Parent helper rota

Come in and play! Research shows that children learn better when their parents are involved. So with this in mind, we have a  parent helper rota where all parents are invited to come is as a volunteer helper for one session each half term. This gives parents the opportunity to take part in the session,  see what happens and then discuss this with their child.

The parent helper rota also:

• allows parents to contribute their own skills, knowledge and interests to the activities of the setting.
• provides parents with the opportunity to experience a typical pre-school session.
• lets children show their parents and carers their “special place”.
• provides an extra pair of hands to help the staff whenever needed.
• ensures that our adult:child ratio is well above requirements.

We display the current rota in the pre-school lobby so please check this to see when your allocated session will be. If this date is inconvenient for you, please feel free to place your name in another slot or swap a session with a fellow parent. You could also allocate your session to another family member if it is more convenient for you.

Please note that due to Ofsted requirements and recommendations, parent helpers are regrettably unable to bring in a younger sibling of their pre-school child when volunteering in any of our sessions.

Committee

We are a registered charity run by a volunteer committee which is mostly made up of parents of children attending the Pre-School. The Committee works in conjunction with the pre-school staff to ensure the smooth running of the setting.  Amongst other things, the Committee is responsible for:

• Supporting the senior staff in managing the pre-school finances and personnel.
• Ensuring that the Pre-School meets the legal requirements and regulations of all statutory bodies that oversee early years education.
• Approving any major expenditure for pre-school improvements or upgrades.
• Fundraising.

We could not exist without the parent volunteers who are members of the Committee and we depend upon their goodwill and involvement with the Pre-School.  Each member brings different skills which are invaluable to the running of our Pre-School.  You don’t need any direct experience to make a difference and all parents are welcome to become involved.

The Committee is elected at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) which is held annually.  All parents are required to attend the AGM as not only are the Committee elected but it is also our forum for looking back over the previous year’s activities, informing parents of our financial status and our plans for the future.

If you would like to feel that you are putting something back into the community and volunteer for the Committee in any role, no matter how large or small, please see Our Committee page for more details.

Other ways you can help

If you think joining the committee is not for you, there are many other ways to become involved at Pre-School!

As well as the parent helper rota, we have regular parent helpers who volunteer their time for perhaps one session a week.   We have had many parent helpers in the past, some of these have even gone on to obtain their childcare qualifications!

Parent helpers are also vital to the success of our outings with the children into the local community.  We would not be able to give the children these experiences without your help.

If you have a particular talent or hobby, we would love you to come in and share it with the children or use it to the benefit of the Pre-School: