About Us
Ridgeway Preschool is located on the South Yorkshire/Derbyshire border and ran by a team with many years experience working with young children. We offer high quality care and education for children aged between 2½-5 years residing in Ridgeway and the surrounding areas. The Pre-school is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance and is Ofsted registered.
Our Ethos, Aims & Objectives
It is our aim to care for children in an educational setting which is safe, happy, stimulating and caring. By creating such an environment, we can help all our children develop to fulfil their potential.
We aim to provide high standards of care and education for all children regardless of their race, ability or gender. Our approach is to develop close working partnership with parents in order to support a child’s individual needs and interests.
Our Educational Standards
We pride ourselves on offering your child...
A carefully planned curriculum that is led by the children’s interests and needs and linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Individual care and attention made possible by a high ratio of adults to children. Each session is run by qualified staff.
The opportunity to mix socially with other children and adults.
Opportunities for you and your family to be directly involved, in the activities of the group and in your own child’s progress.
All children at Ridgeway Preschool are assigned a named keyworker, who work more closely with them, observing how they learn. This helps them to plan for their next stage of development.
Your keyworker will share information regularly with parents about their child's progress and work together with them to ensure all families have the best experience possible.
We aim to provide high standards of care and education for all children regardless of their race, ability or gender. Our approach is to develop close working partnership with parents in order to support a child’s individual needs and interests.
Safeguarding
Ridgeway Preschool is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children. Safeguarding is everyone's priority, and we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We have policies and procedures in place to safeguard children, which can be viewed on our policies and procedures section.
All staff are trained in Safeguarding and we have Designated Safeguarding Lead and a deputy Safeguarding lead who take overall responsibility for safeguarding and are always available for staff it they have any concerns. The DSL is responsible for supporting staff and liaising with other professionals.
DSL is Clare Watters. Deputy DSL is Michelle Marshall.
Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is Clare Watters.
Our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead is Michelle Marshall.
If parents/carers have any safeguarding concerns, they can contact one of the following:
Emergency Services (Police) - 999
Starting Point (for children based in Derbyshire) - 01629 533190
Sheffield Safeguarding Hub (for children based in Sheffield) - 0114 2734855
Rotherham Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) (for children based in Rotherham) - 01709 336080
Or you can call the NSPCC for help and advice on 0808 800500.
SENCO
We have a qualified SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) and a Deputy Senco. They assist staff, by providing advice and support to children with additional needs. They also access specialist support, where appropriate to ensure that all children have the best learning experience.
Should you need any help and advice call Derbyshire Early Years Special Educational Needs Service (EYSENS) on 01629 537695 or Derbyshire Local Offer (support and advice service) on 01629 533190.
Our SENCO is Michelle Marshall
Our Deputy SENCO is Clare Watters.
Settling In
We have an open day once a year for children, parents, and carers to have a look around, meet the staff, and ask any questions.
We then offer pre start visits with parents to stay and play. Once starting preschool, the children are fully supported by their keyworkers to settle into preschool.
Preschool Hours
At Ridgeway Preschool, we pride ourselves on offering school-style setting to help get your child ready for school...
All Day Sessions
Monday to Friday (term time only)
8:15am to 3:45pm
Packed lunch required
Our Daily Routine...
8:15am
Arrival & Free Play
8:15am
Arrival & Free Play
9:00am to 10:00am
Breakfast/Snack Bar Open
9:30am
Door Open - Free Flow Play
11:00am
Tidy Up Time
11:30am
Lunch Time
12:30pm
Door Open - Free Flow Play
2:00pm
Snack Time
2:45pm
Tidy Up Time
3:00pm
Story/Singing