Worth Park Playgroup

Parent participation gives Worth Park Playgroup much of its character: families can help during sessions, contribute to fundraising and join the committee that helps manage the setting. This is a playgroup where involvement extends beyond conversations about a child's day. Its home is Crawley United Reformed Church in Pound Hill, Crawley, and it welcomes children from two until school age, with capacity for 26 children in total.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the playgroup Good and judged safeguarding effective. The detail gives that judgement substance: children practised independence, explored numbers through puzzles and developed language through conversations, books and singing. Two improvement points also matter: teaching children about online safety and helping them understand how their behaviour affects other people.

Individual learning journals, a key person for each child and settling arrangements shaped around the family give parents several ways to contribute to care and learning. Occasional contact with Pound Hill Infant School and Milton Mount Primary adds a practical bridge towards school, through teacher visits and activities at the schools.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides daily routines, covering children's communication, physical development, relationships and emotions alongside literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and creative expression. In parent language, learning includes talking, playing, moving, making things and learning to cooperate. This is the shared early-years framework; Worth Park's individual planning draws on what interests each child, so their next steps can connect with something they already want to explore.

In June 2024, stories and singing gave children opportunities to practise language, while staff used conversation during play to extend their communication. Book discussions encouraged children to contribute rather than simply listen. Wooden number puzzles provided another useful example: when a child struggled to locate a piece, staff helped through counting and clues involving colour and shape. The task stayed connected to play while introducing mathematical ideas.

Physical activity had both large and small movements in view in June 2024. Children constructed things with soft play equipment and climbed across it; collage work involved cutting fabric with scissors. Staff intervened over the height of constructions and helped children use scissors safely. These examples show how movement, making and learning about risks could sit within the same activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

Occasional local walks can take children towards the shops or Post office, or simply give them a reason to notice seasonal discoveries such as leaves and conkers. The frequency matters: these are occasional outings, rather than a weekly timetable. The Local Offer also includes farm trips and describes additional support where needed, with parents invited to help on outings.

A Christmas party and summer party mark the year, while a summer outing is arranged for children preparing to leave for school. Those leaving therefore have a shared experience alongside the work of preparing for their next setting. Parents can also contribute a hobby, job or talent to children's learning, giving everyday interests from family life a place in playgroup activities.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who plans their care and learning, combining observations with parents' knowledge of interests and development. Plans are kept in a confidential journal and discussed with families at least once each term; parents can also look through the journal or talk about progress at other times. This makes the journal a basis for conversation, rather than something saved solely for a formal review.

Settling is led by how the child and parent feel. Parents are encouraged to remain with their child when that helps them become comfortable, so the move away from home can proceed at an individual pace. In June 2024, children sought comfort from staff when upset, and staff responded promptly. That observation gives a concrete picture of the relationships behind the settling arrangements.

Family participation is substantial. Parents and carers are invited to observe and help with at least one session each term, providing an opportunity to see activities and discuss them afterwards with their child. Other children, including siblings, cannot accompany an adult helping during a session. A termly newsletter offers another route for communication, while the volunteer parent committee meets around twice a term.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The INCO/SENCO role provides a route to additional support, including TSS (Target Setting Support) within West Sussex. With parental consent, the setting can also contact the FIRST Team for further help. Where needed, individual education plans and play plans are developed with parents and other professionals, then reviewed. These are specific mechanisms for identifying needs and adjusting support.

Accessibility includes a wheelchair-accessible main hall and a disabled toilet; a ramp can be provided, and the outdoor area can be reached around the building. Visual timetables help children follow routines, and Makaton signs are displayed. In June 2024, staff also used visual prompts to help children with delayed speech and children learning English communicate what they needed. Families considering support can therefore distinguish the physical arrangements from the individual planning process.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Crawley United Reformed Church, Worth Park Avenue, Pound Hill, Crawley, RH10 3DE. In June 2024, the playgroup opened from 8.45am to 2.45pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. These are dated opening hours, rather than a promise about a particular booking pattern.

Registration forms can be submitted at any age. Applications join a waiting list, with allocation ordered by the date the form is received; families are contacted by telephone when a place is offered. Keeping contact details current is therefore part of the application process. The contact form has a target response time of 48 hours, and telephone enquiries can be made on 07462 316790 or 01293 611148.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 hours a week over 38 weeks for qualifying children from the term after their third birthday, and the same hours and weeks for children qualifying for two-year-old funding. The playgroup also accepts children qualifying for the 30 hours entitlement. These are eligibility-dependent arrangements, so participation should not be read as a funded place for every applicant.

Private childcare is also offered for children below the qualifying age, with current prices obtained through a written quotation. Invoices are issued at the start of each half term, and absence through illness or holidays does not reduce the charge. Withdrawing from one or more sessions requires a month's written notice; otherwise fees remain payable. These terms matter when planning a changing work pattern or a move to another setting.

Moving on to School

Occasional visits involve teachers from Pound Hill Infant School and Milton Mount Primary, and children may take part in play visits, assemblies and Christmas plays at those schools. The purpose is familiarity with teachers and school life. Attending the playgroup does not guarantee a school place.

• The inspection's next steps. In June 2024, online safety teaching and explanations of how behaviour affects others needed development. During a visit, ask how these ideas now feature in everyday activities and conversations.
• An active role for parents. Helping during at least one session a term is an invitation, and siblings cannot attend while an adult helps. Consider how this opportunity fits with work and other childcare responsibilities.
• Waiting-list order and settling. Applications are ordered by receipt date, and accepting a place is followed by an invitation to experience the setting together. Use that opportunity to discuss how staying with your child would work during settling.
• What to bring. Named spare clothes are required, while the red logo uniform is optional. For the sessions you are considering, what food and non-food supplies should you provide, and which attract separate charges?

Worth Park Playgroup suits families seeking care from two until school age who welcome an active part in playgroup life. The key-person system and accessible learning journals make family knowledge useful in planning, while occasional school visits give transition work a concrete form. Its June 2024 Good judgement sits alongside two clear teaching priorities. The appeal is this combination of individual planning, practical play and parent involvement, with funded and private attendance both part of the offer.