Oakey Dokeys Pre-School

A community committee and a purpose-built home in primary-school grounds give Oakey Dokeys its character. Parents can take part in the committee and fundraising, while children have a key person identified by the colour their group uses. This is a pre-school with practical ways for families to participate.

Oakey Dokeys welcomes children from their second birthday until they start primary school and has 30 places in total. Its home is in the grounds of All Saints Primary School in Great Oakley. At its July 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective, with children receiving successful support for additional needs.

Attendance is term-time, with day sessions running from 8am to 3.30pm. That calendar is an important part of the choice here.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes learning through communication, physical development, relationships and the beginnings of reading, mathematics and creative expression. It is the shared early-years framework: the practical question is how children experience it. Oakey Dokeys emphasises adult responses to children's interests and building learning over time, rather than treating development as a single pace for everyone.

In July 2022, activities grew from children's ideas and returned to subjects they had explored before. Bird feeding developed into observation with binoculars, and a shed became a birdwatching hide that children could use independently. That physical adaptation gave an ordinary outdoor activity somewhere to develop: children could return to the birds and pursue their interest.

Books also supplied starting points for play in July 2022. Staff built activities around favourite stories, connecting reading with children's imaginative explorations. Children were given time to pursue their own ideas, with adults joining their play to extend them. The combination matters: shared stories supplied possibilities, while children retained room to decide what happened next.

Outdoor and Community Life

In July 2022, caring for the environment was a practical strand of the day. Children sorted food waste for recycling and composting, grew vegetables and plants, and took what they had grown to a local show. These were tangible jobs rather than an abstract message about looking after nature.

Community experiences at that time included helping a farmer plant trees and visiting people who might be lonely. Feeding the guinea pig and helping clear up after snacks brought responsibility into everyday routines too. The appeal for families is the connection between learning and useful participation: children had things to look after and tasks they could complete.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has an allocated key person to support their wellbeing and development. Staff wear something in their group's colour, giving children a visible cue for identifying that adult. For a young child, this makes an important relationship easier to recognise.

Parents can communicate by telephone or email, and a closed Facebook group carries regular updates. Family involvement also extends to the voluntary committee, which includes parents, staff and other interested people; parents are encouraged to attend its annual general meeting. There is a route into the running of the setting as well as contact about an individual child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENCO works with families and the child's key person to identify needs, support learning and arrange referrals where appropriate. This can involve paediatricians, health visitors and speech and language specialists. Additional funding can be sought for more complex needs, and families can be directed to the Essex Local Offer for other support.

Those mechanisms give parents concrete points of contact. The SENCO's referrals and Essex Local Offer signposting also connect families with support outside the pre-school.

The July 2022 inspection identified two areas needing further work: clearer, more frequent guidance for parents about supporting learning at home, and stronger staff monitoring and supervision to improve teaching. These are useful questions about everyday practice, especially how a child's next learning steps reach their family and how staff receive guidance.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is the grounds of All Saints Primary School, Beaumont Road, Great Oakley, Essex, CO12 5BA. Opening hours are 8am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday, and sessions follow that day window during term time. This is a school-term calendar rather than year-round childcare.

Paid day sessions and funded attendance use the same day length. Funding can cover two full days for an eligible child with 15 hours, or four full days with 30 hours, subject to space. These are attendance arrangements, not a promise that a place is free. Families can make an enquiry through the contact form or by telephone on 01255 880880.

Funding and Paid Extras

Oakey Dokeys accepts Essex County Council FEEE funding. This includes the 15-hour universal entitlement for three-year-olds from the following term, 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds from lower-income families, and the 30-hour entitlement for eligible working families within the ages the pre-school accepts, beginning the term after the child reaches the eligible age. Delivery is term-time, with funding applied to full-day attendance.

Funding must be applied for before the preceding term ends, and codes are checked before a child starts. Paid invoices arrive at the beginning of each half term, with payment due within 15 days. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Families supply a packed lunch. There are no additional voluntary charges for food, snacks, consumables or activities.

Oakey Dokeys belongs to the Early Years Alliance, an organisation supporting early-years education. Its position on a primary-school site should be kept separate from Reception admissions: attending the pre-school does not guarantee a school place, and families still apply through the local authority process.

• Term-time day pattern. Sessions run from 8am to 3.30pm during term time. Families needing childcare through school holidays will need to account for that calendar.
• Home learning and staff guidance. The July 2022 improvement points concerned specific advice for parents and staff supervision. At a visit, ask how children's next steps are shared and how practitioners receive feedback on their teaching.
• Lunch and individual needs. Children bring a packed lunch, while the SENCO can coordinate additional support. Discuss how lunch arrangements and any individual care needs would work for your child.

Oakey Dokeys suits families seeking term-time preschool attendance, including eligible children attending two funded days or four funded days. Its community committee, colour-linked key-person arrangement and practical SEND support give parents clear ways to participate and communicate.

The July 2022 picture adds substance: nature observation, growing and community responsibilities gave children purposeful experiences. Balance that appeal with the two improvement points about home-learning guidance and staff supervision. Those are the most useful matters to explore when deciding whether this pre-school fits your child.