Bradpole Preschool

A dedicated classroom overlooking school sports facilities gives Bradpole Preschool a recognisable setting, while parent involvement gives it its character. This charitable, non-profit preschool is run by a volunteer committee drawn mainly from parents and carers. Families can contribute to activities as well as to its management.

Bradpole welcomes children aged two to five and has capacity for 26 children. At its 15 March 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall, with Outstanding behaviour and attitudes. The practical offer centres on term-time care; the educational offer combines outdoor exploration, daily stories and music, and learning shaped around children's interests.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care, covering children's communication, physical development, relationships and early understanding through play. Bradpole builds its planning around children's interests and developmental stages, using observation to decide what to introduce next. Small-group stories and music happen daily, giving children opportunities to listen, join in and build confidence alongside their peers.

Its Curricular Goals make that approach concrete. Children work towards asking for help, resolving disagreements, explaining preferences and retelling a simple story. Physical aims include climbing safely and developing an effective tripod grip for writing, while creative work involves experimenting with different materials. These are useful everyday abilities, linking preparation for school with the practical business of playing and communicating with other children.

In March 2022, activities included examining small creatures, singing counting songs and comparing containers of rice. Adults expanded conversations with new vocabulary and allowed children time to respond. Book activities progressed from handling pages and discussing pictures towards participating in group stories. The examples show how familiar play materials became opportunities for language, number understanding and concentration.

Outdoor and Community Life

Inside, workshop areas organise the classroom, with free-flow play and an enclosed outdoor space extending children's choices. Forest School adds outdoor exploration and managed risk to the day. In March 2022, children used tools during Forest School activities. Separately, a weekly cooking activity explored healthy eating and hygiene.

Family participation is also tangible. Parents, carers and grandparents can help with cooking, read in the book corner, accompany walks and outings, or contribute to art activities. This gives families several ways to take part according to their interests. Involvement can also happen outside the preschool day, which matters for parents whose working hours prevent daytime participation.

Relationships and Communication

Key-person teams provide continuity: a member of each team attends every session. The key person helps a child settle, supports daily physical care and contributes to their learning journal. For families, the value is a familiar adult who knows the child, backed by a team arrangement rather than a relationship dependent on one person's attendance.

Tapestry, the digital learning journal, connects home and preschool through photographs, videos and written observations. Parents can comment on updates and contribute their own photographs and notes, including experiences from family outings. It provides a practical way to share the child's interests in both directions, so communication can include what happens at home as well as what happens during preschool.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described children with special educational needs and/or disabilities as fully included in the curriculum, with staff working alongside parents and outside agencies to support their progress. These findings belong to that inspection date. Current staff roles include a special educational needs and disability co-ordinator, a designated safeguarding lead and deputy safeguarding leads, giving these responsibilities an identified place in the team.

Staff take part in weekly training meetings and attend further courses. In March 2022, children helped one another with practical tasks, including fetching an apron for a younger child, and adults discussed feelings with them. However, adults sometimes finished tasks children could have completed themselves, and changes of routine could interrupt activities before children were ready. Giving children more time and warning them before transitions were the two improvement priorities.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, during term time, with closure in school holidays. That calendar is central to the decision: families needing holiday childcare will need arrangements that cover those breaks. Attendance can combine sessions, full days, breakfast, lunch and afterschool clubs. Funded attendance is limited to eight hours in one day at Bradpole, so the weekly entitlement needs to fit within that daily limit.

Getting There

The preschool occupies a classroom at the rear of the school on Ridgeway, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3DT. Telephone enquiries can be made on 01308 456668.

Links with local schools support the move into Reception. Sharing a school site does not guarantee a Reception place, and families still apply for a state-school place through the local authority admissions process. Preschool learning and transition support should therefore be considered separately from a school's admissions decision.

Funding and Paid Extras

Bradpole participates in the Nursery Education Grant Scheme and receives Universal 15-hour free child care funding covering 38 weeks of the year. The universal entitlement provides 15 hours each week from the term following a child's third birthday. Eligible working families can receive 30 hours a week for up to 38 weeks of the year; eligibility criteria include all parents living in the household working. In March 2022, it also received funding for early education for children aged two, three and four.

Snack contributions are voluntary: parents can opt out. Current prices should come in a written quotation from the preschool, allowing families to assess the cost alongside their intended attendance.

• Term-time calendar. Bradpole closes in school holidays and opens from 8am to 4pm on weekdays. Families whose work continues through the holidays need to account for that difference.
• Independence and transitions. The March 2022 priorities were allowing children enough time to complete tasks themselves and preparing them for routine changes. During a visit, look at how adults support these moments.
• A familiar adult. Key-person teams provide a familiar team member at each session, and Tapestry supports communication with home. A visit is an opportunity to discuss how that relationship develops during settling in.
• Funding and everyday costs. Participation in the Nursery Education Grant Scheme makes funding relevant to the budget. How would funded hours, paid attendance, meals and non-food consumables be arranged for your child's proposed week?

Bradpole suits families seeking term-time preschool for a child aged two to five, with full days or sessions combined with breakfast, lunch and afterschool clubs, especially those who value outdoor learning and an active role in preschool life. Daily stories and music, practical curricular goals and a shared digital journal give its offer substance. The Good judgement dates to March 2022, and its improvement priorities deserve attention alongside the praise. The strongest fit is a family whose childcare calendar matches term time and who wants a continuing relationship with the key-person team.