Chaddlewood Pre-school & Woodies Out Of School Club

An enclosed garden with a covered outdoor area, a mud kitchen and vegetables grown for eating give Chaddlewood a practical, outdoorsy character. Its two buildings, the Bungalow and the Hut, separate younger children from those preparing for school, while a familiar key person can move between them with a child. That continuity matters as much as the change of surroundings.

Chaddlewood Pre-school & Woodies Out Of School Club shares Chaddlewood Primary School's site in Plympton, Plymouth. The preschool accepts children aged two to four, and the setting has 48 places in total. At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective, with positive findings about the curriculum and relationships alongside improvements needed in adult-led activities and managing indoor noise.

This is a charity run through a parent committee, giving families a route to influence its work as well as receive childcare. Preschool mornings, afternoons and full days run during term time; Woodies adds breakfast and after-school provision. The appeal is the combination of practical learning, continuity of care and attendance patterns that can fit different family routines.

Rooms and Ages

The Bungalow serves two- and three-year-olds, combining painting, construction, sensory trays and stories with an enclosed garden reached through a covered outdoor space, so children can choose between indoor and outdoor play across changing weather. This is a useful arrangement for younger children who want to return to a familiar activity rather than move together through a rigid timetable.

For three- and four-year-olds, the Hut combines role play and science experiments with practising everyday independence, including serving food, getting dressed and washing hands. Mixing oil with water, investigating cornstarch and making playdough give children concrete materials to explore. Questions and experiments sit alongside the self-care habits they will use at school.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, play, conversation and adult-supported activities help children develop their language, physical abilities and social skills. Chaddlewood Preschool curriculum is the setting's own named addition, with an emphasis on wellbeing and preparing children for changes between buildings and on to school.

In The Moment planning means adults observe children's interests, join their play and extend learning as it happens. A child absorbed in painting can keep exploring that interest with adult help. It makes children's choices part of planning rather than treating the timetable as the only starting point.

In September 2025, children counted while constructing towers with magnetic shapes and used shape names during play. Sensory exploration also prompted conversation about texture. These examples show how number and vocabulary work can sit within activities children already enjoy.

The same visit identified a limitation: some organised tasks were too easy for some children, who completed them quickly and then waited. Indoor noise sometimes also made listening and concentration difficult. Those points matter when judging how well a busy session works for children who need either greater challenge or a quieter space.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Forest area includes a large mud kitchen and different terrain to explore. It provides opportunities for messy play and exploring different surfaces. Planting offers another sort of hands-on experience: the Bungalow has space for growing fruit and vegetables, while the Hut's mini allotment connects growing food with preparing and eating it.

In September 2025, children tended pumpkins and strawberries in the pizza garden and took part in recycling. Growing and caring for plants made changes in the natural world something they could follow themselves. Recycling added a practical responsibility within the setting.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated before a child starts and becomes the family's main contact for care and development. An All about me form introduces the child's needs and preferences, and settling arrangements are agreed with parents. A parent or close relative can remain during early sessions, with separation increasing as the child becomes comfortable.

The settling policy explicitly rejects leaving a distressed child to cry as a way of speeding up the process. For families making their first move into childcare, that means allowing time for a relationship to develop rather than expecting an immediate handover. Comfort items from home are welcome too.

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that the key-person arrangements supported secure relationships, including keeping the same key person when children moved from the toddler room to the preschool room, and that parents received useful feedback, including information in home languages. The current arrangements also aim to maintain familiar key people across the Bungalow and Hut. Moving buildings can therefore preserve an existing adult relationship.

Tapestry is an online learning journal where staff share observations, photographs and videos, and parents can contribute comments and experiences from home. Weekly building newsletters and parent appointments add other routes for communication. Families can see what children have been doing and contribute details that help staff understand them beyond the preschool day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Each building has a SENCO role. The Graduated Approach to Inclusion uses observation and assessment to identify needs, plan additional support and review it with families. Where targeted help is required, an Individual Education Plan sets specific goals; the SEND policy provides for reviews with parents, the key person and SENCO every four weeks.

