OUFs Operational Plan updated October 2013

OFFWELL UNDER FIVES PRE-SCHOOL OPERATIONAL PLAN

Background Information Offwell Under Fives was established in 1991 and operated from St. Marys Village Hall until September 2000 when it re-located to Wilmington Village Hall. In April 2006 we moved premises to Cotleigh Village Hall; returning to Wilmington in September 2013. Although the Pre-school is not situated on the school site we maintain extremely strong links with Offwell Church of England Primary School, with a very high percentage of our children moving on to the reception class. With this in mind we aim to plan visits to the school once every half term to help the younger children with their familiarisation of the school setting. This also helps to maintain good liaisons between the Pre-school leader (Kay George) and the schools Reception teacher. Aims and Objectives Offwell Under Fives aims to provide families within the local communities of Offwell, Cotleigh, Wilmington and Honiton with a safe, secure and caring setting in which their children will develop as individuals. We place in high regard the need for each individual child to receive stimulating and educational activities alongside exciting play opportunities. Above all, everyone at Offwell Under Fives (staff, Committee and parents) do their best to ensure that the children have an enjoyable experience whilst in our care.
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Wilmington hall used to be a school building, it provides us with a safe and cosy internal space and free flow play to the outdoor area which used to be the old playground. This area is also used to grow fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers in containers. Our staff attend regular professional development courses throughout the year (please see file located on site) in areas relevant to the EYFS and Ofsted requirements. Staff Structure Offwell Under Fives is a Committee led setting. The Committee have overall charge of the running of the Pre-school, but day-to-day management of the children and sessions is undertaken by our Preschool Leader. COMMITTEE CHAIR Marina Hodder TREASURER Nicola Brake VICE CHAIR Tara Andrews SECRETARY Mary Vanneck

ORDINARY MEMBERS Sarah Sloman Karen Shaw Karen Saunders Angie Triner Evonne Pavey AFFILIATED MEMBERS Mrs Anne Billington (Headteacher- Offwell Primary school) Mrs Sally Hunt (Teacher at Offwell Primary School)
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STAFF LEADER Kay George Certificate in Education, Primary Early Years Specialist. DEPUTY Michelle Mellon CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Pre-school Practice. PRESCHOOL ASSISTANT Kim Hancock Completed level 3 Diploma in Childrens care, Learning and Development (0-19 years). The staff have undertaken training, where appropriate, in order to meet the needs of the following specialist areas: Safeguarding Children Awareness; SENCO; Health and Safety/Risk Assessment and First Aid. The Pre-school benefits from strong links with parents and an established parent helper rota exists where parents/carers are welcomed into the Pre-school sessions (the rota for this is displayed on the notice board at the setting and parents volunteer where they are able to help). The Pre-school supports students by providing them with valuable voluntary experience in the child-care sector whilst they study for their qualifications in pre-school practice.

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Staff Management The staff are managed by the Committee and Committee meetings are held each half term to discuss Pre-school issues (agendas and minutes of meetings are published to all members and copies are held by the Chair and Secretary). New Committee members are welcomed at any time (details will be forwarded to Ofsted using the appropriate forms) but can only be fully voted onto the Committee at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) or Extra-ordinary General Meeting. Our AGM is usually held in the fourth week of September and is an open meeting. Job descriptions and contracts are issued to every member of staff and it is the Committees responsibility to see that they abide by these (copies are held in the staff file at the setting). New staff will only be appointed once a rigorous recruitment procedure has been followed (see policy documents) including evidence of qualifications, suitable persons/enhanced disclosure being sought, photographic ID being verified and suitable references being received. New staff will also undergo an induction period where they will shadow a current member of staff for 1-2 weeks (as necessary) in order to familiarise themselves with the running of the setting and more importantly to allow the children to become familiar with the new adult. Once employed, staff are on a period of probation for six months which is reviewed with an appraisal after 3 months. Once the period of probation has been satisfied staff are appraised every 12 months (appraisal records and targets are held in the staff file at the setting). Staff have one hour per term for meetings to ensure the smooth running of the setting and to help with communication between staff.
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As a setting we also undergo self evaluation on a regular basis to help us to achieve the highest possible outcomes for our children and their families (copy of the SEF in operational Plan). Questionnaires are sent out to parents/carers to assess their experience of preschool and kept in a confidential file once comments/observations have been filtered into our SEF. Additional persons on site (parent helpers, visitors, students) Offwell Under Fives welcomes any additional assistance with the sessions which will add to the childrens enjoyment, education, physical and emotional development. Visitors who are providing information and/or activities that will add to the childrens enjoyment and understanding of a topic area will be in liaison with the Leader to ensure that the material to be delivered is appropriate. All additional assistance (parent helpers, visitors and students) on site must be subject to our vetting checks and policies (refer to policies). All visitors must sign in and out of the visitors book and be recorded in our daily register (record books held on file at setting). Once the childrens arrival times have been registered and all parents/carers have left the building all doors are locked therefore preventing anyone from walking in on the childrens area. Visitors must knock to alert the staff as to their arrival and on admittance should produce a form of identification that shows their validity. During their time on site any visitor who has not been CRB checked via the settings own procedures will never be left unsupervised and will never be asked to assist with toilet routines, etc.

