News and Info
Pre-school AGM – Wednesday 17th November 2021 via Zoom
Bradpole Pre-school are inviting all parents, grandparents and carers to their AGM which will take place on Wednesday 17th November 2021 via Zoom (time to be confirmed).
An invite link will be made available here nearer the time.
We look forward to seeing you.
September 2021 Newsletter
Read our latest newsletter (September 2021) here.
Job Opportunities at Bradpole Pre-school
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Bradpole Pre-school are recruiting for the following positions:
Pre-school Practitioner – closing date Friday 19 March 2021
Apprentice Pre-school Practitioner – closing date Thursday 1 April 2021
Further information and how to apply is detailed below. If you wish to have an informal chat about either position, please contact the Pre-school Leader Kathryn Cosser on 01308 456668.
Pre-school Practitioner
Bradpole Preschool require an Early Years Practitioner. The applicant for this position should ideally already have an NVQ Level 2 or 3 in Early Years Childcare (or equivalent) and be committed to a long term role within the setting and be prepared to take on additional responsibilities as required.
The right person for this role will have a flexible, friendly attitude, the ability to work well with our established team of practitioners and be able to develop good relationships with children and parents. Attitude and approach are very important and all candidates should be willing to undertake additional training but training to Level 3 standard is a must for those who don’t already have that qualification. The pre-school will arrange and pay for this training if required.
The hours of work can be flexible to suit the right candidate with a minimum of 25 hours to a maximum of 37 hours per week. Ideally, we would like the position to start from Monday 19 April 2021 although we would consider a later start date for the right candidate.
The rate of pay will depend on age and qualifications.
The position is subject to a full DBS check and employment can only start once we have received confirmation back from the Disclosure and Baring Service. Identity checks and two references will also be required, one of which must be from a previous employer.
To apply for this position, please email Bradpole Pre-school for an application form at:
Closing date for applications: Friday 19 March 2021
Apprentice Pre-school Practitioner
Bradpole Preschool also require an Early Years Apprentice Practitioner from September 2021.
The right person for this role will have a flexible, friendly attitude, the ability to work well with our established team of practitioners and be able to develop good relationships with children and parents.
Attitude and approach are very important and ideally the applicant will have GCSE Maths and English at Level 4 or above and be willing to progress through further training to obtain an NVQ in Early Years Childcare. The length of the position will last the length of time it takes for the applicant to complete their childcare qualification (usually 1-2 years). We are unable to guarantee a permanent position at the end of the training as this will depend on the staffing levels required at the time.
The hours of work will be Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 8.45am-3.30pm and Thursday and Friday 8.45am-5.00pm. Four days each week will be worked within the pre-school environment and one day per week will be day release to the training provider to work towards the NVQ Early Years Childcare qualification. The pre-school can provide assistance in arranging a training provider if this is not already in place as we are in touch with Yeovil College and a bus runs from Colfox Academy three days a week.
The pay rates for apprentices from April 2021 will be:
£4.30 for under 19’s or those in their first year of apprenticeship. Once fully trained this rises to:
£4.62 for 16-17 year olds
£6.56 for 18-20 year olds
£8.36 for 21-22 year olds
The position is subject to a full DBS check and the placement can only start once we have received confirmation back from the Disclosure and Baring Service.
To apply for this position, please email Bradpole Pre-school for an application form at:
Closing date for applications: Thursday 1 April 2021
Christmas Fundraising for our Preschool
3 ways to help us raise funds this Christmas:
1. Enter our Christmas Drawing Competition
Let’s get creative this Christmas. What a great excuse to get creative and crafty with the children. The only requirement of the competition is that the artwork is Christmassy!
The children’s artworks will be displayed and on the last week of term, they will get to decide the winner.
The winner will receive a generously donated gift voucher worth £20 by Groves Nurseries & Garden Centre. It’s the perfect place to get your little ones into growing their own in time for Spring or to let them pick out some gorgeous Christmas decorations. They even sell lovely books, puzzles, and board games.
The competition is open to all children and if you don’t attend the pre-school please send your entry via email to siannepagesmith@gmail.com or pop it in the post.
