Wymeswold Pre-School

Fortnightly woodland sessions at the village Scout hut, weekly street dance and a parent-run charity give Wymeswold Pre-School a clear village identity. Based in Wymeswold Memorial Hall, it welcomes children from two years to school age and has 30 places in total. Its character comes from practical play, community involvement and helping children do more for themselves.

At its September 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective. There was a specific improvement point: staff needed to bring quieter children more fully into group activities. That matters alongside the positive judgement, especially for families whose child tends to watch before joining in.

Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday during term time. This is a preschool organised around the school calendar, with parents and carers involved in its management as well as its fundraising.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards for children's learning, care and development; here, activities combine children's own choices with adult-guided play across its learning areas. It is the shared early-years framework, rather than a special programme unique to this preschool. The more revealing detail is what children actually have to do: cook, garden, investigate loose materials and make things for imaginative play.

A puppet theatre gives children's homemade puppets a purpose beyond the craft table. Pretend shops, veterinary practices and hairdressers offer different settings for conversation and role play, while number hunts bring counting into an activity rather than keeping it at a table. Messy play includes cornflour and spaghetti alongside water and sand. Families should expect clothes to get involved.

In September 2024, staff helped children tackle everyday tasks in manageable steps, including fastening coats and opening lunchbox containers. These were small exercises in persistence as well as preparation for school. Adults allowed time for children to try, rather than immediately taking over.

Reading also had an active shape that September. Adults accompanied stories with gestures and simple signs, and children joined familiar passages from memory. Language work followed children's interests: a conversation about hedgehogs introduced descriptive vocabulary, while adults gave children thinking time before expecting an answer. Counting lunchboxes and exploring containers that were empty, full or overflowing brought early mathematics into ordinary routines.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School runs every other Wednesday at the village Scout hut and grounds. Woodland exploration supports physical and emotional skills through activities including shelter building, scavenger hunts, rope ladders and bug hotels.

Lil Beatz provides weekly street dance, alongside sports sessions led by an external coach every fortnight. These add organised movement to the preschool's play activities. Dance takes place on Fridays and sport on alternate Thursdays, so the weekday a child attends affects which of these sessions falls within their routine.

The parent committee organises events throughout the year, including the annual Farmers Market. Fundraising supports running costs, giving parents a practical role in sustaining the preschool.

Relationships and Communication

Each child's key person follows their development, adapts activities and maintains their learning journal. They also lead groups suited to children's developmental stage, connecting individual progress with what children do next.

Two free settling sessions let new starters become familiar with staff, routines and other children while an adult stays throughout. Children settle at different speeds, and parents can discuss concerns with staff.

Tapestry is the online learning journal used to record children's development and inform subsequent activities. Parents can add observations and photographs from home, so experiences outside preschool can contribute to the account of a child's learning. Access is restricted to parents and relevant staff, and families keep the records when their child leaves. Conversations about progress can also be arranged by appointment.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received very effective support through tailored individual and small-group work, with the SENCO involving external agencies where needed. The current staff structure includes a deputy manager/SENCO role. That gives parents a point of contact for additional needs.

Children can start before they are toilet trained. Parents provide nappies, wipes, nappy sacks and any needed cream, and staff support the move towards using a potty or toilet when families feel their child is ready. Spare clothes and weather-appropriate outdoor clothing are part of the everyday preparation for attendance.

All staff hold paediatric first-aid qualifications, and accidents are recorded for parents to sign. Staff and committee members undergo DBS checks, while safeguarding training is updated regularly. Changes to the person collecting a child must be communicated to staff and entered in the daily diary with a parent's signature and date. These are concrete procedures; the dated safeguarding judgement remains the separate assessment of effectiveness.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Wymeswold Memorial Hall, 2-5 Clay Street, Wymeswold, LE12 6TY. Opening hours run from 9am until 3pm on weekdays in term time. Term dates are emailed to parents at the beginning of each term and displayed outside preschool, giving families a calendar to plan around.

The contact form, telephone and email provide routes for enquiries. Fees are invoiced by email at the beginning of term and paid in advance, with payment due within 14 days of receiving the invoice. Charges continue during short absences and absences without notice, so missed attendance does not automatically reduce the bill.

Unless leaving to start school, families must give half a term's written notice by the preceding half term's end. Otherwise, the half-term cost remains payable.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for children aged two to five, within the preschool's term-time operation. Its funding arrangements include 15 hours a week for three- to five-year-olds, starting in the term after their third birthday, 30 hours for eligible families, funding for two-year-olds from low-income families and 30 hours for eligible working families with two-year-olds. Eligibility depends on the relevant entitlement; attendance here does not itself establish it.

Snacks are charged separately from funded hours: the Snack Bar offers fruit, raw vegetables and other foods, with milk or water, and children are encouraged to pour their own drinks. Parents should tell staff about allergies or intolerances so appropriate choices can be arranged.

Non-food consumables for nappy changes come from home. Dance, sport, Forest School and Cooking Club on Tuesdays carry additional charges outside funding. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation, and the fees and funding information explains the charge structure.

The preschool describes close links with Wymeswold Primary School as part of helping children move on to school. Attending the preschool does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Quieter children in groups. In September 2024, adults sometimes gave more attention to confident contributors. Ask how group activities now make room for children who need encouragement or extra thinking time.
• Term-time rhythm and activity days. The preschool opens from 9am to 3pm during term time, with Forest School on alternate Wednesdays, sport on alternate Thursdays and dance on Fridays. At a visit, discuss how the intended attendance days fit the activities your child would enjoy.
• Funding and the total bill. Snacks and specialist activities sit outside funded hours, while nappy supplies come from home. A written quotation should make the costs for the intended attendance pattern clear, including the half-term notice condition.
• Parent involvement. An elected parent and carer committee manages the preschool, and fundraising supports its running costs. Consider whether committee work or helping at events is a role your family would like to take on.

Wymeswold Pre-School suits families seeking term-time preschool education with a strong village connection and practical, play-based learning. Forest School at the Scout hut and grounds, Lil Beatz dance and parent contributions to Tapestry give that description substance. The adult-accompanied settling sessions also make the introduction a shared process.

The September 2024 Good judgement sits alongside a meaningful caution about quieter children's participation. For a child who hangs back in groups, that should be central to the family's decision. For parents comfortable with the term-time hours, separate activity charges and a community-run organisation, there is a clear offer to weigh.