Woodborough Village Pre-School

An allotment, woodland adventures and a village-hall base give Woodborough Village Pre-School a recognisable character. Children can grow ingredients, investigate wildlife and move between indoor and outdoor play, while a parent-led charitable committee gives families a role beyond the learning day. This is community childcare with practical substance behind the description.

Children aged two to four attend the setting, which has 42 places in total. At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and judged safeguarding effective, while identifying inconsistent teaching during free play and staff-development processes that needed embedding. Those improvement points deserve attention alongside the outdoor offer.

Morning and afternoon sessions provide different attendance options, with school-based wraparound arrangements for children aged three and over. The setting's strongest appeal is the combination of child-led play, concrete early language and number activities, and regular opportunities to learn outdoors.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework: communication, movement, relationships, early reading and number work are woven into play and everyday experiences. This is the shared foundation for early-years education. Here, planning responds to children's interests, and the open indoor space lets them choose activities with support from their key person.

Choosing Time gives children daily opportunities to decide what to play with. That makes choice part of the day rather than a reward after adult-directed work. The curriculum can also respond to a cohort's interests through experiences such as a nurse's visit, dancing or a parent sharing something about their work; these are examples of possible planning, rather than a fixed programme of visitors.

Letters and Sounds provides a more specific strand. Its Phase 1 activities develop listening, rhythm and early blending through songs, clapping and exploration of sounds, with an Early Years teacher leading phonics sessions. Children practise hearing differences and joining sounds before formal reading instruction becomes the task. Mathematics is similarly practical: building blocks, sorting, measuring, number songs and ten frames give children objects and patterns to work with, rather than relying only on spoken explanations.

In March 2023, children spent sustained periods mixing paint together and making pictures. Adults helped with letter formation and mark-making during planned activities, but their involvement in children's self-chosen play was uneven: some extended the activity, while others watched over it. That distinction matters in a setting where choosing an activity is a substantial part of learning. Freedom to choose works best when adults also recognise opportunities to develop the child's ideas.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School adds regular nature-based sessions involving den building, outdoor cooking, wildlife investigation and work with natural materials. Alongside this, Ploughmans Woods gives Forest fun adventures a concrete setting: children can listen to wildlife, search for small creatures, build shelters and look for frogs beside the pond. These are specific experiences, rather than simply time outside.

The allotment adds another kind of outdoor learning. Children plant fruit and vegetables, use some of the produce in baking, and explore a mud kitchen; bug hunts, birdwatching, outdoor phonics and maths also feature there. Growing and then using ingredients connects activities that might otherwise sit separately in the week. There is a practical thread from planting to preparing food.

Weekly wellie walks extend the outdoor routine. Welly Wednesday centres on puddles and getting outside in different weather, with other outdoor activity replacing wellies in summer. Regular play church sessions at St Swithins church bring another community setting into the children's experience. These activities are included for children attending on the days they take place.

Friday Baking gives children a weekly opportunity to help prepare food, using plant-based recipes chosen to avoid common allergens. Cosmic Yoga, sessions combining relaxation with enjoyment, is also included for children present when it runs. The attendance condition matters: the activities a child encounters will depend on their booked days, rather than every session containing the whole programme.

Relationships and Communication

A flexible settling-in process allows the start to be adjusted to the individual child. Key people support children during their chosen activities, so the relationship sits within the learning day as well as the settling period. For a child beginning group care, that gives the family two useful considerations: how the initial sessions are paced and how the child's familiar adult supports their choices afterwards.

Famly carries daily photographs, updates and notifications, and parents can contribute to their child's learning journey. Assessments and regular updates sit alongside opportunities for parents to join events and speak with practitioners. This gives families ways to follow both everyday experiences and the next steps being planned, rather than relying solely on a brief conversation at collection.

In March 2023, staff helped children discuss emotions and consider how to comfort someone who was upset. Children also practised managing their coats, finding their name cards, using the toilet and washing their hands. Those observations describe everyday independence at that time: small tasks that let children take increasing responsibility for themselves.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support has a defined process. A SENCO works with families and key workers to observe children, track their development, introduce strategies and make referrals where needed. Regular meetings provide opportunities to review progress and agree goals with parents. The manager also has a SENCO role, and the assistant manager is the SEND coordinator, giving families clear roles through which to discuss concerns.

