Court Fields Pre School

In January 2023, mud-kitchen play and supervised use of real tools gave Court Fields Pre School's learning a practical character. Today, its Key Family system provides continuity when a child's main key person is away. At its 5 January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Outstanding. The detail behind that judgement matters more than the label, especially for families looking for independence, language development and support that responds to their child.

Based at Wellington Youth Centre on Mantle Street, the pre-school has 30 places in total and accepts children from two until they move into Reception. Morning and afternoon sessions run during term time, with early starts and later finishes subject to demand. This is a preschool-stage offer, rather than care beginning in infancy.

The current curriculum links everyday resources with children's interests, while parents contribute information that shapes planning. A keyworker is assigned before a child starts. Together, those arrangements give families a clear connection between home, care and learning.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS is the shared early-years framework: children learn through play, watching others, adult examples and guided activities across areas including language, movement and social development. Court Fields builds its curriculum within that framework, using parent feedback and knowledge of its community to decide what children should learn and how to teach it.

Daily resources form the starting point. Extra activities and materials respond to themes or children's interests, and staff use conversations with parents alongside observations of play to adjust their plans. This gives a child's fascination a practical role in what happens next, rather than treating planning as fixed regardless of the children taking part.

The curriculum goals are concrete. Children work towards expressing needs in conversation, recognising their names, making recognisable letters and exploring shape and measurement. Independence includes managing the toilet; creative learning includes using voices, movement and instruments to express ideas. These are goals approached at each child's pace, rather than identical outcomes expected from everyone.

In January 2023, dinosaur-themed music involved stamping and roaring, while mixing in the mud kitchen brought descriptive language and measuring into imaginative play. Children also prepared their own fruit at snack time and tried a real saw alongside an adult. The examples connect learning with useful actions: words, hand control and judgement have something tangible to work on.

Outdoor and Community Life

In January 2023, the outdoor area included tree trunks fitted with rock-climbing holds and equipment from which children practised jumping. Adult supervision accompanied these opportunities to judge a challenge and attempt it. The physical environment made room for children to test what their bodies could do.

Community experiences at that date included regular shopping outings for supplies or snack food, plus collecting toys and taking them to a local charity. These were practical reasons to go beyond the setting, giving children a part in everyday community life. Half-termly family activity days also brought learning into shared experiences with parents.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with a relationship. A keyworker is allocated before the start date, and an initial meeting explores the child and family; another meeting by the end of the first half term discusses the child's starting points. A settling plan is agreed with parents, making the introduction a shared arrangement rather than a single handover.

The Key Family system provides cover when the main key person is away. Other staff gradually build a relationship with the child, exchange information with parents and pass updates back to the key person. Its practical value is continuity: the arrangement identifies who takes over the relationship as well as the care tasks.

Tapestry carries observations of children's play to families, alongside conversations at handover. Parents also meet staff to discuss the two-year-old progress report and the school transition report. This creates several ways to understand what a child is working on, with everyday contact supported by more structured discussions.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support includes a SENCO role and plans developed and reviewed with parents and professionals, with external agencies and the local authority involved where appropriate. Staff use emotional coaching to help children identify feelings and manage disagreements. During conflict, adults adapt their communication to the child's understanding and help children work towards a solution.

At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised SEND support, including prompt identification of speech and language needs, detailed interventions and equipment matched to individual physical needs. That is a dated assessment of practice, alongside the current arrangements for planning support with families.

Current safeguarding procedures follow the Somerset Safeguarding Children Partnership's guidance, and staff refresh safeguarding training annually. Key-person supervision is scheduled each half term, while concerns about a child's safety must be raised immediately. A scheduled discussion is therefore an additional opportunity to raise concerns, rather than a reason to delay them.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 9am to 12.30pm, with lunch eaten by the end of that session; afternoons run from 12.30pm to 3pm. Early start runs from 8.30am to 9am, and Late Leavers from 3pm to 4pm, both subject to demand. Attendance is term time only, so holiday cover needs a separate plan.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone or by email. The address is Wellington Youth Centre, Mantle Street, Wellington, TA21 8SW.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both fee-paying sessions and sessions using government childcare funding are offered, including Working Families funding. Funding is used within the term-time arrangement; when it is claimed, fees apply to hours beyond the funded allocation. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees and sessions page explains the charging structure.

There are currently no additional charges. Parents supply intimate-care items, including nappies, wipes and nappy sacks. Fees are normally paid half-termly by bank transfer, although alternative payment arrangements can be discussed with the manager; charges still apply to absences for illness or holidays and to closures outside the setting's control. Those terms matter when budgeting for attendance rather than simply counting days used.

Getting There

Mantle Street provides access on foot and by car, with parking available; the Courtland Road route is pedestrian-only, through the lane from the play park. Bikes, scooters and pushchairs can be stored at the pre-school, making walking or cycling a workable choice for families who can use those routes.

• Term-time sessions. Morning and afternoon bookings suit different routines, but the setting closes for holidays. Match its attendance pattern to the cover your family needs across the year.
• Extensions depend on demand. Early start and Late Leavers are conditional additions. When visiting, discuss how that condition would affect your intended weekly pattern.
• Settling and shared care. A keyworker and Key Family are central to the arrangement. At a visit, ask how the settling plan and gradual introductions would work for your child.
• Lunch planning. The morning session includes time for children to eat lunch. Ask what your child should bring and how any dietary needs will be handled.

Court Fields suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon preschool sessions, with demand-dependent extensions for a longer attendance window. Its current strengths of structure are clear: planning informed by children's interests, a keyworker appointed before starting and a shared care arrangement for staff absence. The Outstanding judgement belongs to January 2023, when practical independence and carefully targeted support were prominent. For parents who value that combination, this is a setting with a clear educational and relational shape.