Fence Pre School

An allotment, bug hotels and a recycled mud kitchen give Fence Pre School plenty of substance beyond its village setting. Children share one main room and outdoor space, with areas for construction, stories, movement and messy play. This is a preschool organised around choosing and doing, with the environment adapted to individual needs.

Based at Scout and Guide HQ on Wheatley Lane Road in Fence, it has capacity for 30 children and caters for ages two to five. Ofsted rated it Good on 5 May 2022. The practical offer combines session-based and full-day care during term time.

The shared environment matters for families choosing between a preschool and a nursery with separate age-based rooms. Children use the same overall space, while some music and story activities divide younger children from preschool children. The daily routine combines adult-led activities with opportunities to choose play indoors and outside.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, play, conversation, stories and practical tasks sit alongside observations that help staff plan each child's next steps. Activity sheets give parents an outline of what children will be doing, and monthly planning meetings bring those observations into future experiences.

Inside, the shared room has a home corner, a music area and spaces for mark making, construction and small-world play. A library/quiet area provides another choice alongside the physical and messy areas. Because this is a pack-away setting, the layout can change to accommodate a child's needs rather than requiring every child to fit a fixed arrangement.

News time gives children an opportunity to recount something from home or share an object that interests them. Songs about the days of the week and discussion of the weather form part of the routine. Singing and rhymes can involve individuals, pairs or groups, so taking part does not always mean performing with everyone together.

Crafts, painting and messy play feature in the day, and most toys change daily. That gives children fresh materials to explore within familiar routines. Aprons are provided, but practical clothes are sensible: this is a setting where making things can mean getting messy.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor provision has two different characters. Pedal bikes, scooters and ride-on vehicles use an area in the attached car park, while a purpose-built natural area contains an allotment, log piles, bug hotels and a recycled mud kitchen. Sensory tyres, a recycled music area and a wooden shed with sand pit area add further possibilities for investigation and imaginative play.

In May 2022, children used leaves from plants they had grown to scent their pretend cooking, and counted candles on a cake made from sand. They also examined tadpoles and connected what they saw with earlier drawings and photographs of frogspawn. These examples show how a garden activity could bring counting, observation and conversation into the same piece of play.

Relationships and Communication

Settling is adjusted to the child. Hourly introductory visits can be repeated without a fixed limit, with parents staying or leaving according to the family's needs. A key person follows the child's development through observations and a learning journey, giving parents a consistent point of contact as their child becomes familiar with preschool.

Communication includes daily conversations, newsletters and a whiteboard carrying information about the day. Parents can look at learning journeys and contribute through the nursery's I did something special sheets, completed with their child at home. This gives experiences outside preschool a place in the child's account of learning, rather than leaving staff to work only from what happens during attendance.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The manager and deputy hold SENCO responsibilities, and support can involve parents, the key worker and an inclusion teacher developing target learning plans. Links with the Beacon centre provide access to language support and help adapting information or obtaining resources. These are concrete routes for organising support around an individual child.

Access features include a ramp, widened doors and toilets adapted with handrails; the indoor setting is on one level. The natural outdoor area has a small kerb step, an important distinction for families assessing how their child would use the whole environment.

At the May 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with SEND well supported and included, with good progress in their development. Those judgements belong to that visit.

School preparation includes uniforms in role play, photographs of future teachers and visits from teachers before school taster sessions. Transition documents are handed over, and information can also follow a child moving to another setting. This preparation gives children concrete ways to discuss the people and routines they will encounter next.

Sessions and Attendance

Fence Pre School operates during term time, Monday to Friday, with opening hours of 8am to 4.30pm. Session-based and full-day care provide different attendance options. Enquiries can be made by telephone or through the contact form, and a registration form is completed for induction or the first day.

Getting There

The address is Scout and Guide HQ, Wheatley Lane Road, Fence, BB12 9EE. A large car park supports parking, while ramps and widened entrances help access to the indoor space.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the 15-hour early years entitlement for two- and three-year-olds; the two-year-old offer is conditional on meeting the eligibility criteria. The setting operates term time, and private childcare is also offered. Fees can be paid weekly or monthly and remain payable when a child cannot attend; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Children staying for lunch use their own lunchboxes, while snacks include fruit, toast and crackers alongside milk and water. Smile for Life is the nursery's healthy-eating theme, encouraging sugary foods to be kept to mealtimes.

• Group routines. In May 2022, some children lost interest during parts of the day, including group activities, and routines were not consistently adjusted to their developmental stages. At a visit, ask how shared activities now accommodate younger and older children.
• Putting training into practice. In May 2022, staff development needed stronger follow-through so new knowledge was used consistently in children's care and learning. Ask for a recent example of how training has changed daily practice.
• Term-time attendance. Session-based and full-day care operate within a term-time setting. This suits families whose childcare requirements follow that calendar; households needing holiday cover will need to plan separately.
• Access to outdoor play. The indoor space has ramps, widened doors and adapted toilets, while the natural area includes a small kerb step. Families using mobility equipment should explore how their child would reach and use both outdoor areas.

Fence Pre School suits families seeking either session-based preschool attendance or full-day care during term time, with children sharing a flexible environment. Its strongest practical attractions are the natural outdoor area, individual settling visits and the mechanisms for involving parents in learning and support.

The allotment and recycled mud kitchen give outdoor play substance, while transition work makes starting school a topic children can explore through familiar activities. The balance for families is clear: appealing provision for choosing, making and investigating, alongside dated concerns about keeping every child engaged and translating staff training into consistent practice.