The pre-school’s policies help us to make sure that the service provided by the pre-school is of a high quality and that being a member of the pre-school is an enjoyable and beneficial experience for each child and his/her parents.

The staff and Committee members of the pre-school work together to annually review the policies. This review helps us to make sure that the policies are enabling the pre-school to provide a quality service for its members and the local community.

Copies of all the pre-school’s policies are available for you to read. Please feel free to ask a member of staff for the folder. We welcome comments and suggestions from parents – please forward these to the Committee Chairperson.

Special needs

We feel that all children are special and that every child needs play, stimulation, fun, love and support.

As part of the pre-school’s policy to make sure that its provision meets the needs of each individual child, we take account of and are able to support most special needs which a child may have. These needs can vary widely, from a slight speech problem or a temporary hearing loss due to ear infections through to more complex needs.

The pre-school works to the requirements of the 1993 Education Act and The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2002). The pre-school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is Anne Mumby.

Equal Opportunities

Our pre-school is committed to providing equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children, parents, staff and volunteers. Our setting welcomes all children, including those with additional needs, children with an additional language and transient children. Our Equal Opportunities Co-ordinator is Mary George.

Behaviour

Our pre-school believes that children flourish best when they know how they are expected to behave and should be free to play and learn without fear of being hurt or unfairly restricted by anyone else. We aim to provide an environment in which there is acceptable behaviour and where children learn to respect themselves, other people and their environment.

For more information see our Behaviour management policy.

Confidentiality

We aim to ensure that all parents and carers can share their information in the confidence that it will only be used to enhance the welfare of their children. For more information see our Confidentiality policy. In certain cases the Safeguarding Children Policy could override the Confidentiality policy.

Health and Safety

We believe that the health and safety of children is of paramount importance and to that end we make our pre-school a safe and healthy place for children, parents, staff and volunteers. We aim to make children, parents and staff aware of health and safety issues and to minimise the hazards and risks to enable the children to thrive in a healthy and safe environment. Sally Lee is our Health and Safety Co-ordinator and there is a Health and Safety Officer on the committee. For more information see our Health and Safety policy.

Safeguarding children

Our pre-school wants to work with children, parents and the community to ensure the safety of children and to give them to very best start in life. We work within the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) guidelines and have policies and procedures in place to deal with any child protection issues. Our Safeguarding Children co-ordinator is Carolyn Jones. For more information see our Safeguarding Children Policy