Birkenshaw Kindergarten Prospectus

1. Welcome to our Nursery

Mission Statement

We aim to provide a high standard of friendly, professional quality care and Early Years education to raise standards into compulsory education.

Birkenshaw Kindergarten Pre-School Nursery aims to be the number 1 provider of choice for children, parents and carers within our geographical location through the delivery of quality care, education, learning and development, a homemade nutritious diet, professional staff development and training and effective teamwork.

We have a "Good" Ofsted rating and you can view highlights of the report or the full report via our website.

We have a 5 Star ***** excellent rating awarded by Kirklees Environmental Health Inspectorate and we hold the Kirklees Healthy Choice Gold Award for the high standards of our food hygiene and healthy options on our menus.  The Gold standard is based on the high percentage of homemade food and the balanced and varied options including a good quantity of foods from each of the main food groups for under 5’s.

Every child has the right to good food, and this is part of our vision for the high quality childcare we provide at Birkenshaw Kindergarte

The Nursery

Birkenshaw Kindergarten caters for 37 children between three months and five years. We are situated on Old Lane in Birkenshaw (just off the A58 Leeds to Halifax road) in a modern purpose built private property on one level, with an enclosed outdoor play area. We are in close proximity to Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield and within easy reach of the motorway network. Birkenshaw Kindergarten is a small family run nursery that prides itself on its endeavour to provide high standards of quality care and education. We believe that care and education are inseparable and a loving atmosphere fostered by good relationships between home and nursery helps a child feel happy, settled and secure in their life. All our staff promote this practice and the care and welfare of the child is of utmost importance during their time at our nursery.

2. The Management Team

Birkenshaw Kindergarten has a well qualified experienced management team.

Richard and June Bell - Nursery Owners
Richard and June both hold teacher qualifications and have many years experience of running their own private businesses, particularly in the pre-school day care sector.

Beverley Metcalfe - Business Management Consultant
Beverley is an experienced Business Management Consultant and provides strategic and tactical input and support.  Beverley has spent many years as a senior business manager in a number of disciplines in the private sector.  She provides business expertise in relation to human resources, planning, continuous improvement, communications and operational management.  She is always available to support the nursery manager, staff and parents/carers alike.

Catherine Flynn - Nursery Manager/Officer-in Charge

My name is Catherine Flynn and I am the manager at Birkenshaw Kindergarten Club. I have been working with children since the age of 18. I gained a degree in psychology at university, specialising in advanced child development, childhood theorists and children with special educational needs. I then went on to gain my Early Years Professional Status and I am currently completing my dissertation which is the final chapter of my Masters in Early Years Education and Care.

Throughout this time I have been working with children in a variety of different settings. Within these settings I have been lucky enough to be given the opportunity to grow and develop my skills as a practitioner, gaining a vast amount of experience. Through my passion, hard work and commitment I have worked my way up from a voluntary nursery nurse to Nursery Manager.

 I have worked with all ages of children and enjoy the challenges that working with different aged children bring but I especially love the early years’ age group and this has been my area of specialism for a number of years. Through my previous roles I have worked with diverse cultures and families with different needs and expectations, this has given me the tools to enable me to meet their different needs and make a real difference to children's lives.

One of my passions is to be able to offer high quality childcare for ALL children regardless of their status. It is a real pleasure seeing children grow and develop into independent, confident individuals as they move onto school.

I believe in the ethos of Birkenshaw Kindergarten and am fully committed to our mission statement of being the number one child care provider in the area. My role as a Nursery Manager enables me to ensure that the children who use our setting are receiving the very best.

Birkenshaw Kindergarten has an ethos that children come first and are always striving to improve what we already do well, with a wonderful working environment that is welcoming and settling for children. Children grow and develop in small groups in a fun and safe environment making learning fun developing children to be confident and independent and ready for school.

I like to think I inspire my team of Nursery Nurse practitioners to be passionate and proud of the work that we do, and encourage new families to make that brave first step of bringing their children to nursery for the first time to start the education of their children.

Emily Chesterman - Deputy Manager
Emily has more than five years experience of working with children in a senior position. Emily supports the manager (Catherine) in the day to day running of the nursery and supporting staff within the nursery rooms. Emily is currently working towards her Level.4 - 6 early years professional qualification.

Staff in the Nursery
Our staff team are chosen not only for their qualifications but also for their experiences in, and approach to childcare.   95% of our Nursery Nurses are qualified to Level 3 status with lots of experience to offer in caring for young children.  Our Nursery Assistants all have experience in caring for young children and work as part of a team under the guidance of senior staff. We have an experienced Cook who cooks all the homemade food on the premises each day, also taking into consideration special dietary requirements. They are all given an induction period and in-house training and attend a variety of external training courses to develop their own standards and knowledge. We operate using the Key Worker system. Each child is assigned a Key Worker who will cater for his/her individual needs. This provides parents with a particular person they can relate to.

