Mad about Mini Beasts

4th October 2026Sarah Winkley

This week Nursery have been continuing to think about “What Does Caring Look Like?” This time we have been considering the smallest of creatures and how we can help to take care of them. The children were hooked in to the week with an engaging Tales Tool Kit story, featuring several mini beasts including a spider, a butterfly and a dragonfly. The children used actions, large muscle movements and sounds to help them retell the story of how the Dragonfly, rescued the Butterfly, who had become trapped in the Spider’s sticky web.

They were then introduced to our key text of the week, “Mad about Mini-beasts” which we shared unpicking tricky vocabulary. From the text, each Crew were given a large scale mini-beast to research and decorate. With support, the children accessed fact files about their given mini beast, which was either a Snail, a Beetle, a Spider or a Caterpillar. The children made observations of the creatures and began to create their own masterpieces.

The children painted, pinched, twisted, glued, stuck and sprinkled collage resources onto their mini beasts to make them as eye catching as possible to contribute towards our final product for our expedition.

Nursery children had lots of fun during their outdoor learning this week, focusing on finding different bugs and mini beasts in our lovely outdoor area. The children investigated our new Bug Hotel, Nature Nook area, using magnifying glasses, binoculars and books to check for bugs. They also found a very large spider hiding in the mud kitchen, several ladybirds, a furry white, stripy caterpillar and a white coloured Beetle. From our fact files the children had learned about what kind of habitats the creatures like to live in and this made for some very engaging and meaningful interactions about how we can care for the bugs, by being gentle with them, giving them food and the kind of home they like, such as leaves, mud and wood.

In provision the children made mini beast prints in the play-dough, using their fine motor skills to push toys into the play-dough to create marks and imprints. They also pinched, squeezed and placed buttons to fill up mini beast templates creating pictures and copied and traced mini beast movement patterns to make marks in our messy mark making tray.

Finally in our maths learning we were thinking about patterns that we can see around us and the children learnt new vocabulary identifying spots, stripes and plain patterns. The children used their sorting knowledge to help sort mini beasts with spotty, striped or plain patterns into groups.

The Bog Baby

24th September 2026Sarah Winkley

This week Nursery children have been thinking about, what does caring for animals look like? The children were immersed in pond life through the exciting and magical text, “The Bog Baby”.

In the story two little girls capture a “Bog Baby” from the pond in Bluebell Woods and take him home in a jar. Although the girls love and try to care for the creature, unfortunately he becomes sick. The Nursery children compassionately thought about why he became ill….Would a Bog Baby really eat cake? Live in clean water with shells? Or be walked on a lead?

We learned a super simple song about pets, which sang all about regular pets, but then suggested that someone might have a pet lion. The children were questioned whether a lion would make a good pet? They decided it would not with some of the following reasons; “It would eat you”, “It would scratch”, “It’d be too big” and “It would smash your house”. This showed good reasoning and we were then Slinky Linky Snakes and linked this back to the Bog Baby; as a Lion and a Bog Baby are both wild animals and would be better in their natural environments where they are safe and can live their healthiest lives.

The children worked collaboratively to create two large pieces artwork of the Bog Baby which they have decorated to add extra magic.

They have also created their own Bog Baby that they can take home and care for using salt dough. Each child sculpted and decorated their Bog Baby individually, making choices about how they would decorate it. They are adorable, just look at our beautiful work!

As part of our Tranquil Tuesday Crew the children we introduced to The Tales Tool Kit resource which helps children create and structure stories, developing language and excitement through 4 key points; character, setting, problem and solution. Our stories were focused around animals which weren’t pets this week to link in with our expedition.

Our Thoughtful Thursday Crew engaged the children in a step by step tutorial of drawing their own Bog Babies, following the teacher model. Their listening and attention was superb, almost as good as their artwork! To check in we consolidated whether or not the Bog Baby Would prefer to live in clean or dirty water? The children expressed their opinions and gave reasons for their answers confirming that he would prefer to be in the pond, in the mud, water and plants.

Just a magical week Nursery, You are Being Kind, Working Hard and Getting Smart!!

Crew Backshall’s Outdoor Crew

22nd September 2026Claire Goodyer

We had a wonderful Outdoor Crew this morning, making the most of the beautiful sunshine! We started by circling up together for our check-in, taking some time to connect, share and enjoy being together outdoors.

We then had lots of fun taking part in Mrs Jackson’s nature scavenger hunt, exploring our surroundings and seeing what we could discover. It was lovely to see everyone working together, sharing ideas and enjoying the fresh air.

A brilliant morning of connection, teamwork, exploration and lots of sunshine and smiles! 

🧸 Immersion Week Begins! 🧸

1st September 2026Laura Parsons

We have officially kicked off our Immersion Week in Class Five, and what better way to begin than by bringing in something very special from home — a favourite toy! ❤️

The classroom was full of excitement as the children shared their toys with each other. We talked about what our toys were, where they came from, why we liked them and what made them special to us. There were dolls, figures, cars, cuddly toys and lots of other wonderful treasures!

