Frequently Asked Questions

Our morning sessions incorporate a lot of free choosing time for the children, we also include time for singing, a story and outdoor play. You can find out more about our timetables here.

The teacher to child ratio is determined by a child's age. The ratio for 2 year olds in the setting is 1 adult to 4 children. The ratio for 3 & 4 year olds in the setting is 1 adult to 8 children. 

A child can start lunch club as soon as they are settled into the preschool. We believe that it is a great way for them to work on their social and communication skills. 

We do not provide lunch for the children during lunch club, we ask that they bring in a named lunchbox and water bottle for these sessions. Click here for guidance on what to include for your child's lunch. 

No, you do not have to provide your child with a snack each day. Instead, we ask that parents/ carers donate fruit and vegetables when they can that can be shared amongst all of the children. 

Our policy recommends that a child starting in Rainbow Room or the Main Room should attend a minimum of 2 sessions per week to begin with as this helps with the settling in process. If a child is enrolled in our  nursery class (red group), they are expected to attend all 4 morning sessions per week. 

Your child does not need to be toilet trained to attend our setting. When your child is ready, we will be happy to help guide you through this process. 

We currently charge a fee of £34 per morning session, lunch club and afternoon sessions are an additional charge. You can find a list of our current fees here

We offer the following sessions Monday to Thursday weekly during term time. 

Morning Session: 9am - 12pm

Lunch Club: 12 - 1pm

Afternoon Session: 1 - 3pm

Full Day: 9am - 3pm

Yes, we do accept childcare vouchers. Please contact Mrs Robinson for the relevant code when setting up this scheme with your employer.

How much time that your child spends in the garden will be their own choice, the door is open throughout the session when they aren't participating in a group activity. Nursery children all go out together for the second half of the morning.

Yes,  when you accept a place at the Preschool we will arrange a time and date for a home visit to take place with your child's key person and another member of staff. Home visits are important as it enables us to see your child in their own familiar environment. 

Each child is assigned a key person who is responsible for settling, observing and planning appropriate activities for them. Activities are varied weekly and are based around each child's individual needs, interests and the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum. You can find out more about the curriculum we follow here. 

We communicate with parents via Tapestry, an online journal of your child's time with us. Parent's are also encouraged to share comments and observations about their child's progress outside of the setting through this platform. 

The URC Preschool and Nursery are proud to have an amazing Parent Teacher Association (PTA) who are always looking for new volunteers to join them. The PTA put on many events for parents and children throughout the year, it is a great way to meet other families in the area. Click here to find out more and get in contact with the head of our PTA.

Children are encouraged to bring a small bag with their belongings that can fit on their peg. The bag should include a change of clothes, nappies, wet wipes, nappy sacks and a sun hat if appropriate. We also encourage your child to bring in a comforter when they start to help settle them. If your child is attending lunch club, they should bring a named lunch box and water bottle.

Parents are encouraged to bring their child into the setting and hang their belongings on the child's peg before saying a final goodbye. If your child is attending lunch club, there is a blue trolley for their lunch boxes in the main room. Nursery parents meet their key person by the stairs and can leave lunchboxes on the child's peg. Upon collection, parents will be invited into the setting to collect their child from Rainbow Room after a morning session and lunch club, or the Main Room at the end of the afternoon session. 

Upon starting at the Preschool, parents are asked to fill in a booklet about their child including any religious holidays that your family celebrate. We constantly update our calendar to include these celebrations and incorporate them into weekly planning. To find out more about religious holidays that we have recently celebrated, take a look at our blog posts here. 

The children take part in three events per academic year that the parents are invited to come along to. At the end of the Autumn term, the children take part in a Nativity service in our Church. Similarly, the children take part in an Easter singalong service at the end of the Spring term. At the end of the Summer term, parents are invited to watch the children take part in a sports day which is followed by a family picnic to say our final goodbyes to the children leaving us.

We are only able to administer medication with written consent from the child's parent/ carer. You will be asked to fill out a form stating the dosage and time that the medication should be administered. Two members of staff will always be present when giving a child medication and the procedure will be recorded. 

In accordance with our health and safety policy, we are unable to apply suncream on any child throughout the session, including the afternoon sessions. We encourage parents to apply suncream generously before you bring your child to preschool, provide them with a sunhat and ensure that their shoulders are covered to prevent burning. Are your customers raving about you on social media? Share their great stories to help turn potential customers into loyal ones.

If your child suddenly becomes ill during the session and needs to go home, we will use the contact details that you provide when your child starts with us. For this reason, it is important to update us with any changes to these details as soon as possible. 

You should fill out a registration form even if you have not yet looked around the setting as your details will be added to our waiting list. There is no fee to register your child and no obligation to accept a place once it has been offered to you.Have you opened a new location, redesigned your shop, or added a new product or service? Don't keep it to yourself, let folks know.

Our Red Group nursery is often oversubscribed, therefore it is not guaranteed that your child will be offered a place. You can find out more about how we prioritise our nursery waiting list by clicking here. 

The URC Preschool is owned by the Harpenden United Reformed Church. We work closely with the children and families minister and also use their premises for our special end of term sing along services. The church always welcome our families for their weekly Sunday services and any events that they run throughout the year. To find out more information about the Harpenden URC and how you can get involved, click here.

The preschool has a library system that enables children to take home various books when they please. We ask that you sign the book out when borrowing a book and sign it back in when you return it. You can usually find our library trolleys near the entrance to Rainbow Room at the end of the sessions. 

There is no compulsory home learning for the children in Preschool. However, you will often see 'what's next' steps at the end of Tapestry observations that you can work on with your child at home. Red group children are also encouraged to bring in an item from home weekly when they start to learn phonics. Occasionally, your child will return home with a bear for the weekend - please take a picture of what you get up to and upload it to Tapestry before returning the bear the following week. 

Each key person monitors a child's progress and development through observations and the EYFS statements for each age category. 

 The PTA have a closed facebook group for parents that you can follow for event updates and to find out how you can get involved with fundraising.