S4YC, Christ Church Preschool & Out of School Club

Dough, dinosaur footprints and outdoor number play gave Christ Church's preschool day a practical character at its June 2025 inspection. Based at Christ Church C of E Primary School in Ellesmere Port, the setting combines early years provision with wraparound childcare. Learning through ordinary play is the strongest thread in its June 2025 account: making pretend food becomes a conversation, while arranging play bones becomes an exercise in comparing sizes.

At its 5 June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Good and found safeguarding effective. The setting has capacity for 30 children, with an early years age range from birth to 59 months. Those whole-setting figures should not be read as the size of a preschool group.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, the June 2025 examples show language, early mathematics and physical skills being practised through play. Children rolled dough into pretend food while staff supplied words describing the movements. The practical value is clear: children have something concrete to talk about, rather than learning new vocabulary in isolation.

Dinosaur play offered another route into creative work. In June 2025, children painted toy dinosaurs' feet and used them to make marks on paper. Activities followed children's interests, giving them a reason to keep experimenting. Outdoors, staff introduced comparisons of length as children arranged play bones by size; counting also cropped up in play and everyday routines.

Observation informed what happened next. In June 2025, staff assessed children's existing skills and planned subsequent learning around the next steps they identified. Listening and attention received deliberate practice too, including a singing activity in which children waited to discover objects inside a bucket. This connects adult planning with experiences young children can join in and understand.

Outdoor and Community Life

In June 2025, the garden offered bikes, chalk drawing on a large scale and a climbing frame. These provided different kinds of movement: riding, reaching and climbing alongside the smaller hand movements involved in drawing. Outdoor play therefore contributed to physical development as well as giving children another setting for mathematical conversation.

Relationships were built through everyday interaction. In June 2025, children settled readily, selected activities and showed consideration towards one another. Staff intervened when disagreements arose and helped children work through them. For parents weighing how a child will manage group life, those details matter more than a general promise of friendliness.

At the June 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children made good progress, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), whose support involved individual targets, work with parents and referrals to outside agencies where needed. This gives families a concrete picture of the support process: identifying a need, agreeing what to work towards and involving additional help when appropriate.

Communication in June 2025 used an online app, conversations each day and parents' evenings. Staff also discussed practical developmental changes with families, including readiness for toilet training and how to support it at home. These channels gave parents both an account of their child's learning and opportunities to coordinate care.

Independence was the clear improvement point. In June 2025, children practised putting on coats, but heavy pouring jugs at snack time made another self-care task difficult. The issue was practical equipment and opportunity: children needed more chances to complete tasks themselves, rather than merely take part with adult help.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Christ Church C of E Primary School, Deeside, Whitby, Ellesmere Port, CH65 6TQ. Opening hours are 7.45am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, during term time; the setting closes for school holidays. Preschool provision and wraparound childcare operate at this location.

The branch can be contacted on 07399155059 or at christchurch@s4yc.co.uk. Being based at a primary school does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

In June 2025, the setting offered government-funded childcare places. Families should obtain current prices in a written quotation from the nursery.

• Independence in practice. The June 2025 improvement point concerned opportunities to do more independently, including pouring drinks. During a visit, ask how snack equipment and everyday tasks now help children practise these skills.
• The term-time calendar. Christ Church closes during school holidays. Families needing care across the year should factor that break into their arrangements.
• A preschool plan that fits. Preschool and wraparound care share this location. Ask how the proposed preschool attendance pattern works within the wider opening day, and request a written breakdown of funded hours, food and consumables alongside any paid childcare.

Christ Church suits families seeking preschool provision on a primary-school site, as well as those seeking wraparound childcare. Its June 2025 strengths were practical learning, communication with parents and targeted support. The garden's bikes and climbing frame added physical variety, while language and mathematics were woven into play. The decision point is equally concrete: how effectively children are now helped to manage everyday tasks independently, within a term-time childcare arrangement.