About Us
Pickering Pre-school Playgroup was established in 1965. We are members of the Early Years Alliance and are registered with Ofsted, North Yorkshire County Council and the Charities Commission. We are led by a Committee under the current Constitution of the Early Years Alliance.
Sessions are currently:
Monday 9 - 3
Tuesday 9 - 12
Wednesday 9 - 12
Thursday 9 - 12
Friday 9 - 3
Sessions are charged at £12.00 for a 3 hour session.
Stay and Play sessions for babies and toddlers on Wednesday afternoon, 1.30 to 3.00pm.
Children are welcome to bring a packed lunch and stay over the lunch hour, staying from 9 to 3. We can also pick up and drop off at nursery if you want to pay for a before or after nursery session.
We are registered for Free Entitlement for children from the ‘term’ following their third birthday. (1st September to 31st December; 1st January to 31st March; 1st April to 31st August). So if your child becomes 3 years old in February, for example, their entitlement begins in the Summer Term. We are also registered for free entitlement sessions for two-year-olds, whose parents meet the County Criteria for entitlement. (See Early Education Funding page).
Children can attend from two years of age, and you are welcome to stay and play for a while if you feel this would help your child settle, although many parents feel that their child settles better when they are not there. Children are only toileted by staff who have been cleared by the Disclosure and Barring Service, (DBS) parent helpers cannot do this unless they hold a valid DBS certificate. Children are welcome from villages and towns other than Pickering.
The Manager is Heather Hattersley who holds Early Years Teacher Status, Paediatric First Aid, Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene, Prevent Training, Level 3 Child Protection, Level 3 award in supporting children and young peoples speech,language and communication.
Pre-school Assistant, Toni Pape-Hodgson holds Level 3 Early Years Educator, Paediatric First Aid, Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene, Prevent Training, Basic Awareness of Child Protection.
Pre-school Assistant, Catherine Herdman holds Level 3 Early Years Educator, Paediatric First Aid, Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene, Prevent Training, Basic Awareness of Child Protection.
Pre-school Assistant, Ruth Freibach holds Level 3 Teaching Assistant, Paediatric First Aid, Prevent Training, Basic Awareness of Child Protection.
Play Assistant Joanne Warrener holds Level 2 Childcare, Prevent Training, Paedriatric First Aid, Basic Awareness of Child Protection.
Deputy Manager, Helen Pashby holds Level 3 Early Years Childcare, Paediatric First Aid, Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene, Makaton Training, Prevent Training, Level 3 Child Protection.
All staff update hold DBS certificates, and have Child Safeguarding, Food Hygiene and Paediatric First Aid training regularly and also do additional Continuous Professional Development training throughout the year.
Our Ofsted inspection in 2018 graded us as ‘Good’ in all areas.
Key Person
We operate a Key Person system; this is a statutory requirement of the Early Years Foundation Stage Guidelines. It means that children have a special person in the group with whom they can build a trusting relationship. Your Key Person will be responsible for planning for your child's next steps in learning, and assisting the Manager with their assessments and report-writing. She will be your first point of contact to share information about your child and will work with you to support your child to settle and support their learning. You are welcome to stay with your child until you feel comfortable to leave them with their Key Person. Parents are also welcome to arrange a "Stay and Chat" with their Key Person to discuss and plan their child's next steps in learning and look at their child's Learning File.
To register for a place for your child, please download a form from this site or call in for a copy. You are welcome to call by and see the group 'in action' with your child, but please make an appointment to do this as it may not be convenient - we may have other visitors at the same time so will not be in a position to give you the time we would like to.
Please ensure that the information you provide on your registration form is kept up to date, especially your contact numbers; we may need them quickly one day. Tell your Key Person if any of the information changes.
Things to bring
You are welcome to bring in a named bottle of water for your child, in order that they can access a drink when they need it. (Children are given a snack mid-way through the session. This is generally milk or water and fruit and raw vegetables.) If your child is staying for lunch, you will need to provide them with a named packed lunch.
Please provide a change of clothes for your child in a named bag, which will go on their peg when you arrive. If your child is in nappies, please bring some spare nappies and wipes in the named bag.
