Kea Preschool

An orchard, a fenced pond and an outdoor classroom give Kea Preschool’s outdoor learning a concrete setting. It occupies its own building in the grounds of Kea CP School near Truro, with a separate entrance on Porth Kea Road, and is run independently of the school. The shared site brings opportunities to explore beyond the preschool’s immediate play space.

At its June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Kea Preschool Good and judged safeguarding effective. Children attending then were aged two to four; the preschool has 30 places in total. Those places describe the setting’s overall capacity, rather than the number of children in a particular group.

Flexible attendance arrangements sit alongside breakfast and afterschool clubs for families with children at Kea School.

Rooms and Ages

Robins Room and Squirrels Room have their own routines. Outdoor Learning sessions are offered to children in Squirrels Room.

The Annex also plays a part in settling. Children can spend time there or outside with a parent and key person before joining the main room, becoming familiar with an adult before meeting the wider group.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play. Kea uses Development Matters guidance and observations of children to plan activities that encourage exploration, experimentation and thinking through problems.

In June 2025, repeated readings of We're Going on a Bear Hunt encouraged younger children to anticipate words and participate in the story. Conversations also gave younger children practice in forming sentences, while older children talked about their friends and favourite activities. These are useful examples of language learning woven into the day.

Plant-growing brought questions into practical play that June: children investigated sunlight and water. Group movement activities provided practice in physical coordination.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor Learning combines exploration of nature with practical activities and reflection on what children have done. The outdoor classroom is the base, with access to the school field, upper field, orchard and fenced pond. These different spaces offer more to investigate than a single play area, from plants and wildlife to changes in the weather.

Sessions begin and finish at the base, with a closing discussion that allows children to share experiences and ideas for another session. Tool activities are supervised, and children help clear away materials and rubbish. The handbook’s leave no trace practice gives tidying a purpose beyond putting equipment away: caring for the places used for play.

Waterproofs, wellies and spare clothes are part of the preparation. This is an offer for families comfortable with muddy clothing and outdoor activity, rather than an occasional fair-weather outing. Free Stay and Play sessions are planned for summer term 2027 for children aged 18 months to three years accompanied by parents, including activities in the outdoor classroom. Participation is on a first come, first served basis.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated before a child starts, with a second key person added as soon as possible. The role includes planning care and learning with parents, maintaining developmental information and acting as the family’s main contact. That gives parents a clear person to speak to about both everyday experiences and concerns.

Three settling sessions form the starting arrangement, with parents accompanying the first and further parental support possible when needed. The preschool can discuss a home visit with the family, and the pace of separation follows the child’s response. Its settling policy rejects leaving a distressed child to cry as a way of speeding up the process.

In June 2025, staff knew families well, calmly helped children cooperate and take turns, and shared their achievements with parents.

Outdoor-learning communication uses email and Tapestry, an online learning portal. Parents can also receive newsletters by joining the mailing list. The key person completes the developmental check at age two, drawing on observations and contributions from parents and other professionals to create a written account of progress.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENDCO coordinates assessment and individual learning plans with parents. Kea aims to review developmental concerns after six weeks and can involve external specialists when needed.

For specific medical needs, a Health Care Plan sets out procedures for staff. Some procedures or strategies require staff training before attendance begins.

Behaviour support uses traffic-light and now-and-next visuals to make expectations easier to understand. Perfect Panda is a shared reward system: children add pom poms to a container and choose a reward when it is full. Pom poms are not removed. The emphasis is on recognising positive behaviour rather than taking away something already earned.

Safeguarding lead roles, first-aid training and staff vetting arrangements are in place. An unfamiliar authorised collector must provide an agreed password.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Kea CP School, Kea, Truro, TR3 6AY. Preschool attendance can be arranged flexibly where the pattern preserves continuity for children. The general opening window starts at 7.45am and usually ends at 6pm, with a 5pm finish on Mondays and Fridays.

The breakfast club runs from 7.45am to 9am. Afterschool Club has a 3.30pm to 6pm session, subject to the earlier Monday and Friday closing time, and an Early collection option by 4pm. Staff collect children from school for the afterschool provision, which uses dedicated resources and outdoor spaces.

An application and registration form are required before starting. After an offer, parents have one week to accept it; a deposit and registration payment then hold the place, with the deposit credited on the first invoice. Fees are invoiced monthly in advance, and reducing hours or leaving requires at least one month’s notice. Current prices come in the preschool’s written quotation.

Getting There

The separate preschool entrance is on Porth Kea Road. Parking is beside the road, where there is no footpath, and access to the preschool includes a ramp and steps. This makes the roadside approach a practical consideration for families bringing younger children or using a pushchair.

Sharing the school grounds does not guarantee a Reception place at Kea CP School; families still apply through the local authority admissions process. In June 2025, transition work included visits from teachers and opportunities for children to watch school events, helping them become familiar with school life.

Funding and Paid Extras

Kea accepts the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds and 30-hour working-family funding, subject to eligibility. The universal entitlement begins in the term following the child’s third birthday and covers 38 term-time weeks; the 30-hour arrangement is also offered on a term-time basis. Tax-Free Childcare payments are accepted.

Funded hours cover childcare and education, while hot lunches, snacks and extra activities are invoiced separately as voluntary contributions. Sports 4 Tots and Dance are separately charged activities within that arrangement. Families unable to contribute can discuss alternatives with the preschool; the fees and funding information explains the charge structure.

Families can supply a packed lunch or choose a separately charged cooked meal from Kea School’s kitchen when the school is open. Kea publishes a no-nut-product policy and assesses known allergies individually because cross-contamination cannot be ruled out.

• Learning and independence. The June 2025 inspection asked staff to develop children’s thinking further through conversation and give them more opportunities to attempt tasks themselves. On a tour, ask how staff now extend an activity and decide when to step back.
• Attendance across the year. Term-time preschool arrangements sit alongside an offer of sessions throughout the year, while Monday and Friday closing is earlier than the standard afterschool session end. Agree the calendar and collection times for the particular provision you need.
• Settling pace. Three introductory sessions provide a starting structure, with additional parental support possible. Discuss how the transition into Robins Room or Squirrels Room would work for your child, especially after limited experience away from home.
• Allergies and lunch. Hot meals come from the school kitchen, and the preschool cannot rule out cross-contamination. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food handling and the individual risk assessment before choosing their lunch arrangement.

Kea suits families seeking outdoor preschool learning and flexible attendance, alongside those using its breakfast club or afterschool club. A key person supports the gradual start, while the orchard, pond and outdoor classroom give children varied spaces to explore.

The June 2025 Good judgement is a useful starting point, with clear improvement priorities around extending learning and encouraging independence. For parents, the decision turns on the fit between this practical, outdoor-oriented preschool experience and the attendance calendar, collection times and care arrangements their child needs.