St.Wulstan's Pre-School

Child-led play gives St.Wulstan's Pre-School its character: in June 2022, children chose activities independently, experimented with water and used drawing to express their ideas. The setting has capacity for 25 children at its Rushton Street address in Great Harwood.

At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received good support and made good progress. Those findings sit alongside two practical improvements: extending learning during spontaneous play and gathering children's starting-point information more consistently.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care, with play providing opportunities to practise communication, explore materials and develop ideas.

In June 2022, the water tray supported filling and emptying experiments, while drawing gave children a reason to make marks. In the garden, crates and blocks became an imaginary pool. The home corner prompted collaborative pretend cooking. These were activities children could shape themselves, with opportunities to investigate and negotiate with friends.

Staff added vocabulary through commentary and questions that invited children to explain their thinking. However, spontaneous discoveries did not consistently receive enough attention: finding a spider in the garden was one missed opportunity to introduce new knowledge. The distinction matters for families seeking both freedom to explore and purposeful adult input.

In June 2022, flexible settling arrangements helped children become familiar with routines. Staff knew individual children well, although information about existing abilities was not consistently gathered thoroughly enough to guide learning from the start.

Clear reminders supported sharing and turn-taking. A tambourine signalled tidying time, giving children an understandable cue to help put toys away. Praise recognised effort as well as behaviour.

Support for children needing additional help included relationships with outside agencies, referrals and learning updates shared with parents. Staff also received supervision, training and feedback on their interactions, creating opportunities to examine how they worked with children. These arrangements describe practice in June 2022.

The address is St.Wulstan's RC School, Rushton Street, Great Harwood, Blackburn BB6 7JQ.

In June 2022, opening hours were 8.45am to 3.45pm on weekdays, during term time. At that time, the pre-school provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. The children attending at the inspection were aged from birth to four; this is the age range at that visit.

• Adult input during play. In June 2022, staff sometimes missed opportunities to extend children's discoveries. Ask how practitioners now develop learning from unexpected interests, such as an animal found outdoors.
• Starting points. Gathering children's existing skills needed greater consistency in June 2022. Ask how information from home shapes a child's first activities and subsequent planning.
• Attendance fit. The June 2022 timetable was term-time, weekday provision. What attendance patterns and funded-hours arrangements can the setting offer your family now?

St.Wulstan's suits parents who value independent exploration, imaginative play and clear routines, based on its June 2022 practice. Its Good judgement included positive findings on additional support and safeguarding, while the learning and starting-point improvements deserve attention. For families seeking term-time provision, the timetable at that visit provides a useful starting point for assessing fit.