We are delighted to be able to offer places for Two-Year Old in our Tiny Teds unit. Your child can join our Tiny Teds group as soon as they turn two and they will move into our pre-school the term after they turn three. If you are looking for a place for your child, please feel free to make an appointment to come and visit our setting and see what we have to offer.

Meet the Tiny Teds' Team:

From left to right - Wendy, Liberty, Yuliia and Cath.

Sessions:

Our morning session will be 8.30am until 11.30am and our afternoon sessions will run from 12.15pm until 3.15pm. Please let us know if you have a preference of morning and afternoon and we will try our very best to accommodate this.

We have spaces for 16 children per setting. Unfortunately, we cannot offer full days at the moment. If you would like your child to join both sessions, you would need to collect your child and take them home for lunch and return for the afternoon session.

We require a minimum booking of two set days/sessions per week. These are to be agreed upon prior to your little one starting with us. Extra days may be booked at a later date, subject to availability.

Fees:

Our sessions are £15.00 for the three hours which will also include a snack. We require full payment prior to each session beginning.

Your 2-year-old can get free childcare if you live in England and get any of the following benefits:

• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments
• the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit (or both), and your household income is £16,190 a year or less before tax
• the Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)

Please visit: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-2-year-olds-claim-benefits for more information and to apply for funding.

Facilities:

We have a newly installed portacabin which provides free flow access to a designated outdoor area. The provision has been carefully planned to support development at Two Years.

We have adopted a 'curiosity approach' in our Tiny Ted’s cabin, providing the children with a harmonious learning environment where they can develop their imagination and creativity through real life objects, natural materials and imaginative play. We draw upon the principles of child-led learning, the ‘whole child’ hands-on exploration, and learning through everyday skills, experiences that promote independence and self-discovery.

We understand that a lot of the little ones will be about to start their toilet training journey and we will do all we can to help with this. The children will have access to their own purposeful built toilets within the cabin. If your child is not yet ready, we have changing facilities available.

Although we do not have a designated sleep room, we have a quiet, cosy corner within the cabin where the children can nap safely if needed.

Uniform:

As a school, it would be lovely for all children to wear the same uniform. If you would like your uniform to have the school logo, this is available to purchase at https://www.border-embroideries.co.uk/schools/st-michael-nursery-infant-school.html. You could also purchase the plain green jumpers and plain polos from other supermarkets.

We recommend elasticated waist trousers for the children as they are much more practical and comfortable. Sensible footwear and appropriate coats are always necessary. There is more information and images of our uniform on our website Parent Information - Uniform

We have waterproof puddle suits and aprons and spare wellies for use in school, but if you would like to bring your own, then that’s great too. We like our children to get involved in all activities, be that active and messy play as well as playing in the water as they gain so many skills and memories by doing so. Please bare this in mind as they may come away looking a little messier than they came, but with lots of stories to tell. Please could all items of clothing be clearly named.

What to bring:

Please ensure that your child comes to Nursery each session with a spare set of clothing, nappies/pull-ups and wipes (if needed), plenty of spare underwear if potty training, comforter and dummy (if needed) and a suitable coat.

The children may also come away with a book for you to read together, so please make sure that this is returned when requested.

Class Dojo:

We use Class DoJo as a communication platform within school. We will send all new parents a link and you can get set up and we will update you on the adventures your little one makes with their Tiny Ted friends. This is also a great way to communicate with the staff in school.

Snack:

We offer all children a healthy snack and drink of milk during each session which is supplied by the school. Our school is a nut-free zone. We always encourage independence and manners which is given great practice whilst eating. We will discuss any special dietary requirements and drinking cups etc at your home visit. Fresh drinking water is available at all times.

Drop Off and Collection:

Morning sessions:
Please drop off and collect your child from the Tiny Ted’s cabin.

Afternoon sessions:
Drop off: A Tiny Ted’s staff member will meet your child at Station Road gate.
Collection: Please collect from the Tiny Ted’s cabin.

Bespoke settling-in sessions:

We understand how important it is to get your little one settled into a new environment and really empathise with how strange and unsettling this may be for some, but don’t worry. As an exception, we allow our Tiny Teds to bring a comforter and/or dummy with them to use if needed, as we understand that, at such a young age, these home comforts can really help, especially when settling in. If you feel that you would like shorter sessions to begin with or extra visits before they start so that they are used to the room, we are happy to accommodate this as we want everyone to be as happy as possible. With all new starters, we carry out a home visit before they start so we can discuss any concerns and make any adaptions where possible at this visit. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and get to know each other a little better.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01900 608111 or alternatively, you can email the school office at admin@smhwkt.cumbria.sch.uk.