Current opening hours:
Monday 8.15am – 3.30pm
Tuesday 8.15am – 3.30pm** (includes Forest School)
Wednesday 8.15am – 3.30pm
Thursday 8.15am – 3.30pm
Friday 8.15am – 3.30pm
** There is no 12.30pm collection time on Tuesday. Children can be collected after lunch at 1.15pm. This is so we can make the most of our Forest School session.
Parents can opt for a 8.15am, 8.30am or 8.45am drop off. With the exception of Tuesday children may be collected at 12.30pm, 1.15pm, 3pm or 3.30pm. Children staying until 1.15pm or for the afternoon session need a packed lunch. We offer these flexible times to offer parents more choice and to help with school drop offs and collection.
All Preschool sessions begin with the children arriving and settling in. Following this we have registration where children are encouraged to sit quietly on the snack and say yes when their name is called. They soon get the hang of this and it’s great practice for when they go to school.
In addition to free play, we have a range of activities which are table based. The children can chose from a range of resources to learn, to play or to make. For most children this age “art” will be about the process, not the end result. Maths is incorporated into everything we do, and there is always a maths activity for the children to do.
We use playdough, sand, tweezers, pegs and other items to help children develop the muscles and skills they need to write and use small tools such as scissors. There are a variety of mark making resources available so all children can access these activities.
Snack time is a social event each day. Snack is “open” from around 9.30am to 10.30am. Children come to snack when they are ready. They can then sit and chat with a staff member and their friends whilst having a drink and something to eat.
At carpet time there is nearly always a story, where children can practice their listening skills. We want our children to enjoy stories, encouraging them to join in or suggest what might happen next. We recognise the importance of singing and nursery rhymes in developing children’s communication and language skills as well as supporting their literacy development. As part of our carpet time we will have a age appropriate phonics activity.
Children need to be active during the day and we want to help them develop a life long love of being active, and helping them to be healthy. We have a range of physical activities, this may be as simple as running around on the patio with their friends, a music and movement activity, footballs, playing in the park or going on a walk in our lovely surroundings.
We do our best to get outside with the children most days, whether it’s to play in the play area, see the horses or use our outdoor equipment on the patio. So don’t forget their wellies!
At lunch time we all sit together at the lunch tables. It is another social event with lots of conversations being heard. We take this opportunity to talk about healthy living, including the importance of eating healthy food, hygiene, teeth cleaning etc and looking after our planet by recycling.
We are always flexible in our approach to the day, enabling us to follow the children’s interests. Activities can be changed to follow what the children are interested in and therefore supporting them to learn.
Muddy Mondays
In this session they get to spend an hour outside in a similar set up to forest school. Children will change into waterproofs and wellies and the session takes place in our Forest School area.
Tuesday
A Forest School, session is run on Tuesday. We have qualified forest school leaders to run our sessions
