Hempsted Playgroup & Toddlers

A parent-run playgroup with its own enclosed garden and close connections to Hempsted Primary School gives Hempsted Playgroup & Toddlers a clear community character. Children share one large room rather than moving through a sequence of age-specific rooms. The voluntary committee gives parents a role in how the setting runs, from equipment purchases to fundraising. This is preschool provision with family involvement built into its organisation.

At the 23 June 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the playgroup Good overall and found safeguarding effective. That is a dated assessment, alongside a current offer centred on play, outdoor access and preparation for school. Admission starts at 2 years 9 months and continues to school age; the setting has 24 places in total.

Attendance follows school terms, with mornings and flexible patterns.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning through play, covering communication, movement, relationships and the development of early reading, number and creative skills. Here, children can select activities and move between indoor and outdoor play. That gives them opportunities to make decisions while staff also introduce planned activities.

The single-storey building has a kitchen and separate adult and child toilets. A marble run, Lego, doctor and post-office role play, paint, dough and small-world models give children materials to build with and ideas to act out.

Group time, play and tidying alternate, with books later in the day. Afternoons combine children's suggestions and adult-led activities for children approaching Reception, giving older children a different emphasis.

In June 2022, children counted those present during registration and discussed how digits formed a number. They also used pictures to retell stories and acted out a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. These were concrete examples of number and language being used in ordinary group activities. Mark-making involved pencils, pens and paint, connecting hand movements with early writing.

Outdoor and Community Life

The enclosed outdoor area is accessible during sessions, and children are encouraged to use it across the seasons. Artificial grass, planters, a replacement fence and a sun shade were added with funding from Tesco. The planters give gardening a physical place in the setting, while the shade adds a practical feature for outdoor play.

In June 2022, gardening, balancing equipment, pretend driving on wheeled toys and water painting with a large brush combined movement with imaginative play.

Family activities extend the playgroup's seasonal interests. Seek and Find Activities include a summer sheet and an autumn activity that encourages children and parents to explore the weather using their senses. This provides a specific way to continue exploration together outside sessions. Fundraising also supports events such as the Christmas Party, linking family contributions with the playgroup's resources and celebrations.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has an allocated key person, giving the family a familiar staff contact and someone responsible for planning individual care and learning. Learning journey folders bring together activities, photographs and assessments, and parents can contribute observations from home. That makes the child's experiences outside playgroup relevant to planning inside it.

Wow Vouchers provide another route for sharing achievements. A parent completes a voucher about something such as trying a new food, helping someone or being brave; the child can share it during Circle Time before it goes into their folder. It is an accessible way for a family to contribute something more personal than a general progress update.

Settling is organised around the relationship with the key person, with parents and staff discussing how to help the child become comfortable. The settling policy rejects leaving children distressed as a way to speed the process. Families should also pay attention to the differing expectations about parental presence addressed below.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENDCo and deputy support additional-needs arrangements. Assess, Plan, Do and Review involves parents in identifying needs, agreeing support and reviewing its effect. My Plan and My Plan+ organise support involving other agencies or further assessment.

Behaviour support starts with the key person helping children manage feelings and disagreements. If concerns continue, staff involve parents and the SENDCo, look for triggers and agree a plan that is reviewed. Children are not labelled or left alone as punishment. The approach gives families a defined sequence for discussing difficulties rather than treating an incident in isolation.

Staff undertake refreshed safeguarding and paediatric first-aid training, and designated safeguarding roles are in place. The medicine policy requires parental permission and records of administration; children with asthma or allergies have healthcare plans. These are practical arrangements for sharing responsibilities and information, separate from the dated safeguarding judgement.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is c/o Hempsted Primary School, St. Swithuns Road, Hempsted, Gloucester, GL2 5LH. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, across 38 weeks aligned with the primary school's terms. Morning children finish at noon, and attendance patterns can be adapted to individual families. The afternoon programme has a pre-Reception emphasis.

An admission form must be returned before a place can be offered. The waiting list is ordered by birth date and can also take account of time waiting, home location, siblings and the setting's ability to meet a child's needs. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01452 500040 or by email to hempstedplaygroup@hotmail.co.uk.

The playgroup describes close links with Hempsted Primary School, including staff working with Reception teachers and the school's SENDCo and pastoral lead. Children who will attend the school visit its Reception classroom during the summer term to meet their teacher and become familiar with the space. Attendance at playgroup gives no admissions preference and does not guarantee a school place; families still use the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes disadvantaged two-year-old funding, the universal 15-hour entitlement and the 30-hour working entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, subject to eligibility and the playgroup's admission age. Attendance is term-time. Private sessions are also offered, with current prices obtained through a written quotation; the fees and invoicing policy explains the payment terms.

Snacks carry a separate charge, while children staying for lunch bring a packed lunch; the lunchbox policy excludes nuts, sweets and chocolate bars, and individual allergy risks are assessed. Parents supply sun cream in a named container for staff application, while the Penny Pot fund accepts voluntary contributions towards activity materials and toys.

Invoices are issued each half term and payment is due within seven days. Ending the contract or reducing sessions requires four weeks' written notice, with fees payable instead if notice is insufficient. Fees remain payable for sickness and occasional absences. These terms matter when comparing the cost of attendance with the flexibility a family needs.

Getting There

Parents must park outside the school gates rather than on the driveway, avoiding yellow zigzags, double yellow lines and neighbours' driveways. Collection plans therefore need to allow for parking away from the school drive.

• School-term coverage. Opening is limited to 38 weeks, and the day ends at 3pm. Families need holiday and later-afternoon arrangements that fit alongside playgroup attendance.
• Settling expectations. The prospectus requires a parent to stay initially, while the settling policy also supports starting without a parent where that suits the child. At a visit, establish which arrangement will apply to your child and how distress is handled.
• Learning beyond sessions. In June 2022, the improvement priorities were children's understanding of online safety and screen use, and more useful sharing of individual learning with families. Ask for examples of how these are addressed now, including how home observations inform planning.
• Funding and allergy arrangements. Snacks are charged separately and lunch comes from home. Before committing, ask how snack and consumables arrangements apply to funded attendance, and confirm current practice for your child's allergy or dietary needs.

Hempsted suits families seeking morning attendance or flexible patterns within a term-time preschool routine, with an appetite for involvement in a community playgroup. Its shared room, enclosed outdoor area, Wow Vouchers and links with Hempsted Primary School give the offer concrete character. Parents can contribute both to their child's learning and to the organisation behind it.

The June 2022 Good judgement supports that picture, with improvement priorities that deserve a practical conversation about learning at home and screen safety. The decisive limits are the school-length day, holiday closures and the need to settle attendance and charge arrangements clearly. For families whose routines match those boundaries, the combination of play, parent participation and school preparation has a clear appeal.