Under Fives Roundabout

A parent-run charity, a garden open for children’s own choices, and two groups called Squirrels and Hedgehogs give Under Fives Roundabout its community preschool character. This Cambridge setting combines independent play with family participation: parents can contribute inside sessions, help maintain the premises or take part in the committee that makes major decisions. Family involvement has a practical role here.

At its 13 June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective. That judgement belongs to an earlier cohort, but the current offer retains plenty of concrete detail: garden play, construction, small-group learning and opportunities to explore the neighbouring school grounds. In June 2022, opportunities to use home languages and the organisation of parts of the day needed attention alongside those strengths.

The preschool accepts children from 2 years 6 months until school age and has 34 places in total. Full-day and half-day attendance run during term time. Its premises are on Warwick Road, within the grounds of Mayfield Primary School, but Roundabout is an independent preschool and attendance brings no advantage in that school’s admissions.

Rooms and Ages

Squirrels includes younger children and some summer-born preschool children; Hedgehogs is for the pre-Reception year. The garden, sandpit and wooden playhouse support independent exploration: after the morning register, the garden doors open and children choose where to play.

Learning and Activities

Planning follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the shared early-years framework, through play and observations that shape each child’s next learning opportunities. Construction and mark-making materials are always accessible; targeted small-group activities respond to individual needs.

Free play alternates with registers, tidying and shared stories or songs, giving children opportunities to choose independently and participate together. Singing and phonics feature in register activities.

In June 2022, children made pretend drinks with herbs and rose petals, tackled intricate paper aeroplanes with staff help, and explored addition and quantities.

Outdoor and Community Life

Mayfield School Field provides football, running and climbing equipment; children also visit the conservation area on the Mayfield grounds. Raised beds, a mud kitchen, balancing logs and a digging area offer growing, handling materials and physical challenges.

Indoor movement includes Sticky Kids workouts, yoga, dancing and action songs. Parents are invited to accompany short local trips.

The Teddy Bears’ Picnic takes place at Histon Road Park on 16 July 2027, after term ends. Children must attend with an adult, bringing teddies and refreshments; the preschool is closed.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who discusses progress using observations, photographs and work. Tapestry, the online learning journal, lets families follow learning at home and add photographs and comments of their own.

Parent-helper sessions offer time to discuss progress; appointments and sometimes online meetings serve families unable to volunteer. Routine messages arrive by email, with printed notices possible for those without an account.

During the first week, families need flexibility to collect a child who cannot be settled. A comforter or a carer’s familiar item can be kept in the child’s drawer.

Key staff are qualified and experienced, with apprentices also part of the staffing structure. Additional adults may include individual support staff, adults on placement or work experience and volunteers. Parent helpers can share a hobby or occupation with children, bringing family knowledge into sessions as well as lending practical help.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and disabilities received very good support, with the coordinator working alongside families and outside agencies on individual strategies. Current arrangements include Individual Child Plans, using an assess, plan, do, review cycle, and progress discussions with parents. The keyworker and SEND coordinator develop interventions with input from families and other professionals.

Wheelchair access is through a double-opening outdoor door, with no internal steps or level changes.

The language-support policy includes bilingual books, captions in other languages, family storytelling, visual communication and useful words from children’s first languages. These provide practical ways to participate.

Children can rest or nap in a quiet, comfortable area. Toilet training is planned with the key person, and long-term medical needs can be addressed through a care plan agreed with families before attendance begins.

Sessions and Attendance

Under Fives Roundabout’s address is Warwick Road, Cambridge, CB4 3HN. The preschool opens Monday to Friday, from 8.40am to 3.10pm, for 38 weeks each year. Its term dates can differ from those of local schools, and the calendar includes closures for staff training.

Full days run from 8.40am to 3.10pm; half days run from 9.10am to 11.40am or 12.10pm to 2.40pm. Lunch attendance from 11.40am to 12.10pm is optional, runs according to demand and can count towards funded hours.

Children in their preschool year must attend at least 12 hours weekly. Younger children have a minimum of two sessions on separate days, totalling at least five hours. The younger-group admission rule also requires a third birthday by 31 March in the academic year of admission. A younger-group place does not preserve the same hours for the following year: allocation begins again through the waiting-list process.

The registering-interest form is acknowledged within two term-time weeks and does not commit families to accepting an offer. Waiting-list ordering uses registration date within each school year, with additional circumstances considered. Withdrawal before summer term ends requires six weeks’ written notice; funded hours cannot change for the term after the parental contract is submitted.

Getting There

The Citi 8 and Busway A stop nearby on Histon Road; other routes include the Citi 1 on Gilbert Road and Citi 5 and 6 on Huntingdon Road. Sheltered bicycle racks support cycling, while drivers must avoid the turning area outside Roundabout, school zigzags and street corners.

Funding and Paid Extras

Roundabout accepts Early Years Funding, including the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, eligible two-year-old funding and the Working Parents Entitlement of 30 hours. Delivery is term-time, with funded attendance requiring at least two and a half hours per day. Taking all 15 hours here requires at least three days; children eligible for 30 hours may initially receive up to 15. Eligibility therefore does not guarantee the full entitlement at this setting.

Private hours can be purchased when a child is ineligible for funding or attends beyond their funded allocation, with payment due in advance each half term; current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. Families may divide funded hours between Roundabout and another childcare provider.

For both funded and privately paid attendance, parents supply packed lunches and contributions to the shared snack bowl, while Roundabout provides milk and water. Its food policy excludes nuts and nut-containing products; nappies, wipes and sun cream are also brought from home.

Roundabout describes cooperation with Mayfield Primary School, but remains separate from it. Attending does not guarantee a Reception place or improve admission chances; families make their school application through the local authority’s admissions process.

• The balance of the day. In June 2022, some adult-led periods around lunch lasted too long, and routine jobs sometimes left children with little staff interaction. On a visit, discuss how the current routine sustains engagement and how children’s home languages are used in play, the other improvement area from that inspection.
• Younger-group eligibility and continuity. Entry starts at 2 years 6 months, with a third birthday required by 31 March in the academic year of admission. Younger children need sessions on two days, and their hours are allocated afresh for the preschool year; discuss how that progression would fit your family’s schedule.
• Shared snacks and allergies. Families contribute food to a communal snack bowl, alongside a policy excluding nuts. Allergy-affected families should confirm current snack handling and their child’s action plan, including how donated food is managed.
• A parent-supported charity. The committee handles major decisions, and families contribute through fundraising, practical jobs and session help. Consider whether committee membership, occasional gardening or sharing a skill with children is the most realistic way for your household to participate.

Roundabout suits families seeking a community preschool with a substantial role for parents, independent indoor and outdoor play, and individual communication through a key person and Tapestry. Its attendance offer serves both full preschool days and morning or afternoon half days, within a term-time calendar. The garden and access to Mayfield’s grounds add practical scope for movement and exploration. The balance is clear: a Good judgement from 2022, concrete current arrangements for family communication and additional needs, and dated concerns about engagement and home-language opportunities that families should weigh carefully.