Doddinghurst Community Pre-school

A village hall, a garden linked to the play space and a parent volunteer committee give Doddinghurst Community Pre-school its character. Children share the Squirrel Room, with space for both active play and quieter interests. At its 22 February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Good overall, with daily outdoor learning identified as the area to develop.

The pre-school cares for children aged 2 to 5 and has 42 places in total. Its home is Doddinghurst Village Hall on Church Lane, Doddinghurst, Brentwood. The shared room matters for families choosing provision for a younger child: two-year-olds use the same overall environment as children approaching school age, rather than a separate toddler room.

Attendance is term-time only, with opening hours of 9am to 3pm, Tuesday to Friday. Parent participation is part of how the setting runs, rather than simply an invitation to occasional events.

Rooms and Ages

The Squirrel Room serves children aged 2 to 5, combining a large hall for group activities, meals and play with an adjoining area for construction, craft, messy play, small-world activities and maths, which leads into the garden.

Different interests have their own spaces. Children can choose puzzles or playdough, use the homecorner, make marks through drawing and writing, or spend time with books in a quieter area. A book of the week adds a shared reading interest. This arrangement gives children alternatives to joining a large group activity, while keeping several kinds of play within the same room.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guides the day: children learn through play, with experiences planned around their development and interests. It is the common early-years framework; the useful detail here is how play is organised within it.

Language Focus Play adds small-group help with communication and interaction. A practitioner has taken part in the initiative and supports a small group of children, giving this work a practical place in the day rather than leaving language development as a general ambition. Snack-time activities also include children buttering their own bread, bringing conversation and hand skills into an everyday routine.

In February 2023, children investigated craft materials, discussed their textures and worked out how to attach them to paper. Construction resources supported building and experimentation. A visiting professional also led sound and phonics activities involving rhyme, singing and movement; children who preferred other activities could continue playing elsewhere in the room. Those examples show the balance between a shared activity and individual choice at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

Indoor and outdoor play connect through a free-flow arrangement, and the adjoining play area opens into the garden. For children who prefer movement, this provides another setting for their play beyond the hall.

In February 2023, the enclosed outdoor space was used on most days for exercise and fresh air, but learning there received less detailed planning than indoor activities. The improvement point concerned the educational use of outdoors, not simply access to a garden. That distinction is useful when assessing the present day.

Relationships and Communication

Key-person relationships provide a point of contact for children and parents. In February 2023, staff knew the children in their key-person groups and used small parachute games to help children practise cooperating and giving each other directions. The activity gave children who struggled to join others a manageable way to participate.

Nursery in a Box is the app used for parent involvement, with invited families accessing it through their parent login. The committee comprises parent volunteers and welcomes additional members, ideas and skills. Families who want an active role in the setting have a route into its management as well as their own child's daily experience.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with SEND well supported, including individual attention where needed and additional funding reviewed with families and professionals each term.

Current support arrangements include SENCO roles and work with visiting professionals. Where appropriate, the pre-school contacts the Essex County Council Early Years Support team with parental consent, involving parents in meetings and decisions. These are concrete mechanisms for discussing a child's needs and bringing outside expertise into the setting.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 9am to 3pm from Tuesday to Friday, during term time. Mondays and school holidays therefore need to fit separately into a family's childcare arrangements. The term calendar provides a clear planning point for parents balancing preschool attendance with work or care elsewhere.

For enquiries, families can use the contact form, email admin@dhcps.co.uk or telephone 07523 291553. The address is Doddinghurst Village Hall, Church Lane, Doddinghurst, Brentwood, CM15 0NJ.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and additional paid hours are offered. The funding arrangements include eligible two-year-old funding, the universal 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds, and an extended entitlement subject to eligibility; provision operates during term time. An entitlement total should be considered alongside the pre-school's actual opening days and hours.

Snacks are charged separately, with the option to send a snack from home instead, while families provide packed lunches. The pre-school's lunchbox policy excludes nut products; allergy-affected families should confirm current arrangements before attendance.

A voluntary contribution supports non-food activity resources, including materials for science experiments, cooking, trips and special-event crafts. It is separate from additional paid childcare hours. Current prices come in the pre-school's written quotation, and the rates and funding page explains the funding arrangements.

The pre-school describes links with Doddinghurst Infant School as supporting its transition programme. Attendance does not guarantee a school place; families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Shared space for different ages. Children aged 2 to 5 use the Squirrel Room. During a visit, ask how quieter play, younger children's settling and older children's activities work alongside one another.
• Outdoor learning. In February 2023, daily learning outdoors was the improvement priority. Ask to see how garden activities now extend children's learning, as well as providing exercise.
• Term-time timetable. Tuesday-to-Friday opening ends at 3pm. Consider how Mondays, later afternoons and holidays fit your family's arrangements, and discuss the attendance pattern you want when visiting.
• Food choices. Snacks carry a separate charge or can come from home, and packed lunches must follow the policy excluding nut products. Families managing allergies should confirm the current food-handling arrangements.

Doddinghurst Community Pre-school suits families seeking term-time preschool attendance within a Tuesday-to-Friday, 9am-to-3pm timetable, especially those who welcome involvement in a parent volunteer committee. Its hall-and-garden layout, practical language support and arrangements for involving families in SEND decisions give parents concrete reasons to consider it. The February 2023 outdoor-learning priority remains a useful question for a visit, alongside how the shared Squirrel Room works for a child's age and needs.