Ladybird Pre-school was founded in 1998, we provide a high standard of care for children from 6 weeks to 5 years old. We are an independent charity-run preschool based in the church hall of St Laurence Church Bell Green. We operate a family-friendly approach, with many of our current and past staff members using our setting for their own children and families.
We have highly experienced and fully qualified staff, including two Early Years Teachers. All of the staff access continuous professional development across all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage, ensuring skills are kept up to date on current developments in early years education, current legislations and policies.
All of the staff team are trained and experienced to support children with additional needs. The nursery has a SEND policy in place that all staff and parents are made familiar with when joining the setting. We have a ‘Special Education Needs Co-ordinator’ (SENCO). We work closely with outside agencies such as speech and Language therapists and SEND early years to plan for progress and development. We have good connections with the Early Years team, who can provide advice and guidance to the setting and parents. We will do our best to cater for all additional educational needs, seeking appropriate training for staff, to enable them to meet your child’s needs. We encourage parents to discuss their child’s individual needs with us as soon as possible when applying for a place so that we can ensure that support and resources are in place to make starting preschool a positive experience for all children and parents.
The nursery operates a ‘free flow’ environment where children can independently access resources, and throughout the day, there are adult-led activities and experiences, so the children receive a balance of adult-led, adult-guided, and child-initiated activities. Your child will have a key person who they will form a special relationship with, who will plan for their progress and development, complete observations and assessments, and they will keep parents updated regularly.
We have a large, warm, and welcoming indoor space, which we are able to arrange and adapt the learning environment to meet all children’s needs and interests. We have a designated baby area within the main environments, indoors and outside.
We foster a family feel within the environment, with all age groups being able to interact throughout the day, developing their social skills, confidence, and independence.
We have a beautiful outside area where the children can play no matter the weather. It is designed to be very natural, where children can learn about wildlife and nature, as well as play with equipment to encourage and develop physical exercise in a safe and secure area.