Charlbury Pre-School

A garden, a Lending Library and a Proud Cloud for celebrating children's achievements give Charlbury Pre-School a recognisable character: play extends outdoors, books travel home, and parents contribute to the picture of what their child can do. This is a charity supported by parent volunteers, with children’s interests shaping the activities alongside individual planning. Family involvement has practical substance here.

Children aged 2 to 5 attend, and there are 28 places in total. At its March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective, with positive findings about children's progress and relationships with their key person. The improvement priority was specific: children needed more opportunities to explore mathematical ideas.

Term-time attendance includes morning and afternoon sessions, with paid early-start and late-afternoon options. That flexibility matters, but the holiday calendar remains a central consideration for working families.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the foundation for learning and care: children develop language, relationships, independence and understanding through play and planned experiences. Charlbury adds a Child-led Approach, which lets children choose activities while adults introduce new ideas and respond to emerging interests. Individual planning sits alongside this responsive way of working, so an enthusiasm can become the starting point for further learning.

Stories and phonics sit alongside music, art and time in the garden. Baking, yoga, gardening and crafts also form part of the routine. These are concrete ways to vary the day: children can move between listening, making, physical activity and exploring their surroundings, rather than having every experience organised around a seated task.

Independence is an explicit curriculum aim. Looking after themselves, clearing away, respecting their surroundings and building positive relationships sit alongside creativity and enjoyment of books. This gives everyday routines an educational purpose. Learning includes the small practical steps that help a child take part in group life.

In March 2024, adults extended children's play with questions and suggestions, including a discussion during planting about what bulbs require to grow. Children also practised listening and taking turns in conversation. Those examples show how an ordinary activity can create space for thinking and speaking, rather than simply completing a task. Mathematics needed more consistent attention within that play.

The Lending Library connects books with family life. Parents can borrow from the Parent board, which also holds home-learning packs containing activities and resources. It gives families something tangible to share beyond the session, and a way to build on learning through a familiar story or activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden is part of daily activity, rather than an occasional change of scene. In March 2024, outdoor play included riding bikes and using climbing apparatus, with adults helping children consider how to climb safely. Physical challenge was accompanied by discussion about managing it.

Community fundraising is another part of Charlbury's character. The annual Children's Christmas Disco brought families together at the Memorial Hall in December 2024 for dancing, seasonal crafts and a letter-writing activity. The parent committee also acknowledges annual support from organisations including Charlbury Beer Festival and Charlbury Garden Society. These are community connections and fundraising relationships, rather than nursery trips or teaching partnerships.

Relationships and Communication

In March 2024, the key-person arrangement provided a consistent relationship for children, while staff shared learning updates and ideas for home with parents. Adults helped children put feelings into words and encouraged practical independence, including getting outdoor clothing on themselves. The emphasis was on helping children participate and express what they needed.

The Proud Cloud gives that communication a visible form. Parents and staff can contribute milestones from home and the setting, recognising achievements across both parts of a child's life. This complements the Lending Library: one shares progress, while the other supplies resources for doing something together.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SEND Coordinator supports curriculum adaptation and keeps staff informed about guidance and research. Each child has an individual Plan and Outcomes document, used with parents or primary caregivers and relevant professionals. That is a specific mechanism for discussing needs and agreeing what to work towards, rather than a general promise of support.

Toilet training is coordinated with practice at home, with methods used once a child is ready. Children who need a nap can rest in a space away from the main activity. These arrangements make readiness and individual routines part of the conversation about care.

For allergies, information is gathered before children start, individual risk assessments are reviewed with families and professionals where required, and staff undertake allergy and intolerance training. Children staying beyond noon bring a healthy packed lunch; snacks carry a voluntary separate charge, and children sometimes share food they have grown or prepared.

Health policies also affect attendance. Children should remain away for 48 hours after vomiting or diarrhoea has ended, and prescribed medicine can be administered following discussion with the session leader. Families need to allow for those routines when organising childcare around work.

Sessions and Attendance

Charlbury Pre-School operates at The Old Grammer School, Park Street, Charlbury, OX7 3PS. Opening hours are 8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. This is a term-time offer, so it suits families whose childcare arrangements can accommodate school holidays.

Morning sessions run from 9.30am to 12.30pm, followed by afternoons from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. A lunchtime add-on runs from 12.30pm to 1pm, and the late-afternoon option extends attendance from 3.30pm to 5pm. Early Start is also offered as an 8.30am to 9.30am option, while the fee schedule gives an early-start morning running from 8.30am to 12.30pm. The distinction between those two early-start bookings needs clarifying before choosing a pattern.

General enquiries go to admin@charlburypreschool.org.uk or 01608 811200. Monthly bills arrive through Tapestry, with payment by bank transfer, cheque, cash or childcare vouchers. Late collection and late payment attract separate charges.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded places are offered for children aged 2 to 5, with funded hours usable between 9.30am and 3.30pm. Early Start and late-afternoon sessions are paid additions and cannot use funded hours. That boundary is important if a family needs care on either side of the funded window.

Lunch is supplied from home for children staying after noon, and the voluntary snack contribution is separate, including when attending funded sessions. Families with more than one child attending at the same time receive a sibling discount. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the session and fees information sets out the charging structure.

• Early-start booking. Early Start covers 8.30am to 9.30am in one description and 8.30am to 12.30pm in the fee schedule. Ask which booking applies to the morning you want and how it combines with funded hours.
• Mathematics through play. In March 2024, opportunities to explore mathematical ideas needed strengthening. During a visit, ask how counting, comparing and other mathematical experiences now enter child-led activities.
• Term-time planning. The setting opens during term time, and funding is restricted to the 9.30am to 3.30pm window. Families needing holiday care or longer attendance should weigh both constraints before choosing their pattern.
• Food and allergies. Packed lunches come from home, while the setting uses individual allergy risk assessments. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food-handling practice and how their child's plan will work during shared snacks and cooking.

Charlbury suits families seeking either a morning session or afternoon attendance, with options to add time at the beginning or end of the day. Its appeal lies in the combination of child-led play, daily garden activity and practical links with home through the Lending Library and Proud Cloud.

The March 2024 Good judgement supports that choice, while the mathematical-learning priority deserves a focused conversation. Term-time operation and the limits on funded hours are the main practical boundaries. For families whose schedules fit, the offer has a clear identity: play, growing independence and active parent participation.