Information Pack
All children are welcome to attend irrespective of gender, race, language, culture, disability, learning difficulty.
Newbottle and Charlton pre-school was established in 1967 and has been operating in the village of Charlton, for the past 50 years. The pre-school offers educational care for children in the local area aging from 18 months-5 years inclusive. The facility is a registered charity and approved by the Ofsted authority to provide this care.
The service currently offered by the pre-school is from 8.00am till 6.00pm,(Mon-Thurs) and 8.00-4.00 Fridays.
The pre-school is run by an elected committee, which includes parents and staff. There is currently 5 qualified staff on the payroll.
The playgroup is funded via 4 main sources,
- Childcare vouchers from Northampton County Council
- Fees paid by parents/carers.
- 30 hours
- Fundraising
British Values
As a school we promote British Values to ensure young people leave Newbottle & Charlton prepared for life in modern Britain. We have a duty to ‘actively promote’ the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
Newbottle and Charlton Pre-school aims to:
- Provide high quality care and education for children primarily below statutory school age
- Work in partnership with parents to help children to learn and develop
- Add to the life and well- being of the local community
- Offer children and their parents a service which promotes equality and values diversity
As a member of Newbottle and Charlton Pre-school, your child:
- Is in a safe and stimulating environment
- Is given generous care and attention, because of our high ratio of adults to children
- Has the chance to join with other children and adults to live, play, work and learn together
- Is helped to take forward her/his learning and development by being helped to build on what she/he already knows and can do
- Has a personal key person who makes sure your child makes satisfying progress
- Is in a pre-school which see you as a partner in helping your child to learn and develop
- Is in a pre-school in which parents help to share the service it offers.
The Curriculum Provided by Newbottle and Charlton Pre-school
Children start to learn about the world around them from the moment they are born. The care and education offered by Newbottle and Charlton Pre-school helps children to continue to do this by providing all the children with interesting activities that are right for their age and stage of development.
For all children, the pre-school follows a set of guidelines for the Early Years foundation stage of education. These guidelines are set out in a document, published by the Early Years Department for Education and Skills, and is based on Every Child Matters change for children agenda. Pre-school follows this guidance.
The guidance divides children's learning and development into seven areas:
There are Prime Areas of learning: Prime areas fundamental, work together, and are move through to support development in all areas:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
- Communication, Language.
- Physical Development.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development:
This area of children's development covers:
- Making relationships
- Self-confidence and self-awareness
- Managing feelings and behaviour
Communication and Language Development:
This area of children's development covers:
- Listening and attention
- Understanding
- Speaking
Physical Development:
This area of children's development covers:
- Moving and handling
- Health and self care
There are the Specific areas of learning: Specific areas include essential skills and knowledge for children to participate successfully in society.
- Literacy Development.
- Understanding of the World.
- Expressive Arts and Design.
- Mathematics.
Literacy Development.
- Reading
- Writing
Understanding the World
- People and communities
- The world
- Technology
Expressive Arts and Design
- Exploring and using media and materials
- Being imaginative
Mathematics:
- Numbers
- Shape, space, and measure
The guidance is focused on Every Child Matters Agenda which is split into 3 areas:
The guidance also offers themes and commitments which we are then inspected on during ofsted inspections.
A Unique child- includes diversity and special needs, build a safe and healthy environment, and ensure children develop to their full potential.
Positive Relationships – to help children respect each other, work in partnership with parents, build on the key worker system and support children’s learning.
Enabling Environments – to ensure children are given a stimulating environment in which to learn, be observed and assessed and working in partnership with others.
Learning & Development- this is where the educational guidelines are found.
Play helps young children to learn and develop through doing and talking, which research has shown to be how young children think. Newbottle and Charlton Pre-school uses the early learning goals and their steppingstones to plan and provide a range of play activities which help children to make progress in each of the areas of learning and development. In some of these activities’ children decide how they will use the activity, and, in others, an adult takes the lead in helping the children to take part in the activity. In all activity’s information from the early learning goals and steppingstones has been used to decide what equipment to provide and how to provide it.
Working Together for your Children
Newbottle and Charlton Pre-school’s ratio of adults to children helps us to:
- Give time and attention to each child.
- Talk with the children about their interests and activities.
- Help children to experience and benefit from the activities we provide; and
- Allow the children to explore and be adventurous in safety.
Management and Administration
The Pre-school is run by an elected committee, which ensures that major decision-making is in the hands of the parents who use the group. The committee are responsible for:
- Managing the pre-schools finances
- Employing and managing the staff
- Making sure that the pre-school has and works to policies
- Making sure that the pre-school works in partnership with the children’s parents.
- Fundraising Activities
Our Annual General Meeting, at which the committee for the following year is elected, is held in September and parents will be informed in good time so they are able to attend. However, you can join the committee at any time - please contact any member for further information.
The Service we Offer
We are open five days a week between 9.00am and 11.30am, and 12.30 to 3.00pm. We can also provide a lunchtime session between 11.30am and 12.30pm. Alternatively we can provide full day care.
We also offer early morning sessions from 8:00am or 8:30am and after school sessions from 3:00pm – 6:00pm. Monday to Thursday and till 4.00 on a Friday.
We are closed during school holidays and follow the same term dates as Newbottle & Charlton Primary School.
We provide care and education for young children aged between 18 months and 5 years.
The staff and committee recommend that children attend a minimum of 2 sessions a week. It is felt that this helps children to settle in more quickly.
LUNCHTIMES
We offer the opportunity to get a hot meal for your child’s lunch. The lunches are made by a company called Fresh Start and operate at Newbottle & Charlton Primary School. You will be given a letter with log in details on how to order the food, which is a cost of £2.00. Alternately you can bring in a packed lunch.
