St Catherine's Pre School

A wooden cabin, a garden for growing and a Forest School corner give St Catherine's Pre School in Bridport a clear identity: children learn by handling, making and exploring. The REAL STUFF curriculum brings cooking, gardening, sewing and woodwork into preschool life. Mud is part of the proposition.

At the 16 September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Good overall, with Outstanding behaviour and attitudes, effective safeguarding and exceptionally strong support for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Those findings matter alongside the outdoor offer: the attraction is both practical exploration and the relationships that help children participate.

There are 20 places in total, and the preschool welcomes children aged 2-5 years. Morning, afternoon and all-day attendance can be combined during term time, with breakfast and late collection extending the day. This is a preschool on school premises, with its own parent-led management committee, rather than an automatic route into Reception.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets statutory requirements for care and learning: communication, physical development and relationships, alongside literacy, maths, creativity and understanding the world. REAL STUFF adds practical experiences within that framework. Children grow and harvest plants, cook with their produce and collect seed for another season; they also make paint and playdough.

Activities follow children's interests rather than set topics. Staff extend ideas during play, recording some exchanges in Learning Journey files. At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted identified a need for more precise questions and clearer explanations to uncover misunderstandings and extend children's reasoning.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School, practical exploration outdoors, runs on two mornings weekly, with days rotating half-termly. The mud mound, rope swing and slackline offer practice in balance and cooperation, alongside tools, den-making and fire cooking. Kelly Kettle activities put safety rules into practice: children collect palm-sized sticks; once familiar with the kettle and its safety rules, they may add fuel when invited by an adult.

A half-termly morning trip to Charmouth Beach includes floating handmade boats and exploring pools when the tide allows. Children test movement and floating directly. Walks to Coneygar Hill or Cooper’s Circle require separate parental consent.

Bake & Share brings cooking, weighing and vocabulary together once each half-term, on a rotating day. Children cook a main course and pudding for themselves and staff; those attending lunch that day need no packed meal.

Rooms and Ages

The main cabin has underfloor heating, and its kitchen opens onto the playroom so staff can remain in contact with children while working there. Children choose between indoor and outdoor play. Outside, raised beds, a shaded sandpit, a wooden playhouse and a mud kitchen support growing, building and imaginative play; the patio provides space for trikes and scooters.

The Garden Room provides a quieter setting for individual work, small groups and sensory breaks, with books, instruments and a sofa. Its value is the alternative it offers to the busier play spaces: a child can wind down, and families and professionals have somewhere to meet.

Relationships and Communication

Two Stay and Play sessions introduce children and parents to their key person, alongside a Welcome Evening and optional home visit. September starts are staggered to accommodate individual needs; parents may stay during settling.

A written progress check follows within six weeks, incorporating parents' comments and shared with the Health Visiting Team. Learning Journey folders hold photographs, drawings and assessments, with children adding their own contributions. Occasional key-person emails share observations; Shared Care Books, travelling notebooks, or agreed email contact connect home, preschool and other carers.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Language support has several practical routes. WellComm screenings help the key person identify language needs and arrange support. Wilbur’s Group uses structured Narrative Therapy sessions, songs and a picture timeline to support speech, listening, attention and turn-taking; Signalong signing helps communication within the group.

The SENCo works with families, key persons and outside professionals. Individual Plans set out steps for preschool and home and are reviewed with parents termly. A Team Around the Family meeting can bring the people involved together, making it easier to coordinate support rather than leaving parents with separate conversations. Wheelchair access, an accessible toilet and nappy-changing facilities support participation in the physical setting.

Children can start while still using nappies, and staff work with parents on toilet training. Families supply spare nappies and wipes when needed. In warmer months, children must wear eight-hour sun cream and a sunhat; where that cream is unsuitable, staff arrange reapplication using preschool or parent-supplied cream. Waterproof dungarees and wellies are allocated to each child and kept at preschool, giving outdoor play a practical place in the routine.

Operation Encompass connects the preschool with police notifications about children who have experienced domestic abuse, allowing trained safeguarding adults to use that information confidentially when supporting them. Medication arrangements require families to disclose conditions and prescriptions; where specialist training is needed, a child's start may depend on its completion. These are specific arrangements parents can discuss against their child's needs.

Sessions and Attendance

At The Cabin, Pymore Road, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3TR, opening hours are 8.00am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday in term time. School holidays and Bank Holidays are closures. Mornings, afternoons and all-day attendance can be combined, with breakfast club from 8.00am and late pick-up at 3.30pm. The minimum is two sessions weekly on different days.

September is the main intake, with waiting-list entry required by 15 January; January starts are considered under specific age, benefit or exceptional-circumstance conditions. Applications use the application form. Applications normally exclude children attending another preschool, with exceptions for childminders and daycare nurseries without an attached preschool; the manager may consider exceptional reasons for admission. Four weeks' term-time notice applies to leaving or changing sessions; private fees continue during absences.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding covers 38 term-time weeks: 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds from the term after their third birthday, 30 hours for eligible working families with children of those ages, and eligible two-year-old 15-hour routes. Extra hours are charged; parents obtain and renew required codes, with claims handled by preschool through termly agreements.

Snacks are separately charged, including during funded attendance, with a long-term parent-supplied alternative; families normally bring lunch, and allergy arrangements include advance information and substitutions. Washingpool Farm supplies snack produce and Hangers Dairy supplies milk.

Families supply nappies and wipes when needed, including on funded places. Football, Charmouth Beach, Cooper's Circle and Bake & Share request voluntary contributions. The refundable deposit can be returned on starting or offset against uniform, fees or voluntary activity charges. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation; the funding and fees page explains charges.

Getting There

Families are asked to avoid blocking school gates or parking on school road markings. The advice is to park farther away and follow the path to preschool, so allow for that part of collection arrangements.

Transition support includes visits from Reception teachers and a Transition to School sheet carrying parents' views and any additional support needs. Although the preschool occupies school premises, attendance does not guarantee a place at St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School. Families apply for Reception through Dorset Council's admissions process.

• Outdoor mornings. Forest School runs twice weekly and its days rotate half-termly. At a visit, discuss how a proposed morning, afternoon or mixed pattern fits those sessions and the clothing needed for outdoor learning.
• Teaching during exploration. The September 2025 improvement point concerned questioning and explanations. Ask how staff now identify a misunderstanding and extend a child's thinking during REAL STUFF activities.
• Joining and shared care. The minimum is two sessions across different days, with a September intake and a restriction on attending another preschool. Discuss the application against your existing care arrangements before planning a combination.
• Allergies and medical preparation. Food substitutions and medication forms are part of the arrangements, and some medicines require staff training before a child starts. Confirm current food practice and any preparation needed for your child's condition.

St Catherine's suits families seeking mornings, afternoons or all-day term-time attendance centred on practical outdoor learning. Forest School and Charmouth Beach give that preference substance; the Garden Room and language support provide quieter alternatives and targeted help.

The September 2025 findings support its relationships, inclusion and behaviour, while identifying a teaching improvement point. The intake timetable and shared-care restriction make practical fit an essential part of the decision.