Birchanger Butterflies Preschool

A wood-slice registration tree, weekly Forest School and books borrowed for home give Birchanger Butterflies Preschool a recognisable character. Children find their own name to mark attendance, explore nature and choose a library book to share with their family. These are concrete ways of bringing independence, outdoor exploration and home learning into the preschool day.

Ofsted rated the preschool Good on 18 May 2021. It has 28 places in total and offers care for children aged two to five, in its own building within the grounds of Birchanger C of E Primary School. The preschool operates separately from the school, with an elected parent committee responsible for matters including policy, maintenance and fundraising.

Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions follow a term-based calendar. That gives families a choice between a shorter session and a day spanning both sessions.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes activities across language, physical development, relationships and the other areas of learning. In everyday terms, children learn through play, conversation, practical tasks and creative work. Planning draws on their interests and their next steps, with castles, animals and lifecycles among the examples used.

Purpose gives early writing a reason. Children can record orders in a pretend restaurant, label their artwork or sketch building plans on clipboards. Sound activities begin with listening and distinguishing sounds, while number games and practical comparisons introduce mathematical ideas. This keeps early literacy and mathematics connected to something children are doing.

Creative work changes each session. Cooking takes place regularly, and singing is accompanied by instruments; bead-threading and peg boards provide smaller-scale tasks for hand-eye coordination. Games and jigsaws give children opportunities to practise sharing turns. There is room for repetition as well as a changing activity.

Books connect preschool and home. Stories, songs and rhymes are used daily, and children choose a library book each week to take home. Families therefore have something specific to share beyond asking what happened that day. The registration tree adds another everyday encounter with print, as children identify their name on a wood slice.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School runs weekly: a child-led programme involving repeated encounters with nature, sensory exploration and new challenges. It sits alongside the Early Years Foundation Stage rather than replacing it. The unhurried format gives children another setting in which to participate and communicate.

An enclosed outdoor play space adjoins the building. A climbing frame, trampoline, bikes and sit ’n’ ride cars give physical play several forms, from climbing to riding. Sand and water play offer opportunities to experiment, while play-dough adds another hands-on material.

The preschool also uses school facilities, including the hall, playground and P.E. equipment, and joins age-appropriate occasions such as school plays. This extends the environments children encounter beyond the preschool’s own space.

Relationships and Communication

A key person begins getting to know each child through the initial paperwork and settling visit. An All about me document gathers family knowledge, and observations then inform activities and next steps. The settling approach starts with a visit alongside a parent or carer; at least two settling sessions are suggested, with more possible according to the child’s needs.

Communication has several routes. Weekly entries in a secure online learning journal include achievements, photographs and children’s comments, and families can contribute pictures and comments from home. Tapestry is the online journal used for observations, assessments and tracking development. Daily conversations with the key person complement parent consultations held at least twice yearly and newsletters each half term.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support has a defined route through the preschool SENCo and the Area SENCo from Essex Local Authority. Staff use observations and discussions with families to identify needs, adapt activities and review support. Contact with other professionals requires parental consent, giving families a part in decisions about additional help.

Accessibility has practical features: the preschool occupies one level, with an entrance ramp and an accessible toilet. Specialist equipment can sometimes be borrowed. Before trips, staff discuss individual needs with parents and consider how risks can be reduced to support participation.

All staff have paediatric first aid training. Collection arrangements use authorised-person details and passwords as an additional precaution. These are specific arrangements, rather than a substitute for an inspection judgement about safeguarding.

School preparation includes visits to meet teachers and invitations for teachers or teaching assistants to visit the preschool. Information is shared with parental permission, and a report can pass to the child’s next school. The emphasis is on familiarity and continuity.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, afternoons from noon to 3pm, and full days from 9am to 3pm. The preschool generally follows Essex term dates and Birchanger School’s calendar. These patterns suit different routines, but the term-based calendar is an important part of the choice.

The address is Birchanger Primary School, Birchwood, Birchanger, Bishop’s Stortford, CM23 5QL. General enquiries can be made by telephone or email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside privately paid sessions. The funding arrangements include up to 15 hours weekly for eligible two-year-olds through an application and referral process, universal provision of up to 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds, and up to 30 hours for qualifying working parents. Funding starts in the term after the relevant birthday, within the preschool’s term-based attendance model.

For funded places, a voluntary consumables contribution applies, with its terms explained at the first visit and in the welcome documents. Snacks are charged separately, or parents may send a healthy snack instead. There is also an initial registration charge, and session payments fall due in advance each half term or term; current prices come in the preschool’s written quotation. The fees and times page sets out the charge structure.

The preschool describes strong links with Birchanger C of E Primary School, whose grounds it shares. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Term-based routines. The 9am to 3pm full day and shorter morning or afternoon sessions generally follow school term dates. Consider how that calendar fits work and care arrangements.
• Settling at the child’s pace. A parent-accompanied visit and a suggested minimum of two settling sessions form the starting point. At a visit, discuss how extra settling sessions would work for your child.
• Funded extras. Funded places carry a voluntary consumables contribution, and snacks are charged separately. Discuss the contribution’s terms at your child’s first visit.
• Shared grounds, separate admissions. School facilities and joint occasions bring contact with Birchanger C of E Primary School. They do not confer a Reception place, so preschool choice and the school application remain separate decisions.

Birchanger Butterflies suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions as well as those wanting the 9am to 3pm full day during term time. Weekly Forest School, purposeful early writing and a take-home library book give the offer substance. Key-person contact and consent-based SEND arrangements provide clear mechanisms for working with families. The school setting adds shared facilities and transition opportunities, while leaving Reception admissions as a separate process.