Buttercups Early Years Centre is a Forest School, owned and managed by Nature’s Pre-Schools Ltd., a privately-owned, not-for-profit company dedicated to providing exceptional early years care.
Our core team have many years of experience working in early years care, all of us starting as trainees and working our way up to senior and management positions in various and diverse settings. As a result we have hands-on experience of the wide range of approaches to early years care; some approaches we have found to be very successful indeed, others less so. In setting up our company our primary aim was to pull together the various strands of the most successful approaches, coupled with the determination to always put the child at the centre of our decisions – every activity we undertake, every policy we have in place, and every idea we try is always tested against the responses of our children. If something we try has a positive impact on a child’s learning, problem-solving or engagement skills then we keep it and continually refine it to make it as good as it can be. We focus everything around the children in our care for one very good reason: it is what we have always demanded for our own children.
Our senior staff hold internationally recognised Forest School qualifications, enabling us to lead the children through their outdoor adventures in safety. The setting manager and deputy are both fully-qualified Forest Schools Leaders, and all of our staff are working toward that qualification..
We provide a comprehensive welcome pack to parents when their children are enrolled, giving a wide range of information. A summary of the key points is presented here:
Our Aim:
We aim to provide a stimulating and natural environment in which all children learn, develop and thrive through an imaginative and adventurous curriculum, supported by qualified and dedicated adults. We achieve this by exploring the beautiful natural environment around our setting each morning with the children, ensuring that they have plenty of fresh air, exercise and adventures. Research has shown that children who spend a lot of time outdoors grow in confidence and self esteem, developing independence and resourcefulness, have better social skills, more sophisticated written and spoken language skills, attention and focus skills, an increased awareness and respect for their environment, and as a bonus they also sleep very well – which brings its own rewards.
Our Curriculum:
The activities and routine of Buttercups EYC are planned using the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the High Scope, Forest Schools and Steiner educational approaches to learning. The EYFS is the curriculum complied by the Department for Education & Skills (DfES), for children aged 0-5 years
Daily Routine:
Because we have a consistent routine the children have control of their time and they are secure in the knowledge that they can plan, carry out an activity and reflect on what they have done. Even the newest members of Buttercups will quickly develop an understanding of the routine, secure because they know what will happen next.
Our daily routine is broadly as follows:
Time Activity
9:00 Arrival, register, circle time and singing. Talk about our plans for the morning, and the weather.
9:15 Prepare to go outdoors.
9:30 Leave Village Hall for our morning activities.
10:00 Snack
12:00 Arrive back, remove outdoor clothes and prepare for lunch.
12:10 Lunchtime.
12:45 Quiet time and then talk about our plans for the afternoon.
13:30 Afternoon session at Village Hall.
15:30 Finish, children collected.
Staff Ratios:
Buttercups EYC has a high ratio of adults to children, one adult to a maximum of six children, this enables us to:
• Give time and attention to each child
• Talk with the children about their experiences, interests and activities
• Help children to experience and benefit from the activities provided
• Allow the children to explore and be adventurous in a safe environment
Special Needs:
It is our policy that the special needs of a child are taken into account. The pre-school works to the requirements of the 1993 Education Act and the Special Education Needs Code of Practice (2000). We have a trained and very experienced SENCO who will work closely with you, our Area SENCO (Early Years Advisory Teacher) and outside agencies to meet the needs of our children. A copy of our SEND policy is available for you to read in the setting and hard copies can be made for you or emailed to you on request.
Our SEND Local Offer can be found here.
Key Carers:
We operate a key carer system. This means that each member of staff has a group of children for whom they are particularly responsible. They work in partnership with parents/carers to make sure that the pre-school provides for your child’s particular needs and interests. As part of this system we will work with you, and your child, to complete your child’s Learning Journey.
The Learning Journey is a working document used to document your child’s progress throughout their time at Buttercups. We value parent’s contributions to the Learning Journey and actively encourage the children to share and add to their special book. When your child moves to Infant School, this record (with your permission) will be shared with the Reception Teacher.
Meetings will take place during your child’s time with us to give you a chance to see the records and discuss them with your child’s key carer. Your child’s Learning Journey is available for you to see at any time you wish. We always endeavour to hold meetings at times that suit parents/carers.
Our curriculum and activities are accessible to all children, whilst being relevant to their age, interests and abilities. We have high expectations and standards for all staff and children. Each key carer’s observations and record keeping provides the information required to plan appropriate activities to develop and meet the needs and interests of each individual child.
Working With Parents:
Buttercups EYC strives to work as partners in a relationship, promoting parental involvement. We recognise that parents are a child’s primary educators. We regularly consult with parents either verbally or through questionnaires and surveys as we value your opinions and this helps us to provide a better service.
Within the setting we provide support for parents in the form of notices and a parent information point with information on local services, healthy eating, language tools, books of interests etc.
We strive to support families and parents by:
• Valuing all parents equally
• Meeting with parents at times convenient to them
• Keeping all information confidential unless abuse is suspected
• Talking through the possibility of involving outside agencies where appropriate and only with parental consent, unless abuse is suspected
• Having a trained SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-Coordinator) to work particularly with children with special needs
You can contribute to our pre-school in the following ways:
• Helping at pre-school sessions
• Helping provide, make and look after the equipment and materials used
• Taking part in events and community activities in which Buttercups EYC either organises or takes part
• Building friendships with other parents in the pre-school
• Attending meetings, outings and fundraising activities