Nursery 2025/2026 2025 - 2026

Welcome to Nursery.

Mrs Young, Mrs Wilson and Mrs Slattery

4.12.25

We have had lots more fun this week. On Friday, the children warmed up after a cold play outside with a cup of hot chocolate — they loved it! On Monday, the children got busy with some spray bottles and cotton wool pads. They strengthened their hands by squeezing the bottles, and they were able to experiment with colour mixing as well.

On Tuesday, we tasted mince pies. We had a mixed reaction this time, with some children wolfing them down and others deciding they weren’t for them. I am really proud that the majority of children will give something a taste even when they aren’t sure.

We have spent lots of time practising the sing-along this week, and the children are doing really well. We are looking forward to seeing you and hope that you will bring your best singing voices to join in with the last song… no spoilers, but I am sure you will know the words!

Thank you so much to everyone for coming along to Parents’ Evening. Hopefully you were able to ask all the questions you needed to, but if anything slipped your mind or you have any concerns at any point, I am usually available for a chat after school.

Please do take a look at the gallery — there are lots more photos of another lovely week.

27.11.25

We have had another really busy week. The children have had a lovely time working both in the classroom and in the outdoor area. For tasting, we had crackers with cream cheese and cucumber. Most of the children loved it, and the vast majority ate at least some of it, so this might be a good snack to try at home.

This half term, we have been focusing on Personal, Social and Emotional Development, and one of our objectives is for children to “play with one or more other children, extending and elaborating play ideas.” As Early Years practitioners, it is our role to facilitate this. Sometimes that means getting involved in the children’s play and offering ideas to help them extend their thinking; other times it means recognising when it is best to step back and allow them to work things out in their own way.

The environment is carefully planned to give children opportunities to develop these skills. If you look through the gallery, you will see lots of wonderful collaboration happening. The block area is a perfect example, where the children combine their ideas to improve their models. They are learning to share their thoughts, listen to others and work together. These skills are essential not only throughout their education but also in life. The children may be little, but the skills they are developing certainly are not — and I am so proud of the progress they are all making. Well done, Nursery!

We have also begun to think about Christmas. I know that you have all received an invite for your child to have Christmas dinner. It is a lovely way for us to celebrate together each year. Please don’t worry if you don’t think your child will eat it — we all go to the hall together anyway, and they can eat a packed lunch at the table instead. If you have paid for a dinner but are unsure whether your child will eat it, feel free to send a packed lunch as well. We will make sure no one goes hungry. If you would like your child to have the dinner but still need to pay, please visit Mrs Williams in the office to give her the money.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. The pictures are in the gallery.

20.11.25

Well, what a cold week we have had! Thank you for wrapping the children up so well — we can see they are making progress with putting their own gear on. Please bear with us if we can’t find any gloves or hats; there seem to be millions of them, and they are rarely with the correct child! They usually turn up, so just let us know if you are missing anything — also, strings on gloves are a game-changer!

The children have been as busy as always. We had a lovely visit from Mrs Tatham, who does food tech with all of the children in the school. They decorated Christmas cupcakes together, and she was absolutely blown away by the children’s manners and their ability to follow instructions.

This week in tasting, we had a lovely treat. Every time we taste, we use all of our senses, but the food never makes a sound. This week, however, we made popcorn and listened to it popping. The children were delighted, and judging by the vote at the end, it was our most popular tasting yet — thumbs-up all round!

The children have begun to practise the nursery Christmas sing-along. You may have heard them singing some of the songs. We are really looking forward to it, and hopefully we will see you there. Family members are welcome, but please remember that we have to fit everyone into the hall, so no more than a few people per child, please. The performance will be on Thursday 18th December. You can go around to the hall as soon as you have dropped off.

Have a lovely weekend together. The pictures are in the gallery.

13.11.25

We have had another lovely week in Nursery! The children had their school photos taken — they were amazing and listened to instructions really well. We have created some wonderful collaborative artwork, enjoyed lots of time outdoors, and have started learning the songs for our Christmas sing-along.

In the photographs, you’ll see that the children spent some time in the infant playground on Friday. This was because they had filled their token pot up to the yellow line! The children earn rewards each time they fill it. Sometimes this means going on an adventure walk around school, sometimes watching a short film, or occasionally baking and enjoying their own biscuits. Tokens are earned by following our school and class rules — for example, using good manners, tidying up, and being kind to one another. The children are all so fantastic that the pot fills up quickly, and they usually earn their treat by the end of the week.

