2013-14 Prospectus www.pippinschildcare.co.uk
dd
A bit about us
Hello! After my sons started school I began to realise that I wanted to be more involved in education and that working with children was my calling. Volunteering in the local primary school eventually led to becoming a qualified teaching assistant, a job which I loved. When we had to relocate to Sussex I decided that I’d put my skills and enthusiasm to good use and have been working ever since to establish Pippin’s. I’m so excited about Pippin’s, as there is so much room for children to run about and explore, and as we use the outside every day we have a brilliant, ever changing outdoor playroom! The most rewarding part of the job is when children are having so much fun that they don’t want to go home!
Rebecca Weakley SAC Dip
I’m Andy. I spent my childhood in Furner’s Green and after moving away to study and eventually raise a family it’s great to be back. This was a great place to grow up, and I’m so pleased that we now have an opportunity to open the space up to other children and give them the opportunities that I had as a boy.
I’ve spent over a decade teaching and worked with children in primary schools, children’s centres and even Pupil Referral Units and have seen first-hand the impact of growing up without an exciting environment. When Beckie suggested that we offer childcare to the local villages I thought it was an excellent idea, as it not only taps in to her brilliance with children but I get to make mud pies, just like the old days! Andy Ross BSc PhD PGCE 2|P a g e
Our philosophy of care
We believe that growing up should be happy, challenging and active We want your child to feel at home with us and to get the most out of the time they spend away from you. We aim to get to know all aspects of your child and make sure that they have the opportunities to learn and play without too many constraints. After all, every one of us has differing needs, interests and ways of viewing the world and it’s important that we cater for them. We promise that we won’t coop children up for hours. Your child will get masses of exercise and stimulation, regardless of their age. We are lucky to have a large garden and woods and we want to share these with the children in our care as much as possible, not only to help nurture a love of the outdoors but also to encourage children to be resourceful and imaginative. We know that children do have squabbles and we’ll help sort them out but we’ll never allow the unacceptable behaviour of the few to disturb the majority, as so often happens in crowded settings.
If we look after your child we’ll ensure that they’re as happy as they
possibly can be.
3|P a g e
The indoor facilities ‘Little Pips’ play room
‘Big Pips’ room
Family rooms
This started out as Granny’s sewing and
We’ve learnt from our own experience of
We don’t always use the play
sun room. Now completely re-modelled,
using childcare that it’s a great idea to give
rooms. Sometimes the living room
it’s a cosy and bright play room with a
school-age
area,
is just the ticket and is a bit of
warm foam floor - perfect for babies,
separate from the little ones.
So, next
home from home for children.
toddlers and pre-schoolers.
There’s a
door to Little Pips, this room offers a place
There’s also the dining room for
role play area, space for art and crafts
to stretch out, play on the Wii, do
meal
activities, a comfy reading, singing and
homework, read or play Lego without pre-
downstairs toilet.
talking zone and drawers full of toys and
schoolers getting in their way.
resources.
children
their
own
times
and
a
handy
Of course we would never segregate
In the warmer weather we have the patio
children
and
there
is
always
flow
doors open most of the time to let the
encouraged between the age-groups, but
play spill out in to the garden area.
we appreciate that the interests and needs of children differ as they grow During the day Big Pips is an extension space for the younger ones, and once again has colourful warm flooring and a large play area, ideal for imaginative play or a bit of calm time.
4|P a g e
The great outdoors The Garden Our large patio leads off to a safe, fenced in area of grass. With gates making this outside zone entirely escape proof, children are free to toddle, ride bikes and scooters and play with outside toys. We encourage older children to help in making dens and role play areas (and to help pack them away too!) and use the grass whenever possible for snack time in warmer weather. From the garden children can also look out to the ponds and chickens and there is always plenty of wildlife passing by to talk about too! For school-age children and younger ones under supervision, the outside fun gets wilder on the other side of the garden gate... Firstly, the chicken run. Sited in our orchard, we take small groups to feed and pet our lovely gentle hens and chicks and the novelty never seems to wear off! We have sheep in the top field too for much of the year and although we don’t pet them, it’s lovely seeing the children’s enjoyment of these popular farm animals. The over-the-top health and safety culture has made the word ‘pond’ a pejorative for many child-carers these days. Not for us. We believe that with suitable adult care, observing and exploring the wildlife of our stream and ponds is a fabulous opportunity for learning about nature and stimulating young minds. Feeding the moorhens and ducks is another favourite activity.
