Modbury Preschool

Spanish on Tuesdays, dance on Thursdays and Plymouth Argyle Community Trust coaches on Fridays give Modbury Preschool a recognisable weekly rhythm. Its sensory garden and large playground add space for children to move, while two age-based rooms keep early learning pitched to different stages. This is preschool provision for children aged two to four, alongside wraparound care for school-aged children.

At its 16 May 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good and safeguarding effective. The setting has 30 places in total, and its Barracks Road address puts it within Modbury Primary School. The school connection matters for familiarity and transition, but attending preschool does not guarantee a Reception place.

Rooms and Ages

The younger room, caterpillars, serves two- to three-year-olds with age-designed furniture and an emphasis on songs, rhymes, listening and copying gestures; butterflies serves three- to four-year-olds, also with age-designed furniture, and develops awareness of sounds through rhyming, syllable clapping and recognising matching initial sounds. The distinction is practical. Younger children can join language activities through movement and repetition, while older children explore how spoken words work.

Both rooms adapt planning by age, combining communication, physical and social development with literacy, mathematics, creative expression and understanding the world.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning through play, including language, movement, relationships and early reading and mathematics. Development Matters, non-statutory early-years curriculum guidance, helps staff plan activities within that framework. These are foundations of the provision; the visiting sessions add something more specific to the week.

Kid’s Lingo supplies Tuesday Spanish sessions. Thursday brings a Fun Dance session led by a DiddiDance provider, and Friday physical education is led by Plymouth Argyle Community Trust coaches. Attendance days shape the experience: Tuesday adds language learning, while Thursday and Friday emphasise movement.

Monday is Outdoor Learning Day, with children encouraged to spend much of the day outside and take part in Forest School type activities, an outdoor approach to learning through practical exploration. Wednesday is kept free for trips and activities that support the move to primary school. That is space in the schedule for transition work, rather than a promise of a trip every Wednesday.

Free play uses toys, puzzles, books and art materials; planned activities follow individual next steps. Circle time, stories and songs give the day familiar reference points.

In May 2023, older children explored drums and whistles before making instruments of their own. Another activity began with children deciding to build a dinosaur house from a large cardboard box. These examples show how a starting resource could become a project directed by the children, rather than a finished product chosen for them.

Outdoor and Community Life

The sensory garden is freely accessible during the day, while the large playground is supervised and equipped with bikes, scooters and other ride-ons. Those are different kinds of outdoor experience: garden exploration alongside space for wheeled play. The daily timetable also includes opportunities to choose between indoor and outdoor activities.

Wednesday's transition slot and the regular visiting activity leaders connect the preschool week with people and experiences beyond the room. Wider community outings need a separate conversation, because the status of those activities differs between the learning information and the FAQ.

Relationships and Communication

A key worker is assigned before each child begins. That person learns about the child and family, follows development and plans the next learning steps each term. Parents have a clear first contact for conversations about their child, rather than having to begin each discussion with someone unfamiliar.

Two settling-in visits introduce children to the setting, with the approach agreed alongside each family and adjusted to their child.

Famly communication software holds learning journals, photographs, comments, messages and invoices. Parents can add photographs and videos from home, making the journal a shared record. Termly newsletters, key-worker meetings and stay-and-play sessions offer further contact.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The manager also holds the Lead SENCO role, and the staff structure includes a safeguarding lead and practitioners with paediatric first-aid training. These are identifiable responsibilities and training arrangements, rather than a general promise about the quality of support.

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff tracked development to identify additional needs, sought professional help and used additional funding effectively to support children's learning. Current planned adult-led activities include work for children with individual education plans. For a family whose child needs extra support, the useful distinction is between identifying a need and showing how the child's activities are adapted around it.

In May 2023, staff used reassurance and praise to help children settle, and were attentive to the youngest children's individual needs. Conversation also ran through practical play: making play-dough pizzas gave staff opportunities to introduce words about texture. These are inspection-time examples of care and language teaching working together.

Children can bring a packed lunch or have school dinners, and snacks are provided during the morning and afternoon. Milk and water accompany snacks, drinking water remains accessible during the day, and lunch is followed by a quieter period in the book corner.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon; afternoon sessions run from 1pm to 3.30pm, with a lunch period between noon and 1pm. Attendance is booked in whole sessions, including the morning option extended to 1pm, and sessions are arranged half-termly. Charging is hourly, so the booking unit and the charging unit are different.

Preschool term dates follow Modbury Primary School, including staff training days and other closures for children. School’s Out adds breakfast club from 7.30am to 9am and after-school care, with advance booking required. Holiday Club serves children aged three to 11, usually during school holidays except Christmas; activities can include cooking, themed days and trips, and some carry an extra charge.

Attendance invoices are issued monthly after the care has taken place. Preschool attendance charges remain payable during sickness, holidays and other absences. Club arrangements differ: breakfast and after-school bookings require 24 hours' cancellation notice to avoid a charge, while Holiday Club fees are paid in advance and cancelled bookings are not refunded once paid.

Getting There

The address is Barracks Road, Modbury, Devon, PL21 0RB. Enquiries can be made through the enrolment form, by telephone on 01548 831477 or by email at admin@modbury-preschool.org.uk.

Modbury describes close links with Modbury Primary School, supported by shared location and communication. Familiarity with school life can help preparation, but preschool attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; families still use the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, the extended 30-hour entitlement for eligible working parents of that age group, and two-year-old funding. The universal entitlement can be taken over 38 weeks or stretched across the academic year. Funding is applied to core hours before non-core hours, and additional private hours are charged according to the child's age and booked hours.

Breakfast-club cereal and toast are included in its price; after-school snacks carry a suggested donation, and cooked tea is an optional separate charge. The fees page explains the attendance and funding structure; current prices should come in the preschool's written quotation.

• Joining age. Enrolment begins at two, while the fee bands also include children from 18 months. Before planning an earlier start, establish which starting age applies to your child.
• Community activities. The learning information describes community events and outings, while the FAQ says these activities are on hold. Ask which currently form part of the preschool week.
• Group teaching. In May 2023, some adult-led groups did not engage every child fully, and further staff development was an improvement priority. A visit is an opportunity to discuss how group participation and staff learning are organised now.
• Food and everyday supplies. Packed lunches and school dinners are options, and club food has different charging arrangements. Discuss preschool meal charges and allergy arrangements before agreeing attendance.

Modbury suits families choosing morning or afternoon preschool sessions who value age-specific language work and a week shaped by Spanish, dance, outdoor learning and coached physical activity. Its key-worker system and Famly journal give parents concrete ways to stay involved. School-site familiarity is useful preparation, with a separate Reception application still required. The decision should turn on the sessions and activities a child would actually attend, alongside the practical arrangements discussed before starting.