Little Owls Nursery Rothwell

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we head into the final days as our time as a Little Owls Nursery, it is time to prepare our final farewells.

Having joined Rothwell in 2015, I was immediately struck by the ethos of the setting; a staff team who always had children and families at the heart of everything. Whilst the staff team has changed over time – some moving to other Little Owls Nurseries, some left to explore new ventures, some have sadly passed away and others have retired, the ethos has remained.

I have had the most amazing time at Rothwell, and thank the staff team here for everything that they have done. For their support, their compassion and their drive that was deservedly recognised by Ofsted with an ‘Outstanding’ grading.

I am sure the staff will join me in thanking you as parents and carers, for your ongoing support especially at what has been a very difficult time over recent months. Whilst we recognise the need for us to move forward as a council to a more sustainable future, the emotional attachments that we have to each other, the children and families of Rothwell remain strong, and letting go is proving to be an emotional challenge.

Most of all a huge thank you to the children. What an absolute delight it has been to be a part of their little lives, seeing them develop over time as their confidence and personalities shine through. We have no doubt that they will continue to go from strength to strength and wish them every success for the future.

So, from me and all of the team at Little Owls Rothwell, thank you!

Wishing you all the very best, a happy holiday season, all the best for 2026 and all that the future has to offer you,

Your sincerely

Carol (Children's Centre Manager) and all the team at Rothwell ❤️

🎆 This week in the Foundation Room, our focus has been Bonfire Night and celebrating it safely. We have been making firework pictures and chatting about the bright colours of bonfires and fireworks. This fun activity has helped the children explore colours and practise their colour mixing skills.

🔥 If you are visiting any bonfire/firework displays over the weekend, make sure to stay safe by following Child Accident Prevention Trust

Halloween is almost here. Have you decided what your little ones will dress up as yet? Whatever you choose please keep safety in mind.

Remember:
🎃 Halloween costumes can be highly flammable so stay well away from naked flames and other heat sources
🎃 Try to buy from a reputable store or website. Cheap costumes may not meet UK safety standards.
🎃 Look for a costume with a UKCA or CE mark and be aware that cheap costumes may carry fake safety labels.
🎃 Look for a label that says: “This garment has undergone additional safety testing for flammability”.
🎃 Masks are spooktacular but they can make it harder for children to see or hear traffic. So, consider using face paint for trick or treating and save the masks for indoors.
🎃 Help make children more visible to drivers by adding reflective tape to their costumes or accessorising with glow sticks.

For more top tips on how to this Halloween visit: https://capt.org.uk/halloween/

Office for Product Safety and Standards

"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠" - Alfred Wainwright, 1973

It has been a wet and muddy day at Little Owls Rothwell!

As our nursery families will know well, we play out in all weathers and today has been no exception.

The children have really enjoyed making the most of the muddy puddles in the garden, particularly enjoying splashing in them. They also created their own activity, collecting the raindrops as they fell from the building and listening to the different sounds they made when hitting various objects.

🎃 𝒪𝒸𝓉𝑜𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝐻𝒶𝓁𝒻 𝒯𝑒𝓇𝓂 𝐻𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝐹𝓊𝓃 𝒶𝓉 𝑅𝑜𝓉𝒽𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝒞𝑜𝓂𝓂𝓊𝓃𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝐻𝓊𝒷 🦇

📍 Marsh Street, Rothwell, LS26 0AD

📢 URGENT APPEAL 🆘 – No child should go without💔

The need is urgent — Leeds Baby Bank is facing a critical shortage of mattresses and baby sleeping equipment, and without your help, vulnerable families and their little ones will go without.

Families in crisis are turning to us for help, but we cannot meet the demand without you. This is a call to the wonderful wider community of Leeds: your kindness can give a baby the most basic gift of all — a safe, comfortable place to sleep.

Leeds Baby Bank is desperately low on the following items:
• ✅ Cot mattresses NEW
• ✅ Cot bed mattresses NEW
• ✅ Standard Moses basket mattresses NEW

⚠️ Please kindly note that for health and safety reasons, we can only provide brand new mattresses. We cannot accept old or used mattresses.

We are also seeking:
• 🧺 Moses baskets & stands
• 🛏️ Cots
• 🛏️ Cot beds
• 🧷 Nappies size 0,1 & 5

Families are facing unimaginable hardship, and without these essential items, we are unable to fill referrals.

🙏 Please join us in this critical moment:
• Make a financial gift – just £5 can help us buy a brand-new mattress for a baby in need. • Purchase directly from our Wishlist.
• Donate your pre-loved cots, cot beds or Moses baskets (must be in good, clean condition).

💛 Every donation, every item, every share makes a real difference. Leeds — together, we can make sure no baby in our city goes without a safe place to sleep tonight.

👉 Donate here: Leeds Baby Bank – Donations : https://buff.ly/kxlcFHI Our Wishlist | Leeds Baby Bank : https://buff.ly/Iy0AaZv

🍂 𝓐𝓾𝓽𝓾𝓶𝓷 𝓪𝓽 𝓛𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓞𝔀𝓵𝓼 𝓡𝓸𝓽𝓱𝔀𝓮𝓵𝓵 🌰

Autumn is in full swing at Little Owls Rothwell and the children are enjoying lots of autumnal activities. Over the next few weeks we will continue talking about and looking for changes in the weather and the environment. The children have so far enjoyed creating autumn wreaths using natural materials they have found out in the community and brought to nursery, leaf rubbing and using the their natural materials to make play dough creations.

Please note that Stay and Play sessions on Mondays at Rothwell Children’s Centre are now on hold due to low attendance.

𝓒𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓫𝓮 𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓷𝓮𝔁𝓽 𝓕𝓸𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻4𝓛𝓮𝓮𝓭𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓻?

Leeds City Council has an amazing community of over 700 Foster4Leeds carers, but we still urgently need new people to become foster carers and offer a safe and loving home to children and young people in Leeds.

Our Foster4Leeds team are here to answer questions from everyone, from people who are completely new to the idea of fostering and what it entails, to those who are further on their journey and ready to talk to an adviser.

If you are over 21 and have a spare bedroom, you could be eligible to foster. Foster4Leeds offers different types of foster care roles which could suit your work or other commitments, including long-term and short-term care, emergency care, parent and child, supported lodgings, and more.

Our Foster4Leeds team will support you on every step of your journey, and you'll have access to exclusive benefits for you and your family.

We spoke to some of our amazing foster carers to find out the difference fostering has made to them.

Emma, a single foster carer, who has been with us for 1 year, said: “I would never know if it would be possible or not unless I gave it a try. It’s completely changed my family’s life and brought us all together. My parents have had the opportunity to take on a more grandparent role and my siblings are getting to be aunties and uncles for the first time.”

Steph, who, with her partner Dom, has been fostering with us for 1 year, said: “Fostering has just been the missing puzzle piece in our lives… Like with any lifestyle change, you adapt. Over time it just gets easier and easier. And everything else just makes up for it.”

Get in touch with us to find out how fostering can make a difference to your lives.

To find out more about Foster4Leeds and the role of a foster carer, hear from current carers, learn more about benefits and support, and see upcoming information event dates and locations, visit www.foster4.leeds.gov.uk

𝑩𝙖𝒍𝙖𝒏𝙘𝒊𝙣𝒈

Children in Foundation room (3-4s) have spent the morning focusing on their gross motor skills, using different equipment to walk and run along and balance. The children were initially unsteady but shows improvement with each turn they look.