Trial Session
After our initial meeting and introductions, we recommend that your child has a free 2 hour trial session to help both us and your child get to know each other.
We need to be confident that Village End is right for your child just as much as you do to ensure we can support them in every way they need. During your child’s free trial session our staff will support and feedback to you any notes they have made.One of the unique aspects of Village End is that we offer an open-plan setting that provides childcare for children of various ages.
Whilst this is fantastic for helping children to socially develop, please bear in mind it therefore may not suit some children, especially children who are under 2 years of age or not yet fully mobile.
Each situation is assessed individually, and if we feel your child is too young for our setting we may decide to delay the start date for your child.
If your child is displaying signs of separation anxiety, we may recommend that we build up the child’s sessions over a period of time to ensure that their time spent at Village End remains positive.
We ask all parents to provide a named bag for your child which contains the following, making sure all items are clearly named:
Nappies and wipes (if required), Dummy/Comforter (if needed), Wellies (weather dependent), Sun cream & sun hat (in hot weather).
Please make sure this is provided in a safe backpack rather than a plastic bag or drawstring bag, as our children are encouraged to hang their own belongings up on our low level pegs which can be accessed by the children throughout the day.
Please do not bring toys in your child’s bag, as these are likely to get lost or misplaced.
Packed Lunches
If you have chosen to provide your own food, please provide this in a sealed lunchbox that should be handed to a member of staff at drop-off. Our lunchboxes are kept in a secure area so that other children cannot access them.
We promote healthy choices within our setting, therefore please do not include sweets. Smaller items such as grapes, cherry tomatoes, mini sausages etc, should be cut appropriately to avoid choking hazards.
Due to allergies within the setting, please do not provide any products containing nuts.
There is no need to include any drinks as we provide children with milk and water throughout the day, encouraging them to make their own choices and develop their pouring skills in addition to supporting them to keep their teeth healthy.
On hot days the children should be dressed in cool, light clothing with a sun hat a placed in their bag.
For their own safety, footwear should be enclosed and flip-flops avoided. We also ask parents to apply a high factor sunscreen to their child before coming to Village End and provide us with a clearly labelled sunscreen so our staff can reapply throughout the day. Please inform a member of staff if you have not applied sunscreen in the morning on a hot day.Cold Weather
In colder months we still utilise our outdoor space as it is important for the children to be physically active and get some fresh air. They will need warm comfy clothes as well as a named coat, hat, scarf and gloves.
With wet weather, we request that the children attend with a pair of named welly boots. You may prefer to bring slippers for indoor shoes to keep their feet toasty warm after our outdoor play.