Bearwood Pre-School’s Early
Years Prospectus for Parents and Carers
The Acorn Room , Bearwood Primary and Nursery School ,Barons Road
, Bearwood, Bournemouth, BH11 9UN
07504262558, bearwoodpreschool@gmail.com
Welcome to Bearwood
Pre-School
We know how important your
child is and aims to deliver the highest quality of care and education to help
them to achieve their best.
This prospectus aims to
provide you with an introduction to Bearwood Pre-School, our routines, our
approach to supporting your child’s learning and development and how we aim to
work together with you to best meet your child’s individual needs. This should
be read alongside our Childcare Terms and Conditions for a full description of
our services.
Our
setting aims to:
§ provide
high-quality care and education for children 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; and
§ offer
children and their parents a service that promotes equality and values
diversity.
Parents
You are regarded as members
of our setting who have full participatory rights. These include a right to be:
§ valued
and respected;
§ kept
informed;
§ consulted;
§ involved;
and
§ included
at all levels.
As a voluntary managed
setting, we also depend on the goodwill of parents and their involvement to
keep going. Membership of the setting carries expectations on you for your
support and commitment.
Children's
development and learning
We aim to ensure that each
child:
§ is
in a safe and stimulating environment;
§ is
given generous care and attention, because of our ratio of qualified staff to
children, as well as volunteer helpers;
§ has
the chance to join in 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 and buddy who makes sure each child makes satisfying
progress;
§ is
in a setting that sees parents as partners in helping each child to learn and
develop; and
§ is
in a setting in which parents help to shape the service it offers.
The
Early Years Foundation Stage
Provision for the
development and learning of children from birth to 5 years is guided by the
Early Years Foundation Stage. Our provision reflects the four overarching
principles of the Statutory Framework for
the Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE 2014):
§ A Unique Child
Every
child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient,
capable, confident and self-assured.
§ Positive Relationships
Children
learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
§ 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, parents and carers.
§ Learning and Development
Children
develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework
covers the education and care of all children in early years provision
including children with special educational needs and disabilities.
How
we provide for development and learning
Children start to learn
about the world around them from the moment they are born. The care and
education offered by our setting helps children to continue to do this by
providing all of the children with interesting activities that are appropriate
for their age and stage of development.
The
Areas of Development and Learning comprise:
§ Prime Areas
-
Personal, social and emotional development
-
Physical development
-
Communication and language
§ Specific Areas
-
Literacy
-
Mathematics
-
Understanding the world
-
Expressive arts and design
For each area, the level of
progress that children are expected to have attained by the end of the Early
Years Foundation Stage is defined by the Early Learning Goals. These goals
state what it is expected that children will know, and be able to do, by the
end of the reception year of their education.
The Early Years Outcomes guidance sets out the likely stages
of progress, a child makes along their progress towards the Early Learning
Goals. Our setting has regard to these when we assess children and plan for
their learning. Our programme supports children to develop the knowledge, skills
and understanding they need for:
Personal,
social and emotional development
§ making
relationships;
§ self-confidence
and self-awareness;
§ managing
feelings and behaviour
Physical
development
§ moving
and handling;
§ health
and self-care
Communication
and language
§ listening
and attention;
§ understanding
§ speaking
Literacy
§ reading;
§ writing
Mathematics
§ numbers;
§ shape,
space and measure
Understanding
the world
§ people
and communities
§ the
world;
§ technology
Expressive
arts and design
§ exploring
and using media and materials;
§ being
imaginative
Our
approach to learning and development and assessment
Learning
through play
Being active and playing
supports young children’s learning and development through doing and talking.
This is how children learn to think about and understand the world around them.
We use the EYFS statutory guidance on education programmes to plan and provide
opportunities that will help children to make progress in all areas of
learning. This programme is made up of a mixture of activities that children
plan and organise for themselves and activities planned and led by
practitioners.
