Long Crendon Pre-School & Out of School Club

A parents’ committee runs the charity, and children’s own choices shape the play. Long Crendon Pre-School & Out of School Club combines a community-led organisation with a practical pre-school routine on the Long Crendon School site. Families are part of the organisation that runs it, rather than simply customers of a childcare business.

At its November 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Good, with a well-planned curriculum, but identified occasions when teaching needed a clearer intended learning outcome. That is the useful balance: purposeful provision, with a specific teaching improvement to weigh alongside it.

The setting has 40 places in total. The current pre-school age range is 24 to 60 months. Morning, afternoon and all-day attendance are offered during term time; the separate out-of-school provision serves children aged 3 to 11.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children’s learning, development and care. Here, child-led play gives children opportunities to choose activities, while adults encourage, guide and support what they do. The distinction matters: children initiate the play, but adults still have a teaching role.

Free play anchors both ends of the day. Circle time comes before the morning collection and again towards the afternoon’s close, while lunch is followed by quiet activities and then group time. This gives the day a recognisable rhythm, with space for children’s choices alongside shared activities. Snacks are offered over a period rather than at a single morning sitting.

In November 2022, practical play brought early mathematics into ordinary materials: children searched the sandpit for stones, considered how many more they needed, and compared containers of rice using weighing scales. Counting and weight had a tangible purpose. These examples show how an activity can introduce a specific idea rather than rely on keeping children occupied.

Outdoor and Community Life

In November 2022, the garden supported bicycle riding, hoop play and experiments with cars travelling down a slide. Indoors, scissors and decoration-making gave children another way to practise physical control. Movement involved both larger actions and careful hand movements.

Stories, songs and instruments also featured in November 2022. Children had opportunities to talk about their play during snack time, and adults introduced vocabulary across activities. Those everyday exchanges gave children reasons to use language, alongside listening to books and joining familiar songs.

Relationships and Communication

In November 2022, key persons learnt about children through conversations with families and observations of their play. Parents’ knowledge contributed to understanding what a child could already do, helping staff connect home experience with the pre-school day.

At the November 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described positive family relationships and coordinated support with other professionals for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These are dated findings, rather than an assurance about every subsequent day of care.

Current staff responsibilities include designated safeguarding officer roles and a SENCO lead. For families whose child needs additional support, the latter provides a specific role around which to discuss arrangements. Flexible settling-in policies accommodate families’ differing needs, making the child’s start an individual conversation.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In November 2022, children practised putting on outdoor clothing and clearing their plates after lunch. These small tasks connected independence with the routines they would encounter as they moved towards school. Activities also helped children put feelings into words, including discussing facial expressions they had drawn.

A housekeeper prepares fresh pre-school lunches and cold teas for the after-school provision. The full After-School Club session includes a healthy cold tea, giving that longer afternoon booking a food component as well as care.

Sessions and Attendance

Pre-school operates Monday to Friday during term time. The morning session runs from 8.45am to 11.45am; the afternoon runs from 11.45am to 3pm. All-day attendance combines the two, from 8.45am to 3pm. Families can therefore choose a shorter session or retain continuity through lunch and the afternoon.

For children over three, extra hours are provided through the out-of-school provision. Breakfast Club runs from 8am to 8.45am. After-School Club offers a shorter 3pm to 4.30pm session or a full session ending at 6pm, with the full session finishing at 5.45pm on Fridays. Ad-hoc bookings require at least 48 hours’ notice and depend on availability.

There is no After-School Club on the final day of the Christmas or summer term. That exception matters when arranging work and collection commitments. Term-time operation also means these patterns need to sit alongside separate school-holiday arrangements.

Getting There

The address is Long Crendon School, Chilton Road, Long Crendon, HP18 9BZ. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01844 202221, by email to office@longcrendonpreschool.co.uk or through the contact form. Attending this setting does not guarantee a Reception place at the school; families still use the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted for eligible two-, three- and four-year-olds, with 15-hour and 30-hour arrangements delivered during term time. Age-specific funding can be accessed from the term after the child’s respective birthday, subject to eligibility. Funding applies only to pre-school core hours, from 8.45am to 3pm. Breakfast and after-school care therefore sit outside those funded core hours.

For funded children, non-food consumables have a separate voluntary contribution, invoiced at the start of each half term. If parents cannot or choose not to contribute, the invoice is reduced. The voluntary condition is essential to understanding the charge.

Paid pre-school sessions are also offered, and both Tax Free Childcare and childcare vouchers are accepted. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the pre-school fees and funding page explains the attendance and charging structure.

• Teaching intentions. In November 2022, some activities needed a clearer learning purpose. During a visit, ask how staff now identify and build on the particular skill a child is learning through play.
• Term-time boundaries. Friday after-school care ends at 5.45pm, and the final Christmas and summer term days have no after-school provision. Compare those exceptions with your working week before choosing a pattern.
• Funded hours and extras. Funding applies to the pre-school’s core day, while the consumables contribution for funded children is voluntary. Request a written quotation separating your chosen sessions and contributions.
• Settling into the day. Child-led play sits alongside circle time, lunch and group activities. Ask how the flexible settling-in arrangements would introduce your child to that routine and their key person.

This setting suits families seeking morning or afternoon pre-school sessions, as well as those wanting an all-day term-time pattern. For children over three, breakfast and after-school options add another layer of flexibility, subject to the shorter Friday finish and term-end exceptions.

Its strongest character comes from parent-led charity governance and a day built around children’s play. The November 2022 judgement provides a positive inspection position with a concrete teaching improvement to discuss. The practical fit rests on matching the session pattern, funded core hours and holiday boundaries to the family’s week.