Crick Pre-School

A classroom base at Crick Primary School, woodland sessions across the seasons and a parent committee give Crick Pre-School a clear identity. This is a charity where parents help make decisions about the setting, and money left after running costs goes back into the children's surroundings and facilities. Its school setting is part of everyday life: the hall hosts movement and physical activities, while older children also learn outdoors through Forest School.

Ofsted rated Crick Pre-School Good at its September 2021 inspection. The current age range is two to five, with capacity for 26 children in total. Those places describe the whole setting, rather than the number in a particular activity or group. Children can begin after their second birthday, so this is provision for toddlers and preschool children rather than babies.

Morning, afternoon and six-hour sessions sit alongside Crick Wrap, which adds breakfast and after-school care. The main preschool runs during term time. That combination gives families several attendance choices, though the school-holiday closure is an important part of the decision.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes the day through learning in play, conversation, movement and practical activities, covering areas such as language, early mathematics and personal development. At Crick, children can choose between indoor and outdoor activities during each session, except during heavy rain. Adult-led activities with their key worker also punctuate that choice. There is room for children to follow an interest, alongside time spent doing something together.

The classroom activities are specific and varied: a table for mathematical challenges, materials for drawing and early writing, construction play and a craft trolley children can use freely. Role-play settings change weekly, with examples including a hairdresser's and a doctor's surgery. That changing setup gives familiar pretend play a different context, while small-world resources include a farm and dolls' house. These are concrete ways for children to explore ideas rather than spend the session on one shared task.

Wednesday mornings bring Music and Movement in the school hall; Thursday mornings have structured PE there. The typical afternoon includes a directed activity such as science or baking, followed later by a story. Families choosing a particular session should weigh that rhythm: the morning and afternoon timetables are different, rather than identical sessions repeated twice.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School adds a seasonal woodland experience for older children. Its six-session course is spread across the Autumn, Spring and Summer terms, with two sessions in each, allowing children to experience the woods at different points in the year. Outdoor exploration connects with the seven areas of learning. This is a defined course, rather than a claim that every preschool session takes place in woodland, and a staff member holds a Forest School leadership qualification.

Everyday outdoor play has its own equipment, including tricycles, a climbing frame, tunnels and a slide. Children can move between that outdoor space and activities indoors when the weather allows. The distinction matters: Forest School is an additional woodland experience, while outdoor play is also part of the ordinary preschool session.

In September 2021, children examined sunflowers before choosing colours for their paintings, experimented with drums and maracas, and worked together on outdoor building play. Staff also helped children persist with a train-track puzzle by encouraging them to reposition the pieces. Those examples show what activity-based learning looked like at that visit: looking closely, trying an idea and adjusting it, with adults taking part in the conversation.

Relationships and Communication

A personal key worker supports settling, follows a child's development and records their learning. This gives families a consistent role to connect with as their child begins preschool. The system also links individual care with the adult-led activities that take place during sessions, rather than leaving the child's development folder separate from the day.

Tapestry Online Learning Journal is the digital record used for observations, which can include photographs, videos, notes and assessments. Parents receive weekly email notifications when observations are added, can respond to entries and can contribute their own examples from home. It makes communication a two-way exchange: a family can add something meaningful from outside preschool as well as read about an activity completed there.

In September 2021, staff and parents exchanged information daily about children's care and experiences at home and preschool. Staff used home experiences when planning activities, and sat alongside children to share books. Conversations with newer and younger children used simple language, while questions and thinking time helped children contribute their own ideas. These are dated examples of the relationships behind the learning, rather than a current staffing count or guarantee about every interaction.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2021 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective and found that staff responded to individual care needs, including allergies, emotional reassurance and support with bathroom independence. That assessment belongs to the inspection date. The current key-worker arrangement provides a practical point of contact for discussing a child's routines and support needs.

Crick's SEN information directs families towards Northamptonshire's Local Offer, a source of information about services supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities. For a family considering additional support, the useful next step is a conversation about how the key-worker arrangement would work for their particular child. That question belongs in the visit discussion, alongside settling and communication.

Sessions and Attendance

The preschool is based at Crick Primary School, Main Road, Crick, Northamptonshire, NN6 7TU. Its main sessions run Monday to Friday during term time: mornings are 9am to noon and afternoons noon to 3pm. Six-hour sessions are also sold. Normal term dates follow Crick Primary School unless an exception is specified, and the preschool closes during school holidays. A family needing care across the year therefore needs to account for those breaks, even if the weekday session pattern fits well.

Crick Wrap serves children aged two to 11 from the preschool and Crick Primary School. Breakfast Club offers starts at 8am or 8.30am, while After School Club offers finishes at 4.15pm, 5.30pm or 6pm. Regular bookings carry forward between terms. Ad-hoc bookings require prior registration and can be requested up to two weeks ahead, subject to availability; they are a separate arrangement from a regular weekly booking.

Regular Crick Wrap sessions are invoiced at the beginning of term and remain chargeable if a child misses one. Four weeks' notice allows planned sessions to be cancelled and removed from the invoice, and the same notice applies when ending the booking for the following term. Ad-hoc sessions are billed at term end. Preschool registration packs are requested by contacting the setting; Crick Wrap has its own email registration route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded Early Education and Childcare is offered for three- and four-year-olds and qualifying two-year-olds. The term-time provision accepts the 15 hours of Universal Entitlement and, for qualifying families, the Extended Entitlement of 30 hours, covering the session cost. Private sessions can be purchased for children who do not qualify or for additional attendance. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the charging structure.

Parents supply a packed lunch for afternoon preschool attendance, including when those sessions are funded; Crick Wrap's 8am Breakfast Club includes cereal or toast in its fee, and its 5.30pm and 6pm finishes include a healthy snack. Breakfast is excluded from the 8.30am start, and children finishing at or before 4.15pm do not receive the club snack.

A voluntary additional session charge supports celebrations including Christmas, Easter, Diwali and Lunar New Year, and parents can opt out at any time. Separately, the parent committee helps raise money for equipment, materials and treats. Committee involvement offers families a way to contribute to decisions as well as fundraising, which is a substantial part of this charity's operating character.

Moving on to School

The preschool describes its classroom base at Crick Primary School as supporting links and transition to that school. Sharing the site is useful context, but attending preschool does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply through the local authority's school admissions process.

• Group activities. In September 2021, some whole-group sessions ran too long or became too complex for some children, who lost interest. Improving their organisation was the required development point, making the balance between shared activities and individual engagement a useful point to explore.
• Term-time calendar. Morning, afternoon and six-hour preschool sessions follow a term-time pattern, with school-holiday closures. The weekday flexibility needs to fit the family's holiday-care arrangements too.
• Crick Wrap commitments. Regular bookings continue between terms, missed sessions remain chargeable and cancellation requires four weeks' notice. Families with changing work patterns should distinguish those commitments from the pre-registered ad-hoc option.
• Settling and individual support. During a visit, ask how the key worker would introduce your child to the classroom and respond to any additional needs. The existing key-worker system and Tapestry communication make this a practical discussion about your child, rather than a general question about care.

Crick Pre-School suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool, as well as those combining a six-hour session with breakfast or after-school care. Its strongest practical features are easy to identify: classroom-based provision on a primary-school site, scheduled hall activities, a seasonal Forest School course and a learning journal parents can contribute to.

The September 2021 Good judgement provides a dated assessment, with group-time organisation the improvement point to keep in view. The term-time calendar and Crick Wrap cancellation commitments are the main practical constraints. For parents who value a charity run with parent involvement, and whose childcare needs fit those terms, Crick offers a clear and usable mix of preschool learning and extended attendance.