Supporting your child through their Pre-School journey

Every child registering with Little Villagers Pre-School is invited in for a familiarisation visit with their parent/carer.  During this visit your child will play and become familiar with the setting and staff.  During the visit we talk with the parent/carer about their child and parents are asked to complete a detailed ‘All About Me’ information pack which helps us in getting to know the child, information we gather includes a child’s likes, dislikes, family members, interests etc.  The visit gives the parents an opportunity to discuss their child and any known specific needs with us, this will then help us to support the child through their time at Pre-School.  Prior to starting at Little Villagers every child is given a ‘Welcome to Little Villagers’ Booklet which contains photographs and pictures of the setting, resources, teachers etc this enables parents and children to come familiar with us prior to them starting any sessions. We have an Open Door Policy and actively encourage parents/carers to tell us all about the child’s homelife and things that may affect their development.  Working closely with parents and carers means we can help a child achieve their maximum development potential, the more information we have about a child the clearer the development path can be.

Each child is allocated a key person.  The key person will help settle the child when they begin their journey with us and build a rapport with the child and parents.  In this time, the key person will carry out a 10-minute observation and from this create a ‘play plan’ for the child which will develop their learning from the start of their time with us.  Each term parents will be given suggested ways in which we can work together to develop the children. These observations will take place at the beginning of each term and each term a new ‘play plan’ is created allowing us to help develop your child through pre-school.   Please note that all observations taken are always secondary to interaction with your child - this ensures we do not miss any learning opportunities. We will also track your child’s development and progress by using our professional judgement as well as by using national checkpoints to ensure nothing is missed along the way. We will ensure your child develops and learns through their interests and characteristics of learning.   Trackers and Progress Development charts allow the key person to monitor a child’s development and will enable them to determine what ‘next steps’ to take in order to continue for them to flourish on their early years journey.  If any of these observations raise concerns, the key person speaks with the SENCO and together they will speak to the parent/carer of the child and work out the best way to support the child.

2-year checks are carried out for those children whom it applies to. They are written using professional judgement, some observations and checkpoints within the EYFS. These are shared with the parents and we recommend that they are then shown to the child’s Health Visitor to coincide with the 26-month check.

Staff meetings take place regularly, with all staff members present, where we discuss all children and raise any concerns or needs regarding the children, this enables all members of our team to be involved in supporting all children. Staff Training needs are also discussed at these meetings.

We regularly have Parents evenings where there is an opportunity to discuss your child’s development with their KeyPerson and for Parents/carers to look at the work they have achieved through the term.  These Parents Evenings are both formal and informal and give parents/carers a chance to meet all the staff and feel comfortable in the environment.  We send written reports throughout a child’s time at Pre-School as well as an in depth report covering all areas of learning to the child’s school prior to them starting – enabling a smooth transition to ‘big school’

Our aim is to develop a child firstly through the Prime areas of learning (the foundations of learning) and then through the specific areas.  We understand all children are different and develop at their own pace and therefore each journey and development plan will differ. With this in mind we develop and support all children individually aiming for ‘school readiness’.  We build a rapport with parents, family and future teachers, ensuring that all of our children can enter the world of school confidently and happily, ready to continue their early years journey.

Please see below an informal timetable of a session at Little Villagers, also a little information on how we teach children at Little Villagers.

Please note that sometimes due to circumstances out timetable may change.

During Covid-19 we have had to adjust our timings for certain activities to enable all groups to benefit from our play and learning.

To learn about our planning please see the Parent Portal.

Promoting British Fundamental Values and Cultural Capital is at the heart of all of our teaching.

At every opportunity we will celebrate and learn about an event, festival, culture or experience. Please see the list of ideas we have to celebrate and learn in the Parent Portal, these change termly. If you have experience, knowledge or can help us celebrate and learn about these or other experiences, festivals, cultures religions etc in your life, please do speak to a member of staff we would welcome you to share your experience and knowledge with us all.

Forest School

We are delighted to announce we are now offering Forest School to our children.

Forest School enables children to experience the outdoor world.  It helps them learn to take and manage risks in a safe environment, whilst exploring and discovering their natural surroundings.

Here at Little Villagers, we are lucky enough to have a employed a Forest School leader with a wealth of experience in outdoor learning and Forest School activities.  With his knowledge, supported by our own team and the use of the enclosed secure woodlands and the wonderful grounds within Woodcote House School, the children are free to develop their learning and experience the joy of the outdoors.  Many of the photographed activities will be posted in the parent portal section (under Forest School)  on our website and also on our Facebook page for parents to see.

We always support children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) - alongside our support plan we have an EAL Policy.

See Supporting SEN Children for more information in “About’

At Little Villagers we value difference and supporting EAL children is important to us. As part of our EAL policy we undertake:

EAL audits

Check EAL children are reaching checkpoints within Development Matters

Have Books of differing languages

We have lists of basic words in the languages of our EAL children

We encourage Parents/Carers to read to us in different languages

To come in and celebrate their cultures and customs

We have routine cards in place for EAL children

We offer guidance to EAL parents/carers

(Updated our EAL information - Sept 2021)