Why a parent helper?
The parent helper system is set up to encourage parental involvement and to assist the staff.
It gives parents the opportunity to take an active part in the group to see what happens there and to talk about it afterwards with their child. In addition, the rota system provides a valuable opportunity for all children to see their own parents / carers in a new role.
We have a parent helper at each session on a rota basis, this helps to maintain the high ratio of adults to children in our preschool guaranteeing individual care and attention for each child.
The system also helps to keep our fees to a minimum.

What is the role of parent helper?
The main job for the parent helper is to wash, cut and prepare the fruit for snack time, this then allows the staff to concentrate on the needs of the children. After snack it is then up to you to wash the plates and cups and to maintain the high level of cleanliness needed in our kitchen.
Before and after snack you are simply asked to play and interact with the children during their morning activities. All of this will be explained to you on your first day as a parent helper. There are also notices on the wall in the kitchen with helpful reminders.

How often do I need to do parent helper?
At the beginning of each half-term parents will be asked to sign up for their parent helper day/s.

Child attends 2 sessions per week – 1 parent help date per half term
Child attends 3 or more sessions per week – 2 parent help dates per half term

For reference a parent helper rota is displayed on the notice board.
Exemptions from parent helper are mothers 7 months pregnant and over, and parents with babies under 3 months old.

What if I can’t do my parent helper day?
Should you need to change a day you have been allocated, please find someone with whom to change with, marking any necessary amendments to the rota.
If on the day of your parent help you find that you are unable to help, then you need to ring the committee member in charge of parent help to enable them to find cover. You will find this phone number on your newsletter. If you do not do this, it may result in a fee being charged.

A fee is payable if you are unable to take your turn on the rota because of work or other commitments. This fee is used to pay a volunteer on our emergency list. Please let the committee member in charge of parent help know if you wish to pay the fee.

Any thing else I may need to know?
You need to be aware that any younger siblings that you may bring with you whilst doing parent help are completely your responsibility both in the pre-school rooms and in the kitchen. When leaving the pre-school room to prepare the fruit you must take any younger siblings with you. If your name is next to TT on the rota, this means you must take home the tea towels, wash and dry them and return them to pre-school the following week.