Buttsbury Pre-school

A playroom for imaginative exploration, a Sensory Room for quieter moments and a school preparation programme give Buttsbury Pre-school a recognisable character. This charity-run setting in Billericay combines child-chosen play with practical steps towards independence. Its position within Buttsbury Primary School’s grounds is useful context, but attendance does not guarantee a place at the school.

Buttsbury has capacity for 34 children aged two to five. At its 5 June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and found safeguarding effective. The important qualifications concern everyday teaching: recognising children who need help managing their behaviour, and extending language more consistently.

Morning, afternoon and all-day attendance are offered during term time. The admissions model is more specific than the age range alone implies: children begin in September after their second birthday, with attendance intended to continue for two years.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS is the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care: here, play brings together communication, physical development, relationships, early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. It is the common foundation for early years provision. Buttsbury builds its day around a weekly topic shaped by children’s interests, cultural celebrations or special occasions, rather than making the framework itself a selling point.

The playroom gives children several ways to pursue an idea. A home corner supports pretend play, construction materials invite building, and the book corner provides a place for stories. Craft and playdough tables add opportunities to make and manipulate things. These are choices children can move between, alongside outdoor play, rather than a sequence of lessons at tables.

Circle Time brings children into smaller groups for activities matched to their development and the weekly topic. Music, movement and stories sit alongside possibilities such as yoga, parachute play and team games. It takes place in both morning and afternoon sessions, so children attending different patterns share this part of the learning day.

Risers is the additional programme for three-to-four-year-olds approaching primary school. Its activities emphasise doing things independently, interacting with peers and extending learning; visiting professionals contribute music, dance and sports sessions. Children may also visit Buttsbury Primary School’s library bus and conservation area. These visits offer familiarity with school surroundings, rather than an admissions advantage.

The Risers programme includes Christmas and End of Year parties, with games and gifts, as well as making things for occasions including Diwali. Families supply plimsolls and clothes suitable for physical activities, with warmer clothing for cooler weather. The programme has a separate activity charge, which belongs in the family’s overall attendance budget.

Outdoor and Community Life

A mud kitchen, sand cabin and water tray give free play different textures and purposes. Children can switch between making, experimenting and imaginative play, rather than relying on a single piece of playground equipment. The indoor and outdoor areas are both part of the free-play period.

In June 2025, children grew produce in the garden, explored sand and used construction blocks and toy tools for pretend vehicle building. Mathematical experiences included counting at snack time and simple addition games outdoors. That gives a concrete picture of how practical play and early number work met during the day.

Family participation extends beyond conversations with staff. The Parent and Carers' Rota allows relatives to contribute during sessions, while a parent-led fundraising team supports equipment, furniture and children’s activities. For families who enjoy taking part, there are practical ways to contribute to the life of the pre-school.

Relationships and Communication

A key person provides the link between home and pre-school. At the September New Starter Induction Day, families discuss their child’s starting-point information with that practitioner, including development and individual needs. This gives staff information to plan support or training before attendance begins, rather than waiting for a difficulty to emerge during a session.

In June 2025, settling arrangements were personalised to each child, and families could borrow learning packs to continue activities at home. Children also practised everyday responsibilities such as serving snacks, washing hands and clearing away. Small tasks made independence part of ordinary routines.

Communication continues through discussions about progress and opportunities to contribute to the age-two progress check. The home-learning guidance centres on achievable habits: sharing books, singing, offering choices and involving children in household tasks. Families can connect these experiences with what their child is doing in the playroom.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Support mechanisms are concrete. Families can raise concerns with the key person, managers or SENCO, and staff work with external agencies and other settings. Early Talk Boost supports children with delayed speech. Staff also use Makaton signing, symbols and visual aids in daily communication, with Level One training completed across the team.

The Sensory Room is accessible regularly to all children, with equipment including a bubble tube, fibre-optic lighting, a touch wall board and fidget toys. It provides a separate space for a break and support with emotions. Practitioners carry visual communication tools on their lanyards, and similar tools can be supplied for use at home, giving families a way to carry the approach between settings.

