Clare Bears Community Pre-School

Woodland outings several times a week, a garden with bucket scales and a music wall, and small-group work on communication give Clare Bears Community Pre-School a clear character. Outdoor exploration and preparation for primary school sit alongside each other here. Children can investigate natural materials, practise taking turns and build confidence with early reading and number activities.

Based at the Old School Community Centre in Clare, the pre-school accepts children aged two to five and has 24 places in total. It operates from two large rooms with an outdoor area. Ofsted rated the setting Good at its June 2021 inspection.

Attendance follows school terms, with morning sessions, a longer daytime session and optional additions around them. That makes the pre-school a practical prospect for families whose childcare needs fit a school calendar, while its communication groups and individual learning records give parents concrete ways to understand how activities are adapted for their child.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guides learning through play, with staff observing children's interests and using those observations to plan what comes next. In everyday terms, that includes learning to share, developing movement and self-care, listening and speaking, making marks, exploring numbers and creating with different materials. The framework is the common foundation for early years provision; Clare Bears adds its own small-group activities and frequent outdoor exploration.

Choice has a practical place in the day. Children select resources, spend time exploring independently and join activities in smaller groups. Staff support them to discuss feelings, work through disagreements and take responsibility for simple tasks. These are useful opportunities to practise the independence and cooperation that matter when children move into a larger school setting.

Transition Groups serve children approaching their move to primary school the following September. Usually held twice a week, they develop early reading, phonics, writing and maths, with the content and duration adjusted to the children taking part. Preparation is therefore organised around the group rather than a fixed lesson length.

Outdoor and Community Life

Nature Trips take small groups into local parkland and woodland, including The Nuttery, several times each week. Clare Bears uses a forest school ethos: children investigate the natural world and have opportunities to direct their own exploration. Weatherproof suits are supplied, while families provide wellies. Outdoor learning extends beyond the pre-school garden.

Within that garden, water play and bucket scales introduce exploration of movement, weight and balance. A music wall gives children somewhere to experiment with sound, while a crate car/bus supports imaginative play. Sensory plants, a bug hotel and a bird feeding station bring living things into everyday observation. These are concrete resources for the learning described above, rather than an outdoor space used only for a break between activities.

Relationships and Communication

Settling starts with a session in the term before a child begins and an initial meeting with their parent or carer. Each child receives a key person who helps them settle and takes responsibility for understanding their needs and interests. The arrangement gives families a consistent practitioner with whom to discuss learning and care.

Learning Journeys are individual records shared through Tapestry, an online system containing observations, photographs and comments about children's development. Parents can contribute examples from home and discuss next steps with the key person. Meetings normally take place twice a year, giving those ongoing observations a fuller conversation.

Tapestry is used for recording learning, and staff check parent comments weekly. Immediate matters go directly to the key person. That distinction is useful: the journal can build a detailed picture over time, while a concern needing a prompt response has a separate route.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A designated SENCO coordinates support for children with additional needs, with parents, the local authority and outside professionals involved when needed. Staff undertake further training where children's SEND needs call for it. Books, story sacks, signs and symbols are used to support communication, giving children different ways to understand and express themselves.

The WellComm Early Years toolkit helps staff identify speech and language support needs and track development in that area. Social Communication Groups provide practice in listening, naming, interaction and turn-taking. Sessions move from a welcome song through activities to a closing song, and their length is adjusted to the children involved. The emphasis is on practising the skills needed to join play and communicate with others.

School transition also includes sharing a child's Learning Journey with their new school. This gives the receiving staff information about interests, development and next steps, alongside the preparation undertaken in Transition Groups.

Sessions and Attendance

Clare Bears opens on weekdays from 8.30am to 3pm during school terms, operating for 38 weeks each year. Its term dates follow Clare Community Primary School. The main choices are a morning from 9am to noon or a full day from 9am to 3pm; a morning with Lunch Club runs from 9am to 1pm.

Early bird sessions cover 8.30am to 9am. The optional lunch session runs from noon to 1pm, Monday to Friday, with supervised activities that differ from the morning programme. Children bring a packed lunch. Lunch Club can use a funded hour or be paid for separately.

Joining begins with a Registration Form obtained by telephone or email. Once it is received, a confirmation letter places the child on the waiting list under the admissions policy. The pre-school is at the Old School Community Centre, Callis Street, Clare, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 8PX.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered across the sessions on weekdays over the 38-week term-time year. The entitlements described are 15 hours free childcare and 30 hours free childcare, subject to eligibility. Private sessions are also offered, with invoices payable in advance for each half term. Current prices come in the pre-school's written quotation.

Packed lunches come from home. Snacks and other consumables sit outside session fees and funded entitlement: a separate consumables contribution is invoiced each half term. Where parents cannot or choose not to pay that contribution, the manager discusses supplying their child's snacks, consumables and resources instead. Funding therefore replaces qualifying session fees, while these additional arrangements remain separate. The fees page explains the structure.

• A school-term calendar. The 38-week year follows Clare Community Primary School's term dates, and opening ends at 3pm. Families need a separate arrangement for childcare beyond those hours or during school holidays.
• Funding and everyday supplies. Funded entitlement replaces qualifying session fees, while consumables have a separate contribution or an agreed supply-from-home arrangement. Establish which arrangement will apply to your child's attendance before committing.
• Settling and communication. A settling session and parent meeting precede the start, and the key person manages the child's Learning Journey. Use a visit to discuss how those arrangements would work for your child, especially if speech or language support is needed.

Clare Bears suits families seeking either term-time mornings or a longer daytime session, with early bird care and Lunch Club adding useful options. Its strongest practical features are frequent exploration around The Nuttery, adaptable communication groups and a clear link between observations, parent contributions and next steps. The Good judgement dates to June 2021. For parents who value outdoor experiences alongside preparation for primary school, this is a pre-school with a clearly defined offer and a calendar that needs to fit family life.