HARLEQUIN PARENT NEWSLETTER SUMMER TERM 2025

Summer in a nursery setting is a time of energy and discovery. The warm sun spills through the windows, casting golden light across the room where children’s laughter fills the air. Outdoor playtime becomes a daily adventure as our children explore the garden and forest, chasing butterflies and splashing in water. It’s a season of growth, with each day bringing new opportunities for learning, friendship, and fun. 

The end of the academic year is quickly approaching and it will soon be time to say goodbye to our children who are leaving to go to school. Some of the children have been with us since they were babies and both the children and you as parents as you all move on to the next big adventure (you have got this!). Please don’t forget to send us your first day at school pictures (start and end of the school day are always the best keep sakes. 

A huge thank you to all of you who attended the leavers picnic, despite the weather, it didn’t dampen our spirits and the whole event was a great success. We hope that you enjoyed the afternoon and it was lovely to see so many of you there.

A special thank you to those of you who have taken the time to leave a 5 star review for Harlequin on daynurseries.co.uk. If you haven’t left a review yet, we would apricate the support

Diary Dates

The Tiger Who Came to Tea Day! Tuesday 29th July - Fancy dress optional for a small donation of £2. 

Nursery Stay and Play – Thursday 31st July 4.30-5.30pm

National Book Lovers Day! - Monday 11th August - Parents welcome to come in and share a story throughout the day with the children. Please speak to a member of staff to book a time slot 😊

National Beach Day Stay and Play – Friday 29th August 4.30-5.30pm

Nursery Stay and Play – Tuesday 30th September 4.30-5.30pm

Learning focus at the moment

Preschool 

The preschool children have spent lots of time in the forest this term learning different skills from hanging up washing to following a recipe in the mud kitchen. The forest provides a wonderful opportunity for our children to manage and assess risks through play including climbing, listening, following instructions and boundaries set. We have been particularly excited to watch the visitors to our wildlife pond including lots of birds and insects. Our fairy garden within the forest has created awe and wonder amongst our children as they uncover the fairy doors hidden around the woodland, we have extended their learning by introducing a range of mythical beasts indoors which have been very popular and they have created their own role play stories with them.  

Recent STEM activities have included making exploding monsters using sandwich bags, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar the children watched in excitement as they waited for the magic to happen and why is the sky blue? We began by building on previous knowledge that day is light and night is dark. The children understood that this was because there is no sunlight at night time. The sun's light is refracted in the atmosphere and causes the sky to be seen as blue. We tested this theory by using milk, dish soap and water. We filled a clear cup with milky water and added a drop of dish soap. Without any direct light the cup appeared white. When the children shone their torches on the cup, the light refracted and the colour of the cups contents changed. We were able to then better understand how the sun makes the sky blue. 

Toddlers

Our toddlers have been developing their gross motor skills through large scale painting on our outdoor shower curtain and using large pieces of paper on the painting easel indoors. Using our sporting equipment, the children have been practising jumping hurdles, balancing on the beams and stepping over the ladder. During Wimbledon fortnight, the children enjoyed a number of tennis related activities including using bats and balls, enjoying strawberries and cream alfresco and creating our own table tennis games indoors. The children have begun to show an interest in mark making using a variety of materials, we have developed this interest by learning about vertical and horizontal marks preparing for their transition to pre-writing and drawing. 

Babies 

Our babies have been transporting water through the pipes outdoors, they have used a range of containers to empty and fill, helping them to understand cause and effect. The children have also enjoyed playing with the solar fountain tough tray. The children have been working on table top activities to help encourage the younger children to stand and build their muscles to walk. The children have been eating outdoors where possible and have been sleeping outside in dry weather. This practice follows the nurseries forest school ethos and is beneficial to the children’s wellbeing. 

Supporting Life-Saving Missions: Our Donation to Yorkshire Air Ambulance

Thanks to your generous sponsorships—and Portland Nurseries matching every penny—we were thrilled to present a £2,600 cheque to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance following our HeliHop event! 
The children had a blast hopping, skipping, and jumping their way through the day, proudly wearing their Heli Hop headbands and earning their “Heli Hero” certificates. Every bounce helped support the life-saving work of YAA across Yorkshire. Yorkshire Air Ambulance
Together, we’re helping keep their helicopters in the sky and hope in the hearts of those who need it most.

Celebrating Inclusivity: All our sites have completed Dingley’s Promise training

Portland Nurseries is thrilled to announce that all six of its locations have earned the prestigious Dingley’s Promise Accreditation, reflecting their dedication to inclusive, high-quality early years education for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Dingley’s Promise is a nationally recognised organisation championing inclusion for children with SEND and their families. This accreditation highlights Portland Nurseries’ excellence in staff training, tailored support for SEND children, and collaborative partnerships with families. 

Staff have all completed modules to support inclusive practice for children with SEND. 

