Great Tew Pre-School

A wild garden on the Great Tew estate and a session capped at 13 children give Great Tew Pre-School a clear identity: small-scale provision with room to explore beyond the classroom. Its accessible building has a kitchen and enclosed outdoor space, with estate sports facilities extending the possibilities for physical play. The appeal is concrete. Children can combine the familiarity of a small setting with nature observations and activities outdoors.

At its 29 November 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Good overall, while asking for clearer learning intentions within activities and more precise feedback to develop staff teaching. Those findings are a useful balance to the outdoor offer and close school links: the activities matter, but so does what practitioners help children learn through them.

Children can start at two years and six months, and the provision caters for children up to four. Term-time morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside Monday-to-Thursday wraparound care.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the day through play, communication, movement, relationships and early experiences of reading and number. It is the common framework for early years provision; here, children choose activities as well as joining experiences organised by practitioners. Development matters, the developmental guidance used by the pre-school, helps staff consider what children are ready to learn next rather than treating development as a fixed sequence.

A large classroom display uses Twinkl animal resources to discuss learning behaviour: Go-For-It-Gorilla for exploration, Persevering Parrot for sustained effort and Creative Chameleon for developing ideas.

The example enrichment timetable includes staff-led Wild Garden Adventures & Woodwork, with woodwork offered from age three. Marvellous Minds provides relaxation and wellbeing activities, while OCC Music Service delivers Treble Music Sessions; both specialist sessions carry voluntary contributions. Cooking and PE rotate each term.

In November 2021, children investigated melting ice, used small hammers on coloured ice and explored magnets hidden in sand. Dough work and tools exercised hand movements; yoga involved balance and stretching. Clear learning intentions help practitioners turn such experiences into purposeful learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

The wild garden gives nature study a physical setting, while the enclosed outdoor areas keep outside play connected to the building. Estate sports facilities add space for PE and other outdoor activities. These outdoor spaces support nature observations, exploration and physical play.

Seasonal themes connect activities to changes children can see. Spring includes growing plants and vegetables in the school grounds and learning how to care for them. Visitors such as firefighters, postal workers, police and dentists are often invited to explain their work, giving children people to connect with the occupations they encounter in stories and play.

Summer includes an in-house sports day linked to keeping active. The final week of the summer term brings water play and messy activities, alongside pyjama day and cooking day. These recurring experiences give the end of the year its own character. The curriculum overview sets out the seasonal themes that connect these activities.

Relationships and Communication

A key person supports each child's needs, interests and learning record. Settling includes a home visit during the preceding term. Parents can stay initially; separation is adjusted to the child's response, and staff telephone families if the child becomes distressed.

The Learning Journal records interests and achievements, with parents contributing information from home to help plan next steps. Assessment summaries at transitions keep that shared understanding connected to the child's move onwards.

Current and former parents and carers run the setting through a voluntary committee. Families are encouraged to join or attend meetings, with an October AGM giving parents a role in shaping its work.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2021 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and additional support successful in helping children progress, with staff coordinating with families and other agencies and using funding for resources and music activities. These are dated judgements, rather than a present-day guarantee. The current arrangements include a designated safeguarding lead role and paediatric first-aid certification across the staff team.

A Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator role forms part of the support structure. Toileting is approached in partnership with parents: children can attend while using nappies, and staff follow the family's lead when the child is ready for the potty or toilet. Parents supply nappies and wet wipes. That removes toilet training as an entry hurdle and allows care arrangements to follow the individual child.

Sessions and Attendance

Great Tew Pre-School is at The Green, Great Tew, Chipping Norton, OX7 4DB, on the Great Tew Primary School site. The term-time provision operates for 38 weeks a year and closes during school holidays. That calendar is a substantial part of the decision for families needing childcare throughout the year.

Morning sessions begin with free play at 9am and end at 12.10pm; afternoons run from 12.10pm to 3.10pm. Monday-to-Thursday after-school care continues until 4.15pm with lighter activities and a snack. The broader wraparound arrangement runs from 8.45am to 4.15pm on those days.

Applications enter a waiting list, and an offer depends on a suitable place becoming available; applying does not guarantee the requested start date or sessions. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01608 683186 or by email to manager@greattewpreschool.com. Famly handles monthly invoices and payments, and the pre-school also accepts Tax-Free Childcare payments.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted for eligible children once they reach the admission age. For two-year-olds, the accepted routes are Working Parent Entitlement and Funded 2s; for three- and four-year-olds they are Universal 15 hours and Extended 30 hours. The funded offer at this setting is capped at 18 hours per child each week, including for families eligible for the full extended entitlement. Additional attendance can be paid privately, or eligible families can use the remaining entitlement with another provider.

Funded hours themselves are free of charge. Non-funded hours are invoiced separately, alongside optional voluntary contributions for consumables and specialist activities; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The voluntary monthly consumables contribution is separate from the requirement for parents to bring nappies and wipes, so these items should be considered individually when planning what to supply.

For morning snack, children bring fruit or a vegetable, and families contribute termly towards savoury snacks. Lunch can be brought from home or ordered from Fresh Start Catering for a separate charge, with dietary needs discussed so food arrangements can be planned accordingly.

The pre-school describes close links with Great Tew Primary School, and children join the Reception class once a week for a story or shared play activities. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families apply through Oxfordshire County Council's admissions process. The practical benefit is familiarity with school activities, rather than an admissions advantage.

• Funded-hours ceiling. The setting caps funded attendance at 18 hours per child per week. Families eligible for Extended 30 hours need to factor in paid attendance here or use of the remaining entitlement elsewhere.
• Collection and wraparound. After-school care ends at 4.15pm and operates Monday to Thursday, within the term-time calendar. At a visit, agree the collection times and attendance pattern for the sessions you intend to book.
• Purpose behind activities. In November 2021, clearer learning intentions and more targeted staff feedback were the improvement priorities. Ask how practitioners now plan the learning within woodwork, nature activities and other experiences, and how they review their teaching.
• A gradual start. A home visit and flexible first separation are part of settling, and nappies are accepted with supplies from home. Discuss how the key person would adapt the first sessions to your child's response and care needs.

Great Tew Pre-School suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions, with Monday-to-Thursday wraparound care where needed, and who value a small setting with substantial outdoor access. The wild garden, practical activities and Reception links give it recognisable substance. Parent involvement offers another reason to choose it for families keen to contribute to the setting's life.

The term-time calendar and funded-hours cap need to fit the household plan. Its Good judgement from November 2021 provides a positive inspection position, tempered by specific teaching-development priorities. The strongest case for choosing it is the combination of small-scale provision, outdoor exploration and a gradual, collaborative approach to starting preschool.