Mosterton Preschool

Real objects, natural materials and a shared room give Mosterton Preschool a clear character: children have room to decide what their play becomes, rather than working towards an adult’s chosen finished product. A garden extends that approach outdoors. This is a village preschool built around curiosity and growing independence.

Mosterton welcomes children aged two to four and has 28 places in total. Its charity committee is largely made up of parents, giving families a practical role in how the setting runs. At its July 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found effective safeguarding and positive support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Attendance is term time only, with full-day, morning and afternoon options plus Breakfast Club. The combination offers several ways to arrange a preschool week, rather than requiring every child to follow the same length of day.

Rooms and Ages

Children learn together in one spacious room, with areas arranged for imaginative play, sensory exploration and investigating materials. The shared layout matters: choosing an activity happens within a common space rather than through a sequence of separate age rooms. For parents, the useful distinction is between the activities within the room and the outdoor opportunities beyond it.

The garden and other outdoor space give children opportunities to move, explore nature and develop their own play. Indoors, themed tables and small-world activities offer starting points for ideas. Adults support children’s interests, while real items and natural resources can take on whatever meaning children give them. The emphasis is on exploring a possibility, rather than producing matching results.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage connects children’s play with their learning and development, including becoming more independent and ready for the next stage. Mosterton’s approach adds a concrete emphasis on materials children can investigate and use imaginatively. A child’s interests help shape the activity; a predetermined end product does not.

In July 2022, children explored fruit and vegetables with kitchen equipment, including graters and cutting tools, under staff supervision. Conversations about growing herbs and vegetables connected those investigations with the natural world. These were practical experiences: children could handle materials and discuss what they were doing, rather than only hearing an explanation.

During that same month, number learning included songs and problems supported by objects. Group discussions gave children opportunities to consider feelings and solve problems together. These examples show how language, early mathematics and relationships could be woven into everyday activity, rather than confined to separate teaching slots.

Outdoor and Community Life

In July 2022, children practised recycling and saving water as part of learning to look after their surroundings. That gave environmental ideas a practical form: children participated in caring for the place they used.

The current outdoor offer centres on the garden and space for active, open-ended play. Its value sits alongside the shared indoor room: children have both materials to investigate inside and opportunities to explore nature outside.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a named key worker, giving parents a particular member of staff with whom to discuss their child. An Interests sheet completed each half term brings achievements and interests from home into that relationship. It offers staff something specific to build on, especially when a child’s favourite activity or emerging interest changes.

Termly parent meetings provide time to discuss the child’s Learning Journey file. Families can also borrow Home Learning Packs and books from the lending library, so shared activities can continue at home. Meetings about the progress check at age two provide another opportunity for parents and the key worker to discuss development.

Termly newsletters cover preschool activity, dates, celebrations and fundraising. They complement the individual conversations: one keeps families informed about the setting as a whole, while the other concerns their own child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The manager also holds the SEN Lead role, and the team includes practitioners with level 3 qualifications. All staff have first aid training, and a safeguarding lead role is in place. These are identifiable arrangements for support and responsibility, rather than a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement.

In July 2022, everyday care included children serving snacks, tidying afterwards and managing washing and toileting routines with support. Independence was practised through ordinary tasks. Children also had opportunities to listen to one another and talk about how they felt.

In July 2022, leaders were asked to make the key-person arrangement more consistent for short-term placements and strengthen staff confidence in assessing progress, so assessments could better inform subsequent learning. Both points matter to families: a familiar adult and a clear understanding of development should support the child’s experience, including during a shorter stay.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Fairoak Way, Mosterton, Beaminster, Dorset, DT8 3JQ. Opening hours are 8am to 3.15pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email.

Breakfast Club runs from 8am to 8.45am and provides toast or cereal before the main session. The All Day Session runs from 8.45am to 3.15pm. Morning sessions last from 8.45am to 11.45am, with a lunch extension until 12.15pm.

Afternoon attendance can begin at 12.15pm and finish at 3.15pm, or start at 11.45am to include lunch and finish at 3.15pm. These are meaningful alternatives for families choosing a shorter session or a day spanning lunch. The waiting-list process uses an application form sent to the preschool.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered over 38 weeks. The entitlements include 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds from the term after their third birthday, with 30 hours for eligible working families; eligible two-year-olds can access 15 hours. Eligibility conditions apply, and parents obtain and renew any required code.

Private hours beyond the funded entitlement are charged separately. Breakfast Club is also paid separately and falls outside government funding. A separate daily charge covers fruit and activity consumables, including craft materials and cooking ingredients, alongside funded or private attendance.

The preschool handles funding claims, with parents signing a funding form each term. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the sessions, fees and funding page explains the charge structure.

In July 2022, Mosterton was situated on the site of Parrett and Axe Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School. Preschool attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Continuity for a shorter placement. The July 2022 improvement point concerned consistency in the key-person arrangement for short-term attendance. On a visit, ask how that relationship is established and maintained for your intended pattern.
• A term-time timetable. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions offer choice, but opening ends at 3.15pm and follows term time. Match both the collection time and holiday arrangements to your working week.
• Shared-space learning. Children aged two to four use one room, alongside the outdoor areas. During a visit, ask how activities are adapted when younger and older children need different support.
• Charges alongside funding. Breakfast Club sits outside funded hours, and fruit and activity consumables carry a separate daily charge. Include those categories when comparing the total cost of your chosen attendance pattern.

Mosterton suits families seeking term-time preschool with either morning or afternoon attendance, as well as those choosing the full-day session and an earlier start through Breakfast Club. Its strongest practical identity is the combination of a shared room, outdoor space and play using real materials.

Parent involvement has substance here: key-worker conversations, Interests sheets, Home Learning Packs and a parent-led committee give families several ways to participate. The Good judgement dates to July 2022; its improvement points concerned continuity for short-term placements and staff confidence in assessing progress. The decision turns on whether the shared-space approach and term-time timetable fit your child and family.