Cashes Green Playgroup

Close links with Cashes Green Primary School give this playgroup a clear character: it operates separately from the school, but uses its Children Centre, hub and grounds, and works with the Reception class. That connection gives families a school-linked setting while their children are still in the nursery years.

Ofsted rated Cashes Green Playgroup Good in September 2025 and found safeguarding effective. Across the whole playgroup, there is capacity for 22 children aged 2 to 5. Term-time sessions run from 9am to 3pm, and morning sessions are also part of the attendance offer.

The practical attraction is the connection between early care and school life. The balance to weigh is the September 2025 finding that outdoor learning, explanations of behaviour rules and opportunities to extend learning needed further work.

Rooms and Ages

Rising 3’s and Preschool provide the room structure. For parents, these named groups are a useful starting point for understanding how a child’s day will be organised.

The early years foundation stage is the framework for learning and care here: in September 2025, children practised language through staff naming objects and introducing vocabulary, and developed hand control through tweezers, drawing marks and construction play. These are concrete examples of learning embedded in activities children can take part in.

Learning and Activities

In September 2025, weekly music and sports sessions added opportunities for communication and movement. Children also built with loops and train tracks, while outdoor activity included running, jumping and climbing. This gave the day both small, precise tasks and opportunities for larger movements.

The Hide a Book project linked literacy with the village community in September 2025, encouraging connections between home and school through shared books. It is a recognisable example of learning reaching beyond the playgroup building, with families involved in the same activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

School grounds are part of the current playgroup offer. In September 2025, children used the outdoor area regularly, although the mud pit had limited value for play and redevelopment was being planned. Access to outside space and the quality of learning there are separate considerations for families whose children prefer being outdoors.

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found uneven teaching across age groups, missed opportunities to develop learning during spontaneous exchanges, inconsistent explanations of behaviour expectations and an outdoor area needing more varied learning experiences. Those points give parents specific aspects of the nursery day to weigh alongside the Good judgement.

In September 2025, staff addressed children by name, used eye contact and responded sensitively to their needs. These small interactions describe the everyday way adults related to children, rather than relying on a general statement about care.

Practical independence also featured in September 2025. Children served themselves at meals and used a nose blowing station, giving them opportunities to practise managing ordinary personal tasks. Mealtimes were calm and organised, bringing those self-help skills into a shared routine.

Golden Rules provided the behaviour framework in September 2025. The remaining issue was explanation: children sometimes heard an instruction to stop without a clear reason, and messages were not always consistent. For families, the question is how adults help children understand a boundary as well as follow it.

Communication extended beyond individual conversations in September 2025, with families receiving information about curriculum expectations and staff responsibilities. Staff also exchanged information and attended meetings with other settings for children attending more than one provision. That matters where a child’s week is shared between providers, because adults need a connected picture of their care.

Sessions and Attendance

The playgroup is on Hillcrest Road, Cashes Green, Stroud, GL5 4NL. Its term-time session runs from 9am to 3pm; morning sessions are also offered. The term-time calendar is an important part of the attendance model for families organising care around school holidays.

Enquiries go directly to the playgroup by telephone on 07949 868523 or by email at cashesgreenplaygroup@eygloucestershire.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

All forms of funding are accepted within the playgroup’s opening hours, with provision delivered during term time. A voluntary contribution towards snacks is requested for each morning session. This is a donation, so families should distinguish it from a separately charged compulsory extra. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation.

Moving on to School

The playgroup describes close working with Cashes Green Primary School’s Reception class as helping children move on to school. Shared use of the Children Centre, hub and grounds makes that relationship concrete. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a place at Cashes Green Primary School.

• Outdoor learning. In September 2025, the mud pit needed redevelopment and outdoor learning required more variety. On a visit, ask what has changed and how children who prefer outdoor play are now supported.
• Everyday teaching and boundaries. September 2025 improvement points concerned extending spontaneous learning and explaining rules consistently. Ask how practitioners now build on children’s questions and explain the Golden Rules.
• Term-time attendance. The main session runs from 9am to 3pm during term time, alongside morning sessions. This calendar needs to fit the family’s working week and holiday arrangements.

Cashes Green Playgroup suits families seeking term-time daytime care or morning sessions, especially those who value close contact with Cashes Green Primary School. Its school facilities, two-room structure and September 2025 examples of music, sport, shared literacy and practical independence give it a clear identity. The Good judgement sits alongside specific improvement points about outdoor learning and everyday teaching, which deserve attention when choosing it.