Pre-School On The Marsh CIC

A pack-away preschool beside Stanpit Marsh Nature Reserve gives this setting a clear identity: play in the scout hut, a garden children can move into freely, and optional Forest School built around exploration in a natural setting. Pre-School On The Marsh CIC operates from Mudeford Scout Hut in Christchurch. Its community interest company structure means it runs as a not-for-profit service for the local community.

At its November 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective, with effective support helping children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to make progress. The useful balance is between that positive judgement and two teaching improvements: allowing more thinking time during questions and making responses to challenging behaviour more consistent.

Children can attend from two until five or when they start school, and the setting has 28 places in total. Attendance is term-time, with morning, afternoon and full-day choices plus earlier starts and later collections.

Rooms and Ages

The youngest children's space deserves attention: Marshling’s Area, for under-threes, has a cap of eight children per session and is arranged afresh around the needs and abilities of those attending.

For over-threes, Pre-School Area combines construction, pretend-home play, reading and creative activities in smaller learning zones, with direct access to the garden.

The garden includes a mud kitchen, and open back doors allow children to choose between indoor and outdoor play. Outdoor access is therefore part of the ordinary preschool offer as well as the separately booked woodland sessions.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage (E.Y.F.S) provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, construction, mark making and reading give children practical ways to explore ideas and language; in November 2023, activities also developed physical coordination and everyday independence.

In November 2023, staff planned around their key children's needs and shared those plans across the team. Children chose activities while staff helped them take their learning further.

Practical tasks also featured at that time. Older children used hammers to put nails into pumpkins, while younger children tried balancing along a slackline between trees. These examples show how hands-on play brought fine movement, balance and managing risk into children's activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School centres on child-led exploration and play outdoors. Its possible activities include making dens, investigating nature, fires and cooking, working with tools, pond dipping and crabbing, with activities adjusted to participants' experience and ability.

A fenced woodland space behind the Stanpit Marsh visitors centre provides a base for activities beside Stanpit Marsh Nature Reserve. Sessions run on Tuesday and Thursday mornings during term time. The woodland has no indoor shelter, so strong winds can lead to cancellation; that has practical consequences for families relying on a particular morning's attendance.

Regular walks on the marsh also feature in preschool life. Annual events include an Easter egg hunt, an end-of-year Celebration day and a Christmas concert/nativity. These give children shared occasions across the year, alongside parent involvement days that bring families into the group's activities.

A personal Keyworker supports each child, giving families an identified adult around whom to build communication. The staff structure also includes a SENCO role and Forest School leaders.

At the November 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked with families and other agencies to coordinate SEND support, adapted learning around children's interests and shared detailed information with parents to help keep support consistent. For some children, outdoor experiences also helped with managing emotions.

In November 2023, independence was built into everyday routines: children served food, poured drinks and helped distribute cups. Handwashing outdoors also gave them a task they could manage themselves.

Meals and snacks use fresh ingredients and are mostly homemade, with provision for different dietary requirements; water is accessible indoors and outdoors, and milk is offered at snack time. Lunch and snacks carry separate charges, although families may instead supply prepared fruit for their child's snack.

There was also a clear teaching limitation in November 2023. Some less experienced practitioners moved too quickly from one question to the next, leaving children insufficient time to think, and responses to challenging behaviour did not always explain how actions affected other people.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Scout Hut, Stanpit, Christchurch, BH23 3ND. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm, during term time.

Morning Session runs from 9.15am to 12.15pm, Afternoon Session from 12.15pm to 3.15pm, and Full Day from 9.15am to 3.15pm. A 9am to 3pm full-day option also features in the fee structure. Earlier starts include 8am with breakfast and 8.45am; later collection options include 3.30pm and 4pm. Morning attendance can also be extended with Lunch Club Session, running from 12.15pm to 1.15pm.

Bookings use a booking form, and enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email or by telephone. Booked hours remain payable when a child does not attend, invoices are issued by email and payment is monthly in advance. Ending a booking requires five weeks' notice counted in term time, an important distinction when planning a change around holidays.

Forest School has its own joining rules. Children must already attend at least two preschool sessions before adding it as their third, and the annual intake is in September. They must be three and fully toilet trained before the autumn term begins. A waiting list operates for this programme.

Getting There

The setting sits at the edge of Stanpit Marsh in Christchurch, with free parking within two minutes of the building.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is accepted for two-year-olds and three- and four-year-olds, alongside working families funding, with delivery during term time. Two-year-old funding requires a valid code when booking, and working families funding also requires a valid code; hours beyond the two-year-old entitlement and requested optional services are charged separately. The universal three- and four-year-old entitlement begins in the term after a child's third birthday.

Funding does not absorb the extra costs. For funded attendance, snacks and lunches are charged separately, with lunch charged for afternoon and full-day bookings; consumable charges also apply to funded hours, subject to special conditions. Prepared fruit from home is an alternative to the snack contribution. Children eligible for Early Years Pupil Premium are exempt from that contribution, while lunch charges still apply if they book afternoon or full-day sessions.

Enrichment can be paid for individually or through a monthly opt-in arrangement. Examples include trips, seasonal activities and Forest School. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the sessions and funding page explains the core arrangements.

A deposit applies to future reservations and is refunded once the child starts; it is retained if the reserved hours are never started, and immediate starts require no deposit. Children receiving early education funding have no booking fee, but a completed funding agreement is required.

• Forest School entry and weather. The September intake requires children to be three and fully toilet trained, with two preschool sessions already booked. Strong winds can cancel woodland attendance. Discuss how those conditions fit your child's readiness and your care arrangements.
• Teaching consistency. November 2023 brought two improvement priorities: more time for children to answer questions and clearer, more consistent explanations around behaviour. During a visit, ask how staff now put those changes into practice.
• Term-time commitments. Attendance follows term time, and ending a booking needs five term-time weeks' notice. Families should weigh the holiday calendar and notice period against their working arrangements.
• Funded extras and dietary needs. Funded hours carry consumable charges, while lunch, snacks and optional enrichment have separate arrangements. Families managing allergies should discuss current food practice, and everyone should establish which extras their chosen sessions involve before booking.

Pre-School On The Marsh CIC suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, with optional extensions around the core day. Its appeal is concrete: a small youngest-child area, freely accessible garden play, marsh walks and a woodland programme with a clearly defined entry route.

The November 2023 Good judgement supports that appeal, while the teaching improvements deserve a practical conversation. Forest School's conditions, weather exposure and separate charges also make it a considered choice. For families whose timetable fits, this is a recognisable community preschool with outdoor experiences woven through its offer.