Our woodlands Interior photographs Beyond the ponds, the grounds open up to acres of our own traditional Sussex woodland. There are paths to explore, huge oak trees to touch and walk around, and flowers to smell and toddle around in the Spring. We don’t give our woodland experiences a fancy name – to us messing about in the woods is just part of daily life. As the seasons pass we involve children in differing activities: there’s nest spotting in the Spring; dam building in the stream (for older children, obviously!) in the warmer months; collecting seeds and leaves and making fires from fallen branches in the Autumn and the Winter woodland is great for tracking animals, especially in the snow. We also encourage children to play imaginative games in the woods and regularly have story-telling and snack time under the big trees. Finally, nearer to the house we have a two acre field. This is a great place for kicking a ball around, having teddy bear picnics and blackberrying.
6|P a g e
2013 fees Interior photographs
* subject to availability. Additional hours between 07:00 and 19:00 are charged at ÂŁ4.75
Help with childcare costs Many employers are now helping with childcare costs through salary sacrifice schemes linked to childcare vouchers. If you’re new to all of this there’s plenty of information on the web but essentially your employer takes a chunk of your salary to buy the childcare vouchers. Rather than you having to pay tax and NI on this part of your salary, then
Tax credits and childcare vouchers
splash out for childcare, you get it deduction free. You’ve still got to buy the childcare but
Sometimes taking childcare vouchers can impact your tax credits and leave you worse off. HMRC have a web page for calculating your net gains or losses
this way you save hundreds of pounds a year. We’re registered with most of the big name voucher schemes (Busy Bees, Apple, Computershare, Vouchers4kids and Kiddivouchers) already and can sign up to new ones very quickly. The vouchers aren’t just for pre-schoolers either, they can be exchanged for child care for children up to the age of 15.
But, from what we’ve learnt you might want to check first to make sure that this is the best way to pay as it can impact your Tax Credits. Check out the HMRC link here for an online calculator.
8|P a g e
Helping parents out There’s no struggling to find a parking place to drop off your children at Pippins! We’ve got ample room and a buggy park too. Wellies can go on to our homemade boot racks – they’ll be used most days, so it’s great to have them to hand.
To help your little one
settle in and socialise you are welcome to stay for a while, and maybe join in with a bit of toast munching in the mornings! Mornings are hectic for all of us, but we want to do our bit to help you get to work on time and relatively stress free. Therefore we offer an Early Birds service – drop your little one off between 7:00 and 8:00 and we’ll give them breakfast and even dress them if there’s a real panic on!
Depending upon the numbers of children we are looking after we also can take school-age
children to and from Danehill Primary and Cumnor House, but you will need to check with us as this is impacted by ratios and whether Andy can find the car keys! At Pippin’s we also understand that as much as we love our children there are times when we want a night out or a Saturday to ourselves. Rather than hurry home to a baby sitter, we can offer children a bedroom to themselves and a massive breakfast in the morning. You get the late night and lie in, and we take the strain. The boys have called this Kids Hotel!
Obviously this works
best for children who have already spent some time with us, but with a little pre-arrangement we can do this for new-comers too. Apart from our main phone line we also have an emergency mobile number so that you can get hold of us any time of night or day. Although we are restricted to the spaces dictated by Ofsted, and common sense, we also do get cancellations so it is always worth trying us. For family emergencies we are able to look after children for short periods while you make arrangements. 9|P a g e
Babies and toddlers Babies and toddlers
It was quite a shock to us when we visited a childminder a few years ago and saw that all the baby care took place in one small living room, with the TV constantly on. Even in big established nurseries the rooms can become claustrophobic, stuffy and incredibly noisy. We aim to do much better. We have the space and facilities to give little ones a stimulating and calm day with us. With masses of safe room for crawling and exploring, babies and toddlers have opportunities to get exercise even on the wettest day. Nurturing social skills is one of our most important roles as parents and it’s no different for child minders.
We encourage children to use
language and gesture, rather than talk for them.
