The Elms Day Nursery Autumn Newsletter
We wish to extend a very warm welcome to all the children and families who have recently started with us. All new parents receive a nursery induction via Teams with a member of the management team prior to their child starting. If you’ve not completed your induction yet, please contact a member of the office who will gladly assist you.
Autumn term is one of our favourites, and with so many fun things for you and your little one to enjoy, there’s no question as to why. From visiting Brumble the bull, to Christmas crafts with a difference and our shining stars. Read all about what we’ve been up to, and what is coming at The Elms this autumn.
Newsletter contents
Dates for your diary; Staff news; Visit Brumble and support Birmingham Hospice; EYFS updates from September; Adverse weather; Cold weather policy; Autumn menu launch; School admissions 2026; Sustainability; Car Parking; Mobile phones; Shining stars; Safeguarding and child protection; Wild Explorers holiday club is back!; Festive Swap Shop; Christmas crafts; Get in touch
Dates for your diary
Autumn is filled with celebrations, fun events and special occasions. Add these dates to your diary and join the nursery in bringing in the new season with upcoming events and workshops for you and your little one to enjoy together.
Staff news
Please join us in congratulating Paula Hunt, the Head of Childcare Services, on her retirement this Christmas! Paula has led and transformed our nursery provision brilliantly for 16 years. Along with her management team, she has grown the service substantially into what is now a three-setting provision, ensuring the highest quality childcare for our staff, students and community. We will of course share news with you all when her successor has been appointed.
In other news, welcome back to Emily from the Rabbit team who will return from maternity leave in October, working Monday – Wednesday. Also to Laura, who will be returning from maternity leave in December, working Monday-Friday as a Lunchtime Assistant.
Visit Brumble and support Birmingham Hospice
Thank you to all the parents and carers who supported the Bulls in the city fundraising event this year, we raised a grand total of £2055.95! You still have time to visit Brumble, he will be in Harborne at The Little High Street, a little role play village and café that looks like an amazing place for young families to visit until 14 September. Please note, you do not have to book a play session to visit Brumble, usually all sculptures are visible through a high street window. We have reached out to the hosting venue and will update you in due course of any Birmingham Day Nurseries’ special events or offers we successfully arrange.
EYFS updates from September
The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework has some changes which are effective from 1 September 2025. This framework is what governs our policies and procedures so we will be highlighting to current parents in Autumn Term details of changes that will affect you.
Under Safeguarding and Child Protection it is no longer just good practice to understand children’s absences, from 1 September it is a statutory requirement that we as a registered provider call parents after 24-hour absence. We therefore ask that you call, email or send a message on your ParentZone app to inform of any absence and the reason to keep our records up to date.
Adverse weather
If we experience adverse weather conditions, we may require parents to collect children early from nursery or nursery may be closed safety reasons. We aim to communicate these decisions via phone call and, where possible University platforms.
Please notify us of any changes to your contact details, as it is important for us to be able to reach you in an emergency.
Cold weather policy
The nursery exercises an all-weather policy, and all children will be accessing the outdoor area, including the Forest School. It is an important part of our daily curriculum and key to children remaining healthy, so it is not possible for parents/carers to request their children remain indoors. During the winter, please ensure children have the right clothing for exploring outdoors: an extra jumper or hoody, a hat, scarf and gloves, wellington boots, and an all-in-one suit or waterproof trousers. Please ensure all items are clearly labelled with your child’s name or initials.
Autumn menu launch
We are eagerly awaiting our autumn food menus for the children from our catering provider, Robinsons. We will email the new versions to you as soon as we have them, ahead of their launch in October. We’ll also update our parent board at the front of the main nursery and pre-school where you can find our latest lunch and tea menus, along with information about our daily snacks.
School admissions
If your child was born between 1/09/2021 and 31/08/2022 you must apply for a place in Reception Year before the 15 January 2026. The online application will go live in October 2025 via the Birmingham City Council website.
Sustainability
To adhere to one of our six nursery values, environmental consciousness, we are looking at areas to focus on and improve the nursery’s sustainability. Our planned focus areas for the future are:
- Energy consumption
- Food waste – We’ll be introducing food waste bins and caddies in rooms
- Nappies – Managing nappy waste through the ERIC programme and starting the potty-training process with our younger age groups
- Travel – We will be sending out a travel survey to our staff and parents
Car Parking
Your child(ren)’s safety is very important to us, so please drive at a safe speed when entering, manoeuvring around, and exiting the nursery car park. At times you may need to wait for other vehicles to manoeuvre in out of spaces, could we please ask you to remain patience during this time.
If you accidently hit another vehicle, please report the incident to the nursery office. However, please note that the nursery does not accept any liability if a car is damaged in the car park. The nursery car park is for drop-off and collection only. If you are a University car park permit holder, you must use a designated University car park and cannot use the nursery car park for the duration of the day. Please turn off engines if you are waiting at drop off/collection times air pollution is important to us and this small gesture will help. We thank you for your cooperation.
Mobile phones
For the safety and security of our children, the use of mobile phones, tablets and laptops with camera technology are strictly prohibited within the nursery. If you need to take a call or check a message, please do so in the nursery office or wait until you have left the premises to ensure you’re complying with our safeguarding policy.
Our Shining Stars
Our Shining Stars scheme will be moving over to the new Campus Services Reward and Recognition Scheme, which will be launching in September. You will now be able to nominate your shining star through this scheme, by filling out the form.
Safeguarding and Child Protection
In the interests of safeguarding children, there may be occasions when the nursery must consult with other agencies without a parent’s prior knowledge. The nursery’s first concern is the welfare of the child, and it’s our responsibility to act and protect in line with our Child Protection Policy. A consultation like this may result in formal referral, which can prompt visits from police or the local authority safeguarding team. We understand this can be a very distressing set of circumstances, but we have a legal duty to follow the procedures set out by the Birmingham Children’s Trust.
When entering the nursery keep everyone safe by ensuring nobody follows you into the nursery building, even if you know them. Everyone must either fob in or ring the bell to be welcomed in by a member of the team. This includes your child(ren)’s designated person for drop-off and collection. Please ensure that the next time they visit nursery, the team know they’ve arrived.
Wild Explorers holiday club is back
Our Wild Explorers holiday club will be available for all children aged 4 – 8 years old. This is a great chance for your children to make new friends, get up close with nature and develop key skills, whilst having fun during the October half term. Children do not need to have previously attended one of the Birmingham Day Nurseries to join, so spread the word and tell your friends with their own little ones about it too.
Festive Swap Shop
The Oaks Day Nursery revamp their Swap Shop rail in the main nursery entrance hall each month and theme it, where possible, as the seasons change. From the middle of November, we encourage parents from The Elms to visit and bring in festive and/or celebration clothing and accessories so that other families can size up and take items for December. This small initiative extends to our Explorers clubs too. Our Mini Explorers playgroup has their own setup during their sessions on a Monday and Tuesday morning, so even if your donations are small, we can pass them onto our Forest School team to share with the community.
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 child(ren), 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!
Get in touch
Selina Hunt, Nursery Manager
Vicki Wall, Deputy Manager
Fleur Hunter, Deputy Manager
Ellie Bartlett-Crumpton, Nursery Administrator
If you have any general nursery enquiries, please email [email protected].