What are the adult to child ratios?
How do I apply for a place for my child?
How do the children learn within the setting?
What activities will my child be taking part in?
What do I need to bring to Playschool?
How can I get involved in playschool?
What guidelines are there regarding learning and development?
Special educational needs, disability and inclusion
How can I help my child settle at playschool?
Which infant school do most of the children move on to when they leave playschool?
What happens in a typical session?
What if I use a child-minder or other carer?
What is the Early Years Foundation Stage all about?
What are the adult to child ratios?
The Ofsted requirement is for children aged 2 – 1 adult for every 5 children and for children 3-5 years – 1 adult to every 8 children. We are a mixed group with children aged 2 to 5 years and operate above these ratio’s at all times.
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How do I apply for a place for my child?
Please contact the Playschool Manager to find out if we have any spaces available and to arrange a visit by emailing peterpanplayschool@gmail.com or calling 07908 018924
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How do the children learn within the setting?
At Peter Pan Playschool, we believe children learn at their highest level through play. We therefore strive to create a secure, stimulating and enticing environment in which children can learn and play. We adopt a ‘free flow’ approach to play in which children can move freely around the setting, selecting resources at their choosing. We believe this, combined with sensitive adult support allows children to become independent and competent learners.
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What activities will my child be taking part in?
On arrival, there will be a variety of activities available for your child to engage in and the garden opens around 9.30 offering a wealth of physical and sensory play outdoors. At 11.30 we have group time; the children are divided into small groups led by an adult to take part in an activity to develop their speaking, listening and attention skills as well as specific areas highlighted by keypeople – it may be we focus on simple mark making for the younger ones and writing names for the older ones. The garden area is open every day and children are able to move between the hall and garden freely and staff ensure they maintain appropriate ratio’s in each area. Children enjoy a healthy snack each session, and are encouraged to recognise when they feel hungry or thirsty and to choose when to attend. All the children are encouraged to join in tidy up time, and we have a collaborative reward system in place where the children work together to earn bee’s to put on our bee hive reward chart. The children and staff can reward each other throughout the session for acts of kindness, for example good sharing or helping, and at the end of the session we all enjoy counting up to see how helpful we’ve been. We also have a Makaton sign of the week which we learn when we come together to sing the hello song as part of our transition from tidy up time into story and singing time.
If your child has a particular interest or new skill which they are mastering, we fully encourage you to share this with playschool, so we can support them.
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What do I need to bring to playschool?
Each morning your child will require:
- A water bottle – this is then available for your child to refresh themselves with whenever they feel necessary throughout the morning.
- A healthy mid-morning snack – some fruit or vegetables and some children like to bring cheese and crackers. We offer additional fruits and vegetables and breadsticks to encourage the children to try a wider range of foods.
- In the winter months, your child will need a pair of wellington boots for outdoor play. This prevents mud being spread around the indoor area.
- Your child will also need a waterproof or coat.
- In the summer months, please provide a sun hat and suncream.
Please note that all items need to be clearly named.
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How can I get involved in playschool?
After a settling in period of 6 weeks, we encourage every parent to sign up to become a ‘helper’ for part of a session. Spending some time together at playschool allows you to see your child ‘at work’, and is a great opportunity for you to spend time with your child’s key person.
Committee meetings are also held termly, and all parents are welcome. This is another opportunity for you to get involved with decision making within the setting and to get to know other parents.
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What guidelines are there regarding learning and development?
Peter Pan Playschool follows the Early Years Foundation Stage, which is made up of seven areas of learning and development. The Prime Areas focus on Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language and Physical Development. These prime areas underpin the children’s future learning, so a secure base in these will enable the children to go on to thrive in the Specific Areas of Learning. These include Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design. Each individual child will have their own personal Learning Journey throughout their time with us, which formally documents their learning. You can access this online through our secure system, Tapestry.
