Category: Wenvoe Playgroup

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The Playgroup continues to have very high numbers, with waiting lists open to September 2023. We have a waiting list for 2021 – 2022 which may see us full by January. Due to popularity, if you are thinking of coming to join the Playgroup in the next 2 years, it is never too early to email us. We need your child’s first name and date of birth to join our waiting lists.

We support children from the age of 2 years 4 months to 4 years 11months. We offer ‘Wrap around Care’ with the nursery and offer a breakfast club for those up to age 6 years, from 8am and onto school. For further information please email us

wenvoeplaygroup@btinternet.com

or view our website

www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk.

Please see our Statement of Purpose and Admission documents for hours and pricing.

The supports the Welsh Government’s Tax Free Childcare along with the 30 Hour FREE Childcare Offer. You will find links on our website to support information on the 30 Hour FREE Childcare offer. As a Registered Charity (not for profit), supported by a Voluntary Management Team, we act in the best interest of the community and our families.

Our Committee are busy arranging a Victorian Fayre (see page 11) and other fun events to raise some much needed funds for the little ones to enjoy the outside space in the Autumn/Winter weather.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who Volunteer to support the Playgroup, allowing us to continue operating as a Charity and especially thank all our friends in the community for supporting our fundraising and raffles. We really do appreciate all the support shown. Thank you.

WENVOE PLAYGROUP CIO UPDATE

It has been sometime since we last wrote in the What’s On, which was mainly due to the constant changes and paperwork throughout the pandemic. We hope that moving forward we will be able to operate a little more ‘normal’ moving into the Summer months. To see what we have been doing, please view our gallery on our website www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk

The paper work that Covid-19 brought with it was tremendous, especially trying to keep everyone updated due to social distancing. How we have missed chatting alongside the Parents and Carers this last year.

Of course with the heavy paper load, came the need for storage space. We would like to thank Simon of Office Visions Ltd in Pentwyn for the fabulous filing cabinet that was donated and delivered to our door. One moan to Chris Evans and he was on the phone to Office Visions. Thank you both so much for your support.

As many of you know, the Playgroup has operated for over 50 years as a Charity, relying upon the support of the community for its success. There are many people behind the scenes supporting the group which is going from strength to strength and we thank you all for your tremendous hard work and dedication. From sprucing up the garden, to managing the web-site, fundraising and supporting the Management Team to operate as a Registered Charity. We couldn’t do it without you.

We are now fully booked for the Summer, with over 40 children on our registers. We have high waiting lists for September 2021 which we will be dealing with as you read this and a waiting list has been started for children up to September 2022.

We take payments via the Welsh Government Tax Free Childcare scheme and of course we are signed up to The Welsh Government’s scheme for both The Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff

’30 Hour FREE Childcare Offer’. If you would like more information on the 30 Hour Free childcare offer then please email us at wenvoeplaygroup@ btinternet.com

We offer:- Breakfast club for reception and year 1 children who attend Gwenfo School age 4 – 6 years: 8am until 8:50am: £5 per day

We mainly care for pre-school children under 5 offering; Breakfast from 8am daily for £5 a day and on into Playgroup or across to Gwenfo Nursery for 9am

From 9am until 11:45am £13.50

Until 12:45pm and/or onto Gwenfo Nursery for 1pm £18.00

We pick up daily from Gwenfo Nursery at 11:20am and care for the children until 12:45pm, known as lunch club for that extra few hours @ £8 per day

Wednesday and Thursday we pick up at 11:20am until 15:15pm – cost £18 per day.

For those parents who are eligible for the 30 Hour FREE childcare offer (the term after their Child’s 3rd birthday) then up to 4 days per week could be free paying a small fee for the fifth day.

If you would like more information then please email Sandra on the group email wenvoeplaygroup @btinternet.com who can send further information.

You may find it useful to visit our website www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk and view our Statement of Purpose and Admissions Policy. There are numerous policies and procedures for your information on our website.

We hope to plan a socially distanced open day in June or July, so watch this space and hopefully we will see you all soon.

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WENVOE PLAYGROUP CIO

Wenvoe Playgroup are a Registered Charity, who operate from the Village Hall as Daycare from Monday to Friday 8am until 1pm daily. We offer wrap around to Gwenfo Nursery 5 mornings per week and offer pick up from the Nursery 11:20am until 12:45pm 3 days per week, with Wednesday and Thursday until 3:15pm. We are full for afternoon places at this time.

