Southwater Village Hall Pre-school

Southwater Village Hall Pre-School opened as a charity in June 1974, registered charity number 1027293. It is still the only non-profit-making pre-school in the village of Southwater. We are a member of the Early Years Alliance, a national body dedicated to the provision of childcare. We are registered with Ofsted Early Years Directorate and with W.S.C.C for free entitlement funding to ensure national standards are adhered to.

We aim to provide your child with a safe, caring environment in which they can be encouraged to learn through play and planned activities These activities are guided by the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

All children in the early years need a safe and stimulating environment. We aim to provide children with great care and attention from qualified staff, as well as volunteer parent helpers. We want children to join with other children and adults to live, play, work and learn together.

Sessions are organised so that children can choose from, and work at, a variety of activities and, in doing so, build up their ability to select and work through a task to 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.

We see parents as partners in helping each child to learn and develop. Our pre-school recognises parents as the first and most important educators of their children. Parents are seen as partners in providing care and education for their children.

We currently operate from two halls within the Village Hall. We are registered with Ofsted for up to 42 children. In 2020 we have a brand new, large and dedicated outside fenced play area.

Fees from January 2024

The government is changing the funding for some children starting from April 2024, please check their website for all the changes that could reduce your childcare costs from that date.

Fees for children who are between 2 and 3.

Fees for children 3 and over, beginning the term after the child's 3rd birthday, and accessing hours above their funded 15 hours

Fees are due in by the end of the second week of the term. Unfortunately, we are unable to give refunds if for any reason a child is unable to attend. If fees are not paid promptly, the committee reserve the right to refuse your child a place.

We have made all payments super easy, once your child is registered and confirmed in the setting, you will receive your invoice for the coming term, then your payments can be made via bank transfer or using the Famly app and Famly pay, if you would like to set up a regular payment plan or pay using other methods please contact the office.

Lunch Link

Attending Lunch Link gives the opportunity to attend pre-School for the whole day or a longer morning/afternoon session on a Monday, Tuesday or Thursday.

Parents/Carers provide their child with a packed lunch in line with our Lunch Link Policy. Lunch Link fees are £7.00 per session and are not currently covered by government funding. The fees are payable termly in advance and are due by the end of the second week of term.

Free Entitlement Funding

In line with the current guidelines regarding funding, children are fully funded for up to five sessions per week (dependent on availability), from the term following their 3rd birthday.

Policies

Universal Free Entitlement Funding Policy

Fees and Payments Policy 2022

The provisions for children’s development and learning is guided by the Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE 2021). Our provision reflects the four overarching principles of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The seven key features of effective practice are

• The best for every child
• High-quality care
• The curriculum: what we want the children to learn
• Pedagogy: helping children to learn
• Assessment: checking what children have learnt
• Self-regulation and executive function
• Partnership with parents

The Characteristics of effective teaching and learning are:

• Playing and exploring
• Active learning
• Creating and thinking critically

The areas of learning and development within the EYFS are:

Prime Areas

• Personal, Social and Emotional development
• Communication and language
• Physical development

Specific Areas

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

None of the areas of learning and development can be delivered in isolation from the others. They are equally important and depend upon each other to support a rounded approach to child development. All the areas must be delivered through planned purposeful play, with a balance of adult-led and child initiated play. We aim to achieve the following:

• High quality early years care and education to all children in a warm, secure, safe and caring environment.
• To work in partnership with parents/carers so that we can provide for all children’s individual and changing needs.
• Our Inclusion coordinator encourages equal opportunities for all children, regardless of cultural differences, gender, and learning abilities.
• Play equipment, materials and activities provided are planned by qualified staff to cover all areas of learning, enabling most children to achieve the early learning goals by the end of reception year at school.
• All areas of learning are regularly evaluated, and modified and extended to meet the needs of the individual.

We hold consultation meetings with parents to talk about your child’s progress.

Each new child is assigned a member of staff (Key Person), who initially helps them settle into Pre-School. It is their ongoing responsibility to encourage the child in their new environment, to observe and record their achievements, and to identify areas for future development.

To support your child’s progress, we encourage you to liaise regularly with their Key Person. They are generally available before and after each session, or if necessary an appointment can be arranged. Some information from the journal will be shared with other settings/carers that your child may attend. Relevant information will be given to the infant schools during the summer term prior to children starting in the following Autumn term.

The Key Person is also responsible for keeping your child’s Learning Journal up to date. This journal is a developmental record containing information, photographs and examples of activities. It is shared with parents and eventually passed on to the appropriate Infant School.

The staff are professionally trained or are currently studying for relevant qualifications. We are kept updated about courses offered by the Early Years Alliance and other professional agencies, which staff are encouraged to attend.

A daily staff rota is displayed on the parent notice board in the preschool.

Am Session

9:15 am children arrive once all children are in, and register is complete children come to the mat where they sing the hello song and complete self-registration (the children have a photo they place on the board to say they are here).

Once this is complete children can then free flow inside or outside exploring the environment. Inside the children have a wide range of toys available as well as adult lead activities. Staff follow children’s interests to input into planning and cover all areas of learning and we follow 2 weekly themes. Outside has a wide range of physical activities, gardening we plant fruits and vegetables as well as various flowers throughout the year and we also have the outdoor classroom.

Snack is free flow and between 10am and 11am.

12pm – we encourage the children to tidy up we come together on the mat to sing our goodbye song.

12:15pm AM children parents arrive to collect children from the mat.

Lunch Link

12:15pm – 1:00pm - register is called and children go to toilet and wash their hands before they sit at the table to eat their lunch. Once they have finished their lunch children go to the book corner to read a book before the PM session begins

PM Session

1:00pm - children arrive once all children are in, and register is complete children come to the mat where they sing the hello song and complete self-registration (the children have a photo they place on the board to say they are here)

Once this is complete children can then free flow inside or outside exploring the environment. Inside the children have a wide range of toys available as well as adult lead activities. Staff follow children’s interests to input into planning and cover all areas of learning and we follow 2 weekly themes. Outside has a wide range of physical activities, gardening we plant fruits and vegetables as well as various flowers throughout the year and we also have the outdoor classroom.

Snack is free flow and between 1:45pm and 2:45pm.

3:45pm – we encourage the children to tidy up we come together on the mat to sing our goodbye song.

4:00pm AM children parents arrive to collect children from the mat.

Autumn Term 2024

Spring Term 2025

Summer Term 2025

Sessions