First Day
Starting Pre-School
If this is your first time starting Pre-School with your little one then here is some handy information to let you know what to bring to each session as well as some "top tips" on how to prepare your child.
What Should My Child Wear To Pre-School?
The best clothes to pop your child in are ones that are comfy and sensible for play (e.g. tracksuits, T-shirts, shorts, leggings), and easy for quick toileting. We advise to have non-slip shoes and best to avoid dungarees or full skirts!
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Dependent on the weather, please remember to bring in a sun hat, apply sun cream at home or supply a jacket or coat, hat and scarf for the colder months. Wellies will be needed as we go out in all weathers to get fresh air, but don't worry about an apron as we will provide these for messy work.
A bag with a change of clean clothes (with nappies and wipes if appropriate) is also highly recommended.
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Please NAME all of your child's bags, jackets/coats, hats, scarfs, gloves, and wellies. Each of the children will have a name peg in the foyer to pop their personal items onto.
What Do I Bring For Snacks and Lunch?
Your child will be offered milk or water at snack and lunchtime and their own water bottle will be accessible to them at all other times during the session. To go alongside this, we ask you to provide the following:
Morning and Afternoon Children
Please bring in a portion of fruit or vegetables as a snack and a bottle of water.
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Full Day Children
Please bring in 2 portions of fruit or vegetable snacks, a healthy lunch and a bottle of water.
Please can you NAME all bottles and food containers so we know whose is whose, and please cut any smaller items e.g grapes or cherry tomatoes in half.
As we have a healthy eating policy at the Pre-School we kindly ask you not to bring in any sweets, chocolate or biscuits into the setting. We also have a No Nut policy.
Can My Child Bring Any Other Items Into Pre-School?
We understand that your child may need a comforter in their first few weeks, please could you wash this after every session. We are sorry but we cannot accept dummies due to the risk of infection. If your child has a dummy please talk to their Key Person for alternative suggestions. We ask that you kindly do not bring toys into the Pre-School at this time.
What About Toileting?
We accept children in nappies, and suggest Pull-Ups are a good idea for children in the 'in between' stage.
We will work with you in your child’s personal care routine so please keep us up to date with their toilet training development as we are happy to work alongside you in this.
Arrival and Parking
We actively promote walking and cycling to Pre-School, however, we know this isn't always possible for everyone, so if you do drive please could we kindly ask you to park in the front car park and in the side bays on the left-hand side of the driveway. The staff will park on the right-hand side of the Pre-School entrance gate. This is to help with our one-way movement at the main entrance gate.
Here are our top tips to help you prepare your child for Pre-School
1. Encourage your child to play with other children.
2. Get them used to being away from you for a short space of time.
3. Teach them to use the toilet and wash their hands afterwards.
4. Get them to sit still and listen to a story or have a drink.
5. Teach them to understand authority from other adults – “No” means “No”. Set boundaries at home.
6. Encourage them to treat books and toys with respect and to help clear away.
7. Encourage them not to put things in their mouths.
8. Come and visit Pre-School with your child before they start. Talk about Pre-School with them. There are books in the library which can be read together.
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