Ladybird Pre-school

Three village playgroups and Cottenham Parish Council came together to create Ladybird Pre-school in 1994. That community character still has a practical expression: parent trustees help run the charity, while a Fundraising Committee supports its equipment and activities. This is a setting where families can contribute to more than their own child's day.

At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good overall and safeguarding effective. The main improvement point concerned inconsistent responses to children's behaviour, which sometimes interrupted learning. That deserves attention alongside the positive findings.

Ladybird welcomes children between 24 months and 5 years and has 75 places in total. Its Red, Green and Blue rooms provide home bases, with movement between rooms and the garden during core hours. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions operate during term time.

Rooms and Ages

Red, Green and Blue each give children somewhere to keep their belongings, rather than confining the day to one room. Doors between the spaces and into the garden open during core hours. For parents, the important distinction is between a child's home base and the wider spaces they can use: the room name does not define everything they will do.

The arrangement combines a familiar base with opportunities to choose elsewhere. It is worth understanding how that works for an individual child, especially one who needs reassurance before joining a different activity.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides learning, development and care, with play, individual planning and assessments helping staff decide what a child needs next. It is the foundation of the offer. Ladybird's approach to learning also gives the key person a part in planning around each child's interests and developmental needs.

School readiness sessions add a more structured routine while retaining play. Children practise recognising their names and following instructions, alongside experiences with book bags and PE lessons. An adult-led activity takes place each day, and the room includes spaces for number work, imaginative play, creative activities and literacy. The practical value is familiarity with routines children will encounter at Reception, rather than an admissions advantage.

In January 2023, learning often grew out of ordinary materials and conversations. Children investigated ice with tools, worked together to make artificial snow and discussed stories with adults. Preparing melon prompted descriptions of texture and temperature; playing with a toy garage introduced language about position. These examples show how practical tasks carried opportunities to talk, investigate and think.

Outdoor and Community Life

In January 2023, the outdoor space included a pirate ship, blackboards, a road track and balancing beams. Children used water and brushes for pretend painting, rode scooters and bicycles, and practised balance. These were different kinds of physical activity, giving children reasons to move beyond simply running around.

Local trips also featured in January 2023. Visits to the allotments linked growing vegetables with the food children could eat at snack time. That connection made a familiar everyday experience part of learning about the surrounding area.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has an allocated keyworker who acts as their main carer and the family's primary contact. Parents can remain for the first session if their child needs that reassurance. This gives settling a personal starting point rather than expecting every child to separate in the same way.

Communication has a clear rhythm: daily spoken feedback is supported by charts and planning information, and Tapestry receives weekly updates about the child. The key person also contributes to assessments and keeps the child's learning journey up to date. For a family, that combines immediate information about the day with a longer view of development.

Children who attend another setting have progress summaries shared with it. During the final preschool term, practitioners prepare a transfer profile for the Reception teacher. Those arrangements support continuity between adults caring for the same child, including when care is split across settings.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A designated safeguarding lead and a SENCo role are part of the staff structure. At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that the SENCo coordinated work with outside agencies and helped families reach appropriate support. This is a concrete account of how support operated at that time, rather than a blanket promise about every child's experience.

In January 2023, everyday independence included putting on coats, helping prepare fruit and arranging snack items. Younger children used pictures to recognise their name cards, while older children identified their names themselves. The tasks were small, but they gave children ways to participate at their own stage.

Families supply packed lunches, nappies when needed and sunscreen for summer; snacks are provided, with an optional termly snack/admin payment. Ladybird asks families to exclude nuts and nut products from lunches and may introduce other restrictions according to children's allergies.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. Three booking options are offered: Option A is a morning session from 9am to noon; Option B runs from 9am to 3pm; Option C is an afternoon session from noon to 3pm. Families can combine morning and afternoon bookings.

From September 2026, lunch runs from noon to 12.45pm and is part of the full-day or afternoon session. The morning option finishes before lunch. This matters when deciding whether a child will eat at home or stay through the middle of the day.

Hours are chosen for each term and become the contracted pattern. Changes can be arranged at the term's end for the following term; changes within a term may attract an administration charge. Occasional extra sessions may be booked at the office's discretion, subject to availability, and are charged at the normal hourly rate.

Getting There

The address is King George's Playing Field, Lambs Lane, Cottenham, CB24 8TB, next to Cottenham Primary School. A lane beside the school leads to a car park; the preschool occupies the main building beyond the Sports and Social Hall.

The office can be contacted on 01954 250891 or at secretary@ladybirdscottenham.co.uk. The term-time calendar follows Cottenham Primary School, so this is an offer to plan around school terms rather than year-round attendance.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered during term time: 15 weekly hours for three- and four-year-olds, 30 for eligible working parents, and 15 for eligible two-year-olds from the term after their second birthday, where their family receives government support. Eligibility conditions apply. Hours outside the funded entitlement are charged privately, with itemised invoices emailed each term.

For funded and privately paid attendance alike, families provide packed lunches and the child's nappies and summer sunscreen; the optional snack/admin payment covers snacks. The sessions, fees and funding page explains the charge structure, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Behaviour support. In January 2023, inconsistent staff responses sometimes disrupted children's learning. On a visit, ask how practitioners now agree and apply their approach across the free-flow spaces.
• Termly commitments. Chosen hours become the contracted pattern, and changes during a term may incur an administration charge. Families with changing work schedules should weigh that against the choice of morning, afternoon and full-day sessions.
• Lunch and allergies. Full-day and afternoon attendance includes the lunch period, with food brought from home. Allergy-affected families should confirm current restrictions and how lunchboxes are managed.

Ladybird suits families seeking term-time morning sessions, afternoon sessions or a day running from 9am to 3pm. Its community roots, parent involvement and structured preparation for Reception give it a clear character, while the free-flow arrangement allows children to use more than their home room.

The January 2023 findings provide a positive overall assessment with a specific reservation about behaviour management. The strongest decision is therefore a practical one: whether the termly booking pattern and movement between shared spaces fit the child and the family's week.