As we are sometimes the first place a child attends without their parent we want to create a nurturing environment so that all the children feel safe and secure, and also so that you as parents feel reassured when leaving your child. We recognise that to nurture a child, a holistic approach must be taken to their wellbeing and development, that is why we encourage and recognise the benefit of working in partnership with the families that come to playgroup. For the children to be at the centre of their learning we need to look at all aspects of their life – sleep, eating, home environment etc as well as the support they require when in playgroup.

There are many large 60+ nurseries offering full day sessions for children, personally we prefer to have a smaller group of children (24 maximum) with a high staff ratio (4 members of staff) and run for two full days and three mornings each week.

 

Routines

We find the children respond best to having a planned and predictable routine that provides structure to their morning so that they feel safe and cared for . This will enable them to feel they can trust the staff that are there to help them explore and learn. Through our caring approach we provide the children with opportunities to participate in both large and small group activities.

 

Staff

All staff are qualified members of a well- established staff team with a maximum of 8 children to look after in their group. We usually run with less than 8 per group which enables us to give a great amount of individual attention to each child. Staff will check in with each child every morning, finding out how they are and providing them with any support they need to start their day in a positive way.  As we are a small staff team of 4, all working in the same room, we are able to share this information with the group enabling all staff to be able to support all the children regardless or not if they are in their group.  We get to know the children really well, finding out their likes/dislikes and learning what motivates them in their learning and play enabling us to tailor activities to suit their needs. It is very important to all the staff to celebrate the successes of the children and to help grow their confidence in their own abilities.

 

Curriculum

We follow the Curriculum for  Excellence and pay great importance to the children’s skills in literacy, numeracy and health and well- being through contextualised activities.  As part of our nurturing approach children are encouraged to take responsibility for their social and emotional wellbeing by naming their emotions and finding someone to talk to when they are feeling unsure. This enables them to build resilience  and helps them identify and name their feelings. The children have small responsibilities in their day, from putting their dishes away at snack , tidying up each day and helping support other children who may be looking for someone to play, by taking on these responsibilities children begin to feel valued and this can also help build their self-esteem.

 

 

Partnership with parents

We value the input of parents into the running of the playgroup as well as encouraging the parents to be involved in their child’s learning and development.   Parents know their children best and we therefore look to work with parents. Parental involvement could be sharing information from home with us, to coming in to share any special skills or talents that a parent may have. When Covid guidelines permit, we will resume  visits to the playgroup for open mornings for all family members, we also provide opportunities for parents to help out on trips/come in for the morning.

 

 

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