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THE VILLAGE NURSERY OUT OF SCHOOL CLUB |
BACKGROUND Mission Statement The Village Nursery OOSC is committed to working in partnership with parents and carers to provide safe, stimulating, educational and enjoyable childcare for all children who attend. We aim to help parents to balance work commitments and family life by providing convenient, affordable and high quality before and after school care during school term time. Background The Out of School Club has been providing care for children from Primary 1 up to Primary 7 for the last 15 years, operating from the New Church Hall. The Club is basically a non-profit making service. We are currently registered for 26 children and are regulated by the Care Commission. We are open Monday to Friday, term time only. We offer a holiday club for parent/carers who require wrap around care. Club Operating times The club is open Monday to Friday during school term times. The club is open to children from Primary 1 up to Primary 7. The Breakfast Club operates from the Village Nursery, St Andrews Cottage, Lower Green and children are taken up to school for 9am. All of the staff work in both settings. The OOSC operates from The New Church hall and children are collected at 3.15 pm inside the gate at the entrance to West Linton Primary School. Primary 1 children are collected by a member of staff, from the back entrance of the school. Staff walk children down to the New Church Hall. Our aim is to offer high quality care, in a caring family atmosphere which is safe and well supervised. The children are encouraged to become involved in the running of the club and to participate in planning. This makes all children feel valued, repected and engaged in their club. The environment provides opportunities for self motivated learning. The OOSC promotes equal opportunities for all. We work in partnership with parents/carers, improving the service with their needs in mind. We value any ideas or contributions made. SNACK We aim to provide a variety of healthy food from all the main food groups - a mixture of carbohydrates, protein, fruit and vegetables. In the afternoon we provide a snack to keep the children going until they get home, but it is not a full meal. Healthy drinks and snacks are provided for children. The menu is changed weekly, and the children decide what they would like to have for snack the following week. The menu is displayed on the OOSC notice board A selection from the following items: Toast(white or wholemeal)/ crumpets/pitta bread/crackers/wraps/naan bread Popcorn Pasta Rice(Stir fry/Indian) Fresh fruit/vegetables/dried fruit Dips/hummous Cheese/Ham Biscuits Homebaking Activities We offer a varied programme of activities including: Arts & Crafts Table Baking table Construction activities Indoor/Outdoor physical play - football, skipping ropes, rollerblades, trips to the local park Remote Controlled Cars Board Games Quiet Corner DVD's and Computer games STAFF We are fortunate to have an excellent, highly experienced and committed team of staff. They are well qualified in childcare, and are committed to professional development as they attend training courses, and continue to gain qualifications. Currently we are working on attaining the OOSC 'Aiming High' quality assurance accreditation. We have Investors In People recognition. Pauline MacFarlane (Manager) Pauline has been with the OOSC since 1998, having previously worked as a childminder, and with SBC as an assessor for students training to SVQ Level 2/3. Pauline is qualified to Level 4 CCLD in Management. Pauline works at the OOSC and Nursery Monday to Thursday and knows the children well. Pauline enjoys running, reading and walking her dog in the hills close to where she lives. Practitioners: Donna Charters Donna has been with the OOSC since 2002. Donna has completed her NNEB in Childcare and Education. Donna is technologically competent with great experience of computers and associated devices eg. printers, cameras, video etc Donna is a whizz in the kitchen and great at ' multi-tasking'. Mhairi Charters Mhairi is Donnas daughter and joined us in 2009. Mhairi is currently training at Stevenson College, and works 4 afternoons at the OOSC. She is patient and understanding and an asset to the OOSC team. Armida MacRae Armida has been working at the OOSC since 1998 and is qualified to Level 3 in Childcare and Education. Armida is a very organised and reliable member of staff and works 3 afternoons at the OOSC. Armida enjoys cooking, art, travelling and walking her two dogs Jack and Skip. The OOSC staff will make careful observations and respond to childrens comments, questions and requests. They will talk with the children, sharing views and suggestions, planning and preparing activities based on interests, abilities and needs. ADMISSIONS POLICY Application forms must be completed before booking your child into the club. Parents are asked to complete a consent form in order that their child may be shown films, have their photograph or video taken etc. Places are allocated in line with our admissions policy. If there is a greater demand for places than those available, a waiting list will be operated. We are registered for 26 children every day after school. generally Friday tends to be the quieter day at the club. Admission policy: Our admission policy gives priority for places in the following order: 1.Current full-time attendees 2.Siblings of those already attending the club wanting full-time places. 