Mary Tavy & Brentor Under 5's

Mary Tavy and Brentor Under 5s
Coronation Hall
Mary Tavy
Tavistock
Devon, PL19 9PB

Telephone No. 07818 024 628

Play Leader, Alli Hatcher: 01822 841657
Play Assistant: Cheryl Downham: 01822 810177

Ofsted No. 106173
Pre-School Learning Alliance membership no. 20272

About Us

Mary Tavy and Brentor Under 5s runs from the Coronation Hall in Mary Tavy. You can find us down the track opposite the Mary Tavy Post Office on the A386. We have ample free parking available. This prospectus is designed to give you information about the pre-school and our playgroup and should answer many of your questions. This should be read in conjunction with our policies which give more detailed information of what we do and are available at our setting.

The management of Pre-school

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 May each year. The committee is responsible for:

managing the pre-school’s finances and arranging fund raising events;
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; and
making sure that the pre-school works in partnership with the children’s parents/carers.

The Annual General Meeting is open to the parents of all of the children who attend our setting. It is their forum for looking back over the previous year’s activities and shaping the coming year’s activities. However, we welcome comments and suggestions at any time.

We encourage parents to join the committee and help our setting in whatever way they can. We actively work with our parents/carers to ensure we continue to offer the best for your children.

Mary Tavy and Brentor Under 5s aims to:

provide high quality care and education for children primarily below statutory school age;
work in partnership with parents/carers to help children to learn and develop;
add to the life and well-being of its local community; and
offer children and their parents/carers a service which promotes equality and values diversity.
follow the Curriculum for the Foundation Stage, which covers Personal, Social and Emotional
Development, Communication, Language and Literacy, Mathematical Development, Knowledge and
Understanding of the World, Creative Development and Physical Development.
work to its operational plan (available on request)

As a member of Mary Tavy and Under 5s your child:

is in a safe and stimulating environment;
is given generous care and attention, because of our high ratio of adults to children;
has the chance to join with other children and adults to play, work and learn together to achieve their
full potential through a variety of stimulating activities.

The service offered by Mary Tavy and Brentor Under 5s

The pre-school is open 38 weeks each year during term time.
We are closed during school holidays.
We are open 3 days each week, Monday (all day), Wednesday (mornings only) and Friday (all day).
We are open for babies and toddlers 2 days each week, Monday (10-11.30am) and Wednesday (10-11.30am)
We offer sessional day care on Mondays and Fridays between the following times: 9.45am to 12.15pm, and 1.15pm to 3.45pm with a lunch club between these sessions so your child may attend for a full day
We provide care and education for young children between the ages of 3 and 5
We provide playgroup and toddler sessions where children under 3 can attend whilst in the care of their parent/carer

We offer a lunch club for children on Mondays and Fridays. This is intended to get the children used to socializing with their peers and preparing them for school. The club is supervised by a minimum of two staff. The charge for the club is £2.oo and parents and carers must provide the food and drink for their child. Our staff are legally obliged to have a 15 minute break with no children present at the pre-school, so the lunch club times cannot be exceeded.

Fees

To help meet initial administration costs, a one-off registration fee of £15 is payable when your child reaches pre-school age.

The pre-school fees are £5.00 per session payable at each session. If your child has to be absent over a long period of time, please talk to the play leader or or the committee chair. For your child to keep her/his place at the pre-school, you must pay the fees. If you have any difficulties with payment, please let us know and we will do our best to help.

Lunch club costs £2.00 per session

The parent & toddler session fees are: under 12 months: free, 1-3 years of age: £2.00, payable at each session.

Government funding is available for pre-school children and those eligible for funding are covered for up to five sessions per week for a total of 38 weeks. No top-up fees will be charged for funded children, as per Government requirements. Please speak to our Voucher Administrator for more details. We also operate the Busy Bees payment scheme.

Hours

Monday: offers full day. Morning session 9.45 am - 12.15 pm, Lunch club 12.15 pm - 1.15 pm. Afternoon session 1.15 pm - 3.45pm

Wednesday: 9.45am - 12.15pm

Friday: offers full day. Morning session 9.45 am - 12.15 pm, Lunch club 12.15 pm - 1.15 pm. Afternoon session 1.15 pm - 3.45pm

Parent & Toddler group: Monday 10.00 am - 12.00 pm
Wednesday 10.00 am - 12.00 pm

Working together for your children

Mary Tavy and Brentor Under 5s 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; and
allow the children to explore and be adventurous in safety.

The members of staff who work at Mary Tavy and Brentor Under 5s and their most recent qualifications are:

Position	Name	Qualification	Date
Play Leader	Allison Hatcher	Foundation Degree Early Years	Completed August 2007
Play Assistant	Cheryl Downham	NVQ Level 3	Completed
Play Assistant	Wendy Wright	NVQ Level 2	To be undertaken
Volunteer Assistant	Lorraine Beeley	NVQ Level 2	To be undertaken

Please note that our staff have a number of years’ experience, and additional qualifications which were gained prior to those listed above.

We aim for all staff to undertake courses run by the Pre-school Learning Alliance training and other bodies, and hold up to date first-aid qualifications. Staff training is continuous to keep up to date with current best practice and staff are encouraged to achieve their own best potential.

How parents and carers take part in the pre-school

As a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, Mary Tavy and Brentor Under 5s recognises parents and carers as the first and most important educators of their children. The staff members 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;
supporting and joining in our fund raising events throughout the year; and
building friendships with other parents in the pre-school.

The parents’ rota

The pre-school has a rota which you can sign if 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.

Joining in

Joining the rota is not the only means of taking part in the life of the pre-school. You can offer to take part in a session by sharing your own interests and skills with the children.

Do feel free to arrange to drop into the pre-school, if you would like to see it at work or to speak with the staff.

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.

Records of achievement

The pre-school keeps a record of achievement for each child. Staff and parents/carers working together on their children’s records of achievement is one of the ways in which Mary Tavy and Brentor Under 5s and parents/carers work in partnership. Your child’s record of achievement 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 worker will work 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 worker to identify your child’s stage of progress. You and the key person will then decide on how to help your child to move on to the next stage. The play leader also regularly reviews all children’s progress to ensure all their needs are being met.

The session

The pre-school organises its 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.

The pre-school has space in the hall so that the children can enjoy outdoor activities (bikes, climbing frame etc.). 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 child-chosen and adult-led activities.

A typical session will generally follow the pattern of:

Settle in
Wake and shake
Registration/date/weather
Free play
Key worker time (small groups)
Themes, topic, show and tell
Snack time
Free play
Story time/singing/music
Exit register

Clothing

The pre-school provides aprons for the children when they play with messy activities. Please send your child in clothes which you do not mind if they get messy. We also provide a pre-school book bag and sun hat at a charge of £2.50 each. The pre-school encourages children to gain the skills which help them to be independent and look after themselves. These include taking themselves to the toilet and washing hands. Clothing which is easy for them to manage will help them to do this.

All outdoor clothing and shoes must be labelled with your child’s name. Please ask a member of staff for a label order form if you require labels.

Should your child soil themselves we will provide them with dry clothes and their soiled clothes are suitably wrapped and given to the parents/carers at the end of the session. Please return the pre-school clothes washed and ironed.

Shoes and Jewellery

For safety reasons, children are not permitted to wear jewellery in Pre-school, with the exception of stud earrings. Cultural/religious requirements will be respected, but please discuss these with the Supervisor. In this case the parent/carer must provide a signed waiver of liability to the Pre-school. This will state that the Pre-school will not be held responsible for loss or injury caused to or by the jewellery. Staff will remove any other jewellery from children and the Pre-school will not be liable for such items.

Snacks and meals

The pre-school makes snacks and meals a social time at which all the children eat together. Our parents operate a rota and plan suitable snacks and organic milk or water to drink, so that they provide the children with healthy and nutritious food. Do tell us about your child’s dietary needs and we will make sure that these are met.

Our parents also provide a coffee rota for parents/carers to enjoy a drink, a piece of cake and a chat whilst the children have their snack time. This is very popular.

If your child attends our lunch club you will need to supply a packed lunch and a drink which will be stored in our fridge until needed.

Toilets

The pre-school policy for children going to toilet is that the child must tell a member of staff if they wish to go to the toilet, and a member of staff (CRB checked) will take the child. If a child has an ‘accident’, the child will be treated with sympathy and understanding. If you have any concerns, please speak to the session supervisor. Staff are happy to change pre-school children’s nappies, but these must be provided by parents.

Policies

Copies of the pre-school’s policies are available to view at the pre-school, please ask a member of staff.

The pre-school’s policies help us to make sure that the service provided by the pre-school is a high quality one and that being a member of the pre-school is an enjoyable and beneficial experience for each child and her/his parents.

The staff, parents and carers of the pre-school work together to adopt the policies and they all have the opportunity to take part in the continual review of the policies. This review helps us to make sure that the policies are enabling the pre-school to provide a quality service for its members and the local community.

Special needs

As part of the pre-school’s policy to make sure that its provision meets the needs of each individual child, we take account of any special needs which a child may have.

The pre-school works to the requirements of the 1993 Education Act and The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2000). The pre-school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is Alli Hatcher. The area SENCO is Judy Topley.

Birthdays

We will celebrate a child’s birthday at the pre-school, and this takes place at our mid-session break. If for any reason you do not want your child’s birthday celebrated, please tell the session supervisor.

Newsletters

Regular newsletters are produced to let parents/carers know of meetings and events, planned themes for the next half term, fundraising activities, committee activities and other information that the parent should be aware of.

Events calendar

We arrange events for parents/carers and children to be involved in. Please check our notice board and read our newsletters for further information.

Starting at Mary Tavy and Brentor Under 5s

Admissions Policy

We are pleased to consider taking your child at any time provided we have places available. If necessary your child’s name may be placed on a waiting list and we will contact you as soon as a place becomes available. If you do not wish to take up your place we will offer it to the next child on our list until all our places are full. Please see our admissions policy for more details.

The first days

We want your child to feel happy and safe at the pre-school. To make sure that this is the case, the staff will work with you to decide on how to help your child to settle into the pre-school.

Extra session

If you would like an extra session for your child, please let the session supervisor know whether it is permanent or temporary, and we will let you know if there are vacancies on the session you want. Fees must be paid for the extra session.

Please let us know if you no longer want a session, so that we are able to offer the place to another child. All changes to sessions must be made via the pre-school.

Links with Infants Schools

We have close links to Mary Tavy and Brentor Community Primary School and many of our children move forward into Reception there. The pre-school cannot register children for infant school and it is for the parents to approach their chosen infant school and register their children if they wish them to be considered for a place.

Mary Tavy and Brentor Under 5s hopes that you and your child enjoy being members of the pre-school and that you both 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.