The Village Pre-School

Woodland learning gives The Village Pre-School much of its character. Forest School brings hands-on exploration of nature into the programme, with repeated sessions giving children time to become familiar with outdoor challenges rather than treating the woods as a one-off outing. Back at the setting, child-chosen play sits alongside activities led by adults. There is room for both independence and shared endeavour.

Based at The Methodist Church on Coppice Farm Road in Tyles Green, the pre-school has capacity for 34 children, with a current age range of 36 to 57 months. Ofsted judged it Good at its 27 February 2023 inspection, with effective safeguarding arrangements. That dated judgement provides a useful foundation, while the current programme adds afternoon activities delivered by visiting agencies and opportunities to explore living things.

Attendance is term-time, with morning and extended sessions rather than a single fixed-length day. For parents, that makes the collection pattern as relevant as the woodland programme.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides learning and care: children develop language, physical skills, relationships and early understanding through play and planned activities. This is the shared early-years framework, while Forest School and visiting-agency sessions add specific experiences to this setting’s day. The curriculum and daily programme combine activities children select themselves with group work introduced by staff.

Choice has a practical purpose here. Children are encouraged to stay with a task and finish it, while adult-led groups introduce unfamiliar experiences and working with others. Conversation runs through both. The programme includes talking about stories, experimenting with writing, counting and exploring shapes, alongside using tools and discovering how the natural world works. These are concrete foundations for later learning.

In February 2023, books were accessible for children to choose independently, alongside shared reading with adults. Music activities involved controlling volume and following a rhythm; an outdoor volcano experiment prompted predictions and discussion about what happened when mixtures combined. These examples show how a familiar activity can carry several kinds of learning, from listening carefully to finding words for an unexpected result.

Afternoons bring additional sessions lasting 45 minutes, delivered by outside agencies with pre-school staff supporting the children. StagePlus Dance, Sign & Rhyme, Kiddleydivey, Pre-school Disco and Playball are the named choices, all adapted to the participating children’s ages and offered for a separate fee. Children receiving Early Years Pupil Premium can attend up to three of these sessions each week at no cost. That condition matters when comparing the extra activity cost with the childcare bill.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School is hands-on woodland learning, with children exploring nature and trying new skills outdoors in different weather. Sessions run up to twice weekly during the Autumn and Summer terms, in three-hour blocks usually arranged over ten weeks. The pre-school aims to give each child at least a term of participation before moving on to school. Repetition is the point: children have time to revisit experiences and build familiarity with their surroundings.

Outdoor play also forms part of the ordinary programme, with activities chosen by children and others organised by adults. Woodwork is another staff-led activity. When circumstances allow, children encounter egg hatching, caterpillars becoming butterflies and frogspawn developing into frogs, bringing changes in living things into their learning. Zoolab also visits regularly. These experiences add encounters beyond books and pictures, though the life-cycle activities depend on what can be arranged.

Relationships and Communication

A key person works with parents around their child’s interests and needs, helps with settling and supports participation in activities. Staff and families agree how the child’s start should work, and the pre-school aims to keep the same key person throughout attendance. Continuity gives parents a familiar person with whom to discuss changes at home or concerns about the day.

Parents can contribute more than updates at collection. They are invited to share their interests during sessions, help with play materials and exchange information about their child’s progress. Consultations include a settling discussion and a later conversation about priorities for the Summer term; concerns can also be discussed during the year. This makes partnership an ongoing exchange rather than something confined to a scheduled meeting.

In February 2023, children spoke to staff about their feelings, made choices and formed friendships through play. Adults used spoken explanations and visual prompts to help younger children understand personal-care routines. Those observations give useful detail about the approach at that time, especially for families weighing how a child might manage unfamiliar routines.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that individual plans and regular target reviews with professionals helped children with special educational needs and disabilities make good progress, and that safeguarding was effective. Current arrangements include a staff role supporting special educational needs and designated safeguarding lead responsibilities. These are concrete structures for support, rather than a promise that every child will need the same approach.

Independence is practised through everyday jobs. Children can cut fruit with child-friendly knives, serve themselves and pour drinks, while manageable clothing helps them practise dressing and toileting. A spare change of clothes is useful; protective clothing is provided for messy activities, but children who decline it can still participate. The emphasis is on joining in and gradually doing more for themselves.

Sessions and Attendance

The pre-school opens for 38 weeks a year during term time. Monday opening hours are 8.15am to 4.30pm; Tuesday to Thursday are 8am to 4.30pm, and Friday is 8am to 3.30pm. Morning sessions finish at 12.15pm, while extended sessions allow parents to choose a collection time. Stand-alone afternoon sessions are not offered.

Children who do not use the early start should be brought at 9.15am for the daily programme. Flexible start and finish arrangements provide options around work and other children’s school schedules, but the term-time calendar remains a central consideration. There are no fixed intake dates, allowing starts during the year subject to space; this is a joining rule, not a promise of a place.

The address is The Methodist Church, Coppice Farm Road, Tyles Green, HP10 8AN. Telephone enquiries can be made on 01494 817093, and there is also a contact form and email route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid hours are both offered. Eligible families can use the 30 hours extended funding across the opening hours, up to the weekly entitlement; additional hours are charged separately. Attendance is term-time. Fees are paid ahead of each half term, and leaving requires written notice covering half a term. Current prices come in the pre-school’s written quotation; the funding and payment terms explain the structure.

Parents supply a packed lunch, including for children staying on funded hours, while staff provide drinks and snacks, including afternoon fruit for those attending longer. The pre-school asks families to keep products containing nuts out of the setting, so allergy-affected families should discuss current practice before attendance.

• Term-time timetable. Morning sessions end at 12.15pm and extended sessions offer a chosen collection time, but Friday closes earlier than the other weekdays. Match the whole weekly pattern and school-holiday arrangements to your childcare needs.
• Woodland preparation. Forest School involves outdoor sessions in changing weather and requires additional clothing, permission and medical information. At a visit, discuss how participation would fit your child’s attendance and confidence outdoors.
• Individual learning. In February 2023, staff did not consistently extend learning from what children already knew, and opportunities to explain how food and exercise affect health were sometimes missed. Ask how current planning develops each child’s next steps and uses everyday conversations about health.
• Lunch and extras. Packed lunches come from home and visiting-agency activities carry a separate fee, with the stated allowance for children receiving Early Years Pupil Premium. Request a written quotation covering your chosen attendance, activities and any non-food supplies you would need to provide.

The Village Pre-School suits families seeking either morning attendance or extended sessions during term time, with woodland learning and visiting-agency activities adding substance to the programme. Its key-person approach gives settling and parent communication a clear structure. The February 2023 learning priorities remain useful questions for a visit, especially around individual next steps. For a child who enjoys exploration, practical tasks and returning to outdoor experiences, there is plenty here to weigh alongside the weekly timetable and separate activity costs.