Playgroup
Often we have places available on each of the mornings of the week for children aged 2 years and above. Contact us via St Mark's Parish Office or the Supervisor’s mobile 07807 577 836.
Julie Hanning welcomes you and hopes that you and your child will be happy with us. St Mark's Playgroup is part of the Youth and Children's work of St Mark's Church. It is registered and approved by OFSTED in accordance with 1989 children's Act. We are also affiliated to the Playgroup Learning Alliance. The staff are supported by a management committee which is made up of members nominated by St Mark's Church and by parent representatives who are elected annually at a meeting of the parents.
St Mark's Playgroup ( 2½ to 5 years ) Vicarage Hall, Vicarage Road, Gillingham.
OPENING TIMES:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings - 9:30am to 12:15pm. During school-term times only. Holiday dates will be displayed on the Playgroup notice-board and parents will also be notified in writing.
COLLECTION OF CHILDREN:
Please do not arrive too early to pick your up your child. For your child's safety we must be informed in advance, in writing of anybody, other than the known persons, who are to collect a child from Playgroup. Children will not be allowed to leave the premises unless this has been complied with. (Forms available when required from the Supervisor).
FEES:
We are a non-profit making Playgroup and we run a very tight budget so that we can keep our fees as reasonable as possible. We try to keep them as low as possible. Therefore fees must be paid by the end of each week or in advance. Reminders will be given for any fees more than two weeks overdue. Should you have difficulty please talk, in confidence, to the Supervisor as soon as possible and we will try to help. Please ask for the current session fees. We will notify you in writing, if fees are due to be increased. We will try to inform you when session fees are no longer necessary (see below).
FUNDED PLACES:
Your child will be funded by through the National Education Grant for 33 weeks per year, in the term after their third birthday. As our Playgroup is open for 39 weeks a year, (to coincide with normal school term dates and thus help parents with children already at school), we ask ALL parents of funded children to make a contribution of £5.00 per week throughout each term, towards the Playgroup running expenses. (This will be adjusted according to the number of days your child attends). Failure to pay this sum may well result in us being unable to comply with our obligations towards the Playgroup staff - i.e. unable to pay their full wages.
OUR AIMS and OBJECTIVES:
We aim to provide a happy, loving and safe home from home environment for your children and their families. As a pre-school we hope to provide a starting ground for children from the age of two and a half until they enter primary school. We aim to foster the development of early skills through a broad, balanced and relevant programme of pre-school activities. We aim to help children to get used to structure and to group discipline outside of the home. St Mark's Playgroup a Christian based playgroup and we aim to provide a loving, caring and happy environment where each child is valued as a unique individual, regardless of gender, race, colour, ability, religion, ethnic or national origin. Children with special needs are welcome. Please talk to us about your child's particular needs.
Christian values provide the key to the group ethos and we seek to nurture a simple understanding of the Christian faith and a respect of other world religions. We wish to help children to become aware of Jesus in their lives. We welcome children from all ethnic and religious backgrounds.
For the families of our children we provide a friendly listening ear whenever needed and we desire to share with parents the way Jesus works in our lives.
CURRICULUM:
In St Mark's Playgroup all children are supported in developing their potential at their own pace. Our planned curriculum is tailored to meet the needs of each child. We offer developmentally appropriate play activities. We provide a curriculum that is structured around the Early Learning Goals, which are set by the D.f.E.S. The Early Learning Goals carry the child through the Foundation Stage of their education, which takes them through to the end of their Reception Year at School.
We keep records of each child's progress and development. These records are available to individual parents on request.
Playgroup is regularly inspected by OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) for the quality of care and education that we offer your child. We have always received an excellent report.
STAFF:
The Playgroup is run by paid staff working with a Management Committee. Our committed staff team have experience of working with young children and most are working towards further qualifications. We have a high ratio of adult staff to children (more than the statutory requirements). This enables us to give individual attention to each child. We regularly take students as part of their training or as Work Experience. These students are never included in the adult / child ratio. They are always supervised. Staff are encouraged to undertake extra training whenever possible. The Playgroup is covered by insurance.
DISCIPLINE:
As a Church we believe that your child is special in the eyes of God and so we will endeavour to treat them as individuals with respect and kindness. However, there are times when children do wrong things. At these times we try to treat all children fairly and will ask them to sit quietly on their own (with an adult in attendance), in order that they may calm down and think about their actions. We are always looking for children to be able to get along with each other. At no time will anyone use physical punishment for any child in Playgroup.
ACCIDENTS:
Fortunately we have very few accidents in Playgroup. However, if your child has an accident, however minor, they will be looked after appropriately and the accident recorded in the accident book. The Supervisor will inform you should your child have had an accident whilst at Playgroup and you will need to sign to confirm you have been given this information. Parents are asked to always inform the Playgroup Supervisor of any injury incurred by their child outside of Playgroup. For safety reasons this will then be recorded in the injuries book.
CHILD PROTECTION:
By law we are required to notify Social Services if we are in any way concerned about the well-being of a child. In most instances this will only be done after prior consultation with the parent. We wish to assure all parents that those who care for your children day by day have been checked at the relevant level with the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). All have been passed as safe to look after young children.
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT:
We are delighted to have the involvement of parents at Playgroup and in other ways. Once your child has settled we do hope that you will be happy to go on our Parents Rota. There will be an annual meeting (normally held during the autumn term) at which you can nominate and elect your representatives to the Playgroup Management Committee.
ILLNESSES:
Please notify us if your child develops any of the illnesses listed below. Please keep your child at home until your child has fully recovered.
Chicken Pox, Mumps, Scabies, Diarrhoea & Vomiting, Scarlet Fever, Threadworm, Food Poisoning, Whooping Cough, Meningitis, German Measles, Impetigo, Ringworm, Head Lice, Verrucae, Measles, Infective Jaundice.
You are most welcome to talk with us about anything which may be troubling you. If we don't know the answer we will do our utmost to find someone who can.
Playgroup Photos
A selection of photos from Playgroup.
Playgroup in the garden
It was a lovely sunny day so Playgroup was held in the garden. As you can see the children had a great time.
Some playing on the slide, some playing with water, some painting pictures with their feet. A couple of enterprising children were painting the gate! They were really enjoying their play in the garden.
Playgroup inside the Vicarage Hall
I spy fun in our playgroup
