Holy Apostles Pre-School

A pavilion overlooking playing fields, raised planting beds and a mud kitchen give Holy Apostles Pre-School a recognisable character: practical play, outdoor exploration and growing independence. Based in the grounds of Holy Apostles’ Primary School in Cheltenham, it combines a school-site setting with the everyday scale of a pre-school. Children can build, dress up, make stories and follow seeds through to harvest. There is plenty to do with hands as well as words.

At its March 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective, with communication, independence and engagement in learning prominent in its findings. Two improvements matter for families: teaching children more about safe technology use and sharing fuller information with schools before children move on.

The pre-school welcomes children aged two to four and has 24 places in total. Attendance is term-time only, with morning, afternoon and combined sessions. Its setting will appeal to families who want early education organised around the school calendar, rather than childcare through the holidays.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop language, relationships, physical skills and early understanding through play. Here, that takes concrete forms such as construction, painting, puzzles, water play and making stories. Afternoon sessions put an emphasis on language, literacy and solving number problems, giving families a useful distinction between the attendance patterns.

Story-making goes beyond listening to a book. Children create story maps and invent actions to accompany their stories, linking spoken language with movement and sequence. A home corner and dressing-up trolley provide materials for pretend play, while a book corner gives children somewhere quieter. Creative resources remain accessible during sessions so children can choose materials for their own artwork. The arrangement makes choice part of the day.

In March 2025, younger children explored shape and number by sorting, matching and counting blocks in their constructions. Older children practised managing their own coats and gathering their possessions. Staff used conversations during play to extend vocabulary; a pirate theme brought together map-making, homemade telescopes and words such as compass. These were everyday examples of language and independence being practised together.

Music also featured in March 2025, with visiting professionals leading group sessions. Children contributed ideas and joined songs and actions alongside staff. The computer, digital camera and iPads offer other ways to explore and create, although the March 2025 improvement point about internet use and screen time deserves attention alongside those resources.

Outdoor and Community Life

Raised planting beds let children sow, watch growth and harvest crops to take home. This gives understanding of the natural world a visible sequence, rather than leaving it as a topic in a book. The mud kitchen supplies water, mud, bowls and utensils for mixing and making. It is an outdoor space designed for doing.

Construction extends outside too, using life-size foam bricks and stones for dry-stone wall building. Number work can involve counting fir cones or measuring walls; balls, hoops, bats and beanbags give children opportunities to practise coordination. Indoor and outdoor activities mirror one another, allowing children to choose where to explore when outdoor play is possible.

The pavilion sits at the rear of the school, looking across playing fields. A wellie store supports outdoor play across different weather conditions, and families provide coats, hats and suitable clothing. In March 2025, outdoor equipment also included a pirate ship, a sliding pole and balance beams, with staff helping children judge when to proceed safely. Physical challenge had a practical place in the learning day.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person, giving families a consistent staff relationship for discussing development and daily concerns. Where possible, the same practitioner is assigned to younger siblings later attending the setting. An ABOUT ME page gathers information before or at the first session, helping staff understand the child beyond what they see during play.

Interactive Learning Diary is the electronic system for recording development and planning next steps. Parents receive access to their child’s diary and can contribute observations from home, so communication runs both ways. A whiteboard in the main playroom also invites families to share current interests for staff to incorporate into activities. That is a simple route from home enthusiasm to pre-school learning.

Development meetings take place twice a year, in November and February or March, with a short written progress summary. Families also receive a report covering the areas of learning when their child leaves. In March 2025, induction conversations explored children’s routines and earlier experiences, while daily exchanges, online updates and termly report cards maintained contact afterwards.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A co-manager holds the special educational needs coordinator role, providing an identified point of contact for additional support. At the March 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified emerging learning gaps, involved other professionals when needed and reviewed support plans with parents. Those mechanisms matter more than a broad promise that every need will be met.

All staff have paediatric first-aid training. Families are asked to explain allergies, medical conditions and dietary requirements, and to provide spare clothes and any nappies or wipes their child needs. Toileting support sits within the routine: parents tell staff when potty training begins and pack additional clothing.

Parents supply morning snacks and afternoon packed lunches; water and free milk are supplied during the day, and the pre-school has a no-nut policy. Managing a lunchbox is treated as another step towards independence, while shared eating offers time for conversation.

School preparation includes practical habits as well as learning. In March 2025, children practised recognising their names, personal care and looking after belongings, and visited the school playground to become familiar with it. Information exchange about routines and earlier learning needed strengthening, so familiarity with the surroundings should be considered alongside the quality of the handover.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Holy Apostles C of E School, Battledown Approach, Cheltenham, GL52 6QZ. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, afternoons from noon to 3pm, and children can attend from 9am to 3pm by combining both sessions. This gives families a shorter-session option as well as a complete pre-school day.

The minimum attendance is two sessions each week, subject to availability. Applications and requests to alter sessions are made in writing, and applications are handled in receipt order. Applications begin from September before the academic year in which the child is due to start. The admissions policy requires one month’s notice for leaving or changing sessions.

Enrolled children can request extra ad-hoc sessions beyond their regular pattern, subject to availability and staffing ratios. Term dates follow Holy Apostles Primary School, including inset days, so those closures form part of family planning. General enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 07587965983.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use the 15-hour and 30-hour government-funded childcare entitlements during standard sessions, on the pre-school’s term-time timetable. Parents or carers make the funding application, and funded hours attract neither additional fees nor voluntary contributions. Private hours outside the entitlement are also offered; current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

For funded and private attendance, families provide snacks, packed lunches and consumables such as nappies and suncream; wipes are also brought from home when needed. The dates and fees page sets out the charging arrangements without an additional-fee supplement.

Getting There

Parking is on the roads outside the school and is free; parents cannot use the staff car park. An undercover buggy park can hold buggies and scooters, left at the owner’s risk.

The school-site setting does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply through the local authority admissions process, separately from arranging pre-school attendance.

• School-calendar childcare. Term-time attendance follows the primary school’s dates, including inset days. Families needing holiday childcare will need to plan around these closures.
• Technology and school handover. In March 2025, teaching about screen time and internet risks, and sharing children’s routines and learning with schools, both needed strengthening. At a visit, ask what has changed in these two areas.
• A regular starting pattern. The minimum is two sessions weekly, subject to availability, and session changes require one month’s notice. Discuss how the proposed morning, afternoon or combined pattern will work during your child’s settling period.
• Food and allergies. Families prepare snacks and packed lunches within the no-nut policy. If allergies affect your child, confirm current practice and how their individual requirements will be handled.

Holy Apostles Pre-School suits families seeking morning or afternoon early education, as well as those wanting the combined 9am-to-3pm pattern during term time. Planting, outdoor construction and story-making give the day substance; a key person and Interactive Learning Diary give parents concrete ways to stay involved.

The school-site location is useful for familiarity, but Reception admission remains separate. The March 2025 priorities around digital safety and school handover are sensible points for a visit discussion. For families comfortable with the calendar and home-provided lunches and supplies, this is a practical, play-centred choice with a Good inspection judgement.