Starting Preschool
Practicalities of Starting Trythall Pre-School
Please read thoroughly and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask a member of the Pre-School staff, the School Secretary or the Head Teacher.
Opening Hours (these are our standard hours but they will vary due to Covid-19)
We are open during the school term only, excluding staff training days (5 days per year).
Our session times are:
9.00 am to 12.00 pm, 9.00 am to 1.00pm or 9.00am to 3.00pm Tuesday to Friday.
Monday 9.00am to 1.00pm only.
Monday 1.30 – 3.00pm parent- led Playgroup/Stay and Play Session.
In addition, you can arrange to drop your child off at 8.45am and/or collect them at 3.15pm, using some of your funding or paying extra.
Settling in
Once your child has a place at Trythall Pre-School the settling in process is a very important step for you and your child and we will do all that we can to make it as comfortable as possible for everyone involved. We will offer you a home visit so that we can get to know each other. We find this really helps the settling in process as children start to see us as friends.
When your child starts at Pre-School, you are very welcome to stay with them until they have made a bond with their Key Adult and feel that they will be safe when you go. It usually only takes a couple of sessions but we can arrange a longer settling in period if necessary.
Contract and Fees
Please see the school secretary for the preschool contract which needs to be completed before your child can start preschool.
Fee information: £5 per hour for 2 year olds. £4 per hour for 3-4 year olds. Please see our school secretary for more details regarding sickness and holiday and how this affects the fees you pay.
Funding
- 15 hours funding per week is available for every child from the term after they turn three years old.
https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-and-education-for-2-to-4-year-olds
- 30 hours funding per week is available for some 3 and 4 year olds.
- 15 hours funding per week is available for some 2 year olds.
Booking school lunches
Our school secretary will organise Parentpay, a computer system, for you which will generate you an account and Activation Code. Details on how to place an order, find the menu etc will be given to you.
Currently meals cost £2.31. All orders need to be placed by midnight the night before the child has a meal. If a child has ordered a meal and for whatever reason does not attend pre-school, the school secretary needs to be informed by 9.15 a.m. so that it can be cancelled and not charged for. Starting off with a packed lunch, with food that your child is familiar with, maybe the best way to start for the first few days of preschool.
Allergies, Dietary Requirements, Health Issues and sickness
Please notify us of any allergies, dietary requirements and health issues concerning your child.
We would be grateful if you could contact the school if your child is going to be absent due to illness or holiday. As a general rule if your child is sick or has diarrhoea caused by a bug then we advise that your child remains at home for 48 hours after they have stopped being sick.
Toilet Training
We will work together with you to support whatever you are doing at home.
Partnership with Parents and Carers
We understand how important it is for the child for us to have effective communication and good relationships with parents and carers. We will try and keep you informed as to what your child has been doing in daily informal chats. Do tell us what your child has been doing at home too. We will also meet with you at least twice a year to update you on your child’s progress at Pre-school. However, if at any point you have any queries, concerns, or want more information, do not hesitate to ask a member of the Pre-School staff, School Secretary or the Head Teacher.
What to Bring
As your child is almost certain to get wet, muddy or covered in paint, please dress them in old clothes that allow freedom of movement. Please provide Velcro shoes or trainers because they allow children to run fast without tripping and they can learn to put them on and off without help from an adult. Please provide your child with slippers so their feet can stay warm and cosy and give them a more secure footing. It is important that all clothes, shoes and wellies are labelled with your child’s name before they start at Pre-School.
We do spend a significant part of our time outdoors so please ensure that your child has suitable clothing to suit weather conditions and we would be grateful if you could provide a pair of wellington boots/spare shoes. However, we do provide waterproof clothing for going outside in wet weather. We also ask that you send in a spare set of clothes including pants and socks in a day bag just in case they get wet and messy.
An Eco-Friendly Approach (Some of this may not be possible with Covid-19)
At Trythall Preschool we try to follow the 4 Rs: repair, reduce, recycle and reuse to limit our impact on the planet and its resources. We incorporate environmental messages in our teaching and learning and also how we organise the classroom and outdoor spaces. For example, we use an individual flannel system for each child for drying hands, we have colour coded recycling bins in the classroom that the children independently use, we accept second hand toys and clothes for spares, we avoid the use of glitter except for special occasions, eco glue made from flour and water is used alongside other traditional glues, we reuse clean plastic bags for putting dirty clothes into to return home, natural resources are used as much as possible, we limit the amount of plastic we purchase and grow some of our own snacks to eat.
Toys
We respectfully ask that your child does not bring in their own toys to Pre-School. It can be upsetting for your child if other children play with it or it if gets lost or broken (this rule does not apply if a child needs a comforter when they are first settling in). However, if your child has something special to show and share with us, please bring it in and give it to one of the staff to look after until such a time when you child can tell us about it (e.g. a momento from holiday).
Collecting your Child
Please contact the School (01736 362021) if you are going to be early dropping off or late picking up your child. Please be aware that you will be charged for the extra child care involved in quarter of an hour blocks. It is very important to inform the School Secretary AND one of the Pre-School Staff in person in the morning if someone other than you are collecting your child. Any new or additional people collecting your child will need to be introduced to Pre-School Staff before they pick up.
Personal Information Forms
When your child first comes to Pre-School, you will be given a set of forms to complete about your child’s personal information. Please could you make sure these are kept up to date and we are informed of any changes.
Policies, Concerns, Questions and Complaints
Please ask any member of staff if you have any further questions or concerns. We will do our best to answer them and if we don’t know the answer we will endeavour to find out. All of the Pre-School’s Policies and Procedures are available for inspection from the office. A Complaints Procedure is also on the School’s web-site.
Moving on
We feel sure that you and your child will always hold dear your memories of your time at Trythall. We feel confident that after your Pre-School experience, you may wish to secure a place at Trythall Reception Year. While we would love to see the Pre-Schoolers continue at Trythall, parents should be aware that enrolment at the Pre-School does NOT constitute an automatic place in the Reception Class. Details of the Reception Year application process are available from the School Secretary or from the Local Authorities.