Mowden Pre-School

Garden exploration and a close connection with Mowden Infant School give Mowden Pre-School its character. This voluntary committee-managed charity operates within the infant school in Darlington and welcomes children aged two, three and four. Its outdoor space supports planting, digging and water play, giving children practical ways to explore alongside their indoor learning.

Ofsted rated the setting Good on 12 July 2023. The strongest examples from that visit involved children pursuing an idea together: solving a problem through story play, investigating insects and recalling vegetables seen at nearby allotments. These are useful illustrations of learning rooted in children's interests, rather than activities detached from their play.

Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions provide different ways to arrange attendance. The usual minimum booking is four sessions or two days each week, with exceptions at the pre-school's discretion.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage frames the learning here: children develop language, physical skills, early literacy and mathematics through play, alongside understanding the world and learning to manage relationships. It is the shared early-years framework, while Mowden's practical choices give the day its shape. Outdoors, children can choose planting, digging, water activities, imaginative play and opportunities to make marks.

In July 2023, children worked together to dramatise the Giant Turnip story. Moving a heavy sack onto a barrow required them to agree where to stand and coordinate their pulling. The task gave a familiar story a physical problem to solve, with cooperation built into the activity rather than added as an instruction afterwards.

Another July 2023 example followed children's interest in insects. Staff introduced magnifying glasses as the investigation developed, allowing closer examination while the play continued. Conversations about possible spider habitats connected speaking and thinking with something children could search for themselves. The garden supplied the question as well as the resources to investigate it.

Outdoor and Community Life

A wooden climbing structure, garden obstacles and steps into the pre-school featured in July 2023 activities. Children practised moving through the space and tackling changes in height. At that time, garden vegetables also prompted recollections of a recent allotment visit, connecting what children saw locally with vegetables growing in the pre-school garden.

At the July 2023 inspection, examples of outings included shopping for ingredients after children had made their own lists. That linked early writing to a recognisable purpose and brought contact with people beyond the setting. These examples describe the experience at that date, rather than a fixed timetable of trips.

Mowden also supports St. Teresa's Hospice, a charity providing palliative and end-of-life support. This gives its community connection a named local cause.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person, with play and adult input organised around individual needs. Before a child starts, parents and staff exchange information; conversations at the beginning and end of sessions provide continuing opportunities to share developments. This makes the relationship with home part of the care arrangements, rather than something reserved for formal meetings.

Tapestry, an online learning journal, lets parents and staff contribute observations from home and pre-school and comment on them. Parents' evenings take place in October, February and June, with the June meeting preceding the move to school. Together, these provide both an ongoing account of learning and set opportunities for a fuller discussion.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, highlighted strong communication and language support, and recognised substantial support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities through work with other professionals. Those judgements belong to that visit.

The support arrangements include a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and deputy, parental involvement in decisions, and a cycle of assessment, planning, action and review. Referrals can include Early Help and an Education, Health and Care assessment. For a family needing additional support, the practical value lies in having a defined process for agreeing provision and revisiting it as the child's needs develop.

Behaviour support begins with a calm adult response, recognition of feelings and help to resolve the disagreement. Continuing concerns bring the key person, behaviour coordinator and SENCO into discussion, followed where appropriate by a plan agreed with parents and reviewed over time. The policy also provides for specialist referral and, after its earlier stages, a meeting with trustees that may lead to suspension or expulsion. Families should understand the whole sequence, including its possible endpoint.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is c/o Mowden Infant School, Bushel Hill Drive, Darlington, DL3 9QG. Morning sessions run from 8.45am to 11.45am, afternoons from 12.15pm to 3.15pm, and full days from 8.45am to 3.15pm. In July 2023, opening was Monday to Friday during term time.

The usual minimum is four sessions or two days weekly, although the pre-school can exercise discretion. Requests for particular combinations are considered, but the sessions offered depend on the setting's needs and session availability; children attend their allocated sessions.

An admissions list governs applications, which begin through the manager or deputy. September is the principal intake. The allocation criteria include a previous sibling connection, subject to the name being on the list at least a year before the intended start, followed by the Mowden and Hummersknott area and distance considerations. Age-group priorities also apply. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the online contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children can receive up to 30 funded hours from the term following their second birthday. The universal 15-hour entitlement starts in the term following the third birthday. Additional private hours are chargeable, and school lunches carry a separate charge. Current prices come in the pre-school's written quotation; the funding and charges page explains the structure.

Moving on to School

The pre-school describes a close working relationship with Mowden Infant School and says almost every child moves on there. Attendance does not guarantee a school place: families still need to use the local authority admissions process. The connection can help children build friendships before school, but the school application remains a separate decision.

• Learning beyond favourite activities. In July 2023, mathematical language and counting were used unevenly, and routines such as meals were not consistently used to develop learning. On a visit, ask how counting and conversation now extend through the whole day.
• Your weekly pattern. The usual four-session or two-day minimum shapes the booking, even though mornings, afternoons and full days are offered. Discuss the combination you need alongside the admissions priorities before planning around it.
• Starting with additional needs. A SENCO-led review process and parental involvement are part of the support arrangements. Use the pre-start discussion to agree how your child's needs and first sessions will be handled.

Mowden suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as a full pre-school day, especially those who value practical outdoor play and a connection with Mowden Infant School. Tapestry and scheduled parent meetings give home learning a route into the conversation. The July 2023 mathematical and routine-related weaknesses deserve attention alongside the Good judgement. The deciding fit is the combination of attendance pattern, individual support and a separate school application.