Jack And Jill Community Pre-School

At its September 2024 inspection, a creative shed called happy space, wooden photo blocks to help children settle, and recorded bedtime stories gave Jack And Jill Community Pre-School a recognisable character. The emphasis was on play, emotional connection and growing independence. Those ideas had practical expression, from children serving snacks to finding somewhere quiet when they needed a pause.

At its September 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. It has 26 places in total and is based at St Edmund Primary Academy on Duncan Street in Calne. The capacity describes the whole setting, rather than the number attending any particular session.

Today’s attendance model is term-time care through morning and afternoon sessions. Weekly Sound Journeys add sound exploration and mindfulness to the experience, while the team includes dedicated responsibilities for language, wellbeing, creative expression and special educational needs.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care: here, play and everyday tasks give children opportunities to practise language, movement, thinking and independence. The pre-school’s current approach places emotional connection alongside children’s freedom to make choices. Its visitor policy also gives explicit weight to movement, curiosity and outdoor opportunities.

In September 2024, learning included a counting activity with wooden eggs and a holder. Rather than simply supplying an answer, staff asked children to work out how many more eggs were needed. This makes a small play activity an opportunity to reason, count and explain an answer.

Independence had similarly concrete expression that September. New starters were introduced to serving snacks, while older children poured cereal and drinks and washed their bowls afterwards. Everyday routines gave children something useful to do for themselves. They were participants in the task, rather than waiting for an adult to complete every step.

Sound Journeys are weekly visiting sessions involving sound exploration and mindfulness. They sit alongside the ordinary play-based day, giving children another kind of experience. The voluntary Wellbeing Payment helps support these sessions as well as creative resources, baking ingredients and celebrations.

Outdoor and Community Life

In September 2024, happy space was the children’s name for their creative shed. Art and cutting activities there provided opportunities to handle tools and practise small hand movements. Elsewhere, younger children investigated mud, and rainy weather brought puddle play accompanied by adults talking about what was happening.

Growing fruit and vegetables was another part of the day that September. This connected healthy living with something children could help cultivate. The pod offered a quieter alternative: children could choose it when they wanted to calm down, with puppets used to help adults engage with them. Creative activity, outdoor exploration and quieter time each had a physical place.

Relationships and Communication

Emotional connection is an explicit part of the current approach. Co-regulation means adults help children manage feelings while building confidence, rather than expecting them to do this alone. The team’s responsibilities include language, wellbeing and belonging, creative expression, and a two-year-old lead role, giving these aspects of care a defined place in its organisation.

In September 2024, home visits helped staff understand children’s family lives before they started. Starter packs included mini me blocks bearing children’s photos and names, which then became their sign-in blocks. A familiar object travelled from home into pre-school, making settling part of an ongoing relationship rather than a single first-day event.

Home learning also had a practical form that September. Families received dough-making packs with ingredients and a recipe, alongside weekly photos and developmental updates. Recorded bedtime stories were shared weekly for parents to use at home. These were manageable ways to continue activities together beyond the session.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO role forms part of the current management team, alongside joint safeguarding leads and a deputy safeguarding lead. Staff have paediatric first aid certificates and advanced safeguarding training. These are arrangements and training, rather than a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement.

At the September 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified learning gaps through observation and assessment and introduced support promptly, including a six-week programme addressing cooperation, sharing and empathy. In that month, an additional area accommodated quieter activities and small-group work, allowing targeted activities to take place apart from busier play.

Staff photographs and recordings require parental written permission and must use the setting’s own equipment. Personal staff phones are kept in lockers during work, and parents and visitors are asked to refrain from using phones on the premises. Families should expect these rules to shape how children’s experiences are photographed and shared.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St Edmund Primary Academy, Duncan Street, Calne, SN11 9BX. Enquiries can be sent to manager@jackandjillpreschool.org.uk.

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon; afternoon sessions run from noon to 3pm, Monday to Friday during term time. Both funded and privately paid attendance use three-hour sessions. This is a sessional booking model, so families need to fit the individual blocks around their working and collection arrangements.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the 15 Hours Funded Childcare entitlement, normally starting from the term after a child’s third birthday; earlier funding depends on household circumstances. The 30 Hours Funded Childcare working parent entitlement depends on eligibility, with families registering through HMRC and sharing their eligibility code. Delivery is term-time. Private hours can supplement funded attendance or make up the child’s entire allocation.

Private attendance is invoiced before each half-term, with payment due before that half-term starts; personalised payment plans can also be arranged. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. Afternoon children bring a packed lunch from home.

The Wellbeing Payment is a voluntary contribution per session towards sensory and creative materials, baking ingredients, celebration activities and Sound Journeys. It is separate from the description of funded and private hours. Families can therefore distinguish attendance charges from this contribution towards additional experiences.

Moving on to School

In September 2024, the pre-school operated from a mobile classroom within the primary school grounds. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place at the school. Families seeking a state primary place still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Session blocks and lunch. Attendance uses three-hour morning or afternoon sessions during term time, and afternoon children bring lunch. This suits families able to organise care around those blocks; school holidays need a separate plan.
• Settling into a play-led day. Home visits and photo-bearing starter blocks featured in September 2024. On a visit, ask how settling and the key-person relationship work for your child now, including any individual support or personal-care supplies they need.
• Voluntary contributions. The Wellbeing Payment supports Sound Journeys and creative experiences but is not compulsory. Keep it distinct from paid attendance when considering the overall arrangement.

Jack And Jill suits families seeking either morning or afternoon term-time sessions, with an approach that gives play and emotional connection substantial weight. The September 2024 judgement provides a strong quality reference, and the practical detail makes its character easier to understand: photo blocks for settling, a creative shed, quieter spaces and activities continued at home.

Weekly Sound Journeys add a current named activity to that picture. The central decision is whether sessional attendance, packed lunches for afternoons and the term-time calendar fit family life. For families who value this combination, the pre-school merits serious consideration.