Hadleigh Parkside Pre-school

A tortoise called Stan, daily sound games and a bear that spends weekends with children give Hadleigh Parkside Pre-school a character beyond its timetable. Play follows children’s interests, while shared stories, group activities and animal care bring structure to the day. This is a setting where children have choices: they can move between indoor and outdoor play and help select the story everyone hears.

On Pykenham Way in Hadleigh, Parkside cares for children from 18 months to four years and has 26 places in total. Ofsted rated it Good at its June 2021 inspection. The current offer combines morning and afternoon sessions with an opening day that runs from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play, with staff building activities around children’s development and interests. Parkside also uses Development Matters to inform its work. Its curriculum gives books and early sound work a central role, alongside practical learning about independence, movement and caring for oneself.

Super Sounds is the daily pre-phonics programme, combining a story, a game and a song. Children also vote for a book to share. These are two different kinds of participation: a planned introduction to sounds and a chance to influence the group’s reading. Carpet time includes the weather, calendar and a monthly sign, connecting language with familiar daily experiences.

Free play occupies substantial parts of the routine. Staff offer activities based on children’s interests, join their play and use observations to plan what comes next. Shared activity time is adapted for different ages, sometimes with separate age groups, and includes concentration, sharing and taking turns. School preparation therefore sits within ordinary social experiences rather than replacing play.

Outdoor and Community Life

Garden doors support movement between activities indoors and outside. Allotment visits, cooking and craft activities are included among experiences taking place weekly or monthly; the timetable remains flexible around children’s interests. The useful distinction is between recurring experiences and a fixed daily schedule: children have both planned opportunities and room to follow their own ideas.

Forest school adds learning in nature, with exploration and care for the environment. An adjoining outdoor learning area is being developed with help from the local council and Hadleigh Environmental Action Team. That development is ongoing, so it belongs in the account as a project rather than a completed facility.

Animal care provides another practical thread. Stan lives at the pre-school, and children find leaves for him and help care for giant African land snails. Eggs are hatched annually, with ducks and chickens among the animals children have watched develop. This gives them something living to observe over time, alongside the shorter activities of the day.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who works with the family on their needs and interests and helps them settle when they start. That relationship changes as children move into the next age group. For parents, the important feature is a clear person responsible for connecting care at home with care in the setting.

Eylog is the online learning journal and communication system. Staff can share photographs, video and voice recordings of observations, and parents can access their child’s journal. It gives families specific material to discuss rather than relying entirely on a brief conversation at collection.

Parker Bear extends that connection in a more playful way. A different child takes him home each weekend, photographs are displayed, and children talk about their adventures. Familiar experiences from home become something to share with the group.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SEND provision includes three SENDCo-trained staff and experience of working with outside agencies. Families can discuss concerns with the setting’s SENCOs, who help with information and contact with relevant services. These are concrete support mechanisms rather than a promise that every child will need the same approach.

A wellbeing lead supports children, families and staff, and mindfulness activities form part of the daily routine. Toilet-training support is adapted to the child and family. Online access is also governed by supervision and restrictions, with children encouraged to tell an adult if something upsets them.

The menu changes each term and uses seasonal produce; breakfast is included at breakfast club, while lunchbox guidance covers food brought from home. Parkside has a no-nuts policy for lunches, including spreads containing nuts.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning children start at 9am, and afternoon children join at noon. The routine includes breakfast club from 8am and continues through quieter late-day activities to the 6pm finish. These starting points matter for families fitting care around different working patterns, rather than treating the opening window as a single attendance requirement.

Parkside opens for 50 weeks each year. Its weekday hours are 8am to 6pm, with weekends and bank holidays closed. Uniform can be purchased, but wearing it is optional.

Getting There

The address is Pykenham Way, Hadleigh, Suffolk IP7 5ER. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01473 827702 or by email to office@hadleighparksidepre-school.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Parkside accepts all government-funded hours, allows flexible use and can stretch funding where required. Tax Free Childcare payments are also accepted. Families should obtain current prices in a written quotation, with the funded attendance arrangement and any paid hours set out together; the funding and fees page explains the funding options.

Practical school preparation includes activities developing concentration, sharing and turn-taking. For school applications, Parkside directs families to Suffolk County Council’s application route. Preparation for the next stage and applying for a place are separate tasks.

• Session fit. Morning attendance begins at 9am and the afternoon starts at noon, within an 8am to 6pm opening day. At a visit, discuss how those starting points fit the attendance pattern you need.
• Changing key person. Children move to a different key person as they enter the next age group. Ask how the handover works, especially if your child takes time to build familiar relationships.
• Outdoor development. The adjoining Forest school project is ongoing. Ask which parts children currently use and how activities are organised while development continues.
• Lunches and allergies. Lunchbox guidance includes a no-nuts policy. Families managing allergies should confirm current food arrangements and how individual requirements are handled.

Parkside suits families seeking morning or afternoon attendance, with care extending across a longer weekday opening window. Its clearest appeal is the combination of child-led play and specific shared experiences: Super Sounds, animal care and Parker Bear each bring a different way to participate. Key-person support and Eylog connect families to that daily life, while flexible and stretched funding can help shape the practical arrangement.