Head of School's Message
We are now well into the Autumn term and, as the leaves change and the days get cooler, it has been wonderful to see our children settling into their routines, building friendships and growing in confidence. It has been a busy start to the year, and we are already seeing so many lovely moments of learning, independence and curiosity.
As we begin to look ahead to January, we are now welcoming enquiries and beginning to plan for our new children joining us in the Spring term. If you know a family with a young child who may be looking for a nurturing, inspiring and exciting nursery environment, we would be very grateful if you could spread the word.
Prospective parents/carers are warmly invited to book a tour and come and see Heath Lane in action, meet our team and experience our wonderful nursery for themselves.
To keep up to date with everything happening at Heath Lane, please follow us on social media, where we regularly share news, events and snapshots of our children’s learning and adventures.
We are looking forward to a wonderful Autumn and all that the rest of the term will bring! 🍁
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Dates coming up:
Friday 23rd October - Inset Day - Nursery is closed.
Week commencing Monday 26th October - October Half Term - Nursery is closed and will reopen on Monday 2nd November.
Parent/Carer consultations will take place after the October Half Term - further information to follow.
Reminders:
Please ensure that all of your child's items are clearly labelled with their name.
Join our nursery's social media pages to stay connected
Rhyme of the week
Next week's Rhyme of the week is "The Mulberry Bush".
This rhyme has a focus on phonics.
Please find a video below;
Language of the week
We are lucky to have a rich and diverse community with lots of different languages. Our language of the week is Kosovan, which is spoken by some of our children and their families.
Please find below links of how to say "Hello" and "Goodbye" in Kosovan. You can practise with your child/ren at home.
Learning At Home
This week, we have welcomed two new friends to our Nursery family – our very own Giant African Land Snails!
The children have loved learning all about our new pets, discovering what they like to eat and how we can look after them and keep them happy and healthy. We have been exploring how to care for living things and the importance of being gentle and responsible when handling our new friends.
Our snails need names! For our Learning at Home activity this week, we would love you to chat with your child about some possible names for our two new arrivals. Encourage your little ones to share their ideas and get creative! Next week, we will write down all the children's suggestions and draw names out of a hat to choose the winning names.
We can't wait to hear your children's ideas and discover what names our new Nursery friends will be given!
Thank you for supporting our learning at home!
Healthy Me, Healthy World
A Healthy End to the Day at After-School Club
Our After-School Club is a great way for children to enjoy a relaxed and sociable end to their nursery day. We currently have places available, so if you are looking for wraparound care, please speak to the office team or email admin@heathlane.herts.sch.uk.
Children are offered a light tea and have time to eat, chat and play with their friends in a calm and welcoming environment. We encourage children to develop their independence and practise everyday self-help skills, with adults providing support when needed.
After-School Club is not just about staying later – it is also an opportunity for children to develop important social and life skills. With adult support, children are encouraged to:
🍎 Make choices about what they would like to eat.
🍽️ Use cutlery and manage their own meal as independently as possible.
🥛 Pour their own water from a jug.
🧼 Wash their hands before eating and help to tidy away afterwards.
💬 Chat and socialise with their friends around the table.
🤝 Develop friendships, sharing, taking turns and enjoying time together.
These everyday routines help children build confidence, independence and responsibility, while developing valuable skills they can use at home and throughout their lives.
Children can stay with us until 4.30pm or 5.30pm, giving families flexible options for wraparound care. After-School Club provides a happy, relaxed end to the nursery day, with opportunities to eat, play, socialise and enjoy time with friends.
Success Story of the Week
This week, our Nursery children have been exploring our new indoor sand area and our larger outdoor sandpit! It has been wonderful to see their curiosity, creativity and confidence grow as they investigate, dig, scoop, pour, fill and build.
There has been so much learning through play! Children have had opportunities to develop their gross motor skills through digging with spades, carrying buckets, reaching and moving around the sandpit help to strengthen large muscles, develop coordination and build physical confidence. Their fine motor skills have been developed through scooping, pouring, squeezing and manipulating sand help to strengthen little hands and fingers, develop hand-eye coordination and build the control needed for future skills such as writing.
Sand play provides wonderful opportunities for children to play alongside one another, share tools, take turns, exchange ideas and work together to build, dig and create.
Through these experiences, children begin to develop communication, cooperation and problem-solving skills.
At Nursery, we know that some of the most valuable learning happens through play. Our sand areas offer endless opportunities for little hands, growing minds and developing friendships!
All absences must be reported daily either by leaving an absence voice 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.
