Who is responsible?
St Thomas’ Preschool is administered by the preschool committee and supported by St Thomas’ Church. We are regularly inspected by OFSTED and a copy of our latest report is available in the setting.
What do we do?
The preschool is run by a qualified teacher who specialises in early years education. Along with the supervisor are a number of other staff who aid in the teaching and supervision of the children.
The preschool offers a safe, caring environment for children of all backgrounds and cultural upbringing. Through structured play we aim to prepare the children for full time education by giving them the best possible start to their early years development. To achieve this we use activities that are not only educational but most importantly teach the value of friendship, caring for one another and good manners.
Activities are varied and combine a mix of creativity, role-play, listening, basic literacty and numeracy, exploratory play using sand, water, clay and other materials. We also use equipment and activities to aid the physical development and the children are encouraged to climb, slide and jump both in the indoor setting and the outside play area.
We have recently developed a garden area where the children help with planting, watering and harvesting.
Parents also have an important part to play in the running of the preschool. Not only do they have representatives on the committee who run the setting but they are also asked to take part in a rota scheme that sees them work alongside staff. This is usually on a half-termly basis depending on the number of sessions their child attends. We feel this not only helps us to run effectively but also gives parents ownership of the preschool as they have a valuable input into the sessions.
