Riverside Pre-school CIO

We have community pre-schools in Bitterne Park and St. Denys and are managed by a voluntary parent management committee.
We are funded by Southampton City Council and operate on a not-for-profit basis, with all funding used to provide the best possible pre-school education and care for the children registered with us.
However, we are independent from them and a place at Riverside does not guarantee a place at school.
The admissions process is independently operated by Southampton City Council.
St. Denys was last inspected in March 2018 and Bitterne Park in April 2018 and were awarded Outstanding for both settings.
We are a member of the Early Years Alliance (EYA), which provides support and training to all registered pre-school groups in Southampton with the aim of enhancing the care and education available to young children.
It is our intention to make Riverside Pre-school CIO genuinely accessible to children and families from all sections of the local community.
As the only community pre-school serving the Bitterne Park and St Denys area we aim to offer as many of our places as possible to local children.
Due to popular demand for pre-school places, we have strict criteria for Bitterne Park admissions, giving families within the Bitterne Park Primary School catchment area priority access to places.
To begin the admissions process please download and fill out the Waiting List Request Form and email this back to [email protected].
In the academic year that your child turns 3-years-old we will contact you by letter with the full registration pack.
You will need to complete this identifying your childs preferred sessions.
This is to prepare your child for starting school.
Your child will have the opportunity to visit us for settling in sessions during the summer term or early in September.
Parental involvement is extremely important to us at Riverside and is highly valued.
As a parent you can get involved with the pre-school in many different ways depending on how much time you have to give.
As a community pre-school we are required to have a Management Committee, which is voluntary and made up of parents who give a considerable amount of their time to ensure the effective overall management and control of the pre-school.
If the Management Committee or REG Group are not quite right for you, there are other ways to you can support us, for example cutting out craft activity resources or mending dressing-up clothes from home or coming into the pre-school to read with the children.
We especially welcome those of you who can read in another language, helping our children to learn about other cultures and the world around them.
We always need support with events, including setting-up, manning stalls and clearing away.
If you are interested in helping us in any of the ways mentioned above please contact the office via [email protected].
We have a duty under the law to help safeguard children against suspected or actual significant harm.
We will work with children, parents and the community to ensure the rights and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life.
We have a detailed Safeguarding Children policy.
We aim to build close relationships with our children and their families so that we are aware of any problems should they emerge.
When this happens, we can offer support, including referral to appropriate agencies to help families in difficulty.