Makaton signs and symbols support communication, while visual aids, sensory experiences and adapted activities offer other ways to respond to individual needs. External working includes specialist nurses, Early Years teachers and Families Specialist Services. These are mechanisms for organising support; the useful detail is how observations, strategies and review meetings connect around an individual child.

The manager holds the Designated Safeguarding Lead role. Separately, staff suitability procedures require declarations before employment and annual declarations from relevant staff. These arrangements describe responsibilities and processes, while the dated inspection judgement remains the basis for the safeguarding assessment above.

Hot lunches and desserts are prepared fresh by Woodborough Wood's Primary School and charged separately, with packed lunches an alternative. Friday Baking's recipe approach is a separate activity policy, so families managing allergies should discuss the ingredients and safeguards relevant to their own child.

Sessions and Attendance

The preschool's base is Village Hall, Lingwood Lane, Woodborough, Nottingham, NG14 6DX. Its normal opening window is 8am to 3.30pm. Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, lunch from noon to 1pm, and afternoon sessions from 1pm to 3.30pm. Breakfast Club has a separate timed session, with the timing question addressed below.

For children aged three and over, the preschool works with Woodborough Woods School on wraparound care from 7.30am to 9am and from 3.30pm to 6pm. These sessions use the school as the collection and drop-off point, and wraparound staff escort children between the two settings. Families using this arrangement therefore have a different handover location from those using preschool sessions alone.

In March 2023, the preschool operated Monday to Friday during term time. An online enquiry form now connects with Famly and enables a callback, registration or arrangements for stay-and-play sessions. It is a practical route into the joining process, while the flexible settling approach allows the initial experience to be shaped around the child.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both funded childcare and privately paid hours are offered. Funding of 15 or 30 hours can be applied to the preschool's breakfast, morning, lunch and afternoon sessions without an additional session charge; hours beyond a child's funded entitlement are charged privately. This separates the cost of attendance from the extras a family chooses or supplies.

Hot lunches and desserts are separately charged, including when a child uses funded hours, and families can send a packed lunch instead. Nappies, wipes and sun cream supplied by the preschool are charged separately. These are choices about food and consumables, rather than extra charges for using a funded session.

Parties generally take place three times a year, with voluntary contributions: children can participate even if parents do not contribute. The listed yoga, mindfulness, dance, baking, wellie walks and play church activities carry no extra cost for children attending on their scheduled days. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation; the funding and charges page explains the structure.

Funding Loop handles parental declaration forms online, including information already held by the preschool. It does not renew extended-hours eligibility codes for parents; eligible families must revalidate those codes with HMRC every three months. The form system simplifies administration, but that renewal responsibility stays with the family.

The preschool describes close working with Woodborough Woods Foundation CofE Primary School and includes school preparation in its planning. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process. The relationship supports preparation, rather than replacing the school application.

• Adult involvement in free play. In March 2023, interactions during self-chosen activities varied, and individual staff-development processes needed embedding. During a stay-and-play session, ask how practitioners now extend children's ideas during Choosing Time and how their practice is reviewed.
• Breakfast and the attendance calendar. Breakfast Club is timed at 8.30am to 9am in the funding terms, while the daily timetable starts breakfast at 8am. Resolve that timing before booking, and ask which term dates and holiday closures apply to the intended attendance pattern.
• Food and allergy arrangements. Friday Baking uses plant-based recipes intended to avoid common allergens, while hot lunches come from a primary school. Families affected by allergies should confirm current ingredients and handling arrangements for both, including any packed lunch.
• Wraparound handovers. Extended sessions are for children aged three and over and use Woodborough Woods School for collection and drop-off. Consider whether that arrangement suits your child's age and your daily routine, alongside the preschool's separate morning and afternoon bookings.

Woodborough suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions with substantial outdoor activity, as well as those with children aged three and over who want school-based wraparound care. Forest School, the allotment, Friday Baking and early sound work give the offer clear substance. The parent-led charitable structure also creates opportunities for families to contribute to the setting's direction.

The March 2023 Good judgement supports the choice, but consistent adult involvement during free play remains a useful point to explore. For families who value child-led activity, growing food and community connections, there is plenty here to weigh positively against the practical questions about breakfast timing and handovers.