We started the Autumn term on 7th September 2020, with our afternoons starting from 7th October. We would like to thank everyone for their continued support in ensuring we can operate safely.

Writing this in November, we have operated successfully for the past 10 weeks, offering care for the children from our community and the surrounding areas. We have 5 weeks to go until Christmas, so fingers crossed it all goes to plan.

Like many, we have had to adapt to many changes in our playgroup due to Covid-19, and we are doing all we can to support our community and surrounding areas with Childcare.

Our numbers are very high on the waiting list and we hope to expand slowly, to keep the group as safe as possible. We hope to review our waiting lists in January. However, please be mindful that we have very limited space. Many families on our waiting lists have been waiting some time for places and we thank you for your patience.

Should you wish to add your names to our waiting list for September 2021, then please get in touch, by emailing your interest to wenvoeplaygroup @btinternet.com. Places for September 2020 were allocated in February this year and we also started our waiting list for next year 2021 at the same time. With the 30 Hour Free Childcare Offer, we are finding many families are showing an interest early, starting children from the age of 2 years and 4 months to secure their care in time for the term after their Child’s 3rd birthday when the 30 Hour Childcare Offer is available. We also accept payment via the Government Tax Free Child Care along with Childcare company schemes.

For further information, please visit our website www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk or contact us at wenvoeplaygroup@btinternet.com

We hope to send further information regarding the 30 Hour Free Childcare and how it works in the New Year.

All that remains, is for us to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from the Staff and Management Committee at the Playgroup.

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WENVOE PLAYGROUP CIO

Just a quick reminder that we continue to move for-ward with our plans to start our Autumn term on Monday 7th September.

Breakfast club will be introduced as we move for-ward along with our daycare and transitions to and from Gwenfo Nursery.

There will be no wrap around care with Gwenfo School for the first week back. We will be starting transitions to the Nursery week commencing 14th September.

We have large numbers joining us in September, with contracts in hand, so please be patient with us as we address the waiting lists.

We will keep everyone informed of the latest information and changes via our website: www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk and share our plans via the What’s On Magazine each month.

We have many children and families on our waiting lists into 2021, and we suggest that if you are planning to join Wenvoe Playgroup, that you email Sandra and put your Child’s name on the waiting list.

There is a link directly to our email on our above website.

Thanks to all the Playgroup families for your patience. We hope to see you very soon.

Sandra & Staff

We would like to thank ‘The Works’ of Wenvoe for their kind donation to our Christmas Raffle. The Works have supported many raffles at the Play-group and we would like to show our appreciation for their continued support by sharing our thanks in the What’s On.

Many local businesses support Wenvoe Playgroup CIO and we would like to thank everyone for their donations and support. It is thanks to local business-es, the Community and our Families, that Wenvoe Playgroup CIO remains today. We would like to thank everyone who has believed in us and we are now operating stronger than ever with the support of our community, so thank you.

The 30 Hour Free Childcare has also made a differ-ence to the operation of Playgroup. We now have over forty families enrolled with us and many on our waiting lists for September 2020.

To find out more about the 30 Hour Free Childcare Offer for September, please contact your local Family Information Centre to see if you are eligible for the offer. Both parents or single parent family must be working A MINIMUM of 16 hours per week on minimum wage. The offer is for families with Children, the term after their 3rd Birthday until they attend reception class. 12.5 hours of the 30 hours are used in LEA Nurseries. Here at Playgroup we run term time only alongside Gwenfo Nursery.

Here at Wenvoe Playgroup we support 17.5 hours of Free Care, which we can be flexible in our ar-rangements. Most children with us at this time at-tend 5 mornings per week 9 – 1pm and transit across to Gwenfo Nursery for 1pm until 3:30pm. A packed lunch is provided from home and parents pay a top up fee per week of £11.25 as they attend 20 hours per week.

Of course, you may attend a four day week from 9am until 1pm for FREE using 16 hours. Some pre-fer to use 15 hours , 8am UNTIL 1pm and pay a top up fee for breakfast club of 50p per day (£1.50 per week).