Support mechanisms include picture cues, visual timetables, small-group work and sensory room sessions. Makaton accompanies speech, with at least one sign introduced each week to support vocabulary and participation. Specialist advice can be sought through Plymouth Early Help Access, and the SENCO can work with families on requesting an Education, Health and Care Plan assessment. These are concrete routes for support rather than a blanket promise about outcomes.

Children can attend while still wearing nappies. Staff work with parents on toilet training, and families provide nappies, wipes and spare clothing. Supervised Toothbrushing teaches children to brush for themselves as part of their routine, with brushes and toothpaste supplied; participation requires parental permission.

Staff undertake continuing professional development, and the team has paediatric first-aid, safeguarding and Prevent training. These arrangements describe preparation and procedures; the dated safeguarding judgement remains the relevant assessment of effectiveness.

Sessions and Attendance

The setting's address is Hemerdon Heights, Plympton, Plymouth, PL7 2EU, within Chaddlewood Primary School's grounds. Preschool operates Monday to Friday during term time, with morning sessions from 9am to noon, afternoons from 12.45pm to 3.15pm and full days from 9am to 3.15pm. Lunch Club occupies the interval from noon to 12.45pm.

Woodies Out of School Club runs from the Hut and accepts children aged two to eleven. Breakfast Club runs from 7.30am to 9am, and After School Club from 3.15pm to 6pm, during term time. Once registered, families book Woodies hours and days through the School gateway app.

Preschool invoices are payable in advance, and booked sessions remain payable during short absences such as illness or holidays. Permanent changes or cancellation require two weeks' written notice; fees remain payable if that notice is not given. The contact form offers an enquiry route, alongside telephone contact with either building.

Funding and Paid Extras

Chaddlewood accepts 15 hour and 30 hour funding and ME2 funding, subject to the relevant eligibility conditions. Provision is term time, and the fees guidance describes the 15-hour entitlement across 38 weeks. Additional private childcare is charged separately from funded entitlement. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

A voluntary termly contribution covers snacks and non-food items such as suncream and tissues, including items outside funding. Hot lunches are separately charged, including for children using funded hours; families can instead supply a packed lunch. Parents provide nappies and personal wipes, while the setting also supplies toothbrushing materials through its provision and requests a voluntary contribution towards such consumables. Book bags and wet bags attract a separate charge, and branded clothing is optional.

An enrolment payment is credited against the first invoice. This sits separately from ongoing childcare charges, meals and consumables. The fees and funding page explains the main session and contribution structure.

Hot lunches are prepared in Chaddlewood Primary School's kitchen, follow a three-week menu cycle and must be ordered for the whole term. The nursery requests nut-free lunch boxes, while its food policy allows some products carrying nut-factory warnings for children without a known nut allergy.

Being on the primary school's site supports transition activity, including access to its foundation environment and enhanced sessions for children with additional needs. Attendance at the preschool does not guarantee a Reception place at Chaddlewood Primary School. Families apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Challenge and indoor noise. In September 2025, some children finished adult-led tasks too quickly and noise sometimes interrupted listening. During a tour, ask how tasks now accommodate different developmental stages and how staff keep busy indoor sessions manageable.
• Term-time attendance. Morning, afternoon and full-day preschool patterns sit alongside Woodies breakfast and after-school clubs, but provision runs during term time. Families needing childcare through school holidays should factor that calendar into their choice.
• Allergies and lunch planning. Hot meals require a whole-term order, and the food policy distinguishes nut ingredients from some nut-factory warnings. Families affected by allergies should confirm current ingredient checks, dietary arrangements and their child's care plan before choosing meals.
• Settling and moving buildings. Parents can remain during settling, and familiar key people can accompany children between buildings. Ask how the settling timetable and eventual Bungalow-to-Hut move would be organised for your child.

Chaddlewood suits families seeking term-time preschool mornings, afternoons or full days, with Woodies offering additional breakfast and after-school patterns. Its strongest practical combination is outdoor access, growing food and familiar key people across two age-based buildings. The parent committee also gives families a way to contribute to decisions.

The September 2025 concerns about challenge and indoor noise deserve attention alongside the strengths. For a child who enjoys practical exploration, and a family comfortable with the term-time calendar, this is a setting with a clear character and useful support mechanisms. School-site transition work is an advantage in preparation, while Reception admission remains a separate application.