About our childcare and early education

Welcome to Gan Kinneret Nursery Limited and thank you for registering your child with us.

We know how important your child is and we aim to deliver the highest quality of education and care to help them achieve their best. This page provides an introduction to Gan Kinneret Nursery Limited, our routines, our approach to supporting your child’s learning and development, and how we work together with you to meet your child’s individual needs.

Please read this alongside our Childcare and Early Education Terms and Conditions for a full description of our services.

Our setting aims to:

• Provide high quality care and education for children.
• Work in partnership with parents to help children learn and develop.
• Add to the life and well-being of the local community.
• Offer children and their parents a service that promotes equality and values diversity.

Parents and carers

Parents and carers are regarded as members of our setting with full participatory rights. These include the right to be:

• Valued and respected.
• Kept informed.
• Consulted.
• Involved.
• Included at all levels.

Children’s development and learning

We aim to ensure that each child:

• Is in a safe and stimulating environment.
• Has a named key person who makes sure each child makes satisfying progress and is your link to our setting.
• Is given generous care and attention, because of our ratio of qualified staff to children and our volunteers.
• Has the chance to join in with other children and adults to live, play, work and learn together.
• Is helped to build on what they already know and can do.
• Is in a setting that sees parents and carers as partners in helping each child to learn and develop.
• Is in a setting in which parents and carers help to shape the service it offers.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Provision for the development and learning of children from birth to five years is guided by the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Our provision reflects the four overarching principles of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage:

1. A Unique Child

Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

2. Positive Relationships

Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.

3. Enabling Environments

Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, with teaching and support from adults who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between educators and parents and/or carers.

4. Learning and Development

Children develop and learn at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Areas of learning and development

Children start to learn about the world around them from the moment they are born. The care and education we offer helps children to continue to do this by providing interesting, age-appropriate activities.

The Areas of Learning and Development are:

Prime Areas

• Personal, social and emotional development
• Physical development
• Communication and language

Specific Areas

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

For each area, the expected level of progress by the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage is defined by the Early Learning Goals. These outline what children should know and be able to do by the end of the reception year.

We refer to non-statutory curriculum guidance to support our professional judgement when assessing each child’s progress as they move towards the Early Learning Goals. Our educational programmes are ambitious and tailored to meet every child’s needs.

Our educational programmes support children to develop:

Personal, social and emotional development

• Self-regulation
• Managing self
• Building relationships

Physical development

• Gross motor skills
• Fine motor skills

Communication and language

• Listening, attention and understanding
• Speaking

Literacy

• Comprehension
• Word reading
• Writing

Mathematics

• Number
• Numerical patterns

Understanding the world

• Past and present
• People, culture and communities
• The natural world

Expressive arts and design

• Creating with materials
• Being imaginative and expressive

Our approach to learning, development and assessment

Learning through play

Being active and playing supports young children’s learning and development through doing and talking. This is how children learn to think about and understand the world around them. We use the EYFS educational programmes to plan opportunities that help children make progress in all areas of learning.

Our programme includes a mix of child-initiated activities and educator-led activities.

Characteristics of effective learning

Children engage with other people and their environment through the characteristics of effective learning described in the EYFS as:

• Playing and exploring – engagement
• Active learning – motivation
• Creating and thinking critically – thinking

We observe how each child engages with learning and use this to plan experiences that keep them motivated and involved.

Assessment

We assess how children are learning and developing by observing them. We use the information from these observations to understand their progress and where this is leading them.

We believe that parents know their children best, so we will ask you to contribute to assessments by sharing information about what your child enjoys doing at home and how you are supporting their development.

We may make periodic assessment summaries based on our observations. These help build a picture of your child’s progress and form part of their record of achievement / learning journey. We complete these at regular intervals and at times of transition, such as moving groups or going on to school.

The progress check at age two

When a child is between 24 and 36 months, the EYFS requires us to provide parents with a short written summary of their child’s development in the three prime areas:

• Personal, social and emotional development
• Physical development
• Communication and language

Your child’s key person completes this check using everyday observations, taking into account your views and the contributions of other professionals, where appropriate.

Records of achievement / learning journeys

We keep a learning journey for each child. This helps us to celebrate their achievements and to plan what they need next for their well-being and progress.

Your child’s key person will work in partnership with you to maintain this record, gathering information about your child’s needs, interests, activities and achievements. Together we will identify your child’s progress and agree how to further support their learning and development.

Working together for your children

We maintain the adult:child ratios set by the Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements and may also have volunteer parent/carer helpers to complement these ratios. This helps us to:

• Give time and attention to each child.
• Talk with the children about their interests and activities.
• Help children experience and benefit from the activities we provide.
• Allow children to explore and be adventurous in safety.

Meet our staff team

The staff who work at our setting are:

Opening times and age range

We are open for 38 weeks each year and 5 days each week.

Session times:

• Monday to Thursday: 8:30am – 4:00pm
• Friday: 8:30am – 12:00pm

We provide care and education for young children between the ages of 9 months and 4 years.