This week, we also met some new characters who will help us develop the Characteristics of Effective Learning, which are an important part of our curriculum. We met Percy Perseverance, Ralph Reflection, and Charlie Challenge — three hard-working insects who love to learn! When we see the children demonstrating these characteristics, just like the bugs, we reward them with a token for the pot and a sticker.

We’ve also been focusing on physical development, particularly learning how to put on our own coats. The children have been practising the flip trick — laying their coat on the floor, standing at the hood, putting both hands in the sleeves, and flipping it over their head. For homework, we’d love you to continue practising this with your child at home. They can also have a go at zipping up their coats — although we know this can be a little tricky!

6.11.25

I hope that everyone had a lovely week off and that you managed to avoid the lurgy that seems to be doing the rounds. The children have had a fantastic first week back. I am so pleased with the way they are confidently coming into the nursery; they get busy as soon as they walk in and they use the classroom really well. This week has been all about Bonfire Night. We have learnt about bonfire safety, tasted parkin, made breadstick sparklers, and created some beautiful firework pictures. All of these activities enhance our continuous provision (the resources that are always in the classroom). The continuous provision is carefully thought out to ensure that the children have opportunities to access all seven areas of learning across the Early Years curriculum. We then add enhancements each week to keep the children interested and busy. There will be a presentation next term to talk more about our curriculum and why we do what we do, but in the meantime, if you are interested, you can take a look at https://birthto5matters.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Birthto5Matters-download.pdf or https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64e6002a20ae890014f26cbc/DfE_Development_Matters_Report_Sep2023.pdf. These are the documents we use to inform our planning and to assess the children. The three prime areas of learning are Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language, and Physical Development, and this is where our main focus lies. One example of how we work on communication is when we play ‘What’s in the Box?’. We encourage the children to ask questions and listen carefully to the answers to work out what the object is. So far, we have had a puppet fox and a marble. Ask your child about the game and play it at home — they find it really hard to ask questions instead of making statements but they love it! I have put some photos from this week in the gallery; please take a look with your child.

23.10.25

Well, what a fabulous end to a fantastic half term. It has been so lovely getting to know the children since September. I am so pleased with how easily they have settled and how much they seem to be enjoying their time with us at Nursery. We finished off last week by making some Halloween/Autumn biscuits. The children really enjoyed weighing, measuring, and mixing the ingredients. They rolled out their dough and used the cutters to shape their biscuits. There were countless learning opportunities across our curriculum, and the children really enjoyed the experience. We started this week by learning about Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Light. The children coloured rangoli patterns, tasted samosas, and watched the story of Rama and Sita. One of the children shared their photos of their own Diwali celebrations and explained their experiences to the rest of the class. In the later half of the week, we have been working around a Halloween theme. The children fished for spiders in green chia seed goop (sorry for the green hands — I got a little excited with the colouring!). We made and tasted strawberry monsters, and we made pumpkin pictures where the children named the shapes and their properties. We have played lots of games during carpet time which promote good listening and questioning from the children. The favourite has to be 'Bug in a Rug', where one child leaves the room whilst another hides under a blanket. The detective then comes back in and asks the class questions to try to work out who the bug is. During maths carpet sessions, we have been looking at the number five. We have practised writing the numeral (“Down his back and around his tummy, put his hat on — 5 sure looks funny!”). We have shown the number on our fingers and looked at the different ways to make the number 5 eg. 4+1, 3+2. We have been using the language add, and, together, makes, equals, and take away. It has been lots of fun, check out the gallery below. 

I hope you all have a lovely time next week and look forward to seeing you all back in school on Monday 3rd November.

