Prospectus

Two-year old's will be offered mornings, Monday to Friday from 9.00 -12.00 dependent on availability.

Key Person

The pre-school has a key person system. This means that each member of staff has a group of children for whom they are particularly responsible. They will support you and your child throughout their time at pre-school and help them to benefit from all the activities provided. Your Key person will be responsible for your child’s record keeping and regular progress reports will be shared during their time with us. Your child’s key person is available to discuss any concerns or issues regarding your child at the beginning of most sessions.

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Learning Journeys

The setting keeps a learning journey for each child. Your child's Learning journey helps us to work together to provide what your child needs for their well-being enabling them to make developmental progress.

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The key person will collect information about your child's needs, activities, interests and achievements through liaising with parent’s/carers, observations, photographs and the use of Tapestry. This information will enable the key person to identify your child's stage of developmental progress and with you set next steps, which will challenge and consolidate learning.

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Feedback from your child’s key person will be 2/3times/year; this will either be in a progress report, informal discussion or both.

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​Our Curriculum

The curriculum is based on the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFS) which supports a child’s learning from birth to five. It is a play-based curriculum which allows children to learn and explore in a safe and secure environment.

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Our provision reflects the key themes, which are;

A Unique Child

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Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured +

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Positive Relationships

Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships. +

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Enabling Environments
Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and carers. =

 

Learning and Development
Children develop and learn in different ways. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early year’s provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.

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Practitioners teach children by ensuring challenging, playful opportunities across the prime and specific areas of learning and development.

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We support their learning and development through a range of activities based on the seven areas of learning. There are three prime areas and four specific areas:

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Prime:

• Personal, Social and Emotional development

• Communication and Language

• Physical development

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Specific Areas:

• Mathematics

• Literacy

• Understanding the World

• Expressive Arts and Design

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Learning through play underpins all the activities that we provide. Through play in a challenging and secure environment child can:

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• Explore, develop and represent learning experiences that help them make sense of the world

• Practise and build up ideas, concepts and skills

• Learn how to understand the need for rules

• Take risks and make mistakes

• Think creatively and imaginatively

• Communicate with others as they investigate or solve problems

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Play helps young children to learn and develop through doing and talking, which research has shown to be the means by which young children think. All children have individual needs and will develop at varying rates. We use the EYFS as guidance to plan and provide a range of play activities, which help children to make progress in each of the areas of learning and development.

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A Parent’s Guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is available; it has been produced by an organisation called 4children. We have a copy available if you would like to access more information about the revised EYFS.

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Additional information can also be accessed through the Department for Education Website.

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Our Day

Our setting believes that care and education are equally important in the experiences that we offer children. The routines and activities that make up the session/day in the setting are provided in ways that:

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• help each child to feel that she/he is a valued member of the setting;

• ensure the safety and well-being of each child;

• help children to gain from the social experience of being part of a group; and

• provide children with opportunities to learn and help them to value learning.

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We organise our sessions so that the children can choose from - and work at - a range of activities and, in doing so, build up their ability to select and work through a task to its completion. Outdoor activities contribute to children's health, their physical development and their knowledge of the world around them. The children have the opportunity - and are encouraged - to take part in outdoor child-led activities.

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A brief outline of some of the activities during our day:

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We start our session with:

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• Arrival and shortly afterwards registration time

• Free play – we have free play throughout the session enabling children to access activities of their choice.

• Chat on the mat - Circle time/Story time/ Singing time/ Numbers /Sounds and Letters /Shape and Colour of the week

• Snack time – a healthy snack with milk or water to share with friends. We have rolling snack for the Older children, 3-4 year olds (Bears)

• Outdoor play – either in small groups or free flow indoor/outdoor play.

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Management of Duffield Pre-School

Duffield Pre-school is run by a parent management committee, whose members are elected by the parents/carers of the children who attend the pre-school. The elections take place once a year at the pre-school’s Annual General meeting. The committee supports the pre-school by:

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• Helping us to provide a high-quality service.

• Ensuring that we work in partnership with parents

• Employing and managing staff

• Managing the group’s finances.

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We are a constituted, charitable organisation and therefore need a committee to continue the service we offer to the community and parents.

