New Building
The long term survival of Streatley Hill Pre-school is dependent on replacing our current building on the same site in Streatley VC Primary School grounds.
To that end we are currently running our ‘Save our Pre-school’ fundraising campaign. If you would like to know more about the background to the project you can read our ‘Streatley Hill Pre-school Development Plan’ and an article explaining the history and background to our plans.
Our Development plan is here.
To that end we are currently running our ‘Save our Pre-school’ fundraising campaign. If you would like to know more about the background to the project you can read our ‘Streatley Hill Pre-school Development Plan’ and an article explaining the history and background to our plans.
Our Development plan is here.
Save Streatley Hill Pre-school February 2010
When I first moved to Streatley from Manchester my first encounter with the local community was through Streatley Hill Pre-school. I was delighted to find that within the community there was a pre-school of such high quality. We were welcomed as a family and made new friends through the pre-school events. I could see that the team of professional, dedicated staff enabled my children to learn and develop at their own pace whilst having enormous fun with their friends. I discovered that the pre-school is a charity and run by a parent volunteer management committee so once I’d seen my eldest daughter make a seamless transition to the primary school on site I decided to volunteer.
My experience is typical. Streatley Hill Pre-school has always been run by and for the local community. Through a huge effort by local parents in 1992 the current premises were installed in the grounds of Streatley Primary School and the village began to benefit from a vital local service.
Over the last 17 years the Pre-school has gone from strength to strength and in 2009 Ofsted rated us ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ in all areas. We are oversubscribed and are one of the few pre-schools in West Berkshire to have a qualified teacher with postgraduate Early Years Professional status as part of our staff team.
Why is a local pre-school important?
Every 3 and 4 year old child is entitled to attend a local pre-school for 12.5 hours per week. Children benefit enormously from attending a local pre-school within their community so that they can build up friendships with local children and families whom they will know throughout their school career. Streatley Pre-school is perfectly located within Streatley Primary School grounds and our children benefit from school visits and a close working relationship between the staff. Alastair Pearson, Chair of the Streatley Primary School Governors describes our pre-school as a ‘vital rung on the education ladder.’
The value and importance of early childhood education is recognised by governments, educators and families alike. Early development of children’s intellectual, social and physical abilities has the potential to affect their long-term achievement, in the classroom, through their school lives and into adulthood. Early years education is an investment in the future.
Why do we fundraise?
Unlike school, Streatley Pre-school is a charity. The day-to-day management as well as planning and policy is all done by volunteer parents who support a team of six qualified staff. We receive a small amount of government funding per child and this pays for the teaching staff and basic running costs. All the administration is done by volunteers and vital elements such as new equipment, materials and building maintenance are paid for through local fundraising activities.
We need your help to replace our building.
Our 25 year old portakabin has come to the end of its life and is not fit to deliver the kind of education our children deserve. This year a group of local parents have taken on the task of replacing the building. A good building for education requires open-plan space, disabled access, good natural light and ventilation as well as easy access to plentiful outdoor space. Our goal is to build a modular building which will ensure the future of the pre-school for at least the next 40 years.
Over the last few years the local community of Goring and Streatley have contributed an amazing £32,000 towards our new building fund. Successive teams of parents have run fundraising events, but this year we realised that unless we stepped up our efforts to replace the building, the pre-school may face closure.
Our target is £170,000 and we have already achieved £90,000 with the help of West Berkshire Council, The Englefield Trust, The Larissa Hardy Charitable Trust, The Michael Shanly Trust, The King George V Jubilee Trust, Vodafone, Ernst and Young and the generous community of Goring and Streatley.
We would like to say a big ‘Thank you’ to those who have already supported us. We will be running a number of fundraising initiatives over the next few months so please continue to support Streatley Hill Pre-school. We need to raise £80,000 – please help us to take responsibility for maintaining this vital local service by supporting us. If you would like to make a donation please contact Catherine Dickinson on 01491 874409 or [email protected]
My experience is typical. Streatley Hill Pre-school has always been run by and for the local community. Through a huge effort by local parents in 1992 the current premises were installed in the grounds of Streatley Primary School and the village began to benefit from a vital local service.
Over the last 17 years the Pre-school has gone from strength to strength and in 2009 Ofsted rated us ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ in all areas. We are oversubscribed and are one of the few pre-schools in West Berkshire to have a qualified teacher with postgraduate Early Years Professional status as part of our staff team.
Why is a local pre-school important?
Every 3 and 4 year old child is entitled to attend a local pre-school for 12.5 hours per week. Children benefit enormously from attending a local pre-school within their community so that they can build up friendships with local children and families whom they will know throughout their school career. Streatley Pre-school is perfectly located within Streatley Primary School grounds and our children benefit from school visits and a close working relationship between the staff. Alastair Pearson, Chair of the Streatley Primary School Governors describes our pre-school as a ‘vital rung on the education ladder.’
The value and importance of early childhood education is recognised by governments, educators and families alike. Early development of children’s intellectual, social and physical abilities has the potential to affect their long-term achievement, in the classroom, through their school lives and into adulthood. Early years education is an investment in the future.
Why do we fundraise?
Unlike school, Streatley Pre-school is a charity. The day-to-day management as well as planning and policy is all done by volunteer parents who support a team of six qualified staff. We receive a small amount of government funding per child and this pays for the teaching staff and basic running costs. All the administration is done by volunteers and vital elements such as new equipment, materials and building maintenance are paid for through local fundraising activities.
We need your help to replace our building.
Our 25 year old portakabin has come to the end of its life and is not fit to deliver the kind of education our children deserve. This year a group of local parents have taken on the task of replacing the building. A good building for education requires open-plan space, disabled access, good natural light and ventilation as well as easy access to plentiful outdoor space. Our goal is to build a modular building which will ensure the future of the pre-school for at least the next 40 years.
Over the last few years the local community of Goring and Streatley have contributed an amazing £32,000 towards our new building fund. Successive teams of parents have run fundraising events, but this year we realised that unless we stepped up our efforts to replace the building, the pre-school may face closure.
Our target is £170,000 and we have already achieved £90,000 with the help of West Berkshire Council, The Englefield Trust, The Larissa Hardy Charitable Trust, The Michael Shanly Trust, The King George V Jubilee Trust, Vodafone, Ernst and Young and the generous community of Goring and Streatley.
We would like to say a big ‘Thank you’ to those who have already supported us. We will be running a number of fundraising initiatives over the next few months so please continue to support Streatley Hill Pre-school. We need to raise £80,000 – please help us to take responsibility for maintaining this vital local service by supporting us. If you would like to make a donation please contact Catherine Dickinson on 01491 874409 or [email protected]