Squirrels Pre-School

Play has a practical purpose at Squirrels Pre-School: children choose their activities, build confidence with words and practise doing things for themselves. Tyres, planks and crates give physical play substance, while stories lead into conversation, drawing and imaginative games. This is a preschool with a clear emphasis on independence before school.

At its July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Squirrels Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children, including those needing additional support, made good progress from their starting points. The setting has capacity for 26 children; children attending in July 2025 were aged two to four. That age range describes the children at the time of the visit.

Full-day, morning and afternoon sessions run during term time. The main intake is in September, and the registration form adds children to the waiting list.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, covering language, physical development, relationships, early reading, maths, creativity and understanding the world. Squirrels uses Development Matters as a planning aid alongside each child's interests and development. The practical distinction is between shared skills children work towards and individual next steps drawn from observation.

Language gets daily attention through poems, songs, stories and conversation during play. Staff build on children's emerging language, while story props, puppets and small-world resources help children explore meaning rather than simply hear a book read aloud. Early writing also grows from play, including making shopping lists. These are useful connections between talking, imagining and making marks.

Maths is woven into everyday experiences, with counting, patterns and resources of different shapes and sizes. Children encounter positional language while building and playing. The emphasis is on trying an idea and exploring how things fit together, rather than separating number work from the rest of the day.

Adventure Diaries give concrete examples of that approach. In January 2026, Handa's Surprise became a starting point for matching animals with fruit, making baskets and remembering the story sequence. Children also used tweezers to handle small objects. A familiar story therefore supported conversation, recall and careful hand movements across different activities.

The February 2026 account of NSPCC Number Day describes number recognition and matching activities, including Numicon. These examples show how a named celebration can generate purposeful play; they are past activities, rather than a promise of a fixed future programme.

Outdoor and Community Life

Physical play includes climbing apparatus, ride-on toys and loose materials such as tyres, crates and planks. Children can use these resources to construct their own ideas, with opportunities to balance, move and test arrangements. Sand, water, playdough and gloop add smaller-scale manipulation and exploration.

In July 2025, the garden supported learning across the curriculum: children experimented in the mud kitchen, sent balls along pipes and used costumes and instruments in an outdoor theatre. The outdoor space served more than exercise. It also offered imaginative play and opportunities to explore movement and materials.

Growing is part of the current curriculum, with children involved in sowing seeds and caring for fruit, herbs and vegetables. Family cultures and celebrations also contribute to learning. Families who use another language at home are invited to share songs and stories, giving children's own experiences a place in preschool life.

Relationships and Communication

Key-person relationships are built through learning about each child's experiences, interests and needs. Familiar routines and boundaries help children understand the day, while staff model sharing and taking turns. Emotional vocabulary is taught through conversation, stories and activities, so children have words for feelings as well as adult support when feelings become difficult.

In July 2025, settling was adapted to individual children and involved getting to know families before attendance began. Children sought their key person for help and comfort, including during shared stories. A quiet space was also available for children needing a calmer moment. These details matter for families weighing how a child might manage separation and a busy group day.

Adventure Diaries provide accounts of activities and ideas families can continue at home. This gives parents something concrete to discuss with their child, rather than relying only on a general description of the curriculum.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Additional support does not require a formal diagnosis. Squirrels uses an assess, plan, do and review process: parents contribute their observations, agree next steps and review progress, while the key person delivers support with the SENCO where appropriate. The SENCO also coordinates work with families, staff and outside professionals. This sets out who is involved and how support is adjusted.

Adaptations may include visual resources, changes to communication and predictable routines. The curriculum also allows additional input from parents and healthcare professionals for children with SEND. These are mechanisms for tailoring learning to a child, rather than a blanket promise about outcomes.

Safeguarding arrangements include induction and continuing training on recognising concerns and raising them with the designated safeguarding lead. School transition has its own practical support: the School Ready Talk explains preparation to parents, and key people plan activities that build the skills children will need next.

Sessions and Attendance

Squirrels operates Monday to Friday during term time. The full-day session runs from 9.15am to 3.15pm, and mornings run from 9.15am to 12.15pm. Afternoon sessions start at 12.15pm; their finish time needs clarification before families plan around them.

Joining uses a registration form and waiting list. September is the single main intake, although places may be allocated during the academic year if they arise. This is a durable admissions arrangement, not an indication of how many places are free.

Getting There

The preschool's contact address is St Johns and Highwoods Community Centre, Highwoods, Colchester, CO4 9SR. Families can contact the office on 01206 853111 or at office@squirrelspreschool.com.

Funding and Paid Extras

In July 2025, Squirrels provided government-funded early education for eligible children. Eligibility remains a condition of that provision.

Moving on to primary school involves the local council's application process and its deadline. Squirrels supports preparation through its parent talk and planned activities; families still make their school application separately.

• Afternoon timing. The afternoon session has an end time of 3.15am, whereas the full-day session ends at 3.15pm. Confirm the afternoon collection time before choosing that pattern.
• Teaching priorities. In July 2025, staff sometimes allowed too little thinking time after questions and intervened before children could resolve disagreements themselves; training also needed to target teaching needs more precisely. On a visit, ask how staff now support thinking, negotiation and their own development.
• September intake. The waiting list feeds a single main September intake, with allocations during the year only if places arise. Registration is the first step in that process, so factor the intake cycle into your plans.
• The cost of your pattern. Request a written quotation setting out funded hours, any private hours, meals and non-food consumables for the sessions you intend to use.

Squirrels suits families seeking term-time preschool education through either morning sessions or full days, with an afternoon option whose collection time needs clarification. Child-led play, practical resources and individual learning plans give its educational approach a clear shape. The parent involvement in additional support is also concrete.

The July 2025 teaching priorities deserve attention alongside the positive inspection judgement. For families who value independence, language and preparation for school, the useful test is how those priorities now translate into everyday adult interactions with children.