Ralston Out of
School Care
Prospectus
Established 1995
C/o Ralston Primary School
School Road
Paisley
Pa1 3AT
0141 882 5230
www.rosc.org.uk
Welcome to Ralston Out of School Care
Every child is special at ROSC and we aim to provide a safe, secure, happy
and stimulating environment to enable your children to learn through play,
discovery and investigation and to meet their own potential.
The purpose of this prospectus is to give you all the information you need to
know about our Out of School Care. It will give you an insight into what we do in
the service and provide you with some useful information you will require if you
decide to send your child to the service. This prospectus has by no means all the
answers and as always if you have any questions or feedback please don’t
hesitate to contact me at the service.
At ROSC we operate an “open door policy” for all our parents and carers. We
will be happy to help you with any queries that you may have about the service
or the care we provide. I hope this prospectus proves useful and that your
children’s time with us is both fun and productive.
Grace Berry
Service Manager
Ralston Out of School Care Committee
Ralston Out of School Care (ROSC) is a registered charity, which is governed by
a voluntary committee made up exclusively of parents with children using the
service. The committee members are the charity trustees of the service and
together are responsible for the overall management and smooth running of the
service, supporting the Manager and staff to deliver the best quality care and
experiences. The committee meets six times a year to discuss matters such a
finance, fundraising and staff development in order for the service to meet the
needs of the children, families and comply with the statutory regulatory bodies;
ensuring the out of school care provides a premium service at an affordable
cost
Ralston Out of School Care offers the best value facility in Renfrewshire for
term time childcare and holiday cover however the service is reliant on a full
parent committee to operate and maintain the future sustainability. Joining the
committee is the best way to find out how the out of school care is run and to
have your say in the future of the service.
Executive Management committee members are elected at the Annual General
Meeting (AGM), where all parents become voting members when they enroll
their child into the service. Notification of the AGM will be provided in advance
and a representative of each family is expected to attend however the
committee will make decisions as necessary in the event of non-attendance.
Non-executive committee members can come aboard at any point during the
year where any input and suggestions from parents to continuously develop and
improve the service are welcome.
With ongoing support from parents, staff, the Head Teacher of Ralston Primary
and Renfrewshire Council, the service has maintained a very credible reputation,
which is also the focus for the future.
Alan Towle
Chairperson
MEET THE ROSC STAFF
Manager
Grace Berry
Deputy Manager
Floor Manager
S
Claire Coggins
Senior Worker
Amanda McManus
Claire Haggarty
Childcare Workers
Shona Morrison
Joanne Brown
Support Worker
Melissa Rankin
Liz McCloy
Admin
Carol Waton
Karen McIvor
What we have to offer
At ROSC we aim to offer a
range of flexible options to
help parents meet their
childcare needs. We provide
an Out of School Care for
primary school children and
those in secondary one and
two. We pick up from Ralston
Primary School but accept
children from all schools
although we cannot provide
transport. We have 70 places between 3.00pm and 6.00pm and 50 places in our
sessions before school. We also offer a Play Scheme during the Summer
holidays, the Easter holidays and the October week. We offer a variety of
activities including trips, sports, games, computer games and arts and crafts.
We also organise a summer show every year and run special events throughout
the year. If you would like to find out more about any of our services please do
not hesitate to talk to one of the team who will be happy to discuss your needs.
Morning Session Term Time 8am - 9am (38 weeks per year)
Our morning session is open to school age children between 8am – 9am in the
morning. The children have a range of activities
available to them up until 8.55am, where they
will be escorted to the playground where we
ensure that the children are in school safely
before we leave. At the request of some of our
parents we now offer an optional "breakfast
club" during our morning session. For only 50p a
day your child can have a healthy breakfast of
toast and cereal to start the day right.
Free play is an important part of the day
After School Care Term Time 3pm - 6pm (38 weeks
per year)
Our afternoon session is very popular and the majority
of children have been with us from Primary 1. We engage
the children in many activities including dance, drama,
music and sports. As part of the national curriculum we
actively encourage children to take part in decisions
that affect them. This is highlighted by our
development of the Children’s Council where children
take part in the planning and promoting of projects in
the service.
Holiday Club
Open All School Holidays (Except Christmas and Easter
Monday,) 8am - 6pm
Our Holiday Clubs run during school holidays including in-service days. We are
open to all school age children up to the age of 14 years (and not restricted to
children who attend the Out of School Care).
We offer a variety of activities to meet the needs and interests of all age
groups, to help achieve this where possible the children will be actively
encouraged to be involved in the planning as well as the decision making process.
During the Spring, Summer and October weeks we organise a variety of trips
which will attract most young people. These include swimming, cinema, speed
boats and tubing, as well as visits to parks, museums, castles and other places of
interest.
Our holiday club takes place in the Out of School Care which is situated in
Ralston primary school. We have a wide range of resources, from arts and
crafts to pool and table tennis tables which keep the children from getting
bored. All our staff are highly trained and deliver many theme days which are
very popular with the children. We arrange theme days for other out of school
cares to attend which are also very popular with many out of schools attending.
