Big Top Pre-School - Bedgrove

It is with a heavy heart that we have to notify parents old and new, that the pre-school will be closing its doors for the last time on Friday 21st July.
After over 20 years providing love, support and education to hundreds of families, it has broken me to make this decision.
I will be in contact with those who were due to join in September today.
Thank you so much to everyone who has been a part of Big Top Bedgrove # # #

A wonderful woodwork session today for our older children.
After a safety talk, the children popped on their safety goggles and gloves and went to work to create a wooden cat.

They used drills, hammers and a screwdriver. They all listened to the instructions and were very keen to have a go. It was lovely to see the children try something they had perhaps not experienced before. 🔨🪛🔩

To finish our ‘people who help us’ topic, our older children went on an outing to the local shops this morning to learn about people who work in shops.

Before we left, we had a discussion about what we could buy from the shops to eat for snack time.
The children drew pictures and created a shopping list.

Once we arrived at the shops the children took their shopping baskets and shopping lists and looked out for the items to buy. We looked at the prices and spoke about how we would pay for the shopping.

When the children returned, they shared their experiences in our role-play area, which was set up as a shop today.

The children enjoyed the crumpets and fruit at snack time.

We had a special visitor this week to support our topic ‘people who help us’
The children were shown some of the things used in an ambulance. They watched as one of our staff had a sling put on.
One of the children drew a picture of an ambulance driver and gave it to our visitor.
Afterwards the children played in the role play area, which was set up as a hospital. Wonderful to observe the children using bandages on the dolls and pretending to be doctors and nurses.

We were so sad that vandals decided to destroy the pre-school children’s outdoor kitchen over the half term week. Not sure why people felt the need to do this 😔😔 We are getting the council to review the CCTV to get images of who was responsible.

We are on the hunt for 2 very special people to take on the roles of Manager and Deputy Manager at our long established pre-school.
Set in the beautiful Bedgrove Park, Aylesbury our Big Top Bedgrove, setting has been running for over 20 years and has supported 1000’s of children during that time. Both our current Managers originally started their journey with us as parents and have been a part of the Big Top family for over 10 years, but now feel it is time to hand over the reigns to someone new.
The setting is a pack away, term time only pre-school.
You will be required to work:

Mondays and Tuesdays 8:15 - 3:30
Wednesday, Thursday Friday 8:15 - 12:30

For the manager role, you will need to hold a minimum of Level 3 in Early Years and experience in a senior management role.

For the Deputy Manager, you will also need to hold a Level 3 in Early Years and have experience in a senior role.

You will need to have experience within the Development Matters framework, be able to support your team in the implementation of the setting curriculum and ensure the children in our care are given the best opportunities to support their learning and well-being.

To request an application form, please email:

[email protected]

Our garden is coming on really well now the warmer weather is here🌱
The children have been planting herbs today. 🙂

What a busy week we’ve had.
Lots of learning about the Coronation 👑 The children made their own castle to play in. They dressed up as Kings and Queens. Made royal cakes and learnt some new vocabulary. 🇬🇧

The Big Top Pre-School based in the beautiful surroundings of Bedgrove Park is looking for a new member to join our setting. Main role is of course working with and supporting our wonderful children aged 2 - 4 years. As a pack-away setting you will need to help set up the room and tidy away at the end of the session. You will be a key person to a small group of children and will be planning activities on offer to them, carry out observations, write up their progress and plan next steps. We have a brilliant team and would love to find the right person to join us.

This is a term time only position, initially for the Summer term.

The hours are:

Monday and Tuesday 8:30 - 3:30
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 8:30 - 12:30

If you would like to know more and ask for an application form, please email
[email protected]

We look forward to hearing from you 👍

So many benefits from playdough... today we rolled, stretched and flattened the dough. We described the dough as sticky, cold and smooth.

A new additional service we are now able to offer to our registered children. For information regarding spaces available in our lovely pre-school, please give us a call on07814828088

Thank you for your kind donations to the food bank!!
We shall be contacting ‘Bertie Bus’ to collect the tins very soon. We have been speaking to the children this week about helping people who are less fortunate than us, and have set a food bank up in the home corner as part of our role play, which the children are enjoying.

We spoke to the children this morning about people who look after us. We sat quietly at 11.00am to think about these special people 😊

Thinking of a preschool for your child? We are a fun, long running setting,located in the heart of Bedgrove park.
We have funded and non funded spaces available.
Please email [email protected] or call 07814828088 for more information or to arrange a visit.
Or visit our website for more details.

Home My CMS

Sadly we have had to cancel the Stay and Play session for our new starters on Friday as the repairs on the roof have not been completed. We will re-open to all children on Monday 5th September.

We have just been told by the council that we are unable to hold our Stay and Play session for our new families on Friday 2nd September. I will be contacting all of you individually over the next few days to discuss settling your little one in.

We will open as planned for all our families on Monday 5th September.

Enjoy the rest of the summer holidays x

Another day of Jubilee celebrations at pre school. 🇬🇧

We are celebrating Chinese New Year this week with some wonderful activities...

This week we are thinking about dummies!

Just for information.

Help with life skills for little ones We think these books are perfect for developing everyday life skills in toddlers and preschoolers (ages 2-4). Whether you'd like to help your chil...

First day of term. Looking forward to welcoming the children after our summer break.

You still have time to apply for 30 hours free childcare.

Apply before 31st August to get your code:
www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Before...and after! Overheard lots of wonderful conversations around the tuff tray this morning. Lots of messy fun had by all.

gives working parents of 3 or 4-year-olds an extra 15 hours of childcare on top of the 15 available to everyone. Leave plenty of time - apply now. Those already using 30 hours will need to reconfirm their eligibility.

⚫ To find out more/apply go to > www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

⚫ To reconfirm your eligibility, go to your childcare account > https://www.gov.uk/sign-in-childcare-account

Wishing all of our families a Happy New Year! We are looking forward to welcoming you back from Tuesday 5th January 😊

It is not quite the same this year as schools are not offering open evenings as they would usually do. Contact the schools you may be interested in to see what they are offering as a viewing option for you.

Is your child starting reception class in September? There’s a checklist and useful tips on the Bucks NHS School Nursing website. Don't worry if there are things not quite there yet. It's about understanding where your child may need support and helping them get there. https://www.buckshealthcare.nhs.uk/School-nursing/Getting_Ready_for_School.htm.

A lovely summer activity to do in the garden 😊🌼🌸🌞

Whilst our setting is temporarily closed, we are busy preparing for our new intake of children for September.

If you are interested in a Pre-School place for your child, please do get in touch.
We have spaces for 2,3 and 4-year olds.

For more information and for a copy of our latest prospectus, please email Sarah:
[email protected]

Some good ideas to try...

Something to try at home...

This looks fun...