Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ's
Useful Information
We have tried to include all the information that you might need about Holy Trinity Pre-School. If you have any questions then please get in touch with us
Holy Trinity are open for 38 weeks of the year, following the same term dates as schools under the control of Birmingham City Council.
We are open for 10 sessions per week, with a maximum of 30 children registered at each session
Session times are:
Mornings – Monday 9.15 to 11.45am
Afternoons 12.30 to 3 pm
Breakfast club is 8.30 until 9.15 with cereal, toast, fruit, milk or water provided. The cost of the breakfast club is £5.00 per session. Breakfast club is run separately from Holy Trinity Preschool and therefore EEE funding cannot be used to cover the cost of this service.
Lunch is 11.45 to 12.30pm. As we are unable to provide a cooked lunch we ask that children bring in a healthy packed lunch in a suitable lunch bag. The children eat with staff and other children and this is always a lovely social time in our day.
There is a £5.50 charge for this session and EEE funding can be used to cover the cost of lunch. We ask that parents only put in their childs lunch what they know they will eat. We always ask that children eat at least 3/4 of their sandwiches then fruit or yoghurt before eating any “treats” you provide.
Please do not give your child fizzy drinks or packets of sweets in their lunch although small chocolate bars or cakes are fine. We also ask that you do not put any products containing nuts in your childs lunch in case of allergies.
Yes of course! We have no problem taking children still in nappies. We ask that you send in a supply of nappies, wipes and nappy bags as, although we do have a small supply, they may not be the correct size for your child. Once you and your child are ready we will work with you to help with potty training.
Yes. We maintain a high standard of security in Pre-school in accordance with the Early Years Foundation Stage. We ensure paperwork is kept up to date to ensure your child cannot ever leave with an unauthorised person. At the end of a session your child is handed back to you by a member of staff.
Pre-school uses the Birmingham City Council Framework for Intervention (F4i). This ensures we always look at the reasons for any unwanted behaviour to see if we can make adjustments in our environment to help prevent this. Steps are in place so that the child understands it is their behaviour we find unacceptable and not them. Positive behaviour is always rewarded in an immediate and consistent way using stickers and reward charts. In the case of unwanted behaviour the feelings of all children are dealt with in a gentle and caring way. We work with parents to help develop consistent rewards such as sticker charts. All children in the setting are helped to understand our three rules of Be Kind, Be Safe and Be Careful and are given strategies to empower them in situations where they feel unsure.
Bod was drawn by one of our children many years ago and became our logo. He appears everywhere from tee shirts to paperwork.
As we are a mixed age, free flow setting we split our children into two groups for registration which includes a short adult led activity and for stories. To help the children know which group they are in we have Green and Orange Bods.
Our Green Bods are children who are in their Pre-school Year
Our Orange Bods are younger children who are not going to school at the end of the academic year and will be staying on with us.
Green bod children are encouraged to become more independent in readiness for their transition into school. This could be putting on their own coat, pouring their own drinks and taking on more of a role in the setting. Green Bods are expected to sit and listen for longer periods of time during stories or registration and take part in adult led group activities based around an area of the curriculum.
Orange bod children are expected to sit for shorter periods of time and are able to choose to play while still listening to stories or rhymes.
All of our activities are differentiated so the children will access the same learning. This can be delivered in different ways enabling them to achieve whatever their age and ability.
No. All of our staff hold relevant Paediatric First Aid certificates and have training in allergies and asthma. Should your child need medication during their time with us this needs to be prescribed by a doctor and be in its original packaging showing dosage and frequency. We are unable to give any medication which has been bought over the counter, including Calpol.
If your child has an allergy we would speak to you during the induction process to ensure that your child could be included in all aspects of the Pre-school day. Children with dietary needs are catered for when we cook by providing dairy free alternatives or substitute ingredients for all children so your child can take part safely with the other children.
If your child has a specific medical need we would seek training so we were able to support them fully in the setting.
All play materials are non toxic and chosen to make sure they do not contain any ingredients that may cause allergic reactions.
Fees are charged at £16.00 per session (morning or afternoon), payable a half term in advance.
We can offer free places for 3 and 4 year olds claiming nursery education funding at our setting. We are also able to offer funded places for 2 year old children.
Fees continue to be due if a child is absent and a minimum of half terms notice or fees in lieu is required for withdrawal of a child from pre-school.
There is no reduction of fees due to holiday or illness
We ask families for a termly voluntary contribution of £10 towards a healthy snack for the children at each session.
In order to feel free to explore and experiment with all kinds of materials including messy ones it is best to send children in clothes that are easily washed or not ‘new’. We suggest that you send in a named bag containing a change of clothes because we love messy play and although we have a supply of spare clothes they may not be the best fit!
As we encourage our children to be practise skills which will enable them to be independent simple clothing which they can handle themselves will enable them to go to the toilet unaided. Please label all clothing and shoes.
We do have a supply of Pre-school sweatshirts and T-shirts available to purchase. These are optional but should you be interested please speak to Cathy or Lesley.
We welcome every family in the community.
In order to accommodate everyone and have scope to offer funded places to children who become eligible during the Spring and Summer terms, we offer places as follows:-
• Younger children who are not yet eligible for any EEE funding can, subject to availability, attend any morning or afternoon sessions that they choose.
• Children who have turned 3 and wish to take up their 15 hours of free EEE must use them as two and half day blocks. Parents/carers can choose whether to do all day Monday, all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning OR Wednesday afternoon, all day Thursday and all day Friday. Stipulating that EEE funding is taken at the beginning or end of the week will ensure that we can provide a specially tailored curriculum following the Early Years Foundation Stage that will provide us with the best opportunity to extend and enhance the children’s learning and prepare them best for the move on to school.
• We can offer 28.75 hours of funded places to working parents who meet the criteria, subject to availability. However, if parents choose not to use their full entitlement they must do full days i.e. 17.25 hours (3 days) or 23 hours (4 days per week).
The Government has recently introduced new childcare offers.
Tax –Free Childcare Is a scheme to support working parents with childcare costs. For every £8 you pay in, the Government will pay an extra £2. You can get up to £2,000 per child per year, or £4,000 for disabled children.
30 hours of free childcare is a scheme to help working parents of 3 and 4 year old children for 38 weeks of the year.
• Check your childcare options at – childcarechoices.gov.uk.
A full copy of our Admissions Policy is available upon request
If your child is poorly please do not bring them into Pre-School. Please telephone 0121 355 0790 to let us know.
In the case of sickness and /or diarrhoea please do not send your child into Pre-school until they have been free from symptoms for at least 48 hours to ensure they are not still contagious.
We supply a healthy snack of seasonal fruit or vegetables for your child together with cubes of bread and dairy free spread, milk and water. Children are encouraged to come for a snack at snack-time but they are not made to have one if they refuse. However, they would be encouraged have a drink and would be reminded again throughout the session. Milk and water is available to the children at all times including lunchtime. We ask families for a voluntary contribution of £18 per annum towards the cost of providing these snacks.
Yes, we have a lovely secure outdoor area with a porous child friendly impact absorbing surface and weatherproof canopy meaning we can use our outdoor area whatever the weather. We value the importance of outdoor play for young children and they are able to access the area freely during the majority of all of our sessions.
Just Ask
Do you have any more questions about Holy Trinty Pre-School?
If you have any further questions or comments then please get in touch with us. We are happy to arrange tours of our Pre-school for prospective families.