Cannington Pre-School

Gardening, recycling and small acts of kindness give Cannington Pre-School a clear character: children learn about the world by taking some responsibility for it. A purpose-built classroom and adjoining garden sit within the grounds of Cannington C of E Primary School, bringing indoor exploration and outdoor activity into the same setting. There is capacity for 45 children in total.

At its May 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged Cannington Pre-School Outstanding, found safeguarding effective and reported excellent progress for children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children attending at that time were aged two to four. The practical examples make that judgement useful: in May 2023, children prepared their own snack, dealt with the resulting waste and washed their plates, turning an ordinary routine into practice in independence.

Today, the environmental emphasis includes Eco-Schools and Plastic Free Nurseries, which add environmental activities, alongside The Kindness Project, which connects children's actions with helping others. Opening hours are 8.45am to 3.15pm, Monday to Friday during term time.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning and care, with play supporting language, physical development, early mathematics and literacy. Cannington's curriculum adds a strong thread of gardening, environmental projects and practical skills. Children's interests help shape activities, while adults introduce vocabulary and encourage them to explain their thinking. That gives exploration a purpose beyond keeping children occupied.

Brilliant Baker explores recipes for food, drinks and playdough, teaching children how a process creates an end product. Marvellous Musician combines recognising instrument sounds with accompanying chosen music, giving children opportunities to experiment with sound.

Lover of Literacy centres on daily shared stories. Books throughout the environment support independent browsing and reading with adults; children carry stories into imaginative play, retelling and rhyme.

Child-led play alternates with adult-led activities. Afternoon Dough Disco supports fine-motor development, while outdoor physical play gives children opportunities for larger movements.

In May 2023, children used safety knives for snack preparation and encountered new vocabulary through the task. Staff also encouraged them to put thoughts and feelings into words through conversation and questions that invited fuller answers. Language was woven into what children were doing, rather than confined to a separate exercise.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden is a working part of the curriculum. Children explore soil preparation, sow seeds and learn how to keep plants healthy, with gardening also introducing safe tool use and hygiene. Counting, comparing and measuring have an immediate purpose when children are working with plants. The activity makes early mathematics tangible.

Children take plants home to care for with their families. Those without a garden can keep their plant at pre-school and follow its growth there, extending the activity regardless of outdoor space at home.

Eco-Schools and Plastic Free Nurseries extend the environmental activities. The Kindness Project adds a social dimension: a clothes bank raises income, and children participate in decisions about spending it to help others, including support for WaterAid. Kindness becomes something children can act on, with a connection between giving away unwanted clothes and helping people elsewhere.

In May 2023, outdoor activity included digging with large equipment, jumping from raised platforms and watching birds using a bird box. Children also had a nest area where they could sit and talk. The outdoor space supported exertion, observation and quieter social time, rather than serving only as somewhere to run.

Relationships and Communication

Each child's key person is a contact for learning discussions and concerns. Tapestry, an online journal of observations and photographs, lets parents add entries, connecting home experiences with pre-school learning.

Tapestry observations are added during each half term and may be uploaded together. It records development over time. The monthly Pre-School Press adds curriculum news, projects and forthcoming events, providing a different kind of update about the setting as a whole.

In May 2023, parents valued the settling arrangements and key-person relationships. Staff shared observations through an online application, and parents could recognise changes in their children's learning. These are dated examples of how the relationships worked in practice, alongside the current arrangements for keeping families involved.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Additional support starts with discussion between staff and families. Where a child needs individual help, the pre-school works with other professionals. Its SEND policy sets out a SENCO role and an assess, plan, do and review cycle, with parents involved in decisions about support. That gives families a process for discussing concerns and reviewing what happens next.

Staff also discuss new siblings, house moves and other family changes. Support can respond to changes at home as well as learning difficulties.

Outdoor clothing is planned for: the pre-school supplies waterproof coats and dungarees for garden use, while parents bring a named fleece for colder conditions. Uniform is optional. Clothing that can cope with paint, mud and messy activities is the more useful consideration, allowing children to take part without favourite clothes becoming a worry.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Brook Street, Cannington, Bridgwater, Somerset TA5 2HP. The pre-school opens on weekdays during term time, from 8.45am until 3.15pm.

Registration uses an application form returned by hand or email. Parents give their preferred sessions and desired starting date, but the date requested does not guarantee when a child will start. Enquiries can be made through office@canningtonpreschool.co.uk or by telephone on 01278 652720.

Getting There

The classroom is on Cannington C of E Primary School grounds, with a garden beside it. Families are asked to park and approach on foot; access follows a pathway beside the school field through a gate operated by a buzzer.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered, including 15-hour funding for children aged two, three and four and a 30-hour entitlement for working parents. The term-time setting suits use during school terms; eligibility checks and the relevant declaration form are part of arranging funded hours. Additional childcare beyond the entitlement is charged; current prices come in the pre-school's written quotation.

Parents provide packed lunches and a named reusable drinks bottle; the Eco Lunchboxes guidance asks families to reduce disposable packaging and use containers that can be reused. Grapes and cherry tomatoes should be sliced before packing to reduce choking risk.

Biodegradable wet wipes are sold separately. Children should have sun cream applied before their day begins, and staff reapply it in the afternoon for children staying all day. Invoices are issued in the opening week of each term and payment is due within two weeks of receipt.

Moving on to School

Sharing grounds with Cannington C of E Primary School does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process. In May 2023, older children took part in transition sessions at the linked school, and staff shared information about their learning needs. Those sessions helped prepare children for starting school.

• Term-time daytime care. Opening hours run from 8.45am to 3.15pm on weekdays during term time. How would your preferred attendance pattern fit these hours and your holiday childcare arrangements?
• Settling and a requested start. The application asks for a preferred starting date but does not guarantee it. Discuss how settling would work for your child alongside the proposed start.
• Lunch and outdoor preparation. Packed lunches, reusable bottles and a fleece come from home, while waterproof outerwear is supplied. Families need to be comfortable with the environmental lunchbox expectations and clothing suited to garden activity.
• Learning updates. Tapestry observations may arrive together during a half term. If frequent individual updates matter to you, discuss how everyday communication would work alongside the journal.

Cannington Pre-School suits families seeking term-time daytime education with practical learning, gardening and environmental responsibility woven into ordinary routines. Brilliant Baker, shared stories and The Kindness Project give that character substance; the May 2023 Outstanding judgement supplies a strong dated assessment of its quality.

The practical fit is equally clear. Parents supply lunch, prepare children for outdoor activity and use a half-term learning journal alongside other communication.