Growing, exploring, connecting & celebrating together
Dear Families,
What a summer it has been!
As we reach the latter part of another incredibly busy summer, I wanted to take some time to properly update you on everything that has been happening at SPLAT.
So much more happens behind the scenes than can fit into our day-to-day updates. From curriculum development, staff training and SEND support to Forest School, new resources, community projects and improvements to our environments, this has certainly not been a quiet term.
Most importantly, our children continue to absolutely thrive.
Thank you, as always, for trusting us with such an important part of your children’s lives and for continuing to work in partnership with us.
HEALTHY CHILD, HEALTHY WORKFORCE ACCREDITATION
We are incredibly proud to announce that SPLAT has successfully achieved the Healthy Child, Healthy Workforce Accreditation with Central Bedfordshire Council.
This feels particularly special following our recent Ofsted inspection.
External recognition is always lovely, but this accreditation means a great deal to us because the Early Years Development Team at Central Bedfordshire Council work closely with settings and really get underneath the practice. They know our provision, our team and how we operate.
For our approach to children’s health and wellbeing, alongside the wellbeing and development of our workforce, to be recognised by professionals who regularly see Early Years provision across the local authority makes this another achievement we are extremely proud of.
A huge well done to our team. The quality children experience every day ultimately comes down to the practitioners delivering it, and achievements like this belong to them.
EVOLVING OUR ENVIRONMENTS — TAKING OUTDOOR LEARNING EVEN FURTHER
Anyone who knows SPLAT knows the outdoors isn’t an addition to our curriculum; it is a huge part of who we are.
Our children already spend a significant proportion of their week beyond the four walls of the nursery, whether that’s in our garden, Forest School, exploring Henlow Bridge Lakes or heading out into the wider community.
This summer, we wanted to look even more closely at how we could strengthen that further.
As part of our ongoing review of continuous provision, the team challenged themselves to spend an entire week using our outdoor environments as the children’s main classroom.
Naturally, we managed to choose one of the hottest weeks of the year!
Despite the added considerations around heat, shade and hydration, it became a fantastic opportunity for both the children and practitioners. The team adapted brilliantly, the children embraced the freedom of the environment, and it gave us an invaluable opportunity to observe how they played, learned and moved when the outdoor classroom became the centre of their day.
Most importantly, it let us see our environments through the children’s eyes.
We could see which resources naturally supported sustained play, where children were creating their own learning opportunities, what needed to be more accessible outdoors and how our indoor and outdoor continuous provision could work more seamlessly together.
The result has been a significant refresh of both our garden and continuous provision.
We have moved resources, reconsidered spaces, strengthened opportunities for independence and begun investing in additional resources that allow children’s learning to flow much more naturally between indoors and outdoors.
I’m sure many of you will already have noticed some of the changes.
What has been particularly lovely is seeing the impact not only on the appearance of the environment, but on how confidently the children are using it, the depth of their play and the way practitioners are extending learning within it.
This wasn’t about changing our outdoor ethos. It was about taking something already central to SPLAT and asking ourselves how we could make it even better.
And, as always, the children gave us many of the answers.
YOU SAID, WE LISTENED
Thank you enormously to the 19 families who took the time to complete our recent parent consultation.
The consultation was intentionally detailed because we want feedback that gives us something meaningful to measure and act upon.
I have decided that we will repeat this each term. This will allow us to measure outcomes over time, rather than simply ask for feedback and file it away.
We would really encourage even more families to participate next time.
Your feedback is genuinely read, discussed and acted upon.
You are the experts on your children, while our team bring their professional knowledge of child development and early education. Bringing those perspectives together is how we create the strongest outcomes.
One area we reviewed, following feedback from both parents and staff, has been our curriculum delivery programme.
Our additional sessions, including yoga, BSL and Spanish, are term-time programmes. This summer we have used the holiday period to trial longer and more frequent Forest School sessions.
Due to personal circumstances, MJ finished earlier than expected for the summer, so we increased our Friday Forest School provision, and it has been fantastic.
Going forward, Marta and Osito Spanish will pause during the warmer months and return for our winter programme from November until the end of February, while we will increase our Forest School presence to include Thursdays.
