Muddy Puddles Pre-School

Sunflowers, bean teepees and winter birdwatching give Muddy Puddles Pre-School its character: this is a setting where the garden supplies material for learning across the seasons. Based at St Peters Church Hall in Ashley, it has 25 places in total. The scale is worth keeping separate from the number of children attending any particular session.

At its 11 October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Good and found safeguarding effective and support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) good. There were also two clear educational priorities: better learning opportunities for the youngest children and more consistent encouragement to look after shared resources.

Attendance is term-time, with morning and afternoon sessions plus flexible starting and finishing arrangements. That gives families more than one way to organise a preschool week.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the curriculum, covering children's learning, development and care through play and everyday experiences. Here, communication, managing feelings and practical independence receive particular attention. Staff extend conversations and introduce vocabulary, while self-care and problem-solving give children opportunities to practise doing things for themselves.

Planting Through the Seasons adds a concrete thread to that framework: children grow plants, gather produce and explore seasonal changes in the garden. Summer brings sunflowers and bean teepees; colder months bring bulbs, pumpkins and birdwatching. The value is continuity. Children can return to a living subject as it changes, rather than treating nature as an occasional activity.

The curriculum also uses open-ended materials and children's interests to shape play. A child can explore a resource in different ways, with staff observing and adjusting the learning to their developmental stage. The emphasis is on conversation, experimentation and growing independence, rather than completing the same task in the same way.

In October 2024, older children chose board games to play together, while younger children used the home corner. Painting developed into an exploration of different tools, colours and marks. These examples show how an ordinary activity could make room for both children's choices and an adult's contribution.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden is more than a place for exercise. In October 2024, searching for worms became an opportunity to introduce vocabulary about where creatures live, and a planting area supported exploration of growing things. Older children also helped younger children move around the garden, bringing cooperation into outdoor play.

A tree swing supplied another practical lesson that month: children used timers to manage turns. Waiting had a visible structure, rather than depending entirely on an adult's instruction. Music and movement games added active group play, with children responding to familiar songs and directions.

Relationships and Communication

Families contribute to curriculum planning through information about their children, and staff share progress and ideas for learning at home. That makes the relationship useful in both directions: practitioners learn about the child beyond the setting, while parents have something concrete to build on between sessions.

In October 2024, staff and parents discussed children's development and agreed the next learning steps together. Speech and language activities were also shared with families. For a child working on communication, the same activity could therefore continue beyond preschool rather than remaining a separate part of the nursery day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A Special Educational Needs Coordinator works with families, colleagues and outside professionals. Provision is adapted around children's interests, needs and stage of development. The practical question is how an individual child accesses an activity, rather than whether everyone completes an identical version of it.

In October 2024, staff worked with other professionals and made referrals when children needed additional help. Additional funding also supported training relevant to individual children's needs. These were specific mechanisms for arranging support, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

The staffing structure includes a Designated Safeguarding Lead and a deputy safeguarding role. These responsibilities sit alongside the dated safeguarding judgement above; the existence of a role alone is not a measure of effectiveness.

There was an administrative shortcoming in October 2024: a change involving people associated with the setting had not been notified to the regulator. Those responsible understood the notification duty after discussion, and the omission had affected neither children's safety nor the setting's operation.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St Peters Church Hall, Ashley Common Road, Ashley, BH25 5AR. Opening hours are 8.45am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. Morning sessions run from 8.45am to noon, with afternoon sessions from noon to 4pm; flexible start and finish arrangements can also be made within the opening hours.

The distinction matters for working patterns. A morning booking and an afternoon booking cover different parts of the day, while flexible hours allow another attendance arrangement within the same operating window. Term-time operation remains the boundary for each option.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone, and families can join the waiting list through the online enquiry route. Joining that list is a practical step, rather than a statement about whether a place is free.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes universal 15 hours funding, 2 year old funding, 30 hour funding and working families childcare. The 2 year old and 30 hour offers are subject to availability. The setting operates during term time, so its funded provision sits within that attendance calendar.

Private childcare is charged by the hour, with current prices available in a written quotation from the nursery. There are no funding top-up charges or additional consumables charges. Monthly payment is the usual arrangement, with other payment options possible on request.

Fees remain payable during a child's illness or a holiday taken in term time. That is a meaningful budgeting condition for families whose travel plans do not follow the preschool calendar. The sessions and fees page sets out the attendance and charging arrangements.

• Learning for the youngest children. In October 2024, some activities were beyond the youngest children's developmental stage or difficult for them to access. On a visit, ask how activities are adapted for a younger child and what their participation looks like.
• Looking after shared resources. In October 2024, inconsistent encouragement to care for toys sometimes left play areas disorganised, making resources harder to choose and movement less straightforward. Ask how tidying and responsibility now form part of the day.
• Term-time attendance and absence charges. Care runs during term time, and fees continue during illness and term-time holidays. Families need to fit both the calendar and those payment conditions into their plans.

Muddy Puddles suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon sessions or flexible hours during term time, with gardening and children's interests providing substantial material for learning. Planting Through the Seasons gives that outdoor emphasis a clear, recurring shape.

The October 2024 priorities deserve attention, especially for a family considering the youngest age group. The strongest fit is a family that values language, practical independence and seasonal exploration, and whose childcare needs work within the term-time calendar.