All you need to know about Pre School

Pre-school Information for Parents

All about us

Little Bo Peep preschool is situated within the village hall setting in Inkberrow.

We pride ourselves on the home from home care that we offer to our preschool children. We consider our preschool setting to be an ideal environment for children to learn and develop for the start of their school careers.

Our aim at Little Bo Peep preschool is to prepare the children with the skills, they will need to enter school and have the best start they can.

Our preschool is staffed by two qualified members of staff Laura and Nikki. Laura is a qualified Early Years teacher and Nikki has an NNEB diploma in nursery nursing. The children enjoy learning phonics sounds and joining in with number rhymes and games along with lots of other fun, learning activities which prepare the children for school.

We have excellent facilities at the village hall which include a fantastic outside play area. This area enables us to take the children outside everyday for at least an hour throughout the year. We also have the benefit of a huge playing field surrounded by fantastic hedgerow and magnificent trees. The children enjoy watching and exploring as the seasons change throughout the year.

Little Bo Peep preschool also have a minibus facility. The children regularly enjoy going out in the minibus. We organise visits to the local garden centre, Worcester Woods Country Park, farm park visits and many local visits too.

Circle times

All children at preschool are encouraged to have a voice and are always listened to.

Our circle times are an ideal opportunity to allow each and every child to speak within a small group about things that matter to them and most importantly to be listened to by all of the friends. We have special circle time rules which teach the children to listen whilst others are talking. Circle times are often carried out in key worker groups.

Key workers

We operate a very successful key worker system. Our preschool children are divided between Laura and Nikki into key groups. Each key worker is responsible for working day to day with their children, and is responsible for updating and recording the children’s progress in their profiles.

Profiles

The children’s profiles are made on an ipad programme called 2buildaprofile. Their activities throughout each week are recorded on the programme which is produced into a final report for parent reading at the end of each term.

Parents meetings

We truly believe that good communication between preschool staff and parents/carers is key to having happy and settled children at preschool.

We organise parent meetings towards the end of each half term at preschool. These are normally organised during preschool hours of the last week of each half term.

Laura and Nikki are always available to discuss with parents anything that happens between these times.

Show and tell

Preschool children love to bring in toys from home. Show and tell sessions are an ideal opportunity for children to bring in toys and others special things into preschool to talk about and share with their friends.

Christmas time

Christmas time at preschool is a very magical and exciting time which tends to start mid November with our musical preparations for our show.

Parents, Grandparents and other family members are warmly invited into preschool to join in the festivities of our xmas show and party.

Summer time

Summer time allows the children to really explore and enjoy the fantastic outside area that we have. Most of our time is spent outside during the summer months as there is plenty of natural shade available throughout the day.

We also have a sun cream policy in place which helps us to keep the children safe in the sun.

At the end of each summer we hold a big summer party outside on the field, to which all parents and family are invited.

Noahs ark

Every other Monday, we take the preschool children to Inkberrow church Hall where we join in with a children’s group called Noahs Ark. At Noahs ark the children enjoy dancing, singing, musical instruments, story time and a craft activity before finishing it all off with a drink and biscuit.

This is a lovely opportunity for our preschool children to mix with other children from our community.

Role Play area

With each topic every half term we have a role play area within the classroom.

The theme of the role-play area is linked to the topic and can include, nursery, car garage, doctors surgery, cafe etc.

We often ask parents to provide any relevant toys etc for our role play areas as we try to make the as life like as possible.

Creative area

The creative area at preschool is always available for the children to explore with colour, texture, scissors, glue, sticky tape and lots more exciting materials.

Independence skills

Children love to learn new skills which enable them to be more independent. Our toilet facilities are equipped with steps, toilet inserts and a potty for those who are learning to become more independent with their toileting.

Each child at preschool has their own peg and tray to store their belongings in whilst at preschool.

In working with the children throughout the day we always encourage them to try to do things for themselves, and are always rewarded when they learn a new skill.

Sticker cards

Each child has their own sticker card which is kept in their tray. The children are frequently rewarded with stickers for their card for positive behaviour and learning new things.

Reading books

Preschool children are all given a book bag when they start at preschool. We have a library of home reading books. The children take a book home to read each night and will swap it for another each day. Children will also be given a reading diary in which parents can write any comments relevant to how the children have enjoyed the story.

