Schorne Pre-school

A village-hall setting with a mud kitchen and individually planned support gives Schorne Pre-school its character. Based in North Marston, Buckinghamshire, it has 26 places in total and takes children from age two. The combination makes this a preschool to consider for families who value play and a close connection between a child's interests and their learning.

Ofsted rated Schorne Pre-school Outstanding at its 15 November 2023 inspection. The detail behind that judgement matters: staff combined activities chosen by children with experiences organised by adults, and adjusted learning to individual needs. This was purposeful preschool education, with attention to participation as well as what children learned.

Term-time opening and a day ending at 2.45pm shape the practical fit. These are substantial daytime hours, but families need an attendance arrangement that works with that finish and the holiday calendar.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage brings children's learning, development and care together, covering both their education and how they are looked after. In November 2023, this took practical form through activities helping children communicate their needs and play purposefully, alongside teaching consideration for others. These skills help children participate in the day with other children. At Schorne, children make choices and explore their interests, with resources adapted to what engages them. That gives their preferences a role in the day rather than treating every child as ready for the same activity at the same moment.

In November 2023, staff distinguished between skills needing a planned activity and those children could develop through less formal experiences. Activities to build attention and concentration helped children prepare for larger gatherings. The practical point is participation: joining a group was something children could work towards, rather than simply being expected to manage immediately.

The five rules approach, a simple set of expectations used to guide behaviour, also featured in November 2023. Familiar routines helped children understand the next part of the day, while staff encouraged consideration for others. Those arrangements gave children a clear structure within which to make choices.

Outdoor and Community Life

The mud kitchen gives outdoor play a concrete centrepiece. A wooden teepee and bug hotel add other points of interest, while the garden provides an outdoor setting alongside the village hall. These physical features help parents picture the preschool more clearly than a general promise of learning through play.

In November 2023, children took part in village life and used the surrounding area for learning experiences. Staff also introduced ways of living and cultural experiences different from children's own. The emphasis was on belonging locally while learning to respect people whose lives might be different.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has an assigned key worker, with support also coming from the wider staff team. Activities are planned for individual needs. For parents, this combines a particular staff contact with an arrangement in which other practitioners also know and support their child.

Regular meetings bring parents together with staff and, where involved, other professionals. SEN support plans provide a practical mechanism for agreeing support, rather than relying on a broad statement about inclusion. Home visits are offered too, allowing contact with a family beyond the preschool itself.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged support for children with SEND exceptionally effective and safeguarding effective, including staff understanding of reporting concerns and close supervision. Activities included helping children express their needs and develop purposeful play, so they could participate with other children.

Current support arrangements include a SENCO who attends training and professional network meetings, then shares learning with colleagues. Buckinghamshire Early Years can help assess a child's needs alongside the preschool. This gives families a specific route for involving additional expertise in planning support.

Staff have undertaken medical training covering allergy emergencies and Epi Pens, diabetes and insulin pens, and stoma care. These are concrete areas of experience. For a child needing medical support, the useful discussion is how that experience translates into their individual arrangements.

Sessions and Attendance

Schorne operates during term time, Monday to Friday, opening at 8.45am and closing at 2.45pm. A six-hour day is a priced booking pattern; private childcare is also priced by the hour. The full-day option therefore follows a preschool timetable rather than extending into the evening.

The term calendar includes half-term holidays and INSET days. These closures matter alongside the daily finish: an arrangement that works during an ordinary preschool week also needs to work when the setting is closed. The calendar identifies transition days as well, although the normal opening window remains the key practical reference.

Getting There

The address is The Village Hall, North Marston, Buckinghamshire, MK18 3PA. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 07703 754397.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, including 30-hour childcare and funding for eligible two-year-olds. The entitlement for three- and four-year-olds is 570 free hours per year, usually taken as 15 hours a week for 38 weeks. Schorne's attendance model is term-time, which matters when matching an entitlement to the days a family wants to use.

When a child becomes eligible, funding forms are sent by email and proof of date of birth must be shown when returning the forms. That is an administrative step families can prepare for. Eligibility remains a condition of the relevant funding offer.

Private hours sit alongside funded provision. Families should obtain current prices in the preschool's written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the day pricing and funding paperwork.

• The afternoon finish. Opening ends at 2.45pm and attendance is term-time. Families needing later care or holiday cover should weigh those boundaries against their working week.
• The upper age boundary. For a child approaching four or five, confirm the leaving-age arrangement before choosing an attendance pattern.
• The complete cost. With both funded and privately paid childcare offered, ask for a written quotation explaining how meals, snacks and non-food consumables are handled under your proposed arrangement.
• Individual support in practice. SEN support plans, a key worker and external assessment support are concrete mechanisms. During a visit, discuss how these would work together for your child's needs, including any medical arrangements.

Schorne suits families seeking term-time preschool education, with a six-hour day option and hourly pricing for private childcare. Its strongest case combines the Outstanding November 2023 judgement with tangible current provision: a mud kitchen, child-led choices and individual support planning.

The decision turns on practical fit as well as educational character. For a family whose timetable matches the 2.45pm finish, the village-hall setting and organised SEND mechanisms give Schorne a clear identity.