Welcome to our
April/May Newsletter

Baby Room

It has been wonderful to welcome back our families, both familiar and new. Over the past couple of weeks, we have focused on helping our babies settle in, by introducing our focused books and songs. Singing time has been a big highlight and the children have loved exploring our nursery rhyme log slices, musical instruments, and props. These activities have really captured their attention and encouraged them to imitate sounds and actions, such as clapping.

Crèche 1

The children in Crèche 1 had a fantastic time making their own fruity ice lollies. They explored mixing the fruit together, using both their fine and gross motor skills as they stirred, mashed, and combined the ingredients. They then used great hand eye coordination to carefully scoop and pour the mixture into the ice lolly moulds.

Everyone showed real focus and independence during the activity, and the best part came at snack time where they enjoyed the delicious lollies they had made. 

Crèche 2

This week we took the children on a walk around campus, giving them the chance to explore their environment and enjoy some fresh air. To provide an extra physical challenge and meet the children’s growing need for movement, we incorporated walking up and down the steps along the route.

The children approached this with great enthusiasm, using their balance, coordination and strength as they climbed and descended. It was a simple but effective way to support their physical development, build confidence, and help them understand how their bodies work during more demanding movements.

Nursery 1

The children had a wonderful time developing their physical skills as they explored paint on foil this week. Using large, sweeping gross motor movements, they pushed their vehicles across the shiny surface, experimenting with moving them in different directions and noticing the different marks they could make.

This activity also sparked lots of curiosity about colour. The children looked closely at the different paints and were excited to discover what happened when colours mixed together. There was plenty of conversation, prediction and joyful surprise as new colours appeared.

It was a rich sensory experience that encouraged creativity, coordination and early scientific thinking.

Nursery 2

We have been very excited to welcome five Indian stick insects into the classroom this term. The children have shown real enthusiasm and care as they learn how to look after these fascinating creatures. This experience has given them the chance to understand how to be gentle with bugs and living things, helping them develop empathy and responsibility.

Together, we have been reading books and fact sheets about stick insects and have created a classroom display and investigation station for the children to explore. They have loved helping with the daily care routines, including collecting fresh leaves from the forest area and spraying water into the net to keep the insects’ habitat just right.

For those who felt confident and curious, we offered the opportunity to hold a stick insect. The children listened to instructions about how to keep their hands still and gentle. Some children have even arrived in the morning telling their parents that they need to “go and check on the stick insects”, showing just how invested they have become.

This shared experience has sparked lots of lovely conversations at collection time, giving parents a window into their children’s learning and encouraging meaningful talk at home. To support this further, we have created a small display near the door featuring a “stick insect tank” made with the children’s own crafted stick insects, along with fact cards for families to enjoy together.

Pre-School 1

We have been learning all about Earth Day which is a special day when we think about the planet Earth which is our home and how we can help take care of the Earth every day!

We learnt that one way is to recycle which we found out means putting our rubbish in the right bins so it can be used again. We had an activity in Pre-School where we explored which material the rubbish was made out of and then we put it into the correct category, e.g glass, plastic, paper, etc.

We created our own representations of the Earth by using food colouring in pipettes which we used fine motor skills to operate by squeezing up the colour and then squirting out the colours onto cotton wool pads which then mixed together. 

We used handprints to create one big Earth together and created the Earth using playdough. We also learnt that we can look after the Earth by:

•    Putting litter in the bin
•    Turning off lights when we leave a room
•    Using less water when brushing our teeth
•    Take care of plants and animals

Pre-School 2

As part of the Roses weekend celebrations, the Sports Centre kindly organised a special Women’s Rugby session for Pre-School 2. The children were thrilled to take part and learn from the Lancaster University team.

We began by watching the players complete their warm‑up. The children talked about why warming up is important for our muscles, making brilliant links to our own daily Wake Up, Shake Up sessions. The team then demonstrated a gentle, child‑friendly version of rugby - no tackles or scrums involved - so the children could see how the game works in a safe and fun way.

In small groups, the players supported the children to practise throwing and catching a rugby ball. Many children noticed that the shape of the ball made it easier to catch, and they showed great determination and teamwork throughout.

To finish, we learnt a special chant to cheer on Lancaster University’s sports teams. The children shouted proudly and loudly that “Roses are Red!”, joining in with the spirit of the event.

It was a fantastic experience that gave the children a taste of a new sport, encouraged physical development, and helped them feel part of the wider university community.

Pre-School 3

The children are gaining a rich range of benefits and learning experiences through being introduced to the myHappymind programme. By exploring how their brain works in a simple, engaging way, they are beginning to understand their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, which supports early emotional awareness and self-regulation. Through songs and stories, the children develop language skills, listening, and memory, while also connecting key concepts to meaningful and enjoyable experiences. The My Happy Breathing activities help children learn calming techniques, enabling them to manage big emotions, improve focus, and feel more secure in their environment. Overall, the programme supports their personal, social, and emotional development, building confidence, resilience, and a positive attitude towards learning.

Reminders

Pre-School website and newsfeed

Access regularly updated information from our website and Instagram feed.

Funding

A reminder that parents in receipt of working families funding need to re-validate their eligibility every three months from the date of issue. Failure to re-validate your code will result in a loss of funding.

Parents who think they may be eligible for Early Education Funding from September 2026 need to ensure that they apply and are in receipt of their eligibility code no later than 31 August 2026.

Any codes applied for and received after this date will not be applied until January 2027.

Check eligibility and apply for the code.

Important term dates

2026 Full Year Bookings

8 April until 28 August 2026

2026 Undergraduate Term Bookings

20 April until 26 June 2026

Invoice dates

Summer 2026

4 May until 29 May 2026
1 June until 3 July 2026
6 July until 31 July 2026
3 August until 28 August 2026