Over Puddleducks Pre-School

Stick-whittling, child-led investigations and a parent committee give Over Puddleducks Pre-School a recognisable character. Based at Over Community Centre in Over, this charity-run setting combines practical outdoor experiences with opportunities for families to help shape how it works. Children start at two and can attend until primary school age; there are 26 places in total.

At its 23 April 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. The detail behind that judgement matters: children experimented with ingredients outdoors, used measurement in their play and took responsibility for looking after shared space. Those examples show the sorts of experiences that supported the inspection result, rather than leaving parents with a grade alone.

Attendance can cover a morning, an afternoon or the full day, with flexible hours also offered. The term-time calendar makes this a choice for families whose childcare needs fit around school holidays.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play, covering children's communication, physical development, relationships and wider learning. Puddleducks combines activities directed by adults with teaching that responds to what children are doing at the time. Practitioners observe play and introduce ideas or support that can move it forward. A child's interest therefore helps shape an activity, while adults retain a teaching role.

In April 2024, superhero play developed into map-making: children drew plans of the pre-school and considered escape routes to protect their friends. Measuring their own height led to discussion of inches and centimetres, followed by measuring other objects. These were practical uses of thinking and mathematics, attached to something children already wanted to explore.

Communication had several routes into the day in April 2024. Group conversations gave children opportunities to talk about their interests, while staff introduced vocabulary through their interactions. Makaton sessions supported children's communication. The value for families is the combination of conversation and an additional communication activity, rather than a separate language lesson being the only opportunity to practise.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School adds practical outdoor learning, including opportunities to whittle wood, practise safe body positioning, explore nature and experience campfires. Preparation can happen away from the forest area, allowing children to become familiar with tools and expectations before progressing. The forest area occupies part of the local primary school's rear field. It gives outdoor learning a setting beyond the pre-school garden.

Community walks and the garden also feature in children's experiences. Together, these offer different ways to explore the surroundings: a garden at the setting, walks beyond it and the practical activities associated with Forest School.

In April 2024, the outdoor kitchen supported imaginative experiments with potions. Children measured sensory ingredients and explored how their mixtures changed. They also helped maintain the outdoor play space. This put responsibility alongside exploration: children contributed to a place they used themselves.

The community connections at that time included story-sharing at a nearby day centre and visits from local riding stables. Children explored family customs through dolls representing national dress and foods brought in to share. These examples brought people and experiences beyond the immediate group into children's learning, without turning them into abstract topics.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person who builds relationships with the child and family and follows their development. Other practitioners also work with the children, so this named responsibility sits within the wider staff team. Observations and development reports support conversations with parents about what their child is learning.

Tapestry is the online learning journal used to share observations through pictures, video and written entries. Parents can contribute to the journal and message their child's key person through it. This gives families a way to connect experiences at home with those at pre-school, rather than relying entirely on a conversation at the end of a session.

In April 2024, parents contributed by reading with children, sharing their skills and joining celebratory meals that children helped prepare. Families were also helping establish an allotment area. These were direct contributions to children's experiences, alongside the committee's organisational role.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A Special Educational Needs Coordinator role, designated safeguarding lead responsibilities and paediatric first-aid training form part of the staff structure. Practitioners use observations of play to recognise development and identify where early intervention may be needed. For a parent discussing additional needs, the useful starting point is how those observations connect with support for their own child.

In April 2024, staff helped children consider emotions and the effects of their actions when disagreements arose. Rather than simply ending a dispute over turns, adults supported children to work towards a solution. This made everyday disagreements opportunities to practise expressing feelings and considering someone else's needs.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. The morning session runs from 9am to noon, the afternoon from 1pm to 3pm, and the full-day session from 9am to 3pm. A lunchtime session covers noon to 1pm; children bring a packed lunch for it.

Flexible attendance is offered, with efforts made to accommodate preferred days and hours. The minimum is four hours each week. That gives families scope to choose shorter attendance while retaining a regular weekly pattern; flexibility is subject to the setting being able to accommodate the requested arrangement.

Getting There

The address is Over Community Centre, 16 The Doles, Over, Cambridge, CB24 5NW. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 07866 096825, by email at info@overpuddleducks.com or through the contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered, including a 15-hour weekly entitlement for 38 weeks a year and an additional 15 hours for some eligible working parents from the term after their child turns three. Eligibility conditions apply. Private hours are charged by the hour, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the hours and fees page explains the attendance arrangements.

Childcare vouchers are accepted and payment plans can be arranged. Parents provide the packed lunch for lunchtime attendance, so food needs to be planned alongside the chosen session.

• Term-time coverage. Attendance follows the school-term calendar and finishes by 3pm. Families needing holiday care or later afternoons will need arrangements that cover those periods.
• A flexible week with a minimum commitment. Children must attend at least four hours weekly. During a visit, discuss how the preferred combination of mornings, afternoons or full days would work for your child.
• Hands-on outdoor learning. Forest School includes tool preparation and opportunities for campfires. A visit is a useful time to discuss how activities are adapted for a younger child or one who needs extra support.
• A role for parents. The elected parent committee helps make decisions about policies, practice and staffing, and holds its AGM each September. This suits families interested in contributing to how the pre-school operates, as well as their child's daily experiences.

Over Puddleducks suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon sessions or full-day attendance within a term-time week. Its clearest attractions are practical outdoor learning, responsive play-based teaching and concrete ways for parents to participate. Forest School broadens the setting for learning, while Tapestry connects families with children's experiences and development.

The shorter day and holiday closures are meaningful constraints. For families whose timetable fits, the combination of varied attendance patterns and an Outstanding judgement from April 2024 gives this community pre-school a clear place among their options.