New Life Pre-school offers the local community a well-established Christian pre-school in central Croydon with easy access to tram, train and bus networks. The pre-school is a part of New Life Christian Centre, a large, vibrant church based in Cairo New Road in the heart of central Croydon.
We aim to: 
  • Provide high quality care and education for pre-school children 
  • Work in partnership with parents to help children to learn and develop 
  • Add to the life and well-being of its local community 
  • Offer children and their parents a service which promotes equality and values diversity.

Our pre-school offers the following service: 

• We are open five days per week, Monday - Friday. 
• The pre-school is open for 38 weeks each year. 
• We are closed during normal state school holidays. 
• We offer care and education for young children between the ages of 2-4. 
• We accept government funding. 
Our morning sessions run from 9am -12pm and the afternoon sessions run from 12.30pm-3.30pm. Children who stay all day, bring a packed a lunch with them. There is a charge of £2 each day for this lunch period (as funding doesn’t cover this half hour period). Our enthusiastic and nurturing team of practitioners provide a wonderful environment for children to play, learn and grow. 
Our pre-school is divided into specific areas and we encourage the children to share, play together and take time on their own when needed. We provide a range of toys and activities to create a rich and varied learning environment. Children are encouraged to explore their creativity through media such as sand, paint, water, construction toys and varied malleable materials.
Our outdoor environment provides opportunities for children to play more freely, use their large muscles, big voices, and develop coordination. The children can also have direct experience of nature (plants, bugs, the weather) and the local environment (trams, trains, roads, houses and offices).
We sometimes use the large hall for more ‘gross motor skill action’. We have a variety of sports equipment available from foam javelins, hoops and bean bags to bats and balls. We play games together or have ‘parachute fun.’
We are dedicated to the progress of each child and our planning revolves around the next steps we have for them. We encourage each child in school readiness both in practical ways (such as getting their coat on, sharing & co-operating with our boundaries and routines) and learning (letters, numbers etc) and developing their fine motor skills.

OUR AIMS 

We aim to provide a well-ordered, safe, stimulating and happy environment in which the children are encouraged through a variety of activities to learn through play. In accordance with current government educational policy, we follow ‘The Development Matters’ in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This sets out the ‘Standards for Learning, Development and Care’ for children from birth to five. Four guiding principles shape our practice: 

A Unique Child – every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.  Positive Relationships – children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.  Enabling Environments – children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.  Learning and Development – Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities. Seven areas of learning and development are covered, including three prime areas (Communication & Language, Physical Development and Personal, Social & Emotional Development.) The four additional areas covered are: Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the world and Expressive Arts & Design.

WORKING TOGETHER FOR YOUR CHILDREN

New Life Pre-school has a high ratio of adults to children in the setting: 1:4 for children under 3 and 1:8 for children over 3. This helps us to:

  • Give time and attention to each child

  • Talk with the children about their interests and activities

  • Help children to experience and benefit from the activities we provide

  • Allow the children to explore and be adventurous in safety

  • Encourage children’s independence and school readiness

HOW PARENTS TAKE PART IN THE PRE-SCHOOL

As a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, New Life Pre-School recognises parents as the first and most important educators of their children. All of the staff see themselves as co-workers with you in providing care and education for your child. There are many ways in which parents take part in making the pre-school a welcoming and stimulating place for children and parents, such as:

  • Exchanging knowledge about their children’s needs, activities, interests and progress with the staff

  • Welcoming parents to sessions of the pre-school

  • Sharing their own special interests skills and cultural activities with the children

  • Taking part in social events and attending parent consultations

KEY PERSON

Our pre-school assigns a key person to each child. This means that each member of staff has a group of children for whom they have special responsibilities. They will give them reassurance; make them feel safe and well cared for. They will be the person who works with you to make sure that your child’s needs and interests are being met by the pre-school. They will complete records of development and progress, which can be shared with you at any time you request.

PRE-SCHOOL PROFILES

The key person takes photographs and observations of your child on our Online journaling system, Tapestry. Parents can log on to this secure system and access what their child is doing at Preschool. They can make comments on what they see, and also take photos and observations at home if there are things they would like to share, and input into their child’s learning journal. This is another way we can work in partnership to support each and every child.

THE SESSION

The pre-school organises its sessions so that the children can choose from, and work at, a range of activities and, in doing so, build up their ability to select and work through a task to its completion. The children are also helped and encouraged to take part in adult-led small and large group activities e.g. cooking and games which introduces them to new experiences and helps them to gain new skills, as well as helping them to learn to work with others.

SNACKS AND DRINKS

We make snack time part of a social time at which children eat together. Parents are asked to bring a piece of fruit in each day to share at snack time. Milk and water are provided.

SPECIAL NEEDS

As part of the pre-school’s policy to make sure that its provision meets the needs of each individual child, we take account of any special needs, which a child may have. The pre-school works to the requirements of the 1993 Education Act and The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2014). Our pre-school has a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.