This gives us a lovely seasonal balance: embracing longer outdoor experiences when conditions allow, while allowing a little more time for warmth, comfort and our indoor curriculum during the coldest part of the year.
GROWING OUR FOREST SCHOOL PROVISION
This summer has given us a fantastic opportunity to expand how we use our forest and explore what an even greater Forest School presence can offer our children.
Despite the exceptionally dry weather meaning some of our usual experiences, particularly fire play, have had to pause, the forest has continued to be an incredible space for learning, connection, exploration and wellbeing.
Kayla has led much of our summer Forest School delivery alongside her nursery responsibilities and has worked closely with our Room Leaders to ensure what happens in the forest is purposefully connected to what children are learning in nursery.
For us, the forest is not somewhere children simply go for a change of scenery. It is another learning environment and a genuine extension of our curriculum.
Communication and language, mathematics, physical development, creativity, independence, problem-solving, resilience and school readiness can all develop naturally through the experiences children have there.
At the same time, we never want to lose the magic of what makes Forest School special, time to explore, take appropriate risks, become absorbed in play, connect with nature and simply enjoy being outdoors.
This summer we have invested heavily in new resources to support our developing curriculum, many of which will begin appearing within the provision over the coming weeks.
Although we’re still enjoying summer, our planning is already moving into the colder and wetter months. Resources, shelter, clothing and seasonal experiences are all part of ensuring high-quality outdoor learning continues whatever the weather.
The aim is not simply to spend more time outside.
It is to make the time children spend there richer, more purposeful and even more valuable.
HEATWAVES, DROUGHT & ADAPTING OUR DAY
This summer’s prolonged dry weather and high temperatures have certainly tested our outdoor ethos.
Rather than simply keeping children inside throughout hot periods, we have successfully used a short-period indoor/outdoor approach, responding continually to temperature, shade, hydration, conditions and individual children.
It has allowed children to continue benefiting from outdoor play without compromising their safety.
The hosepipe restrictions have been slightly less welcome! Water is such an important part of summer play, so the team have had to become even more creative.
Of course, knowing British weather, we’ll probably be discussing giant puddles, flooded paths and overflowing ponds before long.
That’s the beauty of outdoor education:
We don’t wait for perfect weather. We learn how to embrace the weather we have.
OUR BEE PROJECT IS BUZZING
Our Bee Project has also been quietly blooming in the background.
This summer, we took children to visit the beehives, turning theoretical knowledge into a real-life experience and allowing them to see where bees live, what they do, and why these tiny creatures matter so enormously to our ecosystem.
We have two more visits planned in August for our Preschool Leavers, and we intend to continue this annually with future Preschool cohorts.
Technology will transform our children’s world. They will grow up surrounded by AI, robotics and innovations we haven’t even imagined yet.
However advanced their world becomes, nature remains the foundation that keeps us alive.
Pollinators, soil, clean water, plants and biodiversity aren’t old-fashioned concepts. They are essential to our future.
If we can help children understand that relationship from their earliest years, we give them something technology cannot replace: a connection with and responsibility for the natural world around them.
MINI FIRST AID — LITTLE PEOPLE, LIFE-SAVING KNOWLEDGE
Our Preschool Leavers recently had the opportunity to enhance their curriculum through their very own Mini First Aid session, and it was fantastic.
The children explored age-appropriate first aid skills and began to understand what they can do if somebody needs help.
We feel so strongly about the value of this knowledge that we are now extending the opportunity to our parents, with an annual paediatric first aid session for SPLAT families.
Our children access genuine challenge and managed risky play, we really do what we say on the tin!
First aid fits beautifully alongside this part of our curriculum. Risky play isn’t about removing risk; it’s about helping children gradually learn to recognise, assess and manage it.
Ultimately, first aid knowledge saves lives.
OUR NEW AUTUMN/WINTER MENU
Gemma and Megan, our PANCo, have been working hard on our new Autumn/Winter Menu, which we’re sharing with families for consultation before it is finalised.
We would love your thoughts.
What would you like to see if not already there? What meals do your children particularly enjoy? Would recipe cards help you recreate nursery favourites at home?
