Being A Parent Helper

We know that parents/carers are the most important factor in a child’s development. As such we value parental involvement and encourage parents/carers to play an active role in their child’s time at Freshford Preschool. As a community-run preschool, the support of parents is also a crucial part of our success.

We have two parent helpers for every Thursday Forest School session, from 9am – 1pm, and this is an essential part of preschool life. Parent helpers support the staff in many ways, including distributing snacks and drinks, walking with the children and joining in forest activities. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are not currently using parent helpers in our sessions at the hall, but hope to reintroduce this to this once it is easier to welcome additional adults at indoor sessions.

Younger siblings can attend but remain the responsibility of their parent/carer. We operate a termly rota, so parents know their volunteer day well in advance, and we hope most parents or carers will offer to do at least one session per term (so six throughout the year).

Helping out is a great way to share your child’s preschool experiences and to get to know other families. As the parent helper system is well established at Freshford Preschool, the children quickly get to know each others parents, which helps create a strong sense of community.

All parent helpers will require an enhanced DBS check which will be arranged by the preschool. We run a induction session towards the end of term 1 and generally ask parents to help out from the start of term 3, to allow their child time to settle. Parents of children who are continuing for a second year, or of children who have moved on to primary school, fill the rota for terms 1 & 2.

We understand that it isn’t always possible for parents/carers to be a parent helper, and there are many other ways to be involved with the preschool. Support with fundraising events or keeping the preschool garden tidy, for example, is equally valued.

We also welcome grandparents or volunteers from the wider community, so please contact us if you are interested in helping at preschool.