Welcome

Sunshine Nursery is situated in SutherlandPark in Burpham, Guildford. This prospectus is designed to give you information about our pre-school and should answer many of your questions. This should be read in conjunction with our policies which give more detailed information of what we do.

Sunshine Nursery aims to:

  • provide high quality care and education for children primarily below statutory school age;
  • work in partnership with parents to help children to learn and develop;
  • add to the life and well-being of its local community;
  • offer children and their parents a service which promotes equality and values diversity.
  • follow the Curriculum for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which covers the Every Child Matter outcomes by setting standards for learning and development,, providing equality for opportunity, partnership working, improving quality, and laying a secure foundation for future learning.

Your child will be:

  • in a safe and stimulating environment;
  • given generous care and attention, because of our high ratio of adults to children;
  • given the chance to join with other children and adults to play, work and learn together;
  • helped to take forward her/his learning and development by being helped to build on what she/he already knows and can do;
  • given the chance to establish the basis of reading and writing through well chosen stories, songs, rhymes and games;
  • helped to create habits of listening, sharing and concentration and pride in their achievements;
  • in a pre-school which sees you as a partner in helping your child to learn and develop.

General Information

  • The pre-school is open 38weeks each year.
  • We are closed during school holidays.
  • We are open 5days each week, Monday to Friday.
  • We offer sessional day care between the following times: 9.15am to 12.45pm.
  • We provide care and education for young children between the ages of 2½ and 5

Ofsted

We were last inspected in February 2014 .

A copy of the report is available on request.

Fees

The fees are £18.00 per session ( reviewed annually) , rising to £19 for the terms after their third birthday, payable half-termly in advance. Fees must still be paid if children are absent for a short period of time. If your child has to be absent over a long period of time, please talk to Pamela.

Each term the Surrey Early Years Development Plan informs the pre-school of the criteria required to be eligible for government funding (known as NEG – National Education Grant). At present, children are eligible for Government funding the term after they are three. All parents of eligable children will be contacted the term before grant funding is offered.

The grant covers up to five, 3 hour sessions a week. The remainder of each session is billed on a pro-rata rate. A copy of the child’s birth certificate will be required and a parent/carer declaration form must be completed every term for your child, obtainable from the nursery.

Waiting List

The Nursery operates a waiting list and children who are registered will be allocated places first. We charge a non-refundable £10 fee to go on the waiting list.

When your child is offered a place we ask for the first half terms fees to secure it.

Working together for your children

Sunshine Nursery has a high ratio of adults to children in the setting. This helps us to:

  • give time and attention to each child;
  • talk with the children about their interests and activities;
  • help children to experience and benefit from the activities we provide; and
  • allow the children to explore and be adventurous in safety.

The staff who work at Sunshine Nursery and their qualifications are:

Position / Name / Qualification / Date
Owner / Manager / Pamela Baulch / BA Hons / 2013
Pre-school assistant / Emma Wright / D.P.P / 2006
Pre-school assistant / Leanne Otton / In training
Supervisor / Katy Clements / D.P.P / 2002
Pre-school Assistant / Lisa Chambers

We aim for all staff to undertake courses run by The Surrey Early Years Development & Childcare Partnership, Pre-school Learning Alliance training and the Guildford Central Hub and Cluster Group, and hold up to date first-aid qualifications. Staff training is continuous to keep up to date with current best practice. All staff are encouraged to achieve a CACHE or NVQ qualification.

How parents take part in the nursery

Sunshine Nursery recognises parents as the first and most important educators of their children. All of the staff see themselves as co-workers with you in providing care and education for your child. There are many ways in which parents take part in making the nursery a welcoming and stimulating place for children and parents, such as:

  • exchanging knowledge about their children’s needs, activities, interests and progress with the staff;
  • sharing their own special interests with the children;
  • taking part in events and informal discussions about the activities organised by Sunshine.
  • joining in community activities in which the nursery takes part; and
  • building friendships with other Sunshine parents .