Home School books

We offer home school books to each child during their first term at preschool.

These diaries will travel each day between home and preschool and will be written by staff and parents each day. The idea of these books is to allow communication about their children’s day to be a strong as possible between us and home.

Transition and settling in

It is our aim to ensure that the transition into pre-school is a smooth and happy one for both children and parents. It is our aim to ensure all children receive an induction plan appropriate to their individual needs and requirements.

Induction

Induction periods will usually take place a week before starting pre-school. As this will vary depending on each individual child the following is a guide only.

For children moving up to preschool from Little Bo Peep Nursery

You will be given the date for when your child will move to pre-school, this will depend on when their birthday is and whether there are other children set to move too as we prefer to move children in a small group in order to allow children to move with their peers. However, depending on the child and their individual needs it may be more appropriate to move them individually rather than wait.

Parents will liaise with staff from the Orchard room in regards to induction periods. The precise dates and times will be outlined in more detail with nursery staff.

New children

Our induction process is very flexible and each induction can be tailored specifically to meet the needs of each child.

The usual process takes place over the course of the week before you wish your child to start at preschool. We suggest that you bring your child to preschool each day during the week. Initially we suggest that you stay with your child for just an hour on the first day. If you would like to try leaving your child with us for an hour on the second day for a short session and then building the time that you leave them up throughout the week leading up to staying for lunch by the end of the week. We do stress that this process is totally flexible and is adaptable to each child and family needs.

Lunch time

We are supplied hot dinners each day throughout term time by the same caters who supply Inkberrow and Flyford schools. A dinner order form will be available towards the end of each term to allow you to book hot lunches for the term ahead. You will then be invoiced in arrears for the hot dinners.

There is also the option for children to bring their own packed lunch from home. We do ask that packed lunches are healthy and that they are bought in an insulated lunch box with an ice pack inside.

Things to know

Snack time: at Pre School the staff encourage independence through a variety of activities including, snack time. Parents are asked to provide a fruit snack each day and help their child to put their snack into their own tray as part of the morning routine. We also have a drink station where children can pour themselves as drink throughout the day from the water fountain, access their own drinks bottles or ask for milk from the fridge. Staff are happy for children to bring their own drinks beakers each day but ask parents to bare in mind that if they are providing juice in the beakers that the children will always choose their own beakers over milk or water. Milk is provided daily, free of charge.

Muddy Monday: the children are given the opportunity to explore and investigate the outside area; we have an area for the children to plant and grow. We have been growing a variety of vegetables and flowers for the children to explore and in time, taste. The children are given the opportunity to build, climb, dig, collect, paddle and splash when the opportunity arises. The Muddy Monday experience is one that is spontaneous as the weather can present such wonderful challenges for the children. The need for waterproofs is a must in any weather as we will often come across an opportunity for getting muddy!!! If any parents have ‘green fingers’ and would like to help out then please feel free to join us! Please could you provide for your child:

Wellington boots
Thick socks
All in one waterproof
Extra coat or jumper for warmth
Gloves
Hat
Complete change of clothing, including socks and pants.

We have a wonderful outside area at preschool which the children are given access to on a daily basis throughout the year. We therefore request that children have their outdoor kit on their pegs for use every day.

Noah’s Ark: this is an opportunity for the children to go to St Peters Church (Parish Education Centre) and meet other children from the village. This is a church based group with a Christian ethos, conveyed by a short story and a relevant activity. This takes place every other Monday afternoon at the (PEC).

School Visits: We have good links with our feeder schools, Inkberrow First school, Flyford Flavell first school and Astwood Bank First School.

During the last term at pre school, we liase with Inkberrow First school to ornagise oppurtunites for our pre school children to go up to school to meet their new teacher and get to know the school environment.

We organise in depth handovers with all of the feeder schools and meet with the reception teachers before the children leave us. During these meeting we will discuss not only your child’s progress and starting points for school but all more personal information to each child which will help the teacher to settle the children into school in September.

Things to Bring to pre-school

Muddy Monday kit -in all weathers children must bring waterproofs as you never know when a stream or big puddle comes our way for exploring. Children must also bring a full set of spare clothes including underwear and socks!!

Toys

We kindly ask that chidren do not bring toys to pre school as it is very upsetting for children if their toys get broken or plost during thre day. We do have a show and tell session each week in which children can bring in something special to show to their friends.

