Humpty Dumpty Pre-School, Colchester

Small jugs for pouring drinks, child-height sinks and a garden children can choose to use: independence here has practical equipment behind it. Humpty Dumpty Pre-School, Colchester has capacity for 26 children and occupies premises at Brinkley Grove Primary School in Highwoods. Its curriculum puts conversation, stories and learning to manage everyday tasks alongside play.

At its July 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good, found safeguarding effective and described effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children attending then were aged two to four. That age range belongs to the dated assessment rather than a current entry rule.

Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance are offered, with a lunch club connecting shorter sessions. This gives families more than one way to organise their child's time here.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together children's communication, physical development, relationships and learning through play. Here, that framework takes concrete form in stories, construction, drawing and opportunities for children to do things themselves. The curriculum gives adults specific jobs: listen at children's level, leave time for an answer and extend what a child has said rather than speak for them.

Books are used throughout the day. Children can bring favourites from home, while songs familiar to their families become part of singing together. Picture prompts help children put a story's events in order, and both fiction and non-fiction are offered. This makes literacy a conversation about things children recognise, as well as an introduction to unfamiliar ideas.

Independence is equally concrete. Children practise putting on dressing-up clothes and craft aprons, collect their belongings and are encouraged to try a task before an adult steps in. Smaller pouring jugs and low toilets and sinks make those expectations physically achievable. Asking another child for help also gives independence a social dimension: doing more for yourself can involve working with someone else.

In July 2022, children used construction pieces to invent aircraft, talked about insects and tackled a dexterity challenge involving tweezers and toy bugs beneath woven string. Older children experimented with written calculations. These examples show the variety of play at that time, rather than a timetable of activities promised today.

Outdoor and Community Life

The story and sensory garden is used regularly for literacy activities outdoors. Children can also choose garden play through open doors, connecting indoor choices with time outside. The practical value is that books and conversation need not be confined to a table or book corner.

The Humpty community wall celebrates the festivals represented among children and their families. Books in different languages and resources reflecting different cultures extend that recognition into play. These are tangible ways for a child to encounter familiar family experiences and learn about someone else's.

A key person helps each child settle and takes responsibility for their learning journey. Individual development planning sits alongside that relationship, giving the adult supporting the transition a continuing role in the child's learning. Visual routines and photographs help children understand what comes next and where their belongings go.

Communication support includes quiet spaces, time to process questions and acceptance of gestures or body language during group conversation. Home-language books can support familiar practical words, such as those used for clothing or toileting. The approach gives children several ways to participate, rather than making spoken answers the only route into an activity.

In July 2022, staff sought specialist guidance and made referrals when children needed additional help. Families received regular information about learning and development. School preparation included photograph booklets showing children's next schools and teachers, making an approaching change something children could discuss together.

Children collect their lunch boxes, choose where to sit and practise opening their food packages. Snacks have a separate voluntary contribution.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning and afternoon sessions can be booked separately, while full-day attendance and lunch club provide a longer pattern. The lunch club was introduced to connect sessions and accommodate the longer funded entitlement. Families seeking shorter visits and those wanting a whole day therefore have different options within the same setting.

In July 2022, opening was during school terms, Monday to Friday, with sessions running from 9am to 3.30pm. Those hours describe that period. The current choice of morning, afternoon and full-day patterns is the more useful starting point for comparing attendance arrangements.

Getting There

The address is Brinkley Grove Primary School, Rawlings Crescent, Highwoods, Colchester CO4 9GF. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01206 835155 or by email at humptydumptypreschool10@gmail.com.

Being on a primary-school site does not guarantee a Reception place. Nursery attendance and Reception admission are separate decisions.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both 15 hour and 30 hour funded sessions are offered, alongside paid sessions. Eligibility remains a condition of receiving funding. Families should obtain a current written quotation for their chosen attendance pattern; the pricing and funding page sets out the session categories and the voluntary snack contribution.

The voluntary snack contribution is organised by the number of sessions attended and paid per term. This is separate from session fees.

• Early writing and pretend play. In July 2022, the improvement priorities were to give children more opportunities to represent home experiences in play and to use writing for meaningful purposes. At a visit, ask how these now work in construction play and the mud kitchen.
• Matching the session pattern. Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance are offered, with lunch club linking sessions. Ask which combination fits your child's routine and how the funded entitlement would apply to it.
• The school-site decision. The pre-school occupies premises at Brinkley Grove Primary School, but attendance does not guarantee Reception admission. Consider the nursery place and the later school application separately.

Humpty Dumpty suits families considering morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, and those who value practical independence and language-rich play. Child-height facilities, books from home and the story and sensory garden give that approach substance.

The July 2022 judgement provides a positive dated assessment, with useful development priorities around purposeful writing and pretend play. The strongest reason to consider this setting is the detail of its everyday approach: children are given tools, time and adult conversation to take an active part in their own day.