At the June 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND made good progress through targeted help, referrals and support while assessments were pending. That finding sits alongside a clear improvement priority: in June 2025, staff sometimes missed children becoming unsettled between activities, and some conversations did not sufficiently develop children’s language.

Safeguarding arrangements include designated lead roles, reporting procedures and continuing staff training. These describe how concerns are handled; the dated inspection judgement provides the assessment of effectiveness.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Perry Street, Billericay, CM12 0NX. Buttsbury opens Monday to Friday for 38 weeks in term time, with mornings from 8.30am to 11.30am and afternoons from midday to 3pm. Lunch Club runs between 11.30am and midday, linking the two sessions for children staying all day.

All-day attendance begins at 8.30am and ends at 2.30pm or 3pm, depending on the funded entitlement and any additional private time. Where the final half-hour falls outside a child’s entitlement, families can collect at 2.30pm instead of paying for that extension. Flexible drop-off and earlier collection arrangements also accommodate families managing other local school schedules.

Applications go through the waiting-list registration form. There is one September intake each year, with no joining partway through the year, and places are intended for two years rather than one. Families choose at least two preferred sessions, one of them an afternoon; preferences are considered rather than guaranteed.

Offers are made in January or February of the intended starting year. After five working days without a response, the place is offered to another child; families unavailable during that period should notify the pre-school as soon as possible. These are important planning rules for anyone coordinating childcare changes or returning to work. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) and Working Families Entitlement are offered across the sessions for 38 weeks a year. This includes the 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, eligible two-year-old funding and the 30-hour entitlement for eligible working families. Delivery is term-time, and the pre-school closes on Bank Holiday Mondays.

For funded sessions, Buttsbury requests a voluntary contribution towards snacks, consumables and resources; families who choose not to contribute can supply those items instead. Parents provide lunch, with the pre-school asking for a healthy, nut-free packed meal, and funded children have no Lunch Club charge, while unfunded attendance carries a separate Lunch Club fee. Allergy-affected families should confirm current arrangements for their child.

Private sessions and additional hours are charged separately. A registration fee applies to unfunded two-year-olds and children exceeding their entitlement, including an art bag and pre-school t-shirt; funded two-year-olds instead pay a deposit credited to the autumn invoice once attendance starts, which is not refunded if the place is not taken. Risers activities carry a separate charge, with families unable to pay directed to the finance officer.

Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the fees and funding information sets out the charge structure. Invoices cover the following term and are payable by the current term’s final working day. Withdrawal requires written notice covering at least four term-time weeks, and ordinary sickness or holidays do not remove the fee obligation.

Moving on to School

Buttsbury describes a partnership with Buttsbury Primary School, and staff also arrange reciprocal visits with primary schools when appropriate. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still use the local authority admissions process. School preparation and the school-place application remain separate decisions.

• A September start and a two-year plan. Children cannot join midway through the year or attend for only one year. Visits for prospective families take place after allocation, so consider whether that sequence fits your childcare decision.
• Support between activities. The June 2025 priorities were recognising children who need help regulating behaviour and developing language consistently. At a visit, ask how staff support changes of activity and extend conversations across the day.
• The Risers timetable. Session guidance places Risers on Monday afternoons from September 2025, while the autumn 2026 calendar places its events on Thursdays. Confirm the day before selecting an attendance pattern around this programme.
• The complete attendance cost. Funded hours, voluntary consumables contributions, parent-supplied lunches, paid extensions and Risers charges have different terms. Request a written quotation for your chosen pattern, including the deposit or registration arrangements and any allergy requirements.

Buttsbury suits families planning a two-year, term-time pre-school experience, whether through morning and afternoon sessions or an all-day pattern linked by Lunch Club. The Sensory Room, speech-support programme and practical school preparation give parents specific reasons to consider it. The Good judgement from June 2025 provides a positive assessment, with language teaching and support during changes of activity the points to examine closely. The September-only intake and visits after allocation make early planning essential.