When Can I Come?

Provided we have vacancies, your child can start to visit the pre-school when they are two years old and stay until you go to school. At this stage you will be staying with your child. If you have younger children, you are welcome to bring them with you but they must remain your responsibility.

What Will I Eat?

We offer you some fruit and a drink during mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks but please bring your own lunch. Wherever possible we will use local, or fairly traded or organic produce for our break time snacks.

What Shall I Wear?

We have fun with so many things: painting and sticking, playdough and sandpit, collage, cooking, bikes and trikes, gardening and dressing up. Some activities we do are messy and although overalls are provided it's a good idea to wear practical and comfortable clothes. Maybe bring a spare set too ... just in case!

What Else Will I Do?

There is free time to play and explore, story time to rest a while or be part of the story, we sing and dance and make the finest (and loudest) music and then there's the garden ... is it a wilderness, a race track, or a quiet space just to sit and watch the flowers grow.

Activities are varied and include:

Free Play - with access to a home corner, dressing-up clothes, construction toys, puzzles, book corner and sand-play. The children have access to a computer and other IT equipment, including educational videos and audio cd's and cassettes.
Creative Play - including painting, sticking, drawing and colouring, working with textiles, woodwork, play dough and clay and cooking. This is how your child learns to make sense of their world. You will be inundated with some fantastic pieces of work!
Story Time - children are asked to bring in favourite books to show, we also have a set story time, which we use to encourage group discussions. The children have access to the book corner during the session, and books are changed on a regular basis to complement the current learning theme.
Songs and Music - the children use a selection of percussion instruments and have access to music and story tapes. We finish our session with songs and rhymes and everyone is encouraged to join in!
Physical Play - we have a selection of new bikes, small trikes and ride on toys for the children, a large slide, beanbags, balls and hoops, balancing beams and a parachute! The children have a lovely outdoor play area and garden. They are able to play or sit quietly and are able to participate in the designing and creation of this outside space, including choosing the plants and saying where they want them to be planted. We are currently planting our fruit and veg for the Summer. We can also walk to the local park and enjoy using the play equipment provided there.

Settling In

We like to settle children into the pre-school very gradually, to give them time to get to know the staff, the other children, and to become familiar with the building and our routines. Every child is taken through this process at their own pace. Some children adapt quickly; others take a little while.

It is important that we work together over these first few days to make it as easy as possible for your child to settle here with us. During your initial visits, you will be staying with your child, and the manager will chat to you about how your child is coping and the best way to help your child prepare for you leaving them at pre-school. We like you to be open and honest with your child about what is going to happen, talking about pre-school while you are at home, so that the first day on their own is not a surprise.

We find that short breaks are often best to start off with. If you explain to your child that you are popping to the shop, and will be back soon, their confidence soon grows, safe in the knowledge that you will always return.

How Our Pre-school Is Run

A committee of parents/carers runs the pre-school, and anyone starting at the pre-school is encouraged to join. We are a non-profit making organisation, and a registered charity. To keep fees to a minimum, we fund raise for equipment and improving facilities for the children. The fees paid go towards wages, running costs and insurance.