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Special educational needs, disability and inclusion
Peter Pan Playschool is an inclusive setting, and we provide support to ensure all children in our care are able to learn and develop at their own individual rate. All children are welcome at our playschool, and we will endeavour to meet your child’s individual needs. If you have any concerns regarding your child’s development, please discuss this with a member of staff during your first visit. We will then work closely with you to try to ensure we have the resources available to meet your child’s needs when they start at playschool. We receive support from Surrey Early Education Effectiveness Team who support and liaise with us regarding Special Educational Needs and Disability, as well as having our own staff trained in SEND. We also, when appropriate, receive support from other agencies including speech and language therapists, occupational therapy and educational psychologists.
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How can I help my child settle at playschool?
Every child is different, and therefore each child will settle in individual ways. We recommend you spend time talking to your child before they start playschool, about the general routine of the morning, so they can begin to understand what to expect. You and your child will also be invited to a settling in morning, just before they start, in order for you both to familiarise yourselves with the setting and the staff. Our settling in photo booklet will also help you talk about playschool and familiarise you both with the playschool routine.
If you are concerned your child may take a while to settle, please discuss this with their key person during your settling in morning, so that appropriate strategies can be put into place. We are guided by you as you know your child best and you are welcome to stay until you and your child feel ready to separate.
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Which infant school do most of the children move on to when they leave playschool?
Due to our convenient location the majority of the children tend to move on to the local infant schools in Bookham and Fetcham which are all close to the playschool. These include Eastwick Infant School, Polesden Lacey Infant School, Great Bookham School, St. Lawrence and Fetcham Village Infant School, however most to go on to Eastwick. Our session times also enable parents to drop older siblings off at school first and the extended session end time works well for pick up too. We are introducing wraparound care for an additional fee for parents who need an early start and later finish.
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What happens in a typical session?
We ask you to arrive promptly at 9.10am. On arrival you may have information you wish to share with your child’s key person, for example if your child is feeling tired, this is an ideal time to share such information. On arrival, there will be a wide variety of activities available for your child to become quickly engrossed in. We encourage free play during this time, allowing the children to follow their own interests and control their own play and learning.
Group time takes place at 11.30 when the children are divided into small groups led by an adult to take part in an activity to develop their speaking, listening and attention skills. Snack Bar generally opens at around 9.45am and is a great opportunity for your child to develop their social skills and to try a variety of fruit and vegetables. Throughout the session we undertake adult-led activities including small group work tailored to individual children’s needs. If your child has a particular interest or is developing a new skill, for example learning to write their name, we will incorporate this into our daily plans.
We make full use of our outdoor area each session and make available a wide range of resources, toys & activities. When the weather is fine, we often enjoy our snack and story time in the sunshine. Before group time we encourage all the children to help tidy up. We believe this develops a sense of responsibility and ownership and it removing the toys makes it easier for them to focus on the adult led activity. After group time, we have an action song and marching and then we share a story and sing 2 or 3 songs each session for a half term, allowing your child to learn the words and actions. If your child has something special to tell or show us, this is an ideal time to share it with the group. We also develop our turn taking skills, listening and attention abilities during these social times together.
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What if I use a child-minder or other carer?
Many of our families use child-minders, as well as those who may choose to use two different settings for their child. For those parents who will not be collecting their child, we offer a ‘link book’ system – in which your key person will write a brief description of what your child has enjoyed throughout the session/what they have eaten/nappy changes etc. We hope this will be useful for you. We also like to encourage two-way communication, so actively encourage parents to write back with any information they feel is relevant. We will require you to complete some paperwork to authorise your child-minder to collect your child.
We hope to work in partnership with any carer you choose, so encourage regular communication and sharing of information.
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What is the Early Years Foundation Stage all about?
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the framework used for children from birth until the end of reception at school. The EYFS framework supports our work with children, enabling us to develop their potential. More information on the EYFS can be found here: EYFS What-to-expect-in-the-EYFS-complete-FINAL-16.09-compressed.pdf (foundationyears.org.uk).
We firmly believe in the impact a high quality Early Years setting can have on a child’s future learning and development. It is within the first five years of your child’s life that the most substantial growth and development takes place and we can help you lay the foundations for your child’s future. The majority of our staff are trained specifically in effective preschool practice.
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