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    Play Explore Grow

     

    OFSTED "Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this welcoming and stimulating pre-school".

  • Contact Us / Check availability / Book a taster session

    Please leave us a message below.

    Magic Dragon Preschool,
    Church of the Good Shepherd Hall, 171 Bishop Rd, Bristol BS7 8NA
    Mon- Thurs 9am-1pm
    07971421834
    07971421834
    Magicdragonpreschool@hotmail.co.uk

  • A warm welcome to Magic Dragon Preschool!

    At Magic Dragon Preschool we provide a wonderfully safe and stimulating environment where children can
    explore and learn through planned and purposeful play. We have a well-established team of highly-qualified staff who carefully plan for
    each child’s unique development and interests following the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.

    We welcome children from the age of 2 and a half years up to school age.

    When you choose Magic Dragon Preschool, you are choosing a well established, exceptional childcare and quality education in a fantastic environment. We feel sure that both you and your child will be excited when you visit.

     

    Book a visit now to come and meet our great team and see our children having fun playing, hopping, pouring, laughing, sticking, running, digging, cooking, questioning, singing, sharing, galloping, smiling, painting, exploring, experimenting, learning, squishing, creating, helping and caring amongst other things.

  • What Parents Say

    “Magic Dragon Pre School is like a big family full of lovely people! We have been blown away by the lengths the team have gone to to get to know our little boy in a mere matter of weeks. He was so nervous to begin with but his key person went the extra mile to think each day of something that would really engage and settle him upon arrival.”

    Rachael 2020

    “I leave my son there 4 days a week in absolute confidence that all his needs will be met with expertise and brilliance! The staff are a dream team who incorporate all the best wisdom of child development and educational philosophies to meet the children’s needs that are in their care. The communication and parent links are second to none. I feel extremely lucky. Check it out and see for yourself. You won’t regret it. Will be the best decision you make.”

    Harriet 2020

    "We couldn't have wished for a more positive preschool experience for our daughter. The team go above and beyond to care for the children at Magic Dragon and the standard of provision is excellent."

    Parent 2020

    "I couldn’t speak more highly of the Staff and the environment! The pastoral support is amazing. They’ve been superb at settling in the children who have never been to pre school before, especially in light of really challenging circumstances with parents not able to go into the pre school at the moment. We’ve just received his written, printed learning journey to have a look at during half term. His key worker really knows him well and has managed to harness his interests really well to develop his vocabulary and natural curiosity."

    Debs 2020

    "I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Magic Dragon to any family looking for a nurturing, personal, caring and fun pre school where the children and their interests are at the very heart."

    Parent 2020

    "My eldest son went to Magic Dragon before starting school and absolutely loved it. Now my younger son goes and couldn’t be more enthusiastic about it. The staff really care and make a huge effort with activities for the children. They always have time to listen to any queries or concerns and produce detailed learning diaries to record your child’s experiences. The setting is excellent, lots of indoor space and a lovely enclosed garden - all tucked away from the busy roads. Highly recommended!"

    Dorothy 2020

  • “We just wanted to say that we are really impressed with Magic Dragon. Our son is excited to go every day, he talks about what he did and what he's looking forward to. We're so glad we chose this setting.

    The ethos of tailoring learning and play to the children's interests is wonderful and varied. Having a little catch up every morning and pick up is really helpful and we are always told what he's been up to. There is a real focus on independence and learning how to do things for yourself.”

    Peter 2023

    “The main reason why we chose Magic Dragon is the staff team. They are a highly skilled, thoughtful, open, generous, knowledgeable, flexible, understanding and experienced team. Each and every member is as wonderful as the other and all give our children the absolute best. They nurture our children as if they were their own. Everyday they manage to make this pack away preschool homely, welcoming, inviting and exciting. They are a dream team and we the parents couldn’t be more grateful.”

    Harriet 2023

    "Magic Dragon goes above and beyond and it is remarkable what they manage to provide our lucky children with."

    Parent 2023

    "The provision is so thoughtful. There are ever changing things to do and themes, which are tailored to the children’s interest.
    The team, and the consistency of staff there has been has been really good, and has provided continuity and certainty for the children. We also really value the opportunities to come in to preschool to help, watch performances or come to parent coffee mornings."

