Our Prospectus

We aim to:

• · Provide a stimulating curriculum rich in creative and imaginative opportunities, focussing on each child's motivations        and interests.
• · Promote confident, creative, independent learners.
• · Provide and promote a safe and inclusive environment.
• · Work in partnership with parents.
• · Build relationships with the local community.
• · Work with outside agencies to improve outcomes for your child.

This pre- school is a Community Interest Company (C.I.C) run by Lucy Fox and is a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance. The pre-school is registered with OFSTED who carry out regular inspections and ensure we adhere to the legal requirements relating to learning and development and welfare.

 

OPENING DATES:

Little Treasures will be open from 8-6pm all year except for:

2 weeks at Christmas;

2 weeks at Easter;

3 weeks in the summer; and

Any bank holidays that fall outside of these dates. The dates of these holidays will obviously change yearly but will be made available to you before the start of each academic year (September).

 

AGE RANGE:

Little Treasures takes children from the age of 3 months. Your child is entitled to 15 to 30 government funded hours of care per week starting the term after their third birthday and some two year-olds may be entitled to 15 hours of funding. Please ask Lucy for more information.

 

STAFF:

Little Treasures staff are trained to a high level and are very experienced. They attend courses and day seminars to keep updated and increase their knowledge. At present the staff are:

Name:	Role:	Qualification:
Lucy Fox	Manager	Early Years Professional Status
Chloe Colclough	Deputy Manager  Room Leader	Foundation Degree in Early Years   Practice
Lisa Powell	Room Leader	NVQ Level 3 Children’s Care, Learning   and Development CACHE Certificate
Charmaine Hughes	Play Assistant	NVQ Level 3 in Early Years Care and   Education
Heather Jeffries	Room Leader	Level 3 Diploma in Early Learning and   Childcare
Sarah Preston	Deputy Room   Leader/SENCo	NNEB Diploma in Nursery Nursing
Tracy Aukett	Play Assistant	NNEB Diploma in Nursery Nursing
Karly Harris	Play Assistant	Level 3 Diploma in Children’s Care,   Learning and Development
Lydia Wilder	Deputy Room   Leader	Level 3 Diploma in Early Learning and   Childcare
Rachel Brown	Play Assistant	Level 2 Diploma in Children’s Care,   Learning and Development.
Hannah Barker	Deputy Room   Leader	Level 3 Diploma in Early learning and   Childcare
Aisling Friel	Play Assistant	Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years   Workforce
Jamie Murfitt	Play Assistant	Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years   Workforce
Ella Sanders	Play Assistant	Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years   Workforce

All staff are trained in Paediatric First Aid, Safeguarding Children and Food Safety.

Little Treasures Pre School was inspected by Ofsted in April 2017 and rated the quality of the provision ‘good’.

 

SETTLING IN:

Every child is different and settling in can be easy for some and more difficult for others. When your child starts pre-school a member of staff will be designated their key person and will discuss settling in with you. You are welcome to stay with your child until they feel confident within the group.

 

FEES:

When you reserve a place for your child, there is a £30 non-refundable deposit. You are not required to pay this deposit if you are only using your fifteen/thirty funded hours.

The fees are payable monthly or weekly in advance. In order for us to cover costs and provide the best quality care, fees must be paid if children are absent without at least a month’s notice. If your child is unwell and unable to attend the pre-school, session fees must be paid. If your child has to be absent over a long period of time, talk to Lucy or Denise.

For your child to keep her/his place at the setting, you must pay the fees. Non-payment of fees for longer than a month from the due date will result in your child losing their place at Little Treasures. We are in receipt of nursery education funding for three and four year olds; where funding is not received, then fees apply.

 

ADDITIONAL CHARGES:

There will be additional charges for breakfast and tea. The charge for breakfast will only be incurred if your child is here from 8 – 8.30am, as it covers food costs. Tea is served at 4.15pm and is a light meal only. For each meal there will be a daily charge of £1 which is payable in addition to the funded hours.

 

OUR DAY:

We organise our day 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.

 

REFRESHMENTS:

Refreshments are provided; this is usually milk and a healthy snack. If your child has special dietary requirements please enter them clearly on their registration form. Drinking water is available throughout the session. Children staying all day should bring in a healthy packed lunch. If your child attends Lunch Club, please make sure that the lunch you provide for your child is healthy and nutritious. It should not contain high-sugar or high-salt food items, such as fizzy drinks, crisps, chocolate, pre-packed snack boxes etc. Healthy lunch options include fruit, yoghurt, wholemeal sandwiches (with healthy fillings), dried fruit, pasta etc. In case of any allergies we do not allow children to bring food items containing nuts or nut traces into the pre-school. Please see our nut-free policy or ask a member of staff if you are unsure about a particular foodstuff.

 

CLOTHING:

Clothing should be suitable for all activities. Aprons are provided for messy play but children still manage to get glue etc. on their clothes. When the weather is cold, please make sure your child has a coat for outdoor play. Please provide spare clothing in case of an accident.