Staffing Ratios
0-2 years 1:3
2-5 years 1:6

3. Partnership with Parents

We recognise that you are the first educator of your child and that it is of paramount importance that we foster a close relationship with you to help your child to achieve their full potential. We operate an open door policy and all our parents are welcome at any time during the day. Our friendly staff team will always make time to discuss your child’s development or other aspects of nursery life with you. All children receive a daily record or diary of their nursery day and activities they have participated in. A parents information board is situated in the entrance to keep parents informed of nursery issues. You will also find our own information leaflets and our regular newsletter here. A suggestions box is available where you may wish to comment on our services or make suggestions on improvements we could make to improve our service to you.

Equal Opportunities

Birkenshaw Kindergarten are committed to promoting equal opportunities within the nursery. We always strive to make all our children, parents and staff feel welcome at the nursery and everyone is treated equally, with great consideration given to individual needs. No discrimination will be tolerated towards anyone regarding race, religion, culture, language, gender or disability.

Customer Care and Complaints

We endeavour to resolve any problems or concerns you may have regarding any aspect of our nursery. Please discuss this at the office with a senior member of staff. If you are dissatisfied with the way your complaint has been dealt with, you can contact Ofsted our governing body.

Ofsted
3rd Floor
Royal Exchange Building
St. Anns Square
Manchester
M2 7LA

Policies and Procedures

The nurseries full policies and procedures are available in the entrance for parents to read.

4. Admissions

We offer nursery places on a first come first served basis whilst adhering to our Ofsted registration that allows us a certain number of children of each age group. The staff will work with you to settle your child in to nursery life. We offer a free settling in period which is usually a week of visits where children will gradually build up the time they spend with us. Parents are always welcome to phone the nursery at any time during the day to see how their child is.

The Nursery Day

We start the day at 7.30am and finish at 6.00pm. Please be punctual when arriving and leaving. If children are collected late they often get very upset and can easily think they have been forgotten.

Opening Times

Children can attend on a seasonal or full time basis.  We also offer before and after school care including pick ups and drop offs for Birkenshaw First School.

Morning session 7.30/8.00am – 12.30/1.00pm
Afternoon session 1.00pm – 6.00pm
Full time between 7.30am – 6.00pm

If parents need other hours than those stated in our sessions, please ask the management. If at all possible we will do our best to accommodate you.

Attendance

If your child is absent please inform the nursery by telephone explaining why, as we need to keep a record of this. If your child has a hospital or clinic appointment the nursery must be notified about who will be collecting them and at what time. If you are taking a family holiday please contact the nursery in advance.

5. Clothing/items to Provide

Children should wear comfortable, casual clothing. No responsibility will be accepted for loss or damage to any articles of clothing or jewellery. Children with pierced ears should only wear studs. Staff cannot accept any responsibility for jewellery worn in the nursery. You will need to provide your child with a suitable bag (no plastic bags please) that can be left in the nursery, which needs to contain spare clothes practical outdoor clothing and protection and if necessary nappies and essential creams.

We also ask parents of babies who drink formula or breast milk to bring this already sterilised which we will store in a separate milk fridge.

 Lunch

Children who attend nursery full time or for the morning session will be provided with a hot meal. A mid morning and afternoon tea snack will also be provided. We promote healthy eating and therefore we would be grateful if parents would refrain from sending their children with sweets or chocolates.

Health

If your child is ill please telephone to inform the nursery. This is most important so that staff can organise meals and snacks and ratios of staff for the children present.

If children hurt themselves in nursery immediate action will be taken. If it is serious the child will be taken to hospital. You must sign a written consent form when your child starts nursery.

If a minor accident occurs it will be recorded in the nursery accident book and when you come to collect your child you will be asked to sign it. A qualified member of staff may only administer medication that has been prescribed by a G.P. with instruction of correct dosage, and how many times your child needs to take the medication must be written down on the nursery form and signed by you.

6. Childrens Rooms

Baby Room

The baby room caters for thirteen children between 3 months and 2 years. Love and care is our first and foremost consideration in looking after our babies and children. In addition, their developmental progress is important. Provision is made to meet their physical, emotional, social and intellectual development in a fun, relaxed and comfortable environment. The emphasis is on learning through play through a combination of sensory and messy play activities and a wide variety of carefully chosen toys appropriate to their age and stage of development.

With all our children we work within the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage which aims to help children achieve the Five Every Child Matters Outcomes of: staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well being. Developmental charts are used to record milestones and a portfolio of each individual child is developed from the start of nursery life up until children leave to go to school. This will record your child’s progress and achievements as they advance through nursery and helps ensure continuity of care for your child.

Toddler Room

This room is for children aged between 2 years and 5 years. In this room the emphasis is on learning through play and having fun. A wide range of activities are available daily that encourage the all round development of each child. The emphasis for children aged 3 and over is learning, having fun and preparing children for school. Children have access to a wide variety of toys and equipment and also have structured learning planned into their day. When leaving Pre-School to begin Primary education our aim is that our children will have good foundations in all areas of learning that will enable each individual child to achieve much and reach their full potential during their school life.

7. Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage is a statutory framework that sets standards to help us deliver personalised learning, development and care that will enhance the development of all the children in our nursery. The learning and development programme offered to the children attending the nursery will have its basis in the “Early Learning Goals” that establish expectations for most children to reach by the end of the EYFS (the end of the academic year in which they reach five years). The goals provide the basis for planning throughout the EYFS so laying secure foundations from birth for future learning.

There are six areas of learning covered by the Early Learning Goals that are explained in more detail below. All these areas of learning and development are equally important to support the “whole child”. The areas will be delivered through planned purposeful play and there will be a balance of adult and child initiated activities. We place a strong emphasis on meaningful play and plan regularly so that all play is appropriate, stimulating and purposeful. For young children purposeful play is an essential and rich part of the learning process. Play is a powerful motivator encouraging children to be creative and to develop their ideas, understanding and language.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (Aspects of personal, moral, social and spiritual development will be covered) Children will be provided with experiences and support that will help them to develop a positive sense of themselves and of others. They will be encouraged to work and play with others establishing relationships with other children and adults. They will be helped to develop a positive disposition to learn through provision of stimulating fun activities.

8. Communication Language and Literacy– (covering important aspects of language development and to provide the foundations for literacy.)

Children will be encouraged to talk and hold conversations, to take turns and to listen to others. Hearing stories read to them also enriches the children’s experience of language. Talking with children is one of the most valuable ways we can spend time with them, both as teachers and as parents. A broad approach is taken to reading. The children will have extensive pre-reading experiences including the sharing in discussions of many delightful books. The children can not yet read the words, but they are learning all the time, picking up picture clues, guessing what will come next, getting the story in the right order, using context to work out what is happening. Gradually, letters and their sounds will be recognised then whole words. This is a very complex process and should be supported with confidence building, praise and patience.

Writing develops in a similar way. Children often ‘write’, it may look like scribble but don’t discourage it. Gradually children learn letter shapes and the sounds that go with them. We encourage both reading and writing by the use of a stimulating language environment and a wide range of opportunities to support and encourage our children.

Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy

Children will be provided with a rich and varied range of experiences. We focus on practical activities, games and songs in which children can explore, enjoy, learn, practise and talk about their developing understanding. We believe the greater the number of experiences stored away in the minds of the young child, the more secure the later abstractions.

 

9. Knowledge and Understanding of the World

This covers the children’s developing knowledge and understanding of their environment, their families and other people. Through this we aim to help the children become more aware of the world about them, both natural and man-made, observing changing patterns of the seasons, weather, similarities and differences in plants and animals etc. Opportunities will be provided to discover creatures, people plants and objects in their natural environments >and in real life situations. They will take part in lots of practical activities and use a range of tools and materials safely.

Physical Development

The physical development of babies and young children will be encouraged through providing opportunities to be active and to improve their skills of co-ordination, control and movement. They will be encouraged to use all of their senses to learn about the world around them and to make connections between what they already know and new information. Positive views on healthy food choices, healthy exercise and way of life will also be promoted.

Creative Development

This involves developing children’s imagination through art, music, stories and imaginative play and by providing a wide range of materials, tools and instruments to express ideas and feelings in a creative way.

Behaviour

We take a positive approach to discipline built on mutual respect between staff and children. Lots of praise, reward stickers and certificates are used to promote and reinforce positive behaviour. If inappropriate behaviour cannot be resolved we will work with parents to develop strategies to solve the problems together.

 

10. Help with Childcare Costs

Child Tax credit/Working Families Tax Credit

You can now claim up to 80% of your childcare costs if you are 16 years and over and working more than 16 hours per week. The helpline to ring to advise you on your entitlements is: 0845 300 3900

Nursery Education Funding

We are able to offer free nursery places for 3 and 4 year olds.  Full details are available from the Nursery Manager and information is displayed on our Parent Information Board.  All children are eligible for the grant the term after their third birthday. Birkenshaw Kindergarten will claim the grant on your behalf to fund/help fund the place.