FAQs

We are happy to accept registration forms from children as soon as they are born!

Use the following to determine when your child is eligible for funding:

A child born between 1 April and 31 August (inclusive) will be eligible to claim the free entitlement in Kent for two years from the start of Term 1 following their third birthday (after Summer Holiday) until statutory school age.

A child born between 1 September and 31 December (inclusive) will be eligible to claim the free entitlement in Kent for two years from the start of Term 3 following their third birthday (after Christmas/New Year Holiday) until statutory school age.

A child born between 1 January and 31 March (inclusive) will be eligible to claim the free entitlement in Kent for two years from the start of Term 5 following their third birthday (after April Holiday) until statutory school age.

Read more about funding here.

Parents/carers will be asked by our Business Managers to complete and return forms periodically, so that the Pre-School can claim funding on your behalf.

Yes. Before joining the group you will be asked to complete a “Guidance sheet” and on here you will be asked to indicate if your child requires specific support in many areas of development, including toileting. Then on your first day at Pre-School your child’s Key Person will greet you and you will have the opportunity to update her on any toileting needs

Forms are sent to parents/carers in April asking for session requests for the next academic year.  From January until July we generally run at near full capacity with few session spaces available.

At times other than this, parents should email info@penendenheathpreschool.co.uk to make requests for additional sessions.  If requests are received for full sessions a waiting list is held and parents will be contacted as soon as a place becomes available.

Changes to funded sessions can only be made at the start of Terms 1 (September), 3 (January) and 5 (April).  If your child is funded, increases in sessions made at other times would have to be paid for at our normal session rates until the funding change can be implemented.

‘One off’ sessions can also be requested again by emailing info@penendenheathpreschool.co.uk  We ask that 48 hours notice is given for any requests.

Parents need to supply a packed lunch when their child is attending an afternoon session.  Please see this poster and the Change4Life website for tips on what to include in your child’s packed lunch. Please note we are a NUT FREE setting.

Yes, we ask that you inform us in advance of your child being absent from Pre-School, please email info@penendenheathpreschool.co.uk with the dates.  For non-funded children fees will still be due irrespective of holiday being taken.

The sun’s rays are particularly strong over the summer and they can damage children’s skin. This may not seem like a problem right now but sadly it can lead to skin cancer in later life. Your child’s health and well-being are very important to us.

It is the responsibility of parents/carers to apply sunscreen to their children themselves before arrival at Pre-School. It is our responsibility to work with yourself in maintaining the children’s welfare therefore if we feel it is required we will apply additional sunscreen.

If your child attends all day and goes out after lunch, we will re-apply a sunscreen of factor 50+ using the Pre-School’s supply. When you complete your personal details form you will be asked for consent to apply sun cream. We actively encourage all children to wear a hat when they play outside in the summer months, hats are provided within Pre-School for use in the setting. Personal hats for travel to and from Pre-School can be kept in a bag on the trolley. Clothing will help protect skin from the sun and tops should cover shoulders as they are more beneficial than vests and strappy tops. Information regarding outdoor play and the use of suncream is available in the Outdoors section of our Health and Safety Policy. 

In the case of a minor accident occurring during a Pre-School session we will record this in our accident book which will then be signed by the parent/carer on collection of the child.

Please could you make us aware of any bumps or bruises that have occurred before your child arrives for a session, including any head injuries sustained up to 48 hours prior to Pre-School attendance. This will help us to monitor whether an accident has happened at Pre-School.  

We will endeavour to send an email early in the morning if the Pre-School is to shut due to adverse weather conditions on that day, or for parents without email contact we will send a text.  We will also try to update our Facebook page. 

You may also visit www.kentclosures.co.uk.  The Kent Closures website can also be used to find out if other services in Kent are open or closed, such as  children’s centres and libraries.

If you have any concerns about deteriorating weather conditions and need to collect your child early please do so.  If someone not known to the Pre-School is collecting your child please inform us in writing or by telephone and make sure the person collecting them knows your child’s password.

Any help however large or small is always appreciated at Pre-School.  Once your child is settled into his/her sessions you could volunteer to help at a session, please speak to either Mrs Terry or Miss Goble.

We are a committee run Pre-School and to maintain our charity status we need a full committee, our committee is made up of a Chairperson, Co-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary and up to 8 General Members.

Please click here for more information on how you can get involved.