Elms Day Nursery Autumn Newsletter
A warm welcome and hello to all the new children and families who’ve recently joined us. You should now have had your induction online through Teams; if you haven’t, please contact a member of our office team who will be happy to arrange this for you. You’ll find their contact details at the end of this newsletter.
Autumn has arrived and, with it, lots of exciting nursery news, including preparations for 2025 school admissions, buggy and sling walks at Winterbourne House and Garden, and our win at this year’s Green Impact awards. Grab a chair and a cuppa and read all about what we’ve been up to – plus what’s to come – at The Elms.
Newsletter contents
Dates for your diary; Staff news; 2025 school admissions; Celebrating harvest; Explore this autumn; Buggy and Sling Walk; Get your groove on; Making a Green Impact; Funding information; Taking medicine at nursery; Protect your pushchair; Adverse weather; Cold weather policy; Autumn menu launch; Travelling safely this autumn and winter; Parking responsibly; Keeping everyone safe; Safeguarding and child protection; Christmas crafts with a difference; Our Shining Stars; Ban on Bepanthen; Get in touch
Dates for your diary
From harvest to Halloween, Diwali to Rosh Hashanah, there’s plenty to celebrate over the coming months. As well as hosting themed activities to celebrate these occasions at nursery, we also have lots of upcoming events and workshops for you and your little one to look forward to.
Staff news
Welcome back to Becky from the Foxes team who returned from maternity leave mid-September. We also look forward to welcoming back senior practitioner Olivia to the Badger Room in December. She’ll be working Wednesday to Friday.
As we welcome team members back, we’ll be saying goodbye (for now!) to two others. Emily from Rabbits will be going on maternity leave in October and is due to return in September 2025. Meanwhile, Laura from Badgers will be finishing for maternity leave in December. She hoped to return in November 2025. Please join us in wishing Emily and Laura and their families all the best for this special and exciting time.
In other news, Terri commences her Forest School Leader training in October through Outdoor Learning (UK) Ltd. Once this is complete, she will join Reo, Yasmin, Becky and Katie as our trained leads and be responsible for organising workshops and sessions for the children during the nursery day. Good luck, Terri!
2025 school admissions
If your child was born between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021, it’s almost time to apply for their primary school place! You can do so via Birmingham City Council’s website between 9am on 1 October 2024 and 11.59pm on 15 January 2025. This is the first step towards an exciting new chapter in your little one’s life, so we’ll be on hand to support you.
On 7 October, you’ll have the chance to ask our early years teacher, Kelly, any questions you may have. She’ll be available between 8.30am and 10am to go through the application process with you. Kelly will also be running another session on 15 October from 4pm – 4.30pm. There’s no need to book an appointment, just drop in.
Celebrating harvest
In October, we will be celebrating harvest time by picking and cooking with the vegetables planted by our children in our allotment area, collecting fallen leaves, and using any leftover fruit and veg in painting and craft activities.
Harvest is a time of abundance. That’s why we’ll be asking for donations of long-life and canned foods for Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid from 7 October to 31 October. You’ll find a donation basket in our entrance hallway. All donations are gratefully received, no matter how small.
Explore this autumn
The fun doesn’t have to end when nursery does. Keep the adventures going with Birmingham Day Nurseries’ Mini, Wild, and Muddy Explorers groups! Open to everyone, Explorers gives every child the opportunity to experience the magic of Forest School through a range of exciting and enriching outdoor activities.
- Mini Explorers is perfect for under twos and their grown-ups to discover the great outdoors together, in acres of garden at Winterbourne House and Garden
- Muddy Explorers is hosted at The Oaks Day Nursery’s award-winning Forest School and is a stay-and-play group for parents and children aged six months to five years
- Wild Explorers Based at Winterbourne this is an all-day outdoor holiday club for four- to eight-year-olds
Buggy and Sling Walk
Join our Mini Explorers team for a Buggy and Sling Walk – your chance to bond with your baby in nature while meeting fellow parents and carers.
