In this section
Welcome to St. Jude’s Preschool
On behalf of the children and staff at St. Jude’s Preschool we would like to offer you a warm welcome and provide you with an overview of our pre-school and hopefully provide you with the answers to some of the questions you may have! Our preschool offers term time places for children between the age of three and four years, whereby the majority of whom choose to continue their learning journey with St Jude’s school itself.
Children are eligible to begin Preschool at the start of the term immediately following their 3rd birthday. Parents must complete a St Jude’s Preschool Application Form.
For more information or to request an application form, please pop into school or call 01942 204091.
Our Preschool Day
The Pre-school is open during term time and adopts the same term time dates used by the school, which often makes it much simpler for those families that have siblings in Pre-school and in school.
We open our doors at 8.45am and offer a combination of morning and afternoon half day sessions, as well as a full day session, whereby we will work with yourselves to help choose the right combination of sessions to suit the needs of your child, as this can often vary as they begin to grow and develop in preparation for school life.
Preschool Room
Our Preschool offers places for children between the ages of 3 and 4 years of age. The room itself can accommodate 26 children in a session and is run by a qualified, experienced Early Years teacher and a qualified Preschool Assistant. We offer a free-flow system, whereby the children are able to access an indoor and an outdoor provision. The outdoor provision is shared with the Reception class children, which over time supports a seamless transition for the children that go on to attend the school.
The Curriculum
We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), a framework set out by the Department for Education (DFE). The framework sets the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five years of age.
The EYFS explains how children will learn and ensure their readiness for school, through focusing on 7 areas of learning and development. Initially, 3 prime areas; Making Relationships, Communication & Language and Physical Development. As children continue to grow, the prime areas will support the development in the specific area of learning, which include, Literacy, Mathematics, Knowledge and understanding of the World and Expressive Arts.
Children are unique and will learn and develop at different stages and different rates across each of the areas of learning, where we ensure that the nursery provision and activities are tailored to meet the needs of the individual child, offering a fun, stimulating, happy, safe and secure environment in which to learn. We want our children to be happy and confident in their love for learning as they carry on their educational journey into school.
The government produced a document entitled, ‘What to expect, when?’ Guidance to your child’s learning and development in the early years foundation stage. This can be found in the parent area of the foundationyears.org.uk website.
Funding
There are currently two separate government funded childcare schemes that offer free childcare for children aged three and four years and each has its own eligibility criteria.
- Three Year old funding – 15 hours free government funded early years education.
(This scheme is open to ALL 3 and 4-year olds. Parents / carers should be able to start receiving the childcare from 1 January, 1 April or 1 September following your child’s 3rd birthday).
- 30 hours free childcare – 30 hours free government funded early years education.
For further information, please refer to the following government website https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/ or contact nursery for further information.
Continuing the Learning Journey
As a Pre-school we are very much a part of the early years unit at St Jude’s and our families are strongly supported by all the staff within the school, to ensure that they are made to feel part of our school family. Our Headteacher, Mr Wilson works in partnership with our Pre-school team to support the children’s learning and development, in ensuring that they achieve their full potential and positive outcomes.
Preparing and supporting our children on their learning journey is vital, leading to their transition into school. We work closely with all staff and parents from an early stage to ensure that this transition is made as seamless as possible for all children. The majority of children choose to continue their education with St Jude’s school and because of our relationship, the Reception team and children already know each other really well, the children are familiar with the learning environment, planning and support is already in place and starting school is seen as a natural progression for all.
For those children who spread their wings to other schools, we provide them with as much information as possible, to ensure that they know our children well, just as we do.
Preschool Fees
If you do not qualify for one of the government funded childcare schemes or you simply wish to top up your child’s Pre-school sessions, the following fees apply;
Morning Session (3 hours) – £13.50, Afternoon Session (3 hours) – £13.50
Pre-school is open term time only 8.45am – 3.15pm
For those children attending a full day session and requiring a school dinner, the cost is £1.82.
Families also have the option of their child attending Wraparound care which is available everyday from 7.45am until 5.15pm. For more information please see our Wraparound Care page.
Opening Times
We offer the following sessions;
Morning session: 08:45am – 11.45am
Afternoon session: 12:15pm – 15:15pm
Full Day Session: 08:45am – 15:15pm
We will discuss with you the best combination of Preschool to support your child, however we do recommend that they attend a minimum of two sessions in a week, which establishes a good routine in a little person’s life.
Useful Websites:
There are many useful website where you can seek advice or refer to support your child’s learning and development at home;
https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk
https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people
Preschool-Info-Booklet-2024St Jude’s Pre-school is a governor run early years provision set up under Section 27 of the Education Act 2002 . The Pre-school operates within St Jude’s Catholic Primary School under the trusteeship of the Archdiocese of Liverpool. As a section 27 provision the governing body is solely responsible for taking the decisions on applications for admissions.