Gallery
Autumn 2025
Children returned to preschool for the autumn term and seamlessly settled back into preschool life. Our new Caterpillar children adjusted quickly to the preschool routine and to the new faces greeting them each day.
During half term, the parent fundraising committee held a Halloween Party for the children as part of their fundraising for a new outside den for the setting.
The preschool marked Remembrance Day with the children, and a group visited the War Memorial at St. George’s on 6th November to lay a wreath in remembrance.
As part of our 'people who help us' topic we were fortunate enough to have a visit from a doctor as well as Leatherhead Fire Watch complete with fire engine! The children had a fabulous time climbing through the fire truck and spraying the hose!
The children celebrated bonfire night round a ‘home-made’ bonfire along with a variety of firework theme activities. Later in the term the children also celebrated Diwali, making their own Diwali lamps, and Hanukkah.
The preschool worked with Caterpillar Music, who ran weekly sessions for the children during the second half of the term.
Another important topic this term centred around the theme of keeping safe. This not only encompassed road safety, where each child had a lesson in how to cross the road correctly, but also personal and online safety.
Towards the end of term, we had a number of Christmas celebrations with the children, including our annual show that the children performed for their parents and a Christmas party complete with party lunch and entertainment.
Amongst all the activities mentioned above we also welcomed back Storyteller John to tell us some traditional tales and had some stay and play sessions where parents could come and enjoy our provision with their child.
Summer 2025
During the summer term we invited Athletix Kidz to run sports sessions with the children. They learnt valuable skills to help them in future sports. This included lots of opportunities for jumping and throwing.
The highlight of the term was a visit from Browells Farm Pet Therapy where the children had hands on experience with range farm animals such as piglets, lambs and chickens, as well as kittens and rabbits to name a few.
This year, we teamed up with The City of London, Ashtead Common Wardens again to run structured visits to Ashtead Common. Here the children had an opportunity to explore, take bark rubbings and play 'Pooh Sticks'.
During the last few weeks we provided two immersive days, a "trip to the airport" followed by a "day at the beach". This was great fun!
We had a grandparents Stay and Play session which was well attended and was a lovely opportunity for the grandparents to share in their grandchild’s preschool journey.
We finished off the term with our traditional Leavers Celebration, which included a sports session, where we bade farewell to all the children who left to move onto ‘big school’.
Spring 2025
At the start of the Spring term the children celebrated the Luna New Year with food tasting and their very own dragon dance.
As part of our curriculum relating to oral health, we welcomed a dentist to the setting who talked to the children about the importance of healthy eating and brushing their teeth properly. This was supported by activities in the setting designed to lay the foundations for good habits in oral health. The children each received a children’s toothbrush and a 1:1 tooth brushing lesson with a staff member.
The children learnt about road safety and all the children received a lesson in crossing the road safely, using the Barnett Wood Lane zebra crossing.
Thanks to parent fundraising, we were able to offer the children a visit from Rah Rah Theatre company who put on a Teddy Bears Picnic show for our children. We were also able to treat the children to a visit from Little City, where they engaged in an immersive imaginative play experience. Both were big hits! In addition to this, we continued some sessions with Angel Yoga and also had a block of Caterpillar Music sessions where the children expressed themselves through music and movement.
We celebrated World Book Day. Children were invited to dress up as their favourite book/book character for the day. The staff (and the guinea pigs) also got into the spirit by dressing up as Where's Wally! Some of the children from Barnett Wood Infant School joined us and shared their favourite stories with our children and we also held our first sibling story time in partnership with Barnett Wood Infant School.
During the term we had regular visits from Storyteller John. The children look forward to his visits and are always very engaged with the stories he tells.
