Head of School's message
As many of our children prepare for their transition to primary school, we recognise that families want to do everything they can to help their child feel ready for Reception. However, school readiness can sometimes feel confusing, and we often assume you know more about starting school than you actually do. Many parents/carers have not experienced school themselves for many years, some may never have attended school in the UK, and many have simply never been told what being “Reception ready” really means.
Setting clear expectations is therefore incredibly important. Being ready for school is not about being able to read and write perfectly or having the ideal pencil case. It is about developing the important life skills that help children settle, build relationships, become independent, and access learning confidently. These are the skills unpinning our values (safe, confident, respect), which inform all we do at Heath Lane.
To support families, we would encourage you to explore the free Starting Reception guide, which offers a clear and practical definition of school readiness. It provides helpful information about the key skills children can practise at home, ideas for building confidence and independence, and guidance on where to access further support if needed.
We also encourage families to visit their child’s new school where possible. Attending open days, welcome events and transition sessions can help both children and parents/carers gain a better understanding of what a typical day in Reception looks like and why these early life skills are such an important foundation for future learning.
You can access the guide here:
Dates coming up:
Week beginning 18th May children will be visiting the local library.
Week beginning 18th May there will be no catch-up calls due to our library visits.
Monday 25th May to Friday 29th May (Nursery Closed) - May Half Term.
Parent/carer consultations will take place the first week back after half term, week beginning 1st June, further information to follow.
Monday 8th June Nursery will have a visit from Ark Farm.
Friday 19th June & Monday 22nd June (Nursery Closed) - Inset & Occasional Days.
Thursday 23rd July - 1pm finish for the Summer Holidays.
Friday 24th July to Tuesday 1st September (Nursery Closed) - Summer Holidays.
Reminders:
Your child/ren should have brought home a library membership form to apply for their own library card. If your child already has a library card, there is no need to complete another form. However, please ensure they bring their library card into Nursery on Monday 18th May so they can borrow a book during their visit. Thank you for your support.
Join our nursery's social media pages to stay connected.
Book & Rhyme of the week
The next Structured Stories Book is "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.
Next week the story will move into the imitation phase of Structured Stories, where children will focus on the story structure identifying the beginning, middle and end. This will involve activities such as retelling the story with actions, creating story maps and performing the text aloud. This phase is to provide a solid foundation through understanding and practising the language patterns and structure of the text.
Our key vocabulary of the text is "Mischief", "Wild", "Private", "Rumpus", "Gnash" and "Supper".
Please see below link to story;
Where The Wild Things Are — 🧌 Read aloud imaginative classic kids book (Caldecott Award Winner)
The Rhyme of the week for next week is "Down at the station."
This rhyme has a phonics focus on voice sounds
Language of the week
We are lucky to have a rich and diverse community with lots of different languages. Do you speak Bengali or Portuguese? Are you available next week on a Wednesday or Thursday? If your answer is YES, then we'd be delighted to have you reading a story in your home language to the children! They love a Secret Storyteller! We are flexible with the timing so please speak to us if you can come in another day/time.
Please look out for our next week's languages in the newsletter, it might be your home language next!
Learning at home
Next week in Maths we will be problem solving with real objects and learning to explain our thinking. Here are some simple EYFS-friendly activities families can do at home to support solving real-life maths problems through everyday play and routines:
Cooking Together – Count spoonfuls, weigh ingredients, compare sizes, and talk about full/empty and more/less.
Shopping Helpers – Ask children to find 3 apples, count items into the basket, or compare prices and sizes.
Meal Time Maths – I have 2 sausages on my plate, you have three. How many more sausages do you have? I had 5 chips on my plate and I ate 2, how many do I have left? Allow children to help set the table- how many plates or items of cutlery do we need?
Sorting Laundry – Match socks, sort clothes by colour or size, and count how many items are in each group.
Building and Construction – Use blocks or recycled boxes to build towers and compare taller/shorter or heavier/lighter.
Healthy me, Healthy world
As part of our Healthy Me, Healthy World focus, we are continuing to explore how we can live more sustainably through our everyday choices. Linked to the book 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World, we have been discussing the idea, “I like to walk to school.”
The children are learning that avoiding short car journeys helps to save fuel (especially important with rising costs) and reduces air pollution around our school environment.
We would like to remind parents/carers about the importance of parking respectfully and not leaving engines idling outside school, helping to protect our little lungs.
Walking is not only better for the planet, but it is also great exercise, supporting our commitment to developing strong, healthy bodies as part of our physical development.
Success story of the week
This week, the children have been bringing the story" Where the Wild Things Are" to life through imaginative play and creative exploration.
Using recycled materials such as cardboard and plastic, they designed and built their own “private boats” for Max to sail away in, showing wonderful imagination and an early understanding of sustainability through re-using everyday materials.
The children also collected natural resources including twigs and leaves to create their own wild crowns. Wearing their crowns, they enjoyed having a lively “wild rumpus” together, inspired by the story.
Throughout the week, the children developed their communication and language skills by sharing ideas, retelling parts of the story, and working collaboratively with their friends.
All absences must be reported to the school either by leaving an absence message or emailing admin@heathlane.herts.sch.uk.
We politely ask that if you plan to take your child out during school time, you notify the Nursery office. For appointments, we ask where possible that these are not during the school day. If this is not avoidable, please kindly share the relevant information for this appointment in order for us to be able to authorise this.
Regular attendance at Nursery is very important, as it helps children build the foundational knowledge and skills they will need as they move through school. Establishing good attendance habits now supports a smoother transition into primary school and helps ensure children develop positive routines that will benefit them throughout their educational journey. Thank you for your continued support in helping your child attend regularly and on time.