Please use our Open Day to chat with Gemma, share your ideas, and help us have the new menu ready for September.
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS — WHAT A BEAUTIFUL READ
I have had the privilege of reviewing the children’s latest summative assessments, and they have genuinely been beautiful to read.
One thing comes through incredibly clearly:
Our practitioners know these children.
They know their personalities, interests, development, strengths, quirks, friendships and where they might need that little bit of additional support.
Our children are thriving because they have practitioners around them who genuinely know their stuff and, equally importantly, genuinely care about each and every child.
Please take the opportunity to talk with your child’s Key Worker at Open Day.
If you would like a longer, more detailed conversation, we can arrange this for another date or, where availability allows, accommodate appointments on the day. Longer discussions need to be booked in advance so we can ensure appropriate staffing.
PRESCHOOL GRADUATION — CLASS OF 2026
In just a few weeks, we will bid a very emotional farewell to our Class of 2026.
As always, this is an incredibly bittersweet moment.
We are so proud of the resilient, confident, kind, capable and wonderfully individual children we are preparing to say goodbye to.
But that doesn’t make saying goodbye any easier.
Some of these children have been in our care almost every day for pretty much their entire lives. We have watched them take their first steps, find their voices, build friendships, overcome challenges and grow into the little people they are today.
We will miss them deeply, and so will the friends and practitioners they leave behind.
We will also miss the families we have become so used to seeing at drop-off and collection. When a child leaves SPLAT, an entire family often leaves our everyday lives too.
Our Preschool Graduation takes place on Saturday 29th August and is a closed event exclusively for the families of our graduating children.
Tissues at the ready! 
Graduating families
Please remember to download and save the photographs you would like to keep from Famly before your account closes at the end of the month.
For some of you, there are years of wonderful memories stored there; don’t leave it until the last minute!
OPEN DAY — COME AND EXPERIENCE THEIR WORLD
Our Summer Open Day takes place on Saturday 15th August, 9:00am–12:00pm.
Open Day isn’t simply a morning where you turn up and look around. It is an opportunity to experience your child’s world with them.
Kayla and a number of practitioners will be based in the forest and available to talk with you about Forest School, the benefits of outdoor education and how the experiences you see translate into children’s development and learning.
Please ask them questions and let them show off the work they deliver. It builds practitioner confidence and gives families a much deeper understanding of why we do what we do.
There will be free activities throughout the morning in your children’s favourite spaces alongside many of their favourite people.
Come and play. Explore. Get muddy. Sit in the forest. Talk to the team.
The stronger the connection between child, family, practitioner and environment, the richer the nursery experience becomes.
OUR SPLAT WHATSAPP COMMUNITY
I created our SPLAT WhatsApp Community because nursery should be about more than dropping your child at the door and collecting them again.
We now have groups for individual rooms, general chat, emergency information, SEND, Hats On, Graduates and our Class of 2026, amongst others.
They are spaces for parents to build relationships, ask questions, arrange meet-ups and, importantly, help families who might sometimes feel isolated find their people.
You will probably see me posting quite a bit, but when I do, I do it as a parent in our community, not as the Director of SPLAT.
I have children growing up in this community too, and I know firsthand that parenting can sometimes feel isolating, even when you’re surrounded by people. My aim is simply to help you make those first connections.
We’ve already seen lovely park meet-ups, evening teas and genuinely valuable parent-to-parent conversations.
Our children are part of a community. Let’s keep building the family network around them too.
Join our SPLAT WhatsApp Community:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/Krb44Wc6qG7IoKqy8WssJL
BABYSITTING BY SPLAT PRACTITIONERS
We are often asked whether members of our team are permitted to babysit privately for SPLAT families.
Yes, staff may make their own private babysitting arrangements with families. As a matter of professional courtesy and safeguarding transparency, we ask that both the family and practitioner inform management when an arrangement is in place.
Please remember that these are private arrangements made directly between the parent/carer and individual practitioner. The practitioner is not working on behalf of SPLAT during that time, and SPLAT does not arrange, supervise or insure private babysitting.
