All Cannings Pre-School

A village hall, a mud kitchen and a monthly mobile-library visit give All Cannings Pre-School a recognisable character. This community-run, not-for-profit setting combines outdoor play with village connections, rather than keeping children's experiences within the hall. It has capacity for 17 children aged two to five, making it a small setting in whole-setting terms, rather than a promise about the number attending any particular session.

At its April 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the preschool Outstanding, found safeguarding effective and praised the way support for children with special educational needs and disabilities enabled them to learn alongside their friends. The practical offer is term-time attendance, with morning and afternoon sessions between Monday and Thursday. For parents, the strongest combination is the small scale, detailed settling arrangements and access to community activities.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage, the framework every nursery follows, shapes play and activities developing language, movement, relationships, literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding of the world. Children choose their own play alongside adult-led activities adapted to their interests and developmental needs, giving them a say while retaining adult guidance.

In April 2024, a termly book connected storytelling with play: children participated in the telling, then used related resources to revisit and reshape the story themselves.

In April 2024, staff developed mathematical language through play and group activities. Children estimated how many children were present and discussed the shapes they found while making marks. Adults followed up answers by asking for explanations. These examples show how ordinary play could become a chance to practise mathematical language and explain a thought.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outside, grass and hard-standing provide different surfaces for play, with a digging pit, mud kitchen and pallet den adding places to investigate and pretend. A summerhouse contains a kitchen and dolls for domestic role play. These are concrete choices for children: digging, running and imaginative play can sit alongside quieter activity rather than competing for one space.

The mobile library visits monthly, with borrowing through the preschool's card. Regular outings take children to the park, canal paths, allotments and local farms. A gardening-club visitor helps with planting, adding another hands-on connection with village life.

The preschool describes a regular connection with All Cannings Primary School through activities including PE, Sports Day and the Nativity. These visits allow children to take part alongside older children, including siblings. Attendance at preschool does not guarantee a school place; families still use the local authority admissions process. The benefit described here is familiarity and shared activity, rather than an admissions advantage.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with two free sessions, with parents asked to remain for at least the first. Each child has a key person responsible for getting to know them, working with their family and completing observations and assessments. A named role gives parents a clear first contact, while the wider team also gets to know the children. Children may bring a teddy or comforter to help with separation.

Tapestry, the online learning journal, carries regular observations and suggestions for what children might learn next. Parents can contribute photographs and achievements from home, so communication runs both ways. Meetings with the key person and conversations before or after sessions provide other opportunities to discuss a child's development; weekly updates give families a view of activities across the setting.

In April 2024, early home visits helped staff understand family life and cultural traditions, then bring that knowledge into conversations and learning activities.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCo coordinates support, with observations and assessments used to identify where a child may need extra help. When appropriate, a support plan sets out needs, targets and practical provision. The preschool works with Wiltshire Council, Speech and Language Therapy, Health Visitors and Early Years Inclusion Advisors, and may seek Inclusion Support Funding. These are specific routes for developing support with families and other professionals.

For a move to school or another setting, arrangements can include transition meetings, visits from receiving staff and the sharing of relevant information with parents involved. This gives the next team a clearer starting point for care and support. SEND does not attract an additional charge.

All permanent staff have paediatric first-aid training, and parents receive details of accidents through a recorded form. Safeguarding arrangements include a designated lead, training for staff and regular volunteers, and Operation Encompass, a police and education information-sharing partnership that helps settings respond when a child has experienced domestic abuse. These arrangements describe how information and responsibilities are organised.

Regular daytime naps are not catered for, so children who need them attend a morning or afternoon session. Toilet training is not an entry condition: children can attend in nappies, and staff can help when they are ready to begin training.

Sessions and Attendance

The preschool operates from Village Hall, The Street, All Cannings, Devizes, SN10 3PA. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Thursday, during term time. Morning sessions run from 9am until either noon or 1pm; afternoon sessions begin at either noon or 1pm and finish at 3pm.

For settling, the suggested attendance is at least two sessions a week for two-year-olds and three for children aged three or four. This is a recommendation, rather than a compulsory minimum booking. Term dates follow Wiltshire County Council, training days align with the local primary school, and the preschool closes on polling days. Families need to plan around those closures as well as school holidays.

Enquiries are by telephone or email; registration and permission forms follow a meeting.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded and fee-paying attendance starts at two. Funding includes the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, up to 30 hours for eligible families and funding for qualifying two-year-olds. It can cover any preschool hours; the universal entitlement runs over 38 weeks.

Additional hours outside funding are paid for privately. A voluntary contribution covers food items and other consumables; families who decline it can discuss alternative arrangements. Trips and end-of-term celebrations may also involve a voluntary contribution, with parents told beforehand. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation, and the funding and fees information explains the charge structure.

Parents supply lunch, snacks and water, alongside the voluntary contribution towards food items; the food arrangements therefore combine home provision with a separate contribution. Nappies, wipes and named sun cream also come from home, while the voluntary contribution supports other non-food items. Invoices arrive through Tapestry before each funding period, with payment in one or two instalments during the term.

The food policy prevents children sharing food and asks families to avoid sweets, fizzy drinks and chocolate snacks in lunchboxes. Lunch preparation therefore remains a daily responsibility for parents, with the sharing rule relevant to families managing food allergies.

• Sleep and session length. Regular naps are not part of the provision. During a visit, discuss which session boundary would apply and whether the morning or afternoon pattern matches your child's sleep routine.
• The term-time calendar. Attendance runs Monday to Thursday, with training-day and polling-day closures as well as school holidays. Compare those dates with your working arrangements before choosing a weekly pattern.
• Food and contributions. Lunch, snacks and specified personal-care items come from home, alongside voluntary contributions for food and other consumables. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food-handling arrangements and discuss how their child's needs will be managed.
• A visit with a purpose. Bookable visits last 45 minutes. Use that time to discuss settling, see the outdoor spaces and consider the preschool's invitation for parents to help with events or join its committee.

All Cannings suits families seeking a small village preschool with morning or afternoon attendance, recurring community outings and a clear key-person relationship. The outdoor spaces and monthly library visit give the offer substance, while support plans and transition arrangements provide practical mechanisms for children who need additional help. Its April 2024 Outstanding judgement is a strong inspection position.

The fit depends on everyday routines: term-time attendance, a four-day opening week, packed food and session lengths suited to children who do not need regular naps during preschool. For families whose needs match those arrangements, the combination of village activity, parent involvement and manageable scale is compelling.