Welcome to Testwood Baptist Church Pre-

school!

We are so pleased that you have expressed an interest in sending your child to our

preschool. We hope that you enjoy reading through this prospectus, which outlines some

of the information which you will want to know. Unfortunately we cannot include

everything so please feel free to come in and see us ‘in action’

We all love our jobs! Working with young children is a joyous activity. We passionately believe in providing an excellent Early years education for your child and give them the best possible start on their lifelong ‘learning

journey’. Sue and Karen (Leaders)

Session times Breakfast club sessions (Early start):

8.30-8.45 am

Preschool session (morning) 8.45-11.45am

Preschool session (afternoon) 12.30-3.30pm

Lunch club sessions 11.45-12.30pm

Fees :

Pre-school Session £4.50 per hour

Breakfast Club Sessions £1.50

Lunch Club Sessions £3.00

Please note that all-day sessions are available on Monday to Friday running from 8.30am until 3.30pm.

We offer flexible drop off from 8.45am to 9.15am and flexible pick up from 3pm to 3.30pm.

We accept Funding for a maximum of 15 hours a week, from the term after a child’s 3rd Birthday. (From September 2017 some families may well be eligible for 30 hours funding )

Preparing for Preschool

What to wear In order to feel free to explore and experiment with all kinds of materials, including messy ones, it is best to send children dressed in clothes which are easily washable or not too new.

It is good for children to practice the skills which will make them independent. Simple clothing (not dungarees) which they can handle themselves will enable them to go to the toilet when they want to and to put on and take off their outdoor clothes

without being too dependent on other people’s help.

Please ensure your child brings a coat and wellies in appropriate weather, as we will still go outside in the rain.

The First Day A child who is tense or unhappy will not be able to play or learn properly, so it is important for parents and Pre-school staff to work together to help the child to feel confident and secure in the group.

This takes longer for some children than for others

and parents should not feel worried if their child takes a while to settle. Please bring any comfort item, cloth, blanket or teddy if the child wishes.

Mention to the Key carer or a member of staff any special word used for the toilet to allow for easy communication.

What not to bring Please do not let your child bring sweets, biscuits etc. It is upsetting to the other children to watch them being eaten.

We would also ask that children do not bring nuts or products containing nuts in their lunch boxes, due to allergies.

Snack Time This consists daily of bread sticks, plain biscuits and fruit but this is regularly supplemented with choices from the children,

Milk or water will also be offered. Donations of snack items are very much appreciated.

Visits

It is helpful if your child visits the Pre-school before he/she is due to start, in order to become accustomed to the environment and meet the team and other children.

As you are here with your child throughout the visit, this should be an anxiety free experience in which you and your child can play together. Children learn a lot from their parents and if a child sees the parent relaxed and happy they will feel that this is a good and safe place to be; this can greatly assist in the child settling happily.

We suggest at least two such visits, however some children may require more.

Home visits

We also offer a home visit for you and your child to get to know the Pre-school Leaders and your child’s key carer in your home

environment. This visit is an opportunity for both yourself and your child to ask questions and discuss any worries or concerns that you might have.

“Staff help children to settle quickly and know their key children very

well” Ofsted 2017

Collecting

The staff need to know which adult will collect the child regularly from

Pre-school. Should someone different be collecting your child, please inform the staff on the day. A password will be required. If you are delayed for some reason, the Pre-school telephone number is 023 8086 0281.

The Learning environment– Outside

“The setting is a high quality learning environment” Ofsted 2017

Our outdoor environment has been developed throughout the Summer of 2017 and provides the children with excellent opportunities to explore!

Our water wall allows children to carefully plan how they want the water to move through the pipes and funnels.

The covered sand pit allows children to have the ‘feel ‘ of being at the beach whilst they build

sandcastles1

The mud kitchen was developed

to allow the children to play and explore the mud, stones and gravel and create using the many tools and containers provided. This is an

incredibly popular area.

The Learning environment– Inside

Our inside environment has dedicated areas for exploring the areas covered by the EYFS.

Our puzzle and games area where children can play games and chat quietly

Our listening area where children can explore instruments and listen to stories on CD

Our reading area is full of books, comics and puppets for the children to explore stories and rhymes

Our craft area allows children to let their imagination show!

Our mark making area includes a wide range of opportunities to encourage them to begin their love of writing.

