Information

Pre-school Uniform We do not have a uniform but it is sometimes seen that children settle into the Pre-school better if they wear similar clothing to their friends. We have some clothing items available with the Compton Pre-School logo on the front. To order merchandise, simply use the Uniform Embroidery Service from My Clothing online. Please see the leaflet in the starter pack for information.  Clothing requirements We suggest that your child should wear named easy to clean, sensible clothing, as some activities may make your child messy (we do also provide aprons.)  Children are encouraged to manage their own clothing when using the toilet, so please provide easy to remove clothing too. Please dress your child according to the weather; during the summer please apply sun cream to your child before the session and supply your child with a sunhat. During the winter months, please provide your child with a set of indoor shoes/slippers.  Please change your child’s footwear under the covered concrete area at the beginning and end of each session. Food and Drink and Snack Time  We regard snack-time and lunch time as important parts of the session.  Eating represents a social time for children and for adults.  We aim to provide the children with a nutritious snack each day, which meets the children’s individual dietary needs.  Milk and water are provided at snack-time, however, fresh water is also available for the children anytime, during each session. We operate a fruit bowl system to encourage children to bring in a food item to share for snack time. If your child is not keen on fruit then please bring in something they would like. We operate a healthy eating policy but you can bring in alternatives to fruit such as rice cakes, bread sticks, crackers, cereal, jelly, dried fruit and cake or bread mixes. Please remember to bring in a item of food for snack each week. Thank you to everyone who has been bringing in fruit for the children to share at snack time. NO NUTS/NUT PRODUCTS PLEASE As we do not provide cooked meals, children are required to bring packed lunches.  Packed lunch containers should contain an ice pack to keep food cool as we do not have facilities to cold store the children’s lunch boxes.  We provide an inform leaflet which outlines our policy on healthy eating; sandwiches with a healthy filling, fruit, and milk-based deserts, such as yoghurt or fromage frais. We discourage sweet drinks and can provide children with water. We also discourage packed lunch contents that consist largely of crisps, processed foods, sweet drinks and sweet products such as cakes or biscuits. We reserve the right to return this food to the parent as a last resort. Settling in and first visits Starting at Pre-school is a big step in a child’s life, and the way in which a child responds will vary.  Some children will feel at home immediately, where others may take some time until they feel comfortable.  We therefore encourage parents/carers to follow our policy for their child’s first three visits.  During the first visit we expect that the parent stay with their child for the entire visit, on the second visit we encourage the parent to settle their child into the Pre-school before leaving the child for an hour and a half.  And finally; the third visit is a full 2 ½ hour session where parents can bring their child to Pre-school for the start of the session and pick them up when the session finishes.  We are flexible should more settling in session be required. We also welcome parents and carers as helpers.  If you feel that you would like to help the Pre-school during a session, speak to a staff member.  By encouraging helpers, our Pre-school becomes a shared experience between yourselves, your children and the staff. Arrivals and departures Our Pre-school entrance is situated around the back of the Village Hall.  We ask Parents/carers to wait here until a staff member unlocks the gate.  At the end of each session, a member of staff will call your child to meet you at the back door.  Please inform us if your child is to be collected by anyone else. Links with the local Primary School and the Community As the year progresses, we endeavour to prepare the children to move on to Primary School.  We have forged a strong link with Compton Primary School, and our Staff have regular meetings with the Foundation Stage Teachers and the Head Teacher. Once a term, activities are planned to share with the Foundation Stage Class at Compton Primary School.  This is an excellent opportunity for children to familiarise themselves with their future teachers and classmates. We also visit the Community Library Van every few weeks.  This gives the children the opportunity to borrow books and also to enjoy story time.