St John's Church Pre-school Nursery

A take-home activity bag, a photograph of the key person and an online learning journal give St John's Church Pre-school Nursery a practical emphasis on the connection between home and nursery. Its Christian values centre on respect for individuals, while children are encouraged to tackle manageable challenges and explore their community. This is a church-based setting in Parkstone, Poole, with capacity for 60 children aged two to five.

At its April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). There were also two clear improvement priorities: more responsive emotional support for younger and newly enrolled children, and stronger teaching during activities children choose themselves. Those points matter alongside the grade.

Attendance can be arranged as full days, half days or sessional care, during term time.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and development: children encounter activities across its areas of learning, rather than spending their day on a single skill. Alongside this, the nursery encourages children to judge manageable risks and solve problems. The emphasis is on having a go and developing confidence through experience.

In April 2025, younger children worked with tools and play dough, while older children experimented with moving tyres and getting them up a small slide. These were hands-on challenges with different demands: manipulating materials for the younger children, and persistence with a physical task for the older ones. A home corner gave younger children opportunities to pretend to prepare food for other people.

At the April 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that small-group language teaching was effective, including for quieter children, but that teaching during free play did not consistently stretch learning enough. Practitioners demonstrated vocabulary, revisited words and helped with pronunciation in the small groups. For parents, the distinction is useful: planned group work was a strength, while the learning conversations around children's own choices needed greater consistency.

Outdoor and Community Life

Secure outdoor areas support play beyond the indoor activities. Children use the garden for digging and planting, with wellingtons among the items families supply. In April 2025, older children spent sustained periods tending strawberry plants in the growing garden. That gives a concrete example of an activity requiring care and attention rather than a quick change between toys.

Educational visits take children into the surrounding community and farther afield. Parents may be invited to help on these outings. The Breakfast Café also gives families a morning space to spend time together under cover, using the Church on Monday to Thursday and the Front Hall on Friday. Its value is social as well as practical: parents and carers have an opportunity to get to know one another.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person, and settling sessions introduce that relationship before regular attendance begins. The Start Out bag extends the process at home: it contains an activity to share and a photograph of the practitioner, helping families keep that person familiar between sessions. Settling therefore includes something concrete to use outside nursery.

Tapestry is the online journal used to record children's development, with parents able to access it. Informal conversations with the key person provide another route for sharing achievements or information affecting a child's wellbeing. The combination gives families both a continuing record and opportunities for everyday discussion.

In April 2025, children approached staff for assistance and showed them what they had achieved. However, routine duties sometimes occupied practitioners when younger children or newcomers needed comfort, leaving some children distressed. This is a specific concern about responsiveness during the day, rather than a reason to overlook the settling arrangements.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The team includes a SENCO role and a safeguarding and children's welfare co-ordinator. In April 2025, practitioners used observations and assessment to identify developmental gaps, then worked with families and professionals on support suited to the child. These are concrete mechanisms for responding to individual needs.

Nappy-changing facilities and help with toilet training are part of the offer. In April 2025, children practised everyday self-care, including dealing with tissues independently, and older children practised toothbrushing daily. Learning to manage these small tasks makes preparation for school about practical independence as well as language and concentration.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 384 Ashley Road, Parkstone, Poole, BH14 0AA. Opening hours are 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, during term time; the nursery closes for school holidays. Full-day, half-day and sessional arrangements are offered, and a session has a minimum duration of three hours.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01202 740261 or through the contact form, which allows families to choose a telephone or email response. Fees are paid ahead of attendance, and the enrolment agreement requires a commitment to at least four weeks' fees in advance. Reducing agreed sessions requires four weeks' written notice; otherwise the affected sessions remain chargeable. Charges also continue during absence, including illness and holidays.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for two-, three- and four-year-olds. The maximum entitlement is either 15 or 30 hours per week for 38 weeks per year; entitlement following a child's third birthday starts the following term. Additional hours and sundries carry charges, with families notified before each term. Families should obtain a current written quotation covering their chosen attendance arrangement.

Snacks are supplied during the morning and afternoon; children staying for lunch bring a packed lunch, and the lunchbox policy excludes nuts and nut products, chocolate and sweets. Families also supply any required pull-ups, wipes and creams, together with sun cream for warmer weather; applying it requires written permission.

Getting There

The car park has marked spaces, and families are instructed to use the white-lined bays. Care around children is an explicit part of the parking instructions.

• Support during settling. In April 2025, routine tasks sometimes interrupted emotional support for younger children and newcomers. On a visit, ask how staff now organise those duties while a child needs reassurance.
• Learning during free play. The April 2025 improvement priority concerned extending learning during children's own activities. Ask for an example of how practitioners develop a child's chosen play beyond the initial idea.
• Term-time commitments. School-holiday closure and advance payment need to fit the family's calendar. Four weeks' written notice is required when reducing agreed sessions, and absence does not remove the charge.
• Packed lunches and allergies. Lunch comes from home, and the lunchbox rules exclude nuts and nut products. Families managing allergies should confirm current practice for snacks, lunch storage and serving.

St John's suits families seeking either full-day attendance or shorter half-day and sessional arrangements within a term-time calendar. The key-person settling activities, Tapestry journal and practical self-care work give it a recognisable character. The balance is clear: small-group learning and individual support earned positive inspection findings, while emotional responsiveness for younger newcomers and teaching during free play remain the specific issues to explore on a visit.