That said, we completely understand why families may prefer someone their child already knows, trusts and has an established relationship with rather than an unfamiliar babysitter, and many members of our team are happy to offer this privately.
Private Babysitting Policy: https://splat.ltd/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Private-Babysitting-Out-of-Hours-Childcare-Policy.pdf
GIFTS FOR OUR TEAM
As another school year draws to a close, several parents have very kindly asked about gifts for practitioners and the nursery.
There is absolutely no expectation to purchase anything, but because families often ask, we have created a SPLAT Gift & Room Wish List containing things that will genuinely be used and enjoyed within the provision.
SPLAT Gift & Room Wish List:
https://www.thingstogetme.com/2354418a48997
For anyone considering a personal gift for a member of staff, please also familiarise yourself with our:
Staff Gifting / Anti-Bribery Policy:
https://splat.ltd/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Anti-Bribery-Policy-England-september-2025.pdf
The cards, messages and gestures of appreciation our practitioners receive genuinely mean a great deal.
Thank you in advance for showing our team such kindness.
A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR OUR PARENTS — GAIA COSMEDICAL
Alongside Open Day, we are delighted to introduce a new partnership with Gaia Cosmedical, conveniently located in Unit 3, just outside our Forest School.
Gaia Cosmedical is owned and run by Millie, who some of you will remember from her many years working here at SPLAT, and who also happens to be my eldest!
On Saturday 15th August, 11:00am–3:00pm, Gaia is opening exclusively for SPLAT families, with a choice of complimentary appointments:
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- Ultra Tesla Seat 10-minute trial — supporting pelvic floor and core strength.
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- Candela GentleMax Pro patch test — for those interested in long-term laser hair reduction and selected skin treatments.
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- Aesthetics & skin consultation with DermaXpert digital facial analysis, with personalised recommendations for your skin.
The offer is open to all family members within the SPLAT community. Please note that children cannot enter the salon for safety reasons.
SPLAT Family Discount
25% OFF your first treatment
10% OFF all future treatments
Appointments are required for the complimentary sessions.
Book here:
https://that-time.co.uk/%20gaia-cosmedical
You work incredibly hard for your little people, sometimes the grown-ups deserve a little something back too.
INVESTING IN OUR TEAM
Children cannot receive high-quality early education without knowledgeable, confident and continuously developing practitioners.
This remains one of our biggest investments.
Kayla & Amy M are undertaking their Level 3 Forest School training.
Amy H is completing her Level 3 Early Years apprenticeship within our Baby Room.
Angelina has enrolled on her Level 3 Early Years apprenticeship.
Kirsty has successfully completed Year One of university and her Level 4 with flying colours.
It has also been incredibly insightful to hear Kirsty’s perspective following her recent Reception placement at Cotton End Primary School, particularly her reflections on the similarities and differences between school and SPLAT, and how the experiences we provide in the Early Years support children as they move towards Reception.
Experiencing both environments has given Kirsty a valuable perspective on school readiness, transitions, and how our approach at SPLAT translates into the next stage of children’s education.
Please do have a chat with Kirsty at our Open Day if you would like to hear more about her experience and reflections first-hand
We are also enrolling practitioners onto further specialist development, including Lift Off to Language, Maths Champions, SEND awareness and Mental Health First Aid, alongside further curriculum-specific training.
Professional development doesn’t stop when somebody gains their Level 3.
We expect our practitioners to remain curious learners themselves.
SHARING OUR PRACTICE
Earlier this summer we had the pleasure of hosting the Central Bedfordshire Preschool Network Meeting in our forest.
It was wonderful to hear feedback from other local Early Years professionals about our environment, the elements of our provision that inspired them and the ideas they planned to take back to their own settings.
Receiving such positive feedback and encouragement from Central Bedfordshire’s Early Years Development Officers about the quality of our provision was equally motivating for both me and the team.
We are incredibly proud of what happens here, but we never want to become complacent.
Sharing practice means everybody learns.
We’ve also welcomed several young volunteers from local secondary schools over recent months.
It’s always a pleasure to open our doors to young people exploring careers involving children, and this absolutely isn’t a career just for girls.
We welcome young men and women interested in Early Years, education, sport, outdoor learning, Forest School, SEND and the many other career pathways surrounding children.
