Welcome to Lymington Little Dolphins Pre-School!
We aim to create a happy, safe and stimulating environment where your child can develop at their own pace and be part of a group that values everyone. We offer care and education of children under statutory school age within a parent involved, committee run setting. We ensure that we work within the EYFS which is a framework that provides equality and quality for all children and their families. We offer your child:
- Support of a Key Person
- High ratio of adults to children
- Fun and quality interactions with adults and other children
- Personalised provision designed for the individual child.
Opening Times
Monday - Friday: 08.00 - 15.00
Committee
The pre-school is a committee run setting. The committee is a voluntary group, elected on an annual basis from and by parents. The committee consists of a Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary and Fundraisers. The committee has responsibility for pre-school policies, procedures and practice, recruitment, staff appraisal and general administration tasks. The Pre-School cannot operate without a Committee; if there is no Committee, there is no Pre-School.
Inclusion
We believe and uphold the value that our setting is open to all children and their families/carers and other adults committed to their welfare. We aim to ensure that all who wish to work in, or volunteer at our setting have an equal chance to do so.
- We are committed to providing a quality curriculum with appropriate activities on offer to support the needs of all children who may attend the setting.
- We create a culture of mutual respect within the setting; having positive regard for all children’s heritage, religion, home language, culture, social background and any other individual requirements.
- We promote that the children have an ‘I can do’ attitude, to build up their self-confidence and to encourage high levels of self-esteem.
The EYFS (revised for September 2012)
The EYFS stands for Early Years Foundation Stage which is a national framework that all childcare settings must work with since 2008. It is designed to:
- Create a set of standards for learning, care and development for all children.
- Provide equality of opportunity through anti-discriminatory practice for children and their families/carers
- Create a partnership between Parents/carers and professionals involved with them.
- Improve quality and consistency across all childcare settings
- Lay a secure foundation for future learning.
We are committed to these values and ensure that:
- Staff are all suitable people to care for young children through rigorous recruitment and CRB checks for all adults working in the setting.
- Our learning environment is appropriate for all children, taking into account their individual age and stage of development.
- We provide a diversity of resources and experiences to reflect our belief that every child is valued equally.
- Parents/carers are involved with the care, learning and development of their child as often as possible, in a variety of ways.
- Observe, assess and plan for the individual child, taking account of their unique needs and interests.
- We provide continuous provision and free-flow to outside
- Children are able to build up a trusting, secure relationship with their Key Person, who is responsible for all aspects of their care and development.
There are 7 areas of learning and development within the EYFS:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Physical Development
- Communication and Language Development
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Expressive Arts and Design
- Understanding the World
The first 3 areas are called the Prime areas that the EYFS recognises as vitally important for children to be confident in, so that they can achieve their potential.
Policies and Procedures
A full copy of all our policies and procedures are available on request; a few key ones have been summarised in this prospectus as a guide. Please ask any member of staff.
Settling In
We aim to support children and families through this important transition with minimum distress. Children will not develop or learn effectively if they are anxious or unhappy. The Key person will work in partnership with the Parent/Carer to ease this difficult time; we offer ‘settling in’ visits and a New Parent’s Evening to everyone and then liaise closely with each individual child and family so that the process suits them.
Snack and Lunch: WE ARE A NUT FREE ZONE!
We provide a healthy and nutritionally balanced snack for each child every day as part of the curriculum. We offer milk or water to drink . If your child has any nutritional needs for any reason, please talk to any member of staff for advice.
We request that your child’s packed lunch (if appropriate) is also nutritionally balanced and contains a drink.
Registering Authority
The pre-school is registered with Ofsted, who work closely with the Pre-School Learning Alliance to ensure that statutory guidelines are adhered to and that high standards of care for young children is achieved. The latest copy of our Ofsted report is available on-line or on request at Pre-School.
Ofsted contact no: 0300 123 1231
Safeguarding Children
We intend to create an environment within our pre-school in which children are safe from abuse and where any suspicion of abuse (including neglect) is promptly and appropriately responded to. We have set up policies and procedures to reflect this and staff attend regular Safeguarding training to enable us to keep track of new legislation or guidance.
Complaints
We aim to provide the highest quality education and care for all our children and their families. As part of this, we believe that children and their parents/carers are entitled to courteous, careful and prompt attention with any concerns that may arise. Our intention is to work with parents and carers to ensure that any concerns are dealt with to improve outcomes for children and their families. We have a confidential and comprehensive complaints system in place.
Admissions, Grant Funding and Fees:
The committee have created an admissions system that ensures a fair and inclusive intake of children. A copy of the admissions system will be included with an initial registration form for each child.
We offer parents Flexible Entitlement Grant Funding. This provides 15 hours free each week at pre-school after the child’s 3rdbirthday. The 15 hours can be used within the setting’s usual opening times, allowing for flexibility of start and finish times on certain days. Some parents are eligible for the extended 15 hours (30 hour entitlement) and / or 2 year old funding, for more details please visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk or speak to a member of our staff team. To ensure that this occurs we will need to see the child’s birth certificate, once they have been allocated a place.
Early Years Pupil Premium – we are able to claim this for certain families to help support your child’s development in our setting, if you think you are entitled to this please speak to a member of our staff team.
Fees are payable if your child is under 3, or if they attend for more than 15 hours per week. We also charge a small amount for snack every day that your child attends. The amount payable is in line with the current Grant Funding amount (changes annually), please enquire as to the current rate. We do operate some terms and conditions associated with fees, please ask for a copy of these if you would like to see them. (A copy will be provided when your child is allocated a place.)
Please be aware that entry into Lymington Little Dolphins Pre-School does not assist entry into Lymington Infants School.
Going to Pre-School is an important step in any child’s life. We are extremely pleased that you are considering Lymington Little Dolphins and hope that the information on the website will help you make this important decision.
This is a very important stage as it helps your child get ready for school as well as preparing them for their future learning and successes. From when your child is born up until the age of five, their early years experience should be happy, active, exciting, fun and secure; and support their development, care and learning needs.
To register your interest with us please;
Email: littledolphins@live.co.uk
Telephone: 07943 039493
If there is anything that you would like to know that we haven’t covered here, please contact us and we will do our best to help.
Thank you for your interest in Lymington Little Dolphins Pre-School, we look forward to meeting you in the future.