Playgroup is held in Bathampton Village Hall, which is large and bright with access to outdoor space in the garden. The hall is set up each day with a wide variety of activities for the children to choose from, covering all areas of the Early Years curriculum. Our free flow system supports effective learning through play and having fun!

Children have access to the garden at all times and there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in outdoor learning activities. This is further supported by regular walks around the village including Dry Arch Growers – a cooperative project and community allotment – based here in Bathampton.

This is what a typical day at Playgroup looks like:

8.30am/9am Welcome to Playgroup
The children come in and hang up their coats and bags on a peg and put their lunch box in the lunch box trolley. They wash their hands and put their water bottle on the table in the hall. Children can then explore the different activities on offer and play with their friends.

9.15am Carpet time
Once everybody has arrived, we come together to sing our morning song and to have a story and talk about what we will be doing that day. This is great preparation for school as the children learn to sit down and listen carefully.

9.30am Free flow play and learning
The children are then free to enjoy the different activities on offer in the main hall and they have free flow access to the side garden. We put out a wide variety of things over the course of each term including small world toys, construction, role play, puzzles and games, maths and letters and sound activities, sand and water play, painting and mark making, dancing, listening games, playdoh and clay, books, forest school activities and a variety of different creative crafts. Many of these activities are available for you to see on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

Children in their preschool year will also take part in more focused organised activities such as games based on letters and sounds.

We also enjoy walks around the village and to the Dry Arch Community Small Holding, where the children can take part in forest school activities. The children really enjoy getting out and about and we do this as much as we can.

10am Snack Time
Children bring a piece of snack for sharing and we provide milk to drink if they wish which they pour themselves and they bring their own water bottle. Snack is a very social time and the children all enjoy sitting together chatting as they eat.

10.30am Free flow play and learning
Children are free to choose their activities again before we all gather at 11 o’ clock for another story and a tidy up.

11am Story time
We all come together for a story on the carpet. This is followed by ‘tidy up’ time before we go outside.

11.15am Outside play
We go outside to the bigger garden where the children can play on the patio area on the cars and bikes and scooters and in the top garden where we have a rope swing, mud kitchen, climbing equipment and the shelter.

12pm Lunch
At 12 o clock we come in for lunch when we all sit down together to eat. Like snack this is a very social time which we all enjoy. Another short play in the garden follows on after lunch.

12.45pm Carpet time
We finish the session with a story and some songs including our ‘Goodbye’ song.

On a Tuesday and Wednesday there is the option for your child to stay for a longer school length day which finishes at 3pm. After a tidy up at 2.30 the children have some quiet time to reflect on the days activities and to enjoy some songs and stories.

Each child is allocated a ‘Key Person’. This member of staff will work closely with your child to support their learning and observe their progress.

A Learning Journal is used to collate any work your child has completed at Playgroup alongside observations from their Key Person. The Learning Journal is a wonderful record of your child’s time at Playgroup and parents are encouraged to look at it regularly. We also love to hear about any learning your child has done at home!

The Learning Journals are given to parents and guardians as a keepsake when their child leaves playgroup and contains photos, quotes and memories from your child’s journey at Bathampton Playgroup.