Little Squirrels Pre-School

A church hall, a garden and an emphasis on books and natural materials give Little Squirrels Pre-School its character. Based at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Bovey Tracey, it combines space for exploration with learning shaped around children's interests. This is a setting where play supplies the starting point and adults help children develop their ideas.

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good overall, with Outstanding judgements for behaviour and attitudes and personal development. The practical examples explain that distinction: children recognised kindness in one another and used a hedgehog character to explore their feelings. There were also two clear improvements to make, concerning distractions during group activities and support for early writing.

Little Squirrels has 30 places in total. Children attending in September 2023 were aged 2 to 4. Its current opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, during term time.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning and development, covering language, physical skills, relationships and learning through play. Little Squirrels puts children's interests alongside adult guidance: a child can explore an idea independently, then receive help to take it further. Natural materials form part of everyday play rather than being reserved for a separate activity.

Books have a clear place in the current day. The book of the week introduces a regular reading theme, while a calm reading area gives children access to fiction and non-fiction. Stories also feature in circle time and smaller groups. These arrangements give children different ways to engage with books, through shared conversation or their own choice of reading material.

Little Squirrels Curriculum is the setting's own curriculum alongside the Development Matters Framework. Its daily learning includes conversation with adults and other children, number work, shape and measurement, and creative expression through dance, music and making things from reused materials. These are concrete ways of bringing the areas of learning into play.

In September 2023, children acted out The Three Little Pigs outdoors, building with straw and foam bricks and trying out vocabulary connected with construction. The story became something to make and discuss, rather than only something to hear. A large floor book collected children's drawings and writing about their learning, including stories and seasonal interests.

Practical tasks supported persistence at that time too. Younger children practised fastening dolls' clothing to a toy washing line with wooden pegs, trying different movements after watching an adult demonstrate. The activity linked hand control with a task children could understand.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large hall and garden provide both indoor and outdoor space for exploration. Current physical activities address strength, coordination and agility, while smaller movements help children prepare for writing. The combination gives physical development a place in both active play and more precise tasks.

In September 2023, visitors extended children's learning beyond familiar nursery resources. Children explored bees and candle-making with beeswax; bilingual teachers introduced languages, and animal specialists brought mammals and insects. These encounters connected conversation and practical experience with the wider natural world.

Relationships and Communication

Emotional learning has a concrete current emphasis: children receive help to understand feelings, build relationships and express themselves. Kindness and acceptance of differences are also part of the setting's ethos. For families, the useful point is that social development sits alongside reading and physical skills in the daily learning priorities.

In September 2023, Harry the Hedgehog helped children discuss emotions by considering how the character might feel and relating that to their own experiences. The kindness tree gave children a way to recognise thoughtful behaviour in their peers, with painted handprints marking those contributions. Both activities made abstract ideas visible and discussable.

Children also shared photographs and experiences from home at that time, giving staff material for conversation about their lives beyond pre-school. Books could go home too, extending opportunities for shared reading beyond the setting.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A designated safeguarding lead, a deputy lead and a SENDCo role form part of the current staff structure. The SENDCo provides an identifiable role for discussions about additional needs.

At the September 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, with staff understanding how to raise child-protection concerns and premises secured against unauthorised access. These are dated findings about practice at that visit.

In September 2023, additional support helped children from military families when relatives were away. Preparation for school included uniforms for role play and school-specific photo books showing staff and classrooms. This gave children concrete ways to become familiar with the next stage, rather than relying on verbal explanations alone.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Ashburton Road, Bovey Tracey, TQ13 9BY. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm on weekdays in term time. Families can make contact through the enquiry form or by email.

The term calendar includes half-term breaks. For autumn 2026, the remaining teaching periods end on 23 October and resume on 2 November, with the term finishing on 17 December. This matters for families arranging care around school holidays: the weekday opening window sits within a term-time calendar.

Funding and Paid Extras

Little Squirrels accepts government funding providing up to 30 hours of childcare a week, within its term-time operation. Applications are directed through Devon County Council. The entitlement is expressed as an upper limit, so families should distinguish the funding they qualify for from the hours they intend to use.

Paid childcare is also offered, with hourly fee categories for two-year-olds and three-year-olds. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Funding and private hours are separate parts of the cost discussion, so the quotation should match the attendance arrangement a family is considering.

• Group learning and early writing. In September 2023, noise from lunch preparations sometimes interrupted group activities, and support with writing tools was inconsistent. Ask to see how group time and early writing are organised now.
• Term-time care. The 9am to 3pm weekday opening hours follow a calendar with half-term breaks. Families needing care during school holidays will need to plan around those closures.
• The funded-hours quotation. Funding can cover up to 30 hours a week. What would meals, snacks and non-food consumables mean for the cost of your proposed funded and paid hours?

Little Squirrels suits families seeking term-time pre-school care within a 9am to 3pm weekday window, especially those who value books, natural materials and space for indoor and outdoor play. Its September 2023 strengths were most striking in children's social and emotional development, illustrated by Harry the Hedgehog and the kindness tree.

The balance is clear: appealing practical learning and thoughtful emotional activities, alongside specific improvements needed in group organisation and early writing at that visit. Those two areas make useful priorities for a visit.