Science Centre Summer 2015
Ayr Beach Summer Playscheme 2015
Tubing Summer Playscheme 2015
Blair Drummond Summer Playscheme 2015
Schools Out Disco Summer 2015
THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT OUR OUT OF SCHOOL CARE
Snack
At ROSC we take nutrition seriously and aim to provide a well-balanced snack
daily for the children. All 0ur staff have
food hygiene certificates and provide a
weekly menu of what is available. We are
aware of children’s differing needs and we
take account of all dietary requirements
whether for health or religious reasons.
The children are encouraged to be involved
in the process through discussion,
questionnaires and feedback from the
children’s council.
Pantomime
The service is a registered charity committed to putting all the money made
back into the service. However we still need to fundraise if we want to finance
an outing that will bring children, parents and staff together. Everyone at
ROSC is committed to fundraising activities which will allow us to plan and
deliver the outing which is normally a trip to the pantomime each year. This is
well attended
by many
families and
provides a
chance for
everyone to
work together
in a
collaborated
way.
Children’s Council
Over the past three years we have
encouraged the Children’s Council,
this was originally founded to
enable the children to be
productive in the planning and
delivering their activities which
then could be tailored to their
individual needs. This is a highly
successful venture which has
opened up different doors for the
children to be involved in their
care. One of these is the
Children’s newspaper which we published the first edition in October 2012.
Sports Activities
Through consultation with the parent committee, parents and children we have
brought back our Sports Activities, the sports worker is very popular with the
children and brings with him experience that the children learn from. With the
help from his football team they put together a football tournament that
involved five other
out of school
services. Feedback
from other out of
school cares include
“can we have more of
these” and “our kids
have not stopped
talking about it”. We
also provide a variety
of different sports
and games for the
children
Performing Arts
We have previously had
drama, singing and dance
activities which were also
well received. Our
intention is to identify
funding that will allow us
to introduce new and
innovative activities for
the children
Shows
For the past 17 years we have been
organising shows for the children to
perform for their parents. This has
differed over the years. We have
had many different types of show
ranging from musicals to dramas.
Most children love to perform and
we actively encourage them to
showcase their talents through
music, drama, dance and song. The
children get involved from the start
of the shows, those who don’t want
to take part in the show will be responsible for music, background props, helping
with the dressmaking, hair and makeup. The show brings all the children
together working to a shared aim.
Theme Days
Our theme days are always popular, staff work
hard at putting together a carefully thought out
plan to deliver, Hawaiian Days, Pyjama Days, Baking
Days, Chocolate Days, Pirate and Princess Days,
DVD and Video days, Healthy Days, Football
Tournaments, Camping Days, Messy Days and many
more.
Lego Day
Messy Day
Space day
Working with older children
To ensure we meet the needs of the older children that attend the service we
are committed to making sure that their time with us is fun and they leave
ROSC with as many good memories as possible. We piloted a youth club for P6S2 to meet the needs of the older children. The idea was to give them space,
independence and more age appropriate activities. The pilot proved very
successful so we plan to continue this in the future.
Parent Drop In
Our parent drop ins have proved popular with parents, children and staff. These
afternoons give children a chance to show their parents what they do when they
are in aftercare and the resources that are available to them. Run every four
months these are always well attended and very beneficial to all involved.
Activities we offer
We offer the children a variety of activities and resources on a daily basis. We
aim to change the room layout at least once a month to ensure there are a
variety of activities offered in the room. We have listed a few of the resources
we have available below.
Building Blocks
Arts and Crafts
Roleplaying Areas
Table Tennis
Keyworker
In ROSC every child has a dedicated keyworker who will observe each child and
plan activities to cater to their needs and interests. At rosc we want to assist
the growth and development of every child in our care through play and provide
as many fun experiences as we can
What do children and parents say about ROSC?
What do you like about aftercare?
“I like to play” Orla Ritchie P1
“The staff, cos they are nice to me” Rachel P2
“Going outside” Jackson P2
“Meeting new friends” Abigail P3
“All of the space” Tom P5
“I think it’s quite cool at breakfast club” Maya P4
What do you like about the youth club?
“I think its very fun” Owen P7
“I think it’s a good idea because I can hang out with my friends” Elizabeth P7
“We are treated more like adults” Archie P7
“I wish it could be every day” Abbie P6
“I feel very involved and happy” Emma P7
“I enjoy being with friends” Harry P7
“Peace and quiet and get the chance to do more with staff” Charlotte P7
What do parents think about the youth club?
“Good idea and gives the children more freedom” Theresa McGowan
“Great, makes children feel more grown up” Debbie Hunter
“Most definitely prepares them for high school transition process” Kirsty
Houston
“Great approach for the older children” Wendy Irvine
Useful Contact Details
Grace Berry
Ralston Out of School Care
C/o Ralston Primary School
School Road
Paisley
PA1 3AT
Telephone with answer machine: 0141 882 5230
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.rosc.org.uk
Mobile 1 07969277543
Mobile 2 07969279233
Mobile 3 07969269110
Care Inspectorate
4th floor,
1 Smithhill Street,
PAISLEY
Tel: 0141 843 4230
Website: www.scswis.com
Childcare information Service,
Education and Leisure
3rd Floor, Renfrewshire House
Cotton Street
Paisley
Renfrewshire
PA1 1UJ
Tel: 0141 618 7180