Stokenham Area Primary School Nursery Review

A garden boat, home-grown carrots and a bus trip to the library give Merry Go Round Pre-school its character. Stokenham Area Primary School's preschool combines imaginative play with practical experiences: children have turned garden produce into baking ingredients and brought library books back from Dartmouth. These are concrete ways to connect learning with the world around them.

The garden includes a summer house and slide as well as the boat, giving outdoor play several different settings. At an open afternoon, children selected the activities and showed their adults around. Their interests have a visible role in what happens here.

A conversation about pirates during circle time sparked activities lasting more than a week. Children created maps and ships, tried pirate yoga and used directions to hunt for treasure. One shared interest became opportunities for movement, making and language, rather than a single themed craft.

Growing and cooking provide another thread. Children harvested tomatoes and cucumber for snacks, then used carrots in muffins with raisins. Measuring ingredients, counting portions and chopping brought number work and physical skills into a task with something tangible at the end. In another garden activity, elderflowers became cordial: children prepared the flowers, mixed and strained the drink, then filled bottles to take home.

Indoors, the book corner gives stories a place of their own. A Dartmouth library outing extended that experience, with children listening to stories, choosing books for preschool and discussing what they saw on the return bus journey. Forest School has included woodland exploration, songs, listening games and making bird feeders from pine cones. These examples put books, conversation and outdoor discovery alongside practical play.

Ofsted judged the school's early years provision Outstanding at its inspection on 27 and 28 February 2024; this is an early years judgement within the school inspection. The early years findings describe learning shaped around children's interests, with imaginative activities developing knowledge and language: making butterflies and retelling a caterpillar story introduced vocabulary including cocoon.

Food features in shared activities as well as snacks. Garden vegetables were eaten by the children, while a celebration included making jam tarts and eating a picnic lunch outdoors. Cooking gives children a part in preparing what they eat.

For additional needs, the school's SEND process starts with a discussion with the class teacher, followed by referral to the SEND coordinator where necessary. Individual learning plans may set targets and support strategies, with parents invited to review them approximately once each term. That gives families a regular point for discussing the support their child receives.

Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate formal application through Devon County Council, using the normal admissions process and deadline. The council is the admissions authority and makes admission decisions. Keep that application separate from arranging preschool attendance.

For preschool enquiries, contact Merry Go Round directly on 01548 581440 or email mgr@southhamsfederation.org.uk. This is the preschool's own contact route, so families can start their enquiry with the team responsible for the provision.