Spare clothing

Children must bring a full set of spare clothes which can be left on their peg, pre-school do not have spare clothes on site. Children participate in a variety of activities that will call for a change of clothes i.e. painting, outside play or an accident, Please do not send children to pre school in best clothing or shoes, We always use aprons when painting but accidents do sometimes happen.

Wellies

Children are required to bring wellies each day as even on sunny days the park can be quite muddy. This will not only protect their shoes but also our environment from a muddy carpet.

Fruit Snack

Children must bring a fruit snack to pre school each day and put it into their tray to eat during snack time. Children are provided with water and milk at the drink station throughout the day. However, you are more than welcome to send your child with a drinks beaker. Please bear in mind that we are preparing children for school and encouraging independence so please choose an appropriate drinks beaker for your child’s age.

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Children in the Pre-school will continue to follow the Early Years Foundation Stage EYFS through carefully planned play and focused experiences. In order to ensure the children are working towards the EYFS staff at pre-school make detailed observations and assessments in order to plan specifically for each unique child. Each child’s progress is detailed in a ‘learning Journal’. The learning journal is for both parents and practitioners to share and record information about the child’s progress.

Staff at pre-school plan meaningful activities around the following areas:

Communication, Language and Literacy

Children will begin to recognise letter sounds for early reading, writing their names and other letters. Children are encouraged through singing and rhyming songs to reinforce learning. Children are given the opportunity to learn their sounds through Jolly Phonics and Letters and Sounds.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Children are constantly reinforcing this area of development; staff place a huge emphasis on independence at pre-school and give the children encouragement to self help. Staff encourage children to dress themselves, be aware of their own belongings, manage their own food packages and other daily skills that will prepare them for school. We ask that parents bear this in mind when packing children’s bags and lunches.

Understanding of the World

Children are taken into the outside environment for twice weekly forest school sessions. During these sessions children are able to explore their environment and learn about changes in the environment as the seasons change.

Children are able to use a variety of different ICT during preschool sessions. We benefit from an interactive white board on which children learn to play a variety of fun/ learning games. Preschool also have a children’s laptop, on which the children learn how to operate simple programmes with guidance from staff.

Mathematics

Preschool children are provided with a variety of free play, adult led and child led activities to develop their understanding and awareness of numbers and counting. Children are provided with ample opportunities to develop their problem solving skills. During their time at preschool children will be learning to recognise numerals and order them from 0-10. The children will also learn to count objects out from a larger group to a given number and talk about similarities and differences between groups of objects and shapes too.

Physical Development

As previously mentioned, preschool children are actively encouraged to develop self help skills which will enable them to operate independently in terms of toileting, getting dressed, putting shoes on as well as opening lunch boxes and packets.

Preschool children benefit from twice weekly PE sessions in the main hall as well as the playing fields. During these PE sessions children will be learning a variety of physical skills including, throwing and catching, climbing, jumping, balancing and moving around safely.

The setting benefits from a fantastic outside playground area in which children can learn a significant number of physical skills as well as the social skills they will learn from playing alongside each other in that environment. The children are given daily, fully supervised access to the playground area in which they are helped and guided by staff to try new things, take controlled risks and develop new skills.

Expressive arts and design

Creative development is not solely about being creative with art work, it also covers musical play, songs, rhymes, role-play and many other aspects of a child’s play.

Singing and music plays a key part in children’s learning as children enjoy being able to put a rhyme or a tune to a skill they are learning to do or a game they are playing with their friend. At preschool we are strong believers that there is a song or a tune to fit any scenario and therefore the children benefit from learning new rhymes and songs.

The children are also provided with a permanent role-play area / house in which they can dress up, re-enact a story or for example pretend to be Mum cooking the tea at home. The theme of the role-play corner is changed half termly and parents are often asked to contribute any relevant materials for the new theme.

Pre-School Opening

Our Pre-School is open on a term time only basis which co-insides with the local schools, during the holidays we operate a play scheme which can be booked separately via a booking form which arrives via email approx. 3 weeks before the end of each term.

All Pre-School children are welcome to attend our play scheme and do not have to stick to their usual days.

For any other information please speak to a member of staff

Staffing

All of our staff are qualified in paediatric first aid