We also understand
that for children there are times when emotions boil over - see more of this in our behaviour policy, which is aimed at pre-school and older children – and then we use our own parenting skills and common sense to resolve the issues. We encourage but don’t force participation in music and talking activities, but aim at all times to build relationships amongst peers and with adults. As well as the usual baby accessories we have a quiet room upstairs for day-time naps. Linked by a baby monitor, we can ensure that baby gets the sleep they need and will wake up to a smiling carer. 10 | P a g e
Pre-schoolers Pre-schoolers coming to sessions at Pippin’s will, whether aware of it or not, be taking part in the Early Years Foundation Stage. We’ve included a section on this at the back of this pack. We are obliged to cover the curriculum (which does help the children prepare for school), to keep records of your child’s progress and to ensure that we provide a balance of activities across the EYFS. The day for pre-schoolers includes loads of free play and some structured time working with an adult to do activities which build social, practical and academic skills.
There are
opportunities for art, from painting through to junk modelling, sticking, crayon rubbings and much more. Building co-ordination is vital to youngsters, and many of our activities support this, including Lego building, using the stepping stones in the woods or simply riding scooters. Pre-school children are learning so much about independence, and it’s really important to us to nurture this. Encouraging children with basic tasks, such as using the toilet or laying the table, are simple ways of building children’s repertoire of skills. We expect no more or less than we do of our own children and so there’s everyday activities, like helping to tidy up and feeding the chickens too. Some children will want to be on the go for the whole session, whilst others may prefer some quieter time. We cater for this by having story time or calm sessions on bean bags or cushions. One of us will take those with more energy outside for an activity in the field or woods, and another will stay inside and do more relaxing things to help your child conserve their energy. There is always something new and interesting to see and do in the woods, and weather permitting we will go out exploring most days. Children love this as it involves poking about with sticks or paddling through the stream. We like to look for animal tracks and homes, search for acorns and blackberries in the autumn and in the warmer months will even lay and light a fire and tell stories outside. 11 | P a g e
School-age children We offer before and after-school provision for children from 5 upwards. With a dedicated room and ample space outside, getting back from school at Pippin’s is fun! On dry days we encourage play in the woods and garden and for the inevitable rainy, cold and miserable times there’s a Wii, loads of scrap paper for doodling, toys such as Meccano and Lego, DVDs and much more. At least once a week we’ll do a special activity outside. These include making a wood fire and cooking up crumpets or toast, building dams across the big stream, making wooden shelters and, for older children, some careful wood work with tools. If the weather’s against us we may do things outside undercover, and these could include bird box building, making a bow and arrow or a bit of mechanical tinkering! There’s always animal related work to do as well, and the children love feeding the chickens and rabbits. More enthusiastic animal lovers will eventually get a chance to muck out the chickens too, with our sons’ help! In the autumn we encourage children to pick apples and blackberries, and if they are with us for a long session we may be able to do some cooking together if there’s time. If your child has a lot of homework, or needs to get this done because they have clubs or other events in the evening, we have a quiet space for studying. This is also a great space for children who need a bit of peace or are feeling a bit under the weather. We also offer an evening meal for all the children in our care, so your loved one can go home full up as well as exhausted!
12 | P a g e
Meal times We treat meal times as a family occasion, and serve the type of food that we eat and we are confident that most children like. We don’t claim to be brilliant chefs or to have perfectly balanced meals. We simply make sure that the food is varied, interesting and has the right mix of the essential nutrients. There are nurseries who make a great fuss about having in-house ‘chefs’ and 5-a-day and so on but as parents we don’t feed our children rubbish (most of the time) and don’t feel the need to make a big deal about what we put on the table. Every week we vary the menu and to make it easier for us we use a four week rolling programme. We’ll email you the menu in advance and we have a copy of it up on the kitchen door, in case you want to stay for tea! You can, of course, provide your own packed lunch or tea. Lunch is timed for the break between morning and afternoon sessions. Tea is never precisely on time but is somewhere between 4:30 and 5:00. This gives children who are being picked up at 6:00 time to enjoy their meal and go home with you full and happy! Andy has a nut allergy so we are very conscious of food intolerances. We don’t have nuts in the house and are very keen to support your child with any dietary issues . Working in schools and nurseries it’s sometimes shocking how poor some children’s table
Babies and food We’re used to babies.
