Avon Small Saints Pre School

An enclosed garden, child-led play and a place within primary-school grounds give Avon Small Saints Pre School its character. This Netheravon preschool caters for children aged 2 to 5 and has 30 places in total. Its purpose-built indoor space and large outdoor area support children choosing what to explore, rather than spending the whole day moving through adult-directed activities.

At its June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the preschool Good, found that children progressed well and judged safeguarding effective. The detail matters: outdoor problem-solving, conversations with staff and help with managing emotions sat alongside areas needing attention, especially keeping younger children involved and stretching more advanced learners.

Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions offer different ways to fit preschool into family life. The strongest attraction is the combination of outdoor freedom and a recognisable daily rhythm, with group activities and stories punctuating time for children to follow their interests.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the shared standards for children's learning, care and development. Here, that means learning through play, with communication, physical development and relationships woven into experiences alongside mathematics, books, creativity and exploration of the world.

Planning in the moment is the current approach: practitioners respond to children's interests as play unfolds and capture those experiences afterwards. This gives a child's question or discovery room to shape what happens next. It also makes adult attention important, because following an interest still requires staff to recognise when learning could go further.

The 2023/24 curriculum aims also drew on Reggio Emilia, describing children as capable participants and encouraging different ways of expressing themselves. Those aims linked children's choices with access between indoors and outdoors. The practical emphasis was on children contributing ideas and using their surroundings, rather than a named approach standing alone as a promise of quality.

In June 2025, children investigated whether objects would float and worked together to move a log so they could examine the insects beneath it. Staff used questions and gave children time to think. These were small, tangible problems with something to discover, making conversation and reasoning part of play.

Mathematics also appeared in everyday activity that June: children encountered numbered fish in water play, counted steps in a game and talked about the shapes they made with dough. Younger children pressed sequins into dough, exercising their fingers through an activity they could manipulate themselves. Such examples show how early learning can sit inside play rather than depend on formal lessons.

Outdoor and Community Life

The enclosed garden provides a physical setting for the preschool's outdoor emphasis. Free-flow play lets children choose between spaces, while the daily timetable reserves substantial periods for that exploration. Circle time and stories provide shared stopping points. Children have both choice and routine.

In June 2025, older children climbed trees and used branches to practise movements requiring upper-body strength. Adults supported manageable risk-taking, giving children opportunities to judge what their bodies could do. That is a more concrete picture of outdoor learning than simply having somewhere to run.

Community experiences that June included visits to the local library, contributions to the community larder and fundraising. Children also received visits from zoo lab. Children celebrated Chinese New Year and marked Month of the Military Child, introducing experiences beyond the preschool's immediate daily routine; these were activities at that time, rather than a fixed annual calendar.

Relationships and Communication

eyLog is the preschool's online learning journal, sharing observations, photographs and videos with families. Parents can contribute their own pictures and text from home. This creates a way for staff and families to exchange examples of a child's interests and experiences, rather than relying entirely on a conversation at collection.

In June 2025, staff used observations and termly reviews to consider children's development, drawing on information from parents and other settings they attended. Parent consultations and stay-and-play opportunities provided further contact. A lending library and books offering practical parenting support, including toilet training, extended that relationship beyond preschool hours.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Emotional support had practical form in June 2025. Children could use a quiet space and breathing exercises when they needed help calming themselves, while consistent boundaries supported everyday behaviour. Some older children offered comforting toys to unsettled peers. These examples give families a useful picture of how feelings and relationships were addressed during ordinary play.

A special educational needs coordinator took part in discussion about support at that visit. For families considering how their child would be included, the useful starting point is the individual arrangement, alongside the preschool's approach to gathering information about development.

In June 2025, children received meals and snacks, with updated menus and opportunities to help themselves to food such as yoghurt, apple and granola. Eating was therefore also an opportunity to practise independence.

Sessions and Attendance

The preschool is at Netheravon C Of E Primary School, High Street, Netheravon, Salisbury, SP4 9PJ. Opening hours are 8.50am to 3.20pm, Monday to Friday.

Three attendance patterns are offered: the morning session runs from 8.50am to 11.50am, the afternoon from 12.20pm to 3.20pm, and the full day from 8.50am to 3.20pm. These are separate booking choices, with shorter sessions alongside the full day. In June 2025, the preschool operated during term time only.

Applications use the registration pack, which includes an application to join, a registration form and a prospectus. Contact is by telephone on 01980 671681 or email at manager@avonsmallsaints.com, and show rounds can be booked by appointment.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, including the 30 hours funding entitlement, and private childcare is also offered. Entitlement depends on eligibility. Families should obtain a current written quotation for their chosen attendance pattern.

Moving on to School

The preschool describes links with the school and community as part of preparing children for primary school. Sharing the primary-school grounds does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process. Preschool attendance and school admission remain separate decisions.

• Engagement and challenge. The June 2025 improvement priorities were better ways to sustain younger children's involvement and greater challenge for older, more advanced learners. During a visit, ask how activities are adapted for children at different stages.
• The family timetable. Morning, afternoon and full-day choices have different collection times, and operation was term-time only in June 2025. How would the current term calendar and your preferred session fit your family's working pattern?
• An individual care plan. The preschool uses eyLog for home contributions and had a special educational needs coordinator involved in June 2025. How would settling, any additional support and day-to-day communication be arranged for your child?
• Food and everyday supplies. Meals and snacks formed part of the day in June 2025. When discussing a quotation, ask which food and consumables you would pay for or provide, and how any dietary needs would be handled.

Avon Small Saints suits families seeking either morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those wanting a full day, with children's interests and outdoor exploration shaping the experience. The garden, in-the-moment planning and eyLog journal give that offer practical substance.

The June 2025 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, while the development priorities deserve attention. For a younger child who needs help staying involved, or an older child ready for harder tasks, the deciding detail is how staff adapt the learning. The primary-school setting adds transition context. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; families still apply through the local authority admissions process.