We strive to create a caring, supportive environment where children can thrive physically, emotionally, socially, and intellectually. Our dedicated team is passionate about helping every child achieve their full potential within a nurturing, stimulating, and homely setting.
Working Together for your Children
Whenever possible, we maintain a higher ratio, ensuring additional support for the children. This approach reflects our commitment to providing the best care and attention for every child. Additionally, parent volunteers help enrich our environment by:
- giving time and attention to each child
- talking with the children about their interests and activities
- helping children to experience and benefit from the activities we provide
- allowing the children to explore and be adventurous in a safe environment
Key Persons
Our setting uses the key person approach, meaning each staff member is responsible for a specific group of children. Your child’s key person will work with you to ensure that the care we provide meets your child’s individual needs and interests. When your child first joins us, their key person will conduct the initial home visit, organise stay-and-play sessions, help your child settle, and support their development throughout their time at the pre-school. They will also keep you informed of your child’s progress and work with you if additional support is needed. While your child’s key person will be your primary contact, all staff are available to listen, support, and engage with you and your child.
Records of Achievement
Each child has a learning journey, accessible via their Famly account, which documents their development and achievements. This collaborative record helps us celebrate milestones and plan for further growth. Your child’s key person works closely with you to maintain and update this record.
Special Needs
To meet the needs of each individual child, we adhere to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015). We are well placed to observe any child who may need additional support. If we identify a concern about your child’s development, the pre-school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) will discuss it with you, and a plan will be made. If needed, we may seek advice from external professionals with your consent. Confidentiality is always maintained.
Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators are Alex Boyce and Helene Schwier.
Clothing
We provide aprons for the children when engaging in messy activities. However, we encourage the children to wear aprons, but we do not force them. Please dress your child in clothes that are comfortable and can get messy. We encourage children to develop independence and learn how to care for themselves, including taking themselves to the toilet and putting on or taking off outdoor clothes. Clothing that is easy for them to manage will support these skills.
We ask parents to bring in a spare set of clothes that can be left on your child’s peg. We go out in all weather so please dress them appropriately and you will need to make sure they have wellies, sunhats, and waterproofs at times.
Please ensure that all clothing and belongings your child brings to pre-school are clearly labelled, as this helps both your child and our staff.
Snack and Lunch
We consider snack and mealtimes an important part of the day, as they represent a social time for children and adults. These times also offer opportunities for children to learn about healthy eating habits. We encourage parents to provide nutritious food for all meals and snacks, ensuring that they meet the individual dietary needs of their child. We kindly ask that you avoid including large quantities of saturated fats, sugar, salt, artificial additives, preservatives, and colourings in your child’s meals.
As part of our commitment to healthy eating, we request that you refrain from packing crisps, chocolate, cakes, or sweets in their lunch boxes. Please save these types of treats for home. Additionally, we are a nut-free setting due to allergies, so we ask you to avoid using nut products and check for nuts in items such as cereal bars. Your support in this matter is greatly appreciated.
We understand that some children may have specific food preferences or aversions to certain textures, which can be stressful for both children and parents. Our staff will provide support to you and your child in such cases.
Due to limited fridge space, please pack an ice pack in your child’s lunch box to keep perishable items cool. If something needs to be refrigerated, please inform a staff member.
We are unable to reheat food at the pre-school, so if your child requires hot food, we ask that you use a thermos container. At lunchtime, we will pour the contents into a bowl for your child to eat.
Based on our experience, we recommend not overfilling lunch boxes, as an excessive amount of food can overwhelm some children, making them anxious about not having enough time to eat. By the summer term, many children are able to eat larger portions in a shorter amount of time.