Alderley Edge Pre School

An enclosed woodland gives Alderley Edge Pre School its defining character. Children can move between indoor and outdoor activities, while woodland sessions make exploration, manageable risks and the natural world part of everyday learning. This is more than an occasional outdoor outing: a group spends a whole session in the woods as part of the daily programme.

Ofsted rated the pre-school Outstanding on 7 July 2025 and found its safeguarding arrangements effective. The setting has 25 places in total, accepts children from age 2 and occupies the Alderley Edge Community Primary School site on Church Lane. In July 2025, sports sessions used the school grounds and multi-sports area. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place.

Morning sessions and full days run during term time. A separate Woodland Holiday Club extends the outdoor offer to current and former children and their siblings, subject to its own age and booking rules.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS sets the framework for children's learning, development and care, with experiences supporting its areas of learning. Alongside that framework, the pre-school organises its curriculum around GROW, EXPLORE, DISCOVER. GROW addresses physical development, children's voice and wellbeing; EXPLORE connects outdoor experiences with sensory awareness and children's choices; DISCOVER brings literature, creativity and understanding the wider world together.

The workshop-style environment and free movement indoors and outdoors support children's choices, with practitioners extending their interests. Families can view the full curriculum at the setting or during stay-and-play sessions.

In July 2025, children investigated how pipe angles changed water flow. Dough-making linked hand strength and mathematics, with lavender adding a sensory element. Progression to scarf movements and broad mark-making connected these practical activities to physical development.

Children's interests could change the direction of a session. In July 2025, a creature brought from home prompted children to distinguish a millipede from a worm, then search the woodland for other creatures and investigate their habitats. Staff also wrote down children's invented stories. That gives children's own ideas a place alongside adult-planned experiences.

Outdoor and Community Life

Woodland Sessions provide time for exploration, games, outdoor activities and a snack across the seasons. Some groups also learn about fire safety and building and lighting fires. The content depends on the individual group, so fire activities should not be read as a promise for every child or every session.

Sustained woodland use gives children time to explore and judge risks. In July 2025, rules for carrying long sticks and climbing only where children could descend safely paired independence with clear boundaries.

Community experiences also widened the day in July 2025. Children gathered eggs from chickens at a local church and grew produce at a nearby allotment. Visitors included the fire brigade, police and guide dogs with their owners; children explored festivals and tasted foods associated with other cultures. Hatching ducklings and butterflies made life cycles tangible rather than just a storybook topic.

School facilities added another physical outlet. In July 2025, weekly sports lessons used the grounds and multi-sports area. Younger and older children sometimes learned together and sometimes separately, allowing shared experiences while retaining space for different developmental needs.

Relationships and Communication

In July 2025, smaller spaces supported settling, offering an alternative to the main group. Older children modelled behaviour for younger ones, while staff encouraged consideration and cooperation.

Communication support included assessment tools and small-group sessions in July 2025. Storytelling worked in both directions: adults read aloud, and children dictated their own stories for staff to write. Families were also invited to regular stay-and-play sessions about topics including internet safety and preparation for school, with information to help continue learning at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found strong SEND support, including early identification with families, targeted use of additional funding and joint working with health visitors and local authority inclusion officers, alongside physiotherapists and occupational therapists. The practical strength is the connection between identifying a child's needs and coordinating the people who can help.

The team includes a Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator, designated and deputy safeguarding leads, and practitioners with paediatric first-aid training.

Staff qualifications include a Master of Arts in Early Years Education, Early Years Professional Status and a BA in Early Childhood Studies.

Preparation for school has a practical connection to the site. In July 2025, practitioners maintained links with early years colleagues at the school sharing their site. This supports discussion about transition, while remaining separate from the school's admissions decision.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Alderley Edge Community Primary School, Church Lane, Alderley Edge, SK9 7UZ. Full days run from 8.45am to 3.15pm; morning sessions run from 8.45am to 12.15pm. The pre-school opens on weekdays during term time and operates a 38-week term-time year, making the holiday calendar an important part of family planning.

Parents using funded hours can combine the sessions to suit their child's needs, and hours can be used flexibly. Applications go by email to admin@alderleyedgepreschool.com and include preferred sessions. They concern the September 2026 and January 2027 term starts, with a stated closing date of 1 April or earlier if application numbers are high. Applications after closure are treated as late. Admission priorities include staff children, children with an EHCP following an assessment of needs, and siblings who are attending when the application is made; age and living within Alderley Edge also affect priority.

The Woodland Holiday Club is for current or former children and their siblings up to age 7. It runs during the October, Easter, Whit and summer holidays for a maximum of 7 weeks, with opening hours of 9am to 3.30pm. Booking follows a first-come, first-served rule, and payment is due before attendance.

Holiday-club activities include fire safety, bird-watching and mud-kitchen play, with a tyre swing, slide and bug houses. A shelter accommodates up to 16 children for quiet activities or protection from the weather.

Funding and Paid Extras

Fully funded and funded-only places use the 15 or 30 hour offer, and the pre-school also participates in the funded 2 year old programme. Funded entitlement is delivered during term time. Families accessing code-based funding need to check eligibility and provide their code in the term before starting; declarations and forms remain the parent's responsibility.

Paid full-day and morning-session fees include a consumables charge. For funded-only attendance, the consumables charge is separate and non-compulsory. School dinners are an additional, separately invoiced purchase for children staying all day and must be ordered ahead of time; holiday-club children bring a packed lunch, with snacks included.

An administration fee applies except that it is not compulsory for funded-only places. Uniform is optional, and a second-hand sale takes place at the start of the autumn term. Current prices come in the pre-school's written quotation; the fees and funding terms explain the charging structure.

Fees remain payable during a child's absence and closures beyond the setting's control. Ending a placement requires written notice of one calendar month, with fees payable through that period. Nursery attendance does not guarantee Reception admission: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Term-time planning. Morning sessions and full days serve different routines, but the regular pre-school year follows term time. The Woodland Holiday Club covers specified holidays rather than the whole school-holiday calendar.
• Settling into outdoor life. Woodland Sessions run across the seasons and can include fire activities depending on the group. At a visit, ask how settling and outdoor participation would be paced for your child.
• Funded attendance and extras. Funded-only places have a non-compulsory consumables charge, while school dinners cost extra. Consider the chosen session combination alongside the food arrangements and funding paperwork.
• A school site, a separate application. Shared grounds and early years liaison offer a connection with school life. They do not secure a Reception place, so school applications need their own planning.

Alderley Edge Pre School suits families seeking morning sessions or full days during term time, with sustained outdoor exploration rather than occasional woodland visits. GROW, EXPLORE, DISCOVER gives the curriculum a clear structure, and the July 2025 examples connect that structure to practical investigations, storytelling and community experiences.

The woodland and flexible sessions appeal to children drawn to outdoor activity. Families need a calendar that fits term-time attendance, alongside planning for food choices and funding paperwork.