The Committee
The Committee is made up of Parents and Carers and other Friends of Pickering Preschool Playgroup. They meet regularly to discuss fundraising and social activities and are also responsible for employing the staff, dealing with finances and other decision-making. We cannot run without a committee. As we are a not-for-profit charity, we rely heavily on fundraising to help buy equipment and resources.
Committee Officers (Chair, Secretary and Treasurer) are elected each year at the AGM; all parents and carers are eligible to be nominated. We are always on the lookout for new Committee members and new ideas, so please don't be bashful about coming forward to help!
Absences/Illness
Please contact us by telephone as soon as possible if your child will be absent or if you are going to be late. This is especially important if you are going to be late collecting your child.
We ask that you keep your child home for a minimum of 48 hours after their last 'incident' of sickness or diarrhoea. They should also be eating, drinking and going to the toilet normally and in no residual discomfort from their illness. We do rely on Parents' honesty with this; illness spreads very rapidly between children in close proximity when toys are being shared.
If your child becomes ill during the session, we will contact you immediately on your first contact number, and then use your other contact numbers if you cannot be reached.
Medicine
If your child is poorly, they are really better off in their own home. We do appreciate, however, that sometimes they are recovered sufficiently to be at preschool, whilst continuing a course of antibiotics.
We can give medicine to your child, provided that it -
Other information
We may occasionally ask for Parent helpers at sessions if we have staff absent for training or because of illness. Please let us know if you may be available to help in this way sometimes.
Preschool T-shirts and sweatshirts are available, but not compulsory. Please ask if you would like to buy them.
If you have any questions or need more information, please do not hesitate to ask.
Our Mobile number is : 07910 147095
email : pickeringpreschoolplaygroup@yahoo.com
When her child left us in Summer 2019 one of our Parents said:
"the whole family has loved reading through the amazing learning journal. What an exciting and wonderful time he has had with you all. Thank you for all your hard work, dedication, care and attention in your day to day interactions with him and for recording so many memories and milestones.’
Sessions are currently:
Monday 9 - 3
Tuesday 9 - 12
Wednesday 9 - 12
Thursday 9 - 12
Friday 9 - 3
Sessions are charged at £12.00 for a 3 hour session.
Stay and Play sessions for babies and toddlers on Wednesday afternoon, 1.30 to 3.00pm.
Children are welcome to bring a packed lunch and stay over the lunch hour, staying from 9 to 3. We can also pick up and drop off at nursery if you want to pay for a before or after nursery session.
We are registered for Free Entitlement for children from the ‘term’ following their third birthday. (1st September to 31st December; 1st January to 31st March; 1st April to 31st August). So if your child becomes 3 years old in February, for example, their entitlement begins in the Summer Term. We are also registered for free entitlement sessions for two-year-olds, whose parents meet the County Criteria for entitlement. (See Early Education Funding page).
Children can attend from two years of age, and you are welcome to stay and play for a while if you feel this would help your child settle, although many parents feel that their child settles better when they are not there. Children are only toileted by staff who have been cleared by the Disclosure and Barring Service, (DBS) parent helpers cannot do this unless they hold a valid DBS certificate. Children are welcome from villages and towns other than Pickering.
The Manager is Heather Hattersley who holds Early Years Teacher Status, Paediatric First Aid, Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene, Prevent Training, Level 3 Child Protection, Level 3 award in supporting children and young peoples speech,language and communication.
Pre-school Assistant, Toni Pape-Hodgson holds Level 3 Early Years Educator, Paediatric First Aid, Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene, Prevent Training, Basic Awareness of Child Protection.
Pre-school Assistant, Catherine Herdman holds Level 3 Early Years Educator, Paediatric First Aid, Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene, Prevent Training, Basic Awareness of Child Protection.
Pre-school Assistant, Ruth Freibach holds Level 3 Teaching Assistant, Paediatric First Aid, Prevent Training, Basic Awareness of Child Protection.
Play Assistant Joanne Warrener holds Level 2 Childcare, Prevent Training, Paedriatric First Aid, Basic Awareness of Child Protection.
