Useful Information

In the event of bad weather conditions we will be closed if Colfox School is closed. You can check this on our news page, our Facebook page or Colfox School’s website.

If your child is unwell please phone the Preschool to let us know they will not be attending that day.

Please do not send your child in if they are unwell. If they need Calpol or other medication then they are not well enough to attend. Children can easily become upset and distressed at pre-school if they are unwell and infections spread rapidly through small children. Children should not be brought in until 48 hours after the last bout of illness, please see our health and safety policy and also the health protection guidance on infection control in schools and other child care settings which is displayed on our notice board. If you are in any doubt please phone the pre-school and ask for advice.

• We are open from 8am-4pm Monday to Friday
• We will be closed for school holidays and bank holidays.
• Morning Session is 8:45am to 11:45am
• Breakfast Club 8:00 am to 8:45am and After School Club 3:15pm to 4:00pm
• Lunch Club is 11:45am to 12:45pm
• Afternoon Sessions are from 12:45pm to 3:15pm
• We try to be flexible for parents work commitments so you can book Breakfast Club for 8am, 8.15am or 8:30am and Afterschool Club, 3:15pm, 3.30pm 3:45pm or 4pm.
• We currently run at £6.50 per hour

We run two sessions each day, along with breakfast, lunch, and after-school clubs, and we aim to be as flexible as possible to support parents’ work commitments. We charge £6.50 per non-funded hour (see government funding information in the following paragraph).

Fees are invoiced in advance at the start of each half term and are emailed to the lead email address provided on your child’s registration form. All fees must be paid in advance.

If you are experiencing difficulty paying your fees, please speak to Kat (Preschool Leader) or Lauren (Preschool Administrator) as soon as possible, as we may be able to offer support in certain circumstances. Please do not allow fees to accumulate. You may choose to pay weekly, monthly, or half-termly, but all fees must be settled in full by the end of each half term.

Payments can be made in cash or via bank transfer. Please note that fees remain payable if your child is absent.

Fees are still payable if your child is absent.

We are currently registered to take some child care vouchers: Co-operative scheme, Care-4, Computer Share and Eden Red, if you are registered with someone other than these listed please speak to Lauren who will arrange registration with the new company. Invoices are emailed to the primary registered email address.

Snacks

We ask for a 25p per session donation towards snacks, this is a voluntary contribution.

As a non-profit, the 25 pence per session is simply to help towards the cost of the snacks, which in turn helps us to keep our hourly rate as low as we can. You are always free to opt out of the snack contributions.

Bradpole Preschool is a registered charity and relies on the Early Education Funding, as well as the fees charged to parents to cover the costs of providing Early Years Care and Education. The preschool’s fees are set out in the welcome booklet; parents will always be informed in writing of any proposed increases. Our current (2025) rate is £6.50 per hour. The preschool offers a flexible payment system for parents with differing needs. Payment may be made weekly, monthly or every half term. The preschool may sometimes offer help to families in cases of financial hardship. If a parent has difficulties in paying fees, they should speak to either the preschool leader or administrator as early as possible to obtain help or advice.

Every child is entitled to 15 hours of free preschool education per week, from the term following the child’s third birthday. The preschool is registered to receive the Universal 15-hour free child care which covers 38 weeks of the year. This can be made up of sessions, full days, breakfast, lunch and afterschool clubs with a maximum of 8 hours to be taken in one day at our setting as funded hours, (with standard allowance of 10 funded hours in one day.)

From September 2025 the government have increased the free childcare, for working parents, from 15 to 30 hours a week, for up to 38 weeks of the year. This offer of additional funded hours will only be available to families who meet certain criteria which includes all parents living in the household working. For one parent families, the parent must be working. In two parent families, both parents must be working and earning approximately £195.36 per week depending on their age.  Read more about 30 hours free childcare here: https://www.gov.uk/free-childcare-if-working/check-youre-eligible

These free hours can be used at registered childcare setting that can offer free early education places, including:

• Preschools
• Day Nurseries
• Childminders
• Out of school clubs

Parents can take their government funding with a mixture of mornings or afternoons or a full day. They can also include lunch club, breakfast or after school clubs in their free entitlement, however, the maximum hours they may take in one day for funding is 10 hours. (8 hours with our setting as we are open from 8am to 4pm)

Children have access to filtered water at all times during their day at Pre-school, you do not need to provide your child with a drink.

Snack – children will be offered a snack during each session. They are offered a choice of milk or water to drink and we try to encourage children to try lots of different things: toast, cheese and biscuits, dips and vegetables, fruit, yogurt, cereals, sandwiches and wraps. The children are also encouraged to pour their own drinks and to spread their own toast and sandwiches etc.  We use snack and meal times as part of our curriculum to try new foods and to sit down socially to eat together.

Lunch Club – we provide all children with a Healthy Eating Booklet from the Government which explains the guidelines. Please do not give your child high sugar foods or sweets, we will provide a drink of water, we request that children do not bring in their own drinks. We try to make sure that children eat their savoury items before anything else. Please only send your child with the amount of food they would normally eat; a child’s portion is about the amount that a child can hold in their hand.

The Eat Well NHS Is a useful website that shows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group to achieve a healthy balanced diet. You do not need to achieve this balance at every meal, but try to get the balance right over a day or week. Fruit and vegetables should make up a third of what we eat a day, aim for at least 5 portions a day. You can find out more at phe.enquiries@phe.gov.uk

Try to include:

• A portion (one item) of starchy food like bread, rice, pasta, oat cakes, crisp breads, tortilla wraps and muffins etc.
• A portion (one item) of dairy like cheese, yogurt or fromage fraise.
• A portion (one item) of food which is a source of protein like meat, fish, eggs, pulses and beans, (please chop sausages lengthways or into small pieces to prevent choking).
• A portion (one item) of fruit like tomatoes, apple, banana, orange, grapes, strawberries, plums, dried fruit or tinned fruit in juice. Please can grapes be cut in half lengthways to prevent choking.
• A portion (one item) of vegetables like cucumber, carrots, peppers.

Parents/carers are advised that in hot weather it is advisable to include a frozen yogurt or a frozen ice pack to keep the lunch box cool. Please try to provide containers and lunch boxes that you child can open as this promotes independence.