Watnall Preschool

A shared village hall, parent helpers and learning journals that families can contribute to give Watnall Preschool a clear community character. Based at the Victoria Institute on Main Road, it accepts children from two until school age and has 34 places in total. This is a committee-run charity, with parents and carers able to contribute to both its activities and its organisation.

At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the preschool Good overall and found safeguarding effective. That judgement is a dated assessment, with specific teaching improvements attached: activities needed to achieve their intended learning, and assessments needed to produce more accurate next steps for children.

Morning, afternoon and combined full-day attendance provide different ways to use the preschool. The shared venue and school-holiday closures are practical considerations alongside its emphasis on play, familiar routines and communication with families.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes the day through play and activities covering language, relationships, movement, early reading, number and creative expression. Children choose between activities, join adult-led tasks and come together for songs, instruments and stories. The combination gives them opportunities both to follow their interests and to participate in a group.

Painting, puzzles and construction with duplo sit within the free-play part of a session. Circle time brings children together for rhymes, singing and musical instruments; story time gives the session another shared activity. A familiar sequence makes the day easier to understand, while the activities within it can change.

Tapestry, the online learning journal, connects those experiences with home. Photographs, videos and observations can be viewed through a secure login, with email alerts when something new is added. Parents can comment and contribute information about learning at home, giving staff another perspective on the child's interests. Term-end summaries link development to the EYFS and set out the next steps for the following term.

At the June 2022 inspection, Ofsted identified weaknesses in following activities through to their intended learning and in assessing development precisely, including missed opportunities to correct counting errors. Enthusiasm alone was not enough: the teaching needed to make the learning more purposeful.

Outdoor and Community Life

In June 2022, children investigated insects in a bug hunt area using magnifying lenses. Staff introduced vocabulary during digging and discussed worms and their role in the garden. These were concrete opportunities to connect questions, conversation and discoveries outdoors.

That June, outdoor movement included tricycles and a low-level obstacle course. Children practised steering around others and balancing, bringing physical activity into the same outdoor space as their investigations. These examples describe the preschool at that time rather than a fixed equipment list for today.

The Early Years Alliance (EYA) provides affiliation and support. Parents also have a direct role: the preschool asks families who can help to volunteer for a session each half term, with tasks such as preparing craft materials or cleaning toys. Participation is a practical contribution to this charity's daily work.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person responsible for following their development and wellbeing. Settling is tailored to the child, with parents or carers able to remain for an initial session or longer and gradual separation used where appropriate. The approach allows the first independent sessions to follow the child's readiness rather than one fixed timetable.

Families can telephone during the first days to hear how their child is managing. Developmental concerns can also lead to an arranged meeting with the key person, while half-termly newsletters explain plans and topics. Together with Tapestry, these provide several routes for exchanging information rather than relying solely on brief conversations around sessions.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A Special Educational Needs Support Coordinator (SENCO) provides additional support, and the preschool has experience working with professionals involved in children's additional needs. The useful detail is the support structure: a designated role alongside contact with other professionals, rather than a general promise about outcomes.

Children who need changing use a designated area away from the playroom. Families supply nappies or pull-ups, wipes, nappy bags and spare clothing, so these remain part of the home preparation for sessions.

All staff are trained first-aiders, and families complete medical and emergency-treatment permissions when joining. Collection arrangements require advance authorisation for an unfamiliar collector, with a password used as part of the procedure. Because the preschool is close to a busy main road, closing the outside gate is also an explicit responsibility for parents and carers.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon and afternoon sessions from noon to 3pm. Children can combine sessions into a full day from 9am to 3pm. That permits a shorter preschool experience or a day spanning both sessions.

The application form lets parents request individual sessions and a preferred start date. Applications can be made online or using a printed form collected from preschool. Intakes follow the school calendar, and the holiday timetable includes closures around school breaks.

The venue is shared: the preschool uses the village's Women's Institute hall. Families therefore need to consider the session pattern alongside the setting's use of a building that also serves other purposes.

Getting There

The address is Victoria Institute, Main Road, Watnall, Nottingham, NG16 1HS. Telephone and email provide the enquiry routes, including arranging a visit with a child.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education includes 15 free hours from the term after a child's third birthday, with funding also offered for eligible two-year-olds. Funding paperwork includes a form and a copy of the child's birth certificate. Paid sessions are invoiced half-termly and fees are due in advance; current prices come in the preschool's written quotation.

For a full day, parents provide a packed lunch with an ice pack for food needing cooling because lunchboxes cannot be refrigerated; the lunch policy excludes nuts, sweets, chocolate and fizzy or sugary drinks. Snacks are supplied by the preschool, with a termly donation requested towards snacks and baking ingredients, while parents provide changing consumables such as nappies and wipes.

A one-off administration charge applies. Leaving before the normal move to school requires at least half a term's notice or payment of half a term's fees instead, and fees are not refunded for term-time holidays or other absences. These terms matter when comparing attendance costs and planning a change of childcare.

• Weekday arrangements. The application form offers mornings Monday to Friday and afternoons Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; the contact information gives Monday to Thursday opening from 9am to 3pm, while the prospectus includes Wednesday afternoons. Resolve the Wednesday and Friday arrangements before choosing an attendance pattern.
• Learning precision. June 2022 improvement points concerned accurate assessment and carrying activities through to their intended learning. At a visit, ask how staff now select and review an individual child's next steps.
• Lunch and allergies. Full-day attendance requires a packed lunch, with a cooling pack for items needing to stay chilled, and the lunch policy excludes nuts. Families affected by allergies should confirm current practice before joining.
• Shared-hall provision. Activities take place in a venue used by others. At a visit, ask how the play space is arranged for sessions and how outdoor access works within the day.

Watnall Preschool suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those combining both into a full day. Its strongest practical features are individual settling, a key person, Tapestry's two-way learning record and opportunities for parents to participate in a committee-run charity.

The June 2022 Good judgement sits alongside clear assessment and teaching improvement points. Families weighing this setting should give those points, the shared hall and the weekday timetable as much attention as its community character.