Hilmarton Preschool

Woodland mornings give Hilmarton Preschool much of its character. Forest Adventures takes children outdoors on Tuesdays and Thursdays, using woodland beyond the village as a classroom for exploring natural materials, building dens and learning how to handle risk. This is a preschool where outdoor learning has a regular place in the week, rather than being saved for an occasional outing.

Based at Poynder Place in Hilmarton, Calne, it welcomes children aged two to five and has 24 places in total. A voluntary parent committee runs this charitable preschool, giving families a route to contribute to its organisation as well as their child's daily experience.

At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged Hilmarton Preschool Good overall and found safeguarding effective, with a curriculum that developed communication, social skills and behaviour. The important qualification concerned younger children: adult questions sometimes favoured older children, leaving less confident children with fewer chances to contribute.

Term-time attendance includes morning, lunch-inclusive and all-day patterns.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes learning through play, covering language, physical development, relationships and emotions alongside early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. It is the shared early-years framework; Hilmarton's woodland sessions and visiting activities add concrete experiences around it.

Free choice and adult-guided activities alternate through the day. Circle time brings opportunities to talk about the weather, share something with the group and establish the day's rhythm. Singing and stories sit alongside outdoor play, with quieter activities towards the afternoon's end. Children's ideas help shape activities, so the timetable provides structure while leaving room for their interests.

In September 2025, children practised coordination through cooking and creative work: handling flour, stirring raisins into mixtures and drawing carefully. Growing vegetables and sunflowers introduced how plants develop. These are useful connections between physical skills and everyday knowledge, with something children can handle or watch rather than only hear explained.

Weekly activities include In2sport PE sessions and Harpbeeps, both supported by the voluntary consumables contribution.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest Adventures is the strongest practical addition. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, children use woodland on the village outskirts for investigation and outdoor play. Bug searches, den construction and making objects from natural materials give the sessions tangible content. Tools and fires are used with adult support, introducing activities that require clear boundaries and care.

Clothing matters here. Long sleeves, suitable footwear and sun protection are part of the warm-weather preparation; colder or wetter conditions call for waterproofs and warm layers. Extreme weather can move the session to the school hall or the nearer wooded area. The outdoor programme therefore comes with a workable alternative, rather than an expectation that children persevere through unsuitable conditions.

In September 2025, children also explored the neighbourhood on walks and learnt about community jobs through stories and conversation. Tree climbing during forest sessions gave them opportunities to judge risk. Parents joined community walks and Father's Day forest school celebrations, connecting family participation with the children's outdoor experiences.

Relationships and Communication

A key person assesses each child six to eight weeks after starting, then observes their learning during play. Children joining at two have a progress check covering language, physical development and social and emotional development, giving parent conversations a specific basis.

Parents can view learning journals, contribute observations from home and discuss them at consultations. Helping during sessions, fundraising and committee membership offer further ways to participate.

In September 2025, settling sessions were adjusted to individual children, and staff combined parents' knowledge with their own observations when planning next steps. Conversations at collection and regular parent meetings supported that exchange. Familiar routines helped children understand what would happen next; signs and pictures supported some children when changing activities.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Staff adapt activities to individual learning needs and use a Support Plan where additional provision is needed. Targets, interventions and review arrangements give parents, the key person and SENCo a shared basis for evaluating support.

With parental consent, referrals can involve Speech and Language Services, Occupational Therapy or Educational Psychology. Professional advice informs activities, and support plans are reviewed termly or more often when needed.

The manager holds the designated safeguarding lead role, supported by a deputy lead. Healthy food choices, handwashing and oral hygiene are addressed through activities and adult examples. These are daily habits children can practise, alongside the wider arrangements for their care.

Moving to school is planned around individual needs. Reception teachers from Hilmarton Primary School and other relevant schools visit to meet children and speak with key persons. Transition information is shared with parents and the receiving school, while children with support plans have those records passed to the school staff supporting them.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Poynder Place, Hilmarton, Calne, Wiltshire SN11 8SQ. Contact options include a form, email and telephone.

Monday to Friday, the full-day session runs from 8.45am to 2.45pm. Core funded patterns comprise Morning, 8.45am to 11.45am; Morning and Lunch, 8.45am to 12.45pm; Lunch and Afternoon, 11.45am to 2.45pm; and All Day, 8.45am to 2.45pm. The lunch-inclusive choices allow attendance to extend beyond a morning or begin before the afternoon activities.

Early Riser is a separately charged daily session from 8.15am to 8.45am, offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Term dates follow the local education authority calendar except for teacher training days. Families combining preschool with work therefore need a holiday-care arrangement as well as a suitable session pattern.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered during term time. Entitlements include support for three- and four-year-olds, eligible working parents from age two, and two-year-olds whose families qualify through support-related criteria. The funding arrangements cover 15 or 30 hours according to the entitlement and eligibility, over 38 weeks. Working-parent applications go through HMRC; the support-related two-year-old route goes through Wiltshire Council.

Private hours are offered for children without a funded entitlement and for attendance beyond funded hours. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation; the fees page explains the session structure and funding routes.

Food arrangements combine provision and parental choice: morning snack and milk fall within a voluntary consumables contribution, while families can supply a packed lunch or order a hot lunch through the Lataca school menu. Parents are asked to exclude nut products from packed lunches.

Since January 2026, a voluntary daily consumables contribution has been added to invoices unless families arrange to opt out. It supports food, craft materials, hygiene supplies and weekly activities, including for funded attendance; it is a separate contribution rather than an increase in the hourly rate. Wet wipes are supplied, spare nappies and clothing are kept for children who need them, and sun cream is available in spring and summer if forgotten.

The preschool is on the Hilmarton Primary School site. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process. Teacher visits and shared transition records help prepare children for the move.

• Younger children's voices. In September 2025, questions sometimes centred on older children. Ask how staff now draw quieter and younger children into group conversations, especially if your child is still building confidence with language.
• Woodland preparation. Tuesday and Thursday mornings include Forest Adventures. Suitable clothing and footwear are needed, with waterproofs and warm layers in cold or wet weather; extreme weather brings alternative arrangements.
• Term-time attendance. Morning, lunch-inclusive and all-day patterns end within the school day, and Early Riser operates first come, first served. Consider these boundaries alongside work commitments and holiday care.
• Food and voluntary contributions. Packed lunches carry a request to avoid nuts, and consumables contributions can be declined by arrangement with the manager. Allergy-affected families should confirm food-handling arrangements for their child's needs.

Hilmarton suits families seeking term-time morning sessions, lunch-inclusive attendance or an all-day preschool pattern, with regular woodland learning and opportunities for parents to participate. Forest Adventures gives its week a clear identity; key-person observations, learning journals and Support Plans give care and communication a practical structure.

The September 2025 concern about younger children's participation deserves attention alongside those strengths. For a quieter two-year-old, the way adults include them in conversation may matter as much as the woodland programme. Families comfortable with the term-time calendar and outdoor preparation have a clear basis for considering Hilmarton.