St Peters Pre-school, Stafford

Ducklings, Bunnies and Piglets give St Peters its memorable room names, while dance classes, book borrowing and visits to the community fire station extend learning beyond everyday play. This Stafford charity combines baby care with preparation for school, with an emphasis on children learning through activity rather than formal lessons.

At its July 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged St Peters Good and found safeguarding effective, with children making good progress and additional-needs support drawing on outside agencies. That judgement sits alongside two clear development points: closer monitoring of practitioners’ teaching and a more precisely sequenced curriculum for older children. The strengths and the qualifications both matter.

St Peters has capacity for 51 children, with its current early-years age range running from two months to five years. Ducklings serves babies, Bunnies toddlers and Piglets preschool children; a separate Butterflies provision caters for school-age children. Full-day and sessional care sit alongside term-time and stretched funding options.

Rooms and Ages

Ducklings covers birth to two years and has a self-contained arrangement with a garden, a sleeping area, space for eating and play, an adjacent changing area and a milk-preparation kitchen; treasure baskets and sensory materials give babies opportunities to explore textures. These practical divisions matter for a baby whose sleep, milk feeds and active play need different arrangements. The whole-setting starting age is two months, rather than the room description’s birth-age boundary.

For two- to three-year-olds, Bunnies introduces shape, size, colour and letter sounds through play, alongside music, exploration of natural and manufactured materials, and learning everyday routines.

Piglets serves three- to five-year-olds, combining preparation for school with stories, practical number activities and creative work, supported by a book corner. Books and play provide the route into learning.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides learning through play, covering children’s communication, physical development, relationships and later learning in areas such as literacy and mathematics. It is the shared early-years framework, while St Peters’ key-person planning takes account of each child’s interests and next steps. Activities are intended to connect with the child, rather than follow an identical path for everyone.

Wigglebugs provides dance classes for Bunnies and Piglets. Book borrowing connects reading at nursery and home, while show and tell gives children opportunities to contribute to conversation.

In July 2023, learning included babies investigating edible sand and reflective paper, toddlers shaping dough with simple tools, and preschool children constructing houses from different materials before acting out a familiar wolf story. The examples show how one play-based approach can take different forms as children grow: sensory investigation for babies, tool use for toddlers and storytelling through construction for older children.

In July 2023, the older children’s curriculum needed a clearer sequence of knowledge and skills. For preschool families, how activities build on earlier learning matters.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular outings reach local parks and the library, and educational trips include the community fire station. These connect learning with children’s wider neighbourhood.

Physical activity was prominent in July 2023. Babies used equipment to practise standing, including a rail beside a mirror, while older children moved around the playground using different equipment. Spacious indoor and outdoor areas supported that activity. For a child who learns through movement, this dated account gives a concrete picture of the setting’s physical emphasis.

Relationships and Communication

A key person links individual planning with parents’ knowledge of their child. The settling arrangements assign that practitioner when a child joins, with individual play plans and progress monitoring forming part of the role. Parents can also arrange a private conversation, which gives concerns a route beyond a quick exchange.

Ducklings follows babies’ individual patterns for sleeping, eating and play. Daily diary sheets communicate the baby’s day and parents’ requests, while a progress book is shared with families. The value is continuity: routines established at home can inform care at nursery, rather than a baby being expected to fit a single timetable.

In July 2023, practitioners shared children’s achievements and ideas for learning at home, and worked with parents to maintain babies’ routines.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENCO works with a one-to-one Educarer to provide individual attention for children with additional needs. These roles give families specific contacts for discussing support. Staff arrangements include first-aid training and a safeguarding lead role.

In July 2023, emotional support included helping toddlers become familiar with mealtimes and teaching older children breathing strategies for frustration. Practitioners also used observations and the age-two progress check to inform teaching. These examples show attention to both everyday routines and the skills children need when feelings become difficult.

Meals follow a three-week menu rotation, parents supply breakfast foods, and the nursery’s dietary policy covers religious requirements, vegetarian and vegan diets, and specific allergens. Families managing allergies should discuss current practice before agreeing care.

Sessions and Attendance

St Peters is on Wolverhampton Road, Rising Brook, Stafford, ST17 9DH, in the grounds of Stafford Manor High School. Its current opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year. Full-day and sessional daycare are offered, giving families different attendance patterns rather than a single full-day model.

Term-time funding examples use 9am to 4.30pm: the 15-hour example runs over two days a week and the 30-hour example over four. These are examples of how funding can be arranged, rather than a universal minimum booking requirement. Funded sessions can fall within the 8am to 6pm window, subject to availability.

The nursery closes for Bank Holidays and scheduled closure periods, with no childcare charges for those closures. For Christmas 2026, closure begins on 22 December and reopening is on 4 January 2027. Families using term-time funding can request separately charged holiday sessions, subject to availability; stretched funding covers most holiday weeks rather than every one.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email to office@stpetersstafford.co.uk or by telephone on 01785 240641. An application-to-join form provides the route for supplying a child’s and parents’ details.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children can access funded childcare from nine months, with 15 or 30 hours subject to the relevant funding criteria. Both term-time and stretched arrangements are offered, with stretching subject to eligibility and availability. The distinction matters for families whose childcare needs continue through school holidays.

Funded-hour meals carry a separate charge. Breakfast foods come from home. Parents also supply nappies, wipes, any required nappy cream and seasonal sun cream, so these items need to be planned alongside attendance. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the charge structure.

The joining payment includes an administration charge and a refundable deposit, with repayment subject to the deposit policy. Leaving requires at least one month’s notice, and the refundable element is returned after the required notice has been completed under the nursery’s terms. Those conditions should be read alongside the attendance agreement.

• Older children’s learning. In July 2023, the curriculum needed a clearer order for building older children’s knowledge and skills, and teaching oversight needed greater precision. At a visit, ask how Piglets’ planning and practitioner feedback address those points.
• Funding across holidays. Term-time funding and stretched funding cover different attendance needs, and stretching does not cover every holiday week. Match the proposed arrangement to the weeks your family needs before agreeing it.
• Baby routines and supplies. Ducklings follows individual eating and sleeping patterns, while parents supply nappies and wipes. A visit is the right opportunity to discuss how your baby’s routine would work within the room.
• School-site location. St Peters occupies grounds belonging to Stafford Manor High School. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; applications for state-school Reception places still go through the local authority admissions process.

St Peters suits families seeking either full-day care or shorter sessional attendance, including those weighing term-time funding against a stretched arrangement. Its appeal lies in recognisable room stages, community outings and practical links with home through book borrowing and baby diaries.

The July 2023 Good judgement supports that picture, but the older children’s curriculum and monitoring of teaching remain material points in that dated assessment. For babies, the room’s separate functional areas and individual routines are useful considerations; for preschool children, the key question is how playful experiences connect into a clear progression towards school.