Nursery Care There are many day nurseries in the area all with differing goals, approaches and methods. It is worth having a look at the following links to investigate which suits you best.
http://www.zettai.net/find/shefford/nursery-schools/, www.yell.com/super/NURSERIES/bedfordshire Many villagers use:- Fordfield House Nursery Ltd, Fordfield Rd, Millbrook, Bedford, MK45 2HZ tel 01525 405524 and Orchard Nursery, Higham Gobion Road, Barton le Clay, MK45 4LT tel 01582 882054 as well as those in Ampthill & Bedford.
Toddler Group (0-3 years) There is a long established Toddler Group in Clophill. They meet weekly on Wednesdays from 10am until 11.30am (during term time). They are open to all children from newborn to the age of 3 (or above if with a younger sibling). Everyone is welcome, from mums and dads to grannies and nannies! They are based in the excellent new Village Hall. Each session offers a friendly environment for adults and children alike. Their tea lady serves fruit, snacks and refreshments to adults and children. They have lots of play equipment and offer an exciting craft activity too, rounding off the session with a sing-a-long and then ball play. In good weather the group utilise the playground at the back of the hall which all the children love.The group is run by a committee of parents who have volunteered their services. The committee meet on a regular basis to ensure that all health and safety, event, fundraising, finance and membership details are dealt with. The group is self financing. They charge £1.50 per session for one child and an additional 50p per extra sibling over 6 months of age. The group contribute towards many child related charities including Barnados and the Merry Go Round Special Needs Group in Shefford. For further information please contact the Chair (Ali Bradbury) on 01525 861921.
Zig Zag Pre School (2 years 6 months – lower school admissions) The community pre school has been established in various forms for approximately 30 years and is located in the superb new Village Hall. It aims to: provide high quality care and education for children primarily below statutory school age; work in partnership with parents to help children to learn and develop; add to the life and well-being of its local community; offer children and their parents a service that promotes equality and vales diversity. We are open for 38 weeks each year. We are closed in accordance to St Mary's CofE Lower School, Clophill. We are open for 4 mornings and 3 afternoons, plus two lunch clubs on Monday and Tuesday, each week. The times we are open are 9.15am-11.45am for morning sessions and 12.30pm - 3pm for our afternoon session.
St Mary's CofE Lower School has been open since 1872. It is funded by the local authority and the diocese. There are 127 children registered at the school. This number remains reasonably constant over the years. School entrance is to be in September only as of September 2008. There are currently three points of entry (January, Easter and September). The school advertise for staff via the Local Authority website and Bedfordshire on Sunday. There are plans to extend the school when the 2 tier system comes into effect. This is due to the need for two additional classes (year 5 and year 6). There is no confirmed date for this change. Approximately 35% of the children at the school are born outside of the village. The school go to Beverley Court and Tuesday Club for Harvest Festival and Christmas and they come to school plays and concerts. They also have a tea party for the 2 groups at Christmas.The parking for pick up and drop off of the children outside the school remains an issue. There was a lollipop lady on duty 2 years ago but this was not found to solve the problem. St Mary’s were recently Ofsted examined and were given an outstanding report.The school is an enormous asset to the village. St Mary's has just had an excellent Ofsted inspection, which judged the school to be "an outstanding school where pupils make excellent progress whatever their ability. The care, guidance and support that pupils receive is excellent". For further information please contact the Head (Chris Spurgeon) on 01525 860206
Funzone Wrap round childcare for out of school hours. This service was set up by Rev. Margaret Venables, a committee of keen parents and Carolyn Cranswick as a representative from the school, to link the school and church in 2001. It is a non profit making and self funding service for parents of school children. It provides care outside of school hours. The aim is to give the children a secure, caring environment where they can relax and have fun and stimulation from a wide range of activities.Carolyn Cranswick took over as committee chair in 2004. The committee is made up of a mixed group of parents and church council members. Anna O’Brien is the play school leader. Carers drop off the children to the church for the breakfast club session and Anna collects the children from school for the after school session. They offer a safe, happy, learning atmosphere for children whose parents are unable to drop off and/or collect their children during school hours. They take children from 4 years of age to 11 years. They charge £5.50 per afternoon session and £4 for the morning session. They have been Ofsted certified since 2001 and have regular visits from the Bedfordshire County Council Childcare Development Officer. They can take a maximum of 18 children. There is always 3 staff if there are more than 13 children and 2 if there is less than 13. They use the playing fields at the school to ensure the children get a mix of environments. They have just started a holiday scheme where they charge £22 for a days care (from 7.45am to 5.30pm). For further information please contact the Chair (Carolyn Cranswick) on 01462 815433.
There is an enormous amount of effort from local supporters which goes into making all of these local groups a huge success. These people rarely get thanked so could I take this opportunity to thank them all now…you know who you are! NB All local the following local groups have good relationships with ‘Spotlight’ the village magazine and use this to communicate information to the village.
