Start Well Learning

Story baskets, cooperative water play and an annual spa day illustrated Start Well Learning's preschool character at its June 2024 inspection: language, shared play and emotional understanding shaped the provision. This is the Greville Drive setting in Winsford, on the Wharton C of E Junior School site, with capacity for 42 children in total.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Outstanding, found safeguarding effective and identified rapid progress alongside targeted support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The practical examples behind that judgement matter more than the label: children explored stories through objects, negotiated imaginative games and learnt precise words while investigating the world around them.

In June 2024, children attending were aged 2 to 11, encompassing preschool provision and care for older children. The preschool should be considered separately from Start Well Learning's baby and toddler nursery.

Learning and Activities

In June 2024, the setting followed the early years foundation stage, which brings children's learning, development and care together through everyday experiences. Here, the examples included storytelling, counting, physical challenges and cooperative play. Listening was a starting point for learning rather than a separate exercise.

Story baskets made books something children could participate in. Younger children pulled out objects connected with the narrative, acted out moments from it and later used the objects in their own pretend games. The connection was useful: an adult-led story supplied ideas that children could take into independent play.

Language teaching also drew on what children were investigating. Sprouting seeds became an opportunity to introduce germination; conversations about fish moved from a broad category to individual kinds. Staff supplied vocabulary at the point when it had a concrete meaning. That makes the language easier to connect with an experience.

Counting was woven into group routines in June 2024. Children used their fingers and revisited addition through the days of the week, while an eggshell brought in by a child prompted discussion about life cycles. Familiar routines and unexpected objects both had a place in the day.

Cooperation had physical substance, too. Preschool children worked together with water, a pipe, a funnel and a jug, and made decisions together during food preparation in pretend play. These were opportunities to negotiate a shared task, rather than simply occupy the same space.

Outdoor and Community Life

A climbing frame was part of the June 2024 provision, giving children opportunities to judge physical challenges. It provided a practical setting for learning how to assess what they could manage.

In March 2023, the preschool received its yearly delivery of 10 chick eggs. Children were due to observe hatching over the following week and then learn to feed and care for the chicks. The planned experience connected learning about living things with the work of looking after them.

Relationships and Communication

In June 2024, home visits before attendance helped staff begin planning around each child's circumstances before their first sessions. The value lies in the starting point: staff could begin with knowledge of the child, rather than wait for it to emerge entirely within the setting.

Daily routines also gave children clear expectations. Younger children practised joining a seated story group; preschool children used a sand timer while waiting to return to preferred play. The waiting period included another activity, so it could introduce children to something they might choose again.

Famly is the group-wide communication platform used by both the preschool and day nursery. It combines direct messages with activity updates, photographs, videos and a learning journal containing observations. For parents, that provides a way to exchange information as well as follow what their child has been doing.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The annual spa day formed part of the June 2024 approach to emotions and physical contact. Children gave and received pampering treatments, with the activity intended to help them recognise feelings in themselves and others. It followed staff noticing greater reluctance around touch after the pandemic.

Additional funding in June 2024 paid for resources and staff development linked to individual learning targets for children with SEND. It also enabled some children experiencing difficult family circumstances to attend for longer. Support therefore included both what happened during attendance and the amount of time a child could spend there.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Wharton C of E Junior School, Greville Drive, Winsford, CW7 3EP. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Preschool enquiries can be made on 01606 594 637 or through the contact form.

In June 2024, the setting operated for 51 weeks each year, with sessions running from 8am until 6pm. It also provided after-school and holiday care for children attending the school. Those older-child arrangements are separate from the preschool experience described above.

Funding and Paid Extras

In June 2024, funded early education was provided for children aged two, three and four. A September 2022 preschool offer also covered 15 or 30 funded hours each week; that was a dated offer, rather than a statement about places today. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Moving on to School

In June 2024, staff worked with the school and local services, sharing knowledge and seeking advice when needed. Being based on a school site does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still use the local authority admissions process for a state school place.

• Preschool or baby nursery. Start Well Learning has separate preschool and baby-and-toddler settings. A visit should centre on the provision your child would actually attend, rather than the group's combined birth-to-four offer.
• Care beyond preschool. After-school and holiday care served children attending the school in June 2024. Families considering that provision should discuss how it fits alongside the younger children's day.
• The whole attendance cost. Funded preschool provision featured in June 2024. What would your proposed attendance pattern include, and how would meals and non-food consumables be handled within the written quotation?

Start Well Learning merits serious consideration for families seeking a preschool where stories, precise language and practical investigation shape children's learning. The June 2024 examples show a setting that put substantial thought into how children listen, cooperate and manage their feelings.

In June 2024, the provision also served children attending the school through after-school and holiday care. The preschool and older-child provision deserve separate consideration. The strongest reason to choose the preschool is the substance of its educational and care practices, illustrated by story baskets, cooperative water play and individual learning targets.