As parents, you are your child's first educators. They spend the majority of their time with you, and you know them far better than anyone else.
In order for us to get to know your child as well as we possibly can, we need to get to know you too! At Stawley and Swallows, we understand the importance of your role in your child's learning journey and we do everything we can to involve you and work with you.
Before your child even starts pre-school, we will talk to you about the kind of things they like to do at home, what sparks their imagination, how to comfort them when they are sad or hurt. We offer two free 'settling-in sessions', which you can attend with your child. This gives us an opportunity to talk to you whilst your child plays.
Once your child starts preschool, we will be available to talk to you every morning between 9.00 and 9.15 and if you ever have a concern or a question during the day, you are always welcome to phone, text, whatsapp or email us.
We understand how important it is for you to know what your child has been up to during the day. Our children pack in far too much each day for us to write it all down, but we do take a LOT of photographs! These are displayed for you to look at and they make great starting points for talking to the children about what they have been up to. If there are any important messages, a member of staff will ensure that you are told at the end of the session. Sometimes we will contact you during a session, often by text/whatsapp- for example, if your child struggles to settle, we will let you know as soon as they are happy.
Once a term, each child is a 'focus child'. The week before, we send home a sheet for you to fill in about what your child has been up to at home and you can highlight any concerns or questions you may have. We also ask for three photographs that your child can talk about. At the end of the focus week, we invite you in to have a look through your child's file and address those questions or concerns you highlighted at the beginning of the week.
We also welcome your unique skills and knowledge. We are very lucky to have local parents who bring us ducklings, lambs, various creatures they have found and allow us to visit their animals or orchard. If you are a keen gardener, artist, cook, musician or anything else that you could share with the children, we would love to hear from you!