Haxey Pre-School

Play built around children's interests gives Haxey Pre-School its character: choosing a story, serving a snack and exploring outdoors sit alongside more structured group activities. Based at Haxey Memorial Hall on High Street, it accepts children aged two to four and has 29 places in total. The scale is modest, but the important distinction is between that whole-setting capacity and the number attending together.

At its July 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective, while identifying improvements needed in children's understanding of online risks and the suitability of group activities for different abilities. That judgement is a dated assessment. Later regulatory action concerning supervision in November 2023 and February 2025 also matter to the choice, even though corrective action was recorded on both occasions.

Attendance follows the school terms, with opening hours of 8am to 6pm on weekdays and an earlier finishing limit for two-year-olds. For families, that age-dependent timetable is an important practical distinction.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides learning through play, covering language, physical development, relationships and the foundations of literacy and mathematics. Haxey's approach builds activities around children's interests and their next steps, rather than treating the timetable as the whole curriculum. Its curriculum policy sets out a cycle of assessing what a child can do, planning experiences and reviewing what they have learnt.

Practical independence receives clear attention. Children work towards dressing themselves, managing personal care and serving their own snacks, alongside joining stories and songs. These are useful aims for families weighing readiness for later education: confidence in everyday tasks sits beside early learning about words and numbers.

The example daily routine alternates free play, shared activities and outdoor time. At 2pm, children can vote for a story or wind down with yoga or calm music. That gives the day a quieter point as well as opportunities to be active. Calendar activities and circle time also feature, making the balance between individual play and group participation worth considering.

In July 2022, outdoor play included a large area of soil and mud. Children counted scoops while making pretend pancakes, carried buckets and dug with their whole bodies. The same experience combined counting with physical effort and imaginative play, a concrete example of learning that did not depend on sitting at a table.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor areas are used across the year, and the curriculum includes opportunities for local walks and visits. Community visitors can include police officers, nurses and a vet, connecting children's play with people and jobs beyond the setting. These are opportunities within the curriculum, rather than a fixed schedule of outings.

In July 2022, library visits allowed children to select books to take home. This extended access to stories beyond the preschool day and gave families something tangible to share afterwards. The curriculum also includes celebrations from different cultures and learning about everyday safety, including roads.

Relationships and Communication

Each key person assesses a child's abilities and plans the next stages of learning. Individual next steps are displayed to involve parents, while practitioners are available to discuss progress. This makes the link between home and preschool part of the learning process, rather than leaving parents with only a general account of the day.

Famly is the assessment and communication app: parents can view observations, send private messages and respond to posts. Photo sharing follows parental permissions, and posts are checked before being sent. The practical benefit is a route for exchanging information about an individual child as well as receiving updates.

In July 2022, children formed close relationships with staff and settled into play quickly. Practitioners extended conversations by allowing time for replies and asking questions about what children were doing. Those observations describe the relationships at that time; the current key-person arrangements provide the continuing structure for individual attention.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The team includes a SENCO role, and families are asked to share known additional needs when registering. Children who need help with nappies or toilet training can receive assistance, with privacy and dignity included in the personal-care arrangements. Independence is an aim, rather than a condition that every child must already meet.

The safeguarding policy provides a lead and deputy, staff training and procedures for raising concerns. It also recognises North Lincolnshire Council's One Family Approach, a framework for working with other agencies to support families early. These are arrangements and support mechanisms, rather than a fresh judgement on their effectiveness.

In November 2023, action followed a child being left briefly without supervision in a secure outdoor area; Ofsted subsequently recorded failings relating to staff:child ratios and supervision in February 2025, alongside action taken to address them. The later changes included immediate head counts as children moved between indoors and outdoors, staff briefings and management checks. Because supervision during those transitions recurred as an issue, the later action deserves weight alongside the older Good judgement.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Haxey Memorial Hall, High Street, Haxey, Doncaster, DN9 2HH. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, during term time, following North Lincolnshire term dates. Two-year-olds can attend between 8am and 3.30pm; children aged three and over can attend between 8am and 6pm. The longer opening window therefore does not apply equally across the age range.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email. Planned absences require written notification at least a month ahead, and illness-related absence remains chargeable. Families should factor that continuing payment into their childcare budget.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding is accepted for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Depending on eligibility, the arrangements cover up to 15 hours for two-year-olds and 15 or 30 hours for eligible families with children aged two, three or four. Delivery is during term time, and hours beyond the funded entitlement are charged privately. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Parents supply a packed lunch, water bottle, nappies, wipes and spare clothes. Funded preschool children attending at the relevant times receive cereal breakfast and snacks at no extra charge; children attending between 5pm and 6pm are asked for a voluntary contribution towards a two-course hot tea. The example tea menu includes vegetable pasta bake, jacket potato with beans and fish fingers, giving families a useful picture of the food offered.

• Repeated supervision concerns. Action was recorded in November 2023 and February 2025 following supervision failures involving outdoor transitions. At a visit, ask how head counts and management checks are maintained during changes between activities and spaces.
• An earlier finish for younger children. Two-year-olds can attend only until 3.30pm, while the window for children aged three and over extends to 6pm. This can change the arrangement a working family needs as a child grows.
• Group activities and online safety. The July 2022 improvement points concerned adapting shared activities to children's abilities and teaching about digital risks. Ask how calendar time now includes younger children and children with SEND, and how online safety is introduced.

Haxey Pre-School suits families seeking term-time childcare with play-led learning, practical independence and individual communication through Famly. Its curriculum gives parents concrete aims to follow, and the age-dependent attendance windows make the practical fit clear.

The July 2022 Good judgement is only part of the decision. Repeated supervision failures, followed by corrective action, make the handling of indoor and outdoor transitions a central consideration alongside the learning offer and the shorter day for two-year-olds.