The Brislington Village Pre-School

Vegetables grown at Chalet gardens, outings to Nightingale Valley and a church hall that changes with children's interests give The Brislington Village Pre-School a recognisable character. Outdoor learning connects with cooking, conversation and practical independence. This is a pack-away setting: its resources and layout can be rearranged rather than remaining fixed from day to day.

At its September 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective, with children, including those with SEND, progressing well. More searching staff questions to extend children's language and thinking remained the teaching priority.

The pre-school operates at St Luke's Church Hall in Bristol and has 30 places in total. It accepts children from 18 months, with toddler and preschool spaces, a sensory room and outdoor areas combining woodland and hard surfaces. Term-time attendance includes longer sessions on four weekdays and a Wednesday morning option.

Rooms and Ages

A large main hall, separate rooms and a two-level garden provide space for different activities. Staff adapt the pack-away layout to children's interests. Cushions, seating and fabric screens create quiet retreats from busier play.

The toddler room has a daily maximum of 14 children and somewhere quiet for children who need to sleep or rest. The preschool room has an open layout arranged around children's individual needs, including communication needs and English as an additional language. Butterflies and Caterpillars are the named room groups.

For children aged two to three, usual staffing is one adult for four children, better than the legal minimum of one for five at age two. This ratio is separate from the toddler room's daily cap.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, covering communication, physical development, relationships and the other areas of early learning. Here, children's interests help shape the activities and resources staff select. The practical emphasis is on trying things, making choices and building on what a child already knows.

Loose materials support construction and imaginative play; small-world activities give children opportunities to invent stories. Scissor work develops hand control, while light tables and bubble painting offer different ways to explore materials. Outdoors, balancing equipment, den building and reusable objects bring movement and problem-solving into the same activity. Children also use safety knives to prepare fruit, making independence part of an ordinary snack routine.

Makaton is used for everyday words such as drink and toilet. PEC cards provide visual choices for children who need an alternative to spoken communication, and a displayed visual timetable helps explain the order of the day. Staff also share songs and stories in languages they speak beyond English. These are concrete ways of making participation possible through more than speech alone.

Alongside the EYFS, The Bristol Standard guides staff self-evaluation and improvement planning. Staff reflect on spaces, children's interests and family relationships within that framework.

Outdoor and Community Life

A weekly outdoor learning day takes children beyond the hall. At Chalet gardens on School Road, they water, plant and harvest, then bake and cook their produce. Weather suits are supplied. Growing and preparing food connects outdoor exploration with everyday nutrition.

Nightingale Valley and Victory park feature in outdoor learning, while community walks include the library, shops and local park. Trips to buy ingredients connect with the cooking club. Family members are invited to accompany outings, offering another way to take part in the children's learning.

Church visits mark Easter, Harvest, Remembrance Day and Christmas. Children can bring food for Harvest; December brings the Christmas story and singing for relatives.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated before a child starts, and home visits begin the relationship in familiar surroundings. Staff learn about a child's interests, dislikes and preferred comfort, giving settling arrangements a personal starting point. Wednesday stay-and-play sessions let families become familiar with the setting before attendance begins.

Settling begins with an hour alongside a parent or carer, followed by an unaccompanied visit of up to an hour and a half. Longer stays are agreed according to the child's comfort.

Parents can contribute photographs and observations from home to their child's learning journey. Three parent mornings across the year provide opportunities to discuss progress with the key person. Families are also encouraged to contribute interests, stories or cultural knowledge, helping staff connect activities with children's lives beyond pre-school.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENCO team divides its work between coordinating paperwork and providing direct support with children and staff. Support plans use a graduated approach, including help with speech and language, and are reviewed with parents. Families receive copies of plans, making the agreed support something they can refer to at home.

A sensory room, accessible entry and disabled toilets support different needs. The SENCO team coordinates with speech and language services, educational psychologists and the Bristol Early Years Portage and Inclusion team, connecting support within the setting with specialist advice.

In September 2024, children practised handwashing, managing outdoor clothing and climbing. Current safeguarding arrangements include designated child protection roles and staff training.

Collection arrangements use a password, and families must tell staff when another person will collect their child. Staff seek parental confirmation when they are uncertain about a collector. That makes changes to the usual collection routine a shared responsibility.

Families can supply a packed lunch or purchase a preschool dinner separately; a voluntary charge covers snacks, breakfast and the afterschool snack. The pre-school's food policy excludes nuts and sesame seeds, and children bring water to drink.

Sessions and Attendance

Term-time sessions run from 8am to 4.30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and from 8am until noon on Wednesday. The minimum booking is eight hours a week.

An application form is the route for adding a child's name to the waiting list. General enquiries can be made by telephone or email through the contact service. Families are encouraged to send spare clothes, suitable outdoor clothing and a named water bottle; children should have sun cream applied before attending in summer, with consent needed for staff to reapply it.

Getting There

The address is St Luke's Church Hall, Church Parade, Bristol, BS4 5AZ.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid attendance are both offered. The term-time funding arrangements include 15 hours a week for 38 weeks for three- and four-year-olds from the term after their third birthday, with 30 hours for eligible families, and funded provision for eligible two-year-olds. Guidance also covers working-family funding for under-twos; the setting's starting age remains 18 months.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The admissions and fees page sets out advance payment, monthly invoicing and continuing charges when a fee-paying child misses attendance through illness or holiday. The voluntary food-related consumable charge is separate from the choice between a home-provided lunch and a separately charged dinner.

School preparation includes links with local infant schools, whose staff can visit during the summer term before children move to Reception. This is transition work, helping children and receiving staff prepare for the change.

• Questions that extend thinking. The September 2024 improvement priority concerned staff questioning. During a visit, ask how practitioners now encourage children to explain ideas and consider different answers.
• The weekly attendance pattern. Wednesday finishes at noon, while the other weekday sessions finish at 4.30pm, and the minimum attendance is eight hours a week. Compare that pattern with the cover your family needs during term time and holidays.
• Food and allergies. Lunch can come from home or be purchased, snacks sit within a voluntary charge, and the food policy excludes nuts and sesame. Allergy-affected families should confirm current handling arrangements and discuss their child's requirements.
• A changing indoor layout. This is a pack-away church-hall setting with a capped toddler room and quiet spaces. A visit can help you judge how the layout, rest arrangements and movement between spaces suit your child.

The Brislington Village Pre-School suits families seeking term-time longer weekday sessions or a Wednesday morning, with outdoor learning and close parental involvement. Chalet gardens, the weekly outdoor learning day and practical food preparation give its play-based approach substance. Gradual settling and a structured SENCO team add useful support mechanisms.

The September 2024 Good judgement sits alongside a priority to improve questioning. Families should weigh the community outings and parental involvement against the pack-away model and uneven weekly timetable.