About our early education

Welcome to Frimley Green Pre-School and thank you for registering your child with us.

We know how important your child is and aim to deliver the highest quality of education and care to help them to achieve their best.

This document aims to provide you with an introduction to Frimley Green Pre-School our routines, our approach to supporting your child’s learning and development and how we aim to work together with you to best meet your child’s individual needs. This should be read alongside our Early Education Terms and Conditions for a full description of our services.

Our setting aims to:

• provide high quality care and education for children.

• work in partnership with parents to help children to learn and develop.

• add to the life and well-being of the local community.

• offer children and their parents a service that promotes equality and values diversity.

 

Parents/carers

You are regarded as members of our setting who have full participatory rights. These include a right to be:

• valued and respected

• kept informed.

• consulted

• involved

• included at all levels.

 

Children's development and learning

We aim to ensure that each child:

• is in a safe and stimulating environment.

• has a named key person who makes sure each child makes satisfying progress and is your link to our setting.

• is given generous care and attention, because of our ratio of qualified staff to children, as well as volunteer helpers.

• has the chance to join in with other children and adults to live, play, work and learn together.

• is helped to take forward her/his learning and development by being helped to build on what she/he already knows and can do.

• is in a setting that sees parents/carers as partners in helping each child to learn and develop.

• is in a setting in which parents/carers help to shape the service it offers.

 

The Early Years Foundation Stage

Provision for the development and learning of children from birth to five years is guided by the Early Years Foundation Stage. 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 with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between educators, parents and/or carers.

• Learning and Development

• Children develop and learn 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 (SEND).

 

How we provide for learning and development

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 the children with interesting activities that are appropriate for their age and stage of development.

 

The Areas of Learning and Development 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.

We refer to non-statutory curriculum guidance to support our professional judgment as we assess each child’s progress and level of development as they progress towards the Early Learning Goals. We have regard to these when we assess children and plan for their learning by creating a curriculum that is ambitious and meets every child’s needs. Our educational programmes support children to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding they need for:

Personal, social and emotional development

• self-regulation

• managing self

• building relationships

Physical development

• gross motor skills

• fine motor skills

Communication and language

• listening, attention and understanding

• speaking

Literacy

• comprehension

• word reading

• writing

Mathematics

• number

• numerical patterns

Understanding the world

• past and present

• people, culture and communities

• the natural world

Expressive arts and design

• creating with materials

• being imaginative and expressive

 

Our approach to learning and development and assessment

Learning through play

Being active and playing supports young children’s learning and development through doing and talking. This is how children learn to think about and understand the world around them. We use the EYFS education programmes to plan and provide opportunities which will help children to make progress in all areas of learning. We follow in the moment planning and child lead learning.

 

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 Early Years Foundation Stage as:

• playing and exploring - engagement

• active learning - motivation

• creating and thinking critically - thinking

We aim to provide for the characteristics of effective learning by observing how a child engages with learning and being clear about what we can do and provide to support each child to remain an effective and motivated learner.

 

Assessment

We assess how young children are learning and developing by observing them. We use information that we gain from observations of the children, to understand their progress and where this may be leading them. We believe that parents know their children best, and we will ask you to contribute to assessment by sharing information about what your child likes to do at home and how you, as parents/carers, are supporting development.

We may make periodic assessment summaries of children’s achievement based on our on-going observations. These help us to build a picture of a child’s progress during their time with us and form part of children’s records of achievement/learning journeys. We undertake these assessment summaries at regular intervals, as well as at times of transition, such as when a child moves 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. Your child’s key person is responsible for completing the check using information from on-going observations carried out as part of our everyday practice, taking account of the views and contributions of parents and other professionals.

Records of achievement/learning journeys

We keep a record of achievement/learning journey for each child. Your child's record of achievement/learning journey 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 person will work in partnership with you to keep this record. To do this you and they will collect information about your child's needs, activities, interests and achievements. This information will enable the key person to identify your child's progress. Together, we will then decide on how to further support your child’s learning and development.