Deputy Manager, Helen Pashby holds Level 3 Early Years Childcare, Paediatric First Aid, Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene, Makaton Training, Prevent Training, Level 3 Child Protection.
All staff update hold DBS certificates, and have Child Safeguarding, Food Hygiene and Paediatric First Aid training regularly and also do additional Continuous Professional Development training throughout the year.
Our Ofsted inspection in 2018 graded us as ‘Good’ in all areas.
Key Person
We operate a Key Person system; this is a statutory requirement of the Early Years Foundation Stage Guidelines. It means that children have a special person in the group with whom they can build a trusting relationship. Your Key Person will be responsible for planning for your child's next steps in learning, and assisting the Manager with their assessments and report-writing. She will be your first point of contact to share information about your child and will work with you to support your child to settle and support their learning. You are welcome to stay with your child until you feel comfortable to leave them with their Key Person. Parents are also welcome to arrange a "Stay and Chat" with their Key Person to discuss and plan their child's next steps in learning and look at their child's Learning File.
To register for a place for your child, please download a form from this site or call in for a copy. You are welcome to call by and see the group 'in action' with your child, but please make an appointment to do this as it may not be convenient - we may have other visitors at the same time so will not be in a position to give you the time we would like to.
Please ensure that the information you provide on your registration form is kept up to date, especially your contact numbers; we may need them quickly one day. Tell your Key Person if any of the information changes.
Things to bring
You are welcome to bring in a named bottle of water for your child, in order that they can access a drink when they need it. (Children are given a snack mid-way through the session. This is generally milk or water and fruit and raw vegetables.) If your child is staying for lunch, you will need to provide them with a named packed lunch.
Please provide a change of clothes for your child in a named bag, which will go on their peg when you arrive. If your child is in nappies, please bring some spare nappies and wipes in the named bag.
The Committee
The Committee is made up of Parents and Carers and other Friends of Pickering Preschool Playgroup. They meet regularly to discuss fundraising and social activities and are also responsible for employing the staff, dealing with finances and other decision-making. We cannot run without a committee. As we are a not-for-profit charity, we rely heavily on fundraising to help buy equipment and resources.
Committee Officers (Chair, Secretary and Treasurer) are elected each year at the AGM; all parents and carers are eligible to be nominated. We are always on the lookout for new Committee members and new ideas, so please don't be bashful about coming forward to help!
Absences/Illness
Please contact us by telephone as soon as possible if your child will be absent or if you are going to be late. This is especially important if you are going to be late collecting your child.
We ask that you keep your child home for a minimum of 48 hours after their last 'incident' of sickness or diarrhoea. They should also be eating, drinking and going to the toilet normally and in no residual discomfort from their illness. We do rely on Parents' honesty with this; illness spreads very rapidly between children in close proximity when toys are being shared.
If your child becomes ill during the session, we will contact you immediately on your first contact number, and then use your other contact numbers if you cannot be reached.
Medicine
If your child is poorly, they are really better off in their own home. We do appreciate, however, that sometimes they are recovered sufficiently to be at preschool, whilst continuing a course of antibiotics.
We can give medicine to your child, provided that it -
- has been prescribed by your doctor and it is in its original container, clearly labelled with the prescribing information, including your child's name.
- needs to be taken more than three times a day, and your child is attending for a full day.
- has your written permission in the medicine book, signed and with all the dosage information clearly noted.
Other information
We may occasionally ask for Parent helpers at sessions if we have staff absent for training or because of illness. Please let us know if you may be available to help in this way sometimes.
Preschool T-shirts and sweatshirts are available, but not compulsory. Please ask if you would like to buy them.
If you have any questions or need more information, please do not hesitate to ask.
Our Mobile number is : 07910 147095
email : pickeringpreschoolplaygroup@yahoo.com
When her child left us in Summer 2019 one of our Parents said:
"the whole family has loved reading through the amazing learning journal. What an exciting and wonderful time he has had with you all. Thank you for all your hard work, dedication, care and attention in your day to day interactions with him and for recording so many memories and milestones.’