    Holly 2023

    "We could not have hoped for a better experience these past years - the staff have gone above and beyond to welcome X, help her feel at ease, and help her thrive in confidence, skills, and gifts. We are so grateful that she has had these formative years in a setting that is so dedicated to the individual child. The processes and procedures that the preschool has in place fill me with confidence that X is under good care, and the wrap-around nature of the approach to the children's experience is of superb quality. I love the level of detail that the staff pay attention to, and we feel so at home at MD."

    Hannah 2023

    "All three of my children have attended Magic Dragon and have thrived under this wonderful setting with exceptional staff. The outdoor space is perfect for the children to get in to exploratory outdoor play, and I think they now have outdoor stories which I think is great to further their outdoor experience. I can’t fault this fantastic setting and I can already see my son, who only started in January, has really developed so much."

    Jill 2023

  • About Us

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    Magic Dragon Preschool

    We provide a safe and unique learning environment that inspires our children to play, explore and grow.
    Our highly-qualified and long-standing staff team sparkles with enthusiasm and passion delivering bespoke learning experiences for each individual child’s needs. We build relationships and get to know our children really well and tailor our play experiences to each unique child. We build links with parents, carers and grandparents to create a supportive Magic Dragon Community.

     

    PLAY: We believe in the power of play, nurturing children's little hands and big hearts and minds. We provide a wide range of activities and experiences and we follow children's ideas and interests to help them develop.

    EXPLORE: The children enjoy playing and exploring both inside and out come rain or shine. Throughout the year, we explore our local community and festivals through trips and inviting in visitors.

    GROW: Our aim is to enable everyone to grow into curious, kind, resilient, independent and happy children.


    We have a great space to play in at Magic Dragon consisting of two large, bright halls, a smaller activity room and two different gardens allowing the children to do focused activities and the space to run around and explore the natural world. Spaces are created for the children to try different activities and experience a wide range of stimulating tasks covering all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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    The Curriculum

    At Magic Dragon we plan fun and relevant activities and provide a safe and stimulating environment both indoors and outside to help children play, explore and grow. We have a real emphasis on learning through PLAY at Magic Dragon.

    On top of our general learning provision, each week the children have a forest school activity, yoga and mindfulness time, singing and action rhyme sessions, music and movement and ring/group games. We use our outdoor spaces everyday whatever the weather. Each term we have cooking activities, visitors in to share their skills, woodwork classes, drama workshops, tennis coaching and trips in the local area.

     

    Children develop in the 3 prime areas. These are:

    • Communication and language;
    • Physical development; and
    • Personal, social and emotional development.

    These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning.

    As children grow, we help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are:

    • Literacy;
    • Mathematics;
    • Understanding the world; and
    • Expressive arts and design.

    Click on the link at the bottom of the page for a copy of ‘What to expect when’. This is a parent’s guide on child development in the early years.

     

    If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s development then please arrange to speak to your child’s key person or any member of our team who can help and support you.

  • Gallery

    Snapshots of the children Playing, Exploring and Growing.

  • Our Team

    We have a team of five highly-qualified, experienced, dedicated and long-standing staff members who are passionate about working with children in early years.

    All staff go above and beyond to make sure we provide the best early education possible for every child.

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    Preschool Leader and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

    Niki Hawke

    BSc (Hons) & PGCE

    Child Protection

    Paediatric First Aid

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    Deputy Leader and Designated Safeguarding Lead

    Ali Lloyd Jones

    BSc (Hons) & PGCE

    Child Protection

    Paediatric First Aid

     

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    Deputy Leader and SENCo

    Sally Wales

    BEd (Hons)

    Child Protection

    Paediatric First Aid

    Food Hygiene

    Health & Safety Officer

     

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    Preschool Practitioner

    Naomi Camwell

    BA (Hons)

    Child Protection

    Paediatric First Aid

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    Preschool Practitioner

    Martha Watton

     

    BA (Hons), MSC

    Child Protection

    Paediatric First Aid

    Outdoor learning leader

  • Fees & Funding

    Registration Fee and Fees:

    A £50 non-refundable fee is payable when submitting our registration form.

    Fees are calculated on a termly basis and payable in advance. You will receive an invoice three times a year. You will be charged even if your child is absent.

    We charge £6.25 an hour. Our fees are currently being reviewed and there will be an increase for this September.

     

    Financial support:

    There are different types of financial support you may be eligible to receive to help you with the cost of childcare. The type of help you can receive will depend on your individual circumstances.