Working together for your children

We maintain the ratio of adults to children in the setting that is set by the Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements. We may also have volunteer parent/carer helpers, where possible, to complement these ratios. 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.

 

The staff who work at our setting are:

The qualifications listed are a small snapshot listing the main qualifications. Staff also have qualifications in all areas of Child Development, Maths, Literacy, Communication (including Makaton and PECS) and Special Educational Needs.

​​​

Debbie Franklin

I am an advocate for ‘In the Moment Planning’ and believe young children learn more effectively through play.

I have a special interest in child development, child welfare and am passionate about introducing science and Maths into child led play.

I enjoy discovering a child’s unique interests and talents, encouraging the child to develop them further.

Job Role & Experience :

Supervisor

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Deputy Looked After Children Officer.

Committee member

Operation Encompass Lead

NVQ3 Childcare Learning and Development. (2008)

BSc (Hons).

Foundation Module 1 and 2 Safeguarding.

Safer recruitment

GCP 2 Licence Neglect

Paediatric First Aid

Allergy Awareness L2

Food Hygiene L2

Makaton

Operation Encompass Lead.

Elklan Language Development.

Quality Assurance Award

Committee run pre-school

​

Paula Kelley

I am passionate about craft - make various creations e.g. butterfly, princess, fairy wands, wings puppets masks, aeroplanes, pirate props - telescope, paper swords, eye patch etc. 

I also like physical play, building obstacle courses, climbing, football, big mats peanut ball, yoga poses, running, chasing games, hula hoop spinning etc. 

I like turn taking games, Pop Up Pirate, Bingo, Lunchbox game, sound track listening games Dotty Dinosaur etc. 

Job role & Experience:

Deputy Supervisor

SENCo

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Wellbeing Officer

NVQ3 Children’s care learning and development. (2010)

BTEC level 3 Children’s care learning and development.

SENCo in the Early Years.

Foundation Module 1 and 2 Safeguarding.

Safer recruitment

Paediatric First Aid

Allergy Awareness L2

Food Hygiene L2

Quality Assurance Award

Talk Boost

Makaton and PECS

 

Karen Johnstone

I have a special interest in teaching maths and have a passion for developing children’s number sense through their play. I love helping children build confidence with numbers in a fun, hands on way.

I also love bringing stories to life through imaginative play, puppets, and expressive reading, helping children to engage, imagine, and build a love of language and books from an early age.

Job Role & Experience:

Deputy Supervisor

Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Operation Encompass Lead

Looked after child officer.

Positive Behaviour Officer

PGDE Primary Education

Qualified Teacher Status 2007

MA (Applied Social Science)

Foundation Module 1 and 2 Safeguarding.

Operation Encompass

Paediatric First Aid

Allergy Awareness L2

Food Hygiene L2

Phonics

Positive Touch

​

Tracey Murphy

I enjoy supporting children with communication difficulties to come out of their shell and flourish with their peers.

Job Role & Experience

Health and Safety Officer

Deputy SENCo

Fire Marshal

NVQ3 Childcare Learning and Development. (2007)

SENCo in the Early Years

Paediatric First Aid

Allergy Awareness L2

Food Hygiene L2

Quality Assurance Award

Fire Warden and Fire Marshal

Talk Boost

Makaton

Positive Touch

​

Samantha Smith

I enjoy supporting children to progress and flourish throughout their time at pre-school.

I am an advocate for children with additional needs.

I am passionate about using music and dance to support children with their development.

Job Role & Experience:

Deputy Health and Safety Officer.

Fire Marshal

Inclusion

CACHE Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce. (June 14).

Safeguarding

Paediatric First Aid

Food Hygiene L2

Allergy Awareness L2

​

​Imogen Piper

I really enjoy supporting children to the best of their individual abilities. Watching them grow and flourish is very rewarding.

I am passionate about using role play and music in Early Years. I love turning into a princess and doing singing and dancing activities with the children.

Job Role & Experience:

Assistant SENCo

Inclusion

NCFE CACHE L3 Diploma in Childcare and Education (Early Years Educator) (2017)

Food Hygiene L2

Allergy Awareness L2

Paediatric First Aid

Safeguarding

SENCO in the Early Years

Talk Boost

Positive Touch

 

Debra Hastings

My passion lies with enabling all children to be the best they can be by identifying and providing support for any additional needs as early as possible.

