Tickton Pre-School and Play Pals

Listening games, rhyming objects and books shared between home and pre-school give Tickton Pre-School and Play Pals a clear character: early language developed through play, with parents involved in the learning. Its village-hall setting combines pre-school education with Play Pals, the before- and after-school service. The two offers serve different stages of family life.

Ofsted rated the setting Outstanding at its inspection on 29 March 2022. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of every aspect of the current day. The pre-school takes children aged two to five and has 40 places in total; Play Pals also serves older children. Morning sessions, afternoon sessions and full-day care operate during term time.

A key person for each child, session-by-session conversations and home-learning ideas keep parents involved in both care and learning.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop language, movement, relationships and early understanding through play, indoors and outside. It is the common foundation for early-years provision. Tickton adds detail through its own planning and literacy activities.

P.L.O.D (Possible Lines of Development) is a flexible planning approach built around children's next steps and interests. Seasonal ideas provide starting points, but plans can change as children introduce new interests. Parents, carers and children can contribute ideas too. That gives a fascination from home a route into the pre-school's activities, rather than requiring every child to follow an identical theme.

Letters and Sounds: Phase One Planning develops listening, rhyme and awareness of sounds through games and songs. Sound Lotto asks children to recognise sounds using recordings or an adult-led game, with cards and counters in a quiet listening space. Rhyming Soup uses objects whose names rhyme, a bowl and a wooden spoon. These are concrete ways to practise hearing differences and patterns in language before tackling print.

Other activities explore voice sounds, sound patterns and joining spoken sounds into words, with readiness taken into account. The literacy approach also includes comfortable spaces for sharing books, puppets to animate stories and conversation that introduces unfamiliar vocabulary. Listening and speaking have a clear place alongside early reading.

In March 2022, children used an interactive whiteboard for counting and experimented with pastels. They also invented play with cardboard boxes and used garden herbs to make pretend potions. Those examples show the balance at that time between adult-organised activities and children's own ideas: a counting task could sit beside an imaginative game made from ordinary materials.

Outdoor and Community Life

Indoor and outdoor play are part of the day, with supervised access between the two. Mud kitchens, water play, construction and making play dough give children different materials to handle and explore. Practical clothes and a spare outfit make sense here. The activities can be messy, and outdoor clothing is needed for changing weather.

The lending library takes books and educational materials home; home link books let families and practitioners exchange information about children's experiences.

Relationships and Communication

Settling follows each family's needs. A key person provides the main contact, with a buddy covering their absence so support has a planned alternative.

Parents can discuss each session with the key person. Telephone updates during settling, and calls from parents, help maintain contact while a child adjusts to separation.

Home link books, individual meetings and parent workshops extend that contact. Families can share observations as well as receive them. Translation can be organised with FISH (Family Information Service), giving families who need language support a practical way to take part in discussions about their child.

Parents also have a role in how the setting runs. The parent committee elects its officers at the Annual General Meeting, discusses the running of the pre-school and organises fundraising. It also acts as the employer. This is a route for families to contribute to decisions about resources and the organisation, beyond conversations about their own child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and exceptional progress for children with SEND, supported by adapted activities and specialist collaboration. This gives parents a dated reference for the quality of support.

Assess, Plan, Do, and Review means identifying needs, agreeing support, delivering it and evaluating its effect. Individual Support Plans set personalised next steps, reviewed with families and professionals. The SENCO coordinates the process; the key person provides daily support, allowing plans to respond to progress.

School transition is part of that planning. Information is shared with the receiving setting or school, and support can be reviewed before the move. In March 2022, staff also accompanied families of children with SEND on school visits to help plan the transition. This was practical preparation for the next setting, rather than an admissions advantage.

Everyday independence featured in March 2022 too: children helped with snacks, cleaned their dishes and practised personal-care tasks. Small responsibilities made care routines part of learning. Parents supply nappies, training pants and wipes when needed, and apply sun cream before attendance in hot weather; staff provide top-up cream during the day with parental permission.

Sessions and Attendance

At Tickton Village Hall, Main Street, Tickton, Beverley, HU17 9RZ, pre-school opens 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, during term time.

Morning pre-school sessions run from 9.15am to 12.15pm, and afternoon sessions from 12.15pm to 3.15pm. Full-day care is another option. For eligible families using 30-hour funding, a booking option is three ten-hour days from 7.30am to 5.30pm; another is four days from 8.30am to 4pm.

Play Pals provides care from 7.30am until school drop-off, then collects from Tickton Primary School at 3.30pm for care until 5.30pm. It follows Tickton CE Primary School's opening days and can also drop children at school clubs and collect them afterwards. The collection service has a specific school connection; it should not be read as a promise of transport from any school.

Children with two shift-working parents can use flexible paid care by arrangement with the manager. Funded sessions remain fixed, an important distinction for changing rotas.

Admission forms are followed by confirmation of the start date and sessions two months before the requested start. A registration form and contract then secure the agreed place. One month's notice is required to change sessions or end the contract, and a requested session change depends on availability. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone on 01964 501744 or by email at info@ticktonpreschool.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Tickton accepts 30 Hours funding, 15 hours funding and Two Year funding, delivered during term time. The 30-hour funded offer carries no additional top-up costs; eligibility still determines whether a family can use it. Additional paid care is separate from that entitlement, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Families provide packed lunches for full-day care and afternoon pre-school sessions, while healthy snacks are supplied daily. Parents also provide the personal consumables their child needs, including nappies and wipes. These responsibilities are part of planning what to send with the child, alongside spare clothes and suitable outdoor clothing.

• Term-time fit. Pre-school closes for school holidays, and Play Pals follows the primary school's opening days. Families needing holiday childcare will need an arrangement that covers those periods.
• Fixed funding, flexible paid care. Funded sessions are fixed; flexible paid attendance is for children with two shift-working parents and must be discussed with the manager. Choose a pattern that can work consistently, allowing for the month's notice needed for changes.
• A supported first separation. Free trial sessions can include both parent and child, and settling is tailored to the family. During a visit, discuss how the key person and buddy would introduce routines for your child.
• Packed lunches and individual needs. Lunch comes from home for full-day and afternoon attendance. Families managing allergies should discuss lunch handling and snack arrangements during their visit.

Tickton suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon pre-school sessions, as well as those wanting full-day care or school-linked Play Pals provision. Its language activities have substance: listening games, rhyme, books and adaptable planning give parents a clear picture of how learning is organised.

Key-person buddies and regular parent contact support settling and additional needs. The March 2022 Outstanding judgement provides a dated quality reference; fixed funded sessions, packed lunches and the term-time calendar determine the practical fit.