Hartest Pre-School

A purpose-built timber building, an interactive garden and space on the grounds of Hartest Primary School give Hartest Pre-School a clear village character. This is a committee-run setting in Hartest, Suffolk, with capacity for 24 children. Its appeal lies in the combination of outdoor spaces and key-person procedures that connect families with the adults caring for their children.

Ofsted rated the setting Good on 30 November 2022 and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. That judgement is a dated assessment, with useful detail beneath it: children investigated materials, built garden structures and chose books to borrow, while the improvement priority concerned more consistent challenge in mathematics.

Sessions cater for two-, three- and four-year-olds; children aged 20 to 24 months are accepted only if they receive government funding. Attendance is term-time, with morning, afternoon and full-day options. That makes the calendar as important a decision as the daily timetable.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning and care: children develop communication and social skills through play and everyday routines. Key-person planning uses each child's interests and achievements to decide what comes next.

In November 2022, language work ran through ordinary play. Staff supplied unfamiliar vocabulary during conversations and talked about what children were doing, giving them words to explain their ideas. Stories also invited participation: adults asked questions, and children shared books with one another. A lending library let children choose something to take home, extending the connection between reading at the setting and reading with family.

At that visit, children counted snack items and compared quantities while pouring drinks. Staff did not consistently extend their mathematical thinking: everyday counting opportunities needed more challenge.

Outdoor and Community Life

The interactive garden is complemented by access to the school's playground, field and forest schools area, giving children several outdoor spaces to use. The building uses sustainable timber and environmentally friendly materials.

In November 2022, children used guttering and milk crates to create a garden bridge, then worked through construction problems with staff. Magnifying glasses supported investigations of insects and slugs, while conversations about spiders and flies encouraged comparison. These examples show outdoor play doing more than providing fresh air: materials, living things and children's own questions became starting points for thinking and language.

Little Deers Baby & Toddler Group provides a separate community activity at Hartest Institute, The Green, Hartest, IP29 4DH. It runs on term-time Mondays from 9.30am to 11.30am for children aged zero to five, with a changing weekly theme, crafts, stories and singing. Families can attend without booking. It is a separate group, so its age range and arrangements should not be confused with a preschool place.

Relationships and Communication

Each child receives a key person before settling begins. Parents and staff agree a settling plan, and the policy aims to match early attendance to the key person's working pattern where possible. A backup adult is identified where possible and builds familiarity gradually. This gives families a named role to turn to and recognises that a second trusted relationship takes time to develop.

The key person manages developmental records and shares progress with parents. For the progress check at age two, observations are brought together to identify strengths, concerns and proposed action; both parents should be involved, including a parent who lives separately from the child. The purpose is practical: families should understand what their child is doing well and what support comes next.

Present and former parents and carers form the committee overseeing the preschool and fundraising. Staff experience includes early-years and early-childhood degrees and a background in SEND support.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2022 inspection, Ofsted found SEND support a strength, with the SENCo acting promptly, working with parents and professionals and using referral routes to obtain help. Current procedures set out how concerns move from initial adjustments to a more detailed action plan or external referral. Parents contribute to decisions, and an agreed review takes place at least termly, giving support a point at which to be reassessed.

Admissions procedures also address preparations before a child with more complex SEND starts. These can include training, risk assessments and a health care plan, with a realistic timetable shared with the family. Where core funding cannot meet a child's needs, the procedures provide for an inclusion-funding application. This is a mechanism for planning support, rather than a blanket assurance that every arrangement is immediately ready.

Behaviour support centres on understanding the child and involving the key person. Minor disagreements become opportunities to practise managing feelings and resolving difficulties. If concerns continue, staff work with parents to identify triggers and agree support; specialist advice can follow. The policy rules out punitive isolation and humiliation, and allows a quieter space to help a distressed child calm down.

In November 2022, children practised independence by preparing snacks, pouring drinks and using cutlery at lunch. Current toileting procedures encourage children to manage what they can themselves. Parents supply nappies or pull-ups and changing wipes in the child's bag, with spare clothing encouraged during potty training.

Sessions and Attendance

Hartest Pre-School is at The Row, Hartest, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP29 4DL. Morning sessions run from 8.30am to 11.30am, afternoons from 12.30pm to 4pm, and full days from 8.30am to 4pm. A morning with lunch runs from 8.30am to 12.30pm; Lunch Club occupies 11.30am to 12.30pm. The choice allows a shorter morning, an afternoon or a full day within the same term-time setting.

Two sessions a week are recommended to support settling, rather than imposed as a minimum booking requirement. The preschool's term dates can differ from Hartest Primary School's, so families coordinating children at both settings need to plan around the separate calendars. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, and visits can be booked through those routes.

Funding and Paid Extras

The setting accepts 15 or 30 hour government funding for two-, three- and four-year-olds across its term-time sessions. Admission at 20 to 24 months requires government funding.

Paid sessions are also offered. Paid session prices and attendance choices are set out on the prices and opening times page. Parents provide their child's nappies or pull-ups and wipes. Collection arrangements need attention too: late collection without prior consent attracts a charge, and the policy allows charges for additional hours worked depending on the circumstances.

Moving on to School

The preschool occupies grounds shared with Hartest Primary School and describes a close relationship with its staff. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; families still use the local authority admissions process. The shared site is therefore a practical connection, not an admissions entitlement.

Transition procedures welcome receiving teachers to meet children and speak with key persons. Learning records are passed to the school, parents receive a copy, and additional-needs plans are shared where applicable. This gives the next setting information about the child beyond a first introduction.

• Mathematical challenge. In November 2022, the improvement priority was consistency in stretching children's mathematics. During a visit, ask how staff now extend a child who already counts confidently or solves a simple problem.
• Term-time coordination. Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance all sit within a term-time model, and preschool dates can differ from Hartest Primary School's. Families with siblings at the school need to account for both calendars.
• Younger starters and supplies. Admission at 20 to 24 months depends on government funding, and parents provide nappies or pull-ups and wipes. Ask how meals and snacks are arranged and charged for your chosen pattern.
• Settling and additional needs. Two weekly sessions are recommended, and a key person is allocated before settling. For a child needing adjustments, use the visit to discuss the settling plan and any preparations needed before the start date.

Hartest suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions as well as those wanting a full day. Its timber building, garden and access to school outdoor spaces give the setting a recognisable physical identity; key-person planning and detailed SEND procedures give parents concrete arrangements to consider.

The November 2022 assessment provides a positive quality reference, balanced by a specific mathematics improvement priority. The strongest fit is for families comfortable with a term-time calendar who value outdoor spaces, key-person planning and involvement in a parent-linked committee setting.