Vicarage Lodge Preschool Community Playgroup

A shared playroom, a large outdoor area and a committee of parents and local residents give Vicarage Lodge its community-playgroup character. This Runcorn preschool has 28 places in total, with play centred on one large, bright room displaying the children’s work. Families have a role in sustaining the setting as well as using it.

At its September 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the preschool Good and found safeguarding effective. Admission starts at 2 years and 9 months; children attending in September 2024 were aged 2 to 4. That distinction matters for families planning their child’s first preschool experience: the starting-age rule is more specific than the age range at that visit.

Attendance follows the school-term calendar, with morning and afternoon sessions and a Lunch Club that can connect them. The practical appeal is the choice between a shorter session and a combined preschool day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides learning through play, covering language, physical skills, early reading and number work alongside relationships, creativity and understanding the world. It is the common early-years framework; here, weekly staff planning connects activities with children’s developing skills rather than treating the timetable as a fixed sequence for everyone.

Each child’s key person gathers observations, assessments and family feedback, then uses them to shape future activities. Profiles are refreshed at the end of each term. This gives planning a personal starting point: what a child can already do, what interests them and what they need to practise next.

In September 2024, children chose their paint colours and worked the bottle pumps themselves, persevering before seeking help. Number language also reached beyond organised activities: children counted fruit at snack time and explored differences in length. These are small, useful opportunities to practise independence and mathematical ideas during ordinary play.

Songs introduced letters and their sounds, with children moving towards writing their own names when ready. Stories and songs also supplied new vocabulary, including words introduced through pirate-themed play. The sequence links spoken language with later reading and writing, while allowing readiness to determine the next step.

Outdoor and Community Life

One large playroom is the centre of indoor activity, rather than a collection of separately named age rooms. The outdoor play area adds space for movement. Washable clothes and shoes suitable for climbing are encouraged, so the practical expectation is that children can experiment with materials and move freely.

In September 2024, garden activities included bikes and a climbing frame, while dancing with scarves gave children another way to practise large movements. Caring for Shelly, the tortoise, brought a different kind of responsibility: children handled her gently and helped bathe her. Care for another living creature became something to do, rather than simply something to discuss.

Chinese New Year and Diwali featured in learning about cultures during that period. These celebrations offered starting points for discussion, although the curriculum needed to take children further in exploring differences and similarities between people.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is assigned when a child starts. Parents complete an entry profile, and that practitioner follows settling, keeps the child’s profile current and brings individual needs into planning. Families therefore have an identified person responsible for connecting home information with the preschool day.

Settling begins with opportunities for children and parents to spend time together at preschool before admission. Where appropriate, separations start briefly and become longer gradually. Background information from parents helps staff understand the child, while the pace can accommodate children who take longer to feel comfortable.

Parent meetings take place twice a year, with opportunities to discuss concerns between them. At the September 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that daily feedback and take-home books and learning bags supported communication with families, while targeted reading groups helped children needing additional speech and language support make progress. The useful combination is regular conversation and something concrete to continue at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND arrangements bring together the SENCO, the child’s key person, parents and outside professionals where needed. Individual SEN Support Plans are reviewed with family input, and observations help identify needs. The physical space is assessed before a child with SEND joins, with adaptations or additional equipment considered where necessary.

Moving to another setting involves liaison with professionals and sharing relevant information with parental consent. That helps carry knowledge about a child’s needs into the next stage, rather than leaving the family to explain everything again.

Behaviour support uses praise, clear expectations and strategies adapted to the child. An Individual Behaviour Plan can be developed with parents when needed. For private conversations, a separate room is available. Safeguarding responsibilities include designated lead and deputy roles, and staff undertake first-aid training; these are arrangements, rather than a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 1a Highlands Road, Runcorn, WA7 4PS. Applications can be discussed by telephone on 01928 500004 or through the contact form.

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, afternoons from 12.45pm to 3.45pm, Monday to Friday during term time. Lunch Club runs from noon to 12.45pm and can extend either session or connect the two into a full day. Lunch Club bookings cover a full term, so it is a planned attendance arrangement rather than an occasional lunchtime addition.

Admissions priority takes account of the waiting list, siblings and catchment area. Parents can participate through the elected management committee, and the annual general meeting takes place in the autumn term. That gives families a route to contribute to how the playgroup is run.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered for three- and four-year-olds, with attendance following the term-time pattern; funded provision for two-year-olds was also recorded in September 2024. Private sessions and Lunch Club are charged, and current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the fees page sets out the charge categories.

Snacks carry a separate charge, with the alternative of bringing a healthy snack from home; children attending Lunch Club need a parent-provided healthy packed lunch. Families therefore need to plan lunch provision alongside the attendance pattern, rather than assume the lunchtime booking includes food.

• Term-time rhythm. Both morning and afternoon sessions follow the school-term calendar, and Lunch Club bookings last a full term. Match that pattern to the care needed during holidays and across the working week.
• Teaching development. In September 2024, staff supervision needed sharper feedback on teaching, and learning about equality and diversity needed greater depth. During a visit, ask how staff development and activities exploring people’s lives have changed in response.
• Starting and settling. Admission begins at 2 years and 9 months, with introductory visits and gradually longer separations where appropriate. Use the visit to discuss how that process would work for your child.
• Food and support. Lunch Club requires a packed lunch, while snacks are charged separately or brought from home. For a child with dietary or additional needs, discuss food arrangements and how the key person and SENCO would coordinate support.

Vicarage Lodge suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon preschool, with the option of joining sessions through Lunch Club. Its shared playroom and parent committee give it a clear community identity, while the key-person system makes family information part of planning.

The September 2024 Good judgement sits alongside specific work needed on teaching feedback and equality and diversity. The strongest reasons to consider it are concrete: gradual settling, individual profiles, space for outdoor play and an attendance model that accommodates both shorter sessions and a combined day.