Download payhembury playgroup

CONTENTS
Welcome to Payhembury Playgroup…………………………………..2
Staff and Committee……………………………………………………………3
Starting your child at Playgroup………………………………………..4
An afternoon at Playgroup…………………………………………………..5
Fees…………………………………………………………………………………………..6
The Early Learning Goals……………………………………………………..7
Special Educational Needs………………………………………………….11
Outside links…………………………………………………………………………..11
Visits outside Playgroup……………………………………………………….13
Any questions?......................................................................... 13
Management and Administration…………………………………….….16
The role of parents……………………………………………………………….19
Final note…………………………………………………………………………………19
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WELCOME TO PAYHEMBURY PLAYGROUP
Payhembury playgroup was established in 2001 by Plymtree
Playgroup and became independent in October 2005. It is run by
a voluntary committee of parents who, with the staff, aim to
provide a safe and stimulating environment for pre-school
children. Sessions are held on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
afternoons between 12.45 pm and 3.15 pm and Friday 9.30 – 12.
The emphasis is on learning through play and having fun!
Children learn to socialise, share, exchange ideas and cooperate with each other and with adults. There is a high ratio
of adults to children ensuring individual care and attention at
all times.
The Playgroup is regulated and inspected by OFSTED and
receives Early Years Funding. It is registered with the local
Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership and
contributes to the Partnership’s overall planning to provide care
and education throughout the Foundation Stage. The Playgroup
is also a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance (PLA).
Payhembury Playgroup welcomes all staff, volunteers, children
and their families or carers committed to the care and
education of the children regardless of ethnic group, religion,
race, nationality, first language, disability, age, status, sexual
orientation, medical requirements, offending background or
social or family commitments. The Playgroup is a registered
charity.
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STAFF AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS
From April 2007 the members of the committee are as follows:
Chair
Secretary
Treasurer
EYEF Treasurer
Fundraising
Publicity
Staff Liaison
Victoria Robinson
Sue Holmes
Jenny Burgess
Becky Gammon
Jane Spiller
Justine Whipp
Becky Gammon
01404 822796
01404 841672
01404 841449
01404 841825
01404 841215
01404 841825
Committee meetings are held monthly and the AGM is in August.
All parents and carers are encouraged to attend.
The staff at Payhembury Playgroup are as follows:
Playleader
Reserve playleaders
Assistant Playleader
Reserve Play
Assistants
Gill Donne-Davis 07907584667
Jane Wood
Jayne Martin
Sonia James
Jenny Burgess
Victoria Robinson
All committee members, staff and volunteers hold or are working
towards a relevant qualification and have been vetted by the CRB
and are police checked. A qualified Early Years First Aider is
present at every session.
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STARTING YOUR CHILD AT PAYHEMBURY PLAYGROUP
Your child may start at the Playgroup in the half-term before
their third birthday. It is important for parents/carers and
Playgroup staff to work together to help your child feel
confident and secure in the group.
This will take longer for some children than others and you
should not feel worried if your child takes a while to settle you are welcome to stay as necessary and if your child is
particularly attached to a toy or comfort blanket, then do bring
it along.
Each child will be given a named tray for precious items, work
and letters to be taken home. As well as being an important
“personal” space, these will help your child learn to recognize
his/her own name.
To register with the Playgroup, we ask you to complete a short
Admission form. This will give us contact names and numbers,
including your doctor, any relevant dietary or medical
information and also details of anything you feel your child might
like us to know, such as names of pets or family.
We are very proud of the way most children quickly settle into
Payhembury Playgroup. The purpose of this booklet is to give
you some basic information about the Playgroup and how it
works. If you have any questions or would like to discuss
anything further, please do ask – we very much welcome your
comments and suggestions.
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AN AFTERNOON AT PLAYGROUP
A timetable of activities is put on the notice board at the
beginning of each term, but minor alterations may be made
during the term to accommodate seasonal weather or interesting
events. Sessions usually go something like this:
12.45
Arrive at playgroup. Hang up coat, place apple on
registration tree
12.50
Quiet Activities
1.00
Circle time: daily chart, letter of the week, show and tell.
