Early Birds Pre-school

About Early Birds

Early Birds Pre-School is owned by Seaford Baptist Church and run by a committee elected by the church. It is also a member of the Pre-School Alliance and is registered and inspected by Ofsted from whom we received an 'outstanding' in May 2019. Please read below for more information. Early Birds operate from Seaford Baptist Church where it benefits from the use of a large hall, a smaller child friendly room with access to an outside area, giving opportunity to free flow and explore a stimulating environment; in addition to the kitchen and toilet facilities. The Pre-school has wheelchair access into the premises and a ramp to the outside area and a disabled toilet. There is a lift into the church where the Nativity plays are held. The pre-school opens five days a week, during school term times.

Sessions are from 8.30am to 3.00pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and 8.30am to 12.00 noon on Thursday and Friday. Children are welcome at Early Birds from the term after they are 2 until they start school. We do offer limited places for children who receive two year old funding. We offer ESCC Early Years education free entitlement which will cover up to 15 hours per week from the term after they are 3. We are also registered for up to 30 hour a week funding, we have a maximum of 24 hours available.'

Vanessa Ayres is the Manager of the pre-school and can be contacted to arrange a visit or, alternatively, drop in during the morning for an informal taster. We would be happy to see you and to answer any questions that you may have. For those children starting in September, a settling-in time will be arranged, usually for an hour one afternoon in July, although you are more than welcome to arrange additional settling-in visits during the morning sessions if you feel your child would benefit. Because Early Birds are so popular, a waiting list operates for children who want to come. When a place becomes available, parents will be sent a Registration Form. This should be completed and returned to the Manager. (No child is registered until the form has been received.)

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About Us and Our Philosophy

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At Early Birds, each child is known, valued, nurtured and encouraged to develop their own unique character so that they can appreciate how special they are and become confident and happy individuals. We recognize the importance of our partnership with parents and know that where parents and early learning settings work closely together, children do better. Parents are their child’s first and enduring educators and they understand their child better than anyone else. We want to share that knowledge, to ensure that your child has the best possible pre-school experience.

You can read a full copy of our Osted reports on line at www.ofsted.gov.uk or click on the Ofsted logo above to download a copy of the May 2019 "Outstanding" report.   A brief excerpt reads as follows:

• The manager and staff have exceptional knowledge of early years teaching combined with a shared vision for excellence. Children make rapid progress in their learning.

• The outside area has an array of activities to choose from.

• All the natural resources and materials are thoughtfully arranged with excellent attention to detail. 

• Staff engage and highly motivate children with their dedication and enthusiasm for teaching.  

• The manager and staff go way beyond expectations to provide a positive learning environment for children. This significantly contributes to children's wellbeing and their love of learning.

• Children's safety and well-being is given the highest priority. Senior staff continuously evaluate all procedures to protect children from potential risk.

• The Pre-school promotes a totally 'child-centred environment'. All children, including those with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, make excellent progress from their starting points.

• Staff form strong partnerships with parents. Parents feel well informed and comment on how the manager and her staff are so helpful, kind and caring and how well their children are learning and developing. One parent described the Pre-school as 'magical'.

The Staff

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Early Birds Pre-school is fortunate to have a dedicated and conscientious team of staff with a wealth of experience and enthusiasm. There are currently seven members of staff, whose combined years of work at Early Birds (or Seaford Baptist Playschool, as it was formerly known) is over 94 years! It is obvious that this shared experience enables the team to work together very well, and with an excellent knowledge base.

The fact that all staff have significant experience of working with pre-school children at the setting shows that they also really enjoy their work and the adventure of learning alongside children. All the staff are also mums, with a total of 19 children between them – but as yet no grandchildren!

The Manager is Mrs. Vanessa Ayres and the Deputy Manager, Mrs. Wendy Lindfield is also the setting’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator. Mrs. Tania White is Senior Practitioner who is also leading EYFS Co-ordinator. Early Bird's Pre-School staff value the interaction with the children, and we have a key person system which means that we are able to give time and attention to each child - talk with the children about their interests and activities - help children to experience and benefit from the activities we provide - support spontaneous unplanned activities - allow the children to explore and be adventurous in safety

Our membership of the Pre-School Learning Alliance (PLA) and close contact with Ofsted's Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership ensures that we are kept constantly in touch with new thinking and best practice in the field of early years care and education.

We have a strong commitment to the continual improvement of Early Birds through staff development, training and self-evaluation. As well as gaining qualifications in early years care and education, the staff access a range of on-going training courses, workshops and in-house training to help them keep up to date with thinking about early years care and education, and to provide ideas and inspiration for new activities.