Welcome
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to this site and thank you for taking the time to have a look through. We hope you find everything you need, if there is anything else you would like to know please do not hesitate to contact us using the contact page.
We have two settings under Ladybird Preschool Limited. Ladybird Preschool in Didcot and Ladybirds@Riverside Preschool in Abingdon. You can find more information about each setting on their individual pages. Each setting has different operational hours and services available.
Both settings take funded 2 year olds, 3 and 4 years olds and the extended funding (30 hours) for 3 and 4 year olds. For more information on funding and eligibility please see our funding page for more information.
Our Settings aims to:
- provide high quality care and education for all children primarily below statutory school age;
- work in partnership with parents and carers to help the children to learn and develop;
- add to the life and well-being of its local community; and
- offer children and their families a service that promotes equality and values diversity.
We aim to ensure that your child:
- is in a safe and stimulating environment;
- is given generous care and attention because of our high ratio of qualified staff to children;
- has the chance to join in with other children and adults to live, play, work and learn together;
- is helped to take forward their learning and development by being helped to build on what they already know and can do;
- has a personal key person who makes sure each child makes satisfactory progress;
- is in a setting that sees parents and carers as partners in helping each child to learn and develop; and
- is in a setting in which parents and carers help to shape the service it offers.
At Ladybird Preschool Limited we embrace an holistic approach where we provide natural and authentic resources for the children to play and explore with to extend their learning.
Our belief in natural resources stems from ideas from the Curiosity Approach which we have adapted into each setting. A plastic cucumber is a cucumber and only a cucumber. A stick, stone or a fir cone has an endless number of possible things it could be.
History of Ladybird Preschool Limited
Ladybird Preschool was established in the 1960's, as the Co-Op Playgroup and has gone through some changes in the intervening years. In the 1990's the name was changed to Ladybird Playgroup and ran in the local scout hut until moving to St. Johns Hall in Manor School in 1993. Unfortunately the building was condemned and we moved to temporary accommodation in the Conservative Club.
To ensure the playgroup continued to run we decided to become a Limited Company (Ladybird Preschool Limited) and raised money, through grants and a bank loan, for our own building, which opened in January 2003. As well as being a Limited Company we are also a charity and a non-profit making organisation. Since opening in 2003 we have been continually raising money for various projects to improve the environment for the children inside and outside.
Family Links
Two of our managers, Alice and Jayne, are both Family Links trained Facilitators. Throughout the year we run the Family Links Nurturing Parenting Programmes. There are a few different ways in which the programme can be delivered.
The Nurturing Programme is underpinned by the Nurturing Programme which provides adults and children with the understanding, skills and ability to lead emotionally healthy lives, build resilience, empathy, self-esteem and support positive relationships.
If you would like more information please do not hesitate to ask.