Bunnies Preschool, Great Ashby

Conkers, pine cones and wooden percussion instruments give Bunnies Preschool, Great Ashby a recognisable character: ordinary objects become starting points for discovery. In September 2024, children investigated how weather affects pine cones, explored rhythm with claves and practised counting while making bead bracelets. These are small, concrete experiences with several kinds of learning built into them.

Ofsted rated the preschool Good on 23 September 2024. The setting operates at Great Ashby Community Centre in Stevenage and accepts children aged two to five. Its main hall and secure outdoor area provide the physical setting for play.

Morning sessions, afternoon sessions and lunch clubs give families different ways to use this term-time preschool. The important distinction is between its shorter sessions and a full working-day childcare arrangement: the afternoon finishes at 3pm, with an earlier Friday closing time.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes activities and routines here. For children, that means learning through play while developing communication, movement and relationships alongside early skills and knowledge. It is the foundation for the day, rather than an extra programme that sets one nursery apart from another.

The daily routine combines free play with small-group time, snacks, stories and singing. Music signals when children should help put resources away, and both the morning and afternoon end with books and songs. That gives the sessions a recognisable sequence while leaving room for children to choose activities between group moments.

In September 2024, books supplied ideas that staff returned to through planned activities. Children made caterpillars using wool and paper plates, while adults explained where wool comes from and what people can make with it. Craft therefore carried a conversation about materials, rather than ending with the finished picture.

Practical tasks brought different skills together. During the same month, threading beads onto pipe cleaners combined finger control with counting; making marks in flour offered another way to practise hand movements before writing. Children also worked together on a tower made from large construction bricks. These examples give a clearer picture of the learning than a curriculum label alone.

The balance between adult organisation and children's choices needed attention. In September 2024, some group routines interrupted activities children wanted to continue, reducing their opportunity to stay absorbed in play. That matters for a child who needs time to develop an idea rather than move quickly to the next task.

Outdoor and Community Life

The secure outdoor area extends the preschool beyond the community centre's main hall. In September 2024, children practised steering scooters around others, ran and jumped after bubbles, and handled insects with reminders about being gentle. Movement and close observation both had a place outdoors.

The calendar also brings shared occasions into preschool life. Halloween day in November 2025 and World Book Day in March 2026 each allowed children to dress up if they wanted to. The optional costumes gave families a choice about taking part; these were celebrations within those dated terms.

Relationships and Communication

Key-person roles sit within the Great Ashby staff team, alongside preschool leadership, a deputy and practitioners. There are also designated safeguarding and special educational needs coordinator roles. For families, that creates identifiable responsibilities for everyday relationships and for concerns requiring more specific attention.

In September 2024, settling sessions helped staff learn about children's care needs and what they could already do. Adults used that starting information when planning activities and adjusted teaching for different abilities. Children sought staff out during play, giving the relationship a practical role in their day.

Communication worked through conversations with parents and an online platform carrying photographs and written updates about development. In September 2024, staff also exchanged information with other settings children attended. That supported continuity for children whose week involved more than one provider, rather than treating each setting's learning as separate.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities making good progress, supported by individual plans developed with parents and other professionals. Additional funding was used for those children's needs. This is a dated judgement about how support worked in practice.

Independence was built into ordinary tasks. In September 2024, staff gave children time to persevere with coats and to clear their plates after snacks. Responsibilities also included ringing a bell to invite others to use the toilet. The emphasis was on children taking an active part in the routine.

Behaviour support had a clear limitation. During that month, adults stepped in promptly when behaviour needed addressing, but did not consistently explain its effect on other children. Stopping an incident and helping a child understand it are different tasks. The latter was an improvement priority.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon daily. Afternoon sessions run from noon to 3pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and lunch clubs are offered across the week. The opening hours are 9am to 3pm from Monday to Thursday and 9am to 1pm on Friday, during term time.

The routine distinguishes noon collection from staying for lunch, and includes a 1pm collection for lunch-club children. This offers a useful bridge between a morning session and an afternoon attendance pattern. Friday's earlier finish is a concrete scheduling consideration for anyone organising work or another child's collection.

Getting There

The address is Great Ashby Community Centre, Whitehorse Lane, Stevenage, SG1 6NH. Families can request an information pack through the Great Ashby enquiry form, and completed registration forms can be returned by email to the setting.

Funding and Paid Extras

In September 2024, the preschool provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. Families should obtain current prices in the nursery's written quotation.

• Time to finish play. Adult-led routines interrupted some chosen activities in September 2024. During a visit, ask how staff now protect a child's concentration when group time begins.
• Explaining behaviour. Helping children understand how their actions affect others was a September 2024 improvement priority. A useful discussion is how staff turn an intervention into an explanation children can understand.
• Friday arrangements. Friday closes at 1pm, while the other weekdays finish at 3pm. Families needing a consistent afternoon pattern will need to account for that difference.
• Funded attendance and extras. Funded early education formed part of the September 2024 provision. What funded pattern, meal arrangements and consumables terms would apply to your proposed booking?

Bunnies suits families seeking a term-time preschool with a choice of morning sessions, afternoon sessions and lunch clubs. Its community-centre setting, outdoor space and practical learning examples give it a clear identity. The September 2024 account also shows meaningful communication with parents and support organised around individual children.

The reservations are specific: protecting sustained play and explaining the consequences of behaviour both needed work. Alongside those priorities, the shorter Friday makes attendance planning important. For families whose schedules fit its session patterns, this is a preschool worth considering for its hands-on day and established relationships with children.