Please make sure all entries are taken to Bradpole Pre-School before 14th December. And don’t forget to write your child’s name and contact number on the back. Entries in before 14th December • £2 donation to: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/bradpole-pre-school
2. The Family Christmas Window Trail around Bradpole
In the week leading up to Christmas (18th-24th), you can go along our magical trail searching for the 12 days of Christmas windows. Go out for a lovely festive stroll around Bradpole with the children and spot the 12 beautifully decorated windows that are listed on our map.
At the end of the trial, at window number 12, each child gets to have a go at our lucky dip box which contains some lovely gifts.
Don’t forget to take your flasks of hot chocolate with you. Get a friend to donate too and have a lovely Christmassy time, you never know it might become your new tradition. Don’t forget the rule of 6 🙂
Just make a donation of £5 per family and then email Helen at weedenh@btinternet.com and she’ll send you the map.
Friday 18th – Thursday 24th December 2020 • £5 donation per family to: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/bradpole-pre-school
3. Our Christmas Prize Draw
Get your tickets here to our incredible Prize Draw. This is one not to be missed, there are so many amazing prizes donated generously by local businesses and parents of the school that you’re in with a great chance of winning something.
The prize draw will take place on Friday 18th December and tickets can be purchased at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/bradpole-pre-school-prize-draw-2020
New School Place Applications
Children eligible to start school for the first time in September 2021 must apply for a school place through the local authority. The closing date for on time applications is 15th January 2021.
Use the link below for further information and to apply:
AGM 2020
If anyone was unable to attend the AGM but would like to become a committee member (fundraiser), please do let us know by speaking to a member of staff.
Newsletter – September 2020
Our September 2020 Newsletter can be found using the link below:
Parents Calendar 2020-21
Return to Pre-school Parents Information Letter
Leavers Questionnaire Results 2019-20
Dear Parents,
Thank you very much to everyone who took the time to fill in our parent questionnaire and for the positive and helpful responses.
From the results of the questionnaire and after consultation with staff on how we can improve our current practice and the services we offer, we will be implementing the following changes in September or when possible.
- We are planning on changing the kitchen layout to include a cooker so children can be involved in more cooking activities and make their own lunches more often.
- Keep to the green and red keyperson teams so every child always has a keyperson on every session.
- New starters will continue to have several taster sessions, and one first session just for them to find pegs, drawers and to become familiar with the environment before the other children return.
- We will continue with staggered drop off and pick up times as this has worked well and most parents mentioned how well this works and that children settled very well, and they had more time to speak to keypersons.
Most parents praised the feedback and support they received from their keyperson team, however a couple of parents wished for more informal feedback on their children’s progress, one suggested Tapestry but this was looked into before and most parents preferred the hard copy of a learning journey. Please talk to your individual key persons if you would like more information or feedback of any kind, it should be a two way relationship, built up over time, as all parents are different and like different types of feedback, we need to get to know what each family requires. One parent expressed the need for more balanced feedback to reflect the positives, not just the negatives and that they did not know who to make a complaint to or raise a concern with. We do always try to do this, so are sorry in this instance it did not seem so. If you have any difficulties that you cannot bring up with your keyperson please contact the Pre-school Leader Kathryn. If you then still have concerns contact the Chair of the Pre-school, if your concerns are then not answered, contact Ofsted. All numbers are located on our website and parent notice board and in our policies on the website page.
Most parents praised the excellent partnership working between keypersons and with parents. Many parents were pleased with the information on the parent’s website and Facebook page, and would like to receive information by email, one parent would prefer that toast was not offered at snack times, but we sometimes do this when we know children have had an early breakfast or refused breakfast at home that day. The weekly snack is listed in the newsletters and on the face book page, and the parent’s notice board.
Somebody suggested having a Special Needs Coordinator. Sally has always been our coordinator or SENCO and Naomi is our Deputy SENCO. If a child has additional needs, they put together an individual plan for them and coordinate with outside agencies for additional support.
One parent suggested the use of themes to plan activities round. This is more for the national curriculum in primary schools, as it is adult led. Early Years should be child initiated activities, planned from our observations of the children’s interests the week before.
Most parents were very happy and positive about their children’s Early Years’ experience and we thank you for all your lovely comments. Lots of parents commented on the lovely atmosphere and the very clean well-presented environment, and excellent use of the space and facilities on offer.
Once again thank you for your support.
Kathryn Cosser
Pre-school Leader