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About the Preschool - Management, Fees, Ofsted, Facilities

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We are a friendly village Pre-School offering an enjoyable and interesting education to children aged between two and a half, and four-plus years. In addition to Great Chesterford and Little Chesterford, children might join us from many of the surrounding towns and villages including Littlebury, Littlebury Green, Elmdon, Strethall, Chrishall, Ickleton, Duxford, Whittlesford, Hinxton, Saffron Walden and Sawston.

Pre-School is open every weekday morning from 9.15am to 12.15pm during normal school term time.

The Venue
The Pre-School meets at the Community Centre which is located on the Recreation Ground, Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford, near Saffron Walden. Ample car parking is available at the Community Centre. Facilities enjoyed by PreSchool at this newly-constructed venue include:

Large open indoor play area
Separate quiet areas
Dedicated children's toilets and washing facilities
Food preparation and serving facilities
Adjacent to the Recreation Ground and Play Area
Play and learning materials including table top toys; jigsaws; drawing and colouring; painting; sand and water play; play dough; train track or cars; dressing up
Books
Physical games and play equipment including trikes; larger ride-on and ride-in toys; climbing frame and slide.

Pre-School Fees

The fees are £9.50 per unfunded session and £3.20 per funded session. Government funding is available for all four year olds, and for children resident in Essex funding is available from the start of the term after their third birthday.
Discount for twins or for 2 children from same family. Lunch Club £1.75 per session (from 12.15 to 1.00pm).

Management of Pre-School
Pre-School is managed by a volunteer Committee of parents who serve for a term not exceeding four years. The Supervisor is also represented on this committee. The Committee sets the Pre-School policies, manages the finances and engages staff. The Supervisor is responsible for the smooth running of the Pre-School on a day to day basis, and reports to the Committee.

The committee meets monthly in a member’s home, and new members are always welcome. All minutes from the committee meetings are available for parents to view if they wish.

Chesterfords Pre-School is a Registered Charity, regulated by the Charities Commission of England and Wales. Our registration number is 1028568.

Ofsted Inspection
We had an Ofsted Inspection looking at Nursery Education for Funded Three and Four Year old children on 7th February 2005 (click here for report). The results were excellent in every way and the report makes heartening reading as everyone worked so hard to achieve this result.

If you would like more information, a copy of the prospectus, or to arrange a visit, please contact the Pre-School Supervisor, Janet Speed on 01799 530665 (pre-school hours only).

2007 Prospectus

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Our Philosophy
Welcoming children from the age of 2½ The Chesterfords Pre-school aims to provide a caring environment where children can learn to interact with other children and adults on what might be their first venture away from home. Stimulating play activities help them learn to make friends, taking turns, sharing and negotiating, enabling them to develop their full potential. We feel that when children are relaxed, safe, valued and having fun it builds their confidence and develops independence making them happier to learn and of course paving the way for their move to school.

I hope this guide provides all the information you need, but if you have any queries please ask any member of staff or contact me on 01799 530665 during Pre-school hours. We welcome visits any day, please do call me to arrange a time.

Janet Speed
Pre-school Manager

Our Staff
Janet Speed, Manager, BTEC in Early Childhood Studies (Nursery Nursing)
Karen Ogborn, Nursery Assistant, Level 2 Pre-school Practice
Andrea Ghelani, Nursery Assistant, SENCO, studying for Level 3 Pre-school Practice
Karen Benton, Nursery Assistant
Helen Benson-Bradshaw, Nursery Assistant
Karan Downes, Nursery Assistant

We have a high staff to child ratio with usually four members of staff on duty. Staff attend training courses to continue their professional development for example in Child Protection, First Aid, Autism, Health & Safety, Road Safety.

Premises
We meet at the Chesterfords Community Centre, Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford. This spaciously designed facility, opened in 2001, offers an array of naturally-lit internal spaces where different activities are set up daily. Externally we have a small enclosed space connected to the main hall and also access to the well-equipped play area in the Recreation Ground.

Hours
Pre-school is open every morning from 9.15am to 12.15pm during normal school terms. Our term dates and inset days coincide with those of Great Chesterford School. Lunch Club runs on Tuesdays and Fridays from 12.15pm to 1.00pm. Children bring in their own packed lunch and are supervised throughout the lunch period.

A Typical Pre-school Day
9.15 Welcome. Registration. ‘Show and Tell’.

Everyone sings our ‘Good Morning Song’. The register is taken and

we use the opportunity to practice counting and number recognition. The children bring in familiar items from home relating to the letter or theme of the week and are encouraged to talk about them and show them to the other children. Themes provide the opportunity to extend the children’s knowledge and understanding of the world and might include religious festivals, mini beasts, dinosaurs, traditional fairy tales and nursery rhymes. Each week we also focus on a new colour or letter.