30 hours funding

From September 2025, eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of funded childcare per week for children aged nine months and above. This is an expansion from the current 15 hours for younger children. The funding is available for 38 weeks of the year, typically aligning with school terms, but we offer a stretched offer over the year with fewer hours per week. 

We have limited spaces available so please if you are intending to increase your hours please contact your nursery manager as soon as possible.

Safeguarding - Positive Parenting

Balancing the various demands parents have to cope with isn't easy and all parents can come under pressure or stress from time to time.

This NSPCC guide shares practical advice and tips for positive parenting techniques that work well for children - from babies to teenagers. These techniques encourage better behaviour and help parents find out what works for them and their child. 

https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/leaflets/positive-parenting

Reading with you child

Reading to young children, particularly in their early years, has a significant positive impact on their future life outcomes. Shared reading experiences foster language development, improve literacy skills, and boost cognitive abilities, while also promoting mental wellbeing. These benefits extend into adulthood, with increased chances of academic success, better employment prospects, and improved mental health.

The Department for Education and the National Literacy Trust have joined forces to launch a National Year of Reading to start in January 2026.

The campaign aims to bring together parents, nurseries, schools, libraries, businesses and literacy experts to foster a love of reading for pleasure in children and young people.

Findings from the National Literacy Trust’s annual survey carried out last month found that just 1 in 3 children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they enjoyed reading in their free time in 2025.

Funding for the National Year of Reading has been donated by a number of organisations and publishers, including Premier League, Julia Rausing Trust, and the Arts Council England.

To kick start the campaign, the National Literacy Trust will distribute more than 72,000 new books to children in areas with the highest rates of child poverty to support positive reading habits at home.  

The charity’s Summer Reading Challenge also aims to ensure more children have the opportunity to take part and build a love of reading over the school summer holidays..

CEO of the National Literacy Trust, Jonathan Douglas, said, ‘At a time when we are witnessing the lowest levels of reading enjoyment and daily reading in a generation, we are delighted to be working with the government to deliver the National Year of Reading 2026 - a bold, society-wide campaign to reimagine how we understand, support and promote reading. Reading is the foundation of a successful life - the key to unlocking potential, strengthening social cohesion, enhancing wellbeing and boosting skills.’  

https://literacytrust.org.uk/news/parents-urged-to-read-more-to-boost-childrens-life-chances/

First Aid for Parents, Carers and Grandparents

We are holding our ever popular Parents, Carers and Grandparents First Aid course ran by GEM Compliance Training in Autumn, on the evening of Monday 13th October at Oakwood House Nursery and Tuesday 14th October at Portland House Nursery – early booking is recommended and the cost is £15 per person. 

Gain valuable First Aid knowledge and practical skills on a 3 hour short course (at Oakwood House Nursery) and 2 hour short course (at Portland House Nursery)  preparing you to deal with everyday childhood illnesses, accidents and First Aid situations delivered by a qualified Paediatric First Aid Instructor.

The following subject areas will be covered:

• Resuscitation
• Choking
• Bleeding
• Head & Spinal Injuries
• Fractures & Dislocations
• Sprains & Strains
• Seizures
• Burns
• Meningitis
• Poisons
• Bites & Stings
• Allergic Reactions

Further Information

Session Times

Please ensure you are not dropping your child off earlier than your agreed session time or collecting late. Late collections will be charged at a rate of £6 within each 15 minute period. Early drop offs and late collections impact on staffing and can mean that staff have to work additional hours due to legal ratio requirements. 

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.

Sun cream and hats

Please could parents help prepare your child for outdoor play by applying sun cream before they come to nursery. We will of course be applying the sun cream routinely throughout the course of the day on the sunny days. Please could you also send a labelled sun hat for your child, this can be left at nursery in their peg pocket.

Wet/Dry bags

We are currently working towards our Eco Schools accreditation for this year and as part of the accreditation, we are required to make and evidence sustainable changes to our nursery. 

One of the areas we would like to look at is reducing our plastic waste especially single use plastic such as carrier bags. With this in mind, we wanted to invite you to join us in making a change and helping us to reduce the carrier bags we are sending home daily with wet and soiled clothes. We have a few parents who are currently using wet bags to take home their children’s clothing however we are still sending home at least 10 bags per room each day which over the course of the week adds up to a lot of single use plastic. 

If you have a wet bag at home or a reusable bag that you are able to send into nursery then we ask that you pop it into your child’s bag for us to use whilst they are here. Alternatively, you can purchase a wet bag from nursery for £4 which you can use instead. If you would like to purchase one, then please speak to Alice. 

Grip socks

We have a no shoe policy within our baby room, this includes the children. Please can you ensure that your child’s socks have grips to minimise the risk of slipping and being injured on the hard flooring. 

Community Library 

Please could we ask all parents to return any books you may have at home belonging to our community library particularly if your child is a school leaver. This is a valuable resource to all our children and we seem to be getting low on books again.