Introduction

HCA Pre-School is part of a charitable organisation within the Hullbridge Community Association, teaching and caring for the children of Hullbridge since 1973.

The HCA committee is responsible for our financial position and relies mainly on government funding and child fees. The HCA Committee who, alongside the manager of the pre-school, are responsible for implementing the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage thus ensuring good practice. The HCA Committee is responsible for the employment of all staff who are CRB checked. The Pre-School operates in accordance with Ofsted legislation and is registered as full day care. We are members of the Pre-School Learning Alliance.

Staff ratio :

 2 year old children – 1 adult to 4 children
 3-5 year old children – 1 adult to 6 children

The aims of our Pre- School are :

 To enhance the development and education of children under school age.
 To provide a safe, caring and stimulating environment.
 To give security and consistency to allow each child to develop at their own pace.
 To welcome you to HCA Pre-School, where high standards are met by the staff to create a warm and happy atmosphere for your child. 

Assessment

All children within our setting are assessed regularly, thus enabling the staff to work with parents/carers to ensure that each child is supported to reach their full potential. We operate a Key worker system for all children. Each child will have their own personal file and allocated a named key worker when they have settled in. This member of staff will be responsible for regular observations, personal play plans and completing their profiles. Your child’s key worker may change as they move into the butterfly room, although we do try to keep the same key worker if possible. We also have two Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators.

Admissions

The Pre-School is open 38 weeks a year. We are registered with Ofsted as full day care for children from the age of 2 years until the age of 5 years.  Our waiting list is arranged in date of birth order as far as possible, although we try to keep a place vacant to accommodate emergency admissions.