Holyrood Playgroup

Mud pies, home-grown vegetables and a timber trail give Holyrood Playgroup a clear outdoor identity. The Mud Kitchen encourages experimentation, while the Wild Garden introduces children to minibeasts.

On Zembard Lane in Chard, the playgroup takes children from age two until school age and has 24 places in total. At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and judged safeguarding effective, with good progress from children's starting points. That judgement comes with two useful cautions: children needed more opportunities to manage personal tasks themselves and to practise early writing movements.

Term-time attendance includes shorter sessions and a day running from 9am to 3pm.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the day through language, physical and social play, early mathematics, literacy and creative experiences. Development Matters guidance helps staff plan around children's developmental stages. Children choose activities and join adult-led groups, practising both independent choices and playing with others.

A light playroom displays children's artwork. Spring and summer 2026 themes included Mark Making, Exploratory Boxes, Minibeasts and Water Play, combining investigation, making and nature.

In February 2023, conversation and shared reading were prominent. Adults extended children's vocabulary through discussions about books, including the features of birds. Children joined in with story sounds, and books helped them learn about characters' feelings. These examples show how a book can support both language and understanding of emotions.

February 2023 findings also identified too few opportunities for mark-making and developing the hand control needed for writing.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Sensory Garden gives children opportunities to explore through their senses, while the Mud Kitchen provides materials for messy experiments. In the Garden, fruit and vegetables are grown for snacks. The Wild Garden adds minibeast exploration, and grass and a timber trail provide space for running and climbing. Outdoor learning here therefore extends beyond exercise: children can connect what grows with what they eat and investigate the small creatures around them.

Waterproof clothing is supplied for wet weather; wellies come from home. In February 2023, occasional community walks also brought flowers and waterfalls into children's learning; the frequency was occasional, rather than a fixed weekly outing.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated before settling and becomes the family's main contact. Where possible, a second practitioner builds a relationship with the child to cover absence.

Settling normally begins with three visits, each lasting an hour, attended with a parent. The process can be extended to suit the child. After the third visit, the family and key person discuss whether further time together is needed or whether separation can begin. This is a practical commitment for parents to plan around, as well as a way for staff to learn about a child's preferences and routines.

Daily observations and photographs contribute to development records, and families can add their own information when the learning journal comes home at the end of term. The key person completes the progress check at 28 months and shares the findings with parents, bringing home and playgroup observations together.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Speech and Language UK is delivered as an eight-week small-group programme for children who may need help with speech, attention or confidence. A different book each week, a Tizzy Tiger finger puppet, repeated stories, songs and related activities give the sessions a concrete structure. Home reading forms part of the programme, with progress tracking shared with parents. Every Child A Talker is an accompanying form used to help identify speech difficulties.

For additional needs, the key person, SENCO and parents consider observations and plan support. SEN action plans specify activities, resources and responsible staff, with reviews at least termly and external advice where relevant. Families have a defined route from concern to planned support.

The behaviour procedure helps children understand feelings and resolve disputes. Persistent concerns bring the key person, SENCO and parents together to agree adjustments, connecting support at playgroup with home.

Health arrangements include paediatric first-aid cover while children attend. Medication requires parental consent, suitable labelling and a written administration record. The teeth brushing scheme is offered from age three with parental permission, using an individual toothbrush at playgroup.

Moving to school involves communication with receiving teachers, development summaries and a Unique Child Form shared with the school and copied to parents. Additional-needs plans are included where relevant. The purpose is continuity: a receiving teacher can learn about the child before taking over their care and learning.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Zembard Lane, Chard, Somerset TA20 1JL. The weekday session runs from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday; shorter three-hour sessions are also sold. Attendance follows a 38-week year, with closure during school holidays and bank holidays. The term-time calendar is a substantial consideration for families arranging work and holiday childcare.

Parents complete registration and booking forms specifying their chosen days and times, and supply a birth certificate. Telephone enquiries can be made on 07980032187. Extra sessions or hours can be booked ahead; short-notice bookings depend on staffing ratios.

One month's notice applies to a permanent change of hours. Leaving requires four weeks' written notice during opening weeks, with fees and funded hours claimed for the notice period. Booked sessions remain payable when a child is ill or otherwise absent, although extended illness or hospitalisation lasting more than six consecutive weeks receives individual consideration. An illness-related missed session cannot be exchanged for another day.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes eligible two-year-old funding, Universal Entitlement and Working Families childcare. The fees policy describes 15 hours and the extended 30 hours, delivered within the term-time opening pattern. Eligibility checks apply, and the working-family code must be reconfirmed every three months. Additional hours beyond a child's entitlement are paid privately; families should obtain a current written quotation for their chosen booking.

Parents supply lunch and fruit or vegetable snacks for both funded and privately paid attendance; milk is supplied at sessions. The food policy asks families to avoid nuts, and individual allergy arrangements include risk assessments and care plans.

Non-food supplies also come from home: nappies and wipes where needed, plus sun cream for reapplication. Spare clothes and suitable outdoor footwear form part of the daily kit. These responsibilities remain relevant even where the childcare hours are funded.

Invoices cover the term, with the balance divided into monthly payments due by the tenth. For charged visitors or outings, fundraising is used first; if it cannot cover the cost, parents may be asked for a voluntary contribution, with children included regardless of payment. Parent involvement extends to fundraising and the management committee, chosen at an Annual General Meeting each autumn.

• Independence and early writing. In February 2023, children had too few chances to manage tasks such as getting their outdoor clothes and to explore mark-making. During a visit, ask how children now practise dressing themselves and what writing and hand-control activities they can choose.
• Term-time planning. The 38-week calendar closes for school holidays and bank holidays. Families needing care through those periods will need to build that into their arrangements alongside either shorter sessions or the 9am to 3pm day.
• Settling requires family time. The usual starting point is three one-hour visits together, with more if needed. Discuss how these will fit around work and the child's response to separation.
• Food and allergy arrangements. Lunch and snacks come from home, and the policy requests food without nuts. Families managing allergies should confirm current practice and how their child's individual plan will work with food brought by other families.

Holyrood suits families seeking a term-time playgroup with either three-hour sessions or a 9am to 3pm day, and who welcome an active role in settling, learning records and the wider group. Its outdoor spaces have clear purposes, and the structured speech programme adds something tangible for children needing that support.

The February 2023 Good judgement supports consideration, alongside the improvement priorities for self-care and mark-making.