1.15
Planned group activities begin alongside free play
2.15
Snacktime - everyone washes hands and sits at the
table for a drink and snack. Children are
encouraged to demonstrate good manners at the
table and to take a turn in handing round the food.
They will also butter their own crackers to promote
independence.
2.30
Free play
2.45
Tidy up time.
3.00
Storytime, song time or physical activities.
3.15
Home time – children collect any work to take home.
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Please come promptly to collect your child. Parents will be let
into the hall at the end of the session as no child is allowed out
of the building without an adult. We also ask that you inform
the Playleader in advance if another adult is to collect your child
- it also helps if your child knows this in advance!
Your punctuality at the end of the session is appreciated as
some members of staff have other commitments when playgroup
ends.
Occasionally you may be delayed and unable to reach the Hall by
the end of the session. If this happens, please do your best to
contact Playgroup on the mobile phone (07907584667). A
member of staff will stay at the Hall with your child until 4.00
pm/12.45 and, unless other arrangements have been made,
Playgroup policy states that the Police must then be informed.
FEES
Fees are £6.50 per session, payable by half term (or by
arrangement). Children are eligible for nursery funding from
the term after they are three years old. To qualify for
vouchers, the Playgroup is inspected by OFSTED on a regular
basis and each child for whom vouchers are being claimed will
need to be registered with the playgroup and attending on the
“headcount day” for each term (usually about a week into the
term).
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THE EARLY LEARNING GOALS
Curriculum - Learning Through Play
In educational terms, the period between the age of 3 and the end
of the first year at Primary School (Reception Year) is called the
Foundation Stage. The Early Learning Goals are the Department for
Education’s curriculum guidelines and set out what it is hoped most
children will be able to do by the end of their Reception Year. These
provide a good basis for continuing progress through the education
system.
The Playgroup curriculum for each term is planned ahead by the
staff and the children work towards the Early Learning Goals. A
parent/carer rota is drawn up each term so that parents/carers can
work alongside the staff and help to contribute to the running of the
Playgroup.
The areas which underpin the curriculum are as follows:
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
This means helping your child to become an independent person, who
acts in a reasonable, well-balanced and confident manner, who enjoys
life and is a pleasure to be with – someone who is beginning to
understand sociable behaviour and who helps others in the Playgroup
to develop in a similar way.
At Payhembury Playgroup we aim to provide your child with good role
models and encourage good behaviour and manners at all times. There
are few rules but any inappropriate behaviour is discussed with your
child and dealt with in a positive manner immediately.
Language and Literacy
Communication skills - reading, writing, listening, music and painting
- are developed through increasing use of books,
pencils and a variety of craft activities and games. Your child
will gradually build up a longer concentration span and feel
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happy about expressing thoughts and feelings clearly within the
Playgroup.
We have a well-stocked book corner which children are
encouraged to use. Writing and reading skills are developed by
the use of the writing/drawing table and named worktrays and
extending this to other names and objects of interest.
Mathematical Development
This covers number and shape recognition, counting, adding on
and taking away in games, and also some simple scientific
principles, such as floating and sinking, colour changes when
paint is mixed, weighing and measuring, mixing, temperature,
etc.
We encourage the children to look about them to find shapes
and name them, to use magnets and find out what will ‘stick’ to
them. Water, sand play and cooking can be very constructive,
and are popular with the children.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
This means your child’s everyday world - home and family, local
environment and holiday destinations, as well as the world in
general - other countries and climates, other cultures and
traditions.
We have found that children respond positively to being
weighed, measured and to comparing hand and foot sizes so they
start to observe positive differences in each other and those
around them.
These activities are developed by looking at other animals and
their young and the way they change as they grow. This helps
children to understand the passing of time and we celebrate
different festivals throughout the year to help them build up a
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seasonal pattern and to start to discover other cultures and
traditions.
