What do I need to know?
Stepping Stones Pre-school runs its terms dates concurrent with Clipston Primary School.
These are Northamptonshire term dates and are often different to Leicestershire.
Click here :
Stepping Stones Pre-school Term dates 2023 - 2024
Free Early Education
3 and 4 year olds in England are entitled to 15 hours of free early education each week for 38 weeks of the year, and since 2017, if the child's parents both work you may be eligible for up to 30 hours free funding.
From April 2024, eligible parents of children aged 2 will have access to 15 hours of funded childcare from April 2024. This will be increased to 30 hours of funded childcare from September 2025.
The date you can claim funding from will depend on when the child's birthday is.
Talk to us at any point and we can help you find out what you are eligible for and when. You can also check your eligibility and find further information on the West Northamptonshire website: CLICK HERE
We also accept childcare vouchers, a government scheme for working parents whereby you can register and get tax-free childcare. If you think you might be eligible or have any questions please talk to us or look at the Government website: CLICK HERE
Fees
From 1st April 2024 our fees are £19.50 per session payable half term in advance (a full day is 2 sessions). See notes on government funding in the above paragraph.
(We will require a copy of your child’s birth certificate before we can claim funding from the Government).
Lunch Club costs £3.25 per session
It also greatly helps us cover running costs if we request additional voluntary contributions on a half termly basis - suggested contribution of £2.50 per day for snack provision and £7.00 for Forest School.
Prospectus
Stepping Stones' provision for children's development and learning is guided by the UK's Early Years Foundation Stage, click on the link for the full document:
Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Our prospectus shows you just how we set out to do this, and how we make sure that all the children who attend, and their parents/carers, are treated with individuality, care and early years specialism.
Click here to download our prospectus as a pdf, or phone us on 01858 525113 to request a printed copy.
Our Policies
Stepping Stones is committed to providing the safest and most appropriate learning environment possible. We have a full set of policies and guidelines in place to ensure this.
Each policy is available to download from this website -the full list can be accessed by clicking here.
Special Needs
Each child is able to progress at her/his own rate in all areas of development, and this is true for children with and without disabilities or learning difficulties.
We are experienced in working in close liaison with professionals across the range of special needs. We have a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator who is responsible for seeing that any additional needs are met. This may be a physical adaptation of the environment or specialised training for staff.
Child Protection and Safeguarding
Schools and Pre-schools must provide a safe environment and take action to identify and protect any children who are at risk of significant harm. We make sure child safeguarding is a priority and we foster an environment where everyone feels secure.
If you ever have any concerns about the protection of any of the children who attend Stepping Stones you can talk to the setting manager or to our Child Safeguarding committee member see the current committee.