Characteristics
of effective learning
We understand that all
children engage with other people and their environment through the characteristics
of effective learning that is described in the Early Years Foundation Stage
as:
§ playing
and exploring - engagement;
§ active
learning - motivation
§ creating
and thinking critically - thinking
We aim to provide for the
characteristics of effective learning by observing how a child is learning and
being clear about what we can do and provide in order to support each child to
remain an effective and motivated learner.
Assessment
We assess how young children
are learning and developing by observing them frequently. We use information
that we gain from observations, as well as from photographs or videos of the
children, to document their progress and where this may be leading them. We believe
that parents know their children best and we will ask you to contribute to the assessment by sharing information about what your child likes to do at home and
how you, as parents, are supporting development.
We
make periodic assessment summaries of children’s achievement based on our on-going
development records. These form part of children’s records of achievement. We
undertake these assessment summaries at regular intervals, as well as times of
transition, such as when a child moves into a different group or when they go
on to school.
The progress check at age two
The
Early Years Foundation Stage requires that we supply parents and carers with a short written summary of their child’s development in the three prime areas of
learning and development - personal, social and emotional development; physical
development; and communication and language - when a child is aged between 24 -
36 months. Your child’s key person is responsible for completing the check
using information from on-going observational assessments carried out as part
of our everyday practice, taking account of the views and contributions of
parents and other professionals.
Records of development
We
keep a record of development for each child. Your child's record of development via tapestry learning journal helps us to celebrate together her/his achievements and to work together to provide
what your child needs for her/his well-being and to make progress.
Your
child's key person will work in partnership with you to keep this record. To do
this you and she/he will collect information about your child's needs,
activities, interests and achievements. This information will enable the key
person to identify your child's stage of progress. Together, we will then
decide on how to help your child to move on to the next stage.
Working together for your children
We
maintain the ratio of adults to children in the setting that is set by the
Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements. We also have volunteer parent helpers,
where possible, to complement these ratios. This 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/I] provide;
§ allow
the children to explore and be adventurous in safety.
The staff who work at our
setting are:
Name
|
Job
Title
|
Qualifications
and Experience
|
Sarah
|
Manager
|
Level 3, Designated
safeguarding lead, SENCO, first aider
|
Marie
|
Deputy manager
|
Level 3, Designated
safeguarding lead, first aider
|
Julie
|
Practitioner
|
Level 3, SENCO, first
aider
|
Emma-Jayne
|
Practitioner
|
Level 3, first aider,
|
Mel
|
Practitioner
|
Level 3, first aider
|
Samm
|
Practitioner
|
Level 2 training , first aider
|
Kara
|
Practitioner
|
Level 3, first aider
|
Lorraine
|
Practitioner
|
First Aider
|
Luan
|
Practitioner, Sickness Cover
|
How
parents take part in the setting
Our setting recognises
parents as the first and most important educators of their children. All of our
staff see themselves as partners with parents in providing care and education
for their children. There are many ways in which parents take part in making our
setting a welcoming and stimulating place for children and parents, such as:
§ exchanging
knowledge about their children's needs, activities, interests and progress with
our staff;
§ contributing
to the progress check at age two;
§ helping
at sessions of the setting;
§ sharing
their own special interests with the children;
§ helping
to provide and look after the equipment and materials used in the children's
play activities;
§ being
part of the management of the setting where appropriate;
§ 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; and
§ building
friendships with other parents in the setting.
Key
person and your child
Our setting uses a key
person/buddy approach. This means that each member of staff has a group of
children for whom she/he is particularly responsible. Your child's key person/buddy
will be the person who works with you to make sure that the childcare that we provide
is right for your child's particular needs and interests. When your child first
starts at the setting, she/he will help your child to settle and throughout
your child's time at the setting, she/he/ will help your child to benefit from our
activities. Sometimes separation can be hard for both children and parents, we will work alongside you to support individual needs.
