Rainbow Stop Playgroup, Markethill, Co. Armagh

Welcome

Welcome to Rainbow Stop Playgroup.


We are based in Markethill, Co. Armagh, a small village with a wonderful community. Our Playgroup has a number of funded, full-time places available for children in their immediate pre-school year, and we are part of the preschool standardisation programme, offering each child 4.5 hours of preschool provision per day. We endeavour to provide every child with a high-quality play-based learning experiences to support and progress development within all six areas of the preschool curriculum, which we follow within our setting.
We are registered with Armagh & Dungannon Health & Social Services Trust and we are also a member of Early Years - The Organisation for Young Children and Young People.


All our staff are highly skilled and qualified in Childcare and Education and we have an Early Years Specialist who supports our work. The playgroup provides a nurturing and caring environment where our dedicated staff support each child to learn through their curiosities, inquisitiveness and early childhood experiences. Our environment reflects structure to stimulate learning skills and imagination through teaching, creative play and physical activities, encouraging all children to achieve their full potential educationally, physically, socially and emotionally.

 

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Back to pre school, with four weeks to go.. ๐Ÿซถ ๐Ÿฅน This week we have travelled to lots of destinations, we have been pilots, captains, bus drivers and campers. ๐Ÿ›ฉ๐ŸšŒโ›บ๏ธโ›ด๏ธ We have had lots of discussions around the children's recent holidays and trips, and explored maps in detail to find the places they visited. We have learnt the names of new countries and how to stay safe in the sunshine ๐ŸŒž After returning from our week off our chrysalis' had also progressed to their last stage and we were able to release 5 happy butterflies ๐Ÿฆ‹ Another special Birthday cake ๐ŸŽ‚ and some ice pops were very well deserved ๐Ÿฆ
๐Ÿ• For incoming families September 2026. You can now apply โŒจ๏ธ ๐Ÿ“ขAlso for parents of pre school leavers heading to primary one in September 2026. Applications for Free School Meals and Uniform Allowance for the upcoming academic year are now open! ๐Ÿ‘‰ Apply now: https://connect.eani.org.uk/parent/ Please note, as well as new applicants, parents/carers of children who are currently in receipt of Free School Meals and Uniform Allowance will need to apply again for the 2026/27 school year. If you donโ€™t already have an EA Connect account, you will need to set one up. This is quick and easy to do, and there is lots of helpful information available on www.eani.org.uk/fsm to show you how. You will also find details on eligibility and the supporting documentation you will need to upload when making your application.
๐ŸŒŸBook your places for a fantastic night of celebrating ๐ŸŒŸ๐ŸŽ‰
โ™ฅ๏ธ'The one that melts our hearts' โ™ฅ๏ธ This one is guaranteed to be special, we know you all saved the date! So here are the exciting details... ๐ŸŒŸ Special thanks go to our committee who have again organised this fantastic evening for the children. A wonderful group of parents who have such enthusiasm and support for our playgroup ๐Ÿ‘ Please use the link below to book your space, ensure you add each child's name and how many you are booking for. Please bring along friends, family or past pupils of Rainbow Stop ๐ŸŒˆ https://www.paypal.me/RainbowPlaygroup We can't wait to see you all dressed to impress ๐Ÿ•บ๐Ÿ’ƒ
๐Ÿ World Bee Day ๐Ÿ Yesterday we celebrated World Bee Day with a yummy 'Honey' themed snack. We purhased some honey from a local bee keeper for the children to try. The children have been learning lots of bee realted facts, including how a bee uses flowers to make honey and explored the life cycle of the bee, as well as using junk art to create their own representation of bees. We have explored how lots of bees physical appearances are different through the use of photographs on our interactive whiteboard board and giggled lots as we watched the Honey Bee 'waggle dance' which taught us how bees talk to each other ๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฅž๐Ÿ’›
๐Ÿ’ซPicnic in the Park๐Ÿ’ซ This morning we had a wonderful outing to visit Markethill Primary school. We joined together with their primary one children to play in the park and enjoy a picnic. Our pupils also met with both Mrs George and Mrs Nicholson, their lovely Primary one teachers ๐Ÿซ We had lots of excited waves and 'Hellos' from previous pupils โค๏ธ We completed a lovely walk over, meeting some friendly ponies on the way home ๐ŸŽ and also practiced our safety rules for crossing the road. This outing is a very valuable opportunity for our pre school children ahead of their transition to primary one in September. We would like to say a special thank you to all the pupils, teachers and staff at Markethill Primary school who gave us such a warm welcome this morning. We look forward to seeing you all again soon for lots more of the special visits we have planned. Permission has been shared for photos used ๐Ÿ“ธ
๐Ÿ’ซThank you to all our new parents and pre-school children for the exceptional turn out at our open evening tonight. We had the best time meeting you all, it was lovely to see so much play and all your happy little faces. We know lots of you wanted to stay longer and we look forward to welcoming you all back again soon. We are very excited for what your special year holds โœจ๏ธ
An incredible visit once again from Jurassic Ark Encounters. Jonny has been visiting us for many years and always impresses us with his wide array of animal species. This year the children got to meet a new Spider ๐Ÿ•ท and also a new Toad ๐Ÿธ these animals link fantastically to our current learning around the life cycle of a frog and the mini beasts we have been exploring. There was much excitement when Jonny popped Rodger the Toad on the floor to show us how he leaped. Lots of brave boys and girls who expressed confidence, resilience and pride in themselves today, way to go pre schoolers ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘ We are so proud of you all ๐ŸŒŸ
โœจ๏ธOpen evening 2026/27โœจ๏ธ Please contact the setting with any queries you may have or if there is anything further you would like to discuss. See you all soon ๐ŸŒˆ