Brize Norton Village Pre-School

An allotment, a nature pond and produce that children help turn into food give Brize Norton Village Pre-School a clear rural character. Elderbank Hall provides the indoor base. Growing and investigating extend the day outdoors.

At its 24 May 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the preschool Good and found safeguarding effective. It has 30 places in total and accepts children aged two to four, without requiring potty training. Attendance is term-time only, with morning and afternoon sessions and a Friday lunchtime finish. A parent committee runs the charitable preschool, giving families a role in its direction.

Rooms and Ages

A pack-away layout shapes the indoor provision at Elderbank Hall. There is a main playroom and a separate area for messy activities. Construction, books, water, mark-making and modelling provide different ways into play. For a child who moves between making, pretending and investigating, that gives the day several possible starting points.

Older children preparing for primary school have a dedicated study area. Its purpose is to introduce aspects of the school day, and small pieces of homework extend this preparation into the home. This sits alongside the broader play provision, so school preparation includes both practical familiarity and activities to revisit with parents.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning and care: children develop communication, movement, relationships and early skills with books and numbers through play. At Brize Norton, planning takes account of what a child can already do and what interests them. Key workers observe those interests, while termly progress reviews inform the next activities. The practical implication is a link between everyday play and what staff plan next.

Outdoor learning is the preschool's clearest addition to that framework. Its curriculum allocates 65% of learning outdoors, across different weather conditions. The garden, allotment, recreation ground and local park therefore serve as learning spaces, rather than occasional destinations after indoor activities are finished. Suitable outdoor clothing matters here.

Oxford Sports and Martial Arts runs a weekly Karate Session, with its day changing each half-term so children attending different days have opportunities to participate over the academic year. Superstar Sports provides a further PE session on Wednesday mornings. These sessions add organised physical activity to climbing, digging and outdoor play, with a separate charge when a child attends on a PE day.

In May 2023, children used signing alongside speech and practised new vocabulary during building activities. Independence was equally practical: children put on their own shoes and tackled cutting tasks for designs they had chosen. Those examples show how communication and self-help skills were woven into ordinary play at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

The secure garden contains a sandpit, playhouse and climbing equipment. Outdoor facilities also include mud kitchens, a nature pond and the preschool's allotment. Children grow produce and use it in cooking, while eggs from the preschool's chickens also supply cookery activities. That connects food with the work of producing it.

In May 2023, children ground herbs with pestle and mortars, investigated their smell and texture, and filled watering cans from water butts. Growing continued through harvesting, cooking and eating. The sequence gives a tangible subject for questions about change, although teaching what happens next was also an improvement point at that visit.

Community experiences include a bus trip to Carterton Library and Morrisons, a visit to St Britius Church, and visits to Humble Bumble Cafe and the Post Office. Visitors have included Crocodiles of the World and Chloe's Mobile Farm, with residents from Brize Meadow Lodge joining the farm visit. These are examples of experiences beyond the preschool's own spaces, rather than a fixed weekly outings schedule.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person allocated before starting, with whom parents agree a settling plan. Where possible, settling coincides with that adult's working times and a buddy covers absence. Families have a clear first contact.

The Learning Journey collects observations, photographs, achievements and children's creations. Parents can read it, contribute home material and discuss it informally with key workers. Developmental information goes to the child's primary school on leaving.

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff adapted experiences for children with SEND and worked with families and professionals on healthcare needs, but guidance on extending individual children's learning at home was inconsistent.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Current SEND arrangements involve the key person, SENCo and parents in identifying concerns and deciding support. A SEN action plan sets out interventions, resources and responsibility, with a review agreed at least termly. Where medical support is needed, a healthcare plan is incorporated. This gives families defined points for discussing what support is being tried and whether it needs changing.

Behaviour support also works through the key person and SENCo. Staff help children with minor disagreements, while persistent concerns lead to discussion with parents and, where needed, external advice. A distressed child may move to a quiet area with their key person to calm down; physical punishment is prohibited.

The preschool holds Healthy Smiles accreditation from the NHS Community Dental Service and invites local dentists to talk with children, linking oral health with everyday habits. Snacks are charged for each session, including funded sessions, while parents supply lunch for children staying to eat; the preschool's allergy policy excludes nuts and nut products and uses individual allergy action plans. Parents also provide nappies, wipes, nappy sacks and sun cream.

Sessions and Attendance

Elderbank Hall, Station Road, Brize Norton, Carterton, OX18 3PS is the address. Term-time morning sessions run from 9am to noon, Monday to Friday; afternoons run from noon to 3pm, Monday to Thursday. Friday's earlier finish matters for working arrangements.

Waiting-list applications are ordered by receipt date, with siblings considered. Applying does not guarantee a place. Sessions cannot be reserved for later starts, and starts after Easter are not offered. Accepting a place requires a non-refundable deposit, partly credited against the first invoice.

Contact is by telephone, WhatsApp or email. Private fees remain payable during illness or holidays.

Getting There

Free parking is outside the preschool, which stands beside the village primary school and opposite The Chequers Public House. The hall setting makes these useful landmarks for families travelling to it.

Funding and Paid Extras

Early Education Funding is accepted for eligible two-, three- and four-year-olds. Universal funding provides 15 term-time hours for three- and four-year-olds from the term following their third birthday; eligible working families may access the extended 30-hour entitlement, but this preschool offers at most 27 funded hours a week because Friday afternoons are closed. The extended code needs renewal every three months.

Additional hours and unfunded attendance are paid privately. Snacks carry a session charge for both private and funded attendance, with the snack contribution included in the private session price; lunch and the listed personal consumables come from home. PE also carries a charge when the child attends that day. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation, and the fees and funding information explains the structure.

• Attendance commitment. The waiting-list application requires full-time places, whereas the prospectus refers to a minimum of five sessions where possible and gives morning and afternoon patterns. At a visit, establish which commitment applies to your child before accepting the non-refundable deposit terms.
• Staffing in practice. The session-size information gives an across-age ratio of 1:4, while the prospectus gives 1:5 below three and 1:8 above three. Ask how staff are deployed for your child's age and sessions, including outdoor activities.
• Next steps in learning. In May 2023, teaching sequences, familiarity with the next learning environment and individual guidance for home learning needed attention. Ask for an example of how a child's questions now lead into the next activity and how parents can carry that learning on.
• Outdoor kit and allergies. Outdoor learning accounts for 65% of the curriculum, and families supply packed lunches, sun cream and changing supplies. Discuss the daily kit and, for a child with allergies, confirm current practice for their individual action plan.

Brize Norton Village Pre-School suits families seeking term-time early education with outdoor exploration, growing food and key-worker contact. Morning and afternoon sessions shape its timetable, although the full-time booking requirement needs resolving before relying on shorter attendance.

The allotment and specialist PE give it character. The May 2023 concerns about teaching next steps and individual home-learning guidance remain useful considerations alongside those strengths.