We have a bottle
warmer, which we can also use for food in jars. Although we prefer the ready-made milk as it’s so easy to use, we’re more than happy to make up bottles if needed or warm up whatever you bring. When you’re ready for your child to start feeding themselves we will work with you to encourage independence in eating.
manners and eating skills can be. We view these as essential life skills and work sensitively and consistently to ensure that we are helping your child if they find eating awkward. In line with most parents, we discourage bad habits at the meal table.
13 | P a g e
Special needs
We aim to be an inclusive setting and will do anything we can within reason to accommodate children because we want every child who comes to us to get the most out of Pippin’s. However, we do have to note here that we are not a specialist nursery and with limited adult support available we may not be able to meet the learning, physical or medical needs of some children. It’s really hard writing that, particularly as Andy is an experienced SENCo, but we have to be pragmatic and this is in no way meant to be discriminatory. The woods and much of the outside play area are not easy to access and would pose a risk of injury to children with some physical disabilities. We apologise profusely if you are offended by this. We are honest, hard-working people and do our best to include every child, but with financial support for children with special needs being so tightly controlled that it is very hard to get an additional adult exclusively for one-to-one help our hands are tied.
14 | P a g e
Registering with us
regitering
We have no registration fees, unlike so many other places these days. If you’d like to book sessions let us know using the web form, email or phone and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. We’ll send you any essential documents that you might want to pre-read, such as the terms and conditions and copies of policies and fees. Then hopefully we’ll meet up and over a coffee we’ll do the paperwork together.
What do we need for registration?
Medical needs and GP contact details
We’ll ensure that we have the correct details. We’ll book the sessions and give you a calendar with the
Your contact details and those of
agreed times.
any additional adults who may
You’ll sign the terms and conditions
also pick your child up
Registration meeting
We’ll also ask you to sign documents relating to trips out, use of
Any special dietary needs which we need to plan
images for publicity and permission to seek emergency medical
for in advance
help if we have tried but can’t get hold of you. We’ll have a coffee and get to know your child
15 | P a g e
Essential things to bring everyday
Toddlers pre-schoolers
School-age children
Nappies
Spare clothes
Coat
Bottles, either pre-filled or with suitable milk in
Wellies
Hat, if appropriate
Coat and if possible waterproof
Medicines, especially inhalers.
trousers
Medicines
Babies Several changes of clothes!
containers. In colder weather, a coat or warm all-over outdoor clothes. Hats
Wellies
Warm and cold weather hats Medicines
Medicines 16 | P a g e
Pippin’s on the web To give our users and prospective clients the most up to date information on our service we use our own web site, Facebook and Blogger. Our website is the best source for details about our childcare services, our background and fee structure. It’s also got a contact and how to find us page. We use Facebook for news, any interesting picture or events from the day or to promote our social events. For example, we advertise our coffee and cake mornings or special activities such as a Den Day or woodland events. Pippin’s blog is our outlet for reflections on childminding , thoughts on childcare issues in the news and anything else that we fancy.
www.pippinschildcare.co.uk
Pippins Childcare
News Background info
Promotions
Events Vacancies
Pippins Childcare
Our philosophy of care Reflections 17 | P a g e Childcare current affairs
Fees
Contact Us
Accidents and illness We all get sniffles from time to time and at Pippin’s we won’t turn you away if your child has a tiny cold. Children with a minor head cold are encouraged to blow their noses, bin tissues and sterilise hands. However we do have to use our discretion when it comes to children who appear a little more poorly. Please can you tell us if your child is off colour when you arrive with them. Sometimes we all have to play a wait-and-see game and a bit of a rest for a few hours in the quiet area may be all a tired or sniffly person needs. However we cannot take children with a temperature, for obvious reasons. We know that this can be stressful for busy parents and we do use a common sense approach but ill children really need to be at home. We’re sure that you understand this. As with all educational settings, poorly tummies mean a couple of days off and this is particularly important when we are caring for tiny babies as well as pre-schoolers and toddlers. All the details of our sickness procedures are published in our health policy. As well as Beckie having a Paediatric First Aid certificate, both of us are parents and have had to deal with our fair share of accidents. Our primary concern is to make sure that the child’s needs are met and that you are informed as soon as possible.
