Starting preschool
We hope to make the transition into pre-school life as smooth as possible for you and your child.
There is an optional uniform consisting of pre-school sweatshirts, cardigans, hoodies and polo shirts, these are available to buy if required, please see a member of staff. You will be asked to complete a registration form with your child's details and any medical conditions, allergies or dietary requirements, these need to be handed to a member of staff before your child's first day. Please note that in order for us to administer medication to your child, it must be prescribed by a doctor and written consent from the parent or carer must be provided. For your child's safety a responsible adult must take them to and from preschool, please let a member of staff know if it will be somebody different. We are committed to safeguarding and child protection. You are invited to visit the preschool at any time during the sessions in the 2 weeks leading up to your child starting. You will be required to stay with your child until they start. You may wish to stay with your child for all or part of a session until you feel comfortable with leaving them. Some children do settle quicker once left, whereas others may need more support. The staff are experienced in helping children settle into preschool life and you can be assured this will be done in a way that suits your child's needs. We welcome parents into preschool at any time. Click below for an application form.
Starting Pre-school
What to bring with you
BOOK BAG- On your child's first day at pre-school they will need a book bag (these can be bought at preschool or you can provide your own) these bags will be filled with your child's work, library books which are changed daily and their 'sharing information books'. This is where you can write notes to staff or vise versa if we do not get a chance to speak to you at pick up and drop off times, these are checked daily for any messages.
SPARE CLOTHES- You will also need to bring lots of spare clothes for your child which can be put into their named white box underneath their coat peg, this must include trousers, tops, underwear, socks and wellies.
NAPPIES AND WIPES- If your child is in nappies we will need a supply of them along with wipes and nappy bags to keep at preschool.
COAT OR JACKET-
Please ensure your child has a weather appropriate coat/ jacket as we tend to play outdoor in all weather conditions! Please also remember to have your child's name written clearly in all of their belongings.
LUNCH BOX- The final thing to bring with you is a healthy lunch box (read the section below for details)
Lunch Boxes
For lunch we ask that you provide your child with a named lunch box containing food you know they will eat and are able to manage themselves. Please do not put sweets, chocolate bars or fizzy drinks in their lunch boxes as this does not meet our aims with regard to healthy eating. You also do not need to provide a drink or cutlery for your child as we provide these. From time to time we provide 'special lunches' as part of a topic or celebration. Children do not require lunch boxes on these days but we do ask for a small contribution towards food. These lunches are optional.
Procedure for safe hand over of children.
At home time a member of the preschool staff will call the child's name and allow them to leave the building when they have checked that the parent/carer who is collecting that child is present. The safety and responsibility of a preschool child is handed over from the preschool staff to the parent/carer upon the child being received by their parent/carer at the end of the preschool session. Preschool finishes at 2:30/3pm and all children must be collected by 3:00pm unless they are in the wrap around care. (If they are in the wrap around care they need to be collected by 3:25pm unless they are booked in the after school care). If you are going to be late please telephone to let a member of staff know. If you are over 10 minutes late you may be charged for your child to be in the wrap around care until 3:25pm and/or after school care if still not collected. If the staff haven't had notification of the collection they will ring the contact number on the child's record of information form in the order they appear. If no contact has been made and the child has not been collected within half an hour after the expected collection time then the staff have the right to refer the matter to the first response team, child's social care or the safeguarding unit (child protection register). Further details of the policy and procedure can be found in the policies and procedures at Norland preschool.