Hollies Road Pre-School Handbook
Introduction
Welcome to the Hollies, where everyone matters. We are a well-established, OFSTED registered, community Pre-School in Halewood, offering top quality, affordable childcare. We have an equal opportunity policy and welcome children from all families within the community. We are a registered charity, overseen by a committee made up of parents and carers past and present. Our Annual General Meeting is held each year to which you are all invited, and we would welcome any new members to the committee.
All staff have childcare and paediatric first aid, safeguarding, Prevent and food hygiene qualifications. We also have a behaviour management specialist and Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinators (SENCO).
| Name | Position |
| Paula Bergin | Manager/ SENCO/ Safeguarding Lead |
| Yvonne Dixon | Committee chair |
| Christine Cox | Safeguarding Lead/Cubs Room Leader |
| Donna Salmon-Ashcroft | Assistant Deputy Manager/ Bears Room Leader |
| Jen Hargreaves | Deputy Manager/SENCO/Bears Room Practitioner |
| Kimberley Morris | Cubs Room Practitioner |
| Hayley Garner | Bears Room Practitioner |
| Linda Sedgwick | Cubs Room Practitioner |
| Suzanne Rush | Finance Officer |
We maintain the legal ratio of adults to children in the setting that is set by the safeguarding and welfare requirements.
Partnership with Parents
You, as parents, are your children’s first teachers and when we are looking after and planning for your child, we will need your help. Please share any information you feel we need to know as you drop your little one off, either with their key worker or the room leader.
We regularly update our social media, sharing activities, news and upcoming information so please follow on Facebook or Instagram. We will email a monthly newsletter too, passing on information about what the children have been up to. We also have an AGM and family fun afternoons throughout the year.
Key person and your child
Right from the start you will be welcomed into the secure and loving environment of the Hollies. Our aim is to make each child, and their family feel safe, happy and valued. We work in partnership with parents to settle each child into our setting.
Your child will be allocated a keyworker, a member of staff who will work with you to make sure that the childcare is right for your child’s particular needs and interests. We hope you and your child will form a strong bond with your key worker as we want your child to look forward to coming, eager to see what each exciting new day will bring.
Rooms
Our Cubs room is for 2 to 3 years, and the Bears room is for 3 years plus. Children will be moved up to the bigger room when they are developmentally ready following the term after their third birthday and we have capacity to do so.
How we provide for development and learning
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 of the children with interesting activities that are appropriate for their age and stage of development.
We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework, which splits a child’s learning into seven areas of learning and development, with particular focus on the prime areas.
| Prime Areas | Specific Areas |
| Personal, Social and Emotional | Literacy |
| Communication and Language | Mathematics |
| Physical Development | Understanding the World |
| Expressive Arts and Design |
Activities
The days at the Hollies are always great fun. Our aim is to encourage children to play together and to stretch their learning, offering them a stimulating environment with many varied activities. We have outdoor play in all weathers (wetsuits and wellies are provided) as many children learn better in an outdoor environment. We want to make them as independent as possible ready for their transition to school. The rooms are set out so that they are interesting and exciting for the children covering all the areas of the learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage. We organise lots of trips to local places of interest and celebrate many festivals from all cultures. We lots of visitors to our setting for example, Mr Tumble, Boogie Tots, reptiles, mobile farm and many others.
WellComm
We complete WellComm, which is a complete speech and language toolkit, from screening to intervention. If delays are found, your child will receive small group intervention activities. We will work in partnership with parents providing supporting information and activities to complete at home to further strengthen and support your child.
We have designed this handbook to give you an insight into what we do on a daily basis.
What you need to bring
Spare clothes with your child’s name in which will be kept on their peg.
If your child is still in nappies, spare nappies, wipes and cream need to be provided. When your child is potty training, we are happy to help, and we will chat with you about how we can help.
Snack
In recent years we have attained a Gold Health Award from Knowsley for promoting healthy living. Healthy snacks such as cereal, yoghurt and fruit are offered each day, along with milk or water. We ask parents to contribute 20p per day for snack.
Lunch
You need to provide a packed lunch for your child in a labelled lunch box and drinking bottle. We suggest a healthy lunch, this will provide your child with the energy and nutrients they need to grow, develop and learn.
Meals are a sociable time at the setting, with children and staff sitting together. We will send home the food your child doesn’t eat to give you an idea of what they like and how much they eat in order to reduce food waste.
Supervised Toothbrushing
We carry out supervised toothbrushing daily. Each child has their own named toothbrush and access to fluoride toothpaste. This is a fun, two-minute activity in which the children brush their own teeth watching a You Tube video. Please note, this does not replace regular toothbrushing at home.
Attendance and Sickness
Although attendance at Hollies is not compulsory, is really important for several reasons.
Firstly, it is important to get your child in each day that they are registered for, to establish a good routine for their transition to school.
Secondly, funded children could have their funding withdrawn by the Local Authority if they are not attending regularly.
Thirdly, poor attenders find it harder to integrate with the other children.
Please call if your child will not be in on their registered days so we can complete our registers correctly.
Please do not send your child in when they are poorly or you have given them Calpol in the morning, as this will only mask their symptoms. If they have a temperature or a contagious infection they need to be kept at home until they are well enough to return. Please call us and we can tell you the recommended exclusion periods.
When can administer medications only if prescribed by a doctor with your child’s name, date and required dosage. We cannot administer Calpol if your child has a temperature when in our setting.
SEND
We provide an environment in which all children with special educational needs (SEN) are supported to reach their full potential. We have regard for the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (2014) and have a clear approach for identifying, responding to, and meeting children’s special educational needs in place. We support and involve parents (and where relevant children), actively listen to and act on their wishes and concerns and work in partnership with the local authority and other external agencies to ensure the best outcomes for children with SEN and their families.
Funding and Fees
We offer 15 hours free childcare to all eligible families for 2-year-old children. Check eligibility via https://parentportal.knowsley.gov.uk.
We also offer 15 hours free nursery education to any child, the term after their third birthday or 30 hours free childcare to eligible families. To check eligibility, go to www.childcarechoices.gov.uk to input your details.
We will require the reference code and identification (birth certificate/passport) for your child upon registration.
Fees
Morning session 9am – 12pm – £16
Afternoon session 12pm -3pm – £16
Full day 9am – 3pm – £32
Invoices are emailed each half term along with our bank details. Please use your child’s name as reference. You may also pay cash or recognised childcare voucher schemes. We would ask that all bills are paid by the last week of each half term, accrued debts may result in your child’s place being withdrawn. Please note that fees are still payable even if your child is absent due to sickness or holiday in order to retain their place.
We are a registered charity and in order to keep our fees low we have fund-raising events throughout the year. We would ask for your kind support as this all helps us to remain open for our children and families.
