St Lawrence Pre-school, North Wingfield

A garden whose crops become snack food, two animal-named play rooms and a strong emphasis on doing things independently give St Lawrence its character. Based at the Rectory School Rooms in North Wingfield, this charitable pre-school combines everyday practical learning with outdoor play and close contact between families and each child's key person.

Ofsted rated the setting Good on 16 November 2023. The useful detail behind that judgement is balanced: children practised managing tasks for themselves and enjoyed active outdoor games, while inconsistent responses to behaviour and noise during concentrated activities needed attention.

There are 35 places in total. Children can start after their second birthday and remain until the term after turning five; attendance runs during term time, with morning, afternoon and full-day choices.

Rooms and Ages

The jungle room is the principal indoor play space, combining resources for building, making and imaginative play that children can choose independently. The smaller tiger room accommodates activities including stories and climbing apparatus. These are different spaces for play, rather than a published sequence of age-banded rooms.

That freedom to choose matters here. Children can pursue an interest rather than spend the whole session moving through activities selected by adults. Adult-led learning also forms part of the day, so choosing independently sits alongside opportunities to join something planned.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play and experience, with activities adapted to children's development. St Lawrence gives particular emphasis to language, independence, physical development and experiences beyond familiar routines. Its curriculum connects those priorities to concrete daily tasks.

Books and songs accompany play, and staff have training specifically to support speech and language. The pre-school holds communication-friendly accreditation. A lending library and story sacks let families carry shared reading into home life, while an activity pack goes home each term for children to complete with their families.

Independence is practised in small, useful steps: managing coats, opening lunch, selecting snack food and pouring a drink. Daily movement activities also develop the hand control needed for making marks. These priorities link learning to things children actually need to do for themselves.

In November 2023, children rolled and pressed dough and made vegetable prints with paint. Adults used the cut vegetables to introduce comparisons between whole objects and halves. The same activity therefore brought together hand movement, creative work and early mathematical ideas.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play takes place in every session. Growing crops in the mini garden connects planting with eating the harvest at snack time. For building and imaginative games, children have a pebble space for vehicles and construction, plus a kitchen in the large sandpit. They choose equipment from outdoor sheds themselves. Shelters allow play to continue in different weather conditions within the enclosed, artificial-grass space.

Regular walks extend children's experience into the local community. At least one outing takes place each year, and a Christmas party forms part of the offer. Neither needs to overshadow the everyday attraction: growing, digging, building and playing outside are woven into ordinary attendance.

In November 2023, children rode bikes around a track and used coloured cones to control a stopping-and-starting game. Balance beams and crates offered further movement challenges. Those examples show how outdoor equipment was used for cooperation as well as physical practice.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who builds a relationship with the family and keeps a development file containing photographs, observations and summaries. Families receive development summaries each term; folders can be viewed on request and at information evenings, then go with the child when they leave.

Stay and play sessions give parents a way to join their child's activities. Together with the development folder and take-home packs, this makes communication more tangible than a brief account of whether the day went well: families can see what their child is working on and continue some of it at home.

In November 2023, managers visited families at home before children started, gathering information to inform settling and learning. Home-learning activities also supported continuity between the pre-school and family life.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and that learning plans included children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, with children making good progress from their starting points. The current staff structure includes a SENCo role and safeguarding lead roles, providing identifiable responsibilities for additional support and safeguarding arrangements.

Potty training is supported in partnership with families. Children practise handling their own clothes and belongings as part of preparation for greater independence at school. The pre-school is predominantly Christian and also celebrates other faiths and festivals, a meaningful consideration for families choosing its daily culture.

In November 2023, children brought lunch boxes and staff encouraged them to recognise healthy foods and follow handwashing routines. Food was also used as an opportunity for conversation and self-care.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Rectory School Rooms, St Lawrence Road, North Wingfield, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S42 5HX. Opening hours are 8.30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, during term time.

Morning sessions start at either 8.30am or 9am and finish at noon or 1pm. The afternoon session runs from 1pm to 4pm. Full days begin at either 8.30am or 9am and end at 3pm or 4pm. This gives families a choice between a shorter morning, an afternoon and a day extending through lunchtime.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare is accepted for two-year-olds and three- to four-year-olds, and parents can also pay privately for attendance. Provision operates during term time. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

The contact number is 07969 479260, and families can use the contact form for an enquiry. The mix of session lengths is useful, but the term-time calendar remains the central practical constraint for anyone organising childcare throughout the year.

• Consistent behaviour guidance. In November 2023, adults did not consistently explain why an action needed to stop, leaving some children unclear about its effect on others. During a visit, ask how staff now use a shared approach to explaining boundaries.
• Space for concentration. Noise interrupted some individual and small-group learning in November 2023. Ask how quieter activities are organised across the jungle room and tiger room, especially if your child finds busy spaces difficult.
• Term-time attendance. Morning, afternoon and full-day patterns operate within a term-time calendar. Families needing care during school holidays will need to plan around that pattern.
• Written charge structure. Funded and privately paid attendance are both offered. Before committing, request a written breakdown covering meals, non-food consumables and any additional charges alongside the proposed sessions.

St Lawrence suits families seeking term-time mornings, afternoons or full days, with practical independence and outdoor activity threaded through the offer. The garden, lending resources and development folders give parents concrete ways to understand and extend their child's learning.

The November 2023 findings leave two clear matters to explore: consistent behaviour guidance and quieter space for focused work. Families comfortable with the predominantly Christian character and term-time timetable have a clear basis for weighing the pre-school's fit.