 

PHOTOGRAPHS:

During your child’s time at pre-school photographs will be taken to record various events and activities. These photographs will either be; a) displayed on walls, b) put in your child’s Learning Journey or c) given to your child to take home. Digital images are erased from the laptops termly. If photographs are to be published for promotional purposes of the pre-school, individual names will not be stated and will be ensured that all parents give permission for the photographs to be published.

 

THE EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE:

The provision for children's development and learning is guided by the Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE 2012). Our provision reflects the four overarching principles of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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 Development Matters guidance sets out the likely stages of progress a child makes along their learning journey towards the Early Learning Goals. Our setting has regard to these matters 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;
• Sense of self; and
• Understanding emotions.

Physical development

• Moving and handling; and
• Health and self-care.

Communication and language

• Listening and attention;
• Understanding; and
• Speaking.

Literacy

• Reading; and
• Writing.

Mathematics 

 

Understanding the world

• People and communities;
• The world; and
• Technology.

Expressive arts and design

• Creating with materials; and
• Being imaginative and expressive.

 

LEARNING THROUGH PLAY:

Play helps young children to learn and develop through doing and talking, which research has shown to be the means by which young children learn to think. Our setting uses the Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance to plan and provide a range of play activities, which help children to make progress in each of the areas of learning and development. In some of these activities, children decide how they will use the activity and, in others, an adult takes the lead in helping the children to take part in the activity. In all activities, information from 'Development Matters' the Early Years Foundation Stage has been used to decide what equipment to provide and how to provide it.

Characteristics of effective learning:

We understand that all children engage with other people and their environment through the characteristics of effective learning that are described in the Development Matters the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance as:

• Playing and exploring - engagement;
• Active learning - motivation; and
• 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 of the children, to document their progress and where this may be leading them. We believe that parents/carers know their children best and we ask them to contribute to assessment by sharing information about what their children like to do at home and how they, as parents, are supporting development. We make periodic assessment summaries of children’s achievement based on our ongoing 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. The key person is responsible for completing the check using information from ongoing observational assessments carried out as part of our everyday practice, taking account of the views and contributions of parents and other professionals.

 

POLICIES & PROCEDURES:

Little Treasures Pre-school has several policies to enable the children to have fair access to pre-school and, when there, to play and learn in a safe environment. Summaries of these policies are listed and copy of the full policies is available for reading if required. There are also written procedures to be followed in the unlikely event of; a) a child not being collected from pre-school, b) a child being lost.

Admissions Policy:

Our admissions policy covers the waiting list, which is kept in order of application.  

Special Needs Policy:

Children with special needs are welcomed to pre-school after consultation between parents and the play leader. If it is felt that a child’s needs cannot be met in pre-school without the support of a one-to-one worker, funding will be sought to employ one. We work in liaison with Health Visitors, the Suffolk Early Years team and any outside staff necessary. We aim to have regard to the DFES Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Needs.

Health and Safety Policy:

All pre-school staff take care to keep pre-school safe, clean and reasonably tidy throughout each session. The adult to child ratio is at least 1:8 for 3 years, 1:4 for 2 years and 1:3 for under 2s. In case of any accident at pre-school we have trained first aiders and in order to prevent the spread of illness, any children suffering from sickness, diarrhoea or any infectious or contagious diseases must be excluded. When possible we like the children to play outdoors. Before this occurs, the cleanliness of the area is checked and the area made safe. Any trips to the local shops and park are kept within the ratio 1:3. As part of the requirements for registration, fire drills are carried out monthly.

Behaviour Management Policy:

Whilst at pre-school we have various expectations concerning the behaviour of the children. We aim to encourage good behaviour, to provide a framework for staff and children in order to achieve consistency in pre-school practice and expectations and to provide guidelines for behaviour that foster good relationships between staff and children. We aim for co-operation rather than conflict.

Equal Opportunities Policy:

Children have a right to grow up and learn in an environment free from prejudice and without discrimination. Our equal opportunities policy aims to achieve this through promoting a ‘feel good’ factor for each child, making the child feel at home in the group, creating a positive learning environment which envelops all sexes, abilities, races and cultures and taking action when discriminatory or offensive remarks are heard. We also like to extend these aims to the parents as well as the under-fives so they can find support within pre-school to overcome any feelings of isolation and feel part of a local community.

Confidentiality Policy:

To ensure that all those using and working in the pre-school can do so with confidence, confidentiality is respected in all areas.

Complaints Procedure:

Should a parent or carer feel uneasy about any aspect of the group’s provision they should firstly talk over any worries or concerns with the manager. In the rare case that this does not produce a satisfactory outcome our complaints procedure outlines the appropriate course of action. We do of course welcome any suggestions on how to improve pre-school at any time. All discussions will be kept confidential, as will any concerning any information received about anyone using and working in pre-school.

Safeguarding children:

We are required to follow child protection procedures agreed through the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board in Suffolk. We will try at all times to share with you any concerns we may have, but we do have a statutory duty to contact Social Services if we suspect that child abuse is taking place.

 

Finally, we hope that your child’s stay with us will be a happy one. If you have any queries, or problems, you want to discuss in confidence please contact the managers.