Swanwick Pre-School

A converted church, a parent management committee and a preschool concert at St Andrew’s Church give Swanwick Pre-School a recognisable village character. Parents help run the setting as well as sharing in their children’s learning. This is a charity whose continued operation depends on an active volunteer committee, so family involvement has a practical purpose beyond attending celebrations.

There are 26 places in total for children aged two and a half to five. At its 30 March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective. The clearest current strengths are concrete arrangements: a key person allocated before settling begins, learning through play and a term-time timetable with morning, afternoon and full-day options.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guides the day: children develop language, physical coordination and relationships alongside early literacy, maths, creative expression and understanding of their surroundings. This is the framework for early years provision, rather than an additional branded programme. Swanwick’s approach combines children’s chosen play with activities guided by adults, using individual interests to decide what comes next.

The daily routine makes that balance tangible. Story time, movement, songs and rhymes sit alongside free play and outdoor time. The activity timetable can change when an unexpected learning opportunity arises, while the beginning and end of sessions stay fixed. Children can pursue an idea themselves, then join a shared activity that introduces something new.

At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff planned effectively around children’s interests and that children showed confidence and used their imagination well. In March 2023, construction role play brought together protective hats, high-visibility clothing and clipboards for attempts at name writing. A glass tank containing tadpoles gave children something real to examine, with books helping them explore how frogs develop. These examples connected conversation, early writing and scientific curiosity through play.

Outdoor and Community Life

A purpose-built outdoor play area complements the converted church building. Children take part in both self-directed and adult-guided outdoor activities, giving physical play a place in the session rather than treating it as a separate occasional extra.

World Book Day in March 2026 centred on bedtime reading, with children invited to wear pyjamas; onesies were excluded because they complicated independent toileting. The December preschool concert at St Andrew’s Church appears in successive annual calendars. These activities connect stories and performance with family participation, while the sponsored obstacle course held in June 2026 combined active play with fundraising.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person before settling starts. Staff agree a settling plan with parents, and aim to arrange those early sessions around that practitioner’s working days. Where possible, a second practitioner provides continuity during absence and develops a relationship gradually. That gives families a clear first contact and gives the child time to become familiar with another adult.

Observations and information from home inform the child’s developmental record. Parents contribute interests, achievements and needs, then discuss the next steps with the key person. Regular updates and development meetings support this exchange; the annual calendar also includes discussions in October and March, followed by reports in July. Communication is therefore both ongoing and scheduled.

The committee offers another route into the life of the setting. Parents elect its volunteers at the Annual General Meeting, and its responsibilities include finances, employing staff and fundraising. Families can contribute to decisions about how the preschool operates, alongside their conversations about their own child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support follows a graduated process. When initial adjustments do not address a concern, the key person involves parents and the SENCO or manager. A SEN support action plan can specify the intervention, resources and responsible adult, with reviews agreed at least termly. For more complex needs, external referrals can accompany the plan rather than waiting for an initial intervention to finish.

Admission preparations may include a health care plan, staff training or changes to access. The manager must give a realistic preparation timetable where adjustments affect a child’s start, and keep the family and relevant agencies informed. This provides a mechanism for planning individual support, rather than a blanket promise about what every child will receive.

Behaviour procedures emphasise helping children understand and manage feelings. A distressed child can move to a quieter space with their key person; the policy rejects leaving children isolated as a punishment. Persistent concerns trigger discussion with parents and, where needed, specialist advice.

Current staff procedures include paediatric first aid training for all staff and termly key-person supervision. Safeguarding arrangements identify a lead and backup role, with concerns passed on immediately rather than held until a scheduled meeting. These are arrangements for managing care and concerns; the dated inspection judgement remains the assessment of effectiveness.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Pentrich Road, Swanwick, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 1BN. Swanwick operates Monday to Friday for 38 weeks, during term time, and closes for school holidays. That calendar matters as much as the daily finish when matching care to a parent’s working year.

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon; afternoons run from 12.40pm to 3.40pm. Full-day bookings are also offered. The lunchtime period, noon to 12.40pm, is for children in their final year before school, with a packed lunch brought from home. Full-day options include an earlier start from 8.15am or breakfast provision.

Breakfast Club provides an earlier start from 7.40am with breakfast; the alternative early start from 8.15am excludes breakfast. The preschool is flexible about attendance patterns to suit individual children and families. This gives parents several ways to combine shorter sessions and a fuller day, rather than a single daily booking pattern.

Swanwick Kids Club works alongside the preschool and provides collection, after-school care and a holiday club. Those services belong to the partner club. They offer a separate arrangement for families considering care beyond Swanwick’s own term-time sessions.

Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or through the contact form. The waiting list follows birth order, with additional considerations including funded-entitlement eligibility, siblings, proximity and the length of time waiting. These are allocation rules, not an indication of vacancies.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both funded and privately paid sessions are offered. Funding information covers Universal 15 Hours and Working Parent 30 Hours for three- and four-year-olds, plus working-parent and support-based funding for two-year-olds. Attendance here is term-time, so the general description of stretching funding across a year should not be read as a year-round Swanwick booking option.

Food costs depend on the booking: breakfast is included in the private breakfast option, funded children’s breakfast carries a separate food charge, and parents supply packed lunches. Snacks are supplied by the preschool, whose policy identifies allergens on menus and declares a nut-free approach; families affected by allergies should confirm current practice.

Parents send children who still use nappies in pull-ups and supply spare clothes during toilet training. Uniform is optional, while the registration charge includes a preschool sweatshirt. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the fees and sessions page explains the booking options and charges.

Non-funded bookings require two weeks’ paid notice to stop sessions. A funded child leaving before headcount day incurs charges for sessions already attended. These conditions make the timing of departure relevant to the final bill.

In March 2023, transition arrangements included teachers meeting children at preschool and staff accompanying school visits. Developmental summaries are prepared at transitions, and records can be transferred to the receiving school with parental consent.

• Care across settings. In March 2023, coordination with other early years providers needed strengthening. If your child divides their week between settings, ask how learning plans and care information are shared now.
• Term-time care and the lunch bridge. School holidays are outside the preschool calendar, and the lunchtime session is for children in their final preschool year. Discuss your proposed weekly pattern, including any Swanwick Kids Club collection, during a visit.
• Parent involvement. The volunteer committee is essential to keeping the charity operating. Consider how you could contribute to management, fundraising or events alongside using the childcare.
• Individual care. Settling is planned with the key person, while complex SEND may require preparations before starting. A visit is the time to discuss how those arrangements would work for your child.

Swanwick suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those combining sessions into a full day with an early start. Its parent-run structure will appeal to families who want a say in the setting’s operation and can contribute to it.

The converted church and shared celebrations give it character; the more consequential details are the planned settling process, developmental records and specified SEND procedures. Term-time attendance and the final-year lunch condition deserve careful attention. Coordination with another childcare setting is the key follow-up from the March 2023 improvement priority.