West Hill Pre-School

A wildlife garden, Tuesday dance sessions with JW Dance and a parent-run charity give West Hill Pre-School a clear village identity. Its base is West Hill Village Hall in Beech Park, where indoor play and outdoor learning share the day. Children are accepted from two years until school age, and the setting has capacity for 22 children.

At its 20 October 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective. That dated judgement sits alongside a current offer built around child-led learning, regular movement activities and a key person for each child. Morning, afternoon and all-day attendance are offered during term time.

The charity is run by an elected volunteer committee, largely drawn from attending children's families. Parents can contribute to its management as well as their own child's experience. This is a setting where family involvement has a practical role.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage connects daily planning and observations with children's areas of learning and development: play, conversation, creative activities and physical experiences all contribute to the nursery day. Alongside that framework, West Hill is working towards Curiosity Approach accreditation, an approach centred on children choosing activities, following their interests and working things out themselves. It is a direction of travel, rather than completed accreditation.

Letters and Sounds brings speaking and listening activities into the daily routine. Painting, baking and craft add different ways to explore materials and ideas, while toys and equipment are reviewed against children's changing interests. For parents, the useful distinction is between a fixed collection of activities and resources that staff adjust as children's interests develop.

JW Dance runs a dance session on Tuesday mornings, bringing music and movement into the week. Yoga sessions alternate between Wednesdays and Fridays. These additions give movement a place beyond outdoor free play, although a child's attendance pattern will determine which sessions fall within their week.

In October 2022, imaginative play had a practical edge. Children weighed actual produce in a pretend farm shop, used paper and pencils during outdoor police role-play and constructed a dog kennel with bricks. Those examples connected make-believe with measuring, early writing and building, rather than treating them as separate lessons.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden includes hanging bars, a gravel pit, a sandpit and a wildlife garden. These provide different physical spaces and materials to explore. Outdoor play is part of the current daily offer, and the setting's approach treats learning outside as connected to what happens indoors.

In October 2022, children practised balance by moving between logs and experimented with water mixtures during pretend play. These are dated examples of how outdoor resources were used, rather than promises about a particular activity today.

West Hill Toddler Group provides a separate, parent-led gathering in the village hall's large upstairs room. It meets on term-time Mondays from 9am to 11am, with open play, crafts supervised by parents and singing. Children from birth to four attend with an accompanying adult, so this is a family group rather than a preschool childcare session.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person to support their start at preschool and their later move towards school. That gives families an identified practitioner for continuity through those changes. Staff are also available for conversations at the beginning or end of sessions, with other discussions arranged when convenient.

Updates and photographs are shared through the tapestry app, with a physical whiteboard providing another way to follow what is happening. This combines information families can revisit with brief notices at collection. Absence messages should be made by phone or text rather than through Facebook.

At the October 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that staff used their knowledge of individual children to shape learning, and that leaders worked with families and external agencies to obtain early help when needed. The current staff structure also includes SENDCO responsibilities. These are concrete support mechanisms, rather than a blanket promise about every child's needs.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The October 2022 findings also identified two weaknesses that matter for individual children. During some group activities, confident children dominated the answers while quieter children received too little encouragement; some sessions continued beyond children's attention spans. Procedures for sharing information with other childcare settings existed, but staff did not all understand how to use them consistently.

In October 2022, snack time involved children serving themselves drinks and buttering crackers. This gave everyday independence a practical setting. Current snacks take account of children's preferences; lunch choices and the charges attached to funded sessions are set out below.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 9.15am to 12.15pm, Monday to Friday. Afternoon sessions run from 12.15pm to 3.15pm on the same days and include lunchtime. Children may attend either session or stay all day. Preschool operates during term time, so its attendance model follows the school-year rhythm rather than year-round childcare.

Breakfast Club opens at 8am on weekdays and includes breakfast. Children aged three and over can attend before staying for their preschool session; the club also takes children to West Hill Primary School. After School Club operates on weekdays until 6pm, accepts children from age three and collects from that school, using the preschool room at the village hall.

The setting is at West Hill Village Hall, Beech Park, West Hill, Ottery St Mary, Devon EX11 1UQ. Telephone enquiries can be made on 07926 691995. The school collection and drop-off service is a practical childcare arrangement, not an admissions benefit.

Funding and Paid Extras

West Hill accepts government funding for eligible two-year-olds, the 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, and up to 30 hours for eligible children. The three- and four-year-old entitlement runs for 38 weeks, beginning in the term after a child's third birthday; working-entitlement and targeted two-year-old funding require an application. Delivery is term-time, and additional private hours are charged separately.

Children can bring lunch from home or have separately charged school dinners, ordered at the start of the day, with a scopay account set up and sufficient credit available. Breakfast is included in the Breakfast Club charge, while snacks are covered by the separate consumables charge during government-funded sessions.

That funded-session charge also covers sun cream, sundries and activities including gardening, cookery, arts and crafts, and music and movement. It applies to each funded morning or afternoon session; families wishing to opt out of the covered services or activities can discuss alternatives with the preschool. The condition matters: this charge is specifically attached to government-funded attendance.

Invoices for preschool fees are monthly, with alternative payment arrangements possible. Club sessions are paid in advance and invoiced at the beginning of each half term. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation; the sessions and funding page explains the charging structure.

• Quieter children in groups. In October 2022, less-confident children needed more encouragement to contribute, and some group activities ran too long. On a visit, ask how practitioners now involve children who prefer to watch before joining in.
• Care shared between settings. In October 2022, staff understanding of information-sharing procedures was inconsistent. Families using more than one childcare provider should discuss how learning information will pass between them.
• Funded-session extras. Snacks, sun cream and specified activities sit within a separate consumables charge for government-funded sessions. Review the written quotation and the alternatives offered for families choosing to opt out before agreeing an attendance pattern.
• The family committee. Volunteers help govern the charity, and family involvement is important to its operation. Consider whether occasional help or a committee role would fit your household's time and interests.

West Hill suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those combining both into an all-day preschool place. For children aged three and over, Breakfast Club and After School Club add another attendance option, including transport arrangements with West Hill Primary School.

Its strongest current details are easy to picture: a garden with varied play materials, Tuesday movement sessions from JW Dance, daily speaking and listening work through Letters and Sounds, and an identified key person. The Good judgement dates to October 2022, with specific concerns about quieter children's participation and coordination with other settings. Families whose priorities align with child-led play and an active role in a village charity have a clear basis for considering it.