Nursery is science week.

In Room one, Miss Howe will be making popcorn with the children. They will watch how the heat changes the kernels into popcorn. Miss Howe will let everyone make their own bag of popcorn and they will be allowed to sit down at the table to eat it. Mrs Cashmore will set up a dark tent for the children to be able to explore light and dark. She will provide some letters, numbers and
shapes for the children to explore on the walls of the tent and on top of a light box. Children will be encouraged to take turns in the dark tent, with only two children using the tent at a time and a timer to help them share. In Room two, Mrs Patterson will encase some toys in ice and allow the children time to figure out how to free the toys. She will urge the children to think about how they might get the toys out of the ice in a safe manner and discuss things such as the temperature of the ice, how it is different to room temperature and what might happen because of these changes.
Outside, Miss Skai will be using buckets and paintbrushes to teach the children about evaporation. She will model how to write and draw using the water and brushes and watch the
effects of the sun on the water. While outside, Miss Skai will also use the sun to explain how shadows are made. She will encourage everyone to look at their own shadows and any other
shadows they may find in the playground