A warm welcome to everyone this term—to our returning families and to our new friends.
We hope that you have all had a good summer, and the staff team is looking forward to helping everyone settle back into their routines again this term.
We started the term with Stay’n’ Play sessions and home visits for returning children and new families. Building relationships and getting to know each other is an important part of our nursery curriculum and this is supported by all of our settling plans. Members of the Senior Leadership Team are always around at Welcome Time and out on the gates to help everyone and to answer any questions.
Staff Members
We have also welcomed three new staff members to our team this year. Alice and Nancy are both experienced Early Years Teachers, and they have joined the Early Years Three Team. Donna has joined the Under Three’s Team and brings her wealth of experience as an Early Years Practitioner to the Yellow Room.
It is always sad when staff leave our team, and this term, we are saying goodbye to our Team Leader, Hayley, who is off to start a new venture. Hayley has been at the centre since October 201 1 and has supported so many children and their families over the years. Hayley’s last day will be Friday 15th September. We shall miss her but wish her lots of luck.— Hayley says:
The time has come to say goodbye to all friends at Knowle West Nursery School. I’ve worked at this centre for 13 years, having the opportunity to work throughout the centre working closely with our outstanding staff team. I’m sad to be leaving and saying goodbye to all the children and families I’ve worked so closely with. It’s been a pleasure to be part of so many journeys and seeing everyone flourish.
Inset Days
We have five Inset days at regular intervals during the academic year to support staff training and our school development priorities. Inset days are usually planned for Wednesdays to reduce disruption for children and families. Wednesday is our ‘change-over’ day when many children only attend their half day. Closing provision on a Wednesday means that lost learning is minimised. Please see our Term Dates and Inset Days page on our website.
Food at Nursery and Healthy Eating
All children are offered a healthy snack during their session. We also provide healthy, nutritious, hot meals every day for our school community, which are prepared and cooked by our own independent chef. Learning through food sessions and prompting healthy behaviours are both part of our school development plan this year. We are currently working on a new menu, and we would love you to help us and get involved. We are planning to launch our new menu on 2nd October.
Friends Group
Our Friends Group is our parent/carer group supported by George and Leigh from the staff team. The group meets regularly each term and is a great way to meet other parents and carers over a cuppa and a chat. The group usually meets on Thursday mornings—the first meeting will be Thursday, September 28th, after drop-off.
Sharing Play and Learning – Keeping Connected
We know you want to hear about what your child is doing at nursery and we try lots of different ways to share what is happening and to keep you connected. You are such an important part of our work, and we are keen to talk with you and involve you throughout the year.
There will be regular opportunities to meet with your child’s key adults during the year and share learning and progress, either face-to-face or over the phone. The team are always available at the start and end of sessions and can make a time to talk with you. We are all here to support you and your child. If you have any worries.
Facebook Friday
We will continue to post pictures of activities every Friday on our Facebook page so you can see all the fun and wonderful learning that has been going on across the centre during the week.