9.30 Main Activities related to the plan of the week (displayed in the lobby).
The children divide into two small groups, one group moves into the messy room where activities such as painting, sand, water, playdough, cutting and sticking are offered, whilst the other group remains in the lounge. Activities in the lounge are based around construction and maths games, role play, emergent writing, cooking, together with a cosy book corner.
‘Learning through play’ is stimulated through activities such as counting and sorting, floating and sinking, matching and making patterns.
Equipment is available for child-led activities and this is used on a rota basis and might include a water/sand tray, easels for painting/chalking, climbing frame, play house and small world toys. A list of the equipment used each week is displayed on the weekly plan in the lobby.
10.15 The children change rooms.
11.00 Tidy up Time followed by Snack Time
Children find their own named place mat and sit down in a group for snack time. A member of staff sits at each table and encourages the children to share a snack of fruit, vegetables, crackers or breadsticks together with mild or water. This is an enjoyable, social time with lots of interaction and chatting.
11.15 Story Time
The children are encouraged to sit and listen to an adult-led story. Props may be used to support the story teller and the children might be asked to predict the ending, solve a problem or just sit and relax.
11.30 Outside Time
We try to go outside whatever the weather; we have our own stock of wet weather clothing including welly boots. Outdoor activities might involve a visit to the park, a treasure trail using arrows and clues in the field (adult led), bikes and buggies in the tennis courts or an obstacle course in the small yard.
12.00 Round Up and Story Time
We review our morning and talk about the things we have enjoyed. Musical instruments are used to finish the session with songs and traditional nursery rhymes.
12.15 Home Time

All activities are planned through careful observation of the children’s needs and evolve as the children get closer to starting school. They are linked to the Foundation Stage of the National Curriculum (children aged 3-5 years). Children aged 2½-3 years are offered a supported curriculum under the guidelines of ‘Bridging the Gap’.
Key workers
When each child begins Pre-school they will be allocated a key worker. This means that each member of staff has special responsibility for five or six children. This helps to ensure that in a large group each individual child’s needs are met and also provides a useful point of contact for parents. Individual records of each child’s progress will be kept by their key worker. These are confidential and parents’ input is welcomed.
Settling in
Starting at Pre-school is obviously a big step in a child’s life and the way in which a child responds will vary. Some will feel at home immediately, whereas for others it may take some time until they feel comfortable. We therefore encourage parents and carers to stay with their child, if necessary, until they feel confident in their new environment.
Parent helpers
We acknowledge the invaluable contribution parents can make. There is a parent helper rota, so please sign up to lend a hand if you have a morning free. Not only does this help the staff in a practical way, it allows a familiarity with Pre-school, with the other children, and with the facilities, so that Pre-school becomes a shared experience, encouraging a sense of belonging and a community atmosphere.

Arrival and Collection of Children
Doors open at 9.15am and until then parents and children are able to wait in the foyer. Children are collected at 12.15pm. If anyone other than parents or carer is picking your child up from Pre-school please inform us in writing. There is an authorisation form to complete on which you can list any adults that might regularly collect your child. Then there is a ‘Home Collection Details’ book to write and sign your instructions. If there is not written permission at Pre-school the staff cannot legally release the child to anyone.
Fees
The fees are £9.50 per session and parents will normally be billed half-termly. If half-termly billing presents a problem do contact our treasurers to discuss alternative arrangements. There can be no reductions or refunds if your child is sick or on holiday; this is to keep your child’s place at Pre-school secure. We offer a discount for twins or for two children from the same family. Non payment of fees after four weeks may result in the child’s place being suspended.
There is Government funding available for all four year olds, and for children the term after their third birthday who are resident within Essex. This reduces the fees to £3.20 per session. Lunch Club is £1.75 per session. We do ask for a £10 registration fee to cover administration costs. We are unable to ‘swap’ sessions on a random basis although we will try and accommodate any extra sessions required. They will be charged at the full amount.
We require one month’s written notification if you wish to withdraw a child from one or more sessions, otherwise you will remain liable to pay the fees.
Health
In cases of sickness, diarrhoea or infection please do not return children to Pre-school until at least 24 hours after the end of the illness.
Clothing
Children wear aprons for messy activities but accidents do occur, so it’s better not to send children in their best clothes. Please could you also provide a coat in cold weather?
Links with School
As the year progresses we prepare the children to go on to primary school. Strong links have been forged with Great Chesterford Church of England Primary School as this is the school serving the villages of Littlebury, Littlebury Green and the Chesterfords.
The reception teacher visits occasionally so that she is familiar to the children. We also take part in various school social and fund-raising activities with the Friends of Great Chesterford School and Chesterfun Afterschool Club.
The Management
Pre-school is a registered charity and a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance and the Essex Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership. We had our last Ofsted Inspection in Feb 2005. This looked at the provision for funded children for which we achieved ‘Good’ (the best achievable result at the time). The full report is on the Internet. We are managed by a voluntary committee of parents who meet around twice a term in a member’s home. The Manager is also represented on the committee, which sets Pre-school policies, manages the finances and engages staff. The Manager is responsible for the smooth running of the Pre-school on a day-to-day basis and reports to the committee. All minutes from committee meetings are available for parents to view if they wish. We are always keen for new parents to join us.
Policies
The following policies can be viewed in detail, copies are available for inspection:
Admissions
Behaviour Management
Child Protection
Complaints
Confidentiality
Diet
Equal Opportunities
Fire Evacuation Procedure
Head Lice
Health and Hygiene
No Smoking
Parental Involvement
Safety
Selecting Play Equipment and Toys
Settling in Pre-school
Special Needs
Staffing and Employment
Student Placements
Uncollected Child

Summer 2007 Newsletter

2007-04-23T16:58:00.000Z

Welcome back to pre-school, we hope you had a lovely Easter and enjoyed the glorious warm weather. This is our final term before the summer break and I detail below some important dates and information.

Break up for summer holidays Friday, 20 July 2007. We return to pre-school on Tuesday, 4 September 2007.
(Can you keep up up-to-date on any holidays you may be taking during term time?)

The rest of this newsletter needs to be typed in!

Chesterfords Preschool

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About the Preschool - Management, Fees, Ofsted, Facilities

2007 Prospectus

Summer 2007 Newsletter