Shipston Pre-School

A mud kitchen, an all-weather play surface and stories acted out in the garden give Shipston Pre-School a practical, playful character. Its purpose-built home on Tilemans Lane sits beside Shipston Primary School and Badger Valley Children’s Centre. Children attend from age two to school entry, making this a setting for the preschool years rather than baby care.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Outstanding, praising the quality of education and finding safeguarding effective. The detail behind that judgement matters: adults joined children’s play, helped them communicate through words, signs and pictures, and planned small-group activities around their needs. Outdoor play was a substantial part of the day.

Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions run during term time. For parents, the central choice is between shorter attendance and a fuller preschool day, with the academic calendar shaping the childcare arrangement.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care, with children developing their skills through play. Shipston’s resources give that play several forms: construction toys and small-world equipment support making and imagining, while creative and sensory materials are accessible for children to choose themselves. Role play and home-corner equipment add opportunities to rehearse familiar everyday experiences.

In June 2024, communication and social development were central to the planned activities. Practitioners played alongside children and supplied language that helped them express ideas and understand what was happening. Signs and pictures offered another way into an activity. Small-group work complemented children’s own choices, giving adults a more concentrated opportunity to support conversation and participation.

Books also moved beyond a seated story session. In June 2024, children selected books to share with friends and adults, joined interactive group storytelling and acted out bear hunts in the garden. That links listening with movement and imagination: a familiar story becomes something children can take part in, rather than simply hear.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor space includes an all-weather surface, a sand-and-water area, a mud pit and a mud kitchen. These are useful differences within one play area. Children can explore materials and pretend to cook, alongside activities intended to develop physical skills. The all-weather surface gives outdoor play a practical base across changing conditions.

In June 2024, children could move between indoor and outdoor play for much of their day. Physical activities challenged their larger movements, while the garden also served as a place for storytelling. Outdoors was therefore part of learning itself, rather than just a break between indoor activities.

The purpose-built building and its adjacent neighbours establish the preschool’s physical setting. They should be understood as location details: choosing this preschool is a decision about early education and care, rather than an assumption about a later school place.

Relationships and Communication

In June 2024, staff planned play around individual children’s interests and needs. Children chose activities and invited adults or friends to join them. Support for listening, attention and considerate behaviour was woven into those interactions, giving children practice in playing together as well as pursuing their own ideas.

Assessments were paired with termly conversations with parents in June 2024. Staff discussed development, highlighted next steps and offered ideas for learning at home when gaps emerged. This gave families more than a general update: the conversation connected what a child was doing at preschool with what adults could support outside it.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2024 inspection, Ofsted found exceptional SEND support, with the SENCo working with parents, the local inclusion service and other professionals, and funding used for additional staff and resources. Support also extended to preparing children for their next stage of education. For a family whose child needs extra help, the important mechanism is that combination of parent involvement, professional collaboration and resources directed towards individual needs.

Shipston holds the Silver Warwickshire Inclusion Kite-marking award for 2023/24. A SENDCo role forms part of its support arrangements, while a designated staff member oversees safeguarding practice. Child-protection training applies to staff and volunteers, and parents can access the written policies. Families can discuss these arrangements in detail.

Sessions and Attendance

Shipston Pre-School is on Tilemans Lane, Shipston on Stour, CV36 4HP. Opening hours are 8.30am to 3.45pm during term time. The booking choices are morning, afternoon and full-day sessions, so a family can choose a shorter session or a fuller day within a term-time arrangement.

The 2026/2027 calendar uses five training and administration closure days to accommodate the difference between funding covering 38 weeks and the 39-week term-time year, avoiding an additional invoice for that shortfall. Looking ahead from October 2026, the listed closures include 23 October 2026, 4 January 2027 and 28 May 2027. The autumn term ends on 18 December 2026 at 1pm, an earlier finish that needs to fit the family’s childcare plans.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone on (01608) 666 029 or by email at shipstonpreschool@live.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside paid, non-funded hours. Nursery Education Funding provides eligible children with 15 hours a week from the term after their third birthday; qualifying working families may receive an additional 15 hours a week. Eligible two-year-olds can receive 15 funded hours a week during school term times.

Funding is delivered term-time, with the calendar setting out the funded weeks and associated closures. The additional working-family entitlement requires an online application in the term before the family wishes to claim. Paid non-funded hours can supplement the funded entitlement.

• Term-time care. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions offer different attendance patterns, but all sit within a term-time arrangement. Families needing childcare across school holidays should factor that calendar into their decision.
• Closure days and an early finish. The 2026/2027 calendar includes training and administration closures, and 18 December 2026 finishes at 1pm. Those dates need particular attention when arranging work and collection.
• Care beyond the session. With both funded and private hours offered, what are the arrangements and charges for meals and non-food consumables within your intended booking? Make this a specific discussion when visiting.

Shipston suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as a full preschool day during term time. Its strongest practical features are the accessible play resources and outdoor space, including the mud kitchen and all-weather surface. The June 2024 findings add substance through examples of communication support, parent discussions and help tailored to children with SEND.

The calendar is the main planning consideration. For families whose childcare needs fit term time, this offers a combination of child-led play, purposeful adult involvement and shorter or fuller attendance patterns.