Elms Day Nursery Winter 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.
A new year has arrived and, with it, lots of exciting nursery news. We’re talking plans to fundraise for Birmingham Hospice, maintaining our ‘Good’ Ofsted rating, and chances for your little one to celebrate the special people in their life.
Newsletter contents
Dates for your diary; Staff news; Ofsted says we’re ‘Good’; Edgbaston Park Road roadworks postponed; Funding information; Supporting local charities; Valentine’s Day friendship picnic; Extra-curricular activities; Outdoor forest adventures; Parents and Carer Survey results; School admissions 2025; Parking responsibly; Cold weather policy; Parking responsibly; 125 years of University of Birmingham; Artisan Markets; Adverse weather; Keeping everyone safe; Safeguarding and child protection; Our Shining Stars; Get in touch
Dates for your diary
From Lunar New Year to Valentine’s Day, Holi to Mother’s Day, there’s plenty to celebrate over the coming months. As well as hosting themed activities to celebrate these occasions at nursery, we have lots of upcoming events and workshops for you and your little one to look forward to.
Staff news
We’re pleased to share that we’ve recently employed a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Co-Ordinator, Kelly, to work across all three nurseries. Her role is to support the SEND provision, ensuring all our children receive high-quality care, are kept safe, and receive rich and stimulating play experiences that meet their individual needs, whilst supporting all aspects and components of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum.
Kelly will work closely with staff, parents and other appropriate professional, and be at The Elms on Wednesdays and Thursdays. She will be introduced to our families over the coming weeks.
In other nursery news, Senior Nursery Practitioner Katie will be returning from maternity leave on Tuesday 4 February, and will work Tuesday to Friday each week. Kitchen Assistant Sinead will also return from maternity leave on 7 February. She’ll work Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
As some of our team members return, others will be leaving us for a year. Huge congratulation to Raj who is expecting her second child in April. We hope you’ll join us in wishing her the very best for her maternity leave.
We’re currently advertising for Killian and Yasmin’s positions. We’ll let you know as soon as we’ve filled them.
Ofsted says we’re ‘Good’
We had an Ofsted inspection in November – and are proud to share that we have maintained our ‘Good’ rating. Inspectors praised our ‘insightful leaders’, strong parent partnerships, and effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Staff were also praised for being ‘caring and nurturing’, encouraging children to be self-sufficient, and providing a range of experiences for our children to get stuck into. You can read the full report online.
We’re so thankful to all our team members who work so hard to provide a fantastic experience for our children every day and would like to thank you – our families – for all your support. The Elms wouldn’t be what it is today without you all.
Edgbaston Park Road roadworks postponed
The roadworks that were due to take place on Edgbaston Park Road for ten weeks this winter have been postponed until the summer. As soon as we have a confirmed date, we’ll let you know so you can plan your journey to nursery.
Funding information
If your child will be eligible for funding for the summer 2025 term (1 April – 31 August 2025), you can now apply for funding through the GOV.UK website.
Although you have until 31 March to apply for your code, please send us your code and National Insurance Number by the middle of March. 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.
Supporting local charities
We will continue to support Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid this year, with donations of food and hygiene products to help families in crisis.
We will also be supporting Birmingham Hospice by taking part in its ‘Bulls in the City’ initiative. Along with our friends at The Oaks and The Maples Day Nursery, we will adopt and decorate a calf sculpture to join the city’s herd, which will go on display in the summer.
It’s all part of a free-for-all adventure trail in Birmingham city centre, which aims to create meaningful connections while raising crucial funds for Birmingham Hospice.
To adopt a calf, Birmingham Day Nurseries needs to raise £1,000 by March. We’ll be holding our first fundraising event in the next few weeks – look out for more information on ParentZone!
Valentine’s Day friendship picnic
We’d like to invite all our families to a special picnic on Friday 14 February. From 2.30pm, you can join your child for their tea while enjoying handmade biscuits they made and decorated earlier in the week to share with their loved ones. We know it can be tricky to take time out of work to attend nursery events, so you’re very welcome to nominate a family member to come and eat with your child instead.
Extra-curricular activities
Every term, we host an array of exciting extra-curricular activities for children to take part in to enrich their nursery experience. Some of these, including French, sport and drama, fill up very quickly – sometimes on the same day information is shared – and have a limited number of spaces per class.
