Yealmpton Pre-School

Tuesday means tools, fire-making and outdoor cooking at Yealmpton Pre-School. Its Forest School day gives children time to explore outdoors, while shared learning with Yealmpton Primary School and visits around the village connect preschool life with the wider community. This is a small setting with capacity for 16 children, based at The Community & Resource Centre, Stray Park, Yealmpton, PL8 2HF.

At its December 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), were making good progress. The practical character is clear: a community-based preschool, a substantial outdoor offer and close contact with the primary school whose grounds it shares.

Children are welcomed from two years old to school age. Attendance is term-time only, with morning, afternoon and all-day options alongside earlier and later sessions.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday activities support communication, physical development and learning about the world. Forest School adds a specific outdoor strand here. Tuesdays are set aside for it, with children outdoors from 8.15am to 4.30pm, or within their 9am to 3pm booking. The expectation is outdoor participation in wet weather as well as dry.

Tools, cooking over a fire and opportunities to make fires give that day a recognisable shape. Planned activities sit alongside more child-led exploration.

In December 2022, staff adjusted activities to individual children rather than giving everyone an identical task. A Christmas-card activity, for example, was adapted so that children could participate at different levels. Language support included repeating words with clearer pronunciation, using simple signs and inviting older children to explain their ideas. These examples show how ordinary play and making activities were used to practise communication.

The December 2022 improvement points concerned greater challenge for older children on outings and story sessions that involved younger children and gave everyone more opportunity to contribute.

Outdoor and Community Life

A decked area supports free-flow play, and there is a garden below the car park. Children can also use the primary school's orchard, pond and adventure playground. The garden has been developed for use throughout the year.

Community outings include the woods, village shops and park, with bus trips to Plymstock Library among the experiences offered. These destinations bring everyday places into children's learning rather than keeping their experience within the preschool building.

The Yealmpton & Brixton Community friendship project gives children opportunities to join community activities. Children sometimes attend its Friday coffee mornings, taking artwork or gifts and singing with the group. At Christmas, visits to the church include decorating a tree for the Christmas tree festival. Both activities give children a concrete role in village life, whether sharing something they have made or contributing to a communal event.

In December 2022, daily outdoor outings included walks to nearby woods, road-crossing practice and conversations with staff and other children. Exploring ice, playing counting games and using a parachute combined movement with investigation.

Relationships and Communication

Settling can begin with one free taster session, with a parent encouraged to stay. More tasters or a gradual start can be arranged where a child needs them. This gives families a practical way to introduce separation in stages, rather than expecting every child to manage the same start.

Lola, the preschool dog, is a frequent presence. Her involvement is another feature to weigh when choosing the setting, especially for a child who enjoys animals or is uneasy around them. The preschool describes her as gentle with children; that description does not replace a family's own judgement about how their child responds to a dog.

In December 2022, children sought comfort from familiar staff, and recently enrolled younger children settled quickly. Communication also extended between parents, staff and other childcare settings children attended. Information from families and ongoing assessments helped shape activities, making home experiences relevant to what happened during the preschool day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The staff structure includes a SENCO, a designated safeguarding officer and a deputy safeguarding officer. Staff have paediatric first-aid and safeguarding training, and continue professional development through training sessions and online courses. The team includes early-years qualifications and an education and early-years degree.

Support experience includes work with speech and language professionals, portage services and an educational psychologist. A plan of action can be developed with a family.

Potty training can be supported when a child is ready, and wearing nappies does not prevent attendance. That matters for families whose child's readiness for preschool and readiness for toilet training arrive at different times.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.45am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. Sessions are allocated each term, with forms sent to families before the following term begins. Families therefore choose a pattern through a recurring termly process.

Morning runs from 9am to 11.30am; Afternoon runs from 12.30pm to 3pm. Lunch Club occupies the interval, from 11.30am to 12.30pm, and an all-day option is also offered. Earlier attendance is covered by Early Bird, from 7.45am to 9am. Later choices are Twilight Session, from 3pm to 4.30pm, or High Tea Session, from 3pm to 6pm.

The address is The Community & Resource Centre, Stray Park, Yealmpton, PL8 2HF. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01752 881810 or through the contact form. Calls and emails may be answered after staff have finished working with children, so leaving a message is part of the enquiry arrangement.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered during term time. The arrangements include 15 hours of Early Years Educational Funding per week from the term after a child's third birthday, a 30-hour entitlement for qualifying families who apply and supply the required details, and funding for some two-year-olds. Private hours are charged where attendance exceeds the child's entitlement or the child does not qualify; current prices come in the preschool's written quotation.

Parents supply lunch, with a hot-lunch alternative bookable through the primary school. Snacks are provided during morning and afternoon sessions, with breakfast for children attending before 9am and tea for those attending after 3pm.

Moving on to School

Yealmpton Pre-School describes shared learning with Yealmpton Primary School's Foundation Class and access to its outdoor facilities. In December 2022, children also joined Reception sessions and visited for lunch weekly during the term before starting school. Familiarity with school routines can help make the next stage less unfamiliar, but attending this preschool does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• A substantial outdoor Tuesday. Forest School involves prolonged outdoor time, tools and fire activities. At a visit, discuss clothing, weather arrangements and how activities are adapted for your child's age and confidence.
• Term-time attendance. Sessions follow the school-term pattern and are allocated termly. Families needing childcare through school holidays will need to plan around that operating calendar.
• Challenge and group stories. The December 2022 improvement points concerned older children's engagement on outings and participation during story sessions. A useful visit question is how those activities now accommodate different ages.
• Lola and individual care needs. A dog regularly attends the preschool, and staff support children who are still in nappies. Discuss how animal contact and any nappies or wipes your child needs are managed during the sessions you choose.

Yealmpton Pre-School suits families looking for morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those combining all-day attendance with earlier or later care during term time. Forest School, the primary-school grounds and the Yealmpton & Brixton Community friendship project give it a clear identity beyond its small size.

The December 2022 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, with specific improvement points to keep in view. The strongest reasons to choose it are concrete: an outdoor Tuesday with practical activities, flexible settling arrangements and participation in village life. For families comfortable with the term-time calendar and this outdoor emphasis, those features make a coherent preschool offer.