Cedar Tree Pre-School Cheadle

Mixed-age play gives Cedar Tree Pre-School Cheadle its character: children make friends across ages, while learning themes move from family life to woodland habitats and the local community. This is a setting with a recognisable emphasis on conversation, feelings and everyday independence. Its capacity is 21 children, with an age range of two to five.

Ofsted rated the setting Good on 10 January 2023. That judgement provides a useful starting point, but the detail matters more: children discussed their surroundings, cooperated over practical tasks and took responsibility at mealtimes. Those examples belong to January 2023 rather than being a description of today's daily routine.

Full days, morning and afternoon half days, school days and extended school days give families several attendance patterns to consider.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday activities become opportunities to practise communication, explore ideas and develop independence. Cedar Tree's curriculum organises experiences around seasonal themes and children's interests. Its mixed-age arrangement means play can involve children at different stages, rather than keeping each age in a separate group.

Into the woods brings together den building, habitats and mini beasts. At the allotment explores seasonal change, growing plants and fruit and vegetables; it is a learning theme, rather than a claim that the setting has an allotment. These topics give practical subjects a clear place in the curriculum. Family, feelings and preschool rules also feature, connecting learning with experiences children can recognise.

The teaching approach encourages children to experiment, persist and make choices. Concentrating on an activity, trying again after difficulty and linking ideas are explicit parts of that approach. For parents, the useful distinction is that an activity's value lies in how children explore it, as well as what they make or finish.

Outdoor and Community Life

In January 2023, children used water and containers together to make a muddy patch, sharing equipment and taking turns. A sensory experience based around the forest included breathing exercises and yoga. These were practical ways to combine movement with attention to feelings, rather than treating emotional learning as a separate conversation.

Community outings were frequent in January 2023, and older children had opportunities for swimming lessons. Within the setting, photographs of familiar streets and landmarks prompted discussion about home. The combination connected children's learning with places and experiences beyond preschool.

A soft-play area also featured in January 2023. Children counted its users before deciding whether to join, bringing number work into a real decision about safe play. Elsewhere, visual reminders helped them revisit quantities used for making play dough. Mathematics therefore appeared within purposeful activities, alongside conversation and exploration.

Relationships and Communication

In January 2023, staff used their knowledge of children's interests and personalities to plan activities. Parents received updates through an online system as well as conversations with staff, creating two routes for sharing experiences and learning. That combination gave families both a continuing account and opportunities for immediate discussion.

Independence had a practical expression in January 2023: children gathered their eating utensils, helped themselves to food and practised pouring milk. Staff talked them through cutting fruit and allowed time to concentrate. These small tasks made mealtimes part of learning to manage everyday needs.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, making good progress, with assessments and parent meetings supporting targeted help. The dated judgement is supported by concrete mechanisms, rather than a general promise of care.

Current staffing roles include a SENCO lead, safeguarding leads and an EYFS lead, alongside senior room leads and a preschool chef. Paediatric first-aid training is also identified among the staff. These roles make responsibility for learning, additional needs and safety explicit; they do not establish a current staff-to-child ratio or group size.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 97 Mill Road, Cheadle, Stoke-on-Trent, ST10 1ND. Opening hours run from 7.30am until 5.30pm on weekdays, with year-round opening except bank holidays and Christmas week.

For children aged two to four, the attendance options are a ten-hour full day, five-hour morning or afternoon half days, a six-hour school day and a 7.5-hour extended school day. These are different booking patterns within the opening window. A school-day booking should not be confused with a term-time-only arrangement.

Enrolment enquiries can be made by telephone on 01538 754755 or by email to cheadle@cedartree-earlyyears.com. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare is offered through the 15 hour and 30 hour funding for 2, 3 and 4 year olds, with allocation on a first-come, first-served basis. Families can also book paid childcare. The fees page sets out the attendance choices, making the session pattern an important part of considering the overall cost.

Breakfast, lunch and tea are charged separately, and vegetarian alternatives can be requested. Breakfast includes cereal, milk and toast, while fruit is offered as a snack.

• Depth of learning. In January 2023, staff sometimes missed opportunities to take children's engagement further. On a visit, ask how practitioners now extend an activity once a child has grasped its first challenge.
• The cost of your attendance pattern. A full day and a school day have different durations, while meals carry separate charges. Request a written quotation showing how funding, food and non-food consumables apply to your chosen pattern.
• Mixed-age play. Children play alongside others of different ages. During a visit, explore how activities and support are adapted for a child at your child's stage.

Cedar Tree suits families considering either morning or afternoon half days, a school-day pattern or a full day, and those who value children playing across ages. Its woodland and growing themes give learning concrete subjects, while the January 2023 examples show conversation and everyday independence woven into activities.

The Good judgement is useful context, with an equally useful caution about extending engagement into deeper learning. The strongest decision will connect those educational priorities with the attendance pattern and written charges that work for the family.