Puddleducks Pre-school Salisbury

China tea sets, chickens and a woodland teepee give Puddleducks Pre-school Salisbury a clear character. Everyday objects become play materials, and children move freely between indoors and outdoors. It shares the grounds of Harnham Infant School.

At its May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Puddleducks Good and judged safeguarding effective. The qualification concerned learning progression: some activities did not sufficiently extend children's existing knowledge and skills.

There are 57 places in total. Morning and afternoon sessions run during term time, suiting families whose childcare needs fit the school calendar.

Rooms and Ages

Ducklings serves younger children before their preschool year; Ducks takes children from three until school age. Each room has its own outdoor space, with shared woodland providing a larger environment to explore.

A large mud kitchen, purpose-built teepee and chickens bring imaginative play and animal care outdoors. Waterproof clothing and wellington boots support wet and messy activities, with wet waterproofs swapped as needed.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS is the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, play puts that learning into practice: books and conversation develop language, outdoor play develops physical skills, and group activities explore feelings. Puddleducks adds an approach built around real objects and materials that children can rearrange and use in different ways. The Curiosity Approach shapes this choice of resources: china tea sets, wood slices, instruments and weighing scales replace much of the conventional plastic toy collection. Its value for families is easy to understand. Children decide what an object might become, rather than being restricted to its ready-made purpose.

Puddleducks joined the Curiosity Approach accreditation process in February 2023. Its approach to loose materials extends outdoors: sticks become imaginative props or practical tools, while real crockery introduces fragility and careful handling.

In May 2023, children made plant-material pictures, collaborated on a pretend repair using cardboard and tape, and washed porcelain after snacks. Choosing materials and caring for objects connected imaginative play with practical independence.

The current morning routine includes a group gathering before children choose where to play. Staff combine activities led by adults with play initiated by children. A book and a word are explored over a two-week period, giving unfamiliar vocabulary repeated use rather than a single introduction. Children contribute to theme planning, and families can add related learning from home.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School brings practical exploration into the woodlands, led by a member of staff trained in the approach. Weekly cooking and yoga sessions add different experiences: cooking includes measuring, mixing and preparing ingredients, while yoga uses movement alongside opportunities to relax. Activities rotate across weekdays, so attendance on a particular day does not permanently determine which activities a child encounters.

Children feed the chickens, collect eggs and use them in cooking. Growing areas connect raising and harvesting produce with preparing food, giving nature study a practical purpose.

French Sessions introduce another language through a practitioner-led activity. Music and Movement uses rhythmic activity, while Spa Sessions include sensory experiences such as hand massage, foot soaking and breathing exercises. These are part of the routine and supported by the additional activity and consumables charge. Regular visits from the Harnham Churches Association sit alongside the preschool's broadly Christian ethos, a relevant part of its character for families considering the setting.

Relationships and Communication

Key-person conversations and Parent Evenings give families informal and structured contact. The Two Year check provides a written developmental summary shortly after a child turns two, shareable with a health visitor.

Tapestry, the online learning journal, combines photographs with explanations of learning. Parents can comment and add observations, bringing home experiences into the conversation.

Book Packs contain props, parent guidance and vocabulary for shared reading at home. Staff-read stories are also available online. Puddles Pages supplies emailed news, alongside regular home activity ideas.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that the SENCO identified additional needs accurately and organised targeted help, including speech and language work and games supporting social interaction. Current arrangements include a SENCO working directly with children, referrals to external services, liaison with families and professionals, and information sharing when children change settings. These are useful mechanisms for families who need coordinated support.

The single-floor building has ramps at both entrances and an accessible toilet with handrails and changing facilities, useful features for families weighing individual care requirements.

Daily supervised toothbrushing uses each child's labelled brush; afternoon-only children brush after lunch. A Golden Retriever also spends time at preschool, with parental consent requested for direct contact.

Sessions and Attendance

Puddleducks is on Saxon Road, Salisbury, SP2 8JZ. Attendance is Monday to Friday during term time: the morning session runs from 9am until noon, and the afternoon session from noon until 3pm. An Early Start runs from 8.30am to 9am. Children may leave at noon, join then, or stay through lunch into the afternoon, giving families more than one way to use the day.

Applications use the preschool's application form, with telephone and email contact also provided. Term-time attendance needs to fit the family's holiday arrangements, and additional training-day closures form part of the calendar. Uniform can be bought from the office but is optional, allowing families to choose whether it is useful for outdoor and messy activities.

Funding and Paid Extras

Puddleducks accepts funded childcare, which can be used throughout its opening hours on its term-time timetable. The funding routes include Working Parent Funding, with 30 hours for eligible children, the universal 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds starting in the term following their third birthday, and Better 2gether Funding for eligible two-year-olds. The general working-parent funding age range does not extend the preschool's own intake to babies.

Working-parent funding requires an application and a funding code, with eligibility reconfirmed every three months. Better 2gether Funding has a separate application route and eligibility criteria. Private hours are charged by the hour; current prices belong in the nursery's written quotation, alongside the structure explained on its fees page.

A separate daily charge supports the embedded activities and consumables, including sun cream; the additional provision also supplies nappy cream. This sits alongside funded or privately paid attendance, so funding should not be read as covering every item in the day. Invoices are issued each term, and payment is required a term ahead, within two weeks of the invoice.

Families provide lunchboxes and contribute fruit or vegetables for shared snacks; milk is supplied at snack time. Puddleducks has a nut-free policy covering lunchbox contents, which makes its food rules relevant to every attending family.

Moving on to School

Children transferring to Harnham Infant School have summer-term opportunities to spend time in its Reception rooms and outdoor spaces. Meetings between preschool and school staff, handover information and additional SEN transition meetings support continuity. Attending Puddleducks does not guarantee a Reception place; families still use the local authority admissions process.

• Learning beyond the activity. In May 2023, planning did not consistently develop children's existing knowledge and skills. At a visit, ask how staff now identify and extend the next step for a child using the loose materials or woodland resources.
• Term-time sessions and advance payment. Morning and afternoon attendance follows the term calendar, with invoices payable a term ahead. These arrangements need to match both holiday childcare plans and household cash flow.
• Activities, consumables and food. The daily additional charge supports activities embedded in the routine, while families supply lunches and snack contributions. Request a written quotation showing how that charge applies to the intended funded attendance pattern, and confirm current allergy practice if relevant to your child.
• Animals and ethos. Children can care for chickens, dog contact requires parental consent, and regular church visits accompany a broadly Christian ethos. Consider how these parts of the experience fit your family's preferences and any sensitivities.

Puddleducks suits families looking for morning or afternoon preschool sessions, with the option to stay across lunch, during term time. Its appeal lies in real materials, shared woodland and practical experiences that connect care, imagination and independence. Book Packs and Tapestry also give families concrete ways to participate in learning.

The May 2023 planning concern remains an important question alongside that appealing offer. For a family comfortable with the term calendar, advance payment and additional charge, this is a preschool with a recognisable approach and substantial outdoor resources. Its school-site transition work is useful preparation, while the Reception application remains a separate decision.