I am passionate about child lead learning through planning in the moment. This allows children to be in control of their own learning whilst staff ensure they have many provocations, such as our woodworking area, and making the most of the outdoor environment where children love to learn.

I also have a passion for books and for fostering a lifelong love of reading for all children, providing our Book Swap Shed for all our children, their families and the wider community.

Job Role & Experience:

Bank Staff

Sustainability Lead

Retired Supervisor

Consultant SENCo

DPP Pre-School Practice (2003)

Food Hygiene L2

Allergy Awareness L2

Safeguarding Foundation Module 1 and 2

SENCo/Elklan

Edexcel L3 Assessing Candidates.

Quality Assurance Award

Makaton

 

Julie Darke

I have a special interest and I’m passionate about building relationships with the children within my care, as well as their family. I always consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child within my care to maximise their growth and development and their enjoyment of their time at Pre-School. I enjoy watching the children grow and develop into happy and confident children, ready for their next chapter.

Job Role & Experience:

Bank Staff

NVQ3 Childcare Learning and Development. (2007)

Quality Assurance Award

Safeguarding

Food Hygiene L2

Allergy Awareness L2

Makaton

 

Sarah Sawyer

My passion is Frimley Green Pre-School, all the children, the parents, carers, siblings and Grandparents, past and present.

I am also passionate about our wonderful, hardworking team, without whom the pre-school wouldn't be as amazing as it is!

Job Role

Administrator

Committee Member

Safeguarding

Safer Recruitment

Committee run pre-schools

​

We are open for 38 weeks each year.

We are closed Weekends and holidays.

We are open for 5 days each week.

The times we are open are 9am to 3pm.

 

We provide care and education for young children between the ages of:

2 and 5 years.

​

How parents/carers take part in the setting

Our setting recognises parents/carers as the first and most important educators of their children. All our staff see themselves as partners with parents/carers in providing care and education for their children. There are many ways in which parents/carers take part in making our setting a welcoming and stimulating place for children and parents/carers, such as:

• exchanging knowledge about their children's needs, activities, interests and progress with our staff

• contributing to the progress check at age two

• helping at sessions of the setting

• sharing their own special interests with the children

• helping to provide and look after the equipment and materials used in the children's play activities.

• being part of the management/committee of the setting, where appropriate

• taking part in events and informal discussions about the activities and curriculum provided by the setting

• joining in community activities, in which the setting takes part.

• building friendships with other parents/carers in the setting

 

Joining in

• Our setting has a committee which parents/carers can join if they would like to help at the setting. Helping at the setting enables parents/carers to see what life of our setting is like.

• Parents/carers can also offer to take part in a session by sharing their own interests and skills with the children. We welcome parents/carers into the setting to meet with their child’s key person and help with our fundraising activities or local visits.

 

Key person and your child

• Our setting uses a key person approach. This means that each member of staff has a group of children for whom she/he is particularly responsible. Your child's key person will be the person who works with you to make sure that the early education that we provide is right for your child's particular needs and interests. When your child first starts at the setting, they will help your child to settle and throughout your child's time at the setting, they will help your child to benefit from our activities.

 

Learning opportunities for adults

• As well as gaining relevant qualifications, our staff take part in further training to help them to keep up-to date with thinking about early years care and education. We also keep up to date with best practice, as a member of the Early Years Alliance, through Under 5 magazine, Alliance training on EYA Central and other publications produced by the Alliance. The current copy of Under 5 is available for you to read. Occasionally, we hold learning events for parents/carers.

 

The setting's timetable and routines

Our setting believes that care and education are equally important in the experience which we offer children. The routines and activities that make up the day in our setting are provided in ways that:

• help each child to feel that she/he is a valued member of the setting.

• ensure the safety of each child.

• help children to gain from the social experience of being part of a group.

• provide children with opportunities to learn and help them to value learning.

