Kiddiwinks Pre-School

School grounds give Kiddiwinks Pre-School much of its character: bug hunting, obstacle courses and a daily mile sit alongside early sound work and learning through play. This is a small preschool with capacity for 24 children aged two to five, based at Paxcroft Primary School in Trowbridge. The grounds extend what children can do beyond the indoor space.

At its July 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Kiddiwinks Good and found that children progressed across the seven areas of learning through a mixture of activities chosen by children and organised by adults. That judgement comes with two useful qualifications: opportunities for imaginative craft needed broadening, and staff needed to develop vocabulary and model pronunciation more consistently.

Attendance follows a term-time rhythm, with shorter sessions on Monday and Friday and longer sessions across the middle of the week. For families choosing between preschool and care across the school holidays, that distinction matters.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care, with play helping children develop language, physical skills and independence. Kiddiwinks adds early phonics and activities involving letters and sounds. Children begin exploring how words work, rather than waiting until school to encounter sounds and letters.

In July 2023, seasonal themes and children's interests shaped activities. A potato harvest became a conversation about roots drawing nourishment and water from compost. This made a familiar growing activity into an opportunity to investigate how plants work. Children could handle something they had grown and connect it with an explanation.

Mathematics also had a practical setting in July 2023. Children compared dough with a rolling pin on scales and used a ruler to investigate its width. Weight, measurement and comparison became things to test, rather than words to memorise. Water and brushes, chalk marks on the floor and activity sheets provided practice for the hand movements needed for writing.

There was a limit to that provision. In July 2023, the selection of craft materials restricted children's scope to invent and create. Stories, familiar rhymes and group conversation supported language, but adults did not consistently introduce further vocabulary or repeat children's words with accurate pronunciation. Both points matter when assessing how much adults add to children's chosen play.

Outdoor and Community Life

Access to the school grounds supports bug hunts, obstacle courses, the daily mile and play using the school's equipment. These are concrete ways to make outdoor time active and exploratory. The school setting brings useful space and resources to a preschool of this size.

In July 2023, children spent substantial time outside exploring nature and being physically active. A morning song accompanied stretches and movement, followed by discussion of changes in heartbeat and the benefits of exercise. Physical activity was linked to noticing what happens in their own bodies.

Relationships and Communication

In July 2023, relationships with families included meetings with each child's key person, detailed feedback about development and ideas for learning at home. Staff also offered practical help with toilet training, selective eating and delayed speech. That gives parents a useful connection between preschool activities and the issues occupying family life.

Children were learning everyday independence in July 2023. At the snack bar they selected food, counted portions, poured drinks and cleared their bowls. Handwashing and toothbrushing were part of conversations about looking after themselves. Small tasks gave children a chance to practise responsibility during the day.

Sharing and friendship were supported through reminders about safe, considerate behaviour in July 2023. Staff talked through feelings and the effect of a child's actions on others. The approach used discussion and reminders to help children understand boundaries.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective and found that funding was used to help vulnerable children obtain school uniform and resources, alongside specialist training for staff. This links support with practical needs, including preparation for starting school.

The preschool employed four staff in July 2023, three of whom held relevant early-years qualifications. Its current team structure includes a manager, deputy manager and lead playworker. The safeguarding policy requires staff and others working for Kiddiwinks to understand and follow its procedures, with staff training covering signs of concern and reporting routes.

Sessions and Attendance

Kiddiwinks operates at Paxcroft Primary School, Ashton Street, Trowbridge, BA14 7EB. Sessions run from 9am to noon on Monday and Friday, and from 9am to 3pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The longer Wednesday session is part of the current pattern.

Attendance is term-time only, with closures during school holidays and teacher-training days. The shorter days suit a morning preschool routine; the middle-of-the-week sessions provide a longer stretch of attendance. Families need to match both patterns to their weekly commitments.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form. Prospective parents can look around while sessions are taking place.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes two-year-old funding for disadvantaged children and the working-parent element, alongside the extended 30-hour working-parent entitlement. Kiddiwinks also accepts free-entitlement funding for children aged two, three and four, including eligible parents using the extended hours. Private childcare is offered, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding can be shared with another setting, with Kiddiwinks willing to coordinate support between the two. A daily donation is requested on an explicitly voluntary basis. Fundraising also helps replace resources and equipment, making parent contributions part of the preschool's practical support rather than an entitlement condition.

Kiddiwinks describes good links with Paxcroft Primary School that help support children who attend there. Attending the preschool does not guarantee a Reception place; families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Creative play and language. July 2023 brought recommendations to widen imaginative activities and improve vocabulary and pronunciation support. During a visit, look at the craft choices and listen to how adults extend children's conversation.
• A school-term timetable. Monday and Friday finish at noon, while the other weekdays finish at 3pm; holidays and teacher-training days are closures. This pattern needs to fit the family's wider care arrangements.
• Lunch and everyday supplies. For a child attending until 3pm, ask what families need to provide for lunch and personal-care supplies, and how those arrangements work during funded hours.

Kiddiwinks suits families seeking morning preschool sessions on Monday and Friday or longer sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday within the school term. Access to Paxcroft's grounds, early sound activities and practical learning give it a clear character. The July 2023 judgement supports that offer, while the recommendations on creativity and language give parents specific points to explore. Its school connection is useful for preparation, but carries no promise of a Reception place.