Read more about Dingley news and events here, and please get in touch if you want to find out more!
Ofsted Inspection at Reading Centre.
I am thrilled to announce that the Reading Centre has been successful once again following an unannounced inspection on September 23rd. The inspector was incredibly complimentary on practice and practice management. Under the new inspection regime there are three categories with respective sub categories. These are listed below with our grades!
Quality of Provision - GOOD
Outcomes for Children - GOOD
Achieve and Enjoy - OUTSTANDING
Feel Safe - GOOD
Adopt Healthy Lifestyles - GOOD
Positive Contributions - GOOD
Develop Future Skills - OUTSTANDING
Leadership and Management - GOOD
Driving Improvement - GOOD
Deploying Resources - GOOD
Equality and Diversity - OUTSTANDING
Safeguarding - OUTSTANDING
Self Evaluation - GOOD
Partnerships - OUTSTANDING
Engaging with Parents - OUTSTANDING
Overall Effectiveness - GOOD
Meeting Children's Needs - GOOD
Continuous Improvement - GOOD
For further information on what these grades mean and meeting the requirements that Ofsted impose on settings working with children, see www.ofsted.gov.uk
Needless to say we are over the moon. A lot of the constructive feedback we have received over the last few months through the distribution of questionnaires to families past and present we have proved to have been addressing, specific practices have been implemented or amended in order to satisfy the needs, requirements and desires of the families and our Ofsted inspection report is testimony to the hard work we have all been putting in recently towards this end.
Support Dingley with your old junk!
If you have any unwanted items that are too good to go to landfill, now you can use them to raise valuable funds to help Dingley.
JumbleAID lets individuals and businesses post unwanted stuff online and anyone can pledge a donation in return for an item - so go rummage now!
Newbury Racecourse exit collection raises £3200
Visitors attending Newbury Racecourse the Ladies Day racing on 15th August helped the West Berkshire Centre to raise £3200.After a good day's racing, the crowds enjoyed a Simply Red concert in the paddock. Dingley volunteers collecting at the gates did notice a good uptake in donations during Money's too Tight to Mention.
The money shall help fill the gap in our West Berkshire operating costs for 2009/2010. If you are able to help more, you can donate online using Justgiving.com.
Many thanks to all our supporters and volunteers on the day!
Wokingham Centre chosen as Sainsbury's Charity of the Year
The staff at our Wokingham Centre are proud to have been chosen by Sainsburys Winnersh as their Charity of the Year for 2009/10. Sainsburys have set themselves and their customers a target of £5000 to benefit the children who attend the Wokngham centre.In addition to their support in store, staff from Sainsburys cheered on parents and the children at our sports day on the 20th July in Wokingham.
Reading Centre - Official Launch and Open Day Report!
The official launch and open day on July 2nd was a big success.
Martin Salter MP opened our facility and congratulated us on more thatn 20 years of successful practice in the Reading area. I am led to believe that it was Martin who officiated at the opening of the facility when it was first established in Battle Hospital so what an honour to have had him involved once again and experiencing our progression, many years later!
Reading Borough Council were represented and many discussions took place regarding our practices and provision moving forward from the new location. There was food, drink and too much cake but I think it might be accurate to suggest a great time was had by all.
Fred in the Shed and centre staff facilitated fun activities for the children and Reading Football Club interacted brilliantly with the children and adults distributing free Young Royals packs! It was great to see past children, parents/carers, staff and committee members too.
I must express my gratitude to our financial contributors and volunteers this last year and to everyone else who has supported us in one way or another. These include children and their families, committee members, staff at Wokingham and West Berks centres, Zurich Cares, Reading Voluntary Action, Morgan Cole Solicitors, Youth Offenders Service, Reading Borough Council, Reading Football Club, CBS Furnishings, Reading Community Radio, RCVYS and I’m sure some others I cannot recall, please forgive me but with sincerity, thanks to every one. It has been my pleasure be involved with you!
Now we’re well on our way to becoming settled or ‘grounded’. The staff are about to finish for the summer months but I’ll be working hard in the background, continuing to raise our profile, improve on practices and services from the new centre, liaising with health, developing our sensory room that bit further and securing new interest in what we do to support children with additional needs and their families.
I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a pleasant/happy summer and I look forward to the new challenges of the next academic year.
Woodley Pagoda 7th June
Staff and parents from Dingley Wokingham all gathered at the Pagoda in Woodley on Sunday 7th June for a nearly new sale.
Although the weather wasn't looking very hopeful there was a steady stream of would be buyers, we were very happy with the support that we received and very quickly most of the donated items found new homes.
The Henna painting was a great success, with hands, ankles and backs all being decorated with beautiful intricate patterns.
Thanks to everyone who donated their time and to everyone who bought something!
Reading Centre Official Opening and Launch Party
We are pleased to (finally) provide you with the details of Reading centre's official opening and launch party.The pleasure of your company is requested on:
Thursday the 2nd July between 10am and 3pm.
So that you can plan your attendance to this exciting event, you might be interested to know the cutting of the ribbon and presentations will take place at 10.30am and then, between 11am and 1pm 'Fred in the Shed' children's entertainer will be paying us a visit! (See http://www.fredintheshed.net/ for more details).
Ivar Ingimarsson, Icelandic player in defense for Reading Football Club will be facilitating a 90 minute 'kick about'. Come between 1 and 3pm for this exciting visit!
Additional activities will be planned and facilitated by our playeleaders.
We will be welcoming many other special visitors throughout the day including health professionals from the Dingley Specialist Childrens Centre, RBH, representatives from the Early Years Workforce at Reading Borough Council, local MP's, Councillors, the media/press and the volunteers responsible for assisting with our smooth transition from one location to another (those who contibuted materials, labour, time and effort). Many thanks to each one!
Please turn up at your convenience and stay for as long as you wish, refreshments will be served throughout. We can't wait to share this special event with you!