16.10.25

We have been so busy this week, and the children have blown my socks off with their ability to listen, get involved, and treat each other with kindness and respect as they play. We started the week with a tough tray full of pumpkins and golf tees. The children demonstrated their fine motor control by hammering the tees into the pumpkins with little wooden hammers. They have loved this activity and have continued to play with it all week. Our tasting activity was corn on the cob — the children absolutely loved it! I think it was the most popular thing so far. Next week, we’ll be tasting some Halloween-themed healthy snacks. The children filled their token reward jar on Tuesday, so we went on a leaf walk to collect leaves for an activity the following day. Whilst we were there, we managed to have a little play on the adventure equipment. The children were so excited — it really was a well-deserved treat. The following day, we used the leaves to make people pictures. The children thought carefully about what humans need and then carefully chose leaves to represent bodies, arms, legs, and heads. This promoted lots of discussion between the children and adults, and they worked collaboratively to find their leaves. Outside, we introduced the big water station, and the children have worked hard to move the water from tray to tray without spilling it. This has prompted lots of discussion and teamwork around capacity. They used language such as empty, full, and half full, and they thought carefully while estimating how much water each container could hold. Inside, we have introduced some babies to the home corner. The children have worked hard to look after the babies — feeding them, winding them, and changing their nappies. If anyone has any old tiny baby clothes, bottles, or muslin squares etc. that they would like to donate, the children would really appreciate them. Have a look in the gallery at this week’s photos!

9.10.25

We have had another lovely week with the children; they are gaining in confidence and we are getting to know all their likes and dislikes, and what makes them tick. At the end of last week, the children did conker rolling in paint with Mrs Wilson; their pictures have been sent home. You may have noticed this week that your child came home with slightly green feet! All will be revealed when we send home the PTA Christmas cards for you to take a look at. Tasting this week was sweet potato fries, and most of the children wolfed them down. Next week, we will be trying corn on the cob, so we are looking forward to that. In maths, we have looked at the number three. We found it really tricky to write the numeral, but the children were great at finding three objects or showing me three fingers. The mud kitchen has been a huge hit all week, and I have loved watching how independent the children have become when putting on their wellies and aprons and rolling up their sleeves ready to get stuck in. I have seen some wonderful collaborative play; the children work together to achieve a shared goal. They communicate with each other, and they talk through their ideas to improve their work. In Talk for Writing, we moved on to 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Chocolate Bar'. The children enjoyed learning the new rhyme and the actions. We went to the hall to perform the rhyme as a special treat. The children were very responsible and respectful on the way to and from the hall, and they earned twenty tokens for their pot. I have attached the most recent video and some photos from this week at the bottom of the page- enjoy.

1.10.25

We started this week with some messy play; the children made cloud dough using baby lotion and cornflour. Once it was all mixed up, they were able to manipulate it into different shapes and they made some excellent models. The next day we did tasting—Lily's mummy made us some pumpkin bread. Unfortunately, all of the shops had inexplicably run out of butter, so the children had to perform some magic! We got a pot of double cream and shook it hard for about ten minutes until we could hear the buttermilk sploshing around. We separated the milk from the butter and put it in the fridge until we were ready to use it on our bread. It was absolutely delicious. On Wednesday, we had a visit from the lollipop lady, Andrea, who told us all about her job and the equipment that she uses. She let everyone that wanted to, hold her lollipop, and the children asked her some excellent questions before we headed outside to practise crossing our playground road—it was lots of fun! On Thursday, we introduced the children to the mud kitchen; they had an absolute blast making mud pies and working together to serve up dinner. I am sorry that they may now be coming home muddy as well as sandy, but rest assured we do ask them to wear their wellies and an apron whilst they are in there, and there are so many learning opportunities to be had. In maths we looked at the number two, ask your child if the can show you the number on their fingers and write the number on their hand with their finger- remind them that you go around the swan's neck and across his back. Can they pick out two objects form a larger group? We also performed 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' in Talk for Writing—I have added the video below along with the photos from this week.

27.9.25

We have had a fabulous week with the children. We have officially started 'tasting', and we began by making some apple bread made with our very own apples from the nursery garden. The children did an excellent job of helping me to add the ingredients and to stir the mixture before we put it in the oven. When it was time for us to taste, we used all of our senses, and the children thought carefully about which words we could use to describe the way it sounded (it was very quiet), looked, felt, smelled, and, most importantly, tasted. Most of the children gave it at least a nibble, and some of them loved it. Next week, we will be tasting some different types of bread with butter that has been made by the children. I would like to say thank you to you all for bringing in some autumn things for our tray. The children have had an excellent time exploring and examining it all. In maths this week, we have been looking in depth at the number one. We have written the numeral on our hands with our fingers, showed the number on our fingers, and we have been on a hunt to find one acorn each. We have also started to learn about the Four B's, which is a whole-school policy that teaches the children about the school values which will enable them to become effective learners. The first B is to 'Be Ready', and we have talked a lot about what ready looks like at different times of the day and in different areas of the school. We also started 'Talk for Writing' this week, which is a scheme that helps children to become wonderful and imaginative writers as they get older. Our first text is a rhyme; we learned 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' with actions. Over the coming weeks, we will change the words and learn the new version as well. This lays the foundations for the children to be able to 'magpie' ideas for when they are able to write a story of their own. Finally, we have done lots of work on our fine motor skills. We made tiny playdough stars, used cotton buds to wipe stars from a whiteboard, and we have had lots of fun pushing a pom-pom around our new handwriting boards. Have a look in the gallery to see the photographs.