But we didn’t just look at our toys as children…

🔬 We became scientists!

We looked very carefully at our toys and became materials detectives, thinking about what they were made from. We spotted materials such as plastic, wood, fabric, metal and rubber and talked about why different materials might have been chosen to make different parts of a toy.

🎨 Then we became artists!

We slowed down and really looked at our toys. Rather than drawing what we thought our toy looked like, we challenged ourselves to be careful observers and create accurate drawings, noticing shapes, patterns, colours, textures and tiny details.

It was wonderful to see the children looking at something so familiar in a completely different way.

A toy isn’t just something to play with…

It can be something to investigate, observe, question, draw and learn from. 🧸🔍

And this is only the beginning!

Throughout our immersion week, we will be exploring toys from lots of different perspectives and beginning to uncover the clues that will help us discover exactly where our new expedition will take us…

The power of play is already taking us on quite a journey! ❤️

Why is the seaside such a special place?

16th June 2026Sarah Winkley

Last week Nursery began exploring and investigating their final case study, Why is the seaside such a special place? We began by reading our key text, “Look what I found at the seaside”. This was an age appropriate non fiction text that delved into all of the natural elements and fun that could be explored at the seaside, through a short story and supporting facts with exciting illustrations to engage the children. They thought carefully about what their experiences of the seaside have been and each child spoke about why the seaside is a special place to them and their families. Their answers were scribed into a speech bubble for them.

On Tuesday we had a very exciting visit from Aqua Explorers, who provided the children with a Rockpool experience – just for Nursery. James (our expert visitor) brought lots of sea creatures with him including; Mussels, Spider crab, Shore crab, Hermit crabs, mutiple starfish, A Purple Sunblazed Starfish, Sea Anemones and a couple of Sea Urchins.

James explained to the children all about each sea creature and where they live and what they eat. The children were so engaged and asked some amazing questions throughout the experience. James was also blown away with the prior knowledge that the children had about some of the sea creatures when he asked them questions…. All of which has come from their learning throughout our expedition “What happens where the sea meets the shore?”

Each child was allowed and encouraged to touch some of the creatures. Most children were willing whilst others were trying to be brave, as it was a daunting prospect to touch an unfamiliar creature.

The following day the children used their experience and observation skills from memory and with photo support to draw the sea creatures. They did so well and included so much detail for the creatures features. Just look at their beautiful work!

Finally to bring all of our lovely learning and the week to a close the children create cardboard box Rockpool models. They painted their boxes first and then used a variety of materials and artistic skills to create sea creatures. They made cardboard tube sea anemones, playdough sea urchins with cocktail sticks, either a starfish using folded paper or a crab using craft materials and pipe cleaners. One of the children in the afternoon nursery brought back brightly coloured seashells from their holidays as a gift for the children so we included those too. Aren’t they absolutely amazing!?! The children have shown real quality of craftsmanship here! Well done Nursery beautiful learning – I am so proud.

Fieldwork to The Deep

18th May 2026Laura Parsons

Today, our Key Stage One children embarked on an exciting fieldwork visit to The Deep — and what an incredible day it was!

From the moment we arrived, the children were completely immersed in the wonders of the ocean. As they explored the aquarium, they encountered magnificent sharks, graceful stingrays, colourful tropical fish and fascinating creatures from oceans around the world. There were gasps of amazement, endless excitement and so many thoughtful conversations as the children connected their learning from school to the real world around them.

One of the highlights of the day was taking part in a fantastic workshop all about protecting our oceans from plastic pollution. The children learned about the devastating impact plastic can have on marine life and explored simple but powerful ways we can all help care for our planet. We were incredibly proud of the way the children engaged with the session — asking insightful questions, sharing their own knowledge and showing genuine compassion for the animals affected by pollution.

Perhaps the thing we were proudest of all was the children’s impeccable behaviour throughout the day. Their enthusiasm, curiosity and kindness shone from start to finish. In fact, several members of the public took the time to comment on how polite, respectful and engaged our children were — something that made all the adults very proud indeed!

The visit was a wonderful opportunity to bring our expedition learning to life and helped the children see that even small actions can make a big difference in protecting our oceans. We returned to school inspired, informed and even more determined to help care for the world around us.

Well done, Year 2 — you were a real credit to our school!

Harry Saves the Ocean!

12th May 2026Sarah Winkley

Our second exciting text of our continuing first case study; “How can we help save the ocean?” is “Harry Saves the Ocean” by NGK and Sylvia Fae. This week the children entered Nursery to their beloved beach role play area, being trashed by more plastic pollution! This consolidated all of their prior learning from last week as the began to think rubbish in the sea and as you can imagine the children were so disappointed, sad and angered! This time the children had the skills they needed to be able to help problem solve the solution and were very happy to help recycle the rubbish and plastics into the correct recycling bins.

