Hepworth Pre-school and Out Of School Club
Hepworth Pre-school and Out Of School Club is a registered charity, its members being predominately the families with children attending the setting. The charity is managed by a voluntary committee of parents and friends elected by the members each year at the Annual General Meeting. Committee members are the trustees of the charity.
The charity Committee is made up of between 5 and 12 members, with 3 executive positions of Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. The Committee employs a dedicated team of qualified staff to run the Pre-school and Out of School Club.
We offer full day childcare from 7.30am to 6.00pm. We are open five days a week, and offer a number of different sessions to provide flexibility for differing family childcare needs, for children aged from 2 to 11:
- Breakfast Club: 7.30 to 9.00
- Preschool morning session: 9.00 to 12.00
- Preschool afternoon session: 12.00 to 3.00
- After School Club: 3.00 to 6.00
Your contract with us can include some or all of these sessions, as required. The Out of School Club breakfast and after school sessions include drop off and collection from Hepworth Junior & Infant School.
At Hepworth Pre-school and Out of School Club, we provide a happy, friendly, welcoming, child centred environment in which children can learn and have fun. We provide an attractive, inspiring and fun environment which is safe and secure. Our pre-school children learn through play and choose their own activities. We deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), this National Framework ensures a high quality provision for children aged from birth to five years old. We run to the most recent revision of the EYFS
Personal, Social and Emotional
We help children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.
Communication and Language
Children are given opportunities to experience an environment rich with language; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.
Physical
We provide opportunities for children to be active and interactive; and develop their co-ordination, control and movement. We have a secure outdoor play area that is used throughout the year, with a construction site, painting/drawing area, mud kitchen, bug city and our own allotment area.
Children are also helped to understand the importance of physical activity and to make healthy choices in relation to food. Children are not required to be toilet trained before they start pre-school and we provide support during the training stage.
Literacy
Children are given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems and other written materials) to ignite their interest. We also run letter and sounds sessions as well as phonic sessions throughout the year to introduce letter sounds and build on early reading skills.
Maths
We provide children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating and to describe shapes, spaces and measures through fun games and interactive activities
Understanding the World
We guide children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment. We have strong links with the local school, this sees us join up for church visits, social gatherings and the sharing of productions.
What Happens During the Day?
Breakfast club
- Breakfast club has a flexible start time with children arriving any time between 7.30am and 8.30am.
- Self-service breakfast is available in the snack area and the activity tables are set up with some calming activities to take part in before school.
- At 8.40am the children get ready for the walk down to school by putting on coats collecting bags and putting on hi-viz jackets, before walking down to school in a walking bus using a walking rope.
Pre-school
- The children arrive and spend the first few minutes settling in, starting with self-registration as they put their name tag onto a board.
- We then have a short circle time activity where children take part in a focused activity followed by our letters and sounds session for older children whilst younger children take part in a sensory activity.
- The children then have free play where they move around the daily activities and have free access to all equipment. Regular activities include mark making, playdough, role play, construction, outdoor play, sharing stories, baking, music, movement, singing and rhyming activities.
- During the session children can select a piece of fresh fruit or on days where we have baked/cook help themselves to their creations and a drink of water or milk in their own time via our self-service snack table.
- Towards the end of the session the children join together for a group activity, for example, singing, playing musical instruments, story time.
- At 12pm some children go home and those that are staying sit with the staff to eat their packed lunches. After they have eaten, the children are encouraged to choose a calm activity or rest as required before the afternoon session begins.
- The afternoon session starts with a short registration period and continues with a similar routine to the morning.
- At 3pm some children go home and some children stay for the After School Club. We put on our coats and hi-viz jackets and take the small walk down to school to collect the older children.
After School Club
- When children are all collected from the correct classes, we begin the walk back up the hill in a walking bus style using a walking rope. (older children, in year 5 & 6, don’t need to hold on to the rope if parents’ permission has been given)
- The evening session is very flexible, as dependent on the weather we may walk through the woods, go to the park, stay in the school grounds, play games etc. We offer a small healthy tea with fresh fruit for pudding, and plan activities with the children termly, to ensure we are meeting the children’s interests.
For more information, contact us on 01484 680070 to speak to Abeey (our Manager) or Dawn & Zoe (our Deputy Manager) or email h.preschool@btinternet.com.