19.9.25

We’ve had a really busy week in the Nursery. We have taught the children how to use every area of the classroom, so they now have full access and are making the most of all the learning opportunities. They are treating our resources with respect, and they have all learned the mantra: "Choose it, use it, put it away." We have explained the token system, and the children have been working together as a class to earn tokens for the token pot. They earn tokens by following our class rules—for example, everyone working together to tidy up, or everyone coming to the carpet and sitting on their spots. When the tokens reach the yellow line, the class earns a treat. This might be using the climbing equipment on the Reception playground or watching something on the learning board. The children can also get stickers! We use these when we see a child going the extra mile—they might share their toys or come and tell a grown-up that their friend is upset. We try to reward all the positive behaviour we see, and we’re definitely getting through a lot of stickers! We are really proud of the children and how well they’ve adapted to our Nursery.

We have two class bears called Pierre and Celine (they are from France). Over the year, they will come to visit all of you for the weekend. They have instructions in their bags—please don’t worry, you just need to email me some photos. The bears are an exercise in patience as well as anything else. I promise that all of the children will have a turn, and the bears are equally excited to meet everybody’s family—they just can’t be in two places at once. 

Over the next few weeks, we would like to set a little homework. We will be looking at the seasons over the year, and we would love to set up an Autumn tray in the classroom for the children to explore. If you manage to get outside to burn off some energy—despite what’s looking like a very wet weekend—we would like it if you could collect some signs of autumn and send them in with your child. Conkers, pretty leaves, acorns, etc., would all be appreciated. Don’t go mad—it’s only a small tray, so leave some for the squirrels! Have a great weekend! There are some pictures from this week in the gallery.

11.9.25

I am so impressed with the children this week. They are settling into the nursery routines very quickly, and they are behaving really well. At this point of the year we focus heavily on the prime areas of learning in our curriculum. These include communication and language, personal, social and emotional development and physical development. There will be a presentation on curriculum later in the year which will explain a bit more of what we do and why we do it and also how you can help. I have put some new photos in the gallery where you will see the children embracing their learning through play; please take a look with your child and use them as a talking point. Thank you to the parents who have paid their voluntary toast/ snack money, it really does mean that we can offer the children a more varied and exciting curriculum. It also means that they aren't hungry and they are ready to learn. If you haven't sent in any money yet and would like to, then please put it in a named envelope so that I can tick you off the list. Finally, I have added the autumn newsletter to the files section at the bottom of the page. Please take a look, as there is lots of useful information for you to look through. 

4.9.25

It has been a lovely week getting to know all of the children properly. They have done so well! They have followed the Nursery rules beautifully, and I have been super impressed with their willingness to tidy up—long may it last! It has been lovely to see them interacting with each other and I have started to see some friendships forming already. I know that some of the children found it difficult to say goodbye, but they all settled really quickly once they were in school. So, thank you to the grown-ups for trusting us to keep them happy and safe. Over the coming school year, I will share lots of photos and information with you on here. I have put some pictures from the first couple of days in the gallery. Have a look with your child and see if they can tell you what they have been learning. A few reminders...... we will be collecting a voluntary contribution of £1 a week, which you can pay weekly or in a block. This will cover toast and tasting—and might even stretch to an ice cream when we go to the farm. You can give the money to the teacher on the door; please put it in a named envelope. The children have access to their water all day, so please send them in with a named water bottle. The weather is really changeable at the moment, so please make sure they have a coat, as we go outside even when it’s raining. Just a reminder that it will be Mrs Wilson and Mrs Slattery tomorrow. I’ll see you all on Monday. Have a lovely weekend!

6.7.25

Hello, this will be where you get your updates about the children's learning over the coming school year. In the meantime I have added the powerpoint from the meeting for your information (it is in files at the bottom of this page). If you have any queries please contact us on [email protected] . I look forward to seeing you all again in September.