We value and respect the early years of a child’s life and aim to provide the best possible opportunities for them to become successful, happy individuals. We are a small rural setting based in one large room with direct access to a secure outdoor learning environment to enable children to explore and learn both inside and outside during sessions. 

Appleton Roebuck Preschool Group, registered charity number 1166924, runs Appleton Roebuck Preschool. We are registered with OFSTED and managed by an experienced team, led byAmy Woodcock.

Appleton Roebuck Preschool Group was first registered in 1977 and since its inception has become a treasured part of village life, supported by generations of families within our community.

We offer childcare for children ages 2-4, Monday to Friday 9-3pm with half day options available.

Early years foundation

At Pre-school, we put children at the centre of everything we do. We believe that every child is unique and understand that children learn and develop at different rates. On entry into preschool, each child is allocated a key person. This person will build a relationship with you and your child. They will learn and understand your child’s interests and assess what they can do and what their next steps are. They will help to plan engaging and open activities and will encourage child-led learning. Through forming positive relationships and spending time in an enabling environment, children will learn and develop well. This, alongside our newly developed curriculum, will ensure that your child has the best possible start and equip them well as they transition on to primary school.

Our curriculum is based around the four seasons, looking at the changes that happen both in our village and around the world. It uses the seven areas of learning, set out in the Statutory Framework for Early Years as its foundation. The prime areas being Physical Development, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language. The specific areas are Understanding the World, Mathematics, Literacy and Expressive Arts and Design. Books play a huge part, and we focus on six specific texts each term and use them to enhance our learning. Known as the Super Six, the books we choose include high quality texts, repeated rhyme or refrain, traditional tales, well-being and mindset, diversity and celebration and topic-related non-fiction. We are lucky to have a wide variety of resources to encourage your child to learn and develop their skills, including areas for messy activities, music, reading and telling stories, role-play, mark-making, mathematics and malleable activities as well as a spacious outdoor area too.

Above all, we believe your child should have a fun-filled, rich, and engaging environment and the chance to make lots of friends.

Other learning experiences:

Not only do we follow the key principles of learning and development set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage, we also look to introduce our children to a number of other learning experiences.

We invite guest sessions into nursery so the children can take part in various sessions from computer coding to football. We have a day trip out every term and always get to the panto at Christmas.

We regularly welcome parents and people from the local community in to spend time with children, talking about what they do and showing them how things works. We have had visits from farmers (and their animals!), Police Officers, Doctors & Nurses and more. It really helps the children learn more about the world around them.

Technology
Sports
Day Trips etc

The Great Outdoors!

We encourage the children to spend time outside every day. We have direct access to a secure outdoor learning environment to enable our children to learn and explore both inside and outside during sessions. It’s a wonderful outdoor play space with lots of fun learning opportunities and activities for our children – allowing our children to explore, take risks and enjoy the outdoors in a safe and controlled environment.

We are very lucky to be based in the beautiful village of Appleton Roebuck. We regularly take the children out for short walks to explore the area and see what we can find and hunt around in the woods.

costs & Sessions

£4.50 PER HOUR

Government funding and childcare vouchers accepted

We have sessions available 9am-3pm, Mon-Fri, during term time. 

We invite children to join us for full or half day sessions – half day can be with or without lunch, whatever works best for you and your child.

More information is available in the application pack.

the team

The preschool staff are all qualified to a high level and have a wealth of experience and knowledge. Each member of staff holds relevant certificates in Paediatric First Aid, Safeguarding, Food Hygiene and update/renew these as needed. All staff regularly attend online training and classroom based training to further develop their skills and knowledge in Early years.

We have a small team of 5 staff and a team of relief staff available when needed. The team are well established and we have a very low staff turnover.

To aid child development and confidence each child is assigned with a ‘Key Person’ who will build a close relationship with your child and your family and monitor and record progress. Parents are encouraged to discuss their child’s needs with their ‘Key Person’ and have regular updates about their child’s progress.

Amy Woodcock

Preschool Manager
‘I was a Primary School teacher before I had my second child and was appointed manager of Appleton Roebuck Preschool in September 2023. I love being in preschool. Working with children is always lots of fun and usually quite messy! It’s a privilege to see them learn, grow and develop during their time here. We have a great team and we all work together to bring the children a rich and varied curriculum of learning which covers all 7 areas of the Statutory Framework. We use this alongside the children’s own interests and seeing them discover new things and find new and engaging ways to learn, makes every day different. Where else would you go to work each day and get to sing, play, learn, laugh, paint, explore and get creative!’

Marie Burke

Deputy Preschool Manager
"I have enjoyed working with children since 2001 in a variety of roles and have been manager of Appleton Roebuck Preschool since April 2016. I absolutely love being in preschool. The children make everyday a special day. I am in the privileged position of watching them grow, learn new skills, appreciate each other, and develop their own individual personalities which is amazing, and I feel so lucky. I love to have fun, be silly, be kind, get messy, give cuddles, read stories, and sing songs. There is no better place to be."

Kelly Lindon

Level 3 Early Years Practioner
"I live in York with my husband and 3 children Riley is my eldest son and Harris and Ella are twins. I don’t have any pets, but we would all love to have a dog one day soon, we often look after our friends and families’ dogs when they go away on holiday. I enjoy going out and about on adventures and trying new activities. I like watching and feeding the birds in the garden and I love watching Disney and marvel films, princesses and superheroes are the best. My favourite colour is Green, and my favourite season is Spring."

Suzanne Cornforth

Early Years Assistant
"I moved to Appleton Roebuck in 2021 after living at Acaster Malbis near my parents farm. I live here with my three children Harry, Edward and Lydia. I really enjoy walking and all things active. I like to go to the cinema and days out in the countryside and of course the seaside! My favourite treat foods are fish and chips and the occasional chocolate brownie yum yum !!"

Celia Swain

Early Years Assistant
"I live locally with my husband and my four Border Terriers including new puppy, Clemmie. My two children – Olivia and Jonothan – are both grown up now but still live close by. I enjoy long country walks and going to dog shows all over the country."

Policies

The Pre-School has a number of policies and operating procedures which have been approved by the Pre-School Groups Management Committee which set out how we deal with a range of issues. A full list of policies can be found in Preschool or by contacting us

Our Policies

The Pre-School has a number of policies and operating procedures which have been approved by the Pre-School Groups Management Committee which set out how we deal with a range of issues. A full list of policies can be found in Preschool or by contacting us