More about us …


Barton-le-Clay Pre-School is a charity, we are run by a voluntary management committee who employ trained, experienced and caring staff to provide a safe, happy and exciting learning environment for children in our care. We have been together for over 30 years and our aim is to enhance the development and educational progress of each child, working with families within a community based setting preparing your child for School.

We offer your child a specially tailored curriculum following the Early Years Foundation Stage which guides the work of all Early Years Practitioners. We have a large selection of open ended resources to help contribute to development and learning through play. We provide all children with individual care and attention attended to by our high ratio of staff to children along with the support of a Key Person who will work with your child delivering a personal plan focussed on your child’s care, wellbeing and learning.

Your child can expect to have fun here at Pre-School and build friendships with children and other adults. We encourage opportunities for direct family involvement in activities here at Pre-School and also in sharing your child’s progress at home. Each child is able to progress at their own rate in all areas of development. We are experienced in working closely with professionals across a range of special needs. Please speak to a member of staff if you would like to discuss our Pre-School’s ability to meet your child’s individual needs.  We have members of staff trained in Makaton and use it to aid communication with children.

Our Pre-School is registered with Central Bedfordshire Children’s Services to receive the government funding for both 2,3 and 4 year olds.  We are a member of the Early Yearsl Learning Alliance, we work closely with the Early Years Team at Central Bedfordshire Council and are also registered with Ofsted.

 

Staff and Committee

All of our staff are thoroughly checked through the Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) and clear to work with children. We work within the staffing ratios set out by Ofsted, which are 1:5 for those under three and 1:8 for the three years and over. Our staff are friendly and well experienced with relevant qualifications, including NVQs, Safeguarding, First Aid and SEN.

Our management committee consists of volunteer parents of pre-school children and is voted on at our Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is held in October. This ensures that major decisions are in the hands of the parents who use the group. We always welcome new members and there may also be opportunities for parents to join the committee throughout the year. Each member of our committee is, like the staff, subject to a DBS check and also a suitability check from Ofsted. There are a number of differing roles on the committee and the work that the committee carries out is crucial to the survival of the pre-school.

 

Sessions

Sessions run Monday to Friday (term time only) as follows :-
Morning session : 9am to 12:00 .
Afternoon session : 12:00 to 3pm.

Your 2 year old could be entitled to 15 hours of free early education at our Pre-School. To find if your family is eligible for this funding please visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk or if you wish to discuss further please do let us know.  
  
All children are entitled to the 'Universal' 3-4 Year Old 15 Funded Hours the term following their 3rd birthday at a Pre-School / Nursery / Child Minder.  
Your family could also be entitled to up to an extra 15 hours for your child, 30 'Extended' hours in total (dependant upon availability) funded by your local Council the term after their 3rd birthday too.  Again, please just let us know if would like to discuss further or if you wish to establish whether you are entitled to the extra 15 'extended' hours please visit  www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.  This website will cover the 30 hour eligibility along with Tax Free Childcare to check what help you could possibly get with childcare costs.
 
Prior to receiving funding, sessions at Barton-le-Clay Pre-School would be chargeable, our current hourly rate for 2 Year Old's is £7.94 and from 3 Years it is £5.50 per hour.  
We have a minimum session policy of at least 2 x sessions per week to aid settling in.

 

Key Person

Each child within pre-school has a key person. You may speak to your child’s key person about any concerns you may have about your child’s development*. Our Team are responsible for completing your child’s observations and Learning Journal. This is a record of all the milestones your child reaches at pre-school. It includes photos and comments made during activities. Learning Journals are useful for when a child starts at school and also make a delightful read for parents, giving them an insight into their child’s pre-school experience. Your child's Learning Journal is available to view at any time on our online journal, Babys Days.

*This does not have to be exclusive to the child’s key person, please feel free to speak with any member of staff should you have concerns about your child.

 

Health and Safety.

We have in place a fully comprehensive health and safety policy, which governs the way in which we run our sessions. We ensure staff ratios are adhered to and also that our staff have up to date first aid training. We have a Defib on the premises and our first aid boxes are fully stocked and regularly checked.

We have a fire drill and emergency evacuation policy, which highlights the procedures we follow in the event of a drill/fire. The staff are fully aware of this policy and are well versed in the evacuation procedure as it is practiced at least once a term with the details logged. As it is a well practiced exercise the children too become familiar with what is expected from them. We also display a copy of our fire procedure in the room so that it is always to hand.

Healthy Eating

Barton Le Clay is a Healthy Eating Pre-School.  We encourage the children to live healthy lifestyles by keeping them active and ensuring they eat a balanced and nutritious diet whilst in our care.  With this in mind we ask parents to ensure children's lunchboxes do not contain any juice or fruit juices.  Both water and milk are supplied at pre-school also.  We ask that parents do not put any crisps, chocolate, sweets, cakes or popcorn in the lunchboxes and we are also a Nut-Free, Egg-Free setting.

 

Action Plan

We are continuously striving to improve our Pre-School and produce a detailed Action plan that is reviewed and updated regularly.  Please see examples below: