Annabelle's Fernham Pre-School

A village-hall setting with capacity for 24 children gives Annabelle's Fernham Pre-School a clear identity. Based at Fernham Village Hall in Faringdon, it accepts children aged 33 to 60 months. This is provision for the preschool years, rather than babies and younger toddlers.

At its December 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Good and found safeguarding effective. The practical emphasis is on term-time mornings, with opening hours of 8am to 1pm, Monday to Friday.

In December 2024, learning took place in the main room and garden, with conversation woven into practical activities. Staff talked through their actions and introduced vocabulary; children could explain that perseverance meant continuing with something difficult. Language had a purpose beyond repeating words.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care, bringing play, communication and everyday skills into their education. At the December 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that the curriculum built on children's existing knowledge and supported good progress.

Everyday routines supplied concrete learning opportunities that December. Children counted cups while helping prepare the snack table, compared food sizes and used tongs to choose what to eat. Making crowns brought together creative decisions and small hand movements. A rehearsed nativity performance gave children experience of presenting something to an audience.

In December 2024, staff gathered information about children's needs and interests when they joined. That gave practitioners a starting point for planning activities around familiar interests and existing abilities.

Kind behaviour was modelled through staff interactions. Children took turns, shared and considered one another's feelings during the December 2024 visit; one waited for a friend while getting ready for outdoor play. Praise recognised effort as well as achievement, including children completing their own creative work.

Staff discussed practice with other practitioners and received support through team meetings and supervision that December. However, their ongoing development needed a clearer emphasis on extending teaching and curriculum knowledge. This matters because supportive working relationships and targeted professional learning serve different purposes.

Fernham Village Hall, Fernham, Faringdon, SN7 7NX is the setting's address. Opening hours are 8am to 1pm on weekdays during term time, with closure in school holidays. Families need a routine that fits a lunchtime finish.

In December 2024, the setting received funding for early education for three- and four-year-olds. That is a dated funding position rather than a promise of an individual child's entitlement.

• Morning timetable. The term-time opening window ends at 1pm. Consider how that finish and school-holiday closures fit family working arrangements.
• Representing each child. In December 2024, learning about festivals and people needed to make fuller use of children's own backgrounds and heritage. At a visit, ask how those experiences now shape activities.
• Staff development. The December 2024 improvement priorities included more targeted professional learning. Ask for an example of how recent training has changed teaching.

Annabelle's Fernham Pre-School suits families seeking preschool provision on term-time mornings. Its December 2024 activities connected language, counting and independence to ordinary routines, making the inspection account useful for understanding how children learned. The lunchtime finish is a decisive practical consideration; teaching development and representation of children's backgrounds are the substantive questions to carry into a visit.