Bamford Pre-School Playgroup

Wellies, woodland and a purpose-built mud kitchen give Bamford Pre-School Playgroup its character. Based in the Methodist School Rooms in Bamford, this village playgroup combines outdoor exploration with stories, gardening and making things. Children aged 2 to 4 attend, and there are 20 places in total. The appeal is concrete: children can grow ingredients, cook with them and explore their village as part of the nursery week.

At its November 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective. That assessment belongs to an earlier period of the playgroup’s life; the current outdoor offer includes a dedicated Forest School site introduced in September 2025. Forest School adds hands-on learning in woodland or other natural surroundings, alongside the everyday playgroup routine.

A volunteer management committee runs the setting, with day-to-day responsibility delegated to staff. Parents and carers can therefore contribute to how the playgroup is run, as well as take part in sessions. Morning attendance and full-day attendance are both part of the offer, within a term-time timetable.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS brings learning, development and care together: here, children learn through play, conversation, stories and practical activities. Adult-organised activities sit alongside children’s own choices, with indoor and outdoor toys available for exploration. Daily phonics and maths activities add opportunities to work with sounds and numbers; taking turns and cooperating are woven into the practical tasks.

Daily stories and a lending library connect reading with home: children choose books to borrow and discuss afterwards. Sessions finish with a story. Finding their name for self-registration gives children a daily opportunity to practise independence.

Arts & Crafts sessions connect making with seasonal themes, shapes and colours. Children follow instructions and carry their creations home, so the activity has a tangible end product. Gardening & Nature runs weekly, with children planting flower seeds and vegetables and taking pots home to watch their plants grow. Water and sunlight become things they can see affecting a living plant.

Making & Baking turns growing into cooking: children’s ingredients can become Leek and Potato soup for the mid-morning snack. Other creations go home for families to taste, giving children a practical use for their harvest.

In November 2021, children practised hand movements by transferring coloured liquids with pipettes and syringes, and explored speed by watching a truck move on different surfaces. In November 2021, two teaching weaknesses needed attention: adults sometimes supplied answers before children could respond, and some sound-and-rhyme games used unfamiliar vocabulary. These were specific teaching issues, concerning both the time allowed for thinking and the suitability of learning materials.

Outdoor and Community Life

The enclosed play area is used daily in all weathers. A sink, pots, utensils and pans equip the Mud Kitchen for messy exploration and imaginative cooking, giving children materials to handle and recipes to invent.

Welly Walk Thursdays takes children around the village each week. A walk might involve looking for seasonal objects, gathering leaves of different colours or making a stick person. These are purposeful outings rather than simply time outside, with listening and staying together part of the experience. Gardening provides another recurring connection with the natural world.

Twice-weekly Forest School sessions use the dedicated village site, with Monday and Wednesday afternoons spent there until 3pm. Activities associated with the approach include making dens, creating woodland instruments and painting with mud. Visits to the Forest School site at Breedon Cement Works also take place through the year, extending the outdoor experience beyond one familiar setting.

The playgroup describes its dedicated Forest School site as a joint venture with Bamford Primary School. Annual summer and Christmas parties bring families into the calendar too.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person after enrolling, giving families a consistent practitioner to talk with. Parents, grandparents and carers are encouraged to give feedback, and family members can help during sessions.

In November 2021, staff helped children settle after periods with little social contact outside home. Adults also demonstrated ways to share, negotiate and take turns, showing quieter children how to participate in play. These dated examples give substance to the care approach: support involved helping children join in, rather than expecting confidence to arrive on its own.

The volunteer committee is elected annually at the November AGM and generally comprises parents or carers. It gives families a route to help shape the organisation behind their child’s sessions.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO), safeguarding lead and deputy, and Forest School leader give additional needs, child protection and woodland activities identified responsibilities within the team.

Safeguarding procedures cover staff training, suitability checks and referrals to other agencies. Children are supported to express worries to their key person in age-appropriate ways.

Behaviour support uses praise for kindness and sharing, with recurring difficulties considered alongside parents through observation records. The policy also uses warnings and supervised time out, and distinguishes unacceptable behaviour from the child themselves. Families should weigh that method alongside their own approach to helping a young child manage frustration.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Methodist School Rooms, Main Road, Bamford, Hope Valley, S33 0AY. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. The longer Monday and Wednesday opening window began in September 2025, with those afternoons used for Forest School.

Morning attendance runs from 9am to noon each weekday. Full-day attendance from 9am to 3pm is also offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The daily routine also allows a 1pm finish except on Mondays and Wednesdays, when afternoon attendance centres on woodland activities.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 07591 979051 or by email at bamfordpreschool@hotmail.co.uk. Families discuss their preferred sessions before agreeing a start date, after which enrolment paperwork is supplied. Printed forms can be provided by the playgroup, and ordering a jumper is optional.

Admissions criteria include living in the area served by Bamford Primary School, having a sibling already attending if living outside that area, being a child of staff, or having parents who have requested a place. Children must be at least 2, and those closer to compulsory school entry age receive priority. These rules concern entry to the playgroup: attending does not guarantee a school place, and families still use the local authority admissions process for a state-school application.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded pre-school education is offered for three- and four-year-olds from the term after their third birthday, and some two-year-olds may also qualify. Private hours are charged by the hour. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the payment information explains the billing arrangements.

Invoices are issued at the beginning of each half term, with weekly payment also possible. Once a place is allocated, payment remains due for absences, including holidays and sickness. A flexible payment arrangement is offered for families with differing means, making the payment schedule a separate consideration from the attendance pattern.

• Woodland afternoons. Monday and Wednesday afternoons take place at the Forest School site. During a visit, discuss how the walk and outdoor session work for your child’s mobility, stamina and confidence.
• Teaching detail. In November 2021, questioning and the choice of sound-and-rhyme resources needed attention. A visit is an opportunity to see how adults now allow children time to answer and select suitable games.
• Behaviour methods. The behaviour policy includes warnings and supervised time out alongside praise. Discuss how these methods are adapted to a child’s age and additional needs before joining.
• Attendance costs. Allocated places remain payable during sickness and holidays. Request a written quotation covering your chosen sessions, food and consumables so that the payment commitment is clear.

Bamford suits families seeking either weekday mornings or the Tuesday and Thursday full-day pattern, with outdoor learning a central part of the choice. The mud kitchen, weekly village walks and twice-weekly Forest School give children several ways to explore nature, while borrowing books and taking home plants or baking connect nursery activities with home.

Its committee structure also suits parents who want opportunities to contribute. The November 2021 Good judgement provides a dated quality assessment, with clear teaching improvements to discuss; the current decision rests on how the session pattern, outdoor routine and behaviour approach fit your child.