| Welcome
to the Pre-School Room |
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| My
name is Hayley Pensom and I am head of the Pre-School room and also the
Nursery’s Deputy Manager, I work full-time and have been NNEB qualified
since 2001. I began working at Into-Play as soon as I completed my Diploma
at Gloscat, where I was offered a post in the Pre-School room, and have
remained there ever since! I am supported in the room by two other members
of staff and they are: Emma Spackman who works full-time and has recently
completed her NVQ Level 2 and Rachel Milliner who also works full-time and
is NNEB qualified. The children move up into our room from the Rising 3’s,
when they are around three years of age until they are ready to go to school.
Our staff to child ratio is 1:8. |
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The
Pre-School Room |
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Our
Pre-school room is the largest of all four areas of the Nursery. We have
2 large play rooms, one for quieter, focused activities and one for the
messier, creative activities.
In our “Quiet Room” we have many different areas these include:
- Home-Corner, Book Corner, Writing/Mark-Making Area, Construction Area
and I.C.T. Area.
These areas are readily available to the children at all times. We encourage
the children to be independent in making decisions as to which area they
spend their time, we observe the children on a daily basis and “follow
their lead” to ensure we plan activities that the children will extend
upon their individual learning and therefore make their learning more effective
and enjoyable. The “Messy Room” is where the children can be
messy and creative! Again, like our Quiet Room we have a variety of activities
readily available to the children. Some of these include: - Sand-Play, Water-Play,
Junk Modeling, Painting and play-dough. This area also doubles up as our
dining room. The children have complete free-flow access between these two
rooms and are encouraged to use the toilets independently, as they are adjoined
to both play-rooms. |
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Toileting/Potty
Training |
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| Hygiene
is a very important issue when beginning to use the toilet independently.
Therefore, we have two sinks in the children’s toilets, along with
anti-bacterial hand soaps and hand towels, which we teach the children to
use every time they visit the toilet. We also have a door chime in the toilet
at child-height, the children are taught and encouraged to use this if they
need any assistance from a member of staff, for example flushing toilets
or pulling up trousers/tights etc. The children’s toilets are cleaned
every 40 minutes to ensure optimum hygiene for the children at all times.
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Food
provision |
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have a varied balanced menu which is available for you to look at on our
parent’s notice board in our Main Entrance. Below is an example of
how our food is spread out through the day. |
8.30–8.45 |
Breakfast |
10.30-10.45 |
Morning
Snack |
12.00-12.30 |
Lunch |
13.45-14.00 |
Afternoon
Snack |
15.30-16.00 |
Supper |
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| Milk
and water is supplied to the children during the above mealtimes. We also
provide sports water bottles for every child – this is a constant
supply of fresh drinking water for the children – they have access
to these bottles AT ALL TIMES throughout their Nursery day. No child is
ever refused food, and if they do not like a certain type of food/meal,
we will do our utmost to make sure a substitute is made available. We cater
for individual dietary needs or preferences. We strive to encourage the
Pre-School children to be good conversationalists and at mealtimes we see
this as a very interactive time, where we can encourage good dialogue with
the children discussing what they are eating, where it comes from, how it
was made etc. The children also actively help prepare snack and supper as
well as serving themselves lunch; again we stress the importance of hygiene
during these times and the staff act as good role models to ensure the children
become habitual in washing their hands before handling food. |
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Key-Carer |
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Your
child is allocated a key carer when they start in the Pre-School room. She
is responsible for keeping up to date your child’s observation and
assessment paperwork and is also your 1st point of contact should you need
to speak to anyone regarding your child’s care or learning area.
She will monitor and assess your child’s individual development and
will provide appropriate stimulation for his/her every need. You are also
welcome to speak to me (Hayley), Laura or Sally (The Management Team) at
any time. Here at Into-play we have an open door policy whereby we welcome
parents into the nursery at any time during the nursery day. Some parents
often like time to sit down with their child’s’ key-carer once
every few months or so, on a more formal basis – this can also be
accommodated via your child’s key-carer. |
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Routine |
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| During
your Child’s 1st introduction, the Key-Carer will discuss with you
their individual needs, likes and dislikes, and your own wishes. A copy
of the Pre-School daily routine is set out below for you to look at. |
7.30
- 8.30 |
Free
play |
8.30
– 8.45 |
Breakfast |
8.45
- 9.00 |
Singing
/ Story time / Music & Movement |
9.00
- 10.15 |
Circle
Time/Planned Activities/Table Top / Floor Toys |
10.15
- 10.30 |
Morning
Activity feedback time |
10.30
- 10.45 |
Morning
Snack |
10.45
- 11.00 |
Outside
play (planned) |
11.00
- 12.00 |
Planned
Activities / Table Top / Floor Toys |
12.00
- 12.30 |
Lunchtime |
12.30
- 2.00 |
Quiet
Time / Lunchtime Play / Afternoon Snack |
2.00
- 3.30 |
Circle
Time/Planned Activities/Table Top / Floor Toys |
3.30
- 4.00 |
Supper
Time |
4.00
- 4.30 |
T.V
/ Story Time / Outside Play |
4.30
- 6.15 |
Free
Play |
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Supplies |
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| As
we do lots of messy play during the day – it would be of great help
if you could provide us with a change of clothes. We do provide aprons during
messy activities – however, the children still manage to get covered
in paint/spaghetti etc!! We also provide sun-cream and Calpol, should your
child need it at any time. Should the case arise whereby a child is prescribed
medicine (antibiotics etc) by their G.P. we do ask you provide us with this
medicine enabling us to administer it here at the nursery – a medicine
form provided by into-play will need to be completed by the parent/guardian
for this purpose. All of the children’s food is provided by the nursery
and included in the price of the fees. |
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Outside |
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| The
Pre-School make good use of their outside play area. As we are a purpose
built building all on one level, we can easily take our activities out into
our large play area during the summer months. For example, we could take
the water tray outside and some dolls, so the children can imagine they
are bathing a baby, or we take the balancing beams out so the children can
practice and develop their balancing skills. We can also have morning or
afternoon snack underneath our large parasols which protect the children
from the sun whilst enjoying the fresh air! |
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I hope you and your child will be very happy and enjoy your time at Into-Play,
and also feel secure in the thought that we are here for you and welcome
any questions or concerns that you may have. |
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| Hayley Pensom |
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