Brant Broughton Preschool

A separate preschool and gardens within primary-school grounds give Brant Broughton Preschool a small-scale base with room to explore. It has capacity for 18 children, accepts children from 18 months to five years, and combines child-led play with weekly forestry, movement and cookery sessions. The appeal is concrete: children can use a willow area, trim trail, outdoor classroom and playground alongside the preschool’s own space.

At its September 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the preschool Good overall and found safeguarding effective, while identifying inconsistent interaction with quieter children as the main improvement needed. That qualification matters alongside the positive judgement. Families choosing for a child who tends to hang back should give adult attention during independent play close consideration.

Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance are offered, with breakfast and after-preschool clubs extending the day. This is term-time provision rather than a year-round childcare arrangement.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, covering language, physical and social development alongside literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. Brant Broughton’s in the moment planning builds on children’s interests as they play, giving staff opportunities to develop an activity from what a child is already exploring. Adult-led activities sit alongside children’s own choices.

There is substance beyond the approach’s name. Painting, baking, stories and role play offer different ways to practise skills, while the home corner, construction activities and individual story books give children materials for imaginative play. The practical benefit is variety within a familiar setting: a child can explore an idea through making, talking or pretending rather than following only one route.

In September 2024, mathematical activities included filling containers with sand using toy diggers, counting bottle tops and comparing portions of fruit. These examples connected number and quantity to things children were handling. Fine-motor practice involved tweezers, with staff demonstrating the grip and helping children coordinate their fingers. Learning was tied to a purposeful task.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School For All provides a weekly forestry session involving outdoor activities. The preschool also runs weekly cookery and movement and wiggle PE sessions on different days, adding organised cooking and physical activity to the play-based day. A church play session with the local Reverend brings another community connection.

Free flow gives children choices about their activities and play companions, with outdoor play possible throughout the year. Access to the primary school’s willow area, trim trail, playground and outdoor classroom broadens the physical setting beyond the preschool’s separate gardens. That combination gives outdoor activity an everyday place as well as a scheduled forestry session.

In September 2024, children practised moving between tyres, placing their hands and feet before reaching and jumping. Staff also prompted them to wear helmets for bicycles and scooters. These were practical opportunities to develop movement and recognise how to play safely.

Relationships and Communication

In September 2024, staff gathered information from parents before children attended, covering their interests and developmental needs, using it to shape support and contact other services where needed, including for speech and language. Daily conversations with families and books sent home also connected preschool experiences with learning at home. These arrangements gave parents specific ways to contribute, rather than leaving communication solely to formal meetings.

Everyday responsibilities helped children participate in the group. In September 2024, lunchtime monitors helped organise the queue for handwashing, while ball-rolling games gave children practice waiting and taking turns. Children also checked on friends who fell over. Small tasks and shared games made social expectations tangible.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The staff structure includes designated safeguarding leadership, SEND coordination and a deputy SEND coordinator, with paediatric first-aid training among staff qualifications. These are practical roles supporting the organisation of care; they sit alongside, rather than replace, the dated safeguarding judgement.

At the September 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that quieter children choosing their own play sometimes received less sustained interaction than confident peers, and asked staff to make their engagement more consistent. For parents, the important distinction is between support during an organised activity and attention when a child quietly pursues something independently. Attention during independent play is an important consideration for families with quieter children.

Food can be a cooked meal from Good Lookin Cookin or a packed lunch supplied by the family. Children attending the breakfast or after-preschool club can have a small breakfast or afternoon snack respectively.

Sessions and Attendance

The preschool opens from 7.45am to 5.30pm, operates five days a week and runs for 38 weeks during term time. Fee-paying full days run from 8.45am to 3.15pm; morning attendance ends at noon, and afternoon attendance runs from noon to 3.15pm. This gives families a choice between a shorter session and a full preschool day.

Funded sessions follow a different core timetable: 9am to noon, noon to 3pm, or 9am to 3pm. Breakfast Club runs from 7.45am to 8.45am, and After preschool club from 3.15pm to 5.30pm. Both clubs require advance booking. The distinction between funded core hours and the longer paid day matters when arranging collection or work commitments.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both fee-paying care and the 15 hours and 30 hours funded entitlements are offered, subject to eligibility. Funded attendance is term-time, with the usual core window running from 9am to 3pm; using funded hours beyond that window requires discussion with the manager. Additional time between 8.45am and 9am, and between 3pm and 3.15pm, carries a separate charge.

Breakfast and after-preschool clubs are priced separately, and late collection can attract a discretionary charge as well as payment for the additional time. Obtain current prices in the preschool’s written quotation and use its sessions and fees information to distinguish the preschool session from club attendance.

Getting There

The address is Mill Lane, Brant Broughton, Lincoln, LN5 0RP, within the grounds of Brant Broughton Primary School. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01400 279061 or through the contact form.

Sharing the school grounds does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still need to use the local authority admissions process for a state-school application.

• Attention during independent play. The September 2024 improvement point concerned quieter children. During a visit, ask how staff notice and extend the play of children who rarely seek adult attention.
• Term-time coverage. The preschool operates for 38 weeks. Families needing childcare throughout school holidays will need to account for that calendar when deciding whether the arrangement fits.
• The funded and paid day differ. Funded core sessions begin at 9am and finish by 3pm, while paid full days begin at 8.45am and end at 3.15pm. Discuss the intended booking pattern and treatment of time beyond funded core hours before joining.
• Lunch and care supplies. A Good Lookin Cookin meal or a family-packed lunch are the meal choices. Request a written breakdown of meal and non-food consumable arrangements for the chosen funded or paid sessions.

Brant Broughton Preschool suits families wanting morning or afternoon sessions as well as full preschool days, with pre-booked clubs extending term-time care. Its separate gardens, access to school outdoor spaces and weekly forestry, cookery and movement sessions give the offer a clear practical character.

The September 2024 Good judgement is balanced by a specific concern about quieter children’s access to adult interaction. For a family whose child prefers independent play, that is the most useful point to explore alongside the timetable. The fit is strongest where the term-time calendar and choice of shorter or longer sessions match family routines.