St Mary's Pre-School, Northchurch

A classroom on a primary-school site, a level garden and a lending library give St Mary's Pre-School, Northchurch a clear character: play, family involvement and preparation for the next stage sit closely together. It operates separately from the school whose site it shares. That distinction matters as much as the shared surroundings.

At its July 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Good across all assessed areas and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. The setting has capacity for 24 children, and accepts children from two years six months to five years old. Its offer centres on term-time afternoons, with a Lunch Club that can connect the school nursery's morning provision to the pre-school session.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children's learning through play, covering communication, relationships, movement and later skills such as reading, number work and creative expression. It is the shared early-years foundation, rather than an additional programme unique to this setting. Here, planning draws on what staff already know about the children attending each day, their interests and the skills they are working towards.

Adult-supported activities sit alongside children's own ideas. Staff observations shape the next steps, adapting learning to each child.

In July 2022, younger children practised using scissors beside older children drawing and writing their names, allowing them to learn from one another. Pretend ice-cream orders combined memory, conversation and imaginative play.

In July 2022, a visiting teacher taught signing through songs, involving newcomers and children learning English as an additional language.

Home learning has its own practical resources. Children can borrow a library book and exchange it weekly; home learning sheets provide small challenges to practise learning at home. Hungry Little Minds, the Government campaign recommended by the pre-school, adds simple ideas for talking, playing and sharing picture books during ordinary family routines.

Outdoor and Community Life

A level garden combines tarmac and astro-style turf. Resources within children's reach and child-size basins and toilets support everyday independence.

In July 2022, children moved containers of natural materials and controlled their speed on a slope, with staff nearby. Outdoor play combined physical effort with judgement.

Family involvement extends beyond progress meetings. Relatives and carers can contribute interests such as gardening, music or storytelling. The summer open afternoon takes place in July, with a school-field picnic if weather permits; an annual open evening, usually early in July, gives families another way to join in. For relatives who work during the day, the evening event has a useful practical purpose.

Relationships and Communication

Each child's key person follows their development and works with their family. Home visits, settling sessions and information shared beforehand help staff plan the first days around the child.

Tapestry, an online learning journal, shares photographs, videos and links to children's development for families to discuss at home. Progress conversations and parent consultations complement it.

In July 2022, family storytelling in home languages was paired with staff reading in English, supporting vocabulary and understanding.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SEND arrangements have a defined route. A dedicated SENCO works with the child's key person and family, and preparation for an identified need can include equipment, changes to classroom organisation or staff training before the child joins. Relevant professionals can include speech and language therapists, health visitors and educational psychologists; parental permission is sought before referrals to outside agencies.

An Area Inclusion Officer and Little Hands Little Feet Family Centre provide links to further support. Picture-and-symbol visual timetables help explain routines, including for children with language delay or English as an additional language.

Access deserves individual attention. The classroom has a small entrance step, with a ramp to be made available if needed; furniture can be repositioned. An accessible toilet in the main school building can be reached by an outdoor route on one level, while the internal route includes steps. The arrangement is worth considering alongside a child's mobility and toileting needs.

Lead and deputy safeguarding roles assign responsibilities, and team members undertake safeguarding and paediatric first-aid training.

School preparation includes inviting the receiving teacher or key person to meet the child, discussing development and needs, exploring school bags and uniform, and touring the primary school. In July 2022, communication with school staff also included transition meetings and discussion of children's wellbeing. The useful thread is continuity: people and information can move with the child.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 11.45am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday during school terms. The two named booking components are Lunch Club, from 11.45am to 12.30pm, and the afternoon pre-school session, from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. They serve different purposes: the afternoon is the educational session, while Lunch Club can bridge the interval after the school nursery morning.

The pre-school describes its arrangement as wraparound for the nursery class at St Mary’s C of E (VA) Primary School. Funded hours can also be shared with another setting, provided both settings agree the allocation in advance. Families using more than their entitlement must agree how funding and private payments will be divided.

Applications begin by requesting a form from the pre-school. Telephone contact operates during opening hours, and messages left outside that window receive a return call during those hours; email provides another enquiry route.

Getting There

The address is St Mary’s C of E (VA) Primary School, New Road, Northchurch, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire HP4 3QZ. The school stands beside St Mary’s Church, at the junction of New Road and Northchurch High St, with its main entrance on New Road.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both privately paid sessions and funded childcare are offered, including eligible two-year-olds, universal 15-hour funding for three- and four-year-olds from the term after a child's third birthday, and 30-hour funding for eligible working families of three- and four-year-olds. Delivery is term-time. The 30-hour arrangement works alongside the primary school: the first 15 hours go to its morning nursery provision, with the remaining 15 used at pre-school.

The funding arrangement allows four afternoons including Lunch Club within those remaining hours; where all five days are used, funding covers the educational sessions and Lunch Club is charged separately. This is an important difference between choosing afternoons and choosing the complete lunch-and-afternoon pattern.

For 2025/26, the snack arrangement offered a separately charged optional healthy snack or the choice of bringing one from home. Parents supply nappies, wipes and nappy sacks where needed, plus a named bottle of suncream during summer.

The 2025/26 terms also included a non-refundable registration charge covering a bag, the digital journal subscription and initial administration, with possible fee exemptions for some families. Current prices come in the pre-school's written quotation; the funding and charges page explains the structure.

Although the organisations share a site, the pre-school is separate from the primary school, and attendance does not guarantee admission to its nursery or Reception. Transition activities help children prepare; they do not determine admission.

• The shape of the afternoon. Lunch Club and the educational session have separate times and funding implications. At a visit, discuss how the complete pattern would work alongside your child's morning provision and funded entitlement.
• Changes between activities. In July 2022, children needed more support to follow instructions and participate in tasks, as slow transitions reduced learning time. Ask how tidying, lining up and moving indoors are supported now.
• Access across the site. The classroom step and the separate route to the accessible toilet matter for children who need mobility or toileting support. Use a visit to work through those routes and any equipment arrangements with staff.
• Charges after 2025/26. The dated charge structure separates snacks, Lunch Club and registration. Request the current written quotation so the pattern you choose and its additional charges are clear together.

St Mary's suits families seeking term-time afternoon pre-school, as well as those linking a school-nursery morning with Lunch Club and afternoon care. Its appeal lies in the practical connections: a key person, family access to Tapestry, books to borrow, a defined SEND support route and school preparation grounded in a shared site.

The Good judgement dates to July 2022, and the transition-time improvement remains a useful subject for a visit. The shared school setting is valuable for familiarity and preparation, but families should treat childcare arrangements and school admissions as separate decisions.