Middleton Cheney Preschool

A courtyard with a retractable canopy, daily physical activity and a practical emphasis on independence give Middleton Cheney Preschool its character. This village setting on Main Road accepts children from age two and has 35 places in total. Play and everyday self-care connect with preparation for primary school.

At its 4 December 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance to be Strong standard, with safeguarding standards met. Those are separate area judgements, rather than an overall grade. The practical detail behind them matters: in December 2025, children were practising putting on coats, managing bathroom routines and deciding when to have their snack. Independence had a place in the ordinary day.

Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside all-day attendance, with early drop-off and late pick-up options.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the indoor and outdoor activities, supporting learning through play alongside children's development, health and care. Children choose their own play, while adult-supported groups introduce new experiences and skills.

Weekly Focus Activity is the setting's planned activity for different ages and abilities, shaped around children's interests, needs and occasions such as festivals. It adds a shared experience to the free-flow day. Cooking also recurs, with children encouraged to prepare food using wholesome ingredients and organic ingredients where possible; parents may sometimes be asked for a contribution towards that activity.

PE and Sport brings daily movement through the preschool's own programme, covering athletics, gymnastics, games and dance. Children practise different ways of moving each day.

In December 2025, a sensory activity combined pasta, rice and seasonal sequins with scoops and bauble shapes. Children filled and joined the shapes, practising coordination while staff introduced language about quantities. Another small-group game used familiar objects hidden beneath a cover, with children trying to remember which item had disappeared. Simple materials supported coordination, language and recall.

Outdoor and Community Life

The courtyard has a wetpour surface and retractable canopy, supporting outdoor play across the year. A mud kitchen supports pretend play, while a friendship bench provides somewhere to sit together. Fundraising has also supported a weaving panel, retractable fence, dolls house and interactive screen.

In December 2025, children climbed a wooden frame while adults prompted them to consider their grip and footing. Movement involved learning to judge what felt secure.

Christmas Float is an annual village fundraising event involving Santa travelling around the village. It gives the preschool a community connection beyond the sessions themselves. Parents can also contribute through the fundraising committee or voluntary management committee, making involvement possible through practical help as well as time spent with children.

Relationships and Communication

Each child is allocated a key person who builds a relationship with the child and works with the family. Settling support can be adjusted when a child needs more time, and home visits are optional. Home visits help the key person understand the child in familiar surroundings.

Tapestry Learning Record is the online record used for observations of children's progress. Parents can access their child's record from home and add observations themselves, allowing interests and achievements outside preschool to feed into planning. Weekly newsletters cover plans, news and events. Families can follow both individual progress and preschool plans.

In December 2025, adults gathered information about children's needs from families and worked with a community paediatrician. When children became upset, staff stayed close, spoke calmly and offered choices about what to do next.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The team includes SENCO and assistant SENCO roles. Children who use nappies are welcome, with changing facilities in purpose-built toddler toilets, and toilet training is supported when they are ready. Families do not need to treat independent toileting as a condition of starting.

At the December 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that specialist guidance informed individual activities, including work on balance and core strength, while setting a next step to sustain high standards and make a transformational difference to the experiences and outcomes of disadvantaged children and children with SEND.

Fruit is offered at break time with milk or water, and children attending lunch club practise bringing their own lunchbox and eating together. The allergy policy asks families to record dietary needs on the registration form and provide written updates when an allergy emerges, so alternatives can be arranged.

Safeguarding responsibilities include a designated person, a trained deputy who can discuss concerns when that person is off site, and director oversight. Tablets are used with adult supervision; children's devices have online access blocked, while adult tablets use filters.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Main Road, Middleton Cheney, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX17 2PD. Morning sessions run from 9am to noon and afternoon sessions from 1pm to 4pm. Children can also stay all day, with lunch club ordinarily reserved for those doing so.

Early drop-off offers either 8am to 9am or 8.30am to 9am. Late pick-up runs from 4pm to 5pm and needs minimum numbers to operate. Families relying on a later finish need to account for that condition.

September is the largest intake, with smaller intakes in January and April. Starts outside those periods can be considered on request, subject to the child's age and session availability. Enquiries and wait-list requests go by email to preschoolcommittee@live.co.uk; general contact is also available on 01295 712353.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through two- and three-year county funding, including 15 hours and extended 30 hours funding. Sessions between 8am and 4pm can be covered within the applicable funded allowance, without a subsidy; the 4pm to 5pm late session is separately paid. Private sessions are also offered, and current prices come in the preschool's written quotation. The fees and funding page sets out the charging structure.

Lunchboxes are supplied by families for lunch club. Cooking activities may sometimes carry a request for a parental donation. These sit alongside the attendance charges and should be considered separately when planning a child's pattern.

A deposit confirms the child's sessions and is credited against the first invoice or refunded in the first month after starting; the deposit is non-refundable if the place is cancelled before starting, the child defers or the child does not start. Withdrawal requires four weeks' written notice, with fees payable during that period for both funded and unfunded children. Fees also remain payable for sickness and holidays. These terms matter even when the child is not attending.

Moving on to School

During the summer term, preparation includes practising dressing independently for PE and using lunch club to experience a lunchbox meal in a larger group. The preschool plans primary-school visits and invites relevant Reception teachers into sessions. These contacts and practical skills help prepare children for the move.

• The later finish. The 4pm to 5pm session requires minimum numbers and is outside the funded-hours offer. Discuss how that condition applies to the attendance pattern you need before booking.
• Starting and settling. September brings the largest intake, with January and April alternatives and conditional starts at other times. A visit is an opportunity to discuss the proposed start and how key-person support or an optional home visit would help your child.
• Food and everyday supplies. Lunch club involves a lunchbox from home, and allergy updates must be given in writing. Confirm current allergy practice and what nappies, wipes or other personal supplies your child should bring.
• Additional support. The team includes SENCO roles; specialist input informed individual activities in December 2025, when the next step called for greater impact for disadvantaged children and those with SEND. Discuss how individual advice will translate into activities and communication for your child.

Middleton Cheney Preschool suits families seeking either morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those wanting all-day attendance with possible extensions. Its appeal lies in the combination of daily movement, free-flow play, practical independence and a key person who connects learning with home.

The canopy-covered courtyard, mud kitchen and parent-accessible learning records give that offer substance. The December 2025 area judgements provide a positive inspection position, alongside a clear next step for the impact of additional support. Families whose plans depend on late pick-up should give its operating condition careful weight.