St Agnes Preschool

Parent trustees, a purpose-built building and links with local schools give St Agnes Preschool a clear community character. Based at St Agnes School on Trelawney Road, it has 32 places in total. The preschool provision serves children aged 2 to 4, with additional clubs for school-age children.

At its 4 January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found effective safeguarding, productive language teaching and progress for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). That assessment is dated, but its practical detail is useful: conversation, books and children's independence were strengths, while counting through play and access to organised activities needed attention.

Morning, afternoon and longer preschool sessions sit alongside breakfast, afterschool and holiday clubs. This is a setting with several ways to fit childcare around family life, rather than a single attendance pattern.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning and care, with play supporting communication, development and growing independence. Planning also uses Early Years Development Matters: children explore, persist with challenges and develop their own ideas. The practical emphasis is on how children learn, as well as what they learn.

Individual interests feed into weekly planning. A key person observes each child's strengths and development needs, and parents can contribute examples from home. Planning sheets are displayed in the nursery room. That gives families a concrete connection between their child's interests outside preschool and the activities organised inside it.

In January 2023, books were readily accessible, with children settling on mats to read and adults extending stories through unfamiliar vocabulary. During conversations, practitioners slowed their speech, repeated children's contributions and allowed thinking time. These are specific teaching habits, rather than simply a promise that children will be encouraged to talk.

Geography entered play in January 2023 through a globe, flags, maps and French expressions for politeness. Children discussed places they had visited and compared their experiences. The value lies in connecting unfamiliar places with something a child already knows.

Outdoor and Community Life

In January 2023, the garden hosted a bird-search activity using clipboards and binoculars. Fairy-house play also prompted conversations about woodland creatures and their homes. These examples show how observation and imaginative play could work together, bringing nature into children's questions and conversations.

There was a practical weakness alongside that interest. In January 2023, some children could not join the organised bird activity because participation had not been planned adequately. Pretend pizza-making also passed up chances to count ingredients and discuss amounts. The improvement priorities were therefore concrete: make number learning part of play and organise adult-led activities so interested children can take part.

Relationships and Communication

Settling procedures involve parents in helping children become comfortable with preschool and understand that their family will return. The key-person approach gives each child a practitioner who observes their development and shares information with parents. A sharing sheet completed when a child starts brings knowledge from home into that relationship.

Where children attend another childcare setting, information and assessments can be exchanged with their other carers. This matters for children whose week is divided between providers: adults can work from a more connected picture of their interests and needs.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO role supports children with additional needs. Planning with families and outside agencies considers practical matters such as access, toileting, specialist equipment and extra adult assistance. At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff recognised additional support needs promptly and worked with families and external professionals to support children's development.

Rest is part of the offer. Children attending throughout the day can have a sleep or a quieter activity, with a rest period usually following lunch. A child who becomes tired later is allowed to sleep, so the routine accommodates tiredness rather than requiring everyone to remain awake.

Security arrangements include a bell-controlled entrance, coded doors and checks when collection arrangements change. Visitors sign in and are accompanied. These are practical procedures; they sit alongside, rather than replace, the dated safeguarding judgement.

Accidents are communicated to parents, with a telephone call following a head bump. Prescription medication requires written authorisation and an appropriately labelled original container. Children must be well enough to attend and normally have received their first dose at least 24 hours before the session; managers can exercise discretion for a course the child has taken before. Families managing an ongoing condition have specific arrangements to work through, including an Asthma Action Plan for children with asthma.

Sessions and Attendance

During term time, preschool sessions run from 9am to noon, 9am to 1pm, 9am to 3pm or noon to 3pm. The options distinguish a morning, a morning extending through lunchtime, a longer preschool day and an afternoon. Families can therefore choose between shorter attendance and a day spanning lunch.

Breakfast club runs from either 7.30am or 8am until 9am. Afterschool club runs from 3pm to 6pm, with a separate 3.15pm to 6.15pm window for primary-school children. Club attendance is charged according to the hours attended.

Holiday club operates from 8am to 5pm during Easter, summer and half-term holidays, excluding Christmas and bank holidays. It caters for preschool children and children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Booking forms come from the office before each club.

Getting There

The address is St Agnes School, Trelawney Road, St Agnes, TR5 0LZ. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01872 554005 or by email to manager@stagnespreschool.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the free 15 hours and the 30 Hour Funding Extended Entitlement for eligible working families with a child aged 3 or 4. Claiming funding requires a parent declaration and proof of the child's birth date, plus a funding code where applicable; families using the extended entitlement must reconfirm their eligibility every 3 months.

Paid preschool sessions are invoiced each half term, and reserved sessions remain chargeable when a child is ill or away on holiday. Breakfast, afterschool and holiday-club invoices are issued monthly in arrears. Current prices should form part of the nursery's written quotation; the fees and payment terms also explain cancellation and late-payment charges.

Children bring a healthy packed lunch, while preschool supplies snacks and drinking water. The healthy-eating policy addresses allergies and medical, cultural and religious requirements.

Moving on to school involves inviting Reception teachers to spend time with children and a moving-to-school programme. Staff also share practice with other settings a child attends. Being based in school grounds does not guarantee a Reception place; families still use the local authority admissions process.

• Counting and participation. In January 2023, number learning during play and access to adult-led activities needed attention. On a visit, ask how counting now enters everyday play and how staff make room for every interested child in an organised activity.
• Reserved-session costs. Preschool fees remain payable during sickness or holidays, and booked holiday-club sessions cannot be cancelled. These terms matter when weighing a regular booking against a changing family schedule.
• Lunch and individual care. Families provide packed lunches, and the food policy covers allergies. Before joining, confirm current allergy arrangements and how any medication or additional support plan will work for your child.

St Agnes Preschool suits families choosing morning or afternoon attendance as well as those wanting the longer preschool day, with breakfast and afterschool clubs adding flexibility. Parent trustees and school-transition work give it a recognisable community role. The January 2023 Good judgement provides a dated quality assessment, while the priorities around counting and participation remain useful questions for a visit. The strongest fit is for families who value individual planning and a choice of session lengths, and are comfortable providing lunch and paying for reserved sessions during absences.