Bottesford Bunnies

Busy Bear and Busy Bunny bring a little of preschool life home: these take-home companions help children who need more time to settle, with families sharing their adventures through Parentzone. That small, practical bridge between home and nursery captures Bottesford Bunnies’ emphasis on relationships and communication.

At its March 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Outstanding, found safeguarding effective and judged that children made excellent progress, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. The current offer combines a designated key person, a buddy when that practitioner is away and a SEND team using a structured cycle of assessment and support.

Bottesford Bunnies caters for children aged 24 to 60 months in Scunthorpe. Attendance is term-time, with morning, afternoon and full-day patterns, making the calendar as important a consideration as the learning offer.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play and working towards early learning goals. Here, communication and emotional understanding receive explicit attention: children are helped to recognise their feelings and those of other people, alongside developing the language to express themselves.

Birth to Five, the guidance document used to shape the curriculum, informs a balance between activities led by adults and those chosen by children. Planning starts from each child’s starting point rather than assuming everyone follows the same route. An annual plan covers seasons, festivals and celebrations; weekly planning also draws on children’s interests and their next steps. This gives practitioners room to respond to what children are curious about while keeping learning purposeful.

Morning and afternoon routines include indoor and outdoor play, adult-supported activities, snacks and group stories. Children have opportunities to choose their play as well as join something organised by a practitioner. The alternation matters: a session has a recognisable shape, but children also exercise choice within it.

In March 2022, language work was visible in water play, where adults introduced more precise vocabulary and allowed children time to answer questions. Reading The Owl Babies prompted conversations about feelings. These examples connect speech with something children are doing or imagining, rather than treating language as an isolated exercise.

Mathematics also appeared in everyday play in March 2022. Children searched for numbers, counted their finds and used counting during hide-and-seek. A role-play flower shop gave another concrete setting for imaginative activity, while dental learning included brushing giant teeth and discussing foods. Ordinary interests became opportunities to practise language, number and self-care.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play forms part of both main sessions, and the outdoor provision is on one level. The building is also single-storey, with an entrance ramp and an accessible toilet off the main room. These are useful physical arrangements for families considering mobility and access: movement between spaces deserves attention alongside what happens within them.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with visits to the setting and home visits. A designated key person helps each child become familiar with activities and routines, while the buddy arrangement provides another familiar contact when that practitioner is unavailable. Responsibility for knowing a child is made explicit.

Busy Bear and Busy Bunny extend that relationship into family life. Children who are taking time to settle can bring the teddy bear and rabbit home for a few days, and parents share what happens through Parentzone, the online platform. This gives families a concrete way to connect home experiences with preschool conversations.

In March 2022, parents met their child’s key person each term, either online or in person, to discuss development and ideas for learning at home. Children’s acts of kindness and attentive participation were recognised through a reward star, with adults explaining the reasons to their friends. Recognition was attached to specific actions rather than simply being good.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Two trained SENCOs coordinate the graduated approach: assess a child’s needs, plan support, put it into practice and review it. The team has experience with Education, Health and Care plans. Its work with other professionals includes health visitors, the Early Years Inclusion Team and the Speech and Language Therapy Service. These are identifiable routes for organising support, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

All educators have first aid, food hygiene and safeguarding training. These arrangements sit alongside the dated safeguarding judgement above; training describes the provision in place, while the inspection judgement belongs to March 2022.

Snack time operates café-style, allowing children to decide when to eat, and weekly snack information includes allergens through Parent zone and the display board. Families provide packed lunches under a policy excluding egg, bananas, nuts and sweets.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Bramley Crescent, Scunthorpe, DN16 3SN. Main bookings are morning sessions from 9am to 11.30am, afternoon sessions from 12.30pm to 3pm and full days from 9am to 3pm. Lunch sits between the two shorter sessions, from 11.30am to 12.30pm, so a full day includes a separate midday period.

Early sessions have starting options of 8.15am, 8.30am and 8.45am, subject to availability. Late sessions are subject to availability, and opening from 3pm to 4pm also depends on demand. These extensions should be understood alongside the core patterns, rather than treated as an unconditional daily opening window.

Attendance follows term time, with closure during school holidays. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form. The calendar therefore suits families arranging preschool around term dates, while holiday care requires separate planning.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes eligible two-year-old funding, Universal 15 hour funding and the Extended 30 hour offer for 3 and 4 year olds, subject to the relevant eligibility conditions. Funding is delivered over 38 weeks of the academic year. Private hours are also offered, including care outside funded hours.

Parents supply lunch; snacks are charged separately, with the snack charge waived for children receiving non-working-parent two-year-old funding or Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP). Lunch care and early care can carry separate charges when they fall outside funding, and early care does not include breakfast.

Fees remain payable during absence. Withdrawal or changes to sessions require four weeks’ written notice, with fees continuing during that period. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the sessions and funding page sets out the booking and charge structure.

• Core sessions and extensions. Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings offer different lengths of attendance, while early care depends on availability and late care on both availability and demand. At a visit, discuss how those conditions would work for your intended weekly pattern.
• Settling and additional support. Home visits, take-home companions and two SENCOs provide concrete starting points. Ask how the key person and SENCO team would organise your child’s settling plan and review any support needs.
• Food arrangements. Packed lunches exclude egg, bananas, nuts and sweets, and snack information includes allergens. Families managing allergies should confirm current practice and how their child’s requirements will be handled.
• Term dates and notice. School-holiday closure limits the attendance calendar, and session changes require four weeks’ written notice with continuing fees. These terms matter if work schedules or care arrangements change.

Bottesford Bunnies suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon preschool sessions as well as those wanting a full day. Its most persuasive current details are practical: a key person with buddy cover, Busy Bear and Busy Bunny linking home with preschool, and a structured SEND process supported by accessible premises.

The Outstanding judgement dates from March 2022. Alongside that inspection position, the current curriculum and care arrangements give parents specific features to weigh against the term-time calendar, conditional extensions and continuing-fee notice terms.