Cirencester Opportunity Group

Music therapy, a private woodland and family outreach give Cirencester Opportunity Group a clear identity: early years education with practical support woven into it. Known locally as COG, this independent charity on Beeches Road runs preschool sessions for children aged 2 to 4. Its provision includes adaptive equipment, communication support and spaces where children can step away from a busy group. The setting has 24 places in total.

At its October 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised good progress among children with SEND and those learning English as an additional language. That assessment matters alongside the concrete offer: specialist support is part of the preschool's work, rather than a separate service families must organise themselves.

Attendance is term-time, with morning and afternoon sessions and full days for children aged 3 and over. The practical limits deserve attention too: COG cannot deliver the entire 30-hour funded entitlement, and settling begins with shorter sessions that exclude lunch.

Rooms and Ages

COG's learning spaces include the Playroom, Role playing room, Activity and Sensory rooms, Soft Play room and Therapy Room. In the Playroom, neutral decoration and light wooden furniture leave staff to introduce colour and texture through the resources they choose. That makes the materials, rather than the décor, the main stimulus for play.

The linked Role playing room supports imaginative stories and pretend settings, including a café or animal hospital, giving children ways to rehearse familiar experiences. Activity and Sensory rooms connect directly to the main playroom and can function as a combined space or be divided, allowing smaller activities alongside the larger group's day.

For quieter work, the sensory room has a bubble tube, beanbags, blankets and fairy lights; small-group activities can support school preparation or a My Plan, an individual learning plan for children with SEND. The Soft Play room uses sensory wall panels and cushioned surfaces for movement and exploration, while the Therapy Room provides a separate setting for individual Music Therapy. Different activities have different spaces.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, covering children's communication, movement, relationships and developing understanding of the world. COG combines activities directed by adults with play initiated by children. Staff can introduce a new skill, then follow how a child uses it in their own exploration.

Early Intervention adds a more specific purpose to that approach: observations and work with other professionals help identify where additional support is needed. This helps staff adapt activities to the child's needs within the EYFS.

In October 2024, children used a pretend fruit shop, shaped lemon-scented dough and explored shaving foam. Staff encouraged them to describe what they felt and make circular marks, linking sensory exploration with language and early writing. The same month's observations included counting, comparing quantities and recognising shapes.

In October 2024, staff sometimes missed chances to extend quieter children's learning during independently chosen play and did not consistently stretch more able children's mathematical understanding. Both points deserve weight when assessing the educational offer.

The current curriculum includes the NDNA Maths Champions Programme, professional development intended to help practitioners introduce mathematical thinking throughout ordinary activities. Examples include comparing block towers, sorting natural objects and measuring ingredients during cooking. These activities bring mathematical ideas into everyday play.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor provision extends well beyond a playground. A fenced area connects the Playroom to outside play, so children can choose between the two during designated free-flow periods. The covered sandpit has a water wall, giving sand play another dimension and providing shelter for outdoor exploration.

Raised beds in the Growing garden let children plant and harvest food that the cook can use for lunch. Woodland paths, an outdoor classroom and a base camp create further settings for stories, music and exploring nature. These spaces give staff alternatives when an activity works better with room to move or a different sensory setting.

Water Play takes place at Paternoster School's hydrotherapy pool when funding has been secured. It runs weekly during parts of the year, with staff leading toys, songs and games and a parent or carer usually joining their child in the water. This is an additional activity with conditions, rather than a guaranteed weekly element of every child's attendance.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who builds the relationship and acts as the family's first contact. Settling is agreed around the individual child, with early sessions shorter than the standard pattern and no lunch for at least the first two weeks. Lunchtime is introduced after the child has settled, if required and subject to a lunch space.

Tapestry, the online learning journal, records observations and lets parents contribute pictures and comments. It provides a way to connect experiences at home with learning at preschool. The Early Intervention Outreach Team adds practical family support, including advice on sleep and toileting and help with school applications or meetings.

