Anston Stones Early Years

Weekly woodland learning and a targeted language programme give Anston Stones Early Years a clear identity: outdoor exploration has a regular place in the week, while communication gets attention through the Tiny Talkers language intervention. This is a preschool for children aged two to four, based on the Anston Park Infant School site in Park Avenue, with capacity for 32 children.

At its October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. The detail behind that judgement is useful: children could move freely outside, staff developed conversations around play, and everyday tasks gave children opportunities to become more independent.

Attendance is term-time, with full-day, morning and afternoon options and a minimum booking of two sessions each week. For families fitting preschool around the school calendar, that makes the pattern straightforward; holiday cover needs separate planning.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guides observation and assessment here, linking play with children's developing communication, physical abilities and personal skills. Practitioners observe what interests a child, use that information to plan their next learning steps, and adapt activities to their development. The framework is the foundation; Forest School and Tiny Talkers add specific experiences alongside it.

Tiny Talkers is a language intervention that also works on attention, listening, social interaction and play. Its groups meet twice weekly over a ten-week programme, organised around themes such as animals, food and clothing. Each week pairs a song with a story. That gives language work a recognisable structure, with familiar material children can return to rather than isolated exercises.

In October 2024, story sessions combined discussion with counting and measuring. Staff invited children to consider a character's feelings and allowed time for responses, making a familiar tale an opportunity to practise language and listen to others. Sensory play included making potions, while planning could change quickly in response to children's interests. The adult's role was active: listen, extend the conversation and introduce another question.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School gives every child a session at least weekly, with den making, wildlife exploration and experiments using natural materials. These are hands-on ways to tackle a problem with other children: decide how something might work, try it and make changes. The programme also includes natural art, crafts and woodwork, with opportunities to practise knots and handle tools.

Seasonal clothing matters because the sessions continue in different weather. Children receive a named Forest School bag that can stay at nursery with spare clothes and waterproofs. The kit guidance changes with the season, from warm layers and gloves to lighter clothing and sun protection. Outdoor learning therefore brings a practical responsibility for families as well as an appealing part of the child's week.

In October 2024, the outdoor environment included a fairy garden, a construction area and a reading circle. Children could choose to go outside and practised changing into boots themselves. A sensory area and dinosaur resources helped draw less willing children into outdoor play.

Relationships and Communication

An assigned key person handles a child's everyday care and supports their learning, giving families a regular contact who works with their child. Settling sessions are free, and photographs of important nursery spaces and staff can help children become familiar with the setting. For a child moving from another nursery, staff can visit and speak with their existing key workers to preserve familiar routines.

Famly is the communication platform for photographs, observations and direct messages between home and nursery. Parents have individual logins to their child's learning journey. Alongside that digital contact, the key person communicates with families on each attendance day. This gives parents both a continuing account of learning and a route for sharing something that matters that morning.

Parents can also contribute to the setting's organisation. A voluntary trustee committee manages this charitable nursery alongside the management team, and families are encouraged to attend Annual General Meetings and share ideas. That is a different kind of involvement from receiving updates: parents can help shape discussions about how the setting runs.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENCo oversees additional support, while the key person carries it into daily care and learning. Following discussion with parents, support may be documented through plans such as an Early Years Support Plan or an Individual Education Plan. Families can contribute to targets and access their child's records, making the planned support something they can understand and participate in.

At the October 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that individual learning plans and close monitoring gave children with SEND clear developmental next steps, and that children made excellent progress from their starting points. Current support mechanisms include liaison with the Early Years Inclusion team, contact with Portage for family support, and applications for additional funding according to a child's needs. Visual timetables, symbols and signs offer ways for children to communicate, and staff use Makaton daily to support communication through signing.

Safeguarding responsibilities sit with designated lead roles, and the whole team receives safeguarding and paediatric first-aid training. For children needing medication, the key person can receive training in its administration, with care adapted around needs such as feeding, changing and toileting.

School preparation includes inviting receiving teachers to meet children and their key workers, plus play involving new school uniforms. The nursery operates independently on a school site. Attending it does not guarantee a Reception place. For a state-school Reception place, families still apply through the local authority.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Anston Park Infant School, Park Avenue, Dinnington, Sheffield, S25 2QZ. Opening hours are 8.30am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, across 38 weeks divided between the autumn, spring and summer terms. Half terms, school holidays and bank holidays are closures, so the weekly outdoor programme sits within a term-time attendance calendar.

A full day runs from 8.30am to 3pm. Morning sessions are 9am to noon, and afternoons noon to 3pm; Breakfast Club covers 8.30am to 9am. Half-day attendance is also offered. The minimum is two sessions per week, intended to support settling and relationships between children.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email at info@anstonstonesearlyyears.co.uk or by telephone on 01909 212190. Fees are paid monthly ahead of attendance, and vouchers and bank transfers are accepted. Fees remain payable for illness and holiday absence, while collection after the agreed session end brings an additional charge.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded attendance includes eligible two-year-olds' 15 hours and 15- or 30-hour sessions for three- and four-year-olds, subject to eligibility. Attendance follows the term-time calendar. Staff can assist families with funding applications, and paid sessions sit alongside the funded offer. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

A separate voluntary contribution supports daily snacks and curriculum enhancements, including Forest School. It is a voluntary payment, so families should read it as such rather than as a compulsory session charge. The sessions and funding page sets out the attendance options and payment terms.

• Term-time cover. The 38-week calendar includes closures during half terms and school holidays. Families needing continuous weekday childcare should plan how those breaks will work.
• Outdoor kit. Forest School takes place at least weekly, with seasonal clothing guidance and a nursery bag for spare kit. At a visit, discuss how your child will manage clothing changes and outdoor participation.
• A two-session minimum. Even a small booking requires two weekly sessions. Compare the full-day and shorter options against your working pattern before choosing attendance days.
• Support and school transition. Individual plans, receiving-teacher visits and uniform play provide concrete starting points for discussion. Use a visit to explore your child's support targets and transition arrangements; nursery attendance does not guarantee Reception admission.

Anston Stones Early Years suits families seeking term-time preschool with a choice between full days and shorter morning or afternoon sessions. Forest School gives outdoor learning a regular place, while Tiny Talkers brings a structured language intervention alongside child-led play. The October 2024 Outstanding judgement adds weight to those practical features.

The deciding questions are the calendar and the minimum booking pattern. For families who can work with school-holiday closures and two sessions each week, the combination of key-person contact, Famly updates and planned additional support makes this a clearly defined option.