Roborough Preschool

Mixed-age play, a garden children can move into freely and a community-centre home give Roborough Preschool its character. Children spend much of their time together, with smaller groups organised around their development for stories, songs and focused activities. The setting moved to the Woolwell Centre in September 2024, leaving its former church premises behind.

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Roborough Preschool Good overall. That judgement belongs to the earlier premises, so it offers a useful account of practice at that point rather than an assessment of the new surroundings. The current setting accepts children aged two to five and has capacity for 19 children in total.

A key person connects each child's care, observations and next steps with family communication. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions operate during term time, giving families several ways to fit preschool around home life.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage frames learning, development and care through play, conversation and adult-guided activities. Development Matters supplies non-statutory curriculum guidance. These are shared foundations; Roborough's daily organisation adds the detail.

Weekly themes include All About Me in autumn and Growth and Minibeasts in summer. They give activities a starting point alongside children's chosen play. Observations and targeted activities guide individual next steps.

Mixed-age play alternates with smaller groups for stories, movement and language, matched to age and development. Younger children share play with older children while receiving teaching suited to their stage. Afternoon maths activities serve children preparing for school.

Morning book exchanges let children borrow from the preschool's library and return books for another choice during the week. Shared reading connects preschool and home.

Outdoor and Community Life

Free-flow play includes access to the garden in both morning and afternoon sessions. The setting also makes regular, spontaneous outings to nearby parks and green spaces, sometimes for football, a walk or exploring nature. These outings are shared with parents through Tapestry on the day, so families have something concrete to talk about afterwards.

Messy and sensory play call for spare outfits. Shoes must cover toes and support independent dressing. Managing clothes, toileting and belongings makes self-care part of learning.

In September 2023, children experimented with toy cars on ramps, predicting which direction would produce greater speed before trying it. Wooden bricks also helped them explore the meaning of wider and solve construction problems. These examples show the practical questioning used at that time: children could test an idea with objects rather than simply supply an answer.

The September 2023 improvement points deserve equal attention. Some early literacy tasks exceeded children's readiness, including letter-sound work for children with SEND who did not yet understand it. Activities during small-group teaching needed closer adjustment to individual development. The current routine divides focused activities by age, stage and next steps; the important distinction is between organising groups and ensuring that each task actually fits the children in them.

Relationships and Communication

Settling follows a staged plan that can be extended around the child. The first session lasts an hour with a parent present; the next aims for two hours independently, with a parent ready to return if needed. A full booked session follows when appropriate, and fee-paying children begin being charged at that stage. This gives separation a gradual structure rather than making the first full session the starting point.

Each child has a key person who observes development and serves as the family's main contact. Tapestry is the online learning journal and communication system, carrying observations, messages and care records, including snack, sleep and nappy information where relevant. Pictures are updated weekly, while assessments and next steps are shared at the start of each half term and reviewed before new ones are set.

Staff conversations, key-worker emails, parents' evenings and additional meetings give families opportunities to discuss development or concerns beyond routine updates.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

For additional needs, My Plan records the preschool's extra support. Parents and the SENCo review it termly, adapting help and supporting further referrals with parental permission.

At the September 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children made good progress, SEND support was effective and safeguarding arrangements were effective. Staff then used gestures, straightforward language and eye contact to support communication, although the early-literacy concern described above shows that effective support did not extend equally to every activity.

Children who need naps rest in the main room, where staff arrange a quieter space and routine. Sleep preferences are discussed with families, and children who remain awake have suitable quiet activities. For families of younger children, this shared-room arrangement is a meaningful part of the care model.

School preparation includes a written transition report covering development across the learning areas. In September 2023, staff also shared developmental information with receiving schools, but communication with other early-years settings attended by the same children was inconsistent. That concern is especially relevant to families dividing their child's week between providers.

Sessions and Attendance

The preschool's current home is the Roborough Suite at Woolwell Community Centre, on Darklake Lane, Woolwell, Plymouth PL6 7TR. It opens Monday to Friday, from 9am to 3pm, for 38 weeks during term time. School holidays therefore require a separate family arrangement.

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, afternoon sessions from noon to 3pm, and a full day from 9am to 3pm. Before a child becomes funded, families can choose as little as one half-day each week, with no minimum number of sessions. This allows a modest initial attendance pattern as well as a longer preschool week.

Applications go through the manager, followed by an application form and an identity check. Requests to add hours later in the academic year require agreement and depend on availability. Four weeks' notice applies when withdrawing a child or their regular sessions, including funded attendance.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded and fee-paying sessions are both offered, including additional private hours. Funding is delivered during term time: 30 Hour Funding can cover the full preschool week, while 15 Hours Funding can be used for mornings, afternoons or a combination of full and half days. Eligibility codes must remain valid; booked sessions become payable when the required code is not valid for the period.

Morning snacks are free, while parents supply afternoon packed lunches and any dairy-free milk alternative; the preschool has a no-nut policy and families should confirm current allergy arrangements before attendance. Parents also supply nappies, wipes and nappy bags when needed, so these consumables come from home for funded and fee-paying children alike.

There are no additional daily charges, though uniform costs extra and food contributions are requested for Christmas and summer parties. Current session prices come in the preschool's written quotation; payment remains due for sickness and holidays taken during term time. The funding and fees information sets out the session structure.

• Teaching at the right stage. In September 2023, early reading and writing activities needed better adjustment to individual readiness. During a visit, discuss how focused groups accommodate a younger child or a child needing additional support.
• Sleep in shared space. Naps take place in the main room. Families whose child still sleeps during the day should discuss how the quieter area and timing would work for their routine.
• A week split between settings. Two-way communication with other providers needed strengthening in September 2023. If your child attends elsewhere too, discuss how both settings will exchange next steps and care information.
• The term-time boundary. Half days and full days sit within a 9am-to-3pm opening window, with school-holiday closures. Match the booked pattern to work and family arrangements, including the four-week withdrawal notice.

Roborough suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon sessions or full preschool days during term time, with mixed-age play and smaller teaching groups. Garden access, local outings and book borrowing give the week substance, while a key person, Tapestry updates and reviewable support plans provide clear ways for parents to stay involved.

The move to Woolwell separates the current premises from the September 2023 judgement. The September 2023 literacy and cross-setting communication concerns remain useful decision points, alongside shared-room naps and term-time attendance. For families comfortable with those arrangements, the current offer combines flexible session choices with an explicitly individual approach to next steps.