Please contact us for further information.

We ask that all 2 year olds attend a minimum of TWO 3 hour sessions per week; and the term after the child turns 3, that they attend a minimum of THREE 3 hour sessions per week. This is to ensure that the child settles, and benefits as much as possible from their time with us.

From April 2024 - Main sessions cost £22.50 per session. The early start (which includes breakfast) costs £3.75, and the lunch club costs £3.75 (packed lunch must be provided).

Please see our Fees & Funding section further down, for details on what funding can be claimed.

The government have a website where you can access information about the 30 hours extended entitlement & tax free childcare.

Please see below:

Stratton Playgroup runs in line with the Stratton Primary School term dates; these are on display on the notice board. We have a Late / Non-collection of children policy and procedure.

The sessions are planned to give a balanced structure of physical, quiet, free play and adult led activities, both indoor and out. Our carefully planned activities ensure that every child can progress with confidence through the 7 areas of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage.

We plan for each child’s individual developmental needs & interests; and keep the curriculum aimed at their level of ability. Some of the activities your child will experience throughout all our sessions are: arts & crafts, a variety of role play, sensory play, messy play, cooking, gardening, singing and physical games.

We offer an Early Start every morning.

The children will be offered a range of fruits, cereals, yogurts and toast (waffles, and pancakes may also be offered on occasions, we will take part in some voting with the children to see their preferences). 

The early starts open from 8.15am and all children who are attending must be in the playgroup by 8.30am at the latest. 

The session costs £3.75 (the cost will be the same with or without breakfast), the cost of early starts can be covered by your funding - one early start will use ¾ hour of your funding.

We would appreciate it if these sessions can be booked in advance, but we do have some flexibility if you need to book in at the last minute. 

We offer a lunch club every day, from 12 noon to 12.30pm. Parents are required to provide a named nutritionally balanced packed lunch for their child. At the lunch club all children sit down to eat together, with staff; followed by a quiet activity. The cost is £3.75.

It is of the utmost importance that each child settles well into Playgroup and feels secure when their parent/carer leaves. This enables them to be happy and confident to interact with other children.

Each child is allocated a key person who, through shared information with parents/carers and a good knowledge of the key child, will give the support and care your child needs. Every child is different, so Playgroup welcomes parents/carers to settle each child at their own individual pace (eg. - leaving promptly or staying for as many sessions as needed, for your child to adjust and settle).

As our playgroup is a registered charity and not run by the County Council, we must have a committee of elected parents to be able to continue our services. They are supported by and work closely with the manager and administrator. We cannot stress enough how vital the committee is to our playgroup and how rewarding it is to be a part of it. If you are interested in joining our committee, please ask a member of staff.

Our playgroup welcomes parents to be involved in all aspects of their child’s learning experience, from working with the children, as a parent helper; to assisting with fundraising events, to helping with the management and running of our playgroup.

We do invite parents/carers into our setting, once their child has settled, to work alongside the staff, as parent helpers. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to see how your child interacts with others & to get to know the staff. We would love you to share your skills or talents, whether they are your occupation, hobbies or interests; or if you would like to help on an occasional basis; please speak to a member of staff.

Many of the activities can be messy so please dress your child appropriately! Children are encouraged to practice skills to help them gain independence, so clothing they can handle easily when going to the toilet is advised. We take the children outside as much as possible so please remember to provide appropriate weather wear; coats, hats, etc.

We ask that all children have named wellies, which can be left at playgroup; and a change of clothes brought with them each session.  Please remember to label all items. We do not have enough pegs to allocate each child their own peg; therefore, we ask children to choose a peg each day. However, children do have individual drawers, where their work and newsletters are put. The children check these at the end of each session.

Children are welcome to bring a comforter, toy or object from home but we do request these items do not promote violence in any way. Although staff do their best to ensure toys and objects are returned safely, they cannot be responsible for them. We do recommend that all toys / objects from home are clearly marked with the child’s name.

During the session we provide a snack where we offer a variety of different things. On special occasions and celebrations different foods may be offered. The weekly content of the snack is displayed in the playroom; please feel welcome to speak with a member of staff about any queries or concerns.

Parents receive monthly newsletters to keep them up to date of Playgroup events and activities.

To ensure Playgroup is a happy, healthy environment we have golden rules: Children are asked to be kind and gentle, use walking legs, use indoor voices, use listening ears, take turns & share with our friends, help each other, remember to say please & thank you, and to help tidy away.

All members of our team hold current First Aid Certificates incorporating Paediatric First Aid. All accidents and incidents are recorded on separate accident and incident forms, then filed in the child’s individual file. Parents are fully informed of any accidents and will be required to sign the Accident form at the end of the session. Parents or a designated person will be phoned immediately in urgent cases. Please make a note of any medical, or suspected, condition your child may have on the registration form and speak with our Manager - Kelly regarding any special or medicinal needs.