How parents and carers take part

We recognise parents and carers as the first and most important educators of their children. Our staff see themselves as partners with parents in providing care and education.

There are many ways for parents and carers to take part in making our setting a welcoming and stimulating place for children and adults, such as:

• Exchanging knowledge about their children’s needs, activities, interests and progress with our staff.
• Contributing to the progress check at age two.
• Helping at sessions of the setting.
• Sharing their own special interests and skills with the children.
• Helping to provide and look after equipment and materials.
• Taking part in events and informal discussions about our activities and curriculum.
• Joining in community activities in which the setting takes part.
• Building friendships with other parents and carers in the setting.

Joining in

We operate a rota which parents and carers can join if they would like to help at particular sessions. Helping at a session enables you to see day-to-day life in the setting and to help the children get the best out of their activities.

Parents and carers can also offer to share their own interests and skills with the children during sessions.

Key person and your child

We use a key person approach. Each member of staff has a group of children for whom they are particularly responsible.

Your child’s key person will:

• Work with you to make sure the childcare and early education we provide meets your child’s needs and interests.
• Support your child to settle when they first start at the setting.
• Help your child to benefit fully from our activities throughout their time with us.

Learning opportunities for adults

As well as gaining relevant qualifications, our staff take part in regular training to stay up to date with best practice in early years care and education.

We are members of the Early Years Alliance and keep up to date through the Under 5 magazine, Alliance training on EYA Central and other publications. The current copy of Under 5 is available for you to read. We also occasionally hold learning events for parents and carers.

The setting’s timetable and routines

We believe that care and education are equally important in the experiences we offer. Our routines and activities are designed to:

• Help each child feel that they are a valued member of the setting.
• Ensure the safety of each child.
• Help children gain from the social experience of being part of a group.
• Provide opportunities to learn and develop a love of learning.

The day

We organise the day so that children can take part in a variety of child-chosen and adult-led activities. These take account of children’s changing energy levels and individual needs for rest and quiet time.

Outdoor activities contribute to all areas of learning and development, including children’s health, physical development and their knowledge of the world around them.

We offer full day care as well as options for sessional care.

Snacks and meals

Snacks and meals are social times where children and adults eat together. Our menus are planned to provide healthy and nutritious food.

Please tell us about your child’s dietary needs, particularly any known allergies or intolerances, and we will plan accordingly.

Clothing

We provide protective clothing for messy activities. We encourage children to become independent and look after themselves, for example by:

• Taking themselves to the toilet.
• Putting on and taking off outdoor clothes.

Clothing that is easy for children to manage will help them do this confidently.

Policies

Our staff are happy to explain our policies and procedures. Copies are available in our policy folder in the office and on our website.

Our policies help ensure we provide a high-quality service and that being a member of the setting is a positive experience for each child and their family. Staff and parents/carers work together to adopt the policies and take part in their annual review.

The review helps us ensure our policies continue to support a quality service for our members and the wider community.

Information we hold about you and your child

We have procedures for recording and sharing information about you and your child that comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018.

The data we collect is:

• Processed fairly, lawfully and transparently in relation to you and your family.
• Collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a way incompatible with those purposes.
• Adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary.
• Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.
• Kept in a form which permits identification for no longer than necessary.
• Processed in a way that ensures appropriate security, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage.

When you register your child with us, we provide a privacy notice with further details on how we meet our data protection obligations.

Safeguarding children

We have a duty under the law to help safeguard children against suspected or actual significant harm.

Our employment practices ensure that people looking after children are suitable for their role and help protect children against the likelihood of abuse in our setting. We also have clear procedures for managing complaints or allegations against staff.

Our way of working with children and parents means we are alert to any emerging problems and can offer support, including referral to appropriate agencies when necessary.

Special educational needs (SEN)

To make sure our provision meets the needs of each child, we take account of any special educational needs they may have and work to the requirements of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015).

Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCo) are Elaine Raphael and Alexandra Boacara.

The management of our setting

The setting is owned and governed by Dina Samson.

We have a parent/carer support group, made up of and elected by the parents of children who attend the setting. We share some of the tasks involved in managing the setting with this group.

Fees and funding

Our hourly fees are:

• Under 2s: £9.50 per hour
• Under 3s: £9.00 per hour
• Over 3s: £8.50 per hour

Fees are payable monthly in advance. Fees must still be paid if children are absent without notice for a brief period. If your child needs to be absent over an extended period, please speak to Lucy Samson, our Manager.

To keep your child’s place at our setting, fees must be paid. We are in receipt of nursery education funding for eligible two-, three- and four-year-olds. Where funding is not received, fees apply.

Starting at our setting

The first days

We want your child to feel happy and safe with us. To support this, our staff will work with you to decide how best to help your child settle into the setting.

Our policy on the role of the key person and settling-in is enclosed with our full information pack or is available from the office.

We hope that you and your child enjoy being members of Gan Kinneret Nursery and that you both find our activities interesting and stimulating. Our staff are always happy to talk with you about your ideas, views or any questions you may have.