Barkham Pre-school
"Sharing, Caring and Having Fun!"
Sessions
Our Session Timings
We operate Tuesdays - Fridays term time only, offering hours of 9am - 12.45pm on Tuesday's, and a later finish of 2.30pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays for those that wish to stay for the afternoon extended session.
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We are registered for up to 24 children, aged 2 years to 5 years old.
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Our current fee per morning session is £24.75 and our whole day session is £36.30, which equates to £6.60 per hour (with 15 or 30 hours funding free from the term after your child turns 3 years, subject to Wokingham District council notification).
Fees are currently calculated per session and you will be charged each calendar month. Fees should be paid within 2 weeks of receipt of invoices. Childcare vouchers are accepted.
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If there are any difficulties in making payments, please speak to either the Treasurer or Supervisor. Arrangements can be made for weekly payments if necessary. We accept 2 year funding, 2 year old working families funding and universal free entitlement funding is available for the term after your child has turned 3 years old, subject to Wokingham Borough Council notification.
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Unfortunately we operate on a tight budget and are obliged to charge the usual fee if your child is absent for any reason. We hope you understand our policy, as our basic costs remain the same, regardless of the number of children attending a session. 1 full terms notice is required should you wish to withdraw your child from Barkham Preschool.
30 hour funding​
Currently we offer 20.50 hours a week, spread over 4 days. We are able to use 30 hour funding codes to cover the cost of these hours therefore with no addtional charge to yourself.
A typical session​
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9.00am: Children arrive and enter the small hall, where the children are encouraged to hang up their coats and bags on named pegs. The children then enjoy free play with the activities laid out for them in the big hall. These activities are taken from children's current interests.
Our spacious main hall allows us to have a huge variety of toys and equipment at the children’s disposal. A home corner, reading corner, drawing table, modelling table, and playdough are the staple activities plus a variety of other toys, which again rotate depending on the children's next steps and interests. We change the activities and toys in all the areas regularly, so there is always something new to discover. Outside is open for the children to free flow at their own choosing.
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9.30am: We all come together for registration. We say good morning to one another and we count how many children and grown ups are in setting that day. We also have our show and tell time. The children are encouraged to bring in a small item that relates to our theme or letter of the week. Each child who brings in an item then takes turns to stand up at the front and speak about the item they have brought in.
9.40 -10.30am: Rolling snack. All children wash their hands and take a seat in the small hall. All children are encouraged to join us for snack, even if they only want to have a drink. Parents are asked to provide their children with a healthy snack such a fruit, bread sticks, rice cake or non sweet popcorn etc.
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11.40am: All children are involved in the tidying up of the large hall, taking responsibility for where they have played and helping the staff and each other.
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11.50am: Once tidy up time is done we split into 2 groups. Our older children remain in the large hall have a story time followed by some comprehension questions relating to the story. This helps the children to begin to understand and absorb what is being read to them. The younger children go into the small hall and sing songs or say rhymes together. As well as it being a lot of fun, we find this invaluable to our children in building confidence, developing listening and communication skills and learning about rhythm and rhyme.
12-12.10pm: Everyone washes their hands and sit down for lunch (children bring their own packed lunch). Children sit at tables with a member of staff who discusses what they have done that morning, and talks about days of the week, seasons, weather, counting etc.
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12.30pm: Once the children have finished their lunch, it is back into the large hall for free flow play. Activities are refreshed from the morning and toys are changed if the children request so. The children leaving at 12.45pm get their belongings together and they are called once their parent arrives to collect them.
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12.45pm: Parents wait outside pre-school and the children are brought one by one to the door to be greeted by their parents.
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12.50pm: Free flow is continued through the large hall and garden.
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​2.00pm: All children help to tidy up the areas they have been playing in. We sing a song to help us keep it fun for the children.
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2.20pm: We use the end of the day for another story and to talk about what we've been doing at preschool and what have we learned. We encourage children to share their happy moments, and any sad moments they may have had. We reflect on them as a group and discuss how we can make them better. The afternoon children and also taken in small groups at this time to brush their teeth and collect their belongings from their peg.
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2.30pm: Parents arrive and the children are called one by one to the door where there parents are waiting.
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NB: On Wednesdays at 11am we have Katy from KD Music and Dance come in to pre-school to run Mini Movers sessions - these are charageable to parents and are not compulsory.
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