Long Wittenham Pre-School

A village hall that changes its layout each day and a woodland site at Acklings Playing Field give Long Wittenham Pre-School its character. Children can help shape the indoor play space, while seasonal Woodland Adventure sessions bring tree climbing, den building and investigations of plants and insects into the week. This is a pack-away setting with an outdoor strand that goes beyond its hall garden.

The pre-school accepts children aged 2 to 4 and has capacity for 24 children. At its 27 March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good, found safeguarding effective and praised both communication support and the help given to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

A volunteer committee of parents and carers manages the charity, with fundraising supporting its running costs. Attendance follows the school terms, with morning, afternoon and all-day patterns rather than a single compulsory day length.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes learning through play, covering communication, physical development, relationships and early literacy and mathematics alongside creative exploration. It is the shared early-years framework; here, termly topics organise activities within it. Children choose tasks for themselves and also join activities led by adults, giving them practice in making decisions and working with others.

Pack-away operation has a practical effect on the room. Resources and activities can be rearranged each day around children's interests and next steps, and children have a say in the layout. Construction, small-world play, role play, arts and crafts, and sand and water activities provide different ways to explore the same topic. Music, cooking and cultural celebrations add further experiences across the terms.

Small-group or individual time with a key worker sits alongside freer play. Stories and singing close the sessions, providing a shared ending after children have pursued different activities. In the afternoon, staff reset the hall while children spend time outdoors, then children can move between the two learning spaces.

In March 2023, the inspection identified a teaching weakness: staff did not consistently turn children's interests into engaging opportunities for mark-making and everyday mathematics, and needed to evaluate their methods more carefully. That is a useful distinction for parents: choice and appealing resources matter, but so does the adult interaction that helps a child take an interest further.

Outdoor and Community Life

Woodland Adventure takes place on Thursday mornings during terms 1, 5 and 6 at a site in the corner of Acklings Playing Field. Children explore trees and wildlife, build dens, climb and make sculptures from mud. Activities also introduce teamwork and thinking about risk, so the outdoor offer includes both physical challenge and investigation.

The woodland morning is for children aged 2½ and above. Its seasonal pattern matters: this is a recurring part of selected terms, rather than a year-round weekly woodland timetable.

Back at the hall, the enclosed outdoor area includes garden planters, a grow-your-own space, an alphabet snail, a basketball hoop and a story corner. Bikes and scooters provide movement alongside quieter activities. Village walks extend play beyond the premises, with parental consent required for outings.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key worker, giving families a regular point of connection within the team. Settling begins before the official start date: a parent joins the first 30-minute session, followed by two further settling sessions. The sequence gives children time to meet staff and become familiar with the setting before their regular attendance begins.

Tapestry is the online learning journal used for observations, photographs and comments about children's development. Weekly email notifications alert parents to new entries, and families can contribute their own photographs and comments about learning at home. A written progress summary comes before meetings with the key worker. This makes communication a two-way exchange, rather than simply a collection of photographs.

A weekly newsletter and regular catch-ups provide further contact. Family events include Mother's Day breakfasts and reading together on World Book Day, while parents can volunteer or share interests, jobs and cultural celebrations with children. Participation can be practical as well as social, with the parent and carer committee overseeing the charity's management.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support has a defined process. The key person and SENCO bring together observations, parental knowledge and specialist advice; action plans identify the support, resources and people involved, with reviews agreed at least termly. Where medical interventions are needed, a health care plan sits alongside the learning support arrangements. Parents therefore have a structure for discussing both the next steps and how they will be reviewed.

For children with more complex needs, the admissions policy makes the start date dependent on preparations such as training, risk assessments and adjustments to access. Families are kept involved during that preparation. This is an important practical condition, rather than a promise that every child can start on the same timetable.

Behaviour support begins with calm adult intervention, recognising children's feelings and helping them work through conflict. Persistent difficulties lead to discussion between parents, the key person and SENCO, with an action plan where appropriate. Staff undertake safeguarding and food hygiene training and hold current first-aid certificates; these are arrangements for staff preparation, rather than a new inspection judgement.

Children bring a packed lunch, while morning snacks follow a four-week rotation with similar alternatives for children with allergies. The pre-school has a published nut and peanut exclusion policy, which allergy-affected families should discuss in detail before attendance.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Village Hall, High Street, Long Wittenham, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4QH. Children aged 2 to 4 are accepted, generally starting in the September after their second birthday; an earlier start is considered individually. The intended intakes are September, January and April.

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Afternoon sessions, including lunch club, run from noon to 3pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. All-day attendance is also offered. Thursday Woodland Adventure mornings have their own timetable, 8.45am to 11.45am, during the woodland terms.

Lunch club runs from noon to 1pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and must be booked beforehand when added to a morning. The pre-school requests two sessions each week, totalling six hours, where possible. This is a requested attendance pattern rather than an unconditional minimum.

Terms match Long Wittenham Primary School's calendar, including closures for its inset days; polling days also close the pre-school because the hall is used for voting. The final day before the Christmas, Easter and summer holidays ends at 1pm. Families relying on an afternoon should allow for those shorter days.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered during term time. The arrangements include the 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds from the funding term after their third birthday, extended funding of 30 hours for eligible families, and funding for eligible two-year-olds. Eligibility depends on the relevant criteria; participation here does not itself establish a child's entitlement.

Funding can cover morning or afternoon attendance and lunch club within a child's allowance. Additional private hours are charged, and current prices come in the pre-school's written quotation. Parents supply packed lunches for both funded and privately paid attendance, and provide spare nappies or pull-ups, wipes and creams when needed. Morning snacks are provided separately from the packed lunch.

The place-confirmation payment is deducted from the first invoice, or returned after funding approval for a fully funded place; it is forfeited if the place is not taken up. Leaving or reducing sessions requires a full term of written notice, with fees payable in lieu if that notice is not given. Fees also remain payable for ordinary sickness or holiday absence.

Moving on to School

The pre-school describes close links with Long Wittenham Primary School, including use of its playground and visits for children due to join Reception. From late in term 5, those visits build towards a full morning before the summer holiday. Attendance does not guarantee a school place: families still use the local authority admissions process. Staff also liaise with other primary schools when children are moving elsewhere.

• Thursday's different pattern. Woodland Adventure is seasonal, starts at 8.45am and is restricted to children aged 2½ and above. At a visit, discuss the arrangements for your child's age and personal-care needs, and whether breakfast club or early drop-off has resumed for the current academic year.
• Adult input in play. The March 2023 teaching concern centred on engaging children in mark-making and mathematics. During the suggested visit of about an hour, ask how staff now extend those interests within children's chosen activities.
• Preparing additional support. More complex SEND can require adjustments before a child starts. Use the settling discussions to agree the preparations, review arrangements and likely start timetable; allergy-affected families should also confirm current food-handling practice.
• Term-time commitments. Inset days, polling days and early holiday finishes affect attendance, while reducing sessions requires a term's written notice. These details matter when matching the pattern to work and other childcare.

Long Wittenham Pre-School suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon attendance or all-day care within school terms, with a village setting and seasonal woodland play. Its strongest practical combination is the adaptable hall space, outdoor exploration and a key-worker relationship supported by Tapestry. The Good judgement from March 2023 provides the dated quality assessment, alongside a clear teaching improvement point. Families whose children need additional support have structured planning mechanisms to discuss, while the variable weekly timetable and term-time closures need to fit household routines.