Foxcubs Nursery recently had a visit from Animal Edge Farm, which brought a variety of friendly animals to the setting. The children and staff enjoyed a real hands-on educational and tactile experience, with animals including goats, chickens, a donkey, rabbits, and guinea pigs. All the children were very excited to see the animals in real life and relished the opportunity to touch and stroke them.

Parents were also invited to the session to share this wonderful experience with the children, too!

On Wednesday 31 July, Cockleshell Nursery proudly hosted a visit from Stephen Morgan (Minister for Early Education), Bayo Alaba (MP for Southend East) and Neil Leitch.

During the visit, the minister engaged with children and staff to gain a real understanding of a day in the life of an early years educator. He was keen to understand the challenges faced within the sector and what support could be provided for educators to attract more people into the sector.

Samantha Wildish, early years assistant manager at Cockleshell Nursery, said: “It was great to have the visit from Minister Morgan and our local MP, alongside Neil Leitch, to our nursery. It was nice to have the opportunity to show them what it is like to work in an early years setting and be able to voice our challenges at this present time. The staff felt appreciated for the hard work we do here, as they showed an interest in the staff and children, taking the time to ask us questions.”

It was an enjoyable day for all, and everyone was thankful for the opportunity to have their voices heard.

A massive well done to the Cockleshell team who continued to provide their usual high level of care on what was a busy day!

Just before end of term, children and staff at Centre Place Day Nursery noticed that the seeds they had planted days before had just begun to sprout. Over the summer holidays, both children and staff have continued to care for these plants, watering them every day (especially during the warm weather!), and have enjoyed watching them grow – especially the beautiful sunflower!

All children – whether from the birth-to-two room or the two-to-five room – have taken part in looking after the flowers and plants, taking this job very seriously.

The team hopes to harvest a small crop of salad vegetables for snacks soon, giving the children the opportunity to harvest, wash, cut up and eat their crops, providing an opportunity for sensory exploration, too.

The children have had to manoeuvre an incline to get to the flower beds, then lift a watering can up to sprinkle the water down, all while singing songs like ‘Jack and Jill went up the hill’ and ‘this is the way we water the flowers’.

Not only has this activity sparked awe and wonder around language, but it has also provided plenty of hand-eye coordination practice, problem-solving opportunities, and, of course, those crucial gross motor skills, including the sensory experience of weight when water is added to the watering can.

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