Advice For Parents

Introduction

Based in Ampthill, Ladybird Pre-School Playgroup is a friendly pre-school playgroup offering up to 24 places at each playgroup session. The group aims to provide a happy and stimulating environment for your child.

Ladybird Playgroup is a registered charity. We are Ofsted registered and are inspected every 3-4 years. Please refer to the Ofsted website (www.ofsted.gov.uk) to view Ladybird’s latest excellent Ofsted report (April 2006). The playgroup also operates the LEA Nursery Voucher Scheme for 3 and 4 year olds, is a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance and is registered with Social Services under the 1989 Children Act (Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000).

Ladybird Playgroup operates out of a purpose-built portacabin in the grounds of Russell Lower School. In addition to our own facilities, we are very fortunate to be able to take advantage of the extensive facilities and infrastructure of Russell Lower School, like the outdoor playground, playing field, large hall, etc.

Ladybird Playgroup continues to be run as a fully independent pre-school playgroup and children attending Ladybird will continue to feed into both Russell Lower and the Firs Lower schools in Ampthill as well as Maulden Lower and other local Lower schools in the area.

Aims of Ladybird

Ladybird Playgroup aims to prepare your child for school and for life in general in a happy and friendly environment. We encourage your child’s personal and social development and aim to increase his/her confidence through a variety of activities. We hope to see a happy sociable child who is friendly, willing to share with others and prepared to co-operate with other children and adults.

Ladybird Playgroup operates a ‘free flow system’ using two rooms, the corridor and the outside play area. This enables the children to control their own learning agendas and they can meet their personal needs with greater independence. Offering ‘free flow’ means the children are able to choose from a wide range of activities throughout the day. The children are able to mix with their entire peer group during each session.

Foundation Stage Curriculum

When your child first joins you will be given a Questionnaire to return describing your child’s interests and likes and any particular friends etc, to help the staff to get to know your child. Ladybird Playgroup monitors the development of all using the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum is based on the following learning areas:

1. Personal, Social and Emotional Development
2. Communication, Language & Literacy
3. Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
4. Knowledge and Understanding of the World
5. Physical Development
6. Creative Development

Key Person/Home Visits

Your child is allocated a Key Person from the day he/she joins Ladybird Playgroup. You and your child will be offered a home visit and a visit to view a session at Ladybird Playgroup. This gives you the opportunity to meet your child’s Key Person and for them to get to know your child. Neither of these visits is mandatory and it is totally your decision whether you wish to take up either of these opportunities. The Key Person is your main contact during your child’s stay at the playgroup.

Themes and Activites

Each half term the children will cover several ‘themes’. Parents/carers receive an ‘Activity Sheet’ at the beginning of each half term to inform them what those themes are.

Observations and your child’s developmental progress

During the duration of your child’s time at Ladybird Playgroup, staff monitor his/her development against the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. This is carried out by doing ‘observations’ on your child, either on a pre-defined activity or by ‘tracking’ your child at a series of activities. The observations performed on all the children at Ladybird are used to ‘map’ the developmental progress of each individual child, thus ensuring that your child’s individual needs are being constantly met.

Parent/Carer Consultation Evenings

Twice a year, Ladybird Playgroup holds Parents/Carers Consultation Evenings, usually in January and May. This is a social event where you have the opportunity to see how you child is progressing.

Leaver's Report

When your child leaves to go to school, you will be given a folder containing his/her observation sheets (to be passed on to the school), some photographs of your child during his/her time at Ladybird Playgroup and an End of Year Report. The report will give you details of how your child has progressed in each of the Foundation Stage educational areas.

Parent/Carer Events

Annual Christmas Nativity Play – takes place at the end of the Autumn Term. Annual Sports’ Day – takes place towards the end of the Summer Term.

Admissions Policy

Ladybird Playgroup operates an ‘equal opportunity’ admissions policy. Children are admitted from the age of 2 years and six months. In order to conform to the staff/child ratio, places for children under the age of 3 years are restricted to 8 places per session. Our waiting list is arranged according to date of birth, although priority may be given to children living in Ampthill.

Our sessions run as follows:

Monday - Friday

Morning 9.05a.m. - 11.45a.m.
Lunch Club 11.45a.m. - 12.30p.m.
Afternoon 12.30p.m. - 3.10p.m.

Fees and Funding

For children who are not eligible for Pre-School funding, the fees are £7.50 per session plus £2.50 per ‘Lunch Club’. A fee notice will be issued at the beginning of each half term, based on the number of sessions and lunches your child attends per week.

There is a one-off non-refundable registration fee of £5.50 per child that should be paid with your child’s first set of fees. Fees must be paid in advance to the Administration Manager within two weeks of receipt of notification each half term.

Your child is eligible for funding for up to 5 Pre-School sessions per week, from the start of the term following his/her 3rd birthday. If you wish to terminate your child’s place at Ladybird Playgroup, you are asked to give two weeks notice.

