Little Poppies Pre School

A pumpkin patch, butterfly hatching and dance routines give Little Poppies Pre School a recognisable character: children learn by making, moving and investigating. Based in Mickleover’s Royal British Legion building, it combines an open indoor space with an enclosed outdoor play area. The offer is for children aged 2 to 5, with capacity for 35 children overall. That whole-setting figure should not be read as the size of a teaching group.

At its 24 March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised support for language and mathematical learning, while identifying weaknesses in group activities and opportunities for children to solve problems independently. Those qualifications matter alongside the grade. This is a preschool with concrete learning experiences and structured parent communication, rather than a judgement that settles every question about daily practice.

Attendance runs during term time, with flexible hours as well as the term-time session window. The practical attraction is the ability to arrange attendance around family needs, subject to maintaining continuity for children.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning through play and adult-guided activities. Personal and social development, communication and physical skills lead into literacy, mathematics, creative work and understanding the world: school preparation starts with relationships, language and independence.

Little Group introduces experiences through messy play and guided activities; Big Group extends them towards school. Big Group, for the year before Reception, has a cap of 18, subject to change, and circle time with stories and listening activities.

Talk Boost provides communication interventions through trained staff, alongside speech and language referrals where needed. Objects and symbols support communication when required; stories, songs, narration and open questions bring language into everyday play.

A climbing frame, trikes and scooters exercise larger movements; threading, cutting and painting develop hand control. Morning and afternoon Wake and Shake dance routines add shared movement. A pretend shop, scales and pouring equipment make mathematics practical, while paper, pencils and factual books connect literacy with activities.

In March 2023, children counted in play and explored measurement with sand. However, adults sometimes stepped in before children could find their own solutions, and younger children sometimes disengaged from group activities. Resources need to be matched by thinking time and activities suited to each child’s stage.

Outdoor and Community Life

The enclosed outdoor area supports growing fruit and vegetables, garden planting and plants to take home. Nature walks explore seasonal changes; butterfly hatching and sea-monkey observations introduce life cycles.

Past visitors include Tesco representatives discussing healthy living and food tasting, an ambulance, a fire engine and a vet with giant tortoises. These experiences make occupations and living things concrete.

The voluntary contribution supports seed planting, bird feeders and cake or biscuit decorating. A past Halloween pumpkin patch offered different sizes and colours, with older children using hammers and nails: practical opportunities to investigate materials and create.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated before settling, with a back-up where possible. Parents agree a settling plan, matched where possible to that adult’s working hours, giving families continuity and a clear contact.

A pre-start parent meeting accompanies stay-and-play. Families and the keyworker complete All About Me, recording preferences to help settling. An initial assessment and meeting address settling and concerns; termly assessments, required progress checks or school-transition reports provide further parent discussions.

In March 2023, daily discussions and parent meetings supported communication about learning, while children practised opening lunch containers themselves. Dressing, handwashing and toileting when ready remain part of the current curriculum: independence includes everyday care.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support has a defined route through the key person and SENCO or manager. Parents contribute to assessment and planning, and a SEN action plan sets out the support, who provides it and when it will be reviewed. Reviews are agreed at least termly. External advice and inclusion-funding applications form part of the process when a child’s needs require additional support.

For children with more complex SEND, the admissions policy links the start date to preparations such as staff training, risk assessment and a health care plan. Families and relevant agencies are kept informed while those preparations proceed. This is a practical mechanism for planning access; it should not be read as a general guarantee about how every individual need will be met.

Behaviour support begins with understanding the child and involving parents. The policy excludes punitive isolation and uses a stepped response when difficulties persist, with the key person and SENCO considering possible triggers and agreed adjustments. For children with ongoing medical needs, a health care plan is completed with parents and reviewed every six months, or more often when necessary.

School preparation includes a transition report, and development records can be passed to the receiving school with parental consent. That helps information about learning and care travel with the child.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is the Community Wing of the Royal British Legion Building, 30 Poppyfields Drive, Mickleover, DE3 9GB. The preschool operates Monday to Friday in term time, with sessions running from 8am to 4.30pm and flexible hours arranged around family needs. Flexibility is conditional on preserving a stable attendance pattern for children; it is not a promise of unrestricted changes.

Contracted days cannot be swapped, and attending on a different day incurs an additional charge. One month’s notice is required to leave or reduce contracted hours. These terms make the agreed weekly pattern worth considering carefully, especially for families whose working days change frequently. Contact is by telephone on 07789393172 or email at littlepoppies@googlemail.com.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes Flying Start for 2 year olds, Expanded 30 hours funding for 2 year olds, universal funding for three- and four-year-olds and Extended 30 hours for 3 & 4 year olds. Eligibility conditions apply to the relevant schemes, including a code for the expanded and extended entitlements. Delivery is term time. Additional private hours are charged separately, and purchasing hours beyond the funded entitlement is optional.

For funded children, a separately invoiced voluntary contribution covers snacks, celebration food, hand-and-face wipes, nappy sacks, sun cream and enhanced activities; the activities are itemised at the start of each term. Parents supply nappy cream when required. The contribution is separate from contracted extra childcare hours, so families should distinguish those two parts of the arrangement. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Families send packed lunches, while staff prepare snacks twice daily and offer milk or water; snacks for funded children fall within the voluntary contribution. The allergy policy provides for individual action plans and shared dietary information, and states that nuts and nut products are generally avoided.

• Group learning and thinking time. The March 2023 improvement points concerned younger children’s engagement and adults allowing children to work problems out themselves. During a visit, ask how activities now differ between Little Group and Big Group, and how staff decide when to help.
• Term-time flexibility. Attendance ends at 4.30pm and operates during term time, while contracted days cannot be exchanged. Consider how that fits working hours and holiday care before agreeing a pattern.
• The oldest group. Big Group has a cap of 18, subject to change. Ask how its shared activities work alongside the younger group within the open indoor space.
• Food and additional costs. Packed lunches come from home, with funded snacks and specified supplies covered by a voluntary contribution. Families managing allergies should confirm current food-handling practice and the individual action plan before starting.

Little Poppies suits families seeking either a term-time day session or flexible hours for a child aged 2 to 5, with play, movement and communication given substantial attention. Wake and Shake, garden planting and practical investigations give the learning offer substance, while key-person settling and termly discussions provide a clear route for parent involvement.

The main considerations are equally concrete: term-time operation, a 4.30pm finish, contractual limits on changing days and the March 2023 concerns about group engagement and independent problem-solving. Families who value this attendance model and an open setting should give those everyday teaching questions proper weight alongside the Good judgement.