Caring for babies and toddlers, we understand it is not unusual for little ones to turn their nose up at certain foods. Fussy eating is a normal phase that most children go through. If mealtimes are tricky, you’re not alone!
Here are some ideas to help:
Small is best– Tiny portions feel less overwhelming, and children can always ask for more.
Make it fun– Bright colours, interesting shapes, and ‘rainbow plates’ made up of different coloured foods make meals more appealing.
Eat together– Children are more likely to try something new if they see you enjoying it.
No pressure– It can take many tries before a child accepts a new food. Encourage tasting, but don’t force it.
Celebrate tiny wins– Celebrate even the smallest taste: “Well done for trying that pea!”
Offer little choices– “Would you like carrots or cucumber?” Small decisions help children feel in control.
Get them involved– Washing veggies, stirring a pot, or serving food helps spark interest in tasting it.
Keep a routine– Regular mealtimes (with limited snacks) help build a healthy appetite.
Switch off distractions– Toys and screens make it harder for children to focus on food.
Stay calm– Fussy phases are normal. With patience and positivity, most children grow out of them.
Nursery Christmas Carol Concert: Friday 5th December 2025
Christmas and New Year Closing 2025: The nursery will close for Christmas at 1pm on Wednesday 24th December and remain closed until Monday 5th January 2026
January 2026 Nursery Re-opening: We will re-open on Monday 5th January 2026 at 8am
Our youngest members have been learning all about the oceans and the magical creatures they contain. Exploring the oceans is great for building curiosity as it’s full of fascinating wildlife. It also encourages children to understand from an early age that oceans and seas are living environments that need protecting.
As well as talking about and looking at pictures of the ocean, we’ve been introducing new words such asoctopus,jellyfish andwaves, helping to build language development and understanding.
To boost the children’s imagination, we set up lots of sea-themed play, including sensory trays with toy whales and dolphins that the babies could touch, and a mini sea life show.
The Snail and the Whale
At story time, we’ve been reading the classic tale ofThe Snail and the Whale, which sees a snail embark upon a world-wide journey, hitching a ride on the tail of a humpback whale. The babies especially love when the big grey-blue humpback whale appears, and the tiny snail hops aboard.
The babies loved fishing in our water world
Toddlers Discover Sea, Sand, and Insects
Over the last few weeks our intrepid toddlers have been learning more about the sea and the animal and plant life found there. They’ve especially enjoyed splashy water play like digging out sea creatures from giant ice cubes and getting hands-on with a gangly octopus.
Alongside exploring the sea, the toddlers have been looking at land-based creatures such as bugs and insects. We went outdoors to see what we could spot under rocks and leaves, and much to the children’s delight, we discovered woodlice and a ground beetle. Indoors, the toddlers used magnifying glasses to examine lifelike toy insects up close.
Our insect and creepy crawly tray
Talking About Emotions
We understand it’s tricky being a toddler: one minute you’re frustrated because a toy you’ve got your eye on is out of reach, the next you’re bouncing off the walls with excitement – it’s a rollercoaster! To help our toddlers understand different moods, we’ve been playing games about emotions with puppets and making expressive faces.
The toddlers loved chipping out sea creatures from the ice
How are you feeling?
Pre-schoolers Get School-Ready and Go Outdoors
Our pre-schoolers have been busy carving pumpkin faces and creating colourful artwork for Bonfire Night. They have also been spending time outdoors, visiting the local park and feeding the swans and ducks. This time of year, the leaves are changing colour and fluttering down from the trees. One of our favourite activities has been collecting our favourite ones – the bigger, the better – and making vibrant paintings to display around the nursery.
Our pre-schoolers are also doing an abundance of play-led activities in preparation for the next exciting step: starting school.
We’re often asked, “What should my child be able to do before they start?” The truth is they don’t need to know everything as they’ll learn and grow when they get there. However, our school-readiness programme is there to help the children gain early skills that will build their confidence.
Here are some of the skills we encourage:
Social and Emotional Skills
Being able to separate from parents for a little while, play alongside other children, and share toys.
Communication Skills
Using words to express feelings, and understanding and following simple instructions, such as asking for a drink or to go to the toilet. Joining in with games, songs, and story time.
Self-Help Skills
Using the toilet, washing hands, feeding themselves, and putting on coats or shoes.
Early Learning Skills
Showing curiosity about the world and enjoying stories and books. Recognising colours and shapes, and experimenting with mark-making such as scribbles, drawing, or in some cases, writing the letters of their name.
