St John’s Pre-school is 35 years old!!

St. John’s Pre-school is celebrating its 35th birthday this month, with all the staff and children getting involved to make it a special celebration. St. John’s Pre-school is a charity pre-school and has been a valued part of the community for 35 years, with one of its long standing team members having been a part of the team for nearly 27 years. 

Unfortunately, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, St. John’s Pre-school was forced to close its doors for over 6 months, to protect the children, parents and staff from the Covid-19 virus. During this time, St. John’s Pre-school hit extreme financial difficulties due to not being eligible for any Government grants or furlough schemes, resulting in Pre-schools future being in danger. During this challenging time, the local community rallied round to support the Pre-school and its team, with several fundraising events. This included a local printing company creating t-shirts, hoodies and mugs with inspirational quotes on, to sell on behalf of St. John’s Pre-school and donating all profits to them.  A family who have had several children attend Pre-school over the years, also set up a fundraiser with their eldest daughter climbing the distance of Mount Everest up and down their home staircase, again donating all monies to help save St. John’s Pre-school. This local support helped to raise over £5,000 and allowed Pre-school to re-open in September 2020 when it was safe to do so. 

To celebrate turning 35 years old, St. John’s Pre-school had a whole week of celebrations planned, including party games, fancy dress and birthday crafts, with many parents getting involved too. The Pre-school also did a sponsored ‘Peppa Pig Muddy Puddle walk’ all week, where the children aimed to walk 3,500 steps around the school grounds, to raise much needed funds for a new Pre-school building. Due to the success of Pre-school over the last 35 years, waiting lists for the Pre-school are currently full for the next 2 academic years. However, the Pre-school really need new premises in order to continue its success. Therefore, they are hoping to raise the much needed funds through sponsorship and donations over the next year.  

To celebrate their birthday, Pre-school also collaborated with school and created a picture of children and staff standing in the number formation ‘35’ using a drone to capture the image. This will be placed in a time capsule, along with crafts from the children, and buried in the Pre-school garden as a memory of the last 35 years and to celebrate St. John’s Pre-schools successes over the years.   https://www.stjohns-preschool.org/