Sunflowers at St Peters

An exclusive garden and flower planting in the Abbey Grounds give Sunflowers at St Peters a recognisably Cirencester character. This church-hall playgroup combines outdoor activity with an emphasis on conversation, independence and relationships. Its community work with Phoenix Gardeners takes children’s learning beyond the hall: helping to plant flowers gives them a practical part in caring for a shared place.

At its May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Sunflowers Good and found safeguarding effective, with children making good progress and forming close relationships with staff. The same assessment identified two priorities: more consistent responses to disagreements and greater challenge for children whose learning was already more advanced. Both matter when weighing the setting’s strengths.

Sunflowers has capacity for 30 children, with a current age range of 24 to 60 months. Attendance is term-time, with morning sessions and longer days ending in the early afternoon. This is a playgroup with a defined weekly rhythm, rather than care extending into the evening.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS, or Early Years Foundation Stage, provides the statutory framework: children develop communication, physical skills and emotional understanding alongside early reading, mathematics, creativity and knowledge of the world. Sunflowers starts with relationships, language and physical development before building further learning around those foundations. For a child beginning group care, that puts communicating needs and becoming comfortable with other people ahead of isolated academic tasks.

Curriculum Goals make the day’s intentions concrete. Stories and conversations develop understanding; sharing ideas gives children practice expressing themselves. Early writing includes making meaningful marks, while mathematics involves number understanding and reasoning. Creative work asks children to respond to what they see and hear.

The Three I's is Sunflowers’ way of organising planning, teaching and reviewing learning. Children’s chosen play sits alongside activities initiated by adults, and staff use observations to discuss interests and next steps. A daily activity book helps the team keep track of what has happened. The practical value is continuity: experiences can inform the next activity rather than disappear at the end of a session.

In May 2023, younger children practised language through adults repeating and clarifying their words, songs during imaginative play and conversations around stories. However, opportunities to take learning further were sometimes missed for more advanced children. A busy, enjoyable activity and a sufficiently demanding one are not necessarily the same thing.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Sunflower garden is reserved for the setting’s use. Children can play outside across the weather, with room for gardening, sport and active games, plus quieter places for conversation or a rest. That combination gives outdoor time more than one purpose: energetic play and a calmer pause can both happen there.

In May 2023, garden play included pedalling cars, climbing ladders and moving gravel between containers. An improvised car wash brought physical movement together with cooperative pretend play. These were practical opportunities to use coordination, persistence and shared ideas, rather than separate exercises in each skill.

Since 2021, Sunflowers has volunteered with Phoenix Gardeners in the Abbey Grounds, joining in flower planting. This makes community involvement tangible for young children. They contribute to a place used by other people, not just hear about helping others.

Relationships and Communication

Settling is shaped around children’s individual circumstances. In May 2023, staff gathered information from families before children started, and home visits were offered when a child needed extra settling time. Conversations between children and adults also allowed children to share their experiences. Those details describe a relationship built through listening, rather than a single standard settling timetable.

Parents take part in completing the Progress Check at age 2, which reviews their child’s development. Consent is needed before these documents are sent to schools or other professionals. Family knowledge therefore has a place in the assessment, and information sharing has an explicit permission step.

Stay & Play provides another form of family involvement: a Tuesday term-time gathering in the main hall, with toys, a craft table and a closing period of songs and instruments. Adults attend alongside children. It is a separate activity from the booked childcare sessions, with its own charge, and gives families a shared play experience rather than another drop-off pattern.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In May 2023, care routines included asking younger children before a nappy change, explaining handwashing and helping children manage everyday tasks such as putting away belongings. Small actions like these give children practice taking responsibility while adults remain involved in their care.

Morning snacks are included in the childcare charge and comprise vegetables, fruit, pitta and organic milk; drinking water is provided during snacks and through the session. Children are encouraged to bring a water bottle and also practise drinking from a cup.

Families supply nappies and wipes when needed, plus sun cream in hot weather. A spare outfit, clothing suitable for wet weather and a cold-weather coat belong in the child’s labelled bag. This fits a day that includes messy activities and outdoor play: clothes need to be practical, and children need replacements when play becomes wet or mucky.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St Peter's Catholic Church Hall, St Peter's Road, Cirencester, GL7 1RE. Sunflowers opens Monday to Thursday, 8.30am to 2.30pm, during term time, for 38 weeks each year.

Four booking windows are offered: mornings from 8.30am or 9am until 12.30pm, and longer term-time days from either start time until 2.30pm.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, and a registration form is used to apply. For funded attendance, sessions cannot be changed once the term’s funding paperwork has been completed. Choosing the pattern therefore needs to take account of the family’s routine across the term, not just the first few weeks.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use 15 or 30 funded hours a week, delivered over the 38-week term-time year. Additional hours beyond the funded entitlement are charged privately. Funding paperwork must be signed early in each term, and families using 30-hour funding must renew before the end of August for autumn, December for spring and March for summer.

Morning food and drink, together with activity resources, are covered by the childcare charge. Funded-hours-only attendance carries no additional charge for those items; the setting also invites help with a creative-materials wish list. Parents still bring their child’s personal consumables, including nappies, wipes and sun cream, so the funded offer and the bag packed at home are separate responsibilities.

Invoices are issued each term, with monthly payment accepted. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the payment and funding terms explain the charge structure. Six weeks’ notice is required when leaving, and fees remain payable for booked time missed through sickness or a family holiday.

• Challenge and disagreements. The May 2023 improvement priorities concerned extending advanced learners and handling minor conflicts consistently. At a visit, ask how staff now adapt an activity for a child ready to move further and help children understand the effect of their actions.
• A four-day, term-time week. Monday-to-Thursday opening and a 2.30pm finish shape the childcare offer. Families needing Friday, school-holiday or later-afternoon care need to account for those parts of their week separately.
• Committing to a session pattern. Funded sessions are fixed once the term’s forms are completed, and leaving requires six weeks’ notice. Consider likely changes to work or family routines before choosing the booking windows.
• Outdoor clothes earn their keep. All-weather garden play and messy activities call for labelled spare clothes and weather protection. A child’s bag needs to support the practical day, not just carry their belongings.

Sunflowers suits families seeking either a morning playgroup session or a longer term-time day finishing at 2.30pm. The exclusive garden and planting with Phoenix Gardeners give its outdoor and community life substance, while its planning approach connects children’s interests with adults’ next steps.

The May 2023 Good judgement offers a positive inspection position with clear qualifications. Consistency during disagreements and sufficient challenge for advanced learners deserve attention alongside the strengths in relationships and practical play. For families whose routines fit the four-day week, the appeal is specific: a church-hall playgroup with outdoor space, community participation and a straightforward funded-hours charge structure.