    All children attending Magic Dragon are currently eligible for the Early Education Entitlement funding of up to 15 hours per week from the January, April or September after their 3rdbirthday. You will receive the paperwork when you start at our preschool. This is subject to regular review.

    HMRC Helpline 0300 123 4097

    We have funded two year old places available at our preschool.

    Your family may be eligible for 15 hours FEEE funding. For further information please click here.

    You can apply directly to the Local Authority by downloading your application form here.

    Early Years Pupil Premium is funding paid to Providers for children whose parents are in receipt of certain benefits. The funding can be used to enhance the quality of your child's early years experience by improving the teaching, learning facilities and resources, with the aim of impacting positively on your child's progress and development. Click here to see if your child is eligible.

    If you feel you may be eligible for additional hours, you can find out more at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

     

    Childcare Vouchers:

    We accept Childcare vouchers, a government scheme operated through employers to allow you to pay for childcare from your pre-tax salary. An amount is deducted from your salary at source and paid directly to your childcare provider.

    For those paying fees in full, we charge £6.25 per hour.

    If you have any further questions regarding fees then please get in contact with us.

     

    If you wish to cancel your child’s sessions, half a term’s notice or payment in lieu must be given. Non-payment of fees will result in your child’s place being re-allocated.

  • More Information

    When you register your child with us at Magic Dragon Preschool we will send you a pack containing lots of information, top tips for starting preschool, a healthy eating leaflet, and a welcome booklet for your child. Once your child starts at Magic Dragon,you will receive information through our weekly newsletter, daily feedback from your child's key person or a member of the team, your child's learning journal to look through each term, a progress meeting three times a year along with regular important information reminders.

     

    Term Dates & Opening times

    We are open term time: Monday-Thursday 9:00-1:00

    For 2023-2024 we are open:

    T1

    Tuesday 12th September 2023 -  

    Thursday 19th October

     

    T2

    Monday 30th October -

    Thursday 14th December

     

    T3

    Wednesday 3rd January 2024 -

    Thursday 8th February

     

    T4

    Monday 19th February -

    Thursday 28th March

     

    T5

    Monday 15th April -

    Thursday 23rd May

     

    T6

    Monday 3rd June

    Wednesday 17th July   

    Policies

    Please see our list of policies in the document at the bottom of this page.

    We have various policies and procedures that are available for everyone to read through and they are kept on the registration table. The six policies that we send out to parents when their child starts at preschool can be found at the bottom of the page.

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    Join Us On Facebook

    For weekly updates, photos and fun.

  • Newsletters

    Term 1 Week 1

    Term 1 Week 1 NURSERY RHYMES

    Click here for the newsletter.   A brilliant first week back. The children enjoyed exploring our new water wall, filling up the sandpit, having snack outside, building towers for the dinosaurs, lots of jigsaw puzzles, baby role play in the home corner, digging for treasure, rolling wheels down the ramps, having fun on the trikes, singing songs and seeing all of our friends again.

    We are sure that the children will be exhausted this weekend.

     

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    Term 1 week 2 ALL ABOUT ME

    Click here for the newsletter This week there have been smiles, building, thinking, turn taking, exploring, singing, questions, co-operation, problem solving, running, cycling, listening, joining in, trying for the first time, painting, persevering and splashing amongst other things.

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    Term 1 Week 3 ANIMALS WEEK

    Click here for the newsletter    The children have had fun building up their friendships this week. It is great to see them engaging in role play and talking about their ‘friends’. We have been busy painting outside, playing in the cafe, doing the animal boogie, testing our strength, using our gross motor skills on the obstacle courses, hiding and seeking for animals, arranging the animals in their families, experimenting with ramps for conkers and cars and making friendship necklaces. The children enjoyed saying hello to each other in a different European languages every morning. We said Bonjour (French), Helo (Dutch), Privet (Russian) and Ciao (Italian). We learnt that it is tricky to learn new words, but with practise you can have fun and get better.

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    erm 1 Week 4 AUTUMN - Click here for the newsletter

    We have been discovering Autumn at preschool this week. Thank you for all of the treasures you collected in your Autumn bags. We rolled conkers and pinecones down the
    tubes inside and down the drainpipes with water outside, made leaf rubbings, created leaf printings which we hung up to dry in the autumn sunshine in the garden, navigated filling up watering cans and transporting water to the forest garden, designed an obstacle course, enjoyed the climbing frame. Blue group
    enjoyed a trip out to discover signs of Autumn in our local area. What a fun-filled week we’ve had.