3.New full time places. 4.Current regular part-time places determined by number of places required. 5.Length of time on the waiting list. 6.Occasional bookings. Booking arrangements Before you can book a place at the club you must register your child by completing an application form and permission forms. Subject to availability, you can also book extra/occasional /one-off sessions. this must be done by contacting the club and speaking to a member of staff who will confirm if a place is available for that session. If you request an occasional or extra session and then do not use it you will still be expected to pay for it. Ideally payment for extra/ocassional sessions should be made at the time of booking or at the very latest when your child attends the session. Giving notice: If you no longer require a place for your child you must give two weeks notice in writing and fees will be payable during this notice period whether or not your child still attends. Fees and payment You will be invoiced monthly in advance for the sessions you have booked for your child and payment is due within 14 days. Cheques should be made payable to " The Village Nursery Ltd ". If invoices are not settled on time , the club reserves the right to refuse to admit your child. It is very important that children are collected on time, if a child is not collected by 6pm, staff will call your local contact numbers. For regular and unexplained late collection there is a penalty charge of £3 per 5 minutes after 6pm. We are not insured beyond 6pm, and the premises are not available to us. Complaints We hope that you will be happy with the service that we provide. However, should you wish to make a complaint, a copy of our complaints policy is displayed on the club notice board. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Policies include admission, emergency, medication/accidents and incidents policy, behaviour policy, child protection policy, children's participation policy, complaints policy, confidentiality policy, equal opportunities policy, staff recruitment and vetting policy, partnership with parents policy, first aid, health and safety, collection, whistle blowing policy. MEDICATION Written permission is necessary before we can administer any medication. Information about allergies and health needs are necessary, for easy reference by all staff, so that mistakes are not made about food intolerances. We are required to inform our insurance provider of any children who require inhalers, epipens etc. If your child becomes ill during a club session, every attempt will be made to contact one of the people listed on the application form to arrange for them to be collected and your child wil be cared for until someone collects them. In the case of a minor accident, basic First Aid will be administered. in the case of an accident requiring more than basic First aid, every attempt will be made to contact you to discuss the course of action to be taken. all accidents and emergencies are entered in the Accident/Incident book. All staff are trained in first aid and food hygiene. Children are well protected from abuse because staff have a good understanding of their role in child protection, and are able to put appropriate procedures into practice when necessary. STAYING SAFE Children are supervised by staff at all times during club hours, until they are collected by you or a named substitute. A door bell and intercom alert staff of who is waiting at the door, and the door is released to them. We will not hand your child over to someone who is not known to us (even if they are a relative). Please inform us of any changes to your collection arrangements. The ratios of staff to children complies with Care Commission regulations. You must give written permission if you wish a child to go home or to another location unaccompanied. Your child is welcome to join another after school activity, however, we cannot pick children up. You must arrange for them to be dropped off at the New Church Hall and the OOSC Manager should be told what time to expect them to arrive back. In such cases, the full session will be charged as we have to staff the whole session even though your child only attends the latter part. FIRE ALARM When the whistle blows everyone must stop and listen, there may be a fire or an emergency. CLUB RULES These rules were developed with input and ideas from the children. n Be kind to each other n Behave towards others as you would like them to behave towards you n Take turns and share, the equipment is for everyone n Shouting, rudeness and fighting is not acceptable and is not kind n Keep your hands and feet to yourself n Show respect for the OOSC equipment, it is not easy to replace things If children do break the rules, staff use a 3 step approach to behaviour management. Step 1. Children are given a verbal warning Step 2. Children are moved to a time out area and excluded from play Step 3. Parents will be informed. CONTACT DETAILS Venue: The New Church Hall, West Linton, Peeblesshire NB Please do not send post to this address. Address for correspondence: The Village Nursery OOSC, c/o St Andrews Cottage, Lower Green, West Linton, Peebleshire, EH46 7EW Telephone: 01968 661015 Email: thevillagenursery@westlinton.com Care Commission Registration Number: CSN2003009462 |