Hagbourne Pre-School

Woodland adventures, a village hall and an allotment give Hagbourne Pre-School a recognisable character. Based in East Hagbourne near Didcot, this charity-run setting combines indoor play with a purpose-built playground and community activities. Mini Explorers, its woodland programme, adds den building, wildlife investigation and muddy play for older children. Outdoor learning has a concrete place here.

Children aged two to five attend, with 35 places in total. A largely parent volunteer committee works alongside professional staff, giving families a role in the organisation.

Ofsted rated the pre-school Good on 27 February 2024. Everyday outdoor access, a key person system and school-transition activities are its strongest practical attractions.

Morning, afternoon and all-day attendance patterns are offered during term time. This is a setting to judge against both your child's stage and your family's weekly routine.

Rooms and Ages

The two halls are used to organise parts of the day by age: two-year-olds have group activities in the large hall, while four-year-olds use the smaller hall. Story discussions and adult-guided activities take place before snack time in their key-person groups. This gives the day a mixture of smaller-group teaching and shared experiences, rather than one continuous whole-setting activity.

Small-group music, songs and stories accompany practical play. Afternoon activities change, while the smaller hall follows the morning format, providing familiar routines with fresh things to do.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop through play, conversation, physical activity and guided experiences. Hagbourne combines children's choices with adult-led work, using their interests and individual needs to shape activities. The framework is the foundation; the woodland programme and community experiences add their own content.

In February 2024, a topic based on The Very Hungry Caterpillar extended beyond the story into snack foods. Children could connect what they heard with something they tasted. Sand timers helped explain expectations during play, and staff talked alongside children as activities unfolded. These are useful examples of learning woven into ordinary parts of the day.

In February 2024, adults sometimes asked further questions before children could formulate an answer. Giving children longer to think was the educational improvement requested.

Outdoor and Community Life

A climbing frame, role play wigwams and wheeled toys give outdoor play several different purposes. Children can invent stories, practise movement or explore sand and water. The allotment adds another physical space to the setting's facilities, alongside the playground and indoor rooms.

Mini Explorers takes children into woodland at Hagbourne Primary School. It is for children over three in their final pre-school year and takes place within a morning session; the day is arranged at the beginning of the term. Activities include investigating animal habitats, making leaf crowns and searching for worms, as well as building dens. These offer practical reasons to look closely, make choices and work with natural materials.

The programme continues in different weather conditions. The pre-school supplies waterproof trousers and high visibility vests, while families supply wellies and suitable seasonal clothing. This is an active outdoor experience, with preparation at home forming part of participation.

Community life extends beyond woodland. At St. Andrew’s church in East Hagbourne, children take part in Christmas tree decorating, Harvest Festival and Remembrance Day activities. An annual farm visit and end-of-term shows at Easter, Summer and Christmas add outings and performance to the calendar. Police, a dental nurse, musicians and Irish dancers also visit during the year, bringing people and experiences into the children's familiar setting.

Relationships and Communication

Each child's key person keeps their observation file and discusses progress with parents. A staff buddy covers absences, maintaining a contact for the family.

Parents may stay during early settling sessions for a duration they choose. Favourite toys or comforters are welcome, and staff telephone with updates to support separation.

Learning journals are shared at parent meetings three times a year. Friday term-time email newsletters keep families informed between those conversations.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND arrangements include a SENCO-trained staff role, parent-informed observations and liaison with outside organisations. Funding for a one-to-one worker is sought where necessary to meet a child's needs.

At the February 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described adaptations that included children who could not sustain a whole-group story, but also required suitability information for some committee members, who had no unsupervised access to children and whose incomplete checks had no impact on children's welfare. The requirement carried a deadline of 15 March 2024. That is a dated requirement, rather than evidence of its subsequent completion.

Staff work with parents on toilet training and provide nappy changing. Behaviour support uses praise, discussion and age-appropriate responses, including help for younger children managing strong emotions.

For families needing wider practical help, the pre-school can support a foodbank referral. Care here includes a route to assistance beyond the activities of a session.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Village Hall, Main Road, East Hagbourne, Didcot, OX11 9LR. Morning sessions run from 8:45am to 11:45am; afternoon sessions, including lunch club, run from 11:45am to 2:45pm. All-day sessions are also offered. The pre-school operates during school terms, so the attendance pattern needs to fit a family's holiday arrangements as well as its usual week.

The new-starter arrangements specify at least two sessions across two separate days, using morning, afternoon or all-day attendance. The admissions policy also specifies a minimum commitment of two full terms. That makes Hagbourne a continuing pre-school arrangement rather than a brief block of occasional attendance.

There are three intake points: January, April and September. Applications go onto a waiting list, with offers normally communicated before the starting term; joining the list does not guarantee a place or every requested session. Once a place is accepted, a deposit is payable, followed by arrangements for settling and allocation of a key person.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted for two-, three- and four-year-olds. The application categories include working-parent funding, funding for two-year-olds in families receiving certain benefits and universal 15-hour funding. Funded hours are taken during term time, and families may divide them between Hagbourne and one additional provider. Attendance beyond funded sessions is charged privately, with current prices supplied in the pre-school's written quotation.

Children receive a snack each session, supported by an entirely optional contribution; families provide packed lunches, and the pre-school operates a no nuts policy. Parents also supply nappies and sun cream, with the changing arrangements asking for wipes and nappy bags from home.

Mini Explorers has a voluntary contribution towards its supplies and consumables. There is no charge to join the waiting list. The admissions and fees page sets out the charge structure and requires at least half a term's notice when a child leaves, with fees due for that period if sufficient notice is not given.

Moving on to School

The pre-school describes close transition work with Hagbourne Primary School while operating independently. Children have opportunities to play at the school and meet its staff, and teachers visit the pre-school to get to know them. Attending does not guarantee a school place; families still use the local authority admissions process. The benefit is preparation for the change of setting, rather than an admissions advantage.

• Time to think. In February 2024, questioning sometimes moved ahead before children could develop an answer. During a visit, ask how practitioners now allow children time to explain and test their ideas.
• Committee suitability procedures. The February 2024 requirement concerned information needed for committee checks, with a deadline of 15 March 2024. Ask how the required procedures were addressed and how changes of committee membership are managed.
• A continuing attendance commitment. The minimum arrangement combines sessions on separate days with two full terms of attendance. Weigh that commitment alongside term-time operation and the leaving-notice terms before accepting a place.
• Woodland and food preparation. Mini Explorers is aimed at children over three in their final year, and families supply outdoor clothing and packed lunches. Discuss how participation would fit your child's stage, and confirm current food practice if allergies affect your family.

Hagbourne suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon sessions or all-day pre-school attendance within a term-time routine. Its appeal is specific: woodland exploration, a playground with climbing and imaginative play, community activities and a key person who connects care with learning records.

The village hall and parent committee give it a community identity. Weigh the attendance commitment, outdoor preparation and dated inspection requirements alongside that appeal.