Curriculum

“Staff provide exciting and inviting opportunities and experiences for the

children. They routinely reflect children’s interests and stages of development”

Ofsted 2017

At preschool we follow the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage). Within the group, all children are supported in developing their potential at their own pace. Our Key carer system enables us to ensure a planned curriculum tailored to the needs of each individual child. By means of developmentally appropriate play activities and a high level of individual adult input, we offer a curriculum which leads to nationally approved learning outcomes and prepares children to progress with confidence to the National Curriculum at the age of five years. The areas of the EYFS are:

Personal, social and emotional development

Communication and language

Physical development

Literacy (reading and writing)

Mathematics

Expressive Arts and design

Daily organisation-a typical session Each session is based on a theme, which continues for a few weeks. These are developed with the children's’ enjoyment

and interests at the centre.

Early Morning/Afternoon

We start a session with our ’hello’ song and

the children have an opportunity to share any ’news’. Small group language sessions

then follow this, where children work with practitioners in small groups to develop their

language skills.

The children can choose which activities they take part in and adults will assist and develop their interest. There should be plenty of opportunity for messy play, paint, creative work, sticking, junk modelling,

Ofsted 2017

“All children make

good progress from different starting points”

sand, water, play dough and occasionally cooking.

The role play area is regularly transformed to reflect the learning theme. In the past it has been a dinosaur lair, the Gruffalo’s ’dark cave’ and a fairy tale

castle.

There will be an opportunity for construction and imaginary play. Also, fine, manipulative skills can be developed through threading, and small constructive toys such as pegs and hammer & nails.

Jigsaw puzzles are important for shape and colour matching, essential pre-reading skills and giving an opportunity for a task to be completed.

The book corner provides a

place to be quiet where adults are always willing to read to one child or small groups of children. Also finger and hand puppets are used to develop language and communication skills.

Physical Play This is usually a structured activity for the whole group allowing for energetic movement. Activities include physical games, an obstacle course, ball or circle games, the climbing frame, movement to music, expression through parachute

play and musical instruments.

Mid-Morning/Afternoon

The children are offered refreshment through a snack bar, where the children can help themselves to milk or water and a healthy snack comprising of a selection of fruits, giving them the opportunity to try different things.

Preschool activities

All activities allow for fun, promote concentration and language development, give opportunities for individual and group work, and through personal involvement, lead to growth and development STORIES book, puppets, language development

DRAMA dressing-up, increases vocabulary

story time stimulates enquiry

questioning, imagination

understanding of their world

listening, concentration

CREATIVE paint, junk modelling self expression

PLAY collage, drawing use of imagination

chalking, printing visual discrimination

non-verbal communication

hand-eye co-ordination

NATURAL sand, water, wood chance to be messy, explore

MATERIALS playdough, glue release feelings through touch

finger manipulation,

co-operation with group

weight, volume, discovery

IMAGINATIVE home corner, hats place to act out emotions

PLAY shoe bags, clothes anxiety, aggression, discover

cars & garage how it feels to be mum, dad,

train set, farm baby

dolls house co-operation with group

understand environment

CONSTRUCTION jigsaws, fuzzy felts hand-eye co-ordination

threading, pegs, finger manipulation

octagons, colour recognition, sorting

hammer & nails, building size, weight

duplo blocks, lego, three dimension

stickle bricks, bricks balancing, number work

PHYSICAL climbing frame, tunnel body controls, balance

ride on cars, hoops muscle development

skipping ropes, stilts co-ordination

balls, skittles, confidence

bean bags, trampoline spatial awareness

MUSIC band, rhythm sticks listening skills

circle games co-ordination

singing & rhymes rhythmic sense

language-sound formation

GAMES board games taking turns

WITH RULES card games learning to win & lose

matching, number, shape

Getting ready for School!!

At preschool , we do a lot to encourage your child to establish the skills, which will enable them to effectively transition to school. These skills include:

Dress and undress with the minimum of help

Go to the toilet on their own and wash and dry their hands

Be able to tidy away things that they have been using

Be able to share in a small group

Know about books e.g. which way to hold them, where the first page is etc

Hang their own coat on a peg

Be able to ask to go to the toilet

Be able to sit still and listen

Be able to hold a pencil correctly

Recognise their own name

What do they get out of it?

We all know why we send our children to Pre-school, or do we? This poem helps to explain this...

Child’s play by Jean Coveney Oh what a busy morning! I’ve been playing with the dough

And, with a little help, upon a card I learned to sew. I helped my friend “Nurse Sarah” to perform an operation,

Then fixed the track together for my train and built the station, I popped inside the Wendy house to make a cup of tea

And stood beside the cooker making lunch for twenty three! I completed three whole jigsaws and played a new board game And had a turn on all the bikes, the slide and climbing frame

I handed round the biscuits at “milk and biscuit” time, Then listened to the story and sang a nursery rhyme

But now the morning’s over and our mothers are all waiting I hope my mummy doesn’t say, “I wish you’d done a painting”