St Leonard's Pre-School, Oakley

Free-flow play between a learning room and outdoor space gives St Leonard's Pre-School, Oakley its character: children choose activities, while practitioners build further learning around their interests. This is a village pre-school with a broad Christian ethos and connections to the parish church. Its non-profit model and emphasis on friendship will appeal to families seeking a community setting.

There is capacity for 30 children aged two to five. At its July 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective. The practical offer is term-time attendance, with morning sessions, afternoon sessions and the option to combine them on Tuesdays to Fridays.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the required framework for learning and care, covering children's communication, movement, relationships and early understanding of numbers and the world. Here, play and short adult-led gatherings sit together: children can follow their interests indoors and outside, then take part in stories, singing and number activities. The framework is the foundation; the choices within the day give it shape.

Practitioners observe what interests children and use those observations to plan the next experiences. That gives children's own discoveries a role in what happens next, rather than making every activity depend on a fixed adult agenda. Access between the learning room and outdoor areas also gives children a choice of where to play.

In July 2024, hands-on exploration included dough work and a water tray. Manipulating dough exercised the fingers and hands needed for later writing, while conversations about objects sinking or floating introduced vocabulary through something children could test for themselves. Older children could remember earlier explanations and use them in discussion. These are useful examples of learning embedded in play rather than separated from it.

Spanish, cooking and physical activity added further variety in July 2024. Children had regular cooking lessons and opportunities to learn Spanish; weekly PE sessions also involved getting dressed independently. The frequency matters: cooking was regular, while PE had a weekly place in the routine. These experiences brought language, practical participation and self-care into the day alongside the core framework.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor space is part of the free-flow arrangement, giving children opportunities to move between inside and outside as they choose activities. St Leonard's also has links with the local parish church, consistent with its Christian ethos. Families who value that village connection have a clear point of reference when weighing the setting's character.

In July 2024, emergency-service visitors talked with children about their work. Meeting people who do different jobs made the wider world more concrete. This was an addition to everyday play, rather than a claim about a fixed programme of visits.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person who works with the family and pays attention to the child's emotional and social development. For parents, that provides an identified adult through whom to build a relationship and share what matters to their child. Settling is also individual: after an application has been received and a space reserved, a tailored transition plan is made for the child.

In July 2024, communication included everyday conversations and newsletters containing ideas for activities at home. Parent feedback had also influenced an earlier start option. The value is practical: exchanges about a child's day and ideas for home connect the two parts of their experience, while feedback can shape arrangements.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff collaborated with families and professionals to arrange timely SEND support and used additional funding effectively for learning resources. That is a dated finding about how support worked, rather than a blanket promise about every child's needs.

Current arrangements include safeguarding training for staff and the presence of someone trained in paediatric first aid whenever children attend. In July 2024, children also practised recognising emotions by looking at expressions in mirrors and matching them to face cards. This made feelings something they could identify and discuss, alongside adults modelling respectful behaviour.

School preparation was concrete in July 2024: the role-play area contained school uniform, and children rehearsed dressing and packing a school bag. Familiar everyday actions offered a way to explore the change ahead. This was preparation for school life, with no admissions advantage implied.

Sessions and Attendance

St Leonard's operates during term time. Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, Monday to Friday; afternoon sessions run from noon to 3pm, Tuesday to Friday. Children can stay for both sessions on those latter days, making the offer useful for either a shorter session or a combined day.

An additional early morning session runs from 8.30am to 9am each day. This is a separate attendance option before the main morning session. Half-term and school-holiday breaks interrupt the term-time pattern, and the pre-school also closes for staff-training days.

Applications use a form, obtainable electronically or as a paper copy from the setting. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email. The address is St Leonard's Centre, Rectory Road, Oakley, Basingstoke, RG23 7ED.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded provision includes 15 Hours of Free Preschool Education from the term after a child's third birthday, 30 Hours of Free Preschool Education for eligible families, and Places for Funded 2-Year-Olds. These entitlements sit within the term-time offer; eligibility for the extended entitlement is conditional.

Private attendance is charged by the hour or session, with payment due at the beginning of each term. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees page explains the funding categories and payment structure. Children attending both sessions on Tuesdays to Fridays are encouraged to bring a packed lunch, so families provide that meal. Parents bring nappies and wipes if needed, plus sun cream seasonally.

• Younger children's group time. In July 2024, some adult-led activities lasted too long for younger children, who lost interest. During a visit, ask how group activities are now adapted for a child starting at two.
• Mathematics in everyday play. The July 2024 improvement priorities included building every practitioner's confidence in teaching mathematics. Ask for examples of how staff now extend number and mathematical language during children's chosen activities.
• Term-time planning. Monday has a morning session only, while afternoon attendance runs Tuesday to Friday. Families needing care across holidays or on Monday afternoons will need to account for those boundaries.
• Your child's written quotation. Funded entitlements and privately paid sessions sit alongside a packed-lunch arrangement for combined days. Ask how parent-supplied nappies, wipes and seasonal sun cream fit within your child's funded-hours terms.

St Leonard's suits families looking for morning or afternoon pre-school sessions, as well as those wanting to combine sessions on Tuesdays to Fridays during term time. Free-flow indoor and outdoor play, an individual key-person relationship and a tailored start give the offer a clear shape. The July 2024 findings add useful examples of Spanish, cooking and practical school preparation, while the mathematics and younger-child group-time priorities deserve direct attention when choosing it.