Somebody has to give a young person their first opportunity. We’re very happy for SPLAT to be that place sometimes.
GEORGIE & MADDI — ONE MATERNITY JOURNEY BEGINS AS ANOTHER ENDS
This summer we say a very positive farewell, for now, to Georgie, as she begins her maternity leave ahead of welcoming baby number two this winter.
We wish Georgie and her family every happiness as they begin this exciting new chapter, and we can’t wait to meet their newest little addition.
And, almost as though we planned it…
We are delighted to welcome Maddi back from maternity leave!
Where that time went, I genuinely do not know.
It’s wonderful to have Maddi returning to the team. We will communicate any resulting Key Worker information or changes directly to families over the coming weeks.
SEND, INCLUSION & ADVOCACY
Inclusion remains fundamental to SPLAT.
Ellie continues to work incredibly closely with children, parents, practitioners and outside professionals to identify additional needs and ensure children receive appropriate support.
Most recently, her persistence and work alongside one of our families has helped secure an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for a child leaving us for school this September.
That plan can unlock an array of support and opportunities that may otherwise not have been available.
That’s why early identification matters.
Our aim is to identify gaps as early as possible and work together to close them where we can before children leave us for school.
Where ongoing support is needed, our responsibility is to ensure the child and their family leave SPLAT with a voice, evidence, support, confidence and the strongest possible platform from which to advocate for what that child needs next.
Every child deserves to belong.
As some of you know, alongside the approximately one million other hats I wear, I have also recently experienced home education first-hand.
It has given me another perspective on children’s individual learning styles, school readiness and the importance of education responding to the child rather than simply expecting the child to fit the education.
If you’re interested in our journey, feel free to catch up with me at Open Day.
REMEMBERING DAVE CURSON
This summer also brought enormous sadness to Henlow Bridge Lakes and our wider community as we said goodbye to Dave Curson, the owner, visionary and architect behind so much of what surrounds us here today.
Dave was a true local legend.
It was an absolute honour to know him and work so closely alongside him.
On a personal level, Dave saw something in me and took a huge chance on both me and the vision for SPLAT. Without that belief and opportunity, much of what exists here today simply wouldn’t have been possible.
I will remain eternally grateful to him.
It is a deep regret that we didn’t get to see the first brick laid on our planned new nursery development before Dave passed away.
One of the greatest ways I can honour the confidence Dave placed in me, however, is to continue pursuing the future we spent so much time discussing and ensure the ambition for this nursery doesn’t stop here.
We hope to receive greater legal clarity on the proposed development over the coming weeks.
Whatever comes next, Dave’s influence will remain woven into this place, and the opportunities generations of children will continue to experience here.
Thank you, Dave.
OCCUPANCY & THE FUTURE OF SPLAT
Demand for places at SPLAT continues to be incredibly strong, and we currently have very limited availability across our rooms over the coming years.
Availability varies depending on your child’s age, the room they require and the days or sessions you are looking for, with spaces sometimes becoming available as children’s attendance patterns change.
Current availability at a glance
September 2026 – January 2027
A small number of spaces remain within our Toddler and Preschool Rooms.
January – April 2027
Limited availability across the nursery.
September – December 2027
Further limited availability.
January – April 2028
Some availability within our Baby Room and Preschool Room.
Spring 2028 onwards
Further Baby Room availability begins to open.
Summer 2028 onwards
We expect availability to become more flexible across the provision.
Availability is always subject to children’s ages, required attendance patterns, staffing and room capacity, so please speak with us regarding your individual requirements.
We particularly encourage existing families planning for siblings, additional days or changes to their current attendance to talk to us as early as possible. We will always do our best to accommodate our existing families, but unfortunately cannot guarantee additional sessions where rooms have reached capacity.
Behind the scenes, we are also developing a new booking system designed to analyse our occupancy and future availability much more efficiently.
Managing childcare occupancy involves much more than simply counting spaces. Children’s ages, room transitions, ratios, funding arrangements, attendance patterns and school-leaving dates all interact, making future availability surprisingly complex.