This week the children have been exploring the properties of 2d shapes and have been thinking about how they could use the shapes to create pictures of sea creatures. Here are some photos of their beautiful work.

The children have also been writing lists of all the rubbish and packaging which they have found in the sea, by hearing and attempting to write initial sounds. They were working so hard on their listening skills and produced some beautiful mark making and letter shapes with support.

“Oh that’s rubbish!”

12th May 2026Sarah Winkley

During our first week of case study one “How can we help save the ocean?” Nursery were outraged to discover that someone had been into Nursery and thrown rubbish, mainly plastic, all over our environment. The children were totally hooked into the case study immediately and shared some of their thoughts about how could we play and thrive in this environment? How did all of the rubbish make us feel? “Sad”, “Angry”, “Messy”, “Cluttered”, “Dirty”, “Shocked”, “Fuming”, “Cross”, “Upset” were some of the words that the children used.

They then drew faces using different emotions to share their feelings. Some children attempted to write initial sounds of feeling words.

This led to us introducing our first key text “The Odd Fish” by Naomi Jones. A story about a fish who finds a lonely “odd fish” (a plastic bottle) who hasn’t got a family of it’s own and they go on a journey to find the odd fishes family, only to find more rubbish. We consolidated our learning by immersing our water tray and sea creatures in plastic. The children attempted to help the animals by putting all of the rubbish into a bin.

On “Wise Wednesday” the children went on a gallery walk to observes real life pictures of creatures trapped, stuck and tangled in plastic. From this the children were guided to created an anchor chart of all the reasons why plastic is not good for our seas and the environment.

As part of our thoughtful Thursday Crew we thought about ways in which we could help the creatures, by thinking about getting rid of the plastic and rubbish properly. The children were introduced to recycling and were shown how to sort materials and put them into the correct recycling bins. The children each had a turn at this and did a great job.

Being the Healthiest Version of Me – Healthy Eating Community Meeting

29th April 2026Laura Parsons

This week, we came together for a Key Stage 1 community meeting as part of our guiding question: How can I be the healthiest version of me?

During our time together, we focused on how the food we eat helps to keep our bodies strong, healthy and full of energy. To get us thinking, we began with a simple question—holding up an apple and a piece of chocolate:
“Which one helps our body grow strong?”
The children quickly recognised that while some foods are better for our bodies, we can still enjoy a balance. This helped us introduce an important message: healthy eating is about balance, not restriction.

Learning About Healthy Foods

We explored the different types of food our bodies need:

  •  Fruits and vegetables help keep us healthy
  •  Carbohydrates (like bread and pasta) give us energy
  •  Dairy helps build strong bones
  •  Protein supports growth and repair

The children enjoyed sharing their own ideas, talking about the healthy foods they already love and eat at home.

Healthy or Not?

We then played a quick game of “Healthy or Not?” where children responded to different foods using actions:

  • 👍 Hands on head = healthy most of the time
  • 👎 Hands on knees = sometimes foods

This was a great way to reinforce that some foods are everyday foods and some are sometimes foods—and that both have a place in a balanced diet.

Reflecting Together

We spent some time thinking about how healthy foods help our bodies. The children shared brilliant ideas about how food gives us energy, helps us grow, and keeps us feeling good.

We also linked this back to our wider learning:

If we want to be superheroes in our community, we need strong, healthy bodies!

 Making a Healthy Pledge

To finish our community meeting, each child made a simple, personal pledge about how they can make a healthy choice:

  •  Eat more fruit and vegetables
  •  Drink more water
  •  Try a new healthy food

This moment encouraged the children to take ownership of their choices and recognise that even small changes can make a big difference.

 Our Key Message

We reminded the children that being healthy doesn’t mean being perfect. Instead, it’s about making small, positive choices each day that help our bodies grow, stay strong, and feel their best.

We are so proud of how engaged and thoughtful the children were during this session. Ask your child about their healthy pledge—you might even be inspired to make one of your own!

Thank you for your continued support.

We’re on the Hook!

20th April 2026Sarah Winkley

The whole of EYFS last week were well and truly hooked, lined and sunk into our new summer expedition “Seaside Explorers, what happens where the sea meets the shore?”

The children explored various sea creatures introduced to them through our hook text, “Commotion in the Ocean”. Each crew were given a sea creature to investigate and research, using the internet and supporting non fiction texts. The children then compiled fact files about their given sea creatures and created a large scale piece of artwork between them working collaboratively. They had lots of fun doing this and found out the most amazing facts! Each crew have employed all of their artistic talents to really think about how the creatures look and bring out the best in their features.

Both Nursery and Reception classes presented their sea creatures and fact files to each other in our weekly community meeting. They were so excited to share their interesting facts and spoke thoughtfully and beautifully about their creatures and the new knowledge that they now have! We can’t wait to dive deeper into our thrilling summer expedition. Just look at the quality and craftsmanship of our work, the children really were Go for it Gorillas!