Attenborough Church Pre-School

A village-hall pre-school with a large garden and a planter to care for at the local station: Attenborough Church Pre-School gives outdoor play a practical community connection. It operates from Lucy and Vincent Brown Village Hall in Attenborough, as a charitable organisation run by a voluntary parent committee. Despite its name, it has no affiliation to a single religion and celebrates different faiths.

Ofsted rated the pre-school Good at its 22 February 2023 inspection. It has 50 places in total for children aged two to five years; children can start from their second birthday. The everyday offer combines play, age-group activities and outdoor exploration, with a Language Lead and two SENDCOs providing identifiable roles for communication and additional needs.

Morning, afternoon, full-day and extended-day bookings sit alongside breakfast and afternoon clubs. The main provision follows term time, with a separate Holiday Club introduced for children already enrolled.

Rooms and Ages

The Douglas Taylor Room and Main Hall provide the indoor spaces, with a large private outdoor area behind the building. This is a hall-based arrangement with areas for stories and literacy, imaginative play, resources used on tables or the floor, and physical activity. Children have different ways to join in, rather than spending the whole session on one kind of task.

Rising 3s covers children aged two to three, while Rising 4s covers those aged three to four. Sessions may separate or mix these cohorts, giving children both same-age and mixed-age play rather than fixed room allocations.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and development: children practise communication and expression through play. Adult-planned activities sit alongside children’s choices, with half-termly themes and opportunities beyond them in every session.

The April/May 2026 planning makes the age-group differences concrete: younger children practised everyday hand skills through pouring, fastening zips and cutting paper, while older children worked on solving problems together, answering why questions and using early writing to communicate. The Colour Monster was the older cohort’s book for the half term, and The Dot supplied an art activity linking marks, representations and emotions. These are dated examples of the planning, rather than a fixed programme for every term.

In February 2023, children’s interests in dinosaurs and space shaped activities, and staff used an imaginary spacecraft game to introduce counting and comparisons of quantities. Story conversations also brought in unfamiliar vocabulary. The value lay in connecting language and mathematics to play children had already chosen: learning had a reason within the game.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play is offered daily, subject to weather and safety. In February 2023, children chose indoor or outdoor play and built imaginative creations using digging tools and wood, making the garden a space for movement and invention.

Attenborough Train Station Visits take small groups to tend the platform planter regularly. Learning about surroundings and road safety accompanies a practical contribution to their community.

Relationships and Communication

Stay and Play Sessions run on Fridays during term time, from 9.30am to 11am, for children aged zero to five accompanied by their parent or carer. Activities include crafts, play dough and soft play in the Main Hall, with garden access too. The sessions are free, snacks and drinks are included, and donations towards refreshments are voluntary; adults remain responsible for their children throughout.

These family sessions are separate from childcare places, which begin at two. In February 2023, younger children attended with parents before starting, and staff gathered family information about their skills and home priorities. Information-sharing with other settings needed attention.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described individual support for additional needs, including visual prompts, specialist-agency involvement and small-group speech work that helped children make good progress. Those findings belong to that visit. The current staff structure includes two SENDCOs and a Language Lead whose role is to develop speech and communication, while all staff have paediatric first-aid training.

Prem Aware is the pre-school’s stated support for families of children born prematurely as they begin education. Its relevance is specific: families can discuss their child’s early history alongside other support needs, rather than treating age alone as the whole picture.

Independence also featured in the February 2023 day. Children practised putting on outdoor footwear, serving themselves drinks and tidying away after snacks; staff helped them deal calmly with spills. These were ordinary routines with a learning purpose, giving children opportunities to attempt manageable tasks themselves.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday. The main pre-school operates during term time. Morning Session runs from 9.15am to 12.15pm; Afternoon Session runs from 12.15pm to 3.15pm and includes Lunch Club. Full Day Session covers 9.15am to 3.15pm, while Extended Day covers 8am to 4.30pm. The difference matters: a full-day booking does not itself cover the complete opening window.

Breakfast Club runs from 8am to 9.15am, Lunch Club from 12.15pm to 1pm, and After Pre-School Club from 3.15pm to 4.30pm. These separate blocks give families options around the main sessions rather than requiring every child to attend the longest day.

The Holiday Club introduced in 2026 is restricted to children already enrolled and cannot be paid for with funded entitlement. Its full-day option is 9.15am to 3.15pm, with a half-day option from 9.15am to 1pm, plus breakfast and after-school sessions. Bookings must be paid for before term ends, so holiday care has its own advance-planning requirement.

Getting There

The address is Lucy and Vincent Brown Village Hall, Attenborough Lane, Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, NG9 6AB. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 07999340370, through the contact form or by email at enquiries@attenboroughchurchpreschool.com.

Funding and Paid Extras

The pre-school accepts 30 Hours Funded Childcare for eligible working parents, Two Year Old Funding of 15 hours for eligible families, and Three and Four Year Old Funding of 15 hours from the term after a child’s third birthday. Funding can cover attendance throughout the opening day until the child’s entitlement is exhausted; additional hours are paid privately. The funded offer carries no compulsory additional charges.

Working-parent funding requires application in the preceding term and eligibility reconfirmation every three months. Three- and four-year-old funding uses the pre-school’s form.

A voluntary contribution is requested for healthy snacks, including for families using funded hours. Private fees are paid in advance each half term, and remain payable during short absences such as illness or holidays; payments can be made by bank transfer or Tax-Free Childcare, with cash and cheques excluded. Current prices come in the pre-school’s written quotation, and the fees and funding page explains the attendance and payment structure.

• Group participation and shared care. In February 2023, group activities needed better adaptation for children who found listening difficult, and staff needed stronger information-sharing with other settings. At a visit, discuss how these arrangements now work for a child who needs extra help or attends elsewhere.
• Flexible age groups. Rising 3s and Rising 4s sometimes play separately and sometimes together. Ask how your intended sessions use the Douglas Taylor Room and Main Hall, and how the grouping would suit your child.
• Holiday planning. Holiday Club is for enrolled children, excludes funded hours and requires booking and payment before term ends. Families needing care beyond term time should factor that separate commitment into their plans.
• Lunch and personal supplies. Afternoon Session includes Lunch Club, while healthy snacks attract a voluntary contribution. When arranging a visit, ask what to bring for lunch and personal care, including any arrangements needed for allergies.

Attenborough Church Pre-School suits families choosing morning or afternoon sessions, full days or extended days during term time. Its large garden and regular station-planter visits give outdoor exploration a community purpose, while the parent committee and funded-hours policy add practical appeal.

The February 2023 concerns about group participation and information-sharing are useful visit topics. Holiday care requires a separate paid booking. Families who value play and outdoor learning have concrete reasons to consider it.