Buttercups Pre-school

A village hall, a secure courtyard and a playhouse give Buttercups Pre-school a clear physical character. Based in North Runcton, it takes children aged two to five and has capacity for 20 children. The outdoor space extends the day beyond the hall, with opportunities for play throughout the year.

At its May 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Buttercups Good overall and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. Practical learning stood out in the day's activities: children worked together on outdoor building projects, explored shapes through touch and practised managing their own coats. There were also two improvement priorities: making teaching more consistently effective and helping staff understand how background noise affects children's listening and language.

Attendance is term-time only, with morning and afternoon booking patterns alongside an early start and lunchtime provision. The shorter Wednesday opening is an important practical distinction for families planning their week.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, that means the day combines learning through play with support for communication, relationships and growing independence; it is the foundation for provision rather than an extra programme.

In May 2025, children traced shapes with their fingers in oats while staff supplied simple words to describe them. This brought touch, shape recognition and language into the same activity. Staff adjusted their language to children's stage of development, using short sentences and descriptions of what was happening. The detail matters: a hands-on activity also became a chance to practise understanding and using words.

Outdoor construction added another kind of learning. In May 2025, children collaborated on a wall inside the playhouse, shared turns with blocks and used drills on a wooden frame. They talked about their work as they did it. These were practical opportunities to combine conversation, cooperation and handling tools, rather than separate exercises for each skill.

Outdoor and Community Life

The hall's secure courtyard supports outdoor activities across the year, and the playhouse gives children a setting for imaginative play. For families choosing a village pre-school, this is a useful combination: indoor provision has an outdoor extension on the premises.

In May 2025, a recent police officer visit had introduced children to people who help their community. Teachers from local schools also visited the pre-school. Those encounters brought people beyond the staff team into children's experience and gave school transition a concrete form through contact with teachers.

Relationships and Communication

Settling can be gradual. Parents may remain with their child for the first sessions, and attendance can build up over time. That offers families a way to introduce the setting in stages, rather than making the first booked session the child's first experience of staying apart.

At the May 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children had secure relationships with staff, praised communication with parents and described effective work with families and other agencies to obtain additional support. Regular exchanges about children's progress helped connect home and pre-school. This is the strongest inspection evidence for the way relationships supported children's experience.

In May 2025, staff shared books with children in cosy reading spaces and offered physical comfort when needed. Children also practised everyday tasks: collecting and putting on coats, returning them to their hooks, using the toilet independently and washing their hands before snacks. Care included helping children do more for themselves.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO role sits within the management team, alongside designated safeguarding lead and deputy safeguarding lead roles. For children whose development causes concern, the support process uses Assess, Plan, Do & Review. Families contribute to reviewing progress, and consent is sought before requesting outside-agency support or additional funding. This gives parents a defined process to discuss, with adjustments linked to their child's needs.

Preparations for a child with more complex SEND can include staff training, a health care plan or changes to accessibility. The start date depends on those preparations, with families and relevant agencies kept informed during the preparation period.

Food arrangements at the May 2025 visit included fruit snacks, with staff encouraging healthier lunch choices. That is an inspection-time picture of eating at Buttercups.

Sessions and Attendance

Buttercups opens during term time. Since September 2025, opening hours have been 8.30am to 3.30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 8.30am to 12.30pm on Wednesday. Wednesday therefore needs a different childcare plan from the longer opening days.

The booking patterns include Early Start from 8.30am to 9am, Morning from 9am to noon and Lunch from noon to 12.30pm. Afternoon runs from 12.30pm to 3.30pm on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Attendance patterns can be adjusted to individual family and child needs, and the agreed sessions form part of the registration arrangements.

Enquiries are handled by the leader or deputy. Registration involves agreeing sessions, completing the registration form and supplying documentation for funded eligibility where applicable. Telephone contact during opening hours is 01553 842606; outside those hours it is 07934 170412. There is also an online contact form.

Getting There

The address is The Village Meeting Place, The Green, North Runcton, PE33 0RB. The building is opposite the church, a useful landmark for identifying it.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered during term time for eligible children aged two, three and four. The funding arrangements include 15 hours of universal funding for three- and four-year-olds, 15 hours of funding for eligible two-year-olds, and Working Parent Entitlement funding up to 29 hours per week, subject to eligibility and the setting's allocation conditions.

Non-funded hours are charged at a single hourly rate. Payment is normally made monthly in advance, with weekly payment possible by special arrangement; the charge reserves the place rather than depending on actual attendance. Families should obtain current prices in a written quotation. The fees page also covers Tax Free Childcare participation.

• Listening and teaching. The May 2025 improvement priorities concerned background distractions and consistency in teaching. During a visit, ask how staff have changed the sound environment and how teaching development is followed through in daily practice.
• The weekly pattern. Wednesday closes at 12.30pm, while the named afternoon pattern covers Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Discuss the combination of sessions you would book, including how Thursday's longer opening fits your plan.
• A gradual start. Parents can stay for initial sessions and build attendance up gradually. A free taster session offers a practical opportunity to discuss the settling sequence, any SEND preparations and what meals or non-food supplies families would provide or pay for.

Buttercups suits families seeking term-time pre-school with a morning pattern, an afternoon option or shorter additions around those sessions. The hall and courtyard provide a straightforward setting for indoor and outdoor play, while gradual settling gives parents a practical role in the start.

The May 2025 picture combined hands-on learning and close family communication with specific work still needed on teaching consistency and background noise. Those priorities make useful visit questions. The attendance pattern is equally decisive: families need to be comfortable with school-holiday closures and Wednesday's earlier finish.