Welcome to Term 1!
I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our new families, as well as a “welcome back” to our returning families. It is so lovely to see you all again, safe and well!
The start of a new year is always an exciting time but can also cause parents/carers worries and anxieties. The team here at Ilminster Avenue Nursery School really are highly experienced and care so much about getting things right for you and your child. Please talk to your child’s key worker or room leader if you have any worries at all. Our aim is to work with you to ensure your child feels happy and secure at nursery so that they are ready to fly when it comes to all of those fantastic learning opportunities! There are so many adults here who are just waiting to help with anything they can!
We all hope you have a fantastic term ahead!
Mandy Collier-King, Head teacher
Food and Nutrition Policy
As part of government guidelines, we are required to work with you to give your child the best start in life. Obviously, our amazing curriculum is already doing this educationally, but we are also now required to make sure we are meeting health needs too!
As part of this children are expected to bring water in their drinking bottles at nursery. Water is cheap, easy to access and doesn’t contain sugar or sweeteners.
If you leave your child’s named bottle in school, we will happily fill it for them every day. It takes one job from you too! Way easier than finding it at the end of the day too!!
The Big Future
The children’s commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has launched a National survey for all children to complete and so contribute to shaping their futures.
Many schools are completing this is school with their children. I feel our children are too young to be able to do it this way. However, we would love our children to contribute too! We will share the survey with you via Tapestry, please complete it on behalf of your child to represent their voice.
There are questions about their experiences and their communities, lets make sure they have the same opportunities as others to influence their lives.
Family Link Worker
Lucy Hobbs is our fabulous Family Link Worker. She works alongside families to offer guidance and support to enable our children to feel safe, happy and able to thrive. She is here to help with all of your worries and concerns from potty training, to general well being to domestic abuse and safeguarding. No issue is too small ….. or even too big! She is a wealth of knowledge and will be a listening ear or signpost you to the services that can really make a difference. She links in with the Family Hub service too. Please come and say hello at any time.
The Big Brush Club
We are part of “The Big Brush Club” to enable children to brush their teeth every day at Nursery. The children in Star/dust and Sun/Shine do this every day after lunch. The Big Brush Club provides us with individual brushes and toothpaste so that the children can learn to do this all by themselves. It has been a great success and another way for the children to keep healthy! Please sign a consent form in your child’s class.
We will also be sharing a parent survey with you via Tapestry, please take a couple of minutes to complete. Thank you.
Dates for Your Diary
Friday 23rd October: Last day of term
Monday 2nd November: Term 2 starts
Wednesday 4th November: INSET day
Friday 18th December: End of term
Monday Jan 4th: term 3 starts
Wednesday 13th Jan: INSET day
We hold Parent Engagement days every other term and will let you have dates with as much notice as we can.
Please see the website for our other INSET dates.
Free School lUnches
The Government have launched a new initiative this September that means we must provide a free school lunch for any child who receives Universal credits.
Our plan here is to offer a cold lunch, or “packed lunch” style lunch. At the moment we are creating a preparation area before being able to offer meals.
The meals will be in line with our Food and Nutrition Policy. We will be referring to the Eat well plate to ensure the lunches are well balanced and healthy.
We are planning to look into providing hot lunches in the future but due to the short notice of this new initiative we have chosen to start in a way that is manageable for us.
Progress with the kitchen is going well but we’re not quite there yet, we will let you know the moment we are ready for those of you that would like to take up the offer.
Healthy Packed Lunches
Visit our website for healthy lunch box ideas! It is said that a child’s tummy is the same size as their fist. This is the reason children often eat smaller meals or “graze”. This can be helpful when planning a lunch box. You only need to provide a small manageable amount of food. And don’t forget children have a snack time mid-morning too!
So that children can have a healthy snack mid-morning we ask that parents contribute some fruit to share. You can either bring one piece each day or contribute a bag of fruit when you are able. Thank you so much!
Term 1 Curriculum
This term we will be focusing on making sure the children settle in and are “Happy at Nursery”. It can be a big change for some children, and we want them to build relationships with us and get to know their new environment. Lots of time will be spent on learning where to find things, us getting to know them and them getting to know us. We are also getting to know you the parents/carers too! Please make sure you talk to your child’s room leader or key worker if you have any worries at all, or just to share something about your child.
In the Reception area at the front of the school, there are lots of leaflets that provide more detail about our curriculum. Please help yourselves if you want to know more! We have lots of ideas for helping your child at home too!
We will also start work on supporting your child to develop independent skills, these include, knowing where their belongings are, hanging up their coats, managing their clothes and asking for help. It would be great if you can support them with this at home too. If you have any questions about how you can help, please speak to your child’s key worker or room lead.
Car Parking
Please the back car park is only for those who have a disability badge. Please see the office if you need one. Please also note, the car park is used at your own risk.