Our Day at Pre-school

 We are now encouraging our children to come into Pre-   school with their parent/carer and find their own named   peg to hang up their coats and bags.  We welcome the   children and encourage them to self register (by name   and photo), place their water bottle (and lunch box if   they are staying all day and not having school dinner)   on  the small table. Then it's time to play and we are always here to give them support with that if they need it.  

We will have a range of free play opportunities for learning and social interaction.  Self-directed play areas are set up to allow children to independently choose activities that help them separate and adjust to the beginning of the day.  Our weekly planning helps us to support the children’s development through our continuous provision such as the home corner, sand, water, play dough, creative area, maths area, construction area, literacy area and quiet area.  These are then enhanced to provide the children with playful learning opportunities to support and extend their development.  Other resources are also available for the children to self-select.

Our Pre-school operates a system called ‘free flow’ allowing children access to our garden throughout the session, come rain or shine.  We offer as many of the rich play experiences that we do inside, outside, such as books, mark making materials, musical instruments and dressing up, etc. Additionally the outdoors offers opportunities for digging in the large sand pit, making mud pies or digging in the mud pit, large construction with milk/bread crates and guttering.

We provide the children with one adult-led play activity a session.  These range from cooking, music and movement, songs and rhymes, story telling etc.  We also use the school field; exploring bushes, climbing on the small trees, looking for bugs and/or building dens.  Once a week the children who are in their final year before starting school are encouraged to take part in a playful phase one phonics and maths activities. 

Fresh drinking water is available, but many children bring their own water bottles.  We have a rolling snack bar which runs for approximately one hour encouraging healthy eating with good hygiene practices, fruit and vegetable preparation, washing up and an emphasis on socialisation.

Towards the end of the session, children are encouraged to tidy up and finally sit on the carpet for a story, song, rhymes or discussions about our Pre-school day.  Then it’s time to get our bags and coats if we are going home, and wash our hands for lunch if we are staying all day.  The children who are going home collect their belongings and are encouraged to learn to put on their own coats. They then sit on the carpet until their name is called and we send the children out to meet their adult.

Important Notice for Parents: Children will only be permitted to be collected by an adult that we have been informed will be collecting them on that day.  If this is not an adult we have met before and it is not possible to organise this before pick up, then a password will be required for this to happen.  We will not allow a child to leave if we have not been informed prior to pick up time.