Swanland Nursery and Pre-school

Home adventures with Sunny the Swan and play inspired by children's airport stories give Swanland's preschool an individual character. In July 2024, children took the swan home with their families and made their own passports after talking about travel. Familiar experiences became material for conversation, drawing and shared play.

Ofsted rated Swanland Nursery and Pre-school Good at its 8 July 2024 inspection. The setting has capacity for 30 children at Christ Church, Main Street, Swanland, North Ferriby, HU14 3QR; children attending at that inspection were aged two to four. That total is a setting capacity, rather than the size of a single activity group.

Morning, afternoon, school-day-length and full-day sessions give families several attendance options. The strongest practical distinction is between this Christ Church preschool and the baby and toddler provision at separate West End addresses.

Rooms and Ages

The Old School Room at Christ Church houses preschool provision. Its Pre School description gives an age band of three to four, with children able to move between different play spaces and choose experiences that interest them. That freedom gives children a say in how their day develops, rather than requiring everyone to follow the same activity.

Baby and toddler provision belongs to the West End sites, including The Old Cow Shed. Those locations matter when choosing care: a baby-room description should not be read as an account of the Christ Church preschool. Families considering a move between age groups need to think about the site as well as the room.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the expectations for children's learning, development and care. Here, children explore through play, with planned experiences adjusted when their interests take a different direction. The framework is the foundation; the concrete detail is how staff respond to what children want to investigate.

In July 2024, an airport conversation led to passport-making, with children describing themselves and drawing their pictures. Story sessions used puppets and other objects to connect spoken words with the story, while children joined familiar passages and recalled what had happened. These examples put conversation and participation alongside making and listening.

Mathematics needed more attention at that date. Children counted animals, but number work did not enter everyday play consistently enough. The improvement priority was to make mathematical ideas part of more ordinary activities, rather than leave them in isolated examples.

Outdoor and Community Life

In July 2024, children chose between indoor and outdoor play and practised managing their own coats and shoes. A bus outing to buy a fish extended their experiences beyond the setting, followed by feeding and cleaning responsibilities. The outing had a practical sequel.

Sunny the Swan also connected nursery life with home. Children took the swan away with their families and returned with adventures to recount. It gave them a familiar subject to share, linking family experiences with conversation among children and staff.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person: a practitioner responsible for supporting their development and serving as the main contact for parents or carers. This gives families an identified relationship for discussing their child, rather than relying entirely on whoever happens to be available.

In July 2024, parents received developmental updates through an electronic app as well as everyday conversations. Staff encouraged children to recognise when a friend was upset and respond with care. Practical independence also featured in the day, including serving meals and peeling fruit for snacks.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities successful, with staff and parents developing support plans together. The useful detail is the partnership behind those plans: children's needs informed the strategies used to support their emotional wellbeing.

A SENCO role is part of the staff structure, alongside manager and deputy-manager roles. In July 2024, handwashing before food and disposing of lunchtime rubbish were familiar routines. Care also had a point to improve: waits before activities and meals sometimes caused children to lose interest, making the organisation of transitions an important question for families.

Sessions and Attendance

The preschool address is The Old School Room, Christ Church, Main Street, Swanland, North Ferriby, HU14 3QR. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Enquiries can be made through the contact form.

The session choices are 7.30am to 5.30pm, 9am to 3pm, 9am to noon and noon to 3pm. Collection at 6pm after the full-day session involves additional paid time. Both term-time and all-year attendance are offered, so the session choice and the calendar choice are separate decisions.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded 15- and 30-hour places are offered, with no more than 10 funded hours used in a session. Funding can be applied to different combinations of the stated sessions. Additional time beyond the funded arrangement is paid separately, including the extension from 5.30pm to 6pm.

For funded attendance, food and non-food consumables are charged through optional session packages; parents may instead supply their child's food, drinks and non-food items. Preschool packages differ by session, with full-day provision covering breakfast, lunch, snacks and snack tea, while shorter sessions have different contents.

The opt-out matters as much as the package: families can choose to bring their own supplies. The full policy is provided at induction, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the funding information explains the session and package structure.

• Age bands and separate sites. Preschool ages are given as two to four in introductory information, three to four in one childcare description and three to five in another. Ask which group and site your child would join, especially around a move from toddler provision to Christ Church.
• Everyday mathematics and waiting. July 2024 improvement priorities concerned number work during play and time spent waiting before activities or meals. During a visit, ask how both have been addressed in the preschool day.
• Funded sessions and supplies. The full-day session ends at 5.30pm, with paid additional time for a 6pm collection; consumables packages are optional. Agree the collection time and whether you will use a package or provide supplies before settling the attendance plan.

Swanland suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions as well as a 9am-to-3pm day or a full-day arrangement, with term-time and all-year options. The Christ Church setting deserves consideration for its child-led play and identified key-person relationship, alongside the dated examples of storytelling, practical independence and family participation. The July 2024 priorities around mathematics and waiting provide useful points for a visit. Choosing the right age group and site is equally important here.