St Catharine's Under Fives

A parent-run playgroup with a garden, a church-hall base and a separate baby-and-toddler gathering gives St Catharine's Under Fives its character. The Gloucester setting combines indoor play in a heated hall with outdoor activities and practical learning, including planting and baking. Parents have a role beyond receiving updates: a voluntary parent committee runs the charity, and families have participatory membership rights.

Ofsted rated the setting Good on 29 April 2024 and found that its curriculum responded effectively to children's interests and stages of development. There was a clear reservation about time lost between activities. Children sometimes waited too long before snack or outdoor play, making the organisation of these moments an important part of assessing the day.

The playgroup accepts children from two until five and has capacity for 24 children. Term-time attendance includes morning, after-lunch and all-day options, with Thursday's Pre-School session aimed at children starting school the following September. Stay & Play is a separate, parent-and-child activity from birth to preschool age, rather than the playgroup's childcare offer.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the required basis for learning through play, conversation, movement and exploration, alongside children's care and development. St Catharine's uses Development Matters, the government's non-statutory guidance about how young children develop, to support its curriculum. This is guidance within the framework, rather than an alternative to it.

Adults build on children's interests with new ideas and open-ended resources, praising their solutions. Children also direct activities themselves. The curriculum's curiosity approach provides opportunities for communication and exploration.

Communication has concrete tools behind it. MAKATON sits alongside pictures and a communication book to help children express what they want or need. These give children ways to contribute when spoken words alone are difficult. Stories, songs and imaginative activity also provide opportunities to listen, share ideas and experiment with language.

In April 2024, children helped create a Dear Zoo display with flaps that revealed animals. Another story activity connected a caterpillar's development with living caterpillars the children were watching. Books became something to investigate and make, as well as something to hear. Shape challenges and counting during play brought mathematical language into practical tasks, including discussion of a pentagon.

Baking combines following written or pictured instructions with putting steps in order and exploring ingredients. Dressing up and making cards contribute opportunities to practise hand control, imagination and conversation. These are everyday parts of the curriculum, with learning drawn from the task itself. Food tasting and shared meals also create space for children to discuss preferences and take part socially.

Outdoor and Community Life

The heated hall has carpeted areas and outdoor play facilities. Children plant, tend and sometimes taste garden produce, linking responsibility for living things with observing growth.

Neighbourhood walks and local park trips extend exploration beyond the hall. Visits to a local care home give children opportunities to meet people across generations and practise social interaction.

In April 2024, outdoor resources supported larger movements and physical strength in different weather conditions. Children practised putting on suits and boots themselves. Independence was part of the activity, but getting ready sometimes took too long and reduced useful play time. That distinction matters: a valuable self-care task still needs enough adult support to keep the day moving.

Relationships and Communication

Each child's key person supports settling and works with parents on individual needs and interests, giving the family a practitioner who helps shape the child's playgroup experience.

During April 2024, regular parent meetings allowed families to contribute what their children were doing at home and discuss what to learn next. Children also managed everyday tasks themselves, including washing their hands at mobile sinks and helping clear up before lunch. These small responsibilities made independence part of ordinary routines.

Turn-taking had practical support. In April 2024, staff used sand timers to help children understand when another child's turn would end, and explained expectations at the child's level. A visible prompt gives a young child something more concrete than repeated instructions to wait. It also connects managing feelings with playing alongside others.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well supported, with the special educational needs coordinator working alongside parents and professionals such as speech and language therapists. The current team structure includes a SENCO role, and the key-person arrangement provides a route for discussing individual needs.

An entry assessment or two-year-old check, developmental reviews and professional discussions inform support. Staff establish what children already understand before introducing new learning, connecting observation with practical help.

Preparation for school includes sharing information with the receiving school during the summer term. This carries knowledge about the child into the next setting, rather than treating school preparation solely as practising isolated skills. The dedicated Thursday session adds an attendance option for children approaching that move.

Sessions and Attendance

St Catharine's Under Fives operates at St Catharine's Parish Hall, London Road, Gloucester, GL2 0RR, behind the church. All-day playgroup sessions run from 9.10am to 2.40pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; Thursday's Pre-School session uses the same times. Attendance is term-time only.

Shorter options finish at 12.10pm for morning attendance or at 1.10pm after lunch. These are materially different choices for families arranging their week: a morning finish, a longer session crossing lunchtime, or the all-day pattern. The admissions policy seeks a minimum of two sessions each week where possible, to support continuity and settling, while allowing flexibility around children's and families' needs.

Applications use the playgroup's application form, with admissions and consent information completed before a child starts. This includes emergency contacts, dietary requirements, allergies and the child's likes and dislikes. Enquiries can be made by email to stcatharinesunderfives@live.co.uk or by telephone during playgroup session times.

Stay & Play runs on Tuesdays from 10am to 11.30am. Parents and carers attend with their children; the baby corner includes soft cushions, baby gyms and a changing area, while mobile children can use construction toys and messy or creative activities. Group singing usually closes the session. Its charge includes a children's snack and drink, plus adult refreshments.

Getting There

Car parking is in the church car park. The hall's position behind the church is useful to know when planning the journey.

Funding and Paid Extras

The playgroup accepts funding for two-year-olds, 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds, and the extended 30 hours, within its term-time offer. Private hours are charged for children outside the funding criteria and for additional attendance; tax-free childcare is also accepted.

Playgroup snacks carry a separate charge, including under the funded attendance terms. The nursery also takes a deposit, refundable when or if the child starts, while a non-refundable registration payment towards learning-journal and paperwork costs is requested, and a T-shirt and book bag are included when the child starts. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Time between activities. The April 2024 improvement point concerned waiting before snack and outdoor play. During a visit, ask how these transitions now keep children occupied while others receive help.
• A term-time week. Morning, after-lunch and all-day attendance offer different lengths, but the playgroup operates during term time. Match these patterns to your family's holiday childcare needs and discuss how the two-session expectation would fit your child.
• The Thursday school-year group. Pre-School attendance is aimed at children starting school the following September. Ask how its activities differ from the other playgroup days and how the settling visits would work for your child.
• The complete payment terms. Snacks are charged separately, and the deposit and requested registration payment have different refund terms. Have the written quotation distinguish funded attendance, private hours and these additional payments before accepting a place.

St Catharine's suits families seeking a parent-run, term-time playgroup with morning or after-lunch attendance as well as all-day sessions. Gardening, baking and neighbourhood experiences give its curriculum practical substance, while the key person provides a clear relationship for the family.

The Good judgement supports that picture, with an important qualification about waiting during daily transitions. Families whose schedules fit the playgroup week have a setting worth considering for its shared parent involvement and emphasis on children doing things for themselves.