Pre-School
Welcome to Long Mountain Pre-school
Our pre-school is a joyful place to play and learn. Although pre-school has its own room and outdoor area, it is a very valued part of our school community. The staff and children are a very important part of the Long Mountain family.
If you would like your child to attend our pre-school, please get in contact with us via the school office number - 01743 891320. We will be delighted to talk to you!
Below is a form which enables you to let pre-school know your child's details and your contact details. It also allows you to indicate what your preferred sessions would be. You can complete this form at home and return it to the school office, who will pass it on to our pre-school leaders.
Please be aware that we are a thriving pre-school and there may be a waiting list for new starters.
How do we settle your child(ren) at pre-school?
Starting pre-school is an important and exciting step for your child. We take their transition very seriously and will work closely with you to ensure you and your child have the support you need to make their journey into pre-school a success.
Visit Pre-school
Before your child comes to pre-school, we would like to meet you and show you around the pre-school. Recently, visits have been a bit trickier (due to Covid) but we will work within the current guidelines to offer safe opportunities for you to see what the pre-school is like.
Home Visits
We usually offer a home visit to meet you and your child in their own environment. Obviously, Covid restrictions may impact on our ability to offer this, but wherever possible, two members of staff will come and see you in your own home.
Taster Sessions
In addition to the home visit, we like to offer taster sessions for new starters. These are shorter taster sessions which enable you and your child to settle into pre-school life. We will talk to you about this and how your child is getting on. We are very experienced at settling children and will work closely with you to make sure they are able to settle happily into our pre-school environment. Different children take different lengths of time to feel confident and we will take the time to work out what your child needs so that their experience is positive.
Key Workers
Each child in pre-school has a named key worker. Your child's key worker will introduce themselves to you and will be an important point of contact for you and your child. Key workers spend extra time with their named children (although, all members of staff will support and play with all the children in our setting) and help them form a strong bond with an adult at pre-school. This relationship will help your child feel confident at pre-school so that they flourish.
What does learning look like at Long Mountain Pre-School?
In our pre-school the staff are highly skilled early years practitioners who use 'planning in the moment' to support every child's development.
Our pre-school environment is set up to promote learning through play opportunities and the staff engage with the children in their play to help them make progress and develop their understanding. The pre-school has a large outdoor learning area, which the children access come rain or shine!
Talk Matters!
The pre-school environment is a language rich place to play and learn. Staff listen and talk to the children to move their language skills forward. Stories, rhymes, songs and poems are shared every day - new words are explored and vocabulary is deepened through discussion and lots of practical experiences. For example, play in the water tray may lead to a discussion about the words floating and sinking - children would have many opportunities to explore this idea and use these important words in their play.
Our pre-school staff are trained to use the Stoke Speaks Out assessment tool. This enables us to support the children and really understand their language development.
There is lots of helpful information for parents on the Stoke Speaks Out website.