Kim & Jennie would like to welcome you to Quarry Lane Childcare. With the growing need for wrap around childcare, we took the plunge and in 2014 left our full-time jobs in the education sector and opened our doors to a new adventure. Our love of spending time with the children along with our outstanding grading from Ofsted achieved in 2016 helped our business grow.
We find the children thrive in our fun, family approach to childcare following routines that they have become accustomed to at home, whilst also creating an environment that is fun, stimulating and personal. Whilst the children are with us, they are able to explore, be creative and ultimately enjoy! We believe that children learn and develop best through play. We always set out to create an environment which will encapsulate the imagination of each child. We understand the importance of children following their own interests and know that each child in our care will take a very different journey in their development. We always support and enable them to do just this.
We recognise the importance of personal, social and emotional development. This is at the heart of everything that we do. Children will always feel valued, safe and secure in our care.
Located close to the train station and local bus routes, we provide before and after-school care for children, aged 4-11 years (Reception to Year 6). After School Club is open from 3.pm to 6.30pm Monday- Friday. Breakfast sessions start at 7.30am until the start of school, Monday-Friday. All sessions run during term time only.
We aim to provide a safe and secure environment for children, with a relaxed and homely atmosphere. We provide a wide range of activities; incorporating outside play, craft, board games, reading, imaginary play, construction, sport and themed/seasonal activities. During their time with us, the children will be encouraged to participate in activities of their choice and will be provided with a light snack and drink. At the breakfast session children have a healthy breakfast and at 5pm a healthy tea.
You can arrive at any time during the breakfast session, but if you would like your child to have breakfast with us before we leave for school, we ask that they are with us by 8.00am. Food from our Healthy Living Award breakfast menu will be on offer until 8.00 am, which the children can choose from at any point during this time. Our usual breakfast menu includes –
We try to keep Breakfast session a relaxed and calm environment. There will be quieter activities going on, such as arts and crafts and board games etc.
At the end of the school day, we collect children from their schools and bring them back to our setting. This will be done either by one of our vehicles or walking depending which school your child attends. All our vehicles are fully insured to transport your child and are fitted with BS car seats.When the children arrive they store their bags and coats in the bunker provided.
After snack it’s time to play! We have access to the large garden, and the cabin itself. We also use ‘Noahs Ark’ for art and craft activities and baking.
We firmly believe in the importance of outdoor play. No matter the weather, we do our best to always offer outdoor play. If your child likes to get a bit muddy, please feel free to drop off some spare clothes that we can remind your child to change into, so they aren’t making a mess of their lovely uniform!
Each day there are a variety of activities going on. Many are created and self-directed by the children, and many are facilitated by us. Each day, there will be at least one planned activity led by us, as well as activities from external visitors such as sport, first aid, water safety etc. A few examples of daily activities are:
Arts and crafts, drawing, painting, junk modelling, cutting and sticking and baking and cooking, loom bands, hamma beads and a quiet area for individual reading and relaxing. There are also opportunities for imaginary play, dressing up, construction, board games and puzzles and most of all lots of fun! Children also have free flow access to the outdoors where we play football, team sports, tag, playground games and play on scooters and bikes. We have small equipment – bats and balls etc that the children can use freely and we also have a range of large construction toys and tuff spots for small world and generally lots of running around.
We are always keen to hear what the children want to do, and will try our best to facilitate any type of play the children are interested in. Just before tea we work with the children to tidy the toys and activities away. 5.00pm is tea time! We all sit together at the table and enjoy a healthy meal. Some examples of teas are:
During tea the children are encouraged to practice good table manners, using a knife and fork and waiting until everyone on their table is served before starting. Once all the children have finished eating, they are excused from the table. The children enjoy a last run around outside before the majority on them leave at 5.30pm. For those that stay until 6.30pm, a range of quieter activities are available. Weather depending, we will go on a nature walk by the lakes or spend time in the garden.
The children decide what they want to do...... after all it is their after-school club!!
We understand that each child is truly unique. We want to nurture this uniqueness and create experiences which we hope will provide them with the best possible opportunities.