Busy Bees Pre-school is managed by a Committee of volunteers elected at an Annual General Meeting to which all parents and staff are invited. Our “not for profit” status means that we are able to reinvest any surplus funds in the setting whether for new toys, books and equipment or improving the facilities.
The Committee comprises a Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Secretary and members. The current Committee are:
Sally Evans – Chair
Kelly Martin – Vice Chair
Bob Davis – Treasurer
Naomi Shepherd – Secretary
Trustees are – Nick Martin and Rich Lamkin.
The Chair and Committee can be contacted on chairbusybeespresc@btinternet.com
Early Years Foundation Stage
Busy Bees Pre-school follows the Department of Education’s Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) which is outlined in more detail in the Early Years Foundation Stage Guide for Parents. This framework enables your child to learn through a range of activities and helps prepare them for the primary school curriculum. There are seven areas of learning and development of which three are prime areas: communication and language; physical development and personal, social and emotional development. At Busy Bees we assess the individual needs, interests and development needs of each child and use this to plan a challenging and enjoyable learning experience for them. We also support children in the other four specific areas ( literacy; mathematics; understanding the world; expressive arts and design) through which the three prime areas are strengthened.
Play helps children to learn and develop through doing and talking which in turn supports their thinking. Busy Bees plans and provides a range of play activities which help children to make progress in each of the areas of learning and development. In some activities children are allowed to decide how they use the activity and in others the staff will take the lead. Three characteristics of effective teaching and learning are:
- playing and exploring – children are able to investigate and experience things and have a go;
- active learning – children are able to concentrate and keep trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy what they are doing;
- creating and thinking critically – children develop their own ideas and work out how to do things independently.
Busy Bees aim is to ensure that each child:
- is in a safe, enjoyable and stimulating environment;
- is given excellent care and attention;
- has the chance to join in with other children and adults to learn how to live, play, work and learn together;
- is helped to take forward their learning and development by building on what they already know and can do;
- has a personal key person who makes sure that each child is making satisfactory progress.
If a child’s progress in any of the prime areas gives cause for concern Busy Bees will discuss this with the child’s parents/carers and agree how to support the child as well as discussing whether any additional support may be needed if a child has a special educational need or disability.
Further information about the Early Years Foundation Stage can be found at Department of Education.Gov.UK – Services and Information – Early Years.
Ofsted
Busy Bees was inspected by Ofsted on 11th February 2020 and awarded Good overall.
Click here to read the full 2020 Ofsted report.
Working with Parents
At Busy Bees Pre-school we aim to work in partnership with parents to enable us to meet the needs of the children both individually and as a group. Our intention is that parents will always be kept informed, consulted, involved and included about all aspects of their children’s development and progress at the pre-school. We welcome suggestions from parents on how to improve our pre-school. These can be discussed with any of the team or written suggestions can be placed in the Suggestions Box held at the Setting. All suggestions will be considered by the Committee with the Setting Manager.
It is important that parents should feel able to discuss any concerns about their child’s experience at the pre-school with Busy Bees staff and this should enable any issues to be addressed amicably and informally. We also recognise that there might be times when parents may feel that a satisfactory outcome has not been achieved. In such cases they should refer to our “Making a Complaint” procedure under “Information and records“.