Shotley Kidzone

General information

Shotley Village Playgroup began in 1964. It moved to its present location in 1984. During that time it has developed into a completely new childcare setting. In November 2004 SHOTLEY KIDZONE opened its new premises next to the school, now offering:
Breakfast club
Pre-school sessions
After school club
Holiday club

At Shotley Kidzone we aim to provide a stimulating learning environment that will encourage all children to explore, investigate and learn through first hand experiences.

Links with the School

The links are well established with the Shotley County Primary School. We can also use the school grounds and school hall. This helps to establish a relationship with the children’s present and future teachers and the surroundings.

Policies

Copies of Shotley Kidzone’s policies are available to view at the setting lobby, please ask a member of staff in you wish extra copies. The policies help us to make sure that the service provided by Shotley Kidzone is a high quality one, and that being a member of the pre-school is an enjoyable and beneficial experience for each child and their parents/carers.

The staff and parents of the setting work together to adopt the policies and they all have the opportunity to take part in the annual review of the policies. This review helps us to make sure that the policies enable the pre-school to provide a quality service for its members.

Play Equipment

As part of the setting’s policy to make sure that its provision meets the needs of each individual child, we take account of any special needs which a child may have. The setting works to the requirements of the 1993 Education Act and The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2000). The setting’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is Therasa Butcher, the co-ordinator liaises with outside agencies when needed.

Information

As you may know, we at Shotley Kidzone need to keep information about your child. We may at times need to pass on some of this information to Suffolk County Council so that we can claim Funding to pay for Early Education Sessions that your child receive. From January 2008, the department for school and families (DCSF) requires Suffolk County Council to provide them with such information, which is subject to the Data protection Act 1998.

The Management of Pre-school

A parent management committee — whose members are elected by the parents of the children who attend the setting — oversees the the setting, together with the Manager. The elections take place at the setting’s Annual General Meeting which is held in each year. The committee is responsible for :

managing the setting’s finances and arranging fund raising events
employing and managing the staff
making sure that the setting has — and works to — policies which help it to provide a high quality service
making sure that the setting works in partnership with the children’s parents