Urchfont Pre-School

Monday mornings in Oakfrith Woods give Urchfont Pre-School a recognisable rhythm: waterproofs, nature exploration and stories outdoors. Back at its base in the grounds of Urchfont Primary School, children can move between indoor play and the outdoors during the day. This is a preschool with a village setting and a practical emphasis on growing independence.

Urchfont Pre-School welcomes children aged 2 to 5 at Cuckoo Corner, Urchfont, near Devizes. At its February 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and found safeguarding effective. The strongest inspection examples concerned everyday learning: sharing books, managing clothing and developing personal hygiene skills.

The setting operates during term time, with preschool attendance choices alongside breakfast and after-school care. It also runs as a charity, supported by a parent committee that helps oversee planning and fundraising. For families, that creates a route into the organisation of the preschool as well as their own child's experience.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, the day combines child-led play with stories, group activities, creative work and physical play, giving children opportunities to practise language, movement and independence through ordinary experiences.

Indoor and outdoor play run alongside each other, with children choosing activities during the free-flow parts of the day. Construction, dressing up and small-world play sit beside cooking, baking and crafts. That mix allows a child to build something, invent a role or work with materials rather than spend the whole session following adult instructions.

In February 2025, children chose books for adults to share with them. Staff discussed the stories and helped children follow the direction of the text. Creative play also involved making props from paper plates, straws and tape, with adults encouraging children to develop their designs and practise cutting. These were concrete opportunities to connect imagination with developing practical skills.

Yoga is part of the activity mix. In February 2025, sessions included stretching and breathing exercises, and children contributed ideas as they took part. Independence also received deliberate attention: staff gave children time to manage coats and other outdoor clothing themselves. The emphasis was on learning to do things, rather than having adults complete every task.

Outdoor and Community Life

Oakfrith Woods is visited on Monday mornings. Children wear wellingtons and waterproof clothing for exploring nature, playing games and sharing stories; the woodland snack includes biscuits and hot chocolate. The routine makes outdoor learning a recurring part of the week, with the clothing requirements reflecting the muddy play involved.

The preschool also uses a playground and playing field. Bikes, scooters and trikes bring movement into outdoor play, while water and sand offer different materials to explore. Village walks and visits to the village hall's Coffee and Cake morning connect the preschool day with places beyond its own base. These experiences give the setting a clear village character.

Everyday self-care is an important strand of the preschool experience. In February 2025, staff worked with families on toilet training and helped children practise personal hygiene. Learning to manage clothing and toileting gives independence a practical meaning before the move to school.

Emotional support had a physical place in the setting too. In February 2025, children could use a cosy space to pause and manage their feelings, alongside books and pretend-play resources about emotions. This gave them several ways to explore feelings, including a quieter option when they needed it.

Communication extended learning beyond the preschool. In February 2025, staff shared activities and information about children's development with parents, and story bags went home for families to use together. The bags offered a concrete link between reading at preschool and reading at home, rather than leaving parent involvement at the level of general encouragement.

The current team includes a SENCO role, a designated safeguarding lead and a deputy safeguarding lead. Staff undertake first-aid training and refresh their safeguarding knowledge. These are arrangements families can understand and discuss; they sit alongside the dated safeguarding judgement above.

For food, breakfast is included in breakfast club and an after-school snack is included in that club, while preschool snacks carry a separate charge. The preschool's allergy policy excludes nuts and kiwi, and parents are asked to notify staff when dietary needs change.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 5pm from Monday to Thursday and 8am to 3.15pm on Friday, during term time only. Preschool drop-off choices are 8.45am or 9am, with collection at noon, 1pm or 3pm. These choices matter more than the opening window alone: families can plan around different preschool finishing times.

Breakfast club begins at 8am. After-school club runs from 3.15pm to 5pm, with its operation reviewed each term according to demand. Both clubs serve children attending Urchfont Pre-School or Urchfont Primary School, and ad hoc bookings are offered. Primary-school children attending breakfast club are accompanied across the playground by a member of staff.

Parents should leave spare clothes and wellingtons at preschool and label belongings. Early drop-offs and late collections attract charges. Following vomiting or diarrhoea, children must remain at home for 48 hours, a practical consideration for families arranging backup care.

Getting There

The address is Cuckoo Corner, Urchfont, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 4RA, within the grounds of Urchfont Primary School. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01380 848444.

Sharing the primary-school site does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still need to use the local authority admissions process; preschool attendance and a school application are separate decisions.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted, including 2 Year Old Funding, Universal 3-5 Year Old Funding and the extended 30 Hours Funding for eligible 3-5 year olds. The preschool also accepts Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) and childcare vouchers. Eligibility conditions still apply to the relevant entitlement.

Paid childcare is offered alongside funding, with preschool snacks charged separately. Breakfast and the after-school snack are included in their respective club fees. The fees and funding page sets out the charge structure; current prices come in the preschool's written quotation.

Uniform is optional, with sweatshirts, fleeces and different styles of shirt available to order. Families can choose whether to use it rather than treating it as a condition of attendance.

• Friday and holiday coverage. Friday opening ends at 3.15pm and preschool operates during term time. Discuss how the termly after-school club arrangements fit the days you intend to book.
• Language and early number work. In February 2025, improvement priorities were more deliberate vocabulary teaching and more opportunities to recognise numbers. At a visit, ask how these now feature in play and group activities.
• Food and funded attendance. Preschool snacks are charged separately, while club food is included in the relevant club fee. What lunch, non-food consumable and funded-hours arrangements would apply to your booking, and how would staff manage your child's allergies under the nut- and kiwi-free policy?
• The move to Reception. Urchfont Primary School shares the site, but preschool attendance does not secure admission. Plan the school application through the local authority alongside your childcare arrangements.

Urchfont Pre-School suits families seeking term-time preschool attendance with a choice of collection times, as well as those using breakfast or after-school care around preschool or Urchfont Primary School. Monday visits to Oakfrith Woods, village outings and free-flow play give its offer substance beyond the timetable.

The February 2025 findings provide useful examples of independence, shared reading and emotional support, while vocabulary and number teaching remain the clear points to explore at a visit. The practical trade-off is the term-time calendar and shorter Friday opening. For families whose schedules fit those boundaries, the woodland routine and village connections are compelling reasons to consider it.