Ladybirds Pre-school

Fairfax House visits, bus trips to the library and an annual fire-station outing give Ladybirds Pre-school a life beyond its church-hall base. This Salisbury setting accepts children from age 2 and has 38 places in total. Its community links bring children into contact with older residents, books and local services, making the surrounding area part of their learning.

At its 22 September 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated Ladybirds Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. That is a dated judgement: the practical offer centres on term-time attendance, play-based learning and a key person who adapts activities to each child's abilities. Morning and afternoon sessions provide two different ways to fit preschool into family life.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, children learn through play, with opportunities to explore language, early number skills and relationships through activities they choose and experiences organised by staff. The framework is the common foundation; Ladybirds' community visits and everyday opportunities for independence give the day its own character.

Choice has a practical structure. Children can reach resources themselves, use labels to help select them and contribute ideas for future activities. Learning happens with the whole group, with fewer children together, alongside friends and individually. That gives children different ways to participate, rather than requiring every experience to follow one group format.

Snack time also serves as an opportunity to practise useful skills. Children choose what to prepare, spread and cut food, and pour their own drinks with support. These are small tasks with a clear purpose: children take an active part in meeting their everyday needs.

In September 2021, play included toy farm vehicles moving through soil, conversations about animal sounds and seeds, and stories with repeated rhymes. Children also explored weight using pasta and natural objects. Number work needed further development, specifically helping children connect written numbers with amounts. Enjoying counting and recognising what a numeral represents are different steps; the latter was an improvement priority.

Outdoor and Community Life

Children can move between indoor play and the enclosed outdoor area, with additional grassed space for exploration. This gives outdoor activity a place within the session rather than restricting it to an outing. Visits to the local park include collecting materials for artwork and talking about the environment, linking what children find outside with what they make and discuss afterwards.

The annual fire-station visit includes a look around, a chance to sit in a fire engine and an opportunity to use the hose. Bus journeys into town take children to the library. These experiences put real places and equipment alongside pretend play, giving children concrete subjects for questions and conversation.

Fairfax House is the named care-home connection. Children visit residents for songs, stories and creative activities, while residents are invited back to preschool. At Christmas, they also attend the children's Nativity performance in the church. The relationship works in both directions, with older neighbours participating in preschool life as well as receiving visits.

In September 2021, outdoor experiences included mixing earth with water in a mud-kitchen area, investigating insects and handling leaves, conkers and pine cones. Those examples show how simple materials supported exploration at that time. They should be read alongside the current indoor-outdoor arrangement, rather than as a promise of a particular activity on every day.

A key person adapts challenges and activities to the child's abilities and discusses developmental or behavioural concerns with parents. Where extra help would be useful, support can include a plan addressing a particular area, advice from an external adviser or a referral to Speech Therapy with parental permission. Families whose child already has identified needs can bring existing specialists into that conversation, helping staff connect preschool support with work already under way.

A SENCO role sits within the staff structure, alongside first-aider roles. Safeguarding responsibilities include a designated lead, a deputy and a committee lead. These give families specific routes for raising concerns; their existence is separate from the dated inspection judgement about effectiveness.

The Previous Injuries form records injuries sustained away from preschool, with a staff member countersigning the entry. The safeguarding procedure also distinguishes between information shared with written parental authorisation and concerns about possible abuse that require staff to seek advice and act without that permission. Understanding this distinction helps parents know how sensitive information may be handled.

At the September 2021 inspection, Ofsted found that staff helped families settle children successfully, but required more consistent sharing of observations across children's learning. The useful distinction is between a friendly relationship and regular information that helps parents support learning at home. Both matter.

Parents can also participate through the voluntary committee, contributing ideas and helping organise events. This offers a practical route into the setting's wider life, alongside conversations about an individual child.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St Francis Church Hall, Beatrice Road, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 3PN. Ladybirds follows Wiltshire term dates. Opening hours are 9.15am to 3.15pm from Monday to Thursday, with Friday ending at 12.15pm.

Session one runs from 9.15am to 12.15pm and is the morning pattern, including Friday. Session two is the afternoon pattern, from 12.15pm to 3.15pm, Monday to Thursday. Friday therefore needs a different family timetable from the other weekdays. The contact form and telephone number, 01722 502234, provide enquiry routes.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered for eligible two-year-olds for up to 15 hours a week, or up to 30 hours where the relevant criteria are met. For three- and four-year-olds, the offer covers up to 15 hours, with up to 30 hours conditional on eligibility; funding begins in the term following the relevant birthday. Delivery follows the term-time opening pattern.

Ladybirds opens for 27 hours each week, so its offer does not cover the whole 30-hour entitlement within this setting. Eligible families can divide funded attendance between Ladybirds and another participating provider. This is a practical distinction between the entitlement a family qualifies for and the hours one preschool can deliver.

Attendance beyond a child's applicable funded entitlement is paid for privately. Consumables carry no additional charge, and activities also have no extra charge. Payment by instalments and childcare vouchers is accepted. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the funding and fees information explains how funded and paid hours fit together.

• Friday finishes earlier. The Friday morning ends at 12.15pm, while Monday to Thursday opening extends to 3.15pm. Families need an attendance plan that also accounts for Wiltshire school holidays.
• A 30-hour entitlement exceeds the weekly opening window. Ladybirds opens for 27 hours and permits funded hours to be shared with another participating provider. Consider whether that arrangement fits your child's routine and your own commitments.
• Learning updates and number work. September 2021 improvement priorities concerned parent information and matching numerals to amounts. On a visit, ask to see how these work in everyday practice now.
• Food arrangements. Children help prepare snacks during the session. Ask what to bring for your chosen attendance pattern and how any allergy requirements will be handled.

Ladybirds suits families seeking term-time preschool with either morning or afternoon attendance, opportunities for children to make choices, and community experiences beyond the hall. Fairfax House visits and the annual fire-station outing give that proposition substance. The key-person support process also provides concrete steps for discussing a child's development and arranging additional help.

The timetable is the main practical consideration: Friday is shorter, and the weekly opening window falls below the full 30-hour funded entitlement. The September 2021 Good judgement provides a useful historical benchmark, with parent communication and early number work remaining sensible subjects for a visit.