Physical Development
This includes large scale physical activities, such as climbing,
balancing on a beam, learning to ride and steer a tricycle, catch
a ball and all the co-ordination skills your child needs to move
freely and happily around his/her world. It also covers finer
movements such as writing, cutting, sewing and threading, being
gentle with animals and smaller children, even spreading butter
on a piece of bread!
A popular physical activity in recent years has been ‘country
dancing’ as the children can remember quite a long sequence of
movements when set to music - relevant in all areas of the Early
Learning Goals.
We feel it is important for the children to have the opportunity
to play outside as much as possible and make use of the fenced
off area behind the Hall whenever the weather permits. In
summer we ensure that the children are protected from the sun
with a gazebo (we will also ask you to provide hats and sunscreen)
and frequently hold sessions under this. The change of scenery
gives the children some fresh air and the chance to let off steam.
Creative Development
Children like to explore colour, shape, texture, form and space.
They like the way words rhyme and the sound and feel
of rhythm. Your child will be encouraged to use a variety of
tools, paint and craft materials, sticking, singing and making
music. We occasionally invite musicians along to hold special
sessions. Some activities will be very messy, some will be very
noisy, but all the time your child will be developing creatively.
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The children are encouraged to express their individual
creativity. So, when you collect your child from Playgroup and
are presented with an unidentified object, please don’t ask
outright what it is - encourage those communication skills by
asking about it!
Final note
We do encourage children to join in group activities, but no-one
is forced to do so. Many children start Playgroup wanting to
“ride the red tractor” all morning, but by the time they leave to
start school most will enjoy participating in all the activities
offered and have developed friendships with both children and
adults in the Playgroup. If you want to find out how to extend
your child’s learning at home, look on the Kids’ page of the
website.
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SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
We aim to provide equality of opportunity for all members of our
Playgroup, and this includes children with special educational
needs. The number of adults present in the
Playgroup enables us to provide individual attention for each child
with and without disabilities or play/learning difficulties. We work
in close liaison with professionals across the range of special needs
and we operate within the Government’s Code of Practice on Special
Educational Needs. Our local policy is set out in our Policies and
Procedures file which you will be given to read.
Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) is Gill Donne
- Davis.
OUTSIDE LINKS
Payhembury Primary School
Payhembury Playgroup and Payhembury Primary School form a
partnership to provide early years education and to ensure a
seamless transition, with staff working closely together to
provide a good early grounding for your child.
On Tuesdays, playgroup children have the opportunity to join the
Reception Class to help them to get to know the children, teacher,
classroom and take a first step towards “big school”. The visit
programme is agreed in advance, term by term, by the infant
teacher and the Playleader and the activities are designed to be
mutually beneficial, being tailored to the make-up and needs of
the children from both organizations at the time.
Staff at Payhembury School are always willing to give advice to
parents and discuss the needs of your child. The contact number
for the school is 01404 841291 or send an e-mail to
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[email protected]. There is also a
website: www.payhembury-primary.devon.sch.uk where the
school’s prospectus can be viewed.
Apple Pips Toddler Group
The Toddler Group meets every Monday morning (10 – 12 a.m.)
during term-time at Payhembury Village Hall. This is a very
friendly group which provides a caring environment for babies
and younger children. Contact Kirsty, the Chair for more
information.
Fund-raising activities are often shared with the Toddler
Group and the school, giving the children and parents in both a
chance to meet and get to know each other.
VISITS OUTSIDE PLAYGROUP
From time to time, and with the express consent of
parents/carers, we will take the children on local trips of
interest or relevance to the termly topics. These might
include walks around the village to look at flowers or buildings,
visits to the church at Harvest Festival, Easter and Christmas
and the occasional trip to the playground. We sometimes
arrange trips further afield, such as to Escot Country Park,
where a dedicated Education Officer organises nature rambles
and other activities. The children enjoy these trips out as do
parents and carers who are always welcome.
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ANY QUESTIONS?
This is a sample of the most frequent questions parents ask:
How many sessions should my child attend?
