Long Bennington Pre-School

Play dough mixed by children, a pretend garden centre and conversations about farm tractors give Long Bennington Pre-School a recognisable character in its June 2022 account of daily life. Practical tasks carried learning: children decided whether their play dough needed more flour or water, handled money in play and talked about things familiar from home.

At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Good and found safeguarding effective. Based at St James Hall, Main Road, Newark, NG23 5DJ, it has capacity for 24 children aged 24 to 60 months. That is the whole-setting capacity, rather than the size of an individual group.

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, the June 2022 examples show language, counting and physical skills being practised through play and everyday tasks.

In June 2022, Jasper's Beanstalk prompted a pretend garden centre where children named plants and counted money into a till. Making play dough gave them decisions about flour and water, alongside practice using their hands. These were tangible ways to connect a story or a practical activity with learning.

Outdoor play in June 2022 included pretending to drive tractors and identifying insects with staff. Recycling materials and composting lunchtime food waste brought care for the environment into ordinary routines. Stories, songs and rhymes also gave children opportunities to practise language; staff expanded younger children's words and explained comparisons between objects.

In June 2022, a key-person system supported children's relationships with staff, while adults helped hesitant newcomers join activities. Picture cards paired with faces expressing emotions gave children a way to communicate how they felt. That offered a starting point for conversation before feelings needed to become words.

Independence featured in June 2022 routines too. Children served themselves at snack time and practised changing from slippers into outdoor shoes, with demonstrations and instructions when needed. Nutritious snacks, outdoor exercise and discussions about eating well formed part of the same daily care.

Staff supervision in June 2022 included conversations about their key children and their own development. This gave practitioners a regular opportunity to discuss the children they supported.

The pre-school operates during term time and closes for school holidays. Opening hours are 7.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. The holiday closure is a practical consideration for families whose childcare needs continue throughout the year.

In June 2022, the pre-school offered funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. That describes its funding offer at that date.

• Individual learning and home support. In June 2022, Ofsted asked for activities to address children's next learning steps more precisely and for parents to receive better help supporting learning at home. These are useful priorities against which to assess progress.
• Term-time attendance. School-holiday closures mean this setting suits a term-time childcare requirement. Families needing year-round care should weigh that calendar carefully.
• Choosing a booking pattern. How do the current session choices fit your required days and working hours?

Long Bennington Pre-School suits families seeking term-time provision, with a June 2022 picture of practical play, growing independence and supportive staff relationships. The garden-centre activity and children's own play-dough making give substance to that account. The same dated assessment also identifies the key qualification: activities and home-learning guidance needed to become more closely matched to individual children.