Our new system is being designed to bring this information together, allowing us to identify genuine availability more quickly and respond to families more accurately.
We hope to begin rolling this out during 2027.
Ultimately, the aim is simple: less time spent manually analysing occupancy and more management time available to focus on our children, families, team and the quality of our provision.
WORKING SMARTER = MORE TIME FOR WHAT MATTERS
We have also been developing a new internal task-management system.
That might not sound particularly exciting in a parent newsletter, but it matters.
Our aim is to streamline practitioner and leadership tasks, clarify ownership, improve time management, and reduce unnecessary duplication.
We recently completed another round of practitioner appraisals, and effective time use is one of our development focuses.
This isn’t about rushing practitioners or squeezing more into their day. It’s about ensuring their professional time goes to what makes the greatest difference.
Every hour we remove from unnecessary administration is time we can redirect to children, practitioners, environments, curriculum development, and quality improvement.
Good systems shouldn’t create more bureaucracy. They should create more time for what actually matters.
SUMMER STAY & PLAY
This summer we responded to demand by expanding our Forest Stay & Play programme.
We wanted this to be another tangible thank-you to our families, which is why registered SPLAT families have been offered free access, with reduced rates for children who have graduated from SPLAT.
Opening our forest to the wider community matters too.
Families should have opportunities to experience what high-quality play and Early Years learning can look like.
Children don’t need endless entertainment.
They need time, space, appropriate challenge, interesting resources and adults who understand when to step in, and when to step back.
We’re using this summer programme to explore what additional community and Forest School opportunities we may be able to offer in the future.
THE GREAT GUINEA PIG POTATO INCIDENT!
It wouldn’t be SPLAT without at least one story like this…
We recently found ourselves making an unexpected visit to the vets after one particularly helpful little person decided that the guinea pigs might appreciate some raw potato!
Unfortunately, raw potato is not safe for guinea pigs.
Cue a slightly anxious trip to the vets.
Thankfully, everyone is absolutely fine.
We’ve reviewed access to animal food and put additional measures in place to prevent any repeat culinary experiments.
It also became a rather memorable real-life learning opportunity around animal care and the fact that food which is perfectly safe for us isn’t necessarily safe for our animals.
The guinea pigs live to tell the tale. 
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Saturday 15th August — Summer Open Day | 9:00am–12:00pm
Come and experience nursery and Forest School alongside your child, talk with practitioners and enjoy a morning within their world.
Saturday 29th August — Preschool Graduation | Class of 2026
A closed event exclusively for the families of our graduating Preschool children.
Saturday 12th September — Parent Paediatric First Aid
Our Mini First Aid opportunity for SPLAT parents, helping families develop practical paediatric first aid knowledge and confidence.
Saturday 12th December — Winter Open Day | 9:00am–12:00pm
Our final Open Day of 2026.
Wednesday 23rd December-Sunday 3rd January | Christmas & New Year Closure.
Please add these dates to your diary. We will remind families again closer to Christmas.
FINALLY, THANK YOU
Underneath everything we do is something very simple:
Children who are happy, safe, known, challenged, loved and learning.
That remains the reason behind everything.
A huge thank you to our practitioners for the extraordinary amount of themselves they put into SPLAT every single day, their energy, care, creativity, patience, professional knowledge and genuine love for the children never go unnoticed.
And our team extends far beyond the practitioners working directly in our rooms.
A huge thank you to Alison, our cleaner, who works behind the scenes to keep our environment ready for another very busy day; Chef Gem, for feeding our children and continually developing our menus; Janet, who supports our accounts and childcare funding, helping to keep an increasingly complex part of nursery life running smoothly; and Lee, who continues to support our health & safety and forest management.
Every role contributes to the experience our children receive, and SPLAT simply wouldn’t function without the people working both in front of and behind the scenes.
Thank you to our families for your feedback, support, trust and involvement.
And thank you to our children for continuing to make this the wonderfully unpredictable, muddy, noisy, curious and happy place that it is.
We have lots more planned as we move towards autumn and winter and, as ever, we’ll keep listening, evolving and asking ourselves what we can do even better.
Here’s to the rest of summer. 
With love,
Gemma
Managing Directo