It does depend on your child and your other commitments, but we
would recommend starting with one or two sessions a week as this
helps your child to make friends and make the most of the weekly
themes. The number of sessions can be increased as your child
develops – your Playleader will always be happy to discuss this
with you.
When will my child start school?
If your child’s birthday is between 1 September and 29 February,
the usual start date is in the September closest to your child’s
fifth birthday.
If your child’s birthday is between 1 March and 31 August, the
usual start date is in the January of the year your child will be 5.
Sometimes children may not be ready to start school with their
peers due to illness, speech or behavioural problems or simply
because you feel that they are not ready to take that huge step.
You are not legally required to send your child to school until the
term after his/her fifth birthday, though most children do start
before then. If you feel that you would like to exercise this
prerogative, please feel free to discuss the matter with us and
with the head teacher of the school you wish your child to attend.
When should I put my child’s name down for school?
This area of Devon is very popular and schools have a limited
number of spaces in each year group. You may register your
interest with the school but no space will be allocated until
you have returned the admission form which will be sent out you in
the year before your child begins school. Schools also need to
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make financial plans well into the future and accurate figures
about the number of children that are expected help a great
deal.
My child has special dietary requirements. What should I
do?
Any concerns over your child’s diet or food allergies should be
discussed with the Playleader when he/she first attends the
Playgroup, and written on the Admission form. We provide a
healthy snack during the session which can, of course, be
tailored to meet your child’s needs.
If my child is sick, can he/she still come to Playgroup?
Any child suffering from a rash, sore throat, discharge from
the eyes, tummy upset or diarrhoea should be kept at home
until the symptoms have disappeared. In the case of vomiting
and/or diarrhoea, at least 24 hours should have elapsed since
the last attack. Should your child become sick during Playgroup
hours we will, of course, make every effort to contact the
parent/carer or other named contact.
Please inform the Playgroup if your child is going to be absent or
has become ill so that we can warn other parents to be on the
look-out!
When will my child be eligible for nursery vouchers and what
do I have to do?
Your child will be eligible for nursery vouchers from the term
after their third birthday. Each term you will be asked to
complete a short form and, if you attend other provisions, they
will ask you to complete a form for them too. You will be asked
to state the number of sessions that your child will be claiming
per week that term. The form should be handed to the EYEF
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Treasurer before the “headcount” day and a single claim will be
made on behalf of all 3 and 4 year olds at the playgroup. The
money is credited direct to the Playgroup in two payments each
term. The Early Years Partnership is entitled to carry out spot
checks to ensure that claims made tally with the register and
any vouchers claimed but not properly accounted for will have to
be repaid.
What clothes should my child wear for Playgroup?
The Playgroup has a uniform of a t-shirt for the children, details
of which are available from theFundraiser. Please help your
child choose clothes which are suitable for having fun and
playing in – not too new and easily washable. For girls, please, no
long dresses or skirts as these can become a hazard during
physical activities.
Simple clothing which children can handle themselves will enable
them to go to the toilet without being too dependent upon an
adult, helping them gain confidence and independence.
Please ensure that coats and footwear are appropriate to the
season and suitable for outside play and walks. If the weather
is wet outside please bring dry shoes for your child to change
into when they arrive at the hall.
Some spare clothes are kept at the Hall should they be needed
but you may wish to send your child with a change of clothes of
his/her own. We supply overalls for painting, waterplay and
cooking.
May I stay at Playgroup with my child?
Obviously a child who is tense and unhappy will neither enjoy nor
benefit from Playgroup. You are welcome to stay with your child
for all or part of the sessions, for as many sessions as you wish,
if this helps your child to settle. Some children, however, may
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become too dependent on having their parent/carer present and
will find it harder ultimately to be at Playgroup alone. Every
child is different in his/her particular needs, so do talk to the
Playleader or your child’s key-worker if you have any concerns
about how to make the transition between being with or without
you easiest for your child and yourself!
Does the Playgroup work within any policy framework – if
so, how do I find out what the policies are?
Being under the regulation of Ofsted and in receipt of Early
Years nursery vouchers it is critical that the Playgroup
operates within a sound and professional policy framework. The
Playgroup has a separate Policies and Procedures folder which
is available on request from the hall, on our website, or which
can be emailed to you.
MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
Overall Responsibility
Payhembury Playgroup is run by a voluntary elected committee
which ensures that major decision making is in the hands of the
parents who use the Playgroup. The Committee is responsible
for reviewing policy and practice and for the employment and
appraisal of members of staff. Meetings are held at least once
a month and the Annual General Meeting is held in August.
Parents are informed in good time so they are able to attend.
Minutes of the latest meeting are displayed on the notice
board in the Hall and copies of past minutes are available on
request. A summary of the minutes will be provided for each
family either by e-mail or in paper form. If each family has a
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representative on the Committee it means all parents can have
their say on how their children are cared for.
Payhembury Playgroup is entirely dependent on its own resources
and is self-financing. The more parents, carers, friends and
families become involved in promotion and fundraising, the better
facilities the Playgroup will be able to offer and this can only be
to the benefit of the children.
Most of the jobs are not onerous in themselves and some can even
be fun. The more people who are prepared to help out, the more
thinly the workload spreads. Parental involvement is informal and
voluntary but it is the lifeblood of the village playgroup and
critical to its future.
And for anyone who wants to become really involved or is
considering a career in childcare, the following opportunities exist
to:

represent the Playgroup at local and national activities
of the Pre-School Learning Alliance and Zero 14+.

attend open meetings of the Pre-School Learning
Alliance and Zero 14+.

attend training courses, workshops and conferences
organised by the Pre-School Learning Alliance and Zero
14+.
Day to Day Responsibility
Payhembury Playgroup employs a Playleader and Assistant
Playleader at each session. They are usually helped by a parent or
carer from the Playgroup rota.
The staff are responsible for the day-to-day care of your child,
planning activities for each session, ensuring that the equipment
used is safe and appropriate and helping each child develop to
their full potential in all areas of the Early Learning Goals.
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Each child is the particular responsibility of one member of
staff – their keyworker. It is the keyworker’s job welcome you
and your child, to help the child settle into Playgroup, observe
progress and to tailor the Playgroup’s curriculum to their
unique needs when necessary.
Records
A file about each child’s progress and individual needs is kept
by the keyworker. This contains progress assessments,
examples of work and photos, and is given to you when your
child leaves the Playgroup. We keep a copy, together with
Admission and Permission forms and Early Years Funding forms
for 6 years. You are welcome to see and discuss your child’s
file at any time.
Using the records enables staff to draw up individual play plans
where necessary to help all the children in the Playgroup enjoy
all the activities on offer and to develop into well-rounded
children ready for school.
Training
Our membership of the Pre-School Learning Alliance and
contact with Zero 14 plus ensures we are constantly in touch
with current views and recommendations in the field of child
education and care. We receive a monthly magazine offering
practical advice and information and have access to a large
range of professionally produced publications. Parents may ask
to see any of these. Information about PLA and Early Years
Development Partnership courses open to staff and parents
are put on the notice board from time to time.
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THE ROLE OF PARENTS
Parents are the first and most important educators of young
children and we encourage parents to become actively involved
through our parent helper rota and the Management Committee.
At Payhembury we aim to work with parents and welcome support
from them. Sometimes suggestions for extending their child’s
learning into the home will be given to parents, based on what the
child has been doing in sessions – see the website.
We also understand that pressures outside Playgroup may affect
the family, and we will always offer support to the parents at
these times, both to help them and the child through any
difficulties.
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FINAL NOTE
Thank you for taking the time to read this handbook. We hope it
has provided a clear idea of what the Playgroup does and how it
is run. If you have any further questions or would like to discuss
any aspect of the Playgroup, please talk to the Playleader, or a
member of the Committee. The contact phone numbers are in
this Handbook, and on the notice board. Other information,
pictures of the work the children have been doing, information
about the partnership and contacts are available on our website
www.payhemburyplaygroup.org.uk
We look forward to welcoming you and your child to Payhembury
Playgroup.
[June 2007]
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