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As parents/carers are part of the team at Offwell Under Fives Pre-school via their role as parent helper there are certain procedures they need to be aware of, for example, Child Protection procedures and health and hygiene practices. Any specific activities that they are to be involved in are highlighted on the planning board and further verbal instructions given by the Leader or assistant. Children and Parents Offwell Under Fives keep Personal Development Folders on each child registered. These files are kept in a locked file at the setting and any parent/carer can ask for access to their childs file at any time. Information is kept regarding the childs development under the different areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance. This will include written/pictorial evidence, observational and photographic evidence. The file is passed on to the childs parents once they reach school age and a Transition document is produced which provides a summary of the childs development. With the agreement of the parents, this Transition document is given to their respective Reception teacher at their new setting. Any information about a child that is kept on site is suitably destroyed after two years have passed from the childs leaving date. In order to maintain such records the staff at Offwell Under Fives operate a Key-worker system. In this way each child and parent has a direct point of contact, and relationships and understanding of each individual child can be developed fully. Parents have the opportunity to talk to staff at the start and end of each session. If this meeting is likely to be longer than approximately
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5/10 minutes then the parents can appropriate appointment with the member of staff.

arrange

an

If a parent (or committee member or member of staff) has a complaint to make regarding the setting we will always aim to resolve it swiftly and amicably. Complaints can be made verbally or in writing and in the initial stages to a member of staff or committee member. Whatever the circumstance, all complaints will be entered into the complaints log and procedures will be followed as detailed in our policy. All parents (and other adults associated with our setting) should feel comforted in knowing that we wish to provide the best environment for children and their families so will always regard complaints as a means of reviewing our procedures. We hope that parents will therefore always feel able to express their opinions regarding our setting. Parents (visitors, staff and committee members) should also be aware of our confidentiality policy with regard to any communications involving the children and running of our Pre-school. On occasions parents will be asked to sign forms (held on file in the setting) relating to events, activities, incidents and/or procedures occurring during a session, such as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Initial registration form (including medical details) Permission for the use of photographic and/or video footage Permission and information relating to an outing Administration of medicines and Emergency Medical Treatment Accident and/or incident forms Complaints forms Child protection forms Collection of child log
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9 Absence/Sickness forms 10 Emergency Administration of Medical Attention 11 Terms and Conditions/Payment Policy The necessity to sign such forms will always be clearly explained by the Leader involved. All parents should feel able and comfortable to ask questions relating to any of the above. Activities Daily sessions at Offwell Under Fives are timetabled to incorporate both free and structured play activities, registration, story-time, show and tell time, outside play and snack time. All areas of the EYFS are delivered both indoors and outdoors (weather permitting). Long and short term planning is displayed on the Planning board showing how activities relate to the EYFS , differentiation, adult roles ,resources and then Next Steps to be followed. Tables are set up to incorporate different outcome based activities that are often linked to the topic for that week/term as well as having direct links to the EYFS. Whilst other areas such as the playhouse, play-mats, painting area and sand/water areas are organised for free play. The continuous provision covered each day include: craft; graphics; sensory; game/puzzle; construction; small world play; role play; sand/water; painting; book corner. Details of areas of the EYFS covered are either kept with that provision or on the planning board. Registration time encourages social skills to be developed in terms of contributing to large group discussions, listening to others and taking turns. The activities incorporated at this time of the day also include routine activities to cover mathematical development (counting the children and adults), knowledge and understanding of the world (weatherboard), communication, language and literacy (recognising