18 | P a g e
Challenging behaviour Children argue and sometimes come to blows. It’s inevitable. We will try to diffuse the situation before it occurs but when it does we deal fairly and proportionately. We will not allow children to be harassed by their peers – we’ve seen this too many times in schools and nurseries, where more assertive and aggressive children can ruin the day for others. We aim to model good behaviour and social skills, to always use appropriate levels of talking and to never ever use our body language or size to intimidate children. Many fall outs are caused by problems with sharing, and this is a key area that we focus on throughout the day to help encourage and praise good examples. Where necessary we will use distraction, alternative activities or direct intervention to calm situations down. If children do something wrong we will tell them, in the same way that we all do as parents. We will not make a song and dance out of this or claim that we are going to work miracles and change children in to angels! Things happen and we use common sense and good parenting skills to deal with it. However, it is also a very sorry fact of life that a tiny minority of children can sometimes cause significant emotional problems to others and do it persistently. We work with parents, and other services if necessary, to help address long-term behaviour issues. However we would also like to point out that as we have to think about the impact on the majority of children, as well as the disproportionate amount of adult time that poorly behaved children can absorb, we reserve the right to terminate a contract if we feel that a child is having a detrimental impact on others. We hope that as parents you agree that straight-talking and consistency is best and that sugar-coating a mistake that a child makes is not going to help them.
19 | P a g e
Flexibility for you
If something crops up during the day you and you can’t make pick up on time we won’t make a fuss. We understand that life is unpredictable.
Most nurseries will levy substantial charges if you’re late, and with
their rigid hours it’s understandable, from their point of view. We’re far more flexible and won’t make you feel embarrassed if you’re late.
Unlike traditional nurseries we offer totally flexible childcare, as you need it. We can look after your little one while you go to the doctor, have your hair done, pop to a meeting or even do a spot of decorating! Because we charge a fixed hourly rate for childcare you pay only for the care that you use – not a whole session as nurseries would ask for.
20 | P a g e
The EYFS explained The Early Years and Foundation Stage curriculum is a
To ensure that the EYFS principles
government initiative to bring together The Birth to Three
and practise are adhered to all of us
Matters framework, Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation
who work with little people are
Stage, and the National Standards for Under 8s Daycare and
expected to plan for their needs,
Childminding.
Unlike many approaches used for older
monitor and record their progress
children in school, the EYFS acknowledges that learning is
and adapt what we do to meet needs.
dictated by children’s stages of development, not their age,
We have to keep a ‘profile’, which is
and in principle it should be used to give a consistent
basically a record sheet of progress, and
approach to the care and learning for children from birth to
this is available for parents at any time
the end of their reception year at school.
and is shared with schools when children
The overarching aim of the EYFS is to help children achieve the’
move to full-time education.
Every Child Matters’ outcomes of: Staying safe; Being healthy;
As you can see there is a lot to this, and although some
Enjoying and achieving; Making a positive contribution and (with
people think that child-minding and nurseries are just
its really bizarre sounding title...) Achieving economic wellbeing.
about playing and keeping children busy, there is a lot of
All practitioners who work with young children, from nurseries to child-minders and pre-schools have to monitor and enable children to ensure that they are ‘competent’ learners, build their independence through loving relationships with their
teaching and monitoring that goes on.
It’s through
activities, for example, that developmental or learning difficulties may be flagged up, which is important as early intervention can make a huge different to a child’s future.
parents and key professionals, have a stimulating environment
We take our commitment to the EYFS seriously, and
to learn and develop in and ensure that children’s learning and
although it is very wordy and sometimes very hard to
development needs are met and that a broad base of learning
implement perfectly in all its facets, we do our level best
is maintained.
to stick to its principles.
21 | P a g e
Pippin’s or nursery?
Ffff
Some parents are, rightly, confused about the relative merits of using a childminder or nursery. With Ofsted regulations driving up standards in both forms of childcare there is little to choose from in terms of the quality of preparation for school. However we believe that for most children using passionate childminders, as we are, is the best possible alternative to being at home with a parent all day. Here’s why...
Social development
Emerging language and communication skills
It’s often said that nurseries ‘socialise’ children. But flip this around
In a nursery or pre-school there are a lot of group activities –
and ask if being in a big group of children and adults favours all
singing, story listening, snack time and play. It’s easy for some
shades of human personality? Young children don’t need to be in a
children to dominate these, through their personality or level of
mass of their peers to learn how to interact or speak; smaller
needs. This inevitably leads to other children missing out. And if
family-like settings are the next best thing to being at home. At
that results in a child not receiving quality conversation with staff or
Pippin’s we have children of all ages, so there’s plenty of scope for
other children then language, communication and confidence can
play, interaction and communication. In addition, we’re focused on
be stifled.
the little ones in our care far more than many nursery staff who have five or six children to look over.
