| Homerton Early Years Centre – Weekly Bulletin
25th November 2025
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| Message from the Head Teacher:
Dear Parents and Carers
An Invitation
Every child is invited to bring a special adult (it could be a parent, relative, godparent, friend..) to our Christmas Story Trail on Wednesday 3rd December 8.45 – 9.30am We invite you to:
You will complete the trail in about 10 minutes from your arrival time, and then enjoy a drink and biscuit made by the children in the classroom. Any queries please speak to your class staff.
Please do come along to our special event that really brings to life the Christmas story for all the children who see it. A big thank you to all the volunteers who are taking part this year. Nest parents please do come and join in, whether your child is here on Wednesday, or not. Please come through the Nursery gate, next to the park for the trail, and then take your child to the Nest for their session after you have finished going around with them, or return home if it is not your session time. West Blue parents please also come in for this special event so your children can experience it too, and then return with your child for their normal session in the afternoon. Bob, our caretaker, has also been busy this week putting up very pretty twinkly lights in our corridors, for the children and staff to enjoy. Tracey and her sister Sharon are also going to be busy wrapping raffle boxes tomorrow – thank you to all of you for your generous donations. Father Christmas has been in touch and is hoping to pop in over the next couple of weeks to see the children. Please keep this as a surprise for them.
Governors meet and greet at the gate on Wednesday 3rd December On the morning of the Christmas Storytrail some of our Governors will be here to greet you as you come into the main gate. If you would like to have a chat with them, or raise any issues, then please do take this opportunity to speak to them.
Pick up times Could we request that if you are collecting your children early from the Nursery classes then please come at one of the following times in order not to disrupt class activities that are going on at other points during the afternoon 11.45am, 12.45pm, 3.00pm or 3.45pm.
Wiping bottoms Could we also request that you teach your child how to wipe their bottoms independently as we are finding that some children don’t yet have this skill, and whilst we are very happy to help them it is also a skill they need to learn, especially as in primary school they will need to do this on their own. We are hoping to do a Circle time activity with a teddy bear and toilet roll to show them how best to achieve this. We always recommend wiping from front to back.
Christmas Party Food lists for the Wednesday 10th December Classes are putting up lists outside the classroom windows for you to donate food for our Christmas parties. Please sign your name next to the item you would like to bring and give it to staff on either the 9th or 10th December.
Local Authority Family worker support I am attaching a couple of useful links for families who maybe finding the current cost of living a challenge. Please look at … https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/communities/support-with-the-cost-of-living
To make an appointment with the family worker team please ring the number below or email directly. Tel: 01223 728118 Email: ChildAndFamilyCentre.City@Cambridgeshire.gov.uk
Application for Nursery Places September 2026 If your child is in The Nest currently, and you would like them to have a place in the Nursery in September 2026, please fill in an application form – these are available on the website and from our office.
Application for Primary School Places 2026 Please remember that the application deadline for Primary school places closes on January 15th 2026. So please get your forms in to the Admissions Team at the Local Authority before this date.
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| Medical Update: Just a reminder to please keep your child at home for 24 hours after their temperature has returned to normal. |
| Some of the Learning this week
This week the photos are all focusing on physical activity and in particular what is known as gross motor development. Physical Development is one of the prime areas of the Early Year Foundation stage curriculum. Through activities such as running, jumping, climbing and balancing children start to develop both strength and control of their bodies, alongside spatial awareness. We are lucky at Homerton to have such extensive outdoor spaces so children have plenty of opportunity to be outside developing their physical skills, during their time here, as well as benefitting from being out in fresh air, which has been shown to benefit mental health and well-being. We also have our larger Rainbow Room space where children often go to do music or physical activities.
Climbing onto our tyre swing and then moving backwards and forwards takes quite a lot of physical strength
Children often build themselves and obstacle course using the blocks and them practice their balancing skills as they walk along their course
Having fun bouncing on our space hoppers with friends
Climbing onto our big garden rock, balancing and then jumping off safely requires quite a lot of skill – we always encourage children to bend their knees to help them land safely.
Riding a trike around the garden is often a favourite activity
Every week we have a particular garden focus activity led by an adult. This week West Room have organised a ‘See how far you can throw the welly?’ activity where children throw the welly and then mark in chalks where it lands. They have also been tallying the results by marking them on the white paper stuck to the board.
As our language of the half term is Polish one of our parents came in to teach the children ‘Heads shoulders knees and toes’, in Polish which everyone really enjoyed. The activity involved lots of physical activity as children reached up high to touch the sky and down low to touch their toes.
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Dates for your diary:
Wednesday 3rd December – Christmas Story Trail for all parents and children around the garden 8.45am-9.30am – West Blue children, and any children from the Nest who attend on a different day/time, please come in to enjoy this event with everyone.
Wednesday 10th December – Christmas Raffle please send in donations for prizes by Tuesday 25th November. Thank you very much in advance.
Friday 19th December – Last day of term Monday 5th January – Centre closed for training day Tuesday 6th January – Centre reopens for the start of the Spring Term
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| Reminders:
Applications for Primary and Nursery Applying for Reception places – Please remember the deadline for applications is 15th January 2026
If your child is in The Nest currently, and you would like them to have a place in the Nursery in September 2026, please fill in an application form – these are available on the website and from our office.
Homerton Car park Just a reminder that Homerton car park is only for Homerton staff to park in. Please do not bike into the Centre via our carpark or block the entrance to the car park in order to keep everyone safe from moving vehicles. Thank you for your help with this. |
With Best Wishes
Alex and all at Homerton
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