Establishing good links with the school is essential to what we do.  Whilst we work independently to the school, we still work very much in partnership.  This means there is no extra burden on the school in terms of staff; administration and support.  Ideally we will have our own room or a shared room where we can establish ourselves.

Children are dropped off in the morning by their parents.  In the evening children are either picked up by our staff or dropped off by school staff to our room.  They are then collected by their parents/carers at the end of the session.

Each club has their own Manager, Deputy and staff.  All staff are DBS checked and where appropriate, have a childcare qualification.   We work within the Ofsted ratio of 1:5 for children aged 2, 1:8 for children aged 3-4years, for reception and above we work to ratios of 1:12. Our staff will set up the room for our use and also clean and tidy the room at the end of each session. We do all our own administration, staff recruitment and source our own resources.  We have bank staff who can cover any sickness or training to ensure the smooth running of all our clubs.

Our breakfast clubs run from 7.30am until the start of the school day when our staff will take the children to their classrooms. Our after-school clubs start at the end of the school day when the children will be collected from their classrooms by a member of the Dawn Until Dusk team or dropped off by school staff. The club will then run until 6pm and parents will collect the children from the actual club.

In a typical breakfast club session, the children are dropped off at our clubs and signed in by our staff.  Breakfast is the served for all children.  There is a selection of cereals, toast and fruit for children to have.  Then there is an opportunity to play and chat with friends.

In a typical afterschool session, children are either collected from their classrooms or delivered by school staff.  Upon arriving at the dawn until dusk classroom a register is done to make sure all children are present.  There is always a planned theme, but the children are given free choice.  A snack is provided, usually fruit and a drink.  We provide additional learning/play resources; such as dentist kit from the Oral Hygiene team; Road Safety equipment from the Road Safety Team and regular visits from Pets at Home. In the second hour a light children’s tea is served.  All the children sit together to eat this.  This is a time for friendly chat.  The children then continue to play until they are collected by either a parent or carer.

We work in line with the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage, 2024) and ensure our all policies and procedures meet the Statutory requirements of the EYFS.  These documents are checked regularly to ensure they are up to date and are in line with any new legislation or training. All our folders are available to see on request. We keep a folder of all our policies and procedures in our clubs so they can be viewed or referred to at any point.

We follow the EYFS guidance and framework and work with the children’s teachers and parents in partnership to help identify and build on the child’s interests and skills and encourage independence and social interactions. We share information and document the children’s progress regularly by completing observation forms which contain photos, text and sometimes examples of the children’s work.

A before and after school club allows schools to meet the Government agenda on wrap around education.

The clubs offer something extra to parents and could be a deciding factor on school choice. Dawn Until Dusk do all their own admin and staffing, therefore putting no extra strains on the school.  Parents pay monthly, by the 15^th of the month.  Invoices are emailed out at the beginning of every month.  Parents can pay by cash, cheque, internet or telephone banking, or via Childcare Vouchers.

Parents will benefit from experienced childcare providers. They will have a safe and happy environment where they can leave their child to be well cared for. Where we have a site on the school premises, this enables the children to continue in an environment that they recognise and are familiar with.  This is particularly useful for the new Nursery/Reception children and can help to ease any worries for them being somewhere new.

Children benefit from the home from home environment that we strive to create at all our clubs. They will have the opportunity to choose what they would like to do out of the many activities we offer, promoting independence and free choice. Our clubs are all about having fun and relaxing before/after a busy day at school. Children can choose to relax or play or a bit of both, we are led by them and their needs.

All our clubs are registered with Ofsted. They have their own inspections separately from the school. We are pleased to have been awarded outstanding by Ofsted at many of our settings.

We strive ourselves on having a positive behaviour ethos.  We work with parents and teachers to ensure behaviour is good.  We will work alongside any behaviour plans in place and support parents to be consistent in our approach.