Tytherington Pre-School

A village hall, a walled garden and outings to see farm animals give Tytherington Pre-School a clear identity. Based at Tytherington Village Hall, it combines indoor play with outdoor exploration and practical steps towards independence. This is a preschool where family involvement has a concrete role, from sharing observations of children’s learning to helping with Friday outings.

At its November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the preschool Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that staff adapted learning successfully for children needing additional support. The same visit identified two priorities: clearer, more consistent behaviour expectations and teaching that stretches children’s learning more reliably. Those qualifications matter alongside the positive judgement.

Children can start from age two, and the setting has 24 places in total. Morning-only attendance, mornings including lunch and full days are offered during term time. Its charity structure also shapes the experience: a volunteer management committee oversees the preschool, giving families an opportunity to contribute to how it runs rather than simply receiving a service.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children’s learning and development through play, with staff observing what children can do and planning their next steps. Here, stories, songs, creative work and group discussions are connected to children’s interests. That gives a child’s current enthusiasm a place in several parts of the day, rather than confining it to one activity.

Weekly PE can involve obstacle courses, yoga or games. An external activity session is arranged once each term, with football and dance among the examples, while the annual sports day takes place in July. Children can try different physical activities across these sessions.

Music combines singing, movement and instruments; drawing and painting support early mark-making. A quiet reading corner and role-play area give children different ways to participate.

In November 2024, children searched through soil with toy diggers to discover numbers, made shopping lists during pretend play and practised recognising their names. These examples show how early number work and writing can be embedded in activities children want to pursue. The same visit saw children building dens and using a ladder to reach a slide, bringing balance and larger movements into their play.

Outdoor and Community Life

Two halls are available for preschool use, alongside a walled garden and a hard-surfaced outdoor area. The garden contains a mud kitchen, slide, sand and water play, plus bikes, scooters and ride-on toys. Staff aim to use it throughout the year, subject to the weather.

Friday outings may involve collecting leaves and conkers, visiting the local farm or going to the park. Forest Friday is another option for these outdoor excursions, rather than a guaranteed weekly programme. A parent or guardian volunteer helps make the outings possible. Outings depend partly on adult help.

In November 2024, Donto the dinosaur was a take-home mascot that gave children something to talk about after time with their families. Children also made poppies for a display at the local church as part of learning about Remembrance Day. Parents visited to discuss their work, including veterinary and emergency-service roles.

Relationships and Communication

Initial settling hours and sessions can reflect a child’s response to separation. Parents are also welcome to play with their child at preschool.

Tapestry, an online learning journal, carries staff observations and lets parents contribute their own examples from home. Families can use either the app or its browser version, and notifications can alert them to new entries. Some observations concern an individual child; others include children playing together. Parents can respond to entries.

Regular newsletters cover forthcoming activities and dates, with a printed version possible for families who prefer it. Learning summaries can be shared with a child’s Reception teacher when parents give permission. This offers a practical handover of information about development and interests; it is preparation for the next stage, rather than an admissions advantage.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Children do not have to be toilet trained before starting. Staff support changes and accidents, and work with parents when toilet training begins. Families supply nappies, wipes, nappy bags and spare clothes. For a two-year-old still learning these routines, attendance need not wait until toileting is settled.

Additional support can involve working with the local authority’s Early Years team. The team also includes a practitioner with a level 3 childcare qualification.

Collection arrangements use authorised adults and a password, with staff informed when someone else will collect a child. Parents sign children in and out, while visitors provide identification and sign a visitors’ book.

In November 2024, children practised managing their own shoes, washing their hands and serving themselves at snack time. Helping prepare for lunch gave them another small responsibility. Independence here was built through ordinary tasks, with opportunities to practise rather than having adults do everything for them.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Tytherington Village Hall, Itchington Road, Tytherington, Wotton-under-Edge, GL12 8QE. The preschool operates for 38 weeks a year and opens on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 9am to 3pm during term time. Wednesday is outside its opening pattern.

There are three attendance choices: a morning from 9am to noon, a morning including the lunch hour from 9am to 1pm, or a full day from 9am to 3pm. The middle option is useful for families wanting lunch and a little more time than a morning-only booking, while keeping the afternoon free. The term-time calendar makes the setting a different practical proposition from year-round childcare.

Enquiries can be made by telephone during opening hours or by email outside them. Invoices are issued before each term begins, and weekly payment can be arranged with the manager and treasurer. Fees remain payable during a child’s holiday or illness and when the preschool has to close.

Funding and Paid Extras

Nursery Education Grant funding is accepted within the term-time offer: at least 15 hours per week for eligible two-year-olds and all three- and four-year-olds, and 30 hours for qualifying working families from the term after their child turns three. Privately paid attendance is also possible, and employer childcare vouchers are accepted. Current prices come in the preschool’s written quotation; the sessions and fees page explains the payment structure.

Parents provide packed lunches and a healthy snack for sharing; the preschool has a no-nut policy. Families managing allergies should discuss how that policy works for their child before attendance.

A separate daily consumables charge is itemised on the termly invoice, with possible concessions for children receiving a two-year-old grant. Parents also supply the changing items described above, so the consumables charge does not replace that responsibility. These arrangements apply to funded attendance too: food comes from home, and the daily charge has the stated grant-related concession.

Leaving requires one term’s notice, given before that term starts, or payment of a term’s fees instead. This is a substantial planning consideration if family circumstances or childcare arrangements might change midway through a term.

• Teaching and behaviour. The November 2024 improvement priorities concerned consistent boundaries and extending learning. At a visit, ask how staff now agree expectations and develop children’s thinking during play.
• Four-day, term-time calendar. Wednesday and school-holiday care need a separate plan. Compare the morning, lunch-inclusive and full-day options with the days your family actually needs.
• Allergies and shared snacks. Children bring food that is shared, alongside packed lunches and a no-nut policy. Discuss your child’s allergy requirements and the handling of shared food before starting.
• Family participation and commitment. Friday outings draw on parent volunteers, and withdrawal carries a term’s notice requirement. Consider both the opportunities to help and the commitment involved in booking.

Tytherington Pre-School suits families seeking morning sessions, mornings with lunch or full days within a four-day, term-time week. Its strongest practical appeal is the combination of village outings, a well-equipped garden, flexible settling and a learning journal that parents can contribute to.

The Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, but the November 2024 teaching and behaviour priorities deserve attention. Families who value active involvement and a preschool day built around play and increasing independence have clear reasons to consider it. Those needing Wednesday or holiday care will need arrangements beyond this setting.