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Parent Partnership

As a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, our setting recognises parents as the first and most important educators of their children. All the staff see themselves as partners with you in providing care and education for your child. There are many ways in which parents take part in making the setting a welcoming and stimulating place for children and parents, such as:

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• exchanging knowledge about their children's needs, activities, interests and progress with the staff;

• helping at sessions of the setting;

• 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;

• taking part in events and informal discussions about the activities and curriculum provided by the setting;

• joining in community activities in which the setting takes part.

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Working Together For Your Children

We maintain the ratio of adults to children in the setting that is set through the Welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. For children under three years of age we have 1 staff member to every 4 children and for three years and over we have 1 staff member to 8 children. This helps us to:

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• give time and attention to all children;

• 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.

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As well as having qualifications in Early Years Care and Education, the staff continuously access training to promote good practice and keep up to date with current legislation.

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All staff have statutory DBS checks and we are registered with Ofsted.

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Fees and Funding

We currently have a sessional fee if you child is not entitled to funded hours (see below), the fees are payable monthly in advance. Please phone or email to find out the current sessional fee rates.

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Three year old Funding
Your child is entitled to 15hours/week (570hours/year) of universal entitlement, starting the term after their third birthday; this is funded by Derbyshire County Council. Extended entitlement is available to working parents and specific criteria apply, an additional 15 hours may be available.

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More information can be accessed at gov.uk

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However once funded, for any additional sessions over and above their universal and extended entitlement, there will be a charge/session.

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Two Year Old Funding
Your child may be entitled to 15hours/week (570hours/year) of free nursery education, starting the term after their second birthday; this is funded by Derbyshire County Council.

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In order to determine whether your child is eligible for two- year old funding, all you need to do is telephone the Childcare Improvement Service (Sufficiency) on 01629 539319 or 01629 539316 who will carry out an eligibility check for you.

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This website Derbyshire.gov.uk address will give you all the relevant information:

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Birth certificate – We need to see a copy of your child’s birth certificate to apply for funded sessions for your child.

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We are registered with a number of organisations that provide childcare vouchers at present, please ask for more information.

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Lunchtime session, we charge a fee for the lunchtime session and the children bring a packed lunch with them.

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Snack Time

During the session we offer a snack to all the children with the option of milk or water. Snacks may be fruit, vegetables, cheese or savoury biscuits, and often a mixture of a few of these. Occasionally we may have a treat of a biscuit or birthday cake. This is a social time and we encourage the children to share and take turns. Any donations of fruit, cheese, raisins and savoury biscuits would be very welcome. Please remember that we are a nut free zone! Do tell us about your child's dietary needs and we will make sure that these are met.

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Library Books

In the year before they start school we encourage them to borrow books each week from our wonderful selection of children’s books. Your child will be given a library pack, which includes a letter explaining the system in more detail.

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Information we hold about your Child

Information we hold about you and your child
We have procedures in place for the recording and sharing of information [data] about you and your child that is compliant with the principles of the General Data Protection Regulations (2018) as follows:

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The data we collect is:

1. Processed fairly, lawfully and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject [you and your family].

2. Collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed for other purposes incompatible with those purposes.

3. Adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which data is processed.

4. Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.

5. Kept in a form that permits identification of data subjects [you and your family] for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data is processed.

6. Processed in a way that ensures appropriate security of the personal data including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures. When you register your child with us, we will provide you with a privacy notice that gives you further details of how we fulfil our obligations with regard to your data.

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Please Remember

• To let a member of staff know if somebody other than yourself is going to be collecting your child at the end of the session. This is for your child’s safety and we are unable to let them go without permission. In the event of an emergency, please contact us at the pre-school and use the PASSWORD system. Could you also please help us by making sure that all the key people around your child/ren know your password.

• Due to other groups using and accessing the room, we have to be prompt with starting and closing times, could you please assist us by arriving promptly to collect you child/ren.

• Children should not return to pre-school for 48hours after an episode of sickness and diarrhoea - If your child has not had a medication before, it is advised that you keep your child at home for the first 48 hours to ensure no adverse effect, as well as to give time for the medication to take effect.

• We can only administer prescribed medicines.

• Children should not return pre-school until treated for infectious conditions e.g. conjunctivitis, head lice, impetigo

• Could you please name coats, gloves, hats, it is a hard task matching up 24 coats and items of clothing to the right children!

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In conclusion, we hope that you and your child/ren have an enjoyable time at our setting. We look forward to spending time with you and hope that it will be a time of fun and learning for your child/ren as well as an opportunity for you to contribute to your child’s learning.