St Mary's Church Pre-School

The Chapter House gives St Mary's Church Pre-School its recognisable setting: a preschool within the grounds of St Mary's Church in Yatton, taking children from two years old until school age. With 24 places in total, this is provision for the preschool years rather than a nursery spanning babies through to older children.

At its June 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the preschool Good and safeguarding effective, while calling for better adaptation of activities and clearer teaching of healthy habits. Those findings give families both a positive assessment and concrete questions to pursue.

Morning attendance, a lunch extension and a longer daytime option give families different ways to use the preschool during term time. Thursday has an earlier finish.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the required framework for learning, development and care: here, the sample day translates it into play, conversation, stories and opportunities to become more independent. Children can choose construction, creative work or puzzles, with sand, water and play dough also part of the activity mix. These are practical ways to explore materials and practise handling tools.

Calendar and circle teddy time gives children a small-group opportunity to discuss experiences and speak about things that interest them. Later, Musical Movement brings movement and rhyme together. Alongside story time and singing, these give the day points when children listen and participate together, as well as periods of choosing their own activities.

In June 2023, books provided starting points for learning, with audio books and a story corner giving children different ways to engage with stories. Adults extended conversation through questions and introduced vocabulary while reading. During a play dough activity, counting and words describing shape, weight and size brought mathematical ideas into hands-on play. The useful connection is between the activity and the language accompanying it, rather than learning being confined to a separate lesson.

Outdoor and Community Life

An outdoor play area complements the indoor activities. The sample timetable also includes larger play equipment and dressing up, with an emphasis on movement and awareness of other people’s space.

In June 2023, children visited a local school, met teachers and used its playground. Scooters, climbing and running made those visits opportunities for physical play as well as preparation for a new setting. These were transition activities, rather than an admissions advantage.

Tapestry, an online application for learning diaries, is being introduced to replace paper diaries. For parents, the change concerns how their child’s learning is recorded and shared, rather than an additional activity in the nursery day.

At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that parents valued detailed feedback and ongoing support, and that staff used signs and pictures to help children who had greater difficulty communicating. The practical detail matters: communication support included alternatives to spoken language, while families received information about their children’s experiences.

In June 2023, staff also worked with outside professionals on individual targets and funding, and liaised with children’s next schools. Adults helped children practise managing lunch items themselves and encouraged handwashing. However, children sometimes resumed playing between washing their hands and eating, weakening the lesson about avoiding the spread of germs.

Health procedures are specific. Children with sickness or diarrhoea must stay home for at least 48 hours; for a high temperature alone, the rule is 24 hours or until their temperature is normal. Medication requires prior consent, written instructions and a labelled container, with administration recorded for the parent or carer to sign. These arrangements affect both attendance and the handover of medicines.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Chapter House, St Mary's Church, Church Road, Yatton, BS49 4HH. Attendance follows the term calendar, and the preschool opens on local schools’ in-service days. The 2026/27 calendar also includes an additional five-day closure before the final term, attributed to national funding rules, so families should build that break into their childcare plans.

Three attendance options are offered. Option 1 runs from 9am to noon, Monday to Friday; Option 2 extends the morning to 12.45pm on those days. Option 3 runs from 9am to 3pm, except on Thursday, when it finishes at 12.45pm. The lunch extension is therefore a separate choice from both the shorter morning and the longer daytime pattern.

Email is the contact route for enquiries. The waiting list is ordered by children’s dates of birth, a durable rule that families can use to understand the joining process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, with 15 or 30 hours dependent on eligibility, alongside paid attendance. The term-time calendar governs attendance; current prices come in the preschool’s written quotation, and fees are payable at the start of each half term. The general information and fees page brings the attendance options and payment terms together.

For Options 2 and 3, parents supply a packed lunch and may also send a drink. The lunch instructions prohibit peanut butter and Nutella or other chocolate spreads because of nut allergies.

There is no deposit to reserve a place. Fees are not refunded, although missed days may be made up where possible; leaving requires a month’s notice, otherwise a charge equivalent to four weeks’ fees applies. These terms make the intended attendance pattern worth settling before committing.

• Thursday and term breaks. Even the longest option ends at 12.45pm on Thursday, and the 2026/27 calendar adds five closed days before the final term. Consider how those shorter periods fit your working week and holiday cover.
• Activity changes and hygiene. In June 2023, some transitions took too long and activities sometimes lost children’s interest; teaching about germs also needed more consistency. During a visit, ask how staff now adjust activities and manage the sequence between handwashing and lunch.
• Packed lunches and allergies. The two longer options require food from home, with restrictions on peanut butter and chocolate spreads. Families managing allergies should confirm current practice during their visit.

St Mary's Church Pre-School suits families seeking term-time morning attendance, a morning with lunch, or a longer daytime option on days other than Thursday. Its Chapter House setting, small-group conversation and movement sessions give it a clear identity, while the June 2023 findings identify practical areas to examine. The deciding fit is the combination of attendance pattern and preschool learning: this offer gives families several choices, each within a defined term-time rhythm.