Duxford Preschool

Woodland mornings at the Biggen, a garden children can move into freely, and a purpose-built home on a primary school site give Duxford Preschool a clear outdoor character. This is preschool provision for children aged two years and three months to five, with capacity for 20 children in total. The scale and age range make it a choice for families approaching the preschool years rather than seeking baby care.

Ofsted rated the preschool Outstanding on 25 March 2024, finding rapid progress across learning and effective safeguarding arrangements. Those findings give substance to the grade: the account included children directing construction play, experimenting with paper aeroplanes and taking responsibility for checking their outdoor surroundings.

A voluntary committee, mainly made up of parents and carers, runs the charitable organisation. Families can contribute to its management as well as its community events. Attendance is term-time only, with full-day and half-day patterns.

Learning and Activities

The Revised Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the curriculum: children learn through play, conversation, movement and exploration, with activities planned around their needs and interests. It is the educational foundation here. Forest School adds regular practical learning in woodland, while ECaT, Every Child a Talker, provides a structured way to follow language development.

Miniature hospitals, pirate ships, construction materials and a changing home corner support imaginative play. Shaving foam and colour mixing offer sensory exploration, alongside mark making, stories and physical games.

Children's own play alternates with adult-guided activities, phonics, stories and singing. Afternoon tooth brushing brings personal care into the routine, combining independence with shared activities.

In March 2024, children turned the sandpit into a construction site, smoothing its surface before positioning rubber bricks. Staff helped them talk through the materials they needed. Another example began with wind moving paper outdoors and developed into decorating and flying paper aeroplanes. These are useful illustrations of how an interest can become an investigation, with adults extending the activity rather than replacing the child's idea.

Outdoor and Community Life

Free-flow access to the garden connects indoor play with the dedicated outdoor area. Forest School takes children beyond that space to the Biggen in Duxford, where mature trees, grass and access to the River Cam provide a different setting for exploration. Activities include insect safaris, willow weaving, making dens and creating art from natural materials.

The aim is to run Forest School on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. High winds that create a falling-branch risk move the session indoors. This matters when choosing attendance days: the woodland element has a stated pattern, alongside a weather contingency. Long sleeves, long trousers and waterproof footwear are required, so outdoor learning also brings a practical clothing commitment.

International Mud Day joins the celebrations, alongside festivals including Hanukkah and Diwali. World Book Day sometimes involves book-character costumes or pyjamas, while the end-of-year celebration usually has fancy dress. The preschool also organises excursions that welcome carers and siblings; past destinations include Linton Zoo and Wandlebury Country Park. These are examples of previous outings, rather than a fixed trip schedule.

Relationships and Communication

Settling starts with staff and parents agreeing an approach for the individual child. Parents may stay when needed, and new starters receive a home visit from their key person. Meeting that adult in familiar surroundings gives the relationship a starting point before the preschool routine takes over.

Tapestry, an online learning journal, shares observations through photographs, video and notes, with email alerts for new entries. Parents can add pictures and comments, linking home and preschool experiences.

Termly summaries identify next steps and support needs. Weekly newsletters cover learning, local information and dates; a shared keyworker email supports direct discussions about development or behaviour.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff developed children's communication, including for children learning English as an additional language, and that monitoring identified learning gaps promptly so interventions could be sought. The practical examples included adults listening carefully, taking conversational turns and extending vocabulary.

ECaT tracks listening and attention, understanding, speaking and social communication, with assessments entered on a tracking grid each term. Parents can access their child's tracker and discuss it with the key person. This gives language development a specific place in the conversation with families, rather than leaving it within a general account of the day.

Special Educational Needs Coordinator roles support staff, children and families with additional needs and behavioural issues. The team also includes designated safeguarding lead roles and paediatric first aid training. Staff are encouraged to continue training and pursue further qualifications; these are arrangements for professional development, separate from the dated inspection judgement.

An annual PANTS fortnight introduces the NSPCC PANTS campaign through age-appropriate games about keeping safe from harm. Activities include designing pants and a pants Olympics, making the topic concrete for young children. Independence is practised in everyday tasks too: manageable clothing helps children learn to dress themselves, while spare named clothes allow for messy play.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. Families can choose full-day or half-day attendance; morning sessions run from 9am to noon and afternoon sessions from noon to 3pm. The named full-day option covers the preschool day, but the half-day choices give families a shorter pattern as well.

Applications specify preferred sessions and a start date. If the requested place cannot be offered, or a child is too young to begin, the application goes onto a waiting list and sessions are offered as they become available. General enquiries go to office@duxfordpreschool.org.uk or 01223 830459.

Getting There

The address is c/o Duxford Community Primary School, St. John’s Street, Duxford, Cambridgeshire CB22 4RA. The preschool occupies its own building within the school grounds. Sharing the site does not guarantee a Reception place: families still use the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Targeted and expanded funding for eligible two-year-olds, and universal and extended funding for three- and four-year-olds, are accepted. Funding is delivered over 38 weeks, during term time: targeted, expanded and universal entitlement provide 15 hours weekly, while extended entitlement provides 30. Private hours can be purchased beyond funded entitlement.

Full extended-funding allocations are offered on a first-come, first-served basis; once those allocations are filled, other eligible families can take a maximum of 24 funded hours a week here. This is a practical limit on how the extended entitlement is used at the setting, rather than a promise of a particular booking.

Funded attendance carries a separate Additional Services & Consumables Supplement for each funded hour, except for children receiving Early Years Pupil Premium or accessing a targeted funded place. Non-food consumables therefore sit within that funded-hours charge structure. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the categories.

Parents supply packed lunches for children staying for lunch, including afternoon attendees; the preschool provides morning snacks, water and milk. Its nut-free policy applies to lunchboxes, and families are asked to disclose allergies, intolerances and dietary requirements.

• Term-time boundaries. Attendance ends at 3pm and runs during term time only. Families needing later collection or holiday childcare should weigh that limit against their working pattern.
• Woodland attendance. Forest School is planned for Tuesday and Thursday mornings, with protective clothing required and an indoor alternative in unsafe winds. During a visit, discuss how this pattern fits your child's proposed sessions.
• Funded-hour costs. The supplement applies to funded hours unless the child receives Early Years Pupil Premium or has a targeted funded place, and full extended-hour allocations follow a first-come rule. Match the written quotation and offered attendance pattern to your family's entitlement.
• Lunchbox allergies. Lunch comes from home and the preschool operates a nut-free policy. Allergy-affected families should confirm current practice for snacks and shared mealtimes before their child starts.

Duxford Preschool suits families seeking mornings, afternoons or full days during term time, with woodland learning and free access to outdoor play. ECaT tracking, Tapestry and key-person home visits connect families with learning and settling.

The March 2024 Outstanding judgement strengthens its appeal. Families must weigh the 3pm finish, term-time calendar and funded-hour allocation and supplement rules against their schedules.