Climbing Bears Pre-school

A mud kitchen, climbing walls and an open-plan play space give Climbing Bears Pre-school a clear identity: children have room to choose, move and get messy. Its purpose-built premises sit within Wisborough Green Primary School’s grounds, although the preschool operates independently of the school. This is a village setting with a substantial role for parents, including a parent committee and fundraising throughout the year.

There are 26 places for children aged two to five, starting from the term after their second birthday. Morning, afternoon and all-day sessions run during term time.

At its January 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement, inclusion, welfare and wellbeing, behaviour and routines, and leadership and governance to be at a Strong standard, with curriculum and teaching at the Expected standard and safeguarding standards met. The balance is useful: care and children’s progress received stronger judgements than curriculum design, where the next step concerned the sequence and increasing challenge of mathematics.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning through play, with attention to communication, physical development and children’s social and emotional development alongside literacy, mathematics and exploration of the world. This is the shared early-years framework; Climbing Bears’ own approach gives children choices about which activities to join and access to outdoor play in different weather conditions. An interest can continue outside rather than ending at the classroom door.

The large, open-plan play area supports that approach. Outdoors, the covered learning area, sandpit and mud kitchen provide different settings for active and messy play, while climbing walls add a physical challenge. These are practical features for a child who likes moving between activities. Families should expect clothing that can cope with paint, cookery and outdoor exploration.

In January 2026, children investigated ice and water, considering what would happen when warm water was introduced. Space play brought unfamiliar vocabulary into conversation. These examples show how an ordinary activity can become an opportunity to predict, explain and learn new words, rather than simply complete a task.

Books also travelled beyond a conventional reading area in January 2026. Children borrowed from an outdoor library to take books home, used books in imaginative play and chose reading spaces both inside and outside. The connection with home matters: stories were something children could revisit with their families, as well as share with staff.

In January 2026, children counted a garden minibeast’s legs, putting mathematics into practical play.

Outdoor and Community Life

For outdoor play in winter, children need Wellington boots, indoor shoes and warm clothing; waterproof trousers are helpful.

In January 2026, children used bikes, a construction area and climbing equipment outside. Timers helped them manage turns on the bikes, and one child helped another find them. That small example gives a concrete picture of how sharing equipment can involve children in solving a social problem themselves.

Parents can contribute to activities by reading with children or playing an instrument. Their interests and knowledge can therefore become part of the preschool day. The parent role extends to its organisation: a committee elected at the Annual General Meeting each September manages this voluntary-run, non-profit setting.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a Key Worker, giving families a particular member of staff to discuss development and concerns with. Sessions follow children’s interests and development.

At the January 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that key-person relationships supported children’s security, that staff adjusted care to individual needs, and that children needing additional support benefited from carefully adapted teaching and collaboration with families and specialists.

In January 2026, a staff buddy arrangement supported the key-person system, and siblings shared a key person where possible. Staff also altered a new child’s routine when hunger was affecting their ability to manage their feelings, bringing lunch forward. These were specific responses to a child’s circumstances, rather than an expectation that every child follow the same timetable.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO role forms part of the staff structure. In January 2026, staff used one-page reviews and shared displays to keep children’s targets visible across the team. During small-world play, an adult helped a child with speech and language needs by demonstrating short phrases and building on the child’s words; vocabulary was then shared with colleagues. That provides a concrete mechanism for carrying support across activities.

Picture cards helped children choose fruit and vegetables at snack time in January 2026, giving another way to communicate a preference. Everyday care also involved offering children a choice about accepting help with wiping their nose or doing it themselves. The practical implication is respect for children’s growing independence, including during personal care.

School preparation included contact with local schools and visits where appropriate in January 2026. Families received guidance around the next stage. This is transition work, rather than an admissions advantage: becoming familiar with school routines and people is separate from receiving a Reception place.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is School Field, Newpound Lane, Wisborough Green, Billingshurst, RH14 0EE. Climbing Bears operates during term time and closes for school holidays and Bank Holidays; school inset days do not affect its opening. Families working through school holidays need care beyond this calendar.

Morning Sessions, Afternoon Sessions and All Day Sessions are offered, and the number of sessions a child attends is decided individually with their needs taken into account. Paid hours can sit alongside funded childcare. An enrolment form is returned with a non-refundable administration fee, which includes a T-shirt, Hoodie and Gym bag for the child when sessions begin.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through Universal Early Years Funded Entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, Extended EYFE for eligible working families with children of those ages, working-family funding for two-year-olds, and the Local Authority scheme for eligible two-year-olds. These routes have different eligibility conditions; participation by the preschool does not itself establish a family’s entitlement. Attendance is term-time, so its calendar needs to fit the family’s plans for using funded hours.

Snacks carry a separate request for a voluntary donation, and a contribution is requested for the sports sessions on Monday and Friday mornings. Parents provide sun cream during summer, labelled and left with the child’s belongings. The fees page explains the charge structure; current prices come in the preschool’s written quotation.

Named cloakroom pegs and blue trays hold belongings; families should label clothing.

Getting There

Drivers should use the school-grounds entrance from School Lane, avoid parking in front of the school and follow the unofficial one-way arrangement on School Road during the morning and afternoon collection periods. Parking options include The Three Crowns and Cricketers pubs and the lay-by beside the village green, with driveways and grass verges kept clear.

Climbing Bears describes a close relationship with Wisborough Green Primary School, where it occupies its own premises. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; families still use the local authority admissions process.

• Mathematics progression. The January 2026 development point concerned ordering mathematical learning and increasing its challenge. During a tour, ask how staff now build counting and other concepts across children’s ages and stages.
• Your attendance pattern. Morning, afternoon and all-day options sit within a term-time calendar. Use the tour-booking contact form to discuss how session start and finish times, settling arrangements and funded hours would fit your child’s proposed pattern.
• Parent participation. Families are asked to help with fundraising during the year, and parents can also volunteer in activities. Consider the time you could contribute to a preschool managed by a parent committee.
• School connection. Sharing Wisborough Green Primary School’s grounds can make the next stage feel familiar, but it confers no guaranteed Reception place. Treat preschool choice and the school application as separate decisions.

Climbing Bears suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions as well as an all-day term-time pattern, with child-chosen play and regular outdoor access. Its open-plan space, covered outdoor area and messy-play resources make that approach tangible. The Key Worker arrangement and parent committee give families clear ways to participate in their child’s experience and the setting’s life.

The January 2026 judgements support a positive assessment of care, inclusion and achievement, while the January 2026 curriculum development point concerned mathematics sequencing. Families comfortable with the term-time calendar and the expectation of fundraising involvement have sound reasons to consider it.