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their names). Outside play will cover all areas of the EYFS and in the event of inclement weather the children will engage in coordination and skill based physical development tasks indoors (this can range from active rhyme time, Dance and Movement and obstacle courses.) Snack time revolves around healthy eating and drinking but also allows for the development of independence and fine motor skills as the children are encouraged to make their own choices, peel fruit, spread their own toast and pour their own drinks (for example). There is always a jug of water ready for when the children get thirsty this is available at anytime during the session on the water table. Each fortnight the children select a book from the mobile library van to take home and share with their family. Regular plans are made for an outing (see policy) which is usually linked to the current topic i.e. a train ride to visit Exeter museum or a trip to the local garden centre. Ad hoc walks around the village are also made regularly to explore the local environment looking for Autumnal leaves or signs of Spring. Visitors (see policy) will also be invited in to give the children a wide experience and knowledge of a topic such as a visit from a dental hygienist, a local miniature Shire horse breeder (along with horse!), or the local Revd, Sue Houghton. In addition to the above, Offwell Under Fives annually holds a Christmas Nativity play, a Christmas party with visit from Santa, a Sports Day, Summer Day trip and Leavers Service(s). The children provide displays and artwork for the local churchs Christingle service and Harvest Festival, Offwells Flower Show, and other local community events.
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Times and Fees From January 2014, Offwell Under Fives will open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at Wilmington Village Hall, during term time only (in line with Offwell C of E Primary School dates) from 9am to 3pm and wednesdays 9am to 12 noon. If parents wish for their child to stay for lunch; lunch club is between 12.15 and 1pm. We ask parents to provide a packed lunch for their child. (There is no lunch club on a Wednesday). All children attending Offwell Under Fives Pre School the term after their third birthday are entitled to 15 hours for 38 weeks per year (up to a maximum of 570 hours) care which is funded by the Early Years Funding Scheme. This can be used to incorporate lunch club. For children who attend Offwell Under Fives from the age of 2 years 9 months until they are funded at the start of the term after their third birthday, or if you wish your child to attend for more than the 15 hours funded each week; you will be charged at a rate of 4.00 per hour. Please see Terms and Conditions for more details. Parents are invoiced once a term for the whole term, approximately 2 weeks from headcount week. If anyone has any difficulty in paying in full please speak to the pre-school leader and agreement can be reached. At the end of each session children will only be allowed to leave the premises with an adult who is known to the setting. Parents must inform the staff who is collecting their child and all details of contacts must be held on file at the setting. If an adult is collecting outside of the arrangements previously made with the Pre-school on a one-off basis, the parent/carer must complete a new Collection Form (see Collection log) or provide notice in written form (letter) or telephone call and details will be completed on a Collection Form accordingly by the staff (to be signed accordingly when adults collect). Please also see our policy on the late arrival or non-collection of a
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child.

Information to Parents Offwell Under Fives keeps an up all contact telephone numbers contacts and numbers should parents during a session. These any outings. to date register (in file at setting) of of parents as well as emergency there be a reason for contacting details are taken with the Leader on

Parents must ensure that changes to the above information are passed on to the Pre-school staff so that records can be updated. Each child has their own home-school book which is a two way communication medium whereby staff and parents alike can pass on information regarding the childs achievements, relationships with other children, current favourite activities, etc. This book will also be used to inform parents of library books currently on loan and any requests for items to be brought in to Pre-school such as flower pots for a particular activity, etc. The children have a Pre-school reading bag to help keep homeschool books and library books safe. Any communications from the staff or the Committee, such as reminders for donations for a draw or information regarding Committee meetings, etc., are also placed in the childs reading bag. A newsletter is produced approximately half termly to keep parents informed of money raised through various events, any forthcoming events and any other points of information. All parents/carers are asked to go on the parent helper rota, however this is voluntary and you will only be requested to cover the sessions that suit you. With this is mind you should make yourself familiar with the guidelines outlined regarding the role of parent
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helper (page 5).

Policies and Procedures Offwell Under Fives operates under the guidance of our policies which are agreed and reviewed by the Committee. Policies are written as a source of information for staff, parents and Committee members and they indicate the procedures that everyone at Offwell Under Fives must follow. Staff, parents and Committee members should ensure that they are familiar with the content of the policies and procedures in the separate policies and procedures file.

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