Thomas Estley Pre-School and Out of School Club

A wildlife garden, free-flow play spaces and access to college sports facilities give this small preschool more room to explore than its 24-place capacity might suggest. Thomas Estley Pre-School and Out of School Club is based at Thomas Estley Community College in Broughton Astley. Its setting combines its own play areas with access to a library, gym, tennis courts and fields.

At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good, finding an engaging outdoor experience and positive relationships, alongside weaknesses in matching activities to children's learning and helping them understand themselves and others. The detail matters more than the label: children had opportunities to build, balance and cooperate, but teaching needed greater consistency.

Attendance is school term time only, with morning, afternoon and whole-day sessions. The preschool accepts government-funded hours and also sells additional sessions.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences support learning alongside children's physical and social development. Here, indoor and outdoor free-flow spaces give children access to different kinds of activity, while the wildlife garden adds another place to explore.

In June 2022, children gathered garden ingredients and mixed them with water to make perfume. This linked outdoor exploration with experimenting and making choices. Activities generally followed children's interests, although some demanded too much because staff had not arranged the learning in suitable steps. An appealing activity still needs the right level of challenge for the child taking part.

During that month, staff also reviewed resources that children were overlooking and considered changes to make them more inviting. Their planning drew on children's earlier experiences. For children who had had fewer opportunities to socialise during the pandemic, sharing and taking turns received attention through routines and play.

Outdoor and Community Life

The college grounds extend the preschool's physical setting beyond its own garden. Access to fields, tennis courts and a gym gives families a concrete reason to consider the location, rather than simply a general promise of outdoor play.

In June 2022, children constructed obstacle courses using crates, reels, hoops and wooden planks. They adjusted the challenge, practised balance and helped one another rebuild parts of the course. Tree climbing provided another physical challenge. These were opportunities to make decisions about movement and risk, as well as exercise.

Books connected the setting with its wider surroundings too. In June 2022, preschool children shared reading with older children in a cosy area and borrowed books from the school's library to take home. Access to the college library remains part of the preschool's facilities. Borrowing and shared reading at the inspection gave the physical resource a clear purpose: books could connect nursery experiences with family life.

At the June 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with SEND well supported, with the special educational needs coordinator working alongside families and external professionals. These are dated judgements about practice, rather than assurances about every child's future experience.

In June 2022, staff helped children separate from parents by offering comfort and finding an activity they enjoyed. Name cards and personal pegs gave children small responsibilities within familiar routines. The approach combined emotional support with opportunities to do things independently.

Communication also had practical content that month: families received updates about achievements and ideas for activities at home, and staff invited their suggestions. Staff exchanged information about children's learning with other settings they attended and maintained links with local schools for transition. This meant that support could take account of more than the time a child spent at preschool.

Social learning was less consistent. In June 2022, children generally cooperated and used polite language, but staff did not always help them understand the effect of their behaviour on other people. Celebrations introduced other cultures, while children's understanding of their own differences and individuality needed more attention. These are useful points to explore alongside the positive account of relationships.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Thomas Estley Community College, Station Road, Broughton Astley, Leicester, LE9 6PT. The preschool opens from 9am to 3pm during school term time.

Children can attend just the morning, just the afternoon or a whole day, with attendance lasting three to six hours daily. That gives families a choice between shorter sessions and a complete preschool day. Bookings can be made for the current or next school year; enquiries and personal visit arrangements are handled by telephone or email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government funding for 15 or 30 hours a week is accepted. Families can use funded hours for up to six hours of care daily, with no extra charge for that care. The term-time operating pattern matters when considering how attendance will fit around the rest of the year.

Additional three-hour sessions beyond funded hours are paid privately, with charges payable in advance each half term; the fee bands cover children aged two, three and four. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the funding and costs page explains the charging structure.

Hot lunches are an optional separate charge, or families can send a packed lunch. This lunch choice sits alongside the funded-care offer, so the care entitlement and food arrangements should be considered separately.

• Teaching and social understanding. The June 2022 improvement priorities covered appropriately stepped learning, children's individuality and the effects of behaviour on others. At a visit, ask how staff now adapt an activity for different starting points and discuss disagreements with children.
• A term-time routine. Morning, afternoon and whole-day attendance offer different ways to use the preschool, but it opens only during school terms. Families needing care through school holidays will need to account for that calendar.
• Lunch and funded hours. Funded care can cover up to six hours daily without an additional care charge, while hot lunch is a separate optional purchase and packed lunches are permitted. Choose the food arrangement alongside the attendance pattern.

Thomas Estley suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions as well as those wanting a whole preschool day during term time. Its wildlife garden and access to college facilities give it a recognisable physical offer, with space for play, books and movement.

The June 2022 judgement was Good, with clear strengths in relationships and outdoor experiences. The balance is equally clear: learning needed more careful sequencing, and support for understanding individuality and behaviour needed greater consistency. Those teaching priorities belong alongside the facilities when weighing up the setting.