To give families equal access to sessions, rather than allocating places on a first-come, first-served basis as soon as applications go live, we will review all applications the day after they’ve closed. If a session is oversubscribed, we will allocate places at random to make the process as fair as possible. We unfortunately cannot guarantee your child a space.
Outdoor forest adventures
Our much-loved Explorers groups are taking a break over the winter but will return with a bang with Wild Explorers in February half-term (17 – 21 February).
If you’ve missed out on a place this time round, register your interest for our April Wild Explorers club (14 – 17 April) early by emailing [email protected]. Please include your name, child’s name and date of birth, and your preferred club days (minimum of two).
Mini and Muddy Explorers will return in March with a programme of exciting spring-themed activities. Expect lots of flowers, pastel colours, and Easter-inspired fun.
Not sure which group is right for your little one?
- Mini Explorers – stay-and-play group for babies and toddlers
- Muddy Explorers – stay-and-play group for confident walkers up to the age of five
- Wild Explorers – holiday club for four- to eight-year-olds
Parents and Carer Survey results
Thanks to everyone who filled in this year’s annual Parent and Carer Survey, which helps us improve what we do.
We were delighted to see that parents scored the nurseries an average of 9.33 points out of 10, exceeding 2023’s score of 9.30. The number of surveys filled out almost doubled this year – 106 compared to 62 last year – reflecting parent’s growing involvement and interest in the quality of care their children receive.
This is what some of you had to say:
‘Staff are always caring and responsive…it feels like one big happy family!’
‘The room staff are wonderful… and create a warm, nurturing environment that makes kids feel comfortable and supported.’
‘We like that the nursery does lots of interesting activities. The staff really care and are responsive when we raise things with them. We… know that they do a wonderful job looking after our daughter.’
Paula Hunt, Head of Childcare Services, said: ‘We were thrilled with the positive feedback from the survey. The increase in our very high recommendation score and the greater numbers of responses is a testament to the dedication of our staff and shows that more parents are actively engaging with us, which benefits everyone. We’ll take onboard the constructive feedback we’ve received and look to make our services even better in 2025.’
School admissions 2025
If your child is due to start school in September 2025, you should have applied for a school place earlier this month (January). The next big date in your diary is Wednesday 16 April – National Offer Day for primary school admissions. We wish you lots of luck for then and hope you get a place at the school you want.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about your child’s transition to school, please don’t hesitate to speak to us. To support them, we will begin to prepare them for their journey to school in the coming weeks.
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. We also ask that you only park in disabled bays if you have a valid Blue Badge, so there is enough space for families who need them.
If you’re a University permit holder, please use a designated University car park as you cannot park in the nursery car park during the day. Thank you for your cooperation.
125 years of University of Birmingham
This year we’re celebrating the University’s 125th anniversary. A huge milestone, there will be all sorts of events and celebrations in the coming months. We’re especially excited for the 125 Anniversary Concert, which will take place on Saturday 21 June.
Enjoy the music of Birmingham and its people against the backdrop of the Green Heart and Old Joe from 6.45pm. Entry is free for all, but pre-booking is essential. Find out more on the University’s ‘Celebrating 125 years of achievement’ webpage.
Artisan Markets
On the first Tuesday of every month, independent sellers and businesses from up and down the Midlands come together for the University’s Artisan Market. Open from 10am – 4pm on the Green Heart, this is your chance to pick up some fantastic local produce and gifts for the family. The next market will take place on Tuesday 4 February. We hope to see you there!
Cold weather policy
We recognise the importance of daily outdoor play for the wellbeing and physical development of all children, which is why we have an all-weather policy. This means that children spend time outdoors no matter what the weather, all year round. 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. If you do not want your child going outside on colder days, or they’re not well enough to do so, please keep them at home.
Please ensure your child has the right clothing for exploring outdoors this winter: 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.
Our practitioners work in line with current policies for excessive heat and cold and adapt their practice accordingly to ensure the safety and enjoyment of our children.
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.
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/carer holds the door open for you, please politely decline; each person must either fob in or press the office buzzer to be welcomed in by a member of the team. This will ensure every person in the building is known to the nursery or dealt with by the office team.
Fobs are active from 7.30am – 11am and 3.30pm – 5.55pm. If you require access in between these times, please ring the buzzer outside the front door so the office team can let you in.
For our children’s safety, the use of mobile phones, tablets, watches, and laptops with camera technology is 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.
Safeguarding and child protection
In the interests of safeguarding, there may be times when we must 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.
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.
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]