Sutton Bonington Pre-School Playgroup

An elected Parent Committee, play-based learning and the Old School Rooms give Sutton Bonington Pre-School Playgroup its village character. Parents have a role beyond paying the bill: the committee handles finances, fundraising and group outings. This is a setting where family involvement has a practical place in how the playgroup runs.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the playgroup Good and found safeguarding effective. The everyday examples from that visit are more revealing than the grade alone: children investigated sinking objects, explored plants and took responsibility for setting out cups and plates. There were also two clear improvement points, concerning information exchange with other settings and the length of adult-led group activities.

The playgroup offers care for children aged two to five and has 24 places in total. It operates during Nottinghamshire term time, with morning and afternoon sessions alongside breakfast, lunch and after-school arrangements. The distinction matters: this is a term-time playgroup with several attendance options, rather than an opening window that tells parents little about what they can book.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides learning through a combination of child-chosen play and organised activities, helping children develop movement, communication, thinking and social skills. Those experiences sit together in the day; learning is not confined to an adult-led lesson. Books, imaginative play and practical exploration provide different ways for a child to participate.

In March 2023, a water tray became a place for investigating which objects sank, while adults expanded the language children used to describe what happened. Mud offered another kind of exploration, through touch and conversation. The useful detail is the adult response: staff added vocabulary to something that had already caught a child's attention, rather than changing the subject to deliver a separate exercise.

Books also prompted discussion in March 2023. Children learnt about the people who write and illustrate them, and a ladybird story introduced facts about what the insects eat. Outdoors, a monkey story led to shared sounds and actions. Reading therefore included conversation and participation, as well as listening to an adult turn the pages.

A listening walk is a favourite playgroup activity, encouraging children to notice sounds around them. The home-learning suggestions extend that interest through songs, shared books, counting during shopping or cooking, and opportunities to use drawing and cutting tools. These are manageable ways for families to connect playgroup learning with ordinary life at home.

Outdoor and Community Life

In March 2023, herb planters gave children different scents to investigate, and plants with compost provided opportunities to practise growing and caring for living things. These physical resources made the natural world something children could handle and discuss. The outdoor story session used a tyre as a seat, another concrete example of learning taking place beyond an indoor table.

The separate Baby And Toddler Group involves parents and carers in sensory activities, music, stories and making things. Its role differs from booked preschool care: adults join their children in the activities. For families interested in shared play, that is a useful additional part of the playgroup's offer, rather than a reason to assume that its childcare sessions accept babies.

Relationships and Communication

Each child is allocated a key person who takes an interest in their development. That gives families a specific relationship around their child's progress. The inclusion procedures also call for conversations about family and child identity when a new child settles, making home language and family circumstances part of those early discussions.

In March 2023, children sought reassurance from familiar staff and shared books close beside them. Parents received progress updates, although communication with other settings attended by the same children needed strengthening. For a child whose week is divided between providers, that distinction is useful: a relationship with parents and effective information exchange between settings are separate tasks.

Collection arrangements use a password and authorised collectors recorded through Ey-Log, the system also used for advance monthly invoices. Staff must be told when someone else will collect a child. These practical steps give families a clear responsibility when grandparents, friends or other carers take over collection.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Staff work with the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) to identify additional needs. The inclusion policy also provides for an access audit, alternative communication such as signing, and recognition of children's home languages. These are mechanisms for adapting participation, rather than a blanket assurance about how any particular child's needs will be met.

Safeguarding responsibilities sit with the manager and deputy as lead and back-up lead. The procedures include agreed cover when both are off site, so responsibility for responding to a concern remains assigned. Key-person supervision includes children's development and wellbeing, with safeguarding concerns raised immediately rather than held until a scheduled meeting.

For looked-after children, the procedures bring the key person and safeguarding lead into contact with the professionals involved, with a meeting at the start of a placement and a care plan subject to review. This gives those families a defined structure for sharing information and coordinating support.

Preparation for school was practical in March 2023: staff supported school visits, used stories to discuss feelings about starting school and introduced routines resembling school lunchtimes. Children also practised managing coats and zips and helping at mealtimes. The emphasis was on familiarity and everyday independence, rather than treating readiness as an early academic test.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8.30am to 4.15pm, Monday to Friday, during Nottinghamshire term time. Morning sessions run from 9.15am to 12.15pm, and afternoon sessions from 12.15pm to 3.15pm. Breakfast Club covers 8.30am to 9.15am; the after-school session runs from 3.15pm to 4.15pm. These options allow families to distinguish the main playgroup sessions from the extensions around them.

Lunch Club runs from 12.15pm to 1.15pm and can be booked on an ad hoc basis, subject to a check with staff that morning. Changes to attendance, including reducing sessions or leaving, require half a term's notice. An additional ad hoc session may sometimes be accommodated, so occasional additions and permanent changes follow different arrangements.

Enrolment starts with an online form containing child and family details, followed by contact from the team. Families can also use the contact form for enquiries. After sickness or diarrhoea, children must be symptom-free for at least 48 hours before returning, a practical consideration when arranging cover during illness.

Getting There

The address is Old School Rooms, Bucks Lane, Sutton Bonington, LE12 5PB, behind St Michaels Church on Main St. Families are directed to the church car park, with steps beside the church leading up to the playgroup; that route deserves attention for anyone managing a pushchair or mobility needs.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, including up to 30 hours a week for eligible children, within the term-time operation. Morning and afternoon sessions and Lunch Club can be covered by funding; private paid sessions are also offered. Current prices come in the playgroup's written quotation, and its sessions and fees information sets out the booking and payment structure.

Parents supply a labelled packed lunch when a child stays for lunch, and the playgroup asks families to exclude nuts and slice grapes. Its food procedures require individual allergy risk assessments and discussion of dietary needs with parents.

Families also supply sun cream in summer, alongside suitable clothing, spare clothes and a labelled water bottle. An induction charge applies when securing a place, invoices are issued monthly in advance, and late collection attracts a separate charge unless agreed beforehand; that charge cannot be taken from funded hours. These terms make the written quotation and chosen attendance pattern worth considering together.

• Shared care and group activities. In March 2023, information exchange with other settings needed work, and some children lost interest during lengthy group activities. Ask how both points are handled now, especially if your child attends another provider.
• Term-time attendance and notice. Care follows Nottinghamshire term time, and permanent session changes require half a term's notice. Match the calendar and notice period to your working arrangements before choosing sessions.
• Steps and individual support. The route from the church car park includes steps. At a visit, discuss access and how the key person and SENCO would organise any support your child needs.
• Packed lunches and allergies. Families prepare lunch and follow the request to exclude nuts. Allergy-affected families should confirm current practice, including how the individual risk assessment applies to food and play activities.

Sutton Bonington Pre-School Playgroup suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions during term time, with breakfast and after-school extensions where those fit the day. Parent Committee involvement gives families a practical role in the setting, while a key person provides a named responsibility for each child's development.

The March 2023 examples of learning are appealingly concrete: water, mud, books and growing plants gave children things to investigate and talk about. The decision still needs to account for term-time closures, the stepped access route and the two improvement points from that visit. For families whose schedule fits, the session choices and parent involvement make this a clear proposition.