We also have children using 17.5 hours with us, as their local school does not have an LEA Nursery provision and they are just outside the Gwenfo Catchment Area. Some also choose not to move onto their catchment nursery as they have settled with us, hence limited spaces during the Spring and Summer months. Our advice to you is; if you are thinking of joining us in the academic year 2020 to 2021 for wrap around care, then contact us and share your wishes. Although Nursery admissions for September 2020 will not be notified until the end of May, we can keep you in mind for a place from September should you be successful.

We also provide a Breakfast Club for children who attend Gwenfo Reception for £5 per day. Breakfast club opens at 8am here at the Village Hall and chil-dren are taken safely to reception at Gwenfo for 8:50am start.

Nursery Children who attend morning Nursery at Gwenfo, also attend breakfast and we take them across at 8:50am or they stay until 1pm and are tak-en across for the afternoon session. The latter is the most popular. You can see from the above how flex-ible we are to meet your needs. Just please don’t ask us to do overnight or weekends ha ha.

If you are interested in how we can help you, then please contact us either by email-ing wenvoeplaygroup@btinternet.com or phone 02920507494.

For further information, please visit our web-site; www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk.

Happy New Year to all.

Sorry we haven’t had time to write recently, we have been very busy with the change over of our company to Wenvoe Playgroup CIO. (We will still be known as Wenvoe Playgroup though.)

During the Autumn Term we have been very busy raising funds for others. The Children, their families and staff raised £70 for Breast Cancer during the month of October, by wearing something pink to Playgroup. This also supported the Children’s learning; by beginning to understand that everyone can wear pink.

In November we held a sponsored fancy dress, in which we raised a staggering £322 for CRACKERJACKS Childrens trust, who help support Children with disabilities. Being a Charity ourselves, we know just how important it is to raise funds and support goals.

We had a very successful start to our new term in September. Our Breakfast Club has not only supported Playgroup Children from 8am each day, it has provided support to families; offering their Children breakfast, then onto Morning Nursery and Reception at Gwenfo School. We offer support to take the Children across to School for their busy days at 08:50am. Should you require further information on ‘Breakfast Club’, then please email us.

Our morning sessions are now fully booked until September 2020 with waiting lists for any spaces that may become available for Children currently enrolled.

We have approximately 15 families on our waiting list for September 2020 and we would suggest that should you be thinking of joining Wenvoe Playgroup from September then get in touch via the email as soon as possible. We will hold an open afternoon in May. Your email will be placed on a waiting list (once replied to of course) to receive an invite to attend in May with a view to secure sessions from September 2020.

Nursery admissions for September 2020 are open this month and are usually notified around the end of May for September intake. Keep a watchful eye on the Vale of Glamorgan website.

We can make a note for your preferred sessions at Playgroup (if requiring support) with Gwenfo Nursery whilst you are awaiting notification from the Vale of Glamorgan.

Don’t forget we are enrolled to support the 30 Hour Free Childcare Offer with The Vale and Cardiff Councils, so Children from all areas are able to sign up to the Playgroup for 17.5 hours FREE per week, should families fit the criteria. More about the 30 hour care will be sent to What’s On soon, or if you want to know more now, then email us and we can send you some documentation for information.

We expect a very busy year.

As I write this we are half way through our Summer Holidays and looking forward to a very busy year at Playgroup from September.

The Playgroup is now full for morning sessions with limited space on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons only. We have started a waiting list for morning spaces for 2020 and people are already registering interest for September 2020, especially those who are hoping to attend with wrap around care at Gwenfo Nursery.

As mentioned in July What’s On, we are offering breakfast club for those who are due to start at Gwenfo Reception from September. We still have a few spaces remaining should you wish to attend Breakfast and onto Reception @ £5 per morning from 8am. Breakfast is flexible with days, you don’t have to do all five, however, you will need to do the same breakfasts each week during term time.

We can also offer limited space for breakfast and onto Gwenfo Nursery from 8am @ £5 per session or if you are eligible for Government Free Child Care, 50p per session. Again, you don’t have to do everyday, you can just do a couple of days as long as they are the same each term week.

For further information please telephone us on 02920597494 or email us at wenvoeplaygroup @btinternet.com and speak to Sandra.

Please view our website and read our Admissions Statement of Purpose and Operational Plan which highlight our practice and costs. www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk

We look forward to seeing everyone return on Wednesday 4th September