On 14 October and 15 October (10.30am – 11.15am), we’ll be taking a relaxing wander around the beautiful botanic garden at Winterbourne House and Garden, exploring the different sounds and sights of the season. Afterwards, we’ll warm up with a hot drink in Winterbourne’s Terrace Tea Room (included with your ticket). We hope to see you there.
Get your groove on!
Don’t miss ‘Groove onto the Moon’, the latest instalment in The Barber Institute of Fine Arts’ family concert series. Following a sold-out show last year, the Groove Baby Organ Trio are back with a fun, interactive musical adventure set in space! Designed for children aged three to seven and their grown-ups, get ready to blast off on a cosmic adventure like no other.
There will be two performances in the Elgar Concert Hall at The Bramall on Saturday 12 October – one at 11am and the other at 2pm. The show lasts approximately one hour. Afterwards, you can enjoy family arts and crafts in The Bramall’s foyer, courtesy of The Barber’s Learning and Engagement team. Tickets cost just £1 for children and £5 for grown-ups. Book your space online today (no pun intended!).
Making a Green Impact
As many of you know, we’ve been working hard to implement sustainable changes at nursery as part of Green Impact. Green Impact is a United Nations award-winning programme that champions sustainable practices and helps workplaces to be as planet friendly as possible.
Last year we were thrilled to achieve Gold. So, you can imagine how excited we are to announce that, this year, we took home Platinum! Our sustainability lead, Reo, and Terri accepted the award at this year’s Green Impact ceremony.
Platinum is the highest award you can achieve, so we couldn’t be prouder of our nursery community for hitting this incredible milestone. A big thank you to all our staff members, children and families who have helped us get to where we are today. Together, we really can make a difference.
Funding information
If your child will be eligible for funding for the spring 2025 term (1 January – 31 March 2025), you can now apply for funding through the GOV.UK website.
Although you have until 31 December to apply for your code, please send us your code and National Insurance Number by 25 November. This ensures we have sufficient time to apply funding to your nursery fee calculations.
Once you have your code, remember to reconfirm it every three months to ensure you remain eligible for the funding.
For more information about the financial support available while your child’s at nursery, please visit our nursery fees webpage.
Taking medicine at nursery
If your child needs to take prescription medication at nursery, the medicine must be clearly labelled with your child’s name and dosage, and in its original packaging. Please note we will only administer the dosage advised on the label from the pharmacy.
Our practitioners can only administer antibiotics and temperature relief medicine as set out by our Well Child and Medicine Policy. And they will only administer non-prescribed medication, such as fever and pain relief, for 48 hours if your child has a temperature of 38C or above. If they still have a temperature after this time, we politely request that you book an appointment with your GP. Please keep your child at home for at least 24 hours to ensure they’re well enough to return. Find out more by reading our Sickness Policy.
Our expert practitioners pride themselves on forming strong bonds with your child, which allow them to understand what is normal for them. If they believe your child is unable to continue with the nursery day and that their wellbeing is being affected by being here, we will contact you to collect them within the hour.
We seek advice about illnesses and infections from the Health Protection Agency and the NHS to best promote health of the children in our care and staff team, including signs and symptoms, exclusion periods and notifiable illnesses and risk assessments.
Protect your pushchair
We have a shed at nursery where you can store your pushchair while you little one’s with us. Please ensure you collapse your chair before storing so there’s enough room for everyone; many have been left outside the shed and are exposed to the elements as a result. No one wants a soggy pushchair!
Adverse weather
If you need to collect your child early or the nursery has to close due to adverse weather conditions, we will let you know via text, ParentZone and, where possible, through University platforms. Therefore, please ensure we have your correct and current contact details so we can reach you in an emergency.
Cold weather policy
We exercise an all-weather policy, and children spend time outdoors throughout the year, no matter the weather. This is an important part of our daily curriculum and key to keeping children healthy. It’s therefore not possible for you to request that your child remains indoors. Please ensure your child has the right clothing for exploring outdoors this autumn – an extra jumper or hoodie; a hat, scarf, and gloves; wellington boots; and an all-in-one suit, or waterproof trousers – and that all items are clearly labelled with their name or initials.