With our experience as parents and education professionals we make sure that we talk and listen appropriately to all the children in
Using a childminder is not the equivalent of putting your child in to
our care. When we’re with babies and toddlers we are constantly
solitary confinement!
talking to them, using quality language, gestures and facial
including our own.
There are always other children around,
expressions. We know that most parents do this at home, but can you guarantee that this happens routinely in a busy nursery?
Managing emotions and developing skills
happen and illness and other events can result in a child not being
We have a zero tolerance approach to bullying and intimidation at
get to meet a range of adults this way but it also means that
Pippin’s and won’t allow quieter children to be pushed around or
relationships don’t forge as strongly as they do with a child minder.
frightened by others.
At a nursery or pre-school negative
behaviour such as this is unfortunately more frequent than many let on and often it’s not dealt with firmly or it’s not noticed at all. Would adults allow a child who is playing quietly with a toy, or looking at a book, to have their fun ruined by a ‘boisterous’ child who snatches it from them or pushes them over? ?No, of course
with their key worker for extended periods. Nursery children do
Other things to think about Babies and toddlers can use our quiet bedrooms for a nap or if they’re under the weather can rest on the sofa. Nurseries generally are noisy, cramped and like to send poorly children home.
not. Yet we’ve seen it happen at nursery and it’s heart-breaking.
Nurseries have to run to a timetable.
Events such as this can happen repeatedly during a nursery
flexible child care hours, and will always do our best to extend
session.
cover for your child if you are running late. At nursery this can
Of course it’s not always like this, and we’re not pointing
the finger of blame at our nursery colleagues, but the hard facts are that when you drop off a child in to a room of twenty to thirty other toddlers or pre-schoolers there will be a small element within that cohort that will actually enjoy causing smaller or weaker
We don’t. We offer very
incur a hefty penalty and some seriously sharp glares! We offer weekend and overnight childcare and, if possible, school pick-ups too. We have the facilities to take school age children up
children misery.
to the age of 16 whilst still caring for babies. We offer true wrap-
At Pippin’s we have small numbers of children in our care, have the
school.
physical space to give every child room to play unhindered and use the rules that will be familiar to any child from home to ensure that everyone has the best possible time. The more intimate nature of a home-based child care service builds stronger bonds with children and the knowledge that we gain from our time together allows us to steer children in the right direction to develop their skills. We are less restricted than a large nursery – we can be spontaneous in our activities and cater for a child’s interests as they arise. Although
around care. And that is a huge advantage over a nursery or pre-
Finally, if your mind hasn’t already been made up, we are passionate about looking after children and helping them develop and explore.
Although a lot of nursery staff are amazingly
conscientious can you be sure that your child’s key worker is, or will be? We are not school leavers who didn’t know what to do and drifted in to child care. This is our business and children are precious to us.
nurseries try to keep key workers with children, staff changes 23 | P a g e
Come and join the fun
We hope you’ve now got a flavour of our child care service. We aim to make this a home-from-home for children, and to give kids a healthy and active time without the stresses of being cooped up in a busy nursery or small front room. We welcome visitors and have free stay and play taster sessions so that you and your child can get a feel for how fun Pippin’s is.
Within 5 mins
5-10mins
10-15 mins
Chelwood Gate Danehill Furners Green
Fletching Horsted Keynes Nutley
Forest Row Maresfield Newick North Chailey Scaynes Hill Sharpthorne
15-20 mins
20-30 mins
East Grinstead Haywards Heath Uckfield
Burgess Hill Crawley Crowborough
Approximate travel times by car to or from Pippin’s
From the Chelwood Gate direction, go southbound along Tanyard Lane and fork left down Brook House Bottom. We are approximately 600m on the right hand side. From the Danehill direction, take the road towards Chelwood Gate and turn right up Coach Lane, opposite the Coach and Horses. At the top of Coach Lane turn right, on to Tanyard Lane.
25 | P a g e