Fairhaven Under Fives Centre

A weekly Lending Library, play-dough letters and gymnastics bars give Fairhaven Under Fives Centre a recognisable preschool character: stories, practical exploration and growing independence matter here. Set within the grounds of Fairhaven Primary School on Barnett Lane, this is provision for children aged two to four, with 30 places in total. The capacity describes the whole centre, rather than the number of children in any particular activity.

At its 9 July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the centre Outstanding, highlighting carefully sequenced learning, confident children and close relationships with families. The useful detail beneath that judgement is how ordinary play becomes purposeful: building prompts questions about balance, handling dough exercises fingers, and familiar routines give children opportunities to take responsibility.

Attendance is term-time, with morning, afternoon and full-day patterns. That makes the centre worth considering for families seeking preschool education within the school calendar, provided its hours fit their working arrangements.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the common framework for children's learning and care, covering development through play, conversation, physical activity and relationships. Fairhaven combines activities children choose themselves with experiences led by adults. The practical distinction is that children have room to pursue an interest while practitioners introduce a question, material or challenge that takes it further.

In July 2025, children compared wooden-brick towers with their own height. Building a house for the three pigs prompted questions about keeping sticks upright, giving children a practical reason to test and explain their ideas.

During that July visit, children shaped letters from their names in dough and tore paper to make pictures and models. Early writing involved recognising letters alongside practising hand movements.

Language has a clear connection with home. The weekly Lending Library supports language and literacy, extending the place of books beyond a nursery session. In July 2025, children selected a story to share with their family each week and talked through it again back at the centre. That gives parents a concrete way to join in, with a familiar book becoming material for conversation in both places.

Communication during the July visit included Makaton signing and visual prompts. Daily adult-led activities used objects revealed from a bucket, with staff repeating vocabulary while describing what children saw. The objects supplied something specific to watch and discuss; words were attached to an experience rather than presented in isolation.

Outdoor and Community Life

Physical activity had substance in July 2025. Children explored different ways to swing on gymnastics bars, with staff watching their movements closely, and practised keeping hula-hoops moving around their bodies or arms. Those examples show opportunities to rehearse coordination and judge a physical challenge. Encouragement helped children attempt something they initially doubted they could do.

Organised trips are arranged in summer and autumn, with parents invited to take part and charges applying when trips are arranged. For families, these are additional experiences to plan for alongside ordinary attendance, rather than part of an assumed all-inclusive package.

Relationships and Communication

In July 2025, staff learnt about children's personalities and used that knowledge to shape activities that helped them feel comfortable. Familiar routines accompanied this individual attention. Children also helped one another with practical difficulties, such as opening glue or finding a chair, making cooperation part of everyday activity rather than simply an adult instruction.

Tapestry is the centre's online learning journal. Families can view observations and contribute comments, photographs or short videos from home, connecting what children do in both places and providing starting points for talking about the day.

In July 2025, staff shared assessments with parents to guide learning at home, linking observations to something families could practise or explore together.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described prompt liaison with parents, referrals and effective use of additional funding when children needed developmental support, with children making excellent progress. This is a dated assessment of practice, giving families a substantial basis for considering care alongside the educational offer.

The assistant manager is the SENCO, coordinating work with families, outside agencies and staff. Another practitioner supports children with special educational needs.

In July 2025, individual plans shaped support: dough and paper activities addressed fine motor needs through play, connecting assessment with what children experienced.

The manager oversees safeguarding and health and safety. Practitioners have training in paediatric first aid, food hygiene and child protection, with regular further training to maintain their skills.

School preparation was practical in July 2025. Children rehearsed putting on uniforms, managed toileting and handwashing, and responded to a tambourine signal before helping to tidy. These experiences addressed the small tasks and shared routines that can make a school day more manageable. They did not amount to an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

The centre is at Fairhaven Primary School, Barnett Lane, Stourbridge, DY8 5PY. Its contact address also identifies Wordsley. Families can use the contact form to enquire and the registration form to register their interest.

Children aged two to four attend Monday to Friday during term time; the centre closes for school holidays. Morning sessions run from 8.30am to 11.30am, afternoons from 12.15pm to 3.15pm, and full days from 8.30am to 3.15pm. Flexible day care and lunchtime wraparound childcare are also offered. The full-day finish is an important practical boundary for anyone arranging care around work.

The waiting list is ordered by age, with older children considered first and preference for those eligible for early education funding, subject to exceptions for medical conditions, additional needs or emergency admission. Fee-paying places depend on space; funded places for two-year-olds also require eligibility confirmation from the local authority. Requests to increase or reduce attendance depend on a place being available.

Being on the primary-school site does not guarantee admission to Fairhaven Primary School or its nursery. Applying for a preferred primary school is a separate procedure. Families should make the childcare decision on the centre's offer rather than assume it determines the next school place.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding includes 15 hours for children aged three to four, up to 30 hours for eligible working families with children aged two to four, and 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds whose families receive qualifying support. Funded attendance is term-time only, with no stretched arrangement. Private, fee-paying attendance is also offered, and fees are paid ahead of attendance on a termly basis.

Parents provide packed lunches and a piece of fruit as required, for both funded and private attendance. They also provide their child's nappies and wipes as required.

Trips carry charges when arranged. The fees and funding page sets out the structure, and current prices come in the centre's written quotation.

• School-calendar care. Attendance stops during school holidays and full days finish at 3.15pm. Compare both boundaries with the care your family needs before choosing morning, afternoon or full-day attendance.
• Age-ordered allocation. Older children receive priority under the admissions policy, with funding preferences and specified exceptions. At a visit, discuss how that policy applies to your child's age and circumstances, alongside the sessions you would prefer.
• Lunch and personal supplies. Families bring food, nappies and wipes as needed, while lunchtime childcare is a separate charge. A written quotation should distinguish the attendance you are buying from the items you will pack each day.
• The school-site distinction. Attendance does not guarantee entry to Fairhaven Primary School or its nursery. Keep the separate primary-school application in your plans rather than treating the shared site as a progression agreement.

Fairhaven suits families seeking morning preschool sessions, afternoon attendance or full days within term time. The weekly Lending Library and Tapestry give parents specific ways to share in children's learning, while the July 2025 examples of construction, physical play and everyday independence make the educational experience tangible.

The practical fit is equally clear: school-holiday closure, a mid-afternoon finish, parent-provided supplies and separate lunchtime childcare charges need to work for the household. For families comfortable with those arrangements, the dated Outstanding judgement provides a strong reason to consider this centre.