Fyfield Village Pre-School

Mud play, bug hunts and garden discoveries give Fyfield Village Pre-School its clearest character: in June 2022, children investigated living creatures, experimented with dough and water, and used outdoor play cars. Practical exploration ran through the day.

Ofsted rated the pre-school Good at its 10 June 2022 inspection. It has 30 places in total at the Scout Hut in Fyfield; children attending at that visit were aged two to four. The strongest detail concerns hands-on play, alongside two important improvements: helping children sustain their attention indoors and making staff intervention more timely.

In June 2022, the garden supplied both imaginative play and things to investigate. Children examined bugs with magnifying glasses, explored plants and discovered dinosaurs hidden outdoors. The mud kitchen area gave them space to invent food and share their creations. The garden gave children things to discuss, investigate and use in pretend play.

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, the June 2022 examples included learning through play and practising everyday skills. Scooping mud, handling dough and threading pasta exercised the hand movements children would later use for writing. Outdoor play cars added opportunities to steer around obstacles and respond to other children.

Indoors, the June 2022 picture was less consistent. Too many activities competed for attention, and some children moved on before becoming absorbed. Staff also sometimes missed an opportunity to develop an activity, such as encouraging children to take tower-building further. In June 2022, staff sometimes failed to anticipate demand for popular activities, leaving some practitioners supporting too many children. The improvement priorities concerned both the layout and how adults supported play.

At the June 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities especially effective, and children making good progress. Those are dated judgements.

In June 2022, children sought staff out for affection and shared stories, while handwashing and helping prepare snacks gave them opportunities to practise independence. Staff used knowledge of children's home experiences when planning their learning. This connected the activities offered with individual needs rather than treating every child's starting point as identical.

Support for moving on also featured in June 2022: staff worked with the settings children would attend next, including schools. The practical emphasis was on easing the change between settings.

The address is Scout Hut, Houchin Drive, Fyfield, Ongar, CM5 0RF.

In June 2022, opening hours were 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, in term time. Funded early education was provided for children aged two, three and four at that date.

• Indoor concentration. In June 2022, the number of activities made sustained play harder for some children. Look at how the indoor layout now helps children stay with an activity.
• Adult involvement. Staff did not consistently extend play at the right moment in June 2022. During a visit, discuss how practitioners recognise when to join in and develop children's ideas.
• Attendance fit. The June 2022 timetable followed school terms. What attendance patterns and funded-hour arrangements would apply to your child now?

Fyfield Village Pre-School suits families who value practical, exploratory preschool play. Its June 2022 account gives concrete examples of children investigating outdoors and practising independence, balanced by clear concerns about indoor concentration and adult involvement. For families considering term-time care, that dated timetable is a useful starting point for assessing fit.