Records of achievement

The nursery keeps a record of achievement for each child which are obtained through observation.There is no formal ‘assessing’. This information will enable the nursery to identify your child’s stage of progress.

Learning opportunities for adults

As well as gaining qualifications in Early Years care and Education, the nursery staff take part in further training to help them to keep up-to-date with current developments.

The nursery also keeps itself up-to-date with best practice in early years care and education through the Pre-school Learning Alliance’s magazine Under Five and publications produced by the Pre-school Learning Alliance. We frequently have students and adults on work placements with us from local schools and colleges.

We are linked with GeorgeAbbotSchool and make regular trips to the grounds as well as welcoming students here to observe the children as part of various subjects including sociology, art and childcare.

The nursery’s timetable and routines

Sunshine Nursery believes that care and education are equally important in the experience which we offer children. The routines and activities that make up the nursery’s session are provided in ways that:

  • help each child to feel that she/he is a valued member of the pre-school;
  • ensure the safety of each child;
  • help children to gain from the social experience of being part of a group; and
  • provide children with opportunities to learn and help them to value learning.

The session

The nursery organises its sessions so that the children can choose from and work ata range of activities and, in doing so, build up their ability to select and work through a task to its completion. The children are also helped and encouraged to take part in adult-led small and large group activities which introduce them to new experiences and help them to gain new skills, as well as helping them to learn to work with others.

Every session offers the continuous provision of all activities including sand & water play, free painting and self-chosen resources. The children are encouraged to use the outside space all year round regardless of the weather.

There is a range of ICT resources available everyday including Ipads, PC and programmable toys, usage of these are closely monitored.

Clothing

The nursery provides aprons for the children when they play with messy activities however please send your child in appropriate clothing. There is the opportunity to play outside every day regardless of the weather so please ensure that your child has a coat, gloves , hat or sunhat.

The pre-school encourages children to gain the skills which help them to be independent and look after themselves. These include taking themselves to the toilet and washing hands. Clothing which is easy for them to manage will help them to do this.

All children change from their outdoor shoes into a pair of soft plimsoll-like shoes (not crocs or slippers) on arrival at nursery.

Please label clothing,plimsolls, water bottles and lunch boxes with your child’s name.

Shoes and Jewellery

For safety reasons, children are not permitted to wear jewellery in nursery, with the exception of stud earrings. Cultural/religious requirements will be respected, but please discuss these with Pamela .

Snacks and meals

The nursery provides achoice of healthy snack and drinkwhich is available as a snack bar system from 9.30. The children are encouraged to prepare some of the foods and serve themselves. Do tell us about your child’s dietary needs and we will make sure that these are met.

Toilets

Children do not have to be ‘potty trained’ before joining Sunshine. We will support you and your child when you feel they are ready to use the toilet.

Policies

In accepting a place at Sunshine Nursery, you will be acknowledging and agreeing to all our policies and procedures, copies of which are available to view at the nursery and are kept on the table in the waiting area. Please sign beside your child’s name to indicate that you have read and accept them.

The policies help us to make sure that the service provided by the nursery is of a high quality and that all regulations are met.

Special needs

As part of the nursery’s policy to make sure that its provision meets the needs of each individual child, we take account of any special needs which a child may have.

The nursery works to the requirements of the 1993 Education Act and The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2000). Sunshine’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators ( SENCO’s ) are Pamela and Katy.

Newsletters

Regular newsletters are produced to let parents know of meetings and events, planned themes for the next half term, fundraising activities, and other information that the parent should be aware of.

Events calendar

We arrange events for parents and children to be involved in. Please check our notice board and read our newsletters for further information.

We hope that this prospectus has covered all your questions but please do not hesitate to contact Pamela either at Nursery or by phone should you have any concerns, however small.

DISCLAIMER

Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this document, the nursery cannot guarantee total accuracy in every respect.

No description of facilities or fees currently offered can be assumed to remain true throughout a child’s stay at nursery.

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