Rattlesden Playgroup was established in 1970, and is a community playgroup which firmly believes in learning through play. We are affiliated to the Pre-school Learning Alliance and work in partnership with Suffolk County Council. We are listed in the List of Providers. Parents form the committee which is the registered provider. We work closely with the community and invite members of the community to be involved. We visit local amenities e.g. Bradfield Woods, as part of our curriculum. We have investigated habitat, fungi, animal tracks, camouflage. Travelling Ted accompanies us on our trips and he keeps a log book of our adventure. We track his progress on our World Map.
We have recently taken on an allotment and encourage the children to grow their own food. We also grow our own vegetables and fruit in our playgroup garden.
We take part in the RSPB Birdwatch and have made nestboxes for our garden.
We link with local schools, playgroups, childminders and Health Visitors. We work closely with the area SENCO and support children with Additional Needs. We arrange visits from our Community Policeman, Dental Health Educator, Fire Service etc. We also try to use the skills of our parents to help enhance our provision e.g teaching us a nursery rhyme in their child's home language. We welcome volunteers and we also accept students from local schools and colleges. We have been registered with Suffolk County Council as a safe training provider. Our strength lies in the fact that we work as a team to provide the best care for our playgroup children.
We use Tapestry, an online learning journal to enable parents to see their child's records and also allow for a smooth transition to Primary School. Evaluations are completed online and parents can add comments.
We have also added a Facebook page which shows our activities and provides updates of forthcoming events.
We have a website but we have experienced problems with updating items. We are looking to reset it once we have the expertise. Meanwhile check our Facebook page.
We encourage our children to "think outside the box" and to be creative. Learning through play allows children to explore their world.
You are welcome to visit us to see us in action. Please get in touch. We provide 'taster sessions' to help you make up your mind.
Parents and carers are welcome to stay with their child until they are settled. In fact, we actively encourage it with our two year old children. All children are different and some may not need that support but it is good to know that there is that option. We have found that parents have benefitted from watching their child at play and having the confidence to gradually pull away.
