The Maples 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 will receive a nursery induction, with a member of the management team prior to their child starting. If you have not completed your induction yet, please contact a member of the office who will gladly assist you.
Autumn is here, and to properly bring in the next season, we’ve got lots for you and your little ones to enjoy. From new outside play surface areas, to paying a visit to Brumble the bull sculpture in support of the Birmingham Hospice, getting ready to apply for 2026 school admissions, and even a Wild Explorers holiday club. Read all about what we’ve been up to, and what is coming at The Maples.
Newsletter contents
Dates for your diary; Staff news; New surface in outside play area; Holiday photography; Car parking; School admissions 2026; EYFS updates from September; Parents notice board; Visit Brumble to support Birmingham Hospice; Cold weather policy; Adverse weather; Existing injuries; Autumn menu launch; Wild Explorers holiday club; Festive Swap Shop; Safeguarding and child protection; 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.
Forest School Lead
Jenny will commence her Forest School Leader training through Outdoor learning (UK) in Spring term of 2026. Once this is completed, she will join Hazel and Keren as our trained leads and will be responsible for organising workshops and sessions for the children during the day. You’ve got this Jenny!
Sustainability Lead
Keren has recently taken on the role of Sustainability Lead for the setting and will commence her training this during the autumn term. The aim of this role is to explore and introduce the principles of sustainability through teaching and learning, process and practice, enabling staff to become Green Champions in Early Years settings.
We also wanted to shout about our friends at Winterbourne House and Garden, who recently received a TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Award again this year and was placed in the top 10% of things to do in the world. If you didn’t get chance to explore it in the summer, autumn is a wonderful time to take your little one around the beautiful Edwardian heritage attraction and visit the tearoom.
New surface in outside play area
Over the summer we had the installation of our new outside play surface to replace the existing artificial grass, which had become worn and dated. We have also created a small, barked section at the top of the play area to provide room for drainage when the children are exploring with mud, sand and water. This will offer a different sensory opportunity for the children to experience, which is exciting!
Holiday photographs
We hope everyone had a very enjoyable summer, please continue to send in photos from any recent trips you have been on (UK day trips or holidays further afield – all are welcome!). We would love to add them into our display in the nursery.
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. Please turn off engines if you are waiting at drop off/collection times and air pollution is important to us. Could we please ask you to always supervise your child/children when using the car park. We thank you for your cooperation.
Apply for School admissions 2026
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Existing injuries
Could we please ask all parents and carers that if your child has an accident prior to coming into nursery or on a non-nursery day that this needs to be uploaded onto iConnect so that staff know what has happened. If your child has a visit to hospital, please could you inform nursery so that we are aware of any medical needs or treatment that has been given.
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 in main entrance area where you can find our latest lunch and tea menus, along with information about our daily snack.
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 Maples 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.
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.
Get in touch
Sarah Perrott, Acting Nursery Manager
Jen Owen, Deputy Manager
Caroline Bannister, Senior Nursery Administrator
If you have any general nursery enquiries, please email [email protected].