The First Step
We operate a waiting list and for your child to be included we need a registration form (included with this pack) complete and returned to the Pre-school together with a non-refundable deposit of £15 which will secure your child’s place. Details of this are included in our charging policy.
As the time approaches for your child to start Pre-school, we recommend that your child visits Pre-School and stays for a whole session. There is no charge for this visit.
Starting at Newbottle and Charlton Pre-school
The first days
We want your child to feel happy and safe at the pre-school. To make sure that this is the case, the staff will work with you to decide on how to help your child to settle into the pre-school. The pre-school has a policy about helping children to settle into the pre-school.
Clothing
Each child has a named peg in the hall for coats, bags, and hats. Each child also has a named drawer for paintings, letters etc, so please check it at the end of each session. The pre-school provides protective clothing for the children when they play with messy activities, but we ask you to bring a bag with spare clothes ,wellies all in ones, and if necessary, pull ups, wipes, and nappy bags. Please could you name clothes, especially sweatshirts as this helps us to reunite children with their clothes. Please remember a sun hat in summer and a warm hat and gloves for outdoor play in winter.
How Parents take part in the Pre-school
As a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, we recognise parents as the first and most important educators of their children. All the staff see themselves as co-workers with you in providing care and education for your child. There are many ways in which parents take part in making the playgroup a welcoming and stimulating place for children and parents, such as:
- Exchanging knowledge about their children’s needs, activities interests and progress with the staff
- Helping at sessions of the pre-school
- Sharing their own special interests with the children
- Helping to provide, make and look after the equipment and materials used in the children’s play activities.
- Being part of the management of the pre-school
- Taking part in events and informal discussions about the activities and curriculum provided by pre-school.
Terms and Conditions
In the event of your child leaving pre-school, for any reason other than them starting school, the Playgroup will require 6 weeks’ notice and a leaving form must be completed. If your child leaves before the end of the 6-week notice period and is fee-paying, then the balance of the fees owed up to the end of the 6-week period must be paid.
Dropping off and Collection
Parents are welcome to use the top car park when dropping off and collecting their child but are reminded that they must not use the bottom car park. The barrier will be locked at the end of the day as staff members leave. The front door is always locked with a member of staff manning it.
Please do not arrive to collect your child before the end of the session, unless agreed with staff. Our collection procedure is designed to ensure maximum safety for your child. We therefore request that you remain outside until a member of staff advises you that your child is ready for collection.
If someone other than yourself will be collecting your child, please inform the staff when your child is brought to Pre-school, you may be asked to give a password. In the event of an emergency please let the staff know who is collecting your child by telephoning the pre-school on (01295) 812909.
Health Matters
For the benefit of your own child, the staff, and other children attending Pre-school, please keep your child at home if they are unwell. Our staff are qualified to administer routine first aid. If a child becomes unwell or has a serious accident, every effort will be made to contact the parents. When parents cannot be reached, we will be responsible for contacting a doctor or summoning an ambulance if necessary. We ask parents to supply us with emergency contact numbers and full details of any relevant medical problem or allergy. Please let us know if your emergency contact number changes, it is important that we have up-to-date information.
In the case of vomiting or diarrhoea, children should be kept at home for 48 hours from the last occurrence of sickness. If a child is being treated with antibiotics it is our recommendation that they should stay at home for a full 48 hours.
SEN
The number of adults present in pre-school enables us to give each child some individual attention. They can progress at their own rate in all areas of development. We are experienced in working in close liaison with professionals across the range of special needs. If you would like to discuss the group’s ability to meet your own child’s special needs, please talk to the pre-school leader or your child’s key worker.
Pre-school Staff
We are proud of the high ratio of adults to children in our pre-school. This ensures individual attention to the needs and development of each child. Our staff are well trained and very experienced in working with young children.
Key Workers
Our key worker system gives each member of staff responsibility for a specific group of children. Each child in the group has one special adult to relate to, which can make settling into the group very much easier. In addition, the key worker can tailor the group’s curriculum to the unique needs of each individual child. The key worker maintains links with the child’s home setting, working with parents through shared record keeping. This ensures that all children are supported in reaching their full potential.
Record-Keeping
Because so many adults help in the group, we can implement an excellent record-keeping system in which observations of the children in the group, and at home, are used as a basis for drawing up a curriculum for each child. We as a setting use Family, this app is designed to build a Learning Profile for each individual child. As a parent, you can access this app at any time, looking through what they have done, any intimate care needs that have been given and even post some of your own observations for your child’s Key Worker to review.
Training
Our membership of the Pre-School Learning Alliance (PLA) ensures that we are constantly in touch with new thinking in the field of child education and care. We receive a monthly magazine offering practical advice and up to date information and have access to a range of professionally produced publications. Parents may ask to see any of these. In addition, on-going training is available through PLA courses, which welcome both staff and parents. Informal training is available through local meetings and conferences, and parents will always be informed about these.
Complaints
The committee recognises that problems do arise and are always happy to discuss any concerns you may have regarding the pre-school and will endeavour to find a solution. For further details please find attached the complaints policy. Your first point of contact is the Pre-school Chairman.
The Benefits of Parental Involvement in Pre-school
The Pre-School Learning Alliance recognises parents as the first and most important educators of their young children. Our pre-school aims to support parents. Parents are welcomed:
§ To work in the group with the children.
§ To work with pre-school staff to record information about their child’s progress and achievements.
§ To assist with fund-raising.
§ To take part in the management of the pre-school.
§ To attend open meetings of the PLA.
§ To attend training courses, workshops and conferences organised by the PLA.
There are long term benefits of parental involvement which starts within the pre-school setting – the early participation may encourage the parent to continue actively taking part in primary and secondary schools, where it is equally beneficial to all concerned.