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    Term 1 Week 5 The Three Little Pigs and Space Click here for our newsletter

    A fun-filled week of building dens, making fruit kebabs, painting with feathers, fingers and pom-poms, designing an obstacle course, learning about Space, building houses for the Three Little Pigs,enjoying the world musical instruments outside, decorating and rollingpainted conkers, developing our fine motor skills with pom-poms, pouring and scoopingwith pasta, getting ready for 'Tom Tennis' next week with bats and balloons and playing turn taking games.

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    Click for our Weekly Newsletter 16th - 19th October 2023

    The children have done so well to settle this term, build friendships and make huge progress in different areas already. This week we have beenexploring magnets, building London towers, mark making on the whiteboards, playing with shapes, getting mucky in the mud kitchen, playing at mechanics with the trikes, balloon painting, serving their friends in the café, digging in the forest garden, pouring and scooping, enjoying tennis with Tom and playing with the cornflour goop. Without knowing it, they have been learning.... to take turns, build relationships, develop confidence, solve problems, share, count, communicate, measure, balance, develop hand eye coordination and fine motor skills, listen to instructions and be creativeamongst other things. But let's juststick to saying that they have enjoyed playing.

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    Term 2 Week 1 30th October TRANSPORT Click here for our newsletter

    We have had fun making tracks with paint and the vehicles, delivering the post on trikes, bus role play, counting and sorting cars, doing a traffic survey on Bishop Road, mark making in the tuff tray with flour and trucks and building the longest train track ever. Read more in our newsletter.

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    Newsletter for Term 2 Week 2 FIREWORKS, DIWAL and LIGHT

    The children have enjoyed making diva lamps to celebrate Diwali this week. We have made firework dribbly glue and glitter pictures, sung songs about fireworks, had a tea party
    in the garden, printed poppies, explored mark making, extended our learning with rhyming activities, built cities out of Duplo, looked after the babies in the hospital role play
    and investigated light and dark on the light table.

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     NEWSLETTER for Term 2 Week 3

    We have had a busy week continuing our learning about Diwali. The children were investigating the resources on the light table, using loose parts to make
    rangoli pattens, trying chapattis for snack, exploring light and dark with the torches and dens, decorating our diva lamps, drawing Mendhi patterns, painting fireworks on the easels and listening to the story of The Runaway Chapatti. The children
    also enjoyed using the wooden blocks and foam blocks to create roads, towers and pathways, dig for treasure in the garden, repot some flowers to brighten our garden and blue group made some fantastic artwork of the initial letter of their names. We would love you to displays these somewhere prominent so they
    can see their letter and be proud of them. We have also joined in World Nursery Rhyme week and explored lots ofdifferent rhymes (my favourite being ‘Dumpy Dumpy’).

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    Term 2 Week 5 MUSIC!

     

    Our week started witha visit from Dave from Avon Fire and Rescue Service who brought us a box full of toys to play with and he showed us his fire fighting uniform. We then had adelightful visit from the Redland Wind Band on Tuesday. The children were treated to a great musical performance after which they explored the instruments.
    The children have enjoyed playing with the firefighter pop up tent with the dress up clothes and puzzles.
    here has been collaging shapes, a woodwork workshop, powder paint creations in the forest garden, mark making on the crinkled paper, junk model instrument making, chalking rainbows, pegging up the birthday cards, building brick towers, obstacle course fun and playing with the world musical instruments. The week
    finished with some St Andrew’s Day celebrations with Scottish dancing and playing our instruments that we made along to the bagpipe music!

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  • Links

    Click here for our Magic Playdough Recipe

    EASY FUNDRAISING for Magic Dragon. Click here to sign up and fundraise for our preschool - it's simple, easy and free to do. We appreciate your support!

    Read some of our policies here. Copies of all our policies are available on the registration table everyday.

    What to expect when - A guide to your child's learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

    SEND Early Intervention Poster -Bristol’s SEND Local Offer is the central place for information about services for children and young people with special educational needs and disability in Bristol.

    North Bristol Children's Center - Support, groups and services

    www.northbristolcc.org.uk

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