 

The session

We organise our 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. We focus on child led learning through In the Moment Planning. The children are also helped and encouraged to take part in some 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 all areas of learning and development, including their health and their knowledge of the world around them. The children have the opportunity, and are encouraged, to take part in outdoor child-chosen activities, as well as those provided indoors.

 

Snacks and meals

We make snacks and meals a social time at which children eat together. We plan the menus for snacks so that they provide the children with healthy and nutritious food. Please tell us about your child's dietary needs, particularly any known allergies or food intolerance and we will plan accordingly.

The children have access to water throughout the day.

Milk and water are available at snack time.

Children who stay over lunchtime bring their own packed lunch.

 

Clothing

We provide protective clothing for the children when they play with messy activities. We encourage children to gain the skills that help them to be independent and look after themselves. These include taking themselves to the toilet and taking off, and putting on, outdoor clothes. Clothing that is easy for them to manage will help them to do this. Shoes with Velcro help with this.

We ask that you provide a name labelled waterproof, wellies and a bag containing a change of clothes.

Children must not wear Crocs, Flip flops or open toe shoes/sandals at pre-school, as they can get caught on climbing equipment.

 

Policies

Our staff can explain our policies and procedures to you. Copies of which are available on our web site and at the setting.

Our policies help us to make sure that the service we provide is of high quality and that being a member of the setting is an enjoyable and beneficial experience for each child and her/his parents.

Our staff and parents/carers work together to adopt the policies, and they are reviewed by the setting chairperson. This review helps us to make sure that the policies are enabling our setting to provide a quality service for its members and the local community.

 

Information we hold about you and your child.

We have procedures in place for the recording and sharing of information [data] about you and your child that is compliant with the principles of the General Data Protection Regulations (2018) as follows.

 

The data we collect is.

1. processed fairly, lawfully and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject [you and your family]

2. collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed for other purposes incompatible with those purposes.

3. adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which data is processed.

4. accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.

5. kept in a form that permits identification of data subjects [you and your family] for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data is processed.

6. processed in a way that ensures appropriate security of the personal data including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures.

When you register your child with us, we will provide you with a privacy notice that gives you further details of how we fulfil our obligations regarding your data.

 

Safeguarding children

Our setting has a duty under the law to help safeguard children against suspected or actual ‘significant harm’. Our employment practices ensure that people looking after children are suitable to fulfil the requirements of their role and help to protect children against the likelihood of abuse in our setting and we have a procedure for managing complaints or allegations against a member of staff.

Our way of working with children and their parents/carers ensures that we are aware of any problems that may emerge and can offer support, including referral to appropriate agencies, when necessary, to help families in difficulty.

 

Special educational needs

To make sure that our provision meets the needs of each individual child, we take account of any special educational needs a child may have. We work to the requirements of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015).

Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is

Paula Kelley (SENCo)

Tracey Murphy (Deputy SENCo)

Imogen Piper (Assistant SENco)

 

The management of our setting

Our setting is a charity and as such is managed by a volunteer management committee - whose members are elected by the parents of the children who attend our setting. The elections take place at our Annual General Meeting. The committee make up the registered person with Ofsted and are responsible for:

• managing our finances

• employing and managing our staff

• making sure that we have, and work to, policies that help us to provide a high-quality service.

• making sure that we work in partnership with parents.

 

The Annual General Meeting is open to the parents of all the children who attend our setting. It is our shared forum for looking back over the previous year's activities and shaping the coming year's plan.

 

Fees

The fees are £7.50 per hour payable in advance. Fees must still be paid if children are absent without notice for a brief period.

For your child to keep her/his place at the setting, you must pay the fees. We are in receipt of nursery education funding for two-, three- and four-year-olds; where funding is not received, then fees apply.

Fees may be subject to change.

 

Starting at our setting

The first days

We want your child to feel happy and safe with us. To make sure that this is the case, our staff will work with you to decide on how to help your child to settle into the setting. Our policy on the role of the key person and Settling-in is on our website and at the setting.

We hope that you and your child enjoy being members of our setting 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 to respond to any questions.