Springwell Pre School

Two large playrooms, child-sized toilets and a secure outdoor playspace give Springwell Pre School a practical identity: early education for children aged two to four within Whetstone Baptist Church. Play takes place in a purpose-designed children’s area. The setting has 42 places in total.

At its 6 June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Springwell Good and found effective safeguarding, supportive provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and positive language development. There were also clear improvements to make: stronger teaching outside and more consistent help for younger children in understanding boundaries. Those points matter alongside the grade.

Christian character is explicit in the play-based offer, and a Nativity service forms part of pre-school life. For families, this is both an educational choice and a choice about the setting’s religious context.

Rooms and Ages

The Spring and Summer Term 2023 arrangements identified a 2-3 year-old’s room and a 3-4 year-old’s room. The physical layout comprises two large rooms linked to a secure outdoor playspace, with child-sized toilets in each. Having facilities scaled to children supports the everyday work of becoming more independent.

Sessions combine activities chosen by children with adult-led experiences, alongside active and creative play, a snack and quieter time. That gives the day changes of pace: children can pursue an interest, join something planned by staff, then pause rather than remain constantly busy.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and development, covering communication, relationships and physical development alongside areas such as mathematics and literacy. Here, children encounter those areas through play: chalking and painting support early writing, construction develops coordination, and water or playdough introduces sensory exploration and mathematical ideas.

Springwell also follows The Curiosity Approach, an approach centred on children’s curiosity and exploration. Its curriculum links staff practice in physical development to involvement in Active Bean Club, a Blaby District Council programme, and separately to the Parent Play Project. These are identified as influences on staff practice, rather than a promise of a particular weekly club timetable.

In June 2024, staff used dinosaur play to explore the size of an opening in a sand-built home, while younger children counted towers of bricks. Mathematics therefore emerged from something children were already doing. Adults also added vocabulary during play, connecting conversation with children’s interests rather than treating language as a separate exercise.

Outdoor and Community Life

An annual Sports Morning gives physical activity a shared occasion, while community visitors include firefighters, police officers and the school crossing patrol. These encounters bring familiar public roles into children’s learning. Stay & Play sessions also give parents opportunities to join pre-school activities.

In June 2024, outdoor experiences included balancing on walking beams, using a climbing frame and digging with spades and toy trucks. Children also visited local parks and handled visiting animals. These experiences extended movement and exploration beyond tabletop activities, although the teaching outside needed to do more to extend what children already understood.

Relationships and Communication

In June 2024, children sought reassurance from staff and settled into familiar activities. Practitioners observed their play to decide what to introduce next, making knowledge of the individual child part of planning. Parents received updates through conversations, coffee mornings and opportunities to play alongside their children.

Basic Makaton signing is used by staff, adding signs to spoken communication. Staff also undertake safeguarding and paediatric first-aid training. These training arrangements support staff’s work in daily care.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that special educational needs coordinators worked with families and other professionals to support children’s development, while staff also supported children learning English as an additional language. The useful detail is the collaboration: support involved people beyond the immediate staff team and the family.

Preparation for school included contact with teachers and practice in dressing, toileting and handwashing in June 2024. Children could borrow books for reading at home, linking shared stories at pre-school with family life. These are concrete ways of supporting the move towards greater independence and participation in school routines.

Sessions and Attendance

The Spring and Summer Term 2023 booking pattern comprised morning sessions from 9am to noon and afternoon sessions from noon to 3pm, Monday to Friday, with some full-day bookings also offered. Those times describe that dated arrangement. In June 2024, opening hours were 9am to 3pm on weekdays, during term time.

The pre-school enquiry telephone number is 0116 303 2280, and there is an online contact form. Messages are handled during weekday office hours of 9am to 3pm.

Getting There

The address is Whetstone Baptist Church, Springwell, Dog and Gun Lane, Whetstone, LE8 6LJ. Onsite parking includes spaces for people with reduced mobility; parking on Dog and Gun Lane or Cambridge Road is prohibited.

The Arriva 84 connects the site with Leicester, Glen Parva and Blaby via the Springwell Lane stop. In the other direction, services from Lutterworth, Broughton Astley and Cosby stop before Otter Way on Dog and Gun Lane.

Funding and Paid Extras

Springwell offers Government funding (FEEE) for up to 15 hours weekly from the term after a child’s third birthday, with funding for two-year-olds subject to qualifying criteria. Unfunded attendance is also offered. Current prices come in the pre-school’s written quotation.

Springwell describes partnerships with St. Peter’s Primary School (Church of England Aided) and Badgerbrook Primary School to help children move on to school. Attendance does not guarantee a school place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Outdoor teaching. In June 2024, activities outside did not consistently extend children’s knowledge and skills. On a visit, look at how adults develop the play as well as the equipment children use.
• Younger children’s boundaries. In June 2024, reminders about expectations and the effects of children’s actions were inconsistent, contributing to occasional disruption. Ask how staff help the youngest children understand and practise the rules.
• Attendance and everyday costs. The timed session pattern above belongs to Spring and Summer Term 2023. Which sessions now fit your week, how is funded attendance arranged, and who supplies or pays for snacks, meals and consumables?
• Christian character. Play-based learning takes place in a Christian setting and includes a Nativity service. Consider how that context fits your family’s preferences.

Springwell merits consideration for families seeking play-based early education with an explicit Christian context, practical facilities for independence and opportunities to involve parents. Its dated attendance offer serves both morning and afternoon session users, as well as families combining sessions into full days.

The Good judgement has substance beneath it: language work, individual observation and collaboration around additional needs. The balance is equally specific. Outdoor teaching and support for younger children’s boundaries were the areas needing further attention in June 2024, making those useful priorities when assessing the fit for your child.