Physical Skills
Running, jumping, balancing, and using their hands for activities like building blocks, turning pages, and holding crayons.
It is important to remember every child is unique and develops at their own pace – pre-school is a place to learn these skills, not arrive already knowing them. The most important thing is that your child feels safe, cared for, and ready to explore!
We hope this newsletter finds you well and embracing the Christmas spirit!
It was lovely to see so many of you at our Carol Concerts. A highlight in our nursery calendar, I’m sure you’ll agree that the children performed and sang beautifully. Well done for learning the songs and making it such a special occasion.
The children are very excited for the festive period and were delighted when they arrived to see everything decorated for Christmas at the start of December. Our talented Christmas elves spent time transforming each room into a winter wonderland, including a good-enough-to-eat Gingerbread house with giant candy canes. They also created a fabulous outdoor grotto where Father Christmas regularly appears bearing gifts!
Positive Ofsted Inspection
We’re pleased to share that our recent Ofsted inspection resulted in a ‘Good’ rating. You may be aware that we previously achieved an ‘Outstanding’ verdict in 2019, however, as Ofsted’s standards and expectations continue to rise year-on-year, we’re extremely proud of our ‘Good’ rating and meeting their increasingly tough quality benchmarks.
The inspection praises the dedication and hard work of our team as well as the nurturing, high-quality learning environment we offer children.
Highlights include:
Our Nursery Environment
The nursery strives to offer the highest quality of education and care.
Children show immense excitement when they spot their friends entering the nursery.
Children settle quickly into the appealing learning opportunities that the dedicated staff provide for them.
Staff create a varied curriculum that builds on children’s natural curiosity and resilience.
Staff create a language-rich environment, where children’s babble, talk and singing are greatly valued.
Preparing Children for School
Staff prioritise children’s development to feel confident to do things for themselves. For example, at mealtimes children pour their own drinks from a jug and feed themselves with cutlery…giving them a true sense of responsibility.
Staff and Parent Relationship
Leaders and staff work remarkably well with parents. Their partnership effectively helps children settle quickly.
Parents appreciate the community feel, enhanced by organised family events, including the preschool children’s graduation ceremony.
Our SEND Provision
Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are progressing as well as other children. Staff swiftly identify gaps in children’s learning through their secure assessment processes.
Earlier this term the children celebrated a flurry of festivals and special days, from Diwali to Remembrance Day.
Celebrating festivals from different religions helps us foster an understanding of traditions from around the world. In turn, this helps the children appreciate diversity and shared human values, like kindness and gratitude.
Creating Light for Diwali
We welcomed the Hindu festival of lights ‘Diwali’ on 31st October. Diwali is a religious festival celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhists. The theme of the festival is to celebrate light over darkness, or ultimately seeing good triumph over bad.
The children listened to the meaning of Diwali before getting creative making Rangoli – intricate designs of coloured rice – and paper lamps called ‘Diya’.
Happy Halloween
As well as the start of Diwali, the 31st October marked the start of Halloween, a celebration recognised by several countries, including the UK and America.
It marks the start of ‘Allhallowtide’, the time of year dedicated to remembering the deceased, including saints and martyrs. Over the years, Halloween has evolved becoming a celebration of all things spooky and supernatural.
On Halloween, the children arrived at nursery dressed in their spookiest attire. There were a variety of creepy characters on display, including scary skeletons, wicked witches, and funny Frankensteins.
Older children enjoyed carving pumpkin faces and listening to spooky stories, like ‘Scaredy Bat,’ about a baby bat scared of the light. While the younger ones delved for creepy crawlies (toy ones!) in Halloween sensory trays.
Our spook-tacular sensory play
Bonfire Night
Darker evenings signalled the arrival of Bonfire Night in November. Also known as Guy Fawkes Night, this traditional annual event is observed across the UK on November 5th.
To celebrate the older children were told the tale of how Bonfire Night originated and how it commemorates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, led by Guy Fawkes, to blow up the Houses of Parliament.
To bring the story to life, the children made vibrant firework paintings – representing the gunpowder explosives that were foiled – and played with tactile displays.
Whizz, crackle, pop! The children enjoyed the messy play
Remembrance Day 2024
We also took part in Remembrance Day in November, a special day commemorating British armed forces and civilians who lost their lives in conflicts since the First World War.
The children painted and made beautiful red poppies; a symbol of remembrance associated with the First World War. As well as being one of the first flowers to bloom on war-torn battlefields, poppies were the subject of the famous poem In Flanders Fields.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
