Bishop Sutton Pre-School

A schoolroom, two outdoor play areas and children’s own ideas give Bishop Sutton Pre-School its character. Based at The Link in Bishop Sutton, this parent committee-run charity combines play indoors with substantial outdoor space: grass at the front, a fenced hard surface behind, and resources for building, climbing and getting muddy. Outdoor play belongs to the ordinary session here.

Ofsted rated the pre-school Outstanding on 13 September 2022. That is a dated judgement, while the current offer includes child-led play, early listening and phonics work, a key person for each child and photographic learning records that parents can contribute to.

Children can start from two, including while wearing nappies, and there are 24 places in total. Attendance is term-time, with morning and afternoon sessions as well as whole days. For families, the central decision is whether that shorter, school-term rhythm fits their working week.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care, with play, adult guidance and learning alongside other children shaping the day. Staff use children’s interests to plan experiences, so a child’s enthusiasm can help determine what happens next rather than simply fitting into a fixed activity plan.

Letters & Sounds adds a concrete early literacy emphasis. Listening comes first, alongside introducing the sounds of S A T P I N and using the alphabet song for letter names; the work aligns with Unlocking letters and sounds, the phonics programme used by most local schools. This is preparation for later reading, with listening skills taking precedence over formal reading instruction. Show and tell also gives children a reason to speak to others about something that matters to them.

In September 2022, children turned a story about pigs into a building project, testing adhesives for straw and planning doors and windows before making clay pigs. Storytelling used gestures and repeated phrases; children extended it through pretend play and story maps. Stories became starting points for experimentation.

Outdoor and Community Life

The physical layout gives children different ways to play outside. A grassed front area contrasts with the fenced rear surface, while a planted seating area provides another place to spend time. Bikes, climbing equipment and obstacle courses support movement; a mud kitchen and den making give children practical materials to manipulate and ideas to develop together.

Children can move between indoors and outdoors for much of a session, including in wet or cold weather. Resource sheds make materials accessible for outdoor projects. Wet-weather clothing is supplied, with families providing suitable warm layers. This is a setting for clothes that can cope with paint, water and mud.

Inside, construction, pretend play, books, instruments and messy materials give children different ways to develop an idea. Parents contribute through fundraising or the elected committee, which oversees major decisions, policy and staff employment.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person, giving children a continuing relationship and parents an identifiable adult to share information with.

Learning Diaries combine photographs and observations of conversations and learning, including experiences with no finished product. Parents can contribute, borrow the diary to share at home and keep it when their child leaves for school.

At age two, the key person prepares a development summary covering communication and language, physical development, and personal, social and emotional development, drawing on observations and contributions from families and professionals.

In September 2022, new starters received their key person’s photograph before beginning. Staff gathered family information and worked with children’s other early years providers to support settling and continuity.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO role supports the identification of additional needs, with staff working alongside the coordinator and other professionals. The application process invites families to explain support needs and provides for a meeting before the start date. Where a child needs substantial additional support, the pre-school can consider applying for extra funding and planning their transition to school carefully.

At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that staff adapted learning successfully for children with SEND, used additional funding purposefully and maintained effective safeguarding arrangements, including procedures for recruitment, reporting concerns and authorised collection. Those findings belong to that visit; the current inclusion arrangements give families concrete mechanisms through which to discuss their child’s needs.

Families supply a packed lunch and drink, while milk, snacks and drinking water are provided during the day. For funded attendance, healthy snacks form part of the separately charged optional consumables contribution.

Sun protection is shared between home and pre-school: families apply sunscreen before attendance, and staff reapply it when needed using the setting’s sunscreen or a named supply from home. Children in nappies are accepted, so being fully toilet trained is not an entry condition.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The School Room, The Link, Methodist Hall, The Street, Bishop Sutton, Bristol, BS39 5UU. Pre-school opens during term time on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9.30am to 3.30pm, and on Friday from 9.30am to 1pm.

Morning sessions run from 9.30am to noon and afternoon sessions from 1pm to 3.30pm, with afternoons offered on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Lunch can be added from noon to 1pm on those days and Friday, and whole days run from 9.30am to 3.30pm. Shorter sessions that include lunch are also offered, alongside ad hoc attendance subject to space.

Two or more sessions on different days are a preference for joining, rather than a compulsory minimum. Earlier collection before 3pm can be arranged to accommodate siblings’ school finishing times, although the whole booked session remains payable.

An Application to Join form places a child on the waiting list and does not guarantee a place. Allocations are made termly, generally by date of birth, with other considerations including waiting time, siblings, proximity and the setting’s ability to meet individual needs. Families return the form by email or to the pre-school; registration forms and terms follow an offer.

Funding and Paid Extras

The pre-school accepts the 15 hour EYE funding (Early Years Entitlement), Working Parents Entitlement of 15 and 30 hours for two-, three- and four-year-olds, and eligible two-year-old funding. Attendance is term-time, and up to 24 funded hours a week can be used at the pre-school. Acceptance of an entitlement does not mean the whole entitlement can be taken here.

Private hours are charged separately. During funded attendance, an optional consumables contribution covers items such as learning materials, Learning Diaries, cooking ingredients and healthy snacks; lunch remains the family’s responsibility. Sunscreen can come from the setting or home. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, with the fees and charge structure explaining the categories.

There is a joining administration charge, refundable on request in the child’s final term, and a security deposit to hold a place, refundable on request when leaving. Fees are billed termly, casual absences are non-refundable, and leaving requires a full term’s notice, with fees payable throughout that period.

• The weekly timetable. Whole days finish at 3.30pm and Friday closes at 1pm, with attendance during term time. Compare those hours with the care your family needs across the week and holidays.
• Settling across different days. Two or more sessions on separate days are preferred. A short stay and play can be arranged by phone or email; use it to discuss how the key person would introduce your child to the group and routines.
• Funded-hour extras and leaving terms. The consumables contribution applies during funded attendance and is optional, while a full term’s notice carries continuing fees. Include both points when assessing the written quotation and terms.
• Outdoor clothing and independence. Wet-weather gear is supplied, but children need warm layers, spare outfits and manageable footwear. During a visit, discuss how staff help a younger child move between outdoor play, changing and toileting.

Bishop Sutton Pre-School suits families seeking mornings, afternoons or whole days during term time, with child-led play and regular outdoor access. Letters & Sounds gives early literacy a defined emphasis; Learning Diaries and key-person care connect families with the day.

The shorter timetable and full-term notice need to fit family life. Parent committee involvement adds another consideration alongside the Outstanding judgement from September 2022.