BRADLEY HOUSE PARENT CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER 2024

As we come to the end of year, we would like to look back over the year and celebrate the learning and achievements that have taken place at Bradley House, from children transitioning from nursery to school life and attaining our Eco-schools Green Flag for a second year. We certainly have had a busy year here at Bradley House. Our staff and children have worked hard throughout the year to build a portfolio of activities centred around the natural environment and eco-friendly activities in order to obtain the Eco-schools Green Flag for 2023-2024 as well as working towards the ‘Food 4Llife’ award by the soil association. We look forward to our latest projects that will be continuing into the new term, with exciting opportunities for children to continue developing their knowledge on the world around them and engage in a range of activities to support their development. Over the last month we have been spreading festive cheer across the nursery whilst getting crafts and singing songs. Whilst the term may be over the festive season certainly isn’t and from all of us at Bradley house we hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, however you choose to spend it.

Learning focus at the moment

Babies

Our babies have been focusing on lots of sensory exploration activities, through creative activities and exploring the festive season. The children have been using a variety of creative resources to make their Christmas crafts such as paint, gluing and sticking, chalking, crayons and so much more. As well as these being fun activities for the children to do and a lovely gift for the parents the children also gain so much learning from these experiences, such as learning new words, exploring senses and beginning to build an understanding of the world around them and forming friendships as they play alongside each other. The babies were able to explore the snow in the garden which added a new experience for the children as most of the babies will not have experience snow before, they wrapped up in their winter clothes and took to the cold to explore the fluffy white blanket that covered the garden.

Toddlers

As well as completing their wonderful festive crafts our toddlers have been introduced to a new activity for our circle time, ‘What’s in the box?’ This exciting opportunity is a box filled with different resources designed to encourage children’s curiosity and sense of wonder as they discover the objects in the box that day, we started out with 5 little ducks, the children had the opportunity to read the book, sing the rhyme, explore song spoons and finger puppets as well as the added experience of playing with masks and exploring feathers. What’s in the box is a stimulating activity which uses curiosity to build on the toddlers vocabulary and can be linked to many areas of learning across our curriculum. The toddlers also took advantage of the winter weather as they explored the snow and began looking at animals that live in the artic, children have been exposed to those buzz words such as; cold, ice, snow, soft, hard, white, clear, melting and freezing throughout a variety of sensory activities involving our small world artic animals.

Preschool

Over the Autumn term our preschool children have been taking part in a new project we introduced called ‘Preschool on tour’ the idea of the project is that each month the preschool children will learn about a country from across the world. We started out looking at England and exploring the culture and communities that make England so special, we then travelled across the globe looking at Australia, India, Brazil, Egypt and now we have landed in Finland to explore Lapland for Christmas. The children have been looking at the landmarks, language and culture of the countries and whilst in Finland we have taken on the challenge of building an igloo. As we don’t have any snow at the moment we have chosen to extend the activity by making an igloo out of entirely recycled materials, mainly milk bottles. Take a look at the amazing work the children have been doing in our preschool entrance.

Outdoor Play Focus

We are currently focusing on exploring communication and language in the outdoor area, this can be done through an array of activities and our staff team has been skilfully engaging in play alongside the children to extend their opportunities to develop language through our mud kitchen, exploring the changes in the season and loose parts activities. With this, we have began creating a reading area for the children, having purchased some new stools and seats for the children to enjoy story time in the outdoors during the new year. By listening to stories outdoors, we can extend the learning opportunities provided to the children turning the activity from listening to a story to an immersive learning experience where children listen to the natural sounds, smells and sights of the environment and link them to the story they are listening to, promoting discussions which will promote children’s development of language, listening and attention skills and well as enhancing their understanding.

Project Update

A we move into the new year we will continue to work towards obtaining the Eco-schools green flag award for 2024-2025 as our dedicated eco committee choose different action points for the nursery to work on in order to cut our carbon footprint and help the environment. We will also be engaging in lots of activities based around planting and the growth of food as we build a portfolio of activities and work towards achieving the food for life award for nurseries.

Staff Training Day

In October the whole company staff team came together for our Annual Autumn Training Day, to enhance and develop their childcare practice for the future and reflect on the year past.

