🌱 Did You Know? Pre‑School Edition

Our Pre‑School is full of little systems, thoughtful touches, and hidden gems designed to make your child’s experience richer — and your life a little easier. Here are some things you might not know about what happens behind the scenes each day.

📝 Daily Whiteboard

Did you know there’s a whiteboard by the Pre‑School pick‑up gate? It’s updated every morning with today’s menu, going‑home messages, and a snapshot of the day’s activities.

🎨 Going‑Home Art Cupboard

Your child’s clay models and artwork are stored safely in the Going‑Home Cupboard. Inside you’ll find two black folders, alphabetised with every child’s name, filled with their creations from the Art Studio.

🌿 Compost Caddies for Families

Every family is welcome to take home a compost caddy. Fill it with coffee grounds, fruit and veg scraps, cardboard, teabags, and eggshells, then bring it back to nursery. We turn your contributions into compost for our flower beds — where the children grow their own fruit and vegetables. Last week, Pre‑School planted peas!

🧹 Litter Pickers to Borrow

Want to help care for our community? You can sign out a set of litter pickers for the weekend. Just speak to Zoe or Eleanor, our Forest School practitioners.

🧥 Outdoor Clothing Provided

For cold or rainy days, we provide blue salopettes and pink coats, all branded with our logo. If your child wears them home after Forest School, simply return them wearing them the next day.

📱 Stay Connected

We’re on Instagram and Facebook, and parents also receive a bi‑weekly newsletter with updates, photos, and important information.

📚 Two Lending Libraries

We have not one, but two lending libraries:

• One by the Pre‑School collection gate
• One in Reception, on the right-hand side Feel free to borrow books to enjoy at home.

🌟 Staff Shout‑Out Board

Located in the corridor near the Toddler Room door, our Shout‑Out Board is a place to celebrate our team. Write a note of appreciation and it will be read aloud at our next staff meeting. Why not grab a coffee from our front entrance whilst writing a shoutout. (Please bring a travel mug if you’re wanting to take the hot drink away with you.)

💷 Fees Online

Our updated fees are now listed clearly on our website for easy reference.

🥫 Community Connections

Did you know Pre‑School children take donations to the local food bank and even volunteer at the community café? We love helping children understand kindness, community, and giving back.

🚲 Outdoor Play Path

The path from our front door to the wooden gate becomes a lively space during the day for running games, bike riding, and movement play.

🐸 Nature Friends

We have a frog pond in front of the Art Studio and a friendly robin named Reuben who visits us every week.

🌰 Acorns & Pinecones Groups

For carpet time and choosing time, children are grouped into:

• Acorns (3‑year‑olds)
• Pinecones (children starting school this year) This helps us offer age‑appropriate learning, school‑readiness activities, and meaningful discussions.

📄 School Reports

Children starting school this year will receive a full school report, shared with families and their allocated primary schools.

🎭 Trips, Visitors & Enrichment

Throughout the year we enjoy:

• A Christmas theatre trip
• Pumpkin picking
• Regular ZooLab visits
• Bi‑weekly French sessions with Zoe There’s always something exciting happening.

💡 Tax‑Free Childcare

You might be eligible for Tax‑Free Childcare — it’s worth checking if you haven’t already.

🥗 Lunchtime at Inspirations

Did you know we have our own allocated dining room in the nursery? The children serve themselves from the dish in the middle of the table and we have two allocated lunch sessions:

• The Yurt group and morning Art Studio group eat together at 11:30

• Forest School eat on their return, around 12:00

🥂 Ten‑Year Team Milestones

Did you know that when staff reach their 10‑year anniversary at Inspirations, we celebrate with a meal together — including the 10 long‑standing team members who have already passed this milestone.

🌈 Child‑Led Learning

Did you know we don’t follow a fixed curriculum?

Our planning is shaped week by week by the children themselves — their voices, their actions, and their interests. This means they spend their days exploring the things they are genuinely curious and passionate about.

-Nathalie