Parents are required to keep their children at home if they are suffering from any infections and to inform Playgroup of the nature of the infection. Children must also be kept at home if they have been sick or have had diarrhoea within the previous 48 hours. Please inform a member of staff if your child has had a bump to their head. Staff need to be aware as symptoms of head injuries can appear up to 72 hours later (we can provide advice leaflets for head injuries).

At Stratton Playgroup, we will work with children, parents and the community to ensure the rights and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life. Our Safeguarding Policy is based on the three key commitments of the Pre-school Learning Alliance Safeguarding Children Policy.

• We are committed to building a 'culture of safety' in which children are protected from abuse and harm in all areas of our service delivery.
• We are committed to responding promptly and appropriately to all incidents, allegations or concerns of abuse that may occur and to work with statutory agencies in accordance with the procedures that are set down in 'What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused' (HMG 2015).
• We are committed to promoting awareness of child abuse issues throughout our training and learning programmes for adults. We are also committed to empowering young children, through our early childhood curriculum, promoting their right to be strong, resilient and listened to.

The fees are payable weekly, monthly or termly in advance. Please note that fees must still be paid for absences, holidays or illness. Long term absences may be negotiated with the committee. Each child’s attendance is conditional upon fee payment. If your child is leaving before the end of a school year, Playgroup requires two weeks written notice.

Fees can be paid by Cash, Cheque (made payable to Stratton Playgroup) or by your Bank’s Online Payment System – please ask a member of staff for our details.

From April 2024 - Main sessions are three hours long and will cost £22.50 per session.  The early start (3/4 hour - including breakfast) will cost £3.75, and the lunch club (1/2 hour - packed lunch must be provided) will cost £3.75 per session.

There is a concessionary rate available for families with more than 1 fee paying (unfunded) child attending at one time, please ask a member of staff for details.

Some children may be entitled to 2-year-old “disadvantaged families” funding; applications need to be made via Cornwall Council’s Family Information Service, they will then approve up to 15 hours of funded childcare per week, if you or your child meet the criteria.

The term after your child turns 3 years old, they are entitled to Early Years Education Funding, which covers fees up to 15 hours per week for 38 weeks of every academic year. This must be taken over a minimum of 2 days in sessions no longer than 10 hours in any one day, and taken between a maximum of 2 childcare providers. Forms for this as well as entitlement dates are given out at the beginning of term and need to be completed quickly; staff are always on hand to help with any queries.

We ask that all 2-year-olds attend a minimum of TWO 3-hour sessions per week; and the term after the child turns 3, that they attend a minimum of THREE 3-hour sessions per week.

This is to ensure that the child settles, and benefits as much as possible from their time with us.

Some working parents of 3-year-olds are entitled to claim up to 30 hours funding per child, with the Extended Entitlement; certain criteria must be met, further details can be found at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

At the same time, some parents can also apply for a Tax-Free Childcare account: https://www.gov.uk/childcare-calculator

We may be able to claim up to an approx. £350 per year for Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) for some children that are claiming EYEF with us; this additional money could make a significant difference to your child’s learning outcomes. Any parent who thinks their child may be eligible, can have the appropriate details checked by Cornwall Council’s Early Years Finance Team, by simply informing us of your date of birth and national insurance number.

Under the flexible entitlement, parents with funded children can use the Early Start and Lunch Club as part of their funded hours and therefore not have to pay for them. But if you intend to use your full entitlement of funding on normal playgroup sessions, or your child is not government funded, the fee for the Early Start and/or Lunch Club will be payable.

Note – The government has confirmed that from September 2024, all eligible working parents of 9-month-olds to two-year-olds will also be able to access funding for 15 hours per week of education and care.

The government has confirmed that the new offers are for working families only and that the eligibility criteria will be the same as for the existing 30-hour for three- and four-year-olds.

This means that parents or carers will need to earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours at the minimum or living wage but no more than £100,000. This applies to each parent in dual-parent households, though there are exceptions where one parent is in receipt of Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Limited Capability for Work Benefit or contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance and their partner is working.

At Stratton Playgroup, we actively promote inclusion, equality of opportunity, the valuing of diversity and British values.

We listen to the child’s voice by engaging the children in democracy on a weekly basis; by asking them to vote for their choice of snack and role play.

Children can have access to a wide range of digital technologies, including a computer, tablet and camera. Children do not normally have access to the internet and never have unsupervised access. Staff only access the internet with the children for the purposes of promoting their learning. We only access sites that are deemed suitable for children (such as Cbeebies). Children are not allowed to access social networking sites and we have filtering software in place to prevent access to adult sites. All computers for use by children are located in an area clearly visible to staff.

Children are taught the following stay safe principles in an age appropriate way prior to using digital technologies and the internet.

• I will ask an adult if I want to use a device
• I will only use activities that an adult has told or allowed me to use.
• I will take care of the device and other equipment.
• I will ask for help from an adult if I am not sure what to do or if I think I have done something wrong
• I will tell an adult / a leader if I see something that upsets me on the screen.
• I know that if I break the rules I might not be allowed to use a device.

We ask parents to take the time to read and discuss the acceptable use rules with their child, so that they understand what the rules mean.