Working together for your children

Staff

The pre-school has a high ratio of adults to children in the setting. 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 provide:
Allow the children to explore and be adventurous in safety.

Lyn Cousins (supervisor)

I have been working at the pre-school since Easter 1996. By Christmas 1996 I was promoted to deputy supervisor and then went on to become supervisor in September 1997. Since qualifying as a Nursery Nurse I have continued to update my qualifications, including behaviour management, speech and language disorders, first aid, food hygiene [for running our lunch clubs] and child protection. I have a great team of staff working for me who are dedicated as I am in making this the best pre-school around. This is reflected in our past two OFSTED inspections where we have received excellent results.

Key Workers

The pre-school has a key worker system. This means that each member of staff has a group of children for whom she/he is particularly responsible. Your child’s key worker will be the person who works with you to make sure that what the pre-school provides is right for your child’s particular needs and interests. When your child first starts at the pre-school, she/he will help your child to settle and throughout your child’s time at the pre-school, she/he will help your child to benefit from the pre-school’s activities.

How parents take part in the pre-school

As a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, the pre-school recognises parents as the first and most important educators of their children. All of the staff see themselves as co-workers with you in providing care and education for your child. There are many ways in which parents take part in making the pre-school a welcoming and stimulating place for children and parents, such as:

Exchanging knowledge about their children’s needs activities, interests and progress with the staff.
Helping at sessions of the pre-school.
Sharing their own special interests with the children.
Helping to provide, make and look after the equipment and materials used in the children’s play activities.
Being part of the management of the pre-school.
Taking part in events and informal discussions about the activities and curriculum provided by the pre-school.
Joining in community activities in which the pre-school takes part.
Building friendships with other parents in the pre-school.

The parents’ rota

Research shows that children learn better when their parents are involved. The school has a dated rota that you sign when you would like to help at a particular session or sessions of the pre-school. Helping at the session enables you to see what the day-to-day life of the pre-school is like and to join in helping the children to get the best out of their activities.

The management of the pre-school

The pre-school is a registered charity. A parent management committee – whose members are elected by the parents of the children who attend the pre-school – manages the pre-school. The elections take place at the pre-school’s Annual General Meeting, which is held in October each year. The committee is responsible for:

Managing the pre-school’s finances
Employing and managing the staff
Making sure that the pre-school has – and works to – policies which help it to provide a high quality service
Making sure that the pre-school works in partnership with the children’s parents.

The Annual General Meeting is open to the parents of all of the children who attend the pre-school. It is their forum for looking back over the previous year’s activities and shaping the coming year’s activities. In addition, post holders (chairperson, secretary and treasurer) and new members are elected.

The committee needs new members all the time as changes regularly occur when children leave for school. The committee meets monthly. If you would like details about becoming a committee member, please speak to either the staff or a current committee member.