Murrow Pre-School

A large log cabin, an outside reading room and home-learning resources that families can borrow give Murrow Pre-School a recognisable character. This charity-run preschool in Murrow, near Wisbech, takes children from age 2 and has 30 places in total. Family participation runs through its offer, from sharing breakfast to contributing to a child's year book. Learning continues beyond the preschool day.

At its November 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement, inclusion, children's welfare and wellbeing, and behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines to be Strong standard; curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance reached Expected standard, with safeguarding standards met. Those separate judgements matter: the strengths in care and children's development sit alongside a specific teaching improvement concerning how long children wait during some group activities.

Attendance follows the school terms, with a preschool day and a bookable breakfast club.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the statutory framework for learning and care: children's day combines play, communication, physical development and growing independence with early literacy, mathematics and exploration. Murrow adds constructivism, an approach in which children build understanding by doing, exploring and reflecting. Its planning responds to learning as it happens, taking account of children's interests rather than relying solely on activities decided in advance.

That approach has practical substance. In November 2025, writing and drawing materials were placed alongside outdoor construction resources, bringing early literacy into building play. Staff also extended mathematical understanding during children's activities. This connects learning with something a child already wants to do, rather than making every new skill a separate adult-led task.

Science brought another concrete example that month. Children used balloons to investigate static electricity, wearing goggles and lab coats before testing how static could move hair and paper. They took part in the experiment themselves. Songs, stories, simple signing and adults modelling vocabulary also supported communication during the day.

Group teaching needed attention in November 2025: some activities ran too long, leaving children waiting for a turn. Leaders needed to review their organisation.

Outdoor and Community Life

The cabin has spacious indoor accommodation and a fenced outdoor play space. Sustainability resources give that space more than a purely recreational purpose: a wormery, bug hotels, a rainwater butt and a composter with viewing windows make care for the natural world something children can investigate. The windows let children see the composting process, while recycling bins and labels connect environmental learning with everyday routines.

A Forest school area provides space for learning outdoors through exploration of nature. Farm trips help children learn about animal care, while beach-cleaning activities extend the environmental work beyond preschool.

Family outings are part of the annual calendar. The Summer and Christmas trips welcome parents and carers, with both the trip and bus transport free; additional shorter outings during the year are also free. This removes a separate trip charge for families and gives adults opportunities to share experiences with their children outside the preschool.

Relationships and Communication

A child's key person is the main contact for care, settling and development, available at session boundaries or another arranged time. Home visits, telephone and email help parents unable to come to the setting stay involved.

Year books contain individual development information and can be viewed or taken home to share with relatives. Families also receive accounts of their child's activities, achievements and next steps. Each half term, a learning-through-play pack links a next step with an activity to try at home; its comment box lets parents explain how it went. This creates a two-way conversation about learning rather than simply sending instructions home.

Chatter sacks are themed borrowing bags with resources and extension sheets to support speech and language. Home Learning Bags supply simple materials for activities at home, and the Book Library sits in an outside reading room near the preschool entrance. Borrowing is free. Families can extend a child's interests without buying a new set of resources for each activity.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, made excellent progress through prompt identification of needs, effective professional partnerships and strategies shared with families. Signing was used at preschool and shared for use at home, connecting support across both.

Current designated roles include special educational needs coordinators, safeguarding leads and an Early Help Assessment coordinator. All staff have first-aid training. The building is wheelchair accessible, with a designated parking space, giving families with mobility needs a concrete access arrangement.

My Smile is an oral-health programme combining daily toothbrushing with tooth-friendly snacks and drinks and encouragement to visit the dentist. Murrow has held accreditation each year since 2022, and families can take home a toothbrushing bag. The routine gives oral care a place in the preschool day and provides a resource for continuing it at home.

In November 2025, familiar songs helped younger children settle for naps, with staff checking sleeping children regularly. A visual timetable and transition songs helped children understand the sequence of the day. These small routines made changes between activities more predictable, while children practised independence through helping with tasks such as tidying before lunch.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Murrow CP School, Murrow Bank, Murrow, Parson Drove, Wisbech, PE13 4HD. The preschool operates during term time, Monday to Friday, and the preschool programme runs from 9am to 3pm. A separately bookable breakfast club starts at 8.30am, with parents and carers welcome to share breakfast and look through their child's year book.

The calendar includes half-term and school-holiday closures. Families can contact the preschool through its enquiry form, email or telephone.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children can use 15-hour or 30-hour funding during term time. Additional paid hours can be added after a child's funding allocation has been used. Funded sessions can be taken as free provision with a packed lunch; this is a specific route to using the entitlement without purchasing lunch. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation.

Hot or cold lunches are charged separately at a subsidised price, while the snack contribution is voluntary. Families provide nappies and wipes; summer sun cream can either come from home or be supplied for a separate seasonal payment, including for children attending on funded hours.

Outside-company activities are free; fundraising participation and uniform are optional. These arrangements are detailed in the funding and fees information.

The preschool's address places it at Murrow CP School. Attendance here does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority's school admissions process. In November 2025, leaders sought feedback from schools about children's achievements, using it to review preparation for the next stage of learning.

• Earlier starts. The breakfast club starts at 8.30am, while other opening-hours and funding information gives an 8am start. These timings conflict, so establish the agreed start time for your booking before arranging work or transport.
• Group activities. In November 2025, some children waited too long during group teaching. During a visit, discuss how group activities are organised now and how staff respond when a child loses interest.
• Term-time attendance. The preschool closes for school holidays and half-term breaks. Its preschool day and breakfast club suit a term-time routine; families needing holiday childcare must account for those breaks.
• Food and personal care choices. Lunch is separately charged, snacks have a voluntary contribution, and families supply nappies and wipes. Discuss how packed lunches, dietary needs and the choice of home-supplied or paid-for sun cream will work for your child.

Murrow suits families seeking a term-time preschool day or an earlier start through breakfast club, with substantial opportunities to join their child's learning. The cabin, environmental resources and free borrowing materials give the offer practical character, while year books and home-learning packs make parental involvement concrete.

The November 2025 strengths in achievement, inclusion and wellbeing sit alongside a need to improve some group activities. Active play and links with home give Murrow clear appeal, with term-time closures and conflicting start times requiring practical consideration.