Ascott-under-Wychwood Pre-school

Village life gives Ascott-under-Wychwood Pre-school much of its character: Tiddy Hall is its base, woodland visits extend the learning beyond the hall, and outings have connected children with Ascott Village Shop and the North Oxfordshire Community Foodbank. This is a community pre-school with a recognisable local identity, rather than an anonymous childcare address.

At its November 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Outstanding and found exceptional progress in children's learning, supported by teaching that placed considerable emphasis on communication. That is a strong assessment, but a dated one. The practical offer is term-time provision for children aged 30 to 60 months, with 26 places in total.

Morning and afternoon bookings give families different ways to use the week. The key person and buddy arrangements are another useful practical feature: each child has a main practitioner responsible for their care and a connection with another staff member when that person is away.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS shapes learning through games and play, covering language, movement, relationships, early reading and writing, number, creativity and understanding the world. It is the shared early-years foundation, rather than an extra programme unique to Ascott. Here, examples of activities show how ordinary materials and children's interests can become the starting point for learning.

A pirate topic began with children playing pirates. They helped design a galleon, offered ideas for adults to write down and joined cardboard boxes together before painting their creation; maps, telescopes and ship biscuits extended the theme. The finished boat was used for imaginative play inside the hall and outside in the garden. Children were contributing to the activity's direction, as well as taking part in it.

Mathematical play has used cars travelling down guttering, bags of jewels and blocks with dinosaurs to bring counting into familiar games. Shape work included matching everyday objects and exploring how flat shapes could form a cylinder. These examples make the educational purpose concrete: number and shape become things to handle, discuss and experiment with.

In November 2022, spoken language received deliberate attention. Staff assessed children's communication and planned activities around their stage of development; children explained details of constructions they had made. Storytelling also used movement and expressive voices to hold children's attention. The emphasis was on joining in and sustaining a conversation, rather than simply listening to an adult.

Little Dancers is the pre-school's dance club for children aged 3 to 5, and it appears alongside the Wednesday afternoon timetable. It adds a named dance opportunity to the attendance pattern. A visit from Yoga Bees has also involved songs, animal-themed poses and noticing the contrast between a fast heartbeat after movement and a slower one during rest.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School brings children into woodland, where they can choose from activities offered by staff. The pre-school's examples include looking for plants and animal tracks, drawing bluebells, weaving grasses with twigs and imaginative play in a den. These are experiences with living surroundings and natural materials, rather than outdoor time consisting solely of playground equipment.

Village walks have had a purpose beyond exercise. Children took donations to Ascott Village Shop for the North Oxfordshire Community Foodbank, noticing house numbers, signs, horses and foliage along the route. Other outings have included Ascott playing field and allotments, where children dug potatoes and sampled fruit. The local surroundings supply subjects for conversation and opportunities to connect food with where it grows.

Cooking has also been practical. Children used safety knives to prepare vegetables for soup and kneaded dough for bread rolls, then watched the dough rise before baking. Handling ingredients gives them something real to describe and compare. These activities illustrate the pre-school's learning, rather than a promise that any particular trip or recipe happens every week.

Relationships and Communication

A key person works with parents to understand their child's interests and needs, helps with settling and remains responsible for supporting their participation in activities. The buddy group system adds continuity when the main key person is absent. For a child developing trust in adults beyond home, that second familiar connection has a clear purpose.

In November 2022, children had close relationships with their key persons. Communication with families included spoken handovers each day, alongside messages and learning observations through an online platform. This gave parents both an immediate account of the day and examples of what their child was learning, rather than leaving all discussion until a formal meeting.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and exceptional progress for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, with visual communication prompts and sensory activities among the support used. These findings belong to that inspection date; they should be read alongside the pre-school's present arrangements.

Those arrangements include a SENCO role and working with parents and relevant outside agencies around individual needs. Inclusion procedures also cover discussing family identity during settling, recognising bilingual development positively and recording children's use of signing as an achievement. The practical point is that communication and family background are part of planning a child's care, rather than an afterthought.

Staff hold first-aid qualifications and receive safeguarding training. The safeguarding procedures assign responsibilities to the manager and deputy and require immediate action on concerns.

Moving towards school has included contact with children's new teachers. In 2020, staff spoke with teachers at the different schools children were joining. That example concerns sharing the transition, rather than an admissions advantage or an automatic place at a particular school.

Sessions and Attendance

The pre-school operates at Tiddy Hall, Shipton Road, Ascott-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire, OX7 6AG. It closes for school holidays, so the attendance model fits term-time routines.

Morning sessions run from 9am to 1pm, Monday to Friday. Afternoon sessions run from 1pm to 3.30pm, Monday to Thursday; Friday has the morning pattern. These are separate booking options, which matters for families choosing a shorter morning or adding an afternoon to their childcare routine.

Joining follows a waiting-list process. Submitting the application puts a child on that list; an offer and acceptance come before the further family information required on admission. Families who decide they no longer need a place are asked to tell the pre-school promptly. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by email.

Funding and Paid Extras

The pre-school receives nursery education funding and also charges for privately paid attendance by the hours used within sessions. Payments are due before each half-term, with bank transfer preferred and cheques accepted. Current prices should come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the charging structure.

Short absences without notice still attract fees. That condition matters when budgeting for attendance that may be interrupted, and it belongs alongside the hourly charging model rather than being treated as a separate penalty.

• Term-time timetable. Morning bookings are offered throughout the working week, while afternoons run Monday to Thursday. School-holiday closures and the Friday finish at 1pm need to fit the family's wider childcare arrangements.
• Waiting-list process. An application joins the list rather than securing a place. When discussing joining, explain the sessions and intended start date you need, and use a visit to talk through how settling with the key person and buddy would work for your child.
• Total attendance costs. Charges follow the hours attended and are paid ahead of each half-term. Ask for one written breakdown covering your child's funded entitlement, any private hours, meals and consumables, so the proposed pattern and its costs can be considered together.

Ascott-under-Wychwood Pre-school suits families seeking term-time early education with either morning attendance or afternoon sessions, and a strong connection to village life. Forest School, practical cooking and purposeful local outings give its learning an identifiable character. The key person and buddy system adds a useful thread of continuity to care.

The Outstanding judgement from November 2022 is substantial support for its educational reputation. Families should weigh that dated assessment alongside the practical fit: the timetable ends earlier on Fridays, holidays need separate planning, and joining uses a waiting list. For those whose routines match the sessions, this is a compelling village pre-school to consider.