Lunch Club

We have been running our Lunch Club from September 2006 and it has proved to be very popular and successful. Since January 2009 we employ between two and three Lunch Club Supervisors per Lunch Club session. The cost per Lunch Club is £2.50 per child per day. Your child is able to attend the Lunch Club by either staying for lunch after the morning session, attending the Lunch Club followed by the afternoon session, or by staying at playgroup all day. Please provide your child with a packed lunch, which can be kept refrigerated in the kitchen.

Children In Nappies/Potty Training

At Ladybird we welcome children who are in nappies or pull-ups, are undergoing potty training or are fully potty trained. We are very happy to work alongside parents/carers who are in the throes of potty training their children. Our toilets are low-level child-sized ones, so children have no problems in using them with or without assistance.

Disabled Parking

Ladybird has one disabled car parking space in the school car park, next to our boundary fencing.

Volunteer Parent Duties

Parents/carers are not routinely required to undertake parent duties, except in the rare event of an unforeseen staff absence, when it would be necessary for a parent/carer to assist the staff during the session.

Open Door Policy

Ladybird Playgroup operates an ‘open door’ policy. Even though we do not require our parents/carers to undertake ‘parent duties’, we welcome parents/carers at any time to assist in the running of any session, as we believe that it gives an invaluable opportunity for you to observe how your child is progressing at playgroup, and to see how the sessions are run.

Uniform/Book Bags

After much discussion it has been decided to offer a partial uniform for all children attending Ladybird Playgroup. There are four main reasons for this decision:

1. It will help protect your child’s clothes;
2. will make your child easier to spot in the school crowd;
3. It will help us make money towards our fundraising efforts;
4. It will get your child used to wearing a uniform.

We offer a partial uniform for all children attending Ladybird Playgroup: red T-shirts (£5.50 each), red sweatshirts (£7.50 each) and for the summer red legionnaire caps with detachable flaps (£3.50 each) – all printed with the Ladybird logo and name. We also offer red Ladybird book bags (£3.50 each) with the ladybird logo. These book bags are designed to take home your child’s artwork, any newsletters or correspondence from the playgroup without getting them damaged, creased or indeed wet.

Fundraising

Ladybird Playgroup could not continue to offer such a wide range of activities for your child without raising additional funds during the course of the year. We ask each parent/carer to help with this essential work by supporting & helping with at least one of our fundraising activities during the year – the main two activities being the Christmas Bazaar and the Easter Party.

Mary's Nature Garden

The biggest single fundraising event for 2007/2008 has been for the design and execution of our brand new ‘Mary’s Nature Garden’ – created in loving memory of Ladybird’s founder Mary Miller. The children at the playgroup have now got the opportunity to enjoy a ‘working’ nature garden where they are able to plant and grow herbs and flowers, listen to a story in the shade or just simply enjoy nature in a wonderful environment.

Committee

Should you or your child have any concerns regarding your child or the running of Ladybird Playgroup, please do not hesitate to speak in the first instance to a member of staff. Alternatively, please contact any member of the committee. A copy of the Ladybird Pre-School Playgroup Operational Policies is always available, should you wish to see them.

Holiday Club

Always keen to provide our parents with a full and all-encompassing service we are delighted to introduce our new ‘Ladybird Holiday Club’, which was launched during the summer holidays 2008. The ‘Holiday Club’ is run by Ladybird staff and is open from 9am through to 4pm during the half-terms, Easter and Summer holidays. The ‘Holiday Club’ is open to all children (not just those attending Ladybird Playgroup) from the age of 2 ½ years through to 9 years. The Lunch Club is running from 12pm – 1pm, which means that children can attend the Holiday Club all day; all he/she needs to do is to bring his/her own lunch. As we are catering for a diverse age group, the staff aim to ensure that activities are age-appropriate and put together a fun-filled programme for all. We obviously continue to enjoy the extensive outdoor play areas of not only Ladybird Playgroup but also of Russell Lower School. The costs for the Holiday Club are as follows:

1. 9am – 12pm = £8.00 (AM session)
2. 9am – 1pm = £10.50 (AM Session & Lunch Club)
3. 12pm – 4pm = £10.50 (Lunch Club & PM Session)
4. 1pm – 4pm = £8.00 (PM Session)
5. 9am – 4pm = £18.50 (all day)

Discounts

If you book in more than one sibling the price per day is £16.50/child. If you book four full days (or more) in any week, the Lunch Club is free, which means you pay £16.00per child, saving you £2.50 per day

Ladybird Pre-School Playgroup September 2010

Uniform and Book Bags - NOW in stock

Ladybird Sweat Shirts £7.50
In two sizes:
3-4 years – 104cm
5-6 years – 116cm

In addition we have stock of:
Ladybird T-shirts £5.50
Ladybird Legionnaire Caps £3.50(with detachable flaps)
Ladybird Book Bags £3.50

 

Ladybird Pre-School Playgroup
Russell Lower School
Queens Road
Ampthill, Beds.
MK45 2TD