When can children join Cropredy Pre-School?
How can I use Government funding?
Do you provide lunch at pre-school?
Do you provide any snacks?
What can I include as part of packed lunch?
Does Pre-School have a uniform?
What should my child bring?
What if I’m unable to collect my child on time?
What if my child needs to miss a session or we are going away?
Can I book additional sessions?
When do you review your fees?
What will happen if Pre-School or the school need to close?
The importance of permission slips
When can children join Cropredy Pre-School?
Children are able to join Cropredy Pre-School in the term after they are 2 years of age (charges apply). We have a policy that children attend pre-school for a minimum of two sessions per week to ensure that children feel happy, settled and familiar in the setting.
How can I use Government funding?
Each child, in the term after their 3rd birthday, is entitled to 15 free funded hours per week. This is through the Government scheme called ‘Nursery Education Funding‘. Funding can be used against all sessions. There is a maximum of 10 hours of funding that can be claimed per day.
We accept up to 30 hours of funding per week.
We also accept 2 year old funding for those children who are eligible (Working Parents Entitlement and Funded 2 year olds).
For those families who are not covered by the funding we issue invoices 6 times per year and payment is due on the date shown on the invoice.
Do you provide lunch at pre-school?
Children will need to bring a packed lunch from home (please ensure that ice packs are included) we are able to provide milk or water as a drink at lunchtime. Please note we are a nut free zone so please do not send in any nuts or nut products in the packed lunch.
If your child has a packed lunch, we will return all uneaten food where possible so that you know how much your child has eaten.
Do you provide any snacks?
During Sessions 1 and 2 (morning and afternoon) plus After School Club, the children are provided with a drink and snack. We aim to provide nutritious food, which meets the children’s individual dietary needs.
What can I include as part of packed lunch?
If your child will be attending a lunch session/s, you will need to provide a lunchbox/packed lunch. We encourage parents to provide healthy lunches for their children (i.e., sandwiches with a healthy filling, fruit and milk-based desserts such as yoghurt). We discourage sweets and chocolates. We can provide children with water or milk to drink.
A tip for packed lunch planning is to consider the amount of food you include. Often, the temptation is to put in lots of different things to make sure your child finds something they like, however we find that too much choice can often be confusing and usually, when they’re sat with their friends at lunchtime, they happily tuck in. Sometimes, a little less is best.
Think about allergies …
Whilst your child may not have any allergies, we do have children in the setting that do have allergies. Please ensure your child’s lunch box does not contain any nuts/nut products or kiwi fruit or products that may contain kiwi fruit. We have children in the setting who are severely allergic to these food items. Thank you!
Does Pre-School have a uniform?
Uniform is optional – we have had feedback that it saves ‘home’ clothes from the mud kitchen and paint!! We have polo shirts at £8.00 and fleeces at £12.50.
Could all clothing, wellies, trainers, hats, gloves etc. be named please. We ask that you leave a pair of named wellies here all the time. We also request that a spare change of clothes come with your child each time they come to Pre-School.
What should my child bring?
If you feel it necessary, please bring in a spare set of clothes in a named bag for your child, though don’t worry if you forget as Pre-School does have spares. Your child will also need a suitable pair of wellies for outdoor play, particularly when we go on a muddy adventure, and these can be left at Pre-school so that you don’t have to bring them in for each session.
If your child is still in nappies then do ensure we have enough to last throughout the session.
Please make sure that all clothes, lunchboxes, shoes and wellies are clearly named.
Due to the upset caused when home toys are lost or broken we would ask that parents discourage their children from bringing them in. If your child needs to bring something, a book to share at circle time would be best (and please put your child’s name in the book).
What if I’m unable to collect my child on time?
If for any reason you are unable to get to Pre-School to collect your child, we do have an emergency collection procedure in place. Details of this will be given as part of the admissions procedure.
Please contact us on 01295 758914 to advise. There is a late collection fee of £5.00 per 15 mins.
What if my child needs to miss a session or we are going away?
If your child is unable to attend arranged sessions (due to sickness or other reason), please notify the Pre-School by telephoning 01295 758914.
Should you need to take your child out of Pre-School during term time, your arranged sessions will be reserved and any chargeable sessions will still be charged.
Can I book additional sessions?
If – once your child is settled – you’d like to look into extending the number of sessions your child does with us, the team would be happy to discuss this further. Additional sessions are subject to availability but we will of course accommodate your needs as much as we can.
In addition to the sessions booked for your child, it may also be possible to book extra ‘last minute’ sessions, chargeable at the normal rates. This is on a ‘first come first served’ basis, is subject to there being a free space for your child and is also dependent on how many staff are working on that particular day. Unfortunately we are unable to swap booked sessions.
When do you review your fees?
Our fees are reviewed annually you will be given at least 1 terms notice (we have 6 terms per year).
What will happen if Pre-School or the school need to close?
When the school site is closed due to unforeseen circumstances, such as extreme weather or problems to the services on the site and therefore Pre-School is closed, parents pay 50% of fees for days affected by the closure.
The importance of permission slips
Before your child joins Pre-School, you will be asked to complete a Registration Pack (the necessary consent forms). This is information that we legally require before we can look after your child, so please return these to us to enable your child to start on the agreed date.