Chesterton Playgroup

About Us: Aims

The staff plan a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the needs of each individual child. Activities relate to topics that are planned to cover the seven areas of learning. Through play we will help to stimulate the needs and skills of the children. For the older children who are due to attend school the next September they are encouraged to work either individually or in groups on a daily basis on their phonics, name writing, numbers, colour and shapes.

Seven areas of learning

Prime Areas:
Personal, Social and Emotional development: Making relationships, self-confidence and self-awareness, managing feelings and behaviour.
Communication and Language: Listening and Attention, Understanding , Speaking.
Physical development: moving and handling, health and self-care.

Specific Areas:
Mathematics: Numbers, shape, space and measure.
Literacy: Reading, Writing.
Understanding of the world: People and communities, the world, technology.
Expressive arts and design: Exploring and using media and materials, being imaginative.

Child Ratios
We maintain high adult:child ratios at all times. At each session we have no more than 21 children in a session.

Adult to child ratio:
Age 2-3 years old -1 adult to 5 children
3 and 4 year olds - 1 adult to 8 children

Our Aims

To provide a happy, safe and secure environment for the children. To foster a sound education in the seven areas of learning, through planned activities and play.
To build on what the children already know and can do. To encourage positive attitudes and to value themselves.
To ensure provision that supports and extends Knowledge, Skills, Understanding and Confidence and helps them to overcome any disadvantages.
Build positive relationships with parents and work effectively with them and their children.
To provide well planned, purposeful activities, stimulating experiences and an organised learning environment.

Key Person Approach
When starting Playgroup your child is allocated a Key person (one of the members of staff) whose role is to maintain contact with you and build a positive relationship with your child, enabling them to feel secure at playgroup. The key person also puts together your child's 'learning journey' (a snap shot of their learning and development consisting of observations, photographs and examples of their artwork and mark making) alongside linking with parents through settling in, focus weeks and meetings, this enables individual needs to be met. The children are assessed against developmental milestones when they begin attending and at the end of each term (Dec, April and June-July).

The key person liaises with families and together records are completed.
All records are confidential and can only be accessed by staff and parents/carers. When the child leaves playgroup for nursery, another playgroup or school, these records are passed on to the setting the child will be attending.

Vision and Ethos

Chesterton Playgroup The Village Hall Alchester Road Chesterton Oxfordshire OX26 1UN
Contact Details	Julia Shillito and Claire Hall 01869 360593 (Playgroup Manager Team) General e-mail contact admin@chestertonplaygroup.org.uk