St Andrews Pre-School & Jammie Dodgers ASC

Food from Fiji, flower garlands and songs rewritten around children's ideas gave learning a concrete, playful character in February 2025. St Andrews Pre-School & Jammie Dodgers ASC in Tidworth combines early years provision with an after-school club, bringing different stages of childhood together under one name.

Ofsted judged the setting Good on 25 February 2025 and found safeguarding effective. The current early years age range is 24 to 60 months, with 54 places in total. Those places describe whole-setting capacity, rather than the number of children sharing an activity or room.

The practical attraction is a choice of morning, afternoon and longer daytime sessions across the academic year. The educational decision is more nuanced: in February 2025, purposeful group teaching and close work with parents sat alongside inconsistencies in adult support during children's own play and in transitions for younger children.

Rooms and Ages

Explorers serves children aged 2 to 3, while Investigators takes children from 3 to school age. Discovery Barn has a younger age designation, from 3 months to 24 months; Inventors is the after-school room for children up to year 6. These are different stages of provision, so room placement matters alongside the overall early years age range.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In everyday parent language, education and care belong together: learning to communicate, participate in play and manage relationships forms part of the day alongside planned teaching.

In February 2025, group activities gave children opportunities to listen, answer questions and explore language. Younger children joined Sleeping Bunnies, a familiar song, and helped turn it into Tall Giraffes by suggesting different words and movements. Their ideas changed the activity. That makes participation more than copying an adult's actions and gives children a practical way to experiment with language.

Cultural learning also had tangible detail. During the February 2025 visit, learning about Fiji involved tasting food, wearing flower garlands and exploring traditions, including woven mats associated with a new baby's birth. Children encountered a country through experiences and conversation, rather than through its name alone.

Daily targeted work in February 2025 helped older children identify sounds in words as preparation for school. Adult involvement was less consistent when children selected their own play, however, leaving some opportunities to extend learning unused. This distinction matters: a well-planned group activity does not settle how effectively adults support learning throughout the rest of the day.

Relationships and Communication

Settling involved parents directly in February 2025. They stayed to play with their children and see staff interactions, then reduced their presence as their children gained confidence. The process gave families a role in the transition and allowed separation to happen gradually.

Home learning had practical resources too. In February 2025, lending libraries gave families books to enjoy together at home; younger children also practised noticing sounds around them. These activities connected nursery learning with things parents and children could do together, rather than requiring a separate lesson at home.

Disagreements became opportunities to practise social skills during the same period. Staff used sand timers to support waiting and taking turns, then helped children talk through differences. A visible timer gave waiting a concrete boundary; conversation gave children a way to negotiate with one another.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff recognised SEND needs promptly, assessed them accurately and worked with external agencies on interventions, with children narrowing gaps in their learning. For a family considering additional support, the useful detail is the combination of assessment, outside involvement and targeted work, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

Visual timetables helped children anticipate what came next in February 2025. Some transitions nevertheless involved excessive noise and waiting, especially for younger children moving towards stories or outdoor activities. Children could struggle to hear instructions or keep their attention. Improving these routines was an explicit priority, and plans to address them had yet to become consistent practice at that point.

Sessions and Attendance

The setting operates for 39 weeks, following Wiltshire Council's academic year. Morning attendance runs from 9am to noon. Daytime choices run from 9am to 3pm, 4pm or 6pm; afternoon attendance runs from 1pm to either 4pm or 6pm. This gives families choices around both the start and finish of their child's session.

Jammie Dodgers ASC runs from 3pm to 5.45pm. Care during school holidays is conditional on sufficient demand, so it should not be treated as assured school-holiday cover when planning an annual childcare arrangement.

The address is 1-2 St Andrews Road, Tidworth, Wiltshire, SP9 7EP. Enquiries go directly to the setting by telephone on 01980 843125 or email at standrews@tnbearlyyears.org.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, with funding information covering Working Family Funding and Wiltshire Council's Better 2gether funding for 15 hours, subject to eligibility. These routes concern help with childcare costs; they do not guarantee a particular session or place.

A booking deposit is required and is refundable when its conditions have been satisfied. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The sessions and funding page sets out the attendance choices and deposit arrangement.

• Adult involvement in play. In February 2025, support during children's self-chosen activities was inconsistent. During a visit, ask how practitioners now extend learning in Explorers and Investigators when children choose what to do.
• Quieter transitions. Noise and waiting affected younger children in February 2025. Ask to understand how the move to stories or outdoor activities now works, especially for a child who finds busy routines difficult.
• Academic-year attendance. The setting operates for 39 weeks and care during school holidays depends on demand. Families needing care during school holidays should establish whether that conditional arrangement fits their annual plans.
• Age and room placement. The current early years age range is 24 to 60 months, while Discovery Barn has a designation of 3 to 24 months. Ask how that room fits the current offer and which room would take your child.

St Andrews suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon attendance or a longer daytime pattern within the academic year. Its February 2025 provision gave language and cultural learning memorable substance, while settling and home learning involved parents directly. The balance rests on consistency: adult support during independent play and calmer transitions deserve attention alongside the Good judgement. Conditional holiday provision also makes the academic-year arrangement a central part of the choice.