Learning
opportunities for adults
As well as gaining childcare
qualifications, our staff take part in further training to help them to keep
up-to-date with thinking about early years care and education. We also keep
up-to-date with best practice, as a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance,
through Under 5 magazine and other
publications produced by the Alliance. The current copy of Under 5 is available for you to read. From time to time we hold
learning events for parents. These usually look at how adults can help children
to learn and develop in their early years.
The
setting's timetable and routines
Our setting believes that
care and education are equally important in the experience which we offer
children. The routines and activities that make up the day in our setting are
provided in ways that:
§ help
each child to feel that she/he is a valued member of the setting;
§ ensure
the safety 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.
The
session*
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.
The children are also helped and encouraged to take part in adult-led small and
large group activities, which introduce them to new experiences and help them
to gain new skills, as well as helping them to learn to work with others. 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-chosen and adult-led
activities, as well as those provided in the indoor playroom.
Snacks
and meals
We make snacks and meals a
social time at which children and adults eat together. We offer a morning and
afternoon snack that provides the children with healthy and nutritious food. Children
are offered milk or water. Please tell us about your child's dietary needs and
we will plan accordingly.
Clothing
We have a uniform that consists of a pre-school t-shirt and sweatshirt that can be purchased from the setting. We provide protective
clothing for the children when they play with messy activities. We encourage
children to gain the skills that help them to be independent and look after
themselves. These include taking themselves to the toilet and taking off and
putting on outdoor clothes. Clothing that is easy for them to manage will help
them to do this.
Policies
Our staff can explain our
policies and procedures for you. Copies of which are available within the
setting/website and a copy of each are held in the setting.
Our policies help us to make
sure that the service provided by our setting is a high quality one and that being
a member of the setting is an enjoyable and beneficial experience for each
child and her/his parents/carers.
Our staff, committee and parents work together to adopt the policies
and they all have the opportunity to take part in the annual review of the
policies. This review helps us to make sure that the policies are enabling our setting
to provide a quality service for its members and the local community.
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:
The data is 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.
Safeguarding
children
Our setting has a duty under
the law to help safeguard children against suspected or actual ‘significant
harm’. Our employment practices ensure children against the likelihood of abuse
in our setting and we have a procedure for managing complaints or allegations
against a member of staff.
Our way of working with
children and their parents ensure that we are aware of any problems that may
emerge and can offer support, including referral to appropriate agencies when
necessary, to help families in difficulty.
Special
needs/Disability
To make sure that our
provision meets the needs of each individual child, we take account of any
special needs a child may have. We work to the requirements of the Special Educational
Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015).
The
management of our setting
Our setting is managed by a volunteer management committee - whose members are
elected by the parents of the children who attend our setting. The elections
take place at our Annual General Meeting. The committee make up the registered
person with Ofsted and are responsible for:
§ managing
our finances;
§ employing
and managing our staff;
§ making
sure that we have, and work to, policies that help us to provide a high quality
service; and
§ making
sure that we work in partnership with parents.
The Annual General Meeting
is open to the parents of all of the children who attend our setting. It is our
shared forum for looking back over the previous year's activities and shaping
the coming year's plan.]
The fees are payable weekly/half-termly.
Fees must still be paid if children are absent. If your child has to be absent
over a long period of time talk to Sarah the manager of the setting or request
to speak to Daisy-May the chairperson of the committee.
For your child to keep
her/his place at our setting, you must pay the fees on time. We will not allow parents to become in arrears of their account.
We are in receipt of nursery education funding for two, three and four-year-olds; where funding is not received, then fees apply.
We are in receipt of nursery education funding for two, three and four-year-olds; where funding is not received, then fees apply.
Starting
at our setting
The
first days
We want your child to feel
happy and safe with us. To make sure that this is the case, our staff will work
with you to decide on how to help your child to settle into the setting. Our
policy on the Role of the Key Person and Settling-in is available to view online or is available from Sarah or Marie.
We hope that you and your
child enjoy being members of our setting and that you find taking part in our activities
interesting and stimulating. Our staff are always ready and willing to talk
with you about your ideas, views or questions.