I was really pleased to visit our nursery at Waddington last week and admire the fantastic new mural that has been painted in the main hallway, as you walk upstairs. A very talented local designer, Katherine Armstrong-Short painted it for us and spent a long time putting on different layers of egg-shell paint so that little fingers could touch the alphabet letters on their way past without smudging it. We also have a very splendid hot air balloon taking off above the letters and it already seems to have been noticed by lots of the children. If you fancy something similar at home, do have a look at Katherine’s website, www.style-guide.co.uk

We have a lot of investment going in to many of the nurseries at the moment, to ensure we have the correct resources to support the Early Years Foundation Stage. Our Operations Managers seem to be co-ordinating a major amount of shopping, with Waddington, Gainsborough, Wragby Road, Lincoln College and Cottesmore first on the list, the remaining nurseries not far behind. Who said retailers were having a hard time?!