Typical Session

Our sessions are structured and centred around child-led activities in a warm and welcoming environment, all designed to help the children in their development of intellectual, physical and social skills. To the children however, they’re just great fun!

Arriving

On arriving at the playgroup at 9.15am (9am on a Thursday), you can help your child hang up their coat and bag on their designated peg and be welcomed by a member of staff. Once your child has been registered and found their name on the board, they can go into the main room for free play. Each day we put out a different selection of toys and activities which are designed to entertain and stimulate the children, including puzzles, crafts, dressing up, role play, modelling dough to name but a few. This free play helps the children to settle in and feel at ease.

Show and Tell

At 9.30am we have ‘Show and Tell’ which is a favourite amongst the children. This takes place in the Quiet Room and here your child has the opportunity to show the others something they have brought from home which normally relates to the week’s topic. This encourages the children to talk and listen, as well as promoting general conversation at the playgroup and at home.

Snacktime

At 10.15am, the children sit together with the staff and enjoy a healthy snack and a drink of milk or water. Examples of the snack include fruit, vegetable sticks, yogurt, breadsticks, crackers.

Our Garden

We are fortunate to have a fantastic outdoor space at the pre-school consisting of a large garden with fruit trees, a winding path to run around and an area for our own home grown vegetables, as well as a large tarmac area where the children can play inside the play house as well as playing with the sand table and painting. The children need no encouragement to play outdoors and we are very proud of this space.

Going Home

Towards the end of the session, the children enjoy ’story time’ as well as singing and they then assemble at 12.15pm (12.00pm on a Thursday) and wait to be collected. If your child has signed up for the all day session on a Thursday, they will eat their packed lunches at lunchtime and enjoy more play and craft activities until they are collected at 3pm.

Out and About
Throughout the term we enjoy mornings where we go ‘out and about’ in Ilkley. You will be informed when these mornings are, and parents are welcome to come too (we do stipulate a certain child/adult ratio). Recent trips have included the library (pictured below), park, Toy Museum, Manor House, the Bandstand and are very much enjoyed by the children and adults alike.

Last term before school

During the last term before your child starts school in the September, the session becomes more structured and focused to ensure a smooth and comfortable transition from pre-school to ‘Big School’.

Parental Duties
We do ask that during the term, you, or your child’s carer, ’stay and play’ for occasional sessions. This means that you stay for the session to help out and play. Most parents enjoy doing this as it gives them a chance to see first hand their child at play, as well as getting to know the staff and other parents better. The number of times you are asked to stay depends on how many sessions a week your child is attending. For example, if your child attends three sessions per week, you will normally be asked to do three ’stay and play’ duties per half-term. Please note that if you have a new baby you won’t be asked to join the stay and play rota until your baby is six months old, and all younger siblings are welcome to come too!

We do hope that this has given you a flavour of a typical session. For more information, please call 07754 793644.