Little Bird's Nest Pre-school

A church hall that can be rearranged around children's ideas gives Little Bird's Nest Pre-school its character. Based at St Annes Church Hall in Wilmslow, it combines a pack-away indoor setting with a spacious outdoor play area. Staff can reconsider where activities belong as they set up, and children have a say in the arrangement. The environment is adaptable rather than fixed.

The pre-school accepts children aged two to five and has 25 places in total. At its June 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged it Good overall and found safeguarding effective. The strongest practical attractions are the children's involvement in shaping their surroundings, individual learning records and a term-time routine that includes both indoor and outdoor play.

Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings give families different ways to use the week, with an earlier finish on Fridays.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS shapes the day through play and learning across language, physical development, relationships, early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. Development Matters, non-statutory guidance for delivering those learning requirements, supports practitioners' planning.

A key person plans around each child's development and records photographs, creative work, observations and next steps in a learning journey book. Parents can contribute interests and experiences from home. Home interests help shape the next activities.

The morning moves between child-chosen play, group conversation, outdoor activity, snack and planned learning. Stories and singing come before lunch, with another sequence of outdoor play and group activity in the afternoon. Children also help clear away. There is a recognisable rhythm, but the planning includes activities that arise from children's interests as well as those prepared in advance.

Mini Sports Coaching brings sporting activities every Monday afternoon. The optional external session costs extra and requires advance booking.

Outdoor and Community Life

The church hall and spacious outdoor play area give children different settings for their play. Outdoor play features in both halves of the daily routine, and snacks can be eaten inside or outside. Children therefore have repeated opportunities to change surroundings during a session.

In June 2023, children used binoculars while inventing an animal hunt among the bushes. Water play brought mathematical language into action as they filled containers and talked about weight and quantity. Simple resources supported storytelling and mathematical exploration.

Group conversation also drew on children's lives. In June 2023, children talked about their neighbourhoods and moving house, with staff encouraging them to share experiences. Familiar subjects gave them something concrete to discuss. The same visit identified a need to do more with children's identity and their understanding of similarities and differences, an important qualification to that picture of everyday conversation.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person responsible for helping them settle, becoming familiar with the setting and building a relationship with their family. Observations guide planning, while the learning journey book gives parents a record of development. Families can look through it whenever they wish.

Between ages two and three, a written developmental review considers the main areas of early learning, identifying strengths and aspects needing more support. A further summary of learning is prepared towards the end of the school year.

Collection includes a staff handover about the child's day. Children leave with authorised adults named on the registration form; a different collector requires prior notice and the agreed password. Shared pickups need advance planning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The current staff structure includes a senior practitioner with experience in special-needs education and an early-years support practitioner. Emotional development and settling are part of the senior practitioner's work.

At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND benefited from targeted help, collaboration with external professionals and funding used for additional sessions and sensory resources. Those findings describe support at that visit, including calming bags used to ease the move into pre-school.

In June 2023, visual cues and familiar objects helped signal changes in the routine, and lighting was adjusted for children's individual needs. Children also took part in yoga, stretching into animal shapes, and explored dental care through a toothbrushing activity.

Parents supply a packed lunch for children staying through lunchtime, while snacks are included at no extra charge. Families also provide nappies where needed, wipes and a named bottle of sun cream for hot weather or the summer term, so these essentials need to be part of the child's bag.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St Annes Church Hall, Nursery Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5JG. Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, afternoons from noon to 3pm, and full days from 9am to 3pm. Opening is Monday to Thursday from 9am to 3pm and Friday from 9am to noon, so afternoon and full-day attendance apply to the earlier part of the week.

Attendance is term-time only across 38 weeks, following Cheshire East school holidays. The term calendar also includes inset days. Holiday care needs separate planning.

A registration form must be completed before the first session, and bookings are arranged before a child starts. Families can organise them during a pre-school tour or by email. The enquiry address is Littlebirdsnestpreschool@gmail.com, and the telephone number is 07542 958380.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children within the pre-school's age range can use the 30 Hours Childcare for Working Families entitlement, 15 Hours Funding for All 3- and 4-Year-Olds, or 15 Hours Funding for Eligible 2-Year-Olds. Universal 15-hour funding starts from the term after a child's third birthday and continues until they begin school. Funding is delivered term-time, with patterns including mornings or a combination of full days and shorter sessions. Eligibility conditions apply, and working-family funding codes must be reconfirmed every three months.

Private sessions and additional hours are also offered. Snacks carry no extra charge, including alongside funded attendance; parents supply lunch and the specified non-food essentials. Funded hours exclude additional hours and services, and optional extras are charged separately. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the times and costs page explains the charge structure.

Mini Sports, extra sessions and extra hours are optional. Trips and parties also require advance booking and incur shared costs for attending children, except that children receiving Early Years Pupil Premium have those costs covered. Invoices normally arrive by email each half-term, with weekly or monthly invoicing possible by arrangement; charges apply to the booked place rather than attendance.

Getting There

Nursery Lane is a single-lane, one-way road, with St Anne's Fulshaw Primary school opposite the pre-school. Parents are asked to park considerately and keep residents' driveways clear, making responsible parking an important part of using this church-hall location.

Preparation for primary school includes encouraging independence and self-help. The pre-school also names local schools that children move on to, but that list should be understood as destinations rather than an admissions advantage.

• Teaching for quieter children. In June 2023, confident children sometimes answered before others had a chance, and activities were not consistently adjusted to individual needs. During a visit, ask how practitioners now draw quieter children into group learning and use individual feedback to improve teaching.
• Identity and belonging. The June 2023 improvement priorities included strengthening children's understanding of themselves and preparing them for life in modern Britain. Ask for examples of how current activities explore children's backgrounds, similarities and differences.
• The Friday finish. Friday ends at noon, while afternoon sessions run earlier in the week. Compare the whole weekly pattern with your working hours before choosing morning, afternoon or full-day attendance.
• Lunch and essentials from home. Snacks are included, but lunch, nappies, wipes and sun cream come from families. For a child with dietary needs, discuss lunch and snack arrangements during the pre-school tour.

Little Bird's Nest suits families seeking term-time morning sessions, afternoon sessions or full days in a small church-hall setting. Its adaptable play space, outdoor area and key-person learning records give the offer substance, while Monday sport provides a separately chosen addition.

The Good judgement from June 2023 sits alongside clear improvement priorities around individual teaching and children's identity. Families should weigh those points with the Friday lunchtime finish and the practical responsibilities of providing lunch and daily essentials. The appeal is a flexible session pattern within a clearly bounded pre-school week.