Castle Hill Pre-School

Books within easy reach, loose parts for imaginative play and a garden for exploration give Castle Hill Pre-School its character. This committee-run charity in Basingstoke puts children’s chosen activities and practical independence at the centre of its day. Its family lending service extends the reading opportunities beyond the setting.

At its October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective, with positive findings on support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and their developmental progress. The important qualification concerns conversation: adults sometimes supplied answers too quickly, limiting children’s opportunities to develop their own responses.

There are 30 places in total for children aged two to five. Attendance is term time, with full-day and shorter session options.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning and care: children develop language, friendships, physical skills and independence through play and everyday experiences. Castle Hill’s curriculum goals make that practical, linking storytelling with understanding books, everyday counting with recognising shapes, and self-care with eating, dressing and toileting.

Children choose activities, and the approach favours allowing their play to develop rather than repeatedly interrupting it for adult-directed tasks. Loose parts and natural materials give them resources whose use they can decide for themselves. Familiar everyday objects also support pretend play with friends, connecting imagination with experiences children already understand.

Reading has a physical presence throughout the provision, with books distributed across the spaces and a lending service for families. That makes sharing stories something children can encounter during play as well as continue at home. Participation in County Projects has covered Communication and Language and Literacy; the setting is also enrolled in the National Maths Championship programme.

In October 2024, children used a pretend café to practise early writing, taking orders with pens and clipboards. Stories and adults’ commentary on play supported language, although some questioning became too directive. The next step was to give children more thinking time and strengthen the conversations that extend vocabulary. For parents, this is a useful distinction: activities supplied reasons to communicate, but the adult response needed greater care.

Outdoor and Community Life

An expansive outdoor play zone gives physical exploration room. In October 2024, children built obstacle courses, practised balancing and jumped from equipment with encouragement. These experiences combined movement with learning to judge manageable risks.

Garden exploration also involved looking for insects with magnifying glasses, while daily feeding of the pre-school pets introduced responsibility for living things. Regular outings at that time took children to woods, parks and local shops, broadening the places and everyday experiences they could discuss. The learning extended beyond the playroom.

Relationships and Communication

Each child is assigned a key person before settling begins. Parents agree the settling plan with that practitioner and the manager, and a back-up practitioner is identified where possible. This gives families a clear first contact for developmental information and concerns, alongside an arrangement for continuity during absence.

Two introductory sessions allow a parent to attend with their child before the start date. The key person’s responsibilities include developmental records, the progress check at age two and sharing progress with parents. Observation of a child’s interests and achievements informs planning, so the relationship has an educational role as well as a care role.

In October 2024, communication combined digital updates with conversations at collection and drop-off. Practical independence was equally visible: children buttered toast, helped wash their crockery and managed food containers at lunchtime. School preparation here included doing everyday tasks for themselves, rather than only practising early literacy and number work.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND procedures bring parents, the key person and the SENCO or manager into decisions about additional support. Action plans specify interventions, resources and responsibilities, with reviews agreed at least termly. Where needs exceed the core funding, the procedure provides for an application to the local authority’s inclusion fund.

For more complex needs, the admissions process allows preparation for adjustments, training or a health care plan before a child starts. This makes the preparation period part of the joining discussion. Behaviour support similarly starts with understanding the child’s circumstances and agreeing changes with parents before progressing to specialist advice.

Practitioners working with children hold paediatric first aid qualifications. Allergy arrangements involve sharing individual needs with staff, discussing changes to procedures with parents and introducing an action plan when necessary. Dietary requirements are recorded with families, and snack menus identify food allergens.

Sessions and Attendance

The setting occupies the grounds of Fort Hill Site, Kenilworth Road, Basingstoke, RG23 8JQ. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, during term time; it closes for school holidays.

Full-day attendance runs from 9am to 3pm. Morning, early-afternoon and late-afternoon sessions are also offered, providing shorter attendance patterns alongside the full day. Applications enter a waiting list; completing a form does not guarantee a place. Its ordering starts with children’s birth order and may also consider funded entitlement, time waiting, proximity, siblings and the setting’s ability to meet individual needs.

Funding and Paid Extras

Fee-paying children and funded children attend. Accepted entitlements include HCC’s Early Years’ Education universal funding for three- and four-year-olds, its additional entitlement bringing eligible children’s funded hours to 30, and its 15-hour funding for two-year-olds. Attendance follows the term-time calendar. Additional private hours are charged separately, and current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Snacks are charged through a weekly consumables contribution, which also covers activities beyond the EYFS provision and sundries. This contribution applies alongside funded attendance, with exemptions for EYPP-funded families and children receiving two-year-old deprivation funding; families are automatically opted in, with an alternative discussed through management. The weekly contribution also covers activities beyond the EYFS provision.

The application carries a non-refundable administration charge. Fee-paying places require a deposit, refunded against the final invoice when attendance ends. At least one month’s notice is required to reduce hours or leave, and ordinary fees remain payable for absences caused by illness or holidays. These terms matter when comparing the total commitment, not just the hours attended.

• Conversation and number learning. The October 2024 improvement point concerned adults giving children enough time to answer. During a visit, ask how staff extend those conversations and what participation in National Maths Championship involves in the children’s day.
• Term-time fit. The weekday opening window ends at 3pm and school holidays are closed. Match the full-day or shorter session pattern to the childcare hours your household needs.
• Contribution and contract. Snacks, additional activities and sundries sit within the weekly contribution, with specified funding exemptions and an alternative arrangement. Consider these terms alongside the deposit, administration charge and notice period.
• Individual care preparation. Complex SEND can require adjustments before the start date, and allergy procedures can involve an individual action plan. Discuss the preparation timetable and confirm current allergy practice during the joining visit.

Castle Hill suits families seeking term-time full days or shorter morning and afternoon attendance, with play, reading and practical self-care shaping the experience. Books across the provision, the family lending service and outdoor exploration give that approach substance. The October 2024 findings support a positive assessment, while the conversation improvement point gives parents a precise aspect of practice to explore. The calendar and contribution terms are the practical considerations to weigh alongside it.