Barkham Pre School was established in 1971 and provides facilities for children from 2 years 10 months to 5 years. Sessions are 3¾ hours long including lunchtime (children may bring a packed lunch or may leave before lunch). Sessions are funded when children are eligible.
We are a registered charity (no. 1026028) situated in Barkham Village Hall, a peaceful setting on the outskirts of Wokingham, next to open fields and Barkham Church. The Village Hall gives us the flexibility of both a small and large hall, with a secure play area outside and plenty of parking.
St James Church, Church lane.
We are registered with Wokingham Borough Council Community Services Department and are inspected by OFSTED. The Pre-School was inspected by OFSTED in 2011 and was judged to provide a Good standard of care.
We offer a happy and caring environment for the children. Our aim is to provide learning experiences through a wide variety of structured activities and play, and to work in partnership with parents to help each child make a happy transition from home to school.
We have an excellent team of caring and committed staff, who promote a happy and supportive atmosphere. Each staff member has been police vetted and has signed both a statement of suitability and a non-discrimination declaration as laid down by OFSTED.
As a member of the Pre School Learning Alliance (PLA), it is our aim to have fully trained staff. The staff attend foundation courses run by the PLA, Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) and other agencies. And all the staff are qualified First Aiders.
We are registered for a maximum of 24 places per session. The staffing ratio of adults to children is a minimum of one to every six children.
Barkham Pre School is a community group run by a committee of parents. Parental involvement is therefore essential to the smooth running of the Pre School. The committee is elected annually at the AGM in July. The financial arrangements of the Pre School are the responsibility of the committee. The committee employs the staff, who in turn are responsible for all the children in their care and the day to day activities. Fund-raising, publicity and social events are also organised by the committee.
A typical session
9.00am arrival: Parents and children enter the small room, hang up coats and bags on named pegs. Children can then choose from three or four quiet activities. Example activities include puzzles, drawing, building/construction, science based. The activities are rotated daily. The register is taken
9.30am: Having discussed the options available next door, each child finds his/her name and places it in a box before moving into the large hall for free play.
A spacious room allows us to have a huge variety of toys and equipment at the children’s disposal. A home corner, reading corner, drawing table, modelling table, and playdoh are the staple activities plus a variety of other toys, which again rotate. Free play with self chosen activities where children are encouraged to try as many different options. This includes outdoor play where children are allowed freely to come and go between outside and in,
10-10.30am Snack time. A snack table is set up which includes a healthy snack and a choice of milk or water to drink. Each children has to wash their hands before sitting at the table and then finds their name on the board and puts it in the box
11.25am: Tidy Up time – all children are involved in the tidying up of the large hall
11.35am: Split into two age groups, one group goes to the small room for a story whilst the other stays in the large hall for physical activity, singing, musical movement.
11.50am: The groups swap over
12.00pm: Wash hands and sit down for lunch (optional) Children sit at tables with one member of staff who discusses what they’ve done that morning, talk about days of the week, seasons, weather, counting. Children are encouraged to eat savoury food before pudding!
12.45 Pick up. Parents meet back in the small hall where they wait for their child to be called through. A table with all artwork, notices, letters etc for parents to collect.