In October 2024, staff used signs and picture cards to make routines understandable and responded to communication expressed without words. Children also practised managing outdoor clothing and putting resources away. Those observations show how communication and everyday independence were incorporated into ordinary activities at that time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SENDCOs work with families and other professionals, including occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists. Height-adjustable and tilting tables are examples of equipment used to make activities accessible. Support can also involve Gloucestershire's Graduated Pathway of Early Help and Support, with some children progressing towards an EHCP application.

Music Therapy offers referred children individual sessions of approximately 20 minutes each week, following discussion with parents. Music Space, Bristol provides and supervises the therapist, who also leads group music activities. The referral process matters: individual therapy is tailored support, while group music gives children a shared introduction to the therapist.

Digger, the therapy dog, generally visits weekly, and caregiver consent is obtained before a child has contact. The visiting dogs are associated with Pets as Therapy. Consent gives caregivers a say in their child's participation.

Toileting and nappy routines are coordinated with home, and staff share information about children's additional needs with local schools to support transition. Lunch is a two-course meal prepared by the preschool cook, and snacks and ordinary lunches carry no charge. The special-diet policy requires an allergy form and professional confirmation of allergies or intolerances; families may need to supply prescription diets or particularly specific or expensive foods.

Sessions and Attendance

COG is at Beeches Road, Cirencester, GL7 1BW. Preschool operates for 38 weeks during school terms, following the Gloucestershire calendar, so its attendance model needs to fit a family's holiday arrangements as well as their weekly routine.

Morning sessions run Monday to Friday: 9am to 11.45am without lunch, or 9am to 12.45pm with lunch. Afternoon sessions run Monday to Thursday: 1pm to 3.45pm without lunch, or noon to 3.45pm with lunch. Full days run from 9am to 3.45pm, Monday to Thursday, for children aged 3 and over, with lunch included in the pattern.

The minimum booking is two sessions on separate days each week, subject to places. Fee-paying settling sessions carry the full short-session charge even when a child's agreed attendance is shorter. Children start in September, January or April, with staggered starting dates rather than everyone beginning together.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01285 659117, by email to cog@opportunity-group.co.uk or through the contact form. Preschool tours can also be booked. Transition support includes passing information about additional needs and existing support to local schools; it concerns continuity of care and learning.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid hours are offered. Funding options include the universal 15 hours for children aged 3 and 4, eligible 15-hour offers for two-year-olds, and up to 30 hours for eligible children aged 2 to 4. Funding is delivered during term time and cannot be stretched into the holidays; COG cannot fulfil the entire 30 hours each week.

Ordinary meals and snacks are included at no charge for funded and fee-paying attendance, with voluntary donations welcomed towards food and other costs. Parents supply consumables such as nappies and sun cream, and celebrations and specialist activities currently carry no additional charge. Families needing special dietary items may be asked to provide them, so the food arrangement varies with individual requirements.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The sessions and fees page explains the attendance choices and charging structure.

• Term-time funding limits. Attendance covers 38 weeks, and COG cannot deliver all 30 funded hours. Families relying on that entitlement need to assess whether the actual session pattern meets their needs.
• Settling before lunch. Lunch is excluded for at least the first two weeks, and settling sessions may be shorter. At a tour, discuss how attendance will build up for your child and how this fits work or caring commitments.
• Quiet children and mathematical challenge. The October 2024 improvement points concerned learning during self-chosen play and opportunities in mathematics. Ask how staff now involve quieter children and extend those ready for more demanding number work.
• Individual participation and diet. Music Therapy requires referral, Water Play depends on funding, and dog contact requires consent. Discuss which activities suit your child, and confirm current allergy arrangements if food reactions or a specialist diet are relevant.

COG suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those wanting term-time full days for a child aged 3 or over. Its strongest practical appeal is the combination of early years education, family outreach and specific support mechanisms: adaptive equipment, individual music therapy and communication work sit alongside imaginative play and substantial outdoor space.

The October 2024 Good judgement supports that picture, but the learning concerns remain relevant questions for families. The other decisive issue is fit. A term-time timetable, gradual settling and a limit on funded hours require planning; for families whose arrangements match them, COG offers a preschool experience with unusually concrete routes to additional support.