Puddleducks Nursery And Pre-School

Six babies is the Baby Room’s stated maximum at Puddleducks, where care follows each family’s sleep and feeding routine and waterproof suits help keep outdoor play part of the day. That small room cap is a useful starting point for parents comparing baby care. The wider setting combines separate spaces for toddlers and preschool children with school clubs at Pewsey Primary School.

At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated Puddleducks Good, found safeguarding effective and highlighted close relationships, language development and a coordinator who worked effectively with families and the local authority on additional support. This assessment dates from 2022.

Puddleducks has capacity for 47 children, with a current age range of three months to seven years. The early-years room age bands overlap. Attendance can be booked flexibly, with a minimum of two two-hour sessions each week.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room accommodates up to six babies aged 3–24 months, with layouts adapted for mobile children or a mixture of mobile and non-mobile babies, accessible equipment and interactive boards for early mark making. The layout responds to children’s mobility.

For children aged 18–36 months, the Toddler Room has a maximum of nine children and combines pretend play, books and tactile activities with a garden containing a mud kitchen, sand pit and ride-on trikes. These are different ways into play, from handling materials to moving around outdoors.

The Pre-School Room accommodates up to 32 children aged 2.5–4 years, with separate activity zones for construction, investigation and creative play, plus an outdoor nature area. These figures are room maximums, not daily group sizes.

Learning and Activities

The curriculum follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the statutory framework covering children’s learning, development and care through experiences such as play, conversation and physical activity. Children select resources and explore indoors and outside, with adult support.

Preschool play includes a reading space, music, technology and a snack table alongside the construction and investigation areas. The zones give children choices about their play.

In September 2022, babies explored sand with scooping and tapping tools, while older children used apples from the garden tree in pretend cooking. Staff spoke facing babies, repeated words for toddlers and introduced older children to blending sounds. These examples connect language with ordinary play rather than presenting it as a separate lesson.

Outdoor and Community Life

AstroTurf and a cushioned surface form part of the baby and preschool gardens. Flowers attract insects, herbs provide sensory interest, and the apple tree produces fruit in late summer. Waterproof clothing is provided for babies in wet weather, making the outdoor arrangements relevant beyond sunny days.

The toddler garden has stepping stones, a slide and a playhouse with a sensory garden. Its blackboards and magnetic board bring mark making outdoors too. In the preschool garden, the mud kitchen and nature area give children materials for digging and imaginative play. The spaces support movement and hands-on exploration.

Relationships and Communication

Parents specify the Baby Room care plan, including milk, meals and sleep. Sleep checks are recorded at least every ten minutes, and the end-of-session summary covers rest, eating, drinking and activities. That combination gives families both an agreed routine and a practical account of how the session went.

Toddlers have individual sleeping mats and bedding, which is cleaned weekly. After lunch the room changes over for naps; children who remain awake spend time in another room according to their needs and confidence. Rest is therefore an explicit part of the room’s organisation, with an alternative arrangement for children who do not sleep then.

The Pre-School Room uses a key person to give each child a consistent adult contact. For new starters, an All About Me Book uses photographs of important people, pets and home to offer comfort and prompt conversation. Introductory settling sessions can also be arranged; they are charged at the usual hourly rate when a parent leaves the child with staff.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Ground-floor accommodation, wide doorways, an accessible toilet and low furniture provide concrete access arrangements. Children with SEND are discussed monthly and their support reviewed three times a year, with parents involved in decisions. Partnerships include Devizes Opportunity group, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and an Early Years Inclusion Adviser. These partnerships support individual planning.

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted identified inconsistent use of strategies for children with SEND and children learning English as an additional language, alongside toddler activities that sometimes lacked sufficient challenge to sustain attention. Both findings qualify the Good judgement.

The nursery publishes a nut-free food policy covering food brought from home.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am–6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, excluding bank holidays and Christmas. Core childcare sessions run from 9am–5pm, while flexible bookings can be made in fifteen-minute increments. The minimum commitment is two sessions of two hours per week. This gives parents a shorter-session option alongside the core day, with hours outside the core window charged at lower rates.

School-age care is based at Pewsey Primary School. Breakfast Club runs from 8am–8.45am in the main hall, with breakfast served between 8am and 8.30am before children are taken to class. After-School Club runs from 3.15pm–6pm, using the hall or the year 2 classroom when the hall is occupied. Activities can include outdoor play, computing, crafts and quiet reading.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01672 562371 or by email to admin.puddleducks@kingalfredtrust.co.uk. Requests to reserve sessions are made by email or in person. Visits are booked by telephone.

Getting There and Moving On

The nursery is on Wilcot Road in Pewsey. Its address is Pewsey Childrens Centre, SN9 5EW, while its contact address uses School Campus, SN9 5EL; the postcode difference is a practical point to resolve before travelling.

The nursery describes itself as a feeder for Pewsey Primary School and can work with any primary school chosen by a family. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes working-parent entitlements from nine months, support for eligible two-year-olds and universal provision for three- and four-year-olds, with the additional working-parent entitlement for that age group. Funding can be taken during term time or spread across the year using fewer hours each week. Private childcare is also offered, and current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Snacks and refreshments are included in prices, while Apetito supplies optional cooked meals that are charged separately, follow a two-week menu cycle and require ordering two weeks ahead; families can alternatively send packed lunches or teas. SMA 2 formula milk is included, while families bring wipes, barrier cream when needed and summer suncream; the nappy instructions require clarification.

• Toddler challenge and individual support. September 2022 brought improvement points about sustaining toddlers’ attention and consistently using SEND and additional-language strategies. On a visit, ask how activities are extended and how every practitioner follows a child’s support plan.
• Nappy arrangements. The pricing terms include nappies, but the new-starter bag checklist asks families to bring them when needed. Clarify which arrangement applies to your child, including funded sessions.
• Address details. SN9 5EW accompanies the Children’s Centre address, while the contact address uses SN9 5EL. Confirm the destination when arranging a visit so the postcode difference does not complicate the journey.
• Settling and allergies. Introductory sessions become chargeable when parents leave their child, and the nursery has a nut-free policy. Discuss the settling pattern and, where allergies affect your family, current food-handling arrangements before starting.

Puddleducks suits families seeking either short, flexible bookings or a core childcare day, with breakfast and after-school sessions adding a separate option for school-age children. For babies, the six-child room cap, parent-led care plan and recorded sleep checks are the most useful practical details. For older children, the gardens offer concrete opportunities to move, investigate and make things.

The dated Good judgement carries qualifications about toddler challenge and consistent support. Families needing additional help should weigh those findings alongside the practical care routines.