Allsorts Pre-school & Nursery

Borrowable Story sacks, a key person’s Learning Journal and two classes called Jelly Tots and Jelly Beans give Allsorts a clear emphasis: learning that connects the nursery day with family life. This independent, not-for-profit setting in Royal Wootton Bassett takes children aged two to five and has 40 places in total. Its income goes back into the setting.

At the January 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged inclusion to be Strong standard and the other areas to be Expected standard, with safeguarding standards met. Those other areas covered achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance. This is a report card with separate judgements, rather than a single overall grade.

The practical shape is term-time care, with opening hours of 9am to 3pm on weekdays and an additional 15 minutes at either end by arrangement. The emphasis on younger children settling and older children preparing for school gives the two classes different purposes.

Rooms and Ages

Jelly Tots Class serves children aged two to three, with play alongside children of a similar age and support for settling at each child’s pace. Jelly Beans Class is for school starters, using activities and play materials selected around individual learning goals and preparation for school. The distinction is useful: the younger class starts with becoming comfortable in nursery life, while the older class looks towards the next stage.

In January 2026, the rooms combined during afternoons, giving older and younger children opportunities to play together. That added mixed-age experiences to the separate class arrangements. It also makes the afternoon routine a useful subject for a family visit, especially for a child moving between the two stages.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children’s learning, development and care here: children build skills through play and activities across its areas of learning. In January 2026, play dough helped children strengthen and coordinate their hands before pencil work, while counting songs and shape recognition brought mathematical ideas into familiar activities.

Language practice also ran through movement and stories that month. Action songs introduced vocabulary about position, and familiar tales were retold with props. These are concrete ways of connecting words with actions and objects, rather than treating language as a separate lesson. Comfortable reading spaces gave quieter story activities their own place in the day.

Activity bags and Story sacks can be borrowed for use at home, with materials supplied for parents and children to play together. They give families something practical to use between nursery days. Parent Stay and Play Days offer another connection: parents can join a session, spend time with their child’s friends and talk with the key person.

Outdoor and Community Life

In January 2026, children played golf, splashed in puddles, played in the sandpit and mixed sand into pretend cement. Children also invented games with friends and practised sharing space. The outdoor environment supported both movement and imaginative play, extending the day beyond table activities and books.

Older children made weekly school visits in small groups that January, becoming familiar with staff and routines. These were preparation experiences, rather than an admissions advantage. Allsorts provides information and access to local or online courses for parents and carers, and has links with the Children’s Centre in Royal Wootton Bassett.

A key person helps each child settle, makes an initial assessment and plans activities around their interests and needs. Progress is recorded in a Learning Journal, and parents can arrange a conversation with that practitioner. This gives families a clear person to speak to about both the first weeks and later learning.

Classroom WhatsApp groups carry updates, alongside occasional emails and newsletters. Parents can also join sessions to share a skill or help celebrate a festival from their culture. Communication therefore includes opportunities to contribute to children’s experiences, as well as receiving messages about nursery life.

At its January 2026 inspection, Ofsted found effective individual support for children with SEND, including work with external professionals, but identified inconsistent help with feelings and behaviour and insufficient attention to healthy lifestyles in partnership with parents. Those concerns matter alongside the stronger inclusion judgement: children need consistent responses to social difficulties as well as support for language and learning.

In January 2026, communication boards, individual plans and targeted speech activities were used to help children participate. Additional funding supported extra sessions for wellbeing and development. Staff sat alongside children at lunch, and toothbrushing followed the meal, giving daily routines a practical health element.

The team includes SENCO responsibilities, a designated safeguarding lead and deputy safeguarding roles. Staff receive recurring safeguarding training. Through the Wiltshire Police ENCOMPASS project, Allsorts can receive information when a child has been affected by domestic violence and use it to support the family; this is a specific information-sharing arrangement, rather than a general promise about safety.

Sessions and Attendance

Allsorts operates during term time, opening Monday to Friday between 9am and 3pm. An extra 15 minutes for early drop-off or late collection can be accommodated when required. That small extension may help with the edges of a working day, while the term-time calendar remains an important part of the childcare decision.

Applications can be made before a child’s intended start date through a waiting list. Allocation follows the order in which applications are received, and joining the list involves returning the application form. Enquiries can be made by email or telephone, and visits can be arranged through the same routes.

Getting There

The address is 90a High Street, Royal Wootton Bassett, SN4 7AS. Allsorts is beside St Bartholomew’s Primary Academy but remains independent, with links to primary schools across Royal Wootton Bassett. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a school place.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered. The entitlement described for all children is 15 hours from the term following their third birthday; disadvantaged or working family funding may provide up to 30 hours a week for qualifying families. Eligibility conditions matter, so the larger entitlement should not be treated as automatic.

Private childcare is charged by the hour across sessions and age groups. Families should obtain a current written quotation for their intended attendance.

• Consistency with feelings and behaviour. In January 2026, responses to children’s behaviour were sometimes too slow or uneven, and work on healthy lifestyles needed strengthening. Ask how these two priorities now shape daily practice and communication with parents.
• The funded-hours bill. Funding and paid hourly care both form part of the offer. When discussing your attendance, ask how funded hours are arranged and which meals, consumables or other charges would apply.
• School relationship. Allsorts is independent and next to St Bartholomew’s Primary Academy, with a consultation on joining the academy. During a visit, ask what that consultation means for the nursery and how school-preparation visits work for your child.
• Applying and settling. The waiting list follows application order, while Jelly Tots supports children settling at their own pace. A visit can explore the key person’s settling approach and how the combined afternoon routine would work for your child.

Allsorts suits families seeking term-time early education for a two- to five-year-old, with home-learning materials and opportunities for parents to participate. Jelly Tots and Jelly Beans give settling and school preparation separate places in the offer, while the key person system provides continuity for families. The January 2026 priorities around behaviour and healthy lifestyles deserve attention when choosing it. Its weekday opening window and modest collection extension will also need to fit the family’s wider childcare arrangements.