This year we focused on 2 key areas:

  1. Boosting Staff Morale and Wellbeing to promote vibrant play, learning and positive behaviour. led by Jenny Mosley – Director and Founder of QCT, The Quality Circle Time (QCT) Model
  2. STEAM Approaches with Everyday Materials led by Debi Keyte-Hartland, Early Childhood Pedagogical Consultant, Artist-Educator & Trainer

Our staff team thoroughly enjoyed the day and learnt lots of new activities i.e. modelling activities, circle time, light activities to name a few along with golden moments for wellbeing. An excellent and informative day with lots to take back to our nurseries!

Portland Nurseries Annual Staff Training Day | Portland Nurseries

Internal Audits

You may have noticed senior managers visiting our nursery recently. They have been conducting internal audits to ensure we maintain the highest standards of care and education. Our commitment to being an Outstanding nursery involves continuous reflection and improvement. Action points from these audits then form part of our Quality Improvement Plans, which help us identify areas for enhancement and celebrate our successes. By constantly evaluating and refining our practices, we aim to provide the best possible environment for your children to learn and grow.

Annual Award

We are thrilled to share that we recently held our annual awards party, a cherished tradition where we come together to celebrate the incredible dedication and hard work of our staff. Recognising and appreciating our team's efforts is essential, as their passion and commitment directly impact the nurturing and enriching environment we provide for your children. By celebrating our staff, we not only acknowledge their outstanding contributions but also inspire continuous growth and excellence within our nursery community. Their unwavering care helps to ensure that your little ones receive the best possible start in their educational journey. This year our Educator of the Year was awarded to Shabnam.


Staff News

This year we have had a few changes to the staff team from wishing a fond farewell to both Shelley and Kelly, as well as seeing Berenice go on Maternity leave to spend some time with her little boy. We have also welcomed new members of staff to the team and we couldn’t be happier to grow the team here at Bradley House with the new additions of Candice (Baby room lead), Demi-leigh (Modern apprentice in babies), Geraldine (Housekeeper) and Haleema (Modern apprentice in Toddlers. Not forgetting Jess and Shabnam returning to Bradley House, Jess returning from Maternity leave and Shabnam from her time at Portland house to assist with the teaching and Learning in Pre-school as she resumes her role as Early Years Teacher.

Diary Dates

Nursery will close on Tuesday 24th December 2023 and reopen on Thursday 2nd January 2024.

Term time children will return to nursery week commencing Monday 6th January 2024

January Stay and Plays

Babies – Friday 17th January

Toddlers – Monday 20th January

Preschool – Tuesday 21st January

January Events

2nd – 10th January – Recycle your Christmas cards, please bring in your old Christmas cards for us to recycle and use for crafts

3rd January – Issac Newton was Born, we will be looking at and exploring gravity

6th – 10th January – Houseplant week, we will be looking at house plants and learning how to look after them

13th January – Lohri, Punjabi festival to celebrate the passing of winter solstice

17th – 23rd January – big energy saving week, looking at ways we can save energy and help the planet

17th January – Winnie the pooh day

20th January – Penguin awareness day

21st January – Squirrel appreciation day

23rd January – National hand writing day

24th – 26th January – Big garden birdwatch

24th January – National day of education and Burns night

28th January – International Lego day

29th January – Lunar new year, year of the snake

Other information

Safeguarding

We would like to remind all parents to ensure they are closing doors correctly when they are entering and exciting the build. Although we have a two door security system in place that keeps the children safe, we need your help to ensure that doors and baby gates are closed when you are walking through, this ensures that the building is secure and staff are able to focus on engaging in activities with your children.

Lost and Found property

We kindly request your cooperation in labelling your child's belongings, including shoes, clothes, hats and other personal items. Clear labelling with your child's name will help ensure that everything is returned to its rightful owner. This simple step will save time and minimise any potential mix-ups. Please check the Lost and Found property boxes periodically to retrieve any misplaced items.

Mobile Phones

Please can I remind parents that the use of mobile phones on nursery premises is strictly prohibited, you must not take any photographs or videos at nursery or at any nursery events. Using your mobile phone breaks the statutory welfare requirements and is also a breach of safeguarding policies to which we must adhere.

Clothing

Parents, please bring in to nursery during the winter months ahead;

  • Wellingtons- correct size
  • Fleece to go under nursery outdoor coats
  • Hats, scarves and gloves
  • Bag with several changes of seasonal clothes

Please ensure you have labelled clearly with your child’s name.

Copyright © 2018 Portland Nurseries, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Oakwood House, 2 Hungerford Road, Huddersfield HD3 3AL
Portland Nurseries Limited. Company No. 7538309. Registered in England & Wales.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.