Autumn menu launch
We are eagerly awaiting our autumn food menus, which will commence in October, from our catering provider, Robinsons. We will display these in reception as soon as we have them. Our menus rotate on a three-weekly cycle, so your child always has something new and delicious to eat. We’ve also worked with families to ensure our menus reflect what children want to eat, while making them as nutritionally balanced as possible.
Travelling safely this autumn and winter
For the safety of your child, we advise that you remove any thick autumn or winter clothing before placing your child in a car seat and travelling home. Winter coats make it tricky to tighten harnesses close to your child’s upper body, which means they may not have as much protection as in the warmer months. Find out more, plus some top tips on how to keep your child warm while travelling by car, at besafe.com.
Parking responsibly
Your child’s safety is very important to us, so please drive at a safe speed when entering, manoeuvring around, and exiting the nursery car park. You may need to wait for other vehicles to manoeuvre in and out of spaces; please remain patient during this time. If you accidently hit another vehicle, please report the incident to the nursery office. However, please note that we do not accept any liability if a car is damaged in the car park.
The nursery car park is for the drop-off and collection of children only. We kindly request that you turn your engine off when waiting for your child to help reduce air pollution and keep our children healthy.
If you’re a University permit holder, please use a designated University car park as you cannot park in the nursery car park for the duration of the day. Thank you for your cooperation.
Keeping everyone safe
When entering and exiting the nursery, please do not allow anyone to follow you into the building, even if you know them. If another parent or carer holds the door open for you, please politely decline; every person must either fob in or press the office buzzer to be welcomed in by a member of the team. This ensures every person in the building is known to the nursery and that visitors are accompanied and shown around.
For our children’s safety, the use of mobile phones, tablets, watches, and laptops with camera technology is strictly prohibited within the nursery. Any parents/carers seen using mobile phones in the nursery’s communal areas or playrooms will be asked to put them away. If you need to take a call or check a message, please do so in the nursery office or wait until you’ve left the premises to ensure you’re complying with our safeguarding policy.
Safeguarding and child protection
In the interests of safeguarding, there may be times when we have to consult with other agencies about a child without a parent/carer’s prior knowledge. The nursery’s first concern is the welfare of our children, and it’s our responsibility to act and protect in line with our Child Protection Policy.
A consultation like this may result in a formal referral, which can prompt visits from police or your local authority’s safeguarding team. We understand that this would be a distressing set of circumstances, but we have a legal duty to follow the procedures set out by the Birmingham Children’s Trust.
Christmas crafts with a difference
Too often as we approach the festive season, we feel the pressure to send children home with cards, presents and calendars for their families. While we encourage our children to participate in a variety of craft opportunities, we’d like the children to create items that are individual to them and not clones or replicas of a design dictated by an adult.
We hope you’d prefer a piece of artwork lovingly and independently made by your child, rather than an imitation of something the practitioner has decided everyone must create. We hope you’re looking forward to seeing how much creativity our little learners show as much as we are!
Our Shining Stars
‘Shining Stars’ is an exciting recognition scheme designed to motivate and reward Birmingham Day Nurseries employees.
If you would like to recognise someone who has gone above and beyond, or who deserves an extra special thank you, please email us at [email protected].
Each month’s Shining Star will be displayed on the parent and carer’s information board in the entrance hall and receive a special mention in our communications.
Ban on Bepanthen
The health and safety of our children, families, and staff members is our priority. To keep everyone with allergies – severe or otherwise – safe, we have banned Bepanthen Nappy Care Ointment at nursery, as it contains almond oil derivative. We kindly request that you do not apply this to your child before they attend nursery or bring this cream with you when you drop your child off. Thank you for your understanding.
Get in touch
Selina Hunt, Nursery Manager
Sarah Perrott, Assistant Manager
Vicki Wall, Deputy Manager
Fleur Hunter, Deputy Manager
Ellie Bartlett-Crumpton, Nursery Administrator
If you have any general nursery enquiries, please email us at [email protected]