Walkern Pre School

A purpose-built classroom on the grounds of Walkern Primary School gives Walkern Pre School a clear identity: a village preschool with family involvement and an age-based approach to its day. It is a small, committee-run charity, with capacity for 30 children. The emphasis is on children preparing for their next stage, rather than a single attendance pattern spanning every age.

At its January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective. Two improvements remained: helping children connect new learning with what they already know, and explaining how their behaviour affects other people. Those are useful points to weigh alongside the positive judgement.

Morning sessions are aimed at children approaching primary school, while afternoons serve younger children, including those aged two to three. That separation is the practical feature that shapes much of the experience here.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning, development and care: children build language, physical skills and social understanding through play and everyday experiences. Walkern plans themes around children's interests, while the age-separated sessions allow activities to be pitched towards different stages of development.

In January 2025, children experimented with balancing blocks and rebuilt their structures after they collapsed. Action songs introduced subtraction, linking mathematical ideas with something children could join in with physically. These examples give a concrete picture of learning through doing.

Visiting paramedics and police officers introduced their work and equipment in January 2025. Children also explored family photographs and the lunar new year, bringing both familiar experiences and the wider world into conversation. These encounters supplied real subjects to talk about, compare and question.

Superstar Sports PE Lesson adds a separately charged physical-education activity to the preschool offer. Its charge is weekly, so it belongs in the family's attendance budget alongside session costs and snacks.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play extends beyond the classroom. In January 2025, children used the preschool's outdoor space and the host school's grounds, jumped in puddles and practised movement on a large inflatable. They also helped grow fruit and vegetables and sampled different foods. Physical activity and practical experience sat alongside indoor play.

The weekly Baby & Toddler group runs during term time on Mondays, from 08:45am to 10.45am, in Walkern School Hall. Children can play in the hall and have a snack while their accompanying adults have a hot drink. Advance booking is unnecessary for this group. It offers families a separate way to become familiar with the preschool community before preschool attendance.

Relationships and Communication

A key person gives each child a consistent relationship within the setting. Support spans settling into preschool, moving to the older children's session and preparing for primary school, so changes of stage form part of the care arrangements rather than being treated as isolated events.

Open Days and Parent/carer Saturdays bring families into the setting, and Sports Days take place at weekends to help wider family members attend. This is a practical form of parent involvement: families have opportunities to share preschool life beyond routine conversations about their child.

In January 2025, staff built relationships with families before children started, kept parents informed about achievements and shared story sacks for use at home. The sacks connected preschool reading with family time, giving parents a tangible resource rather than only general encouragement to support learning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received very good support through professional partnerships, objects used to represent routines and activities, and additional funding directed towards individual needs. For a child who benefits from concrete cues, that approach makes the day's expectations easier to understand.

In January 2025, nurture groups helped children concentrate and participate in activities. Staff also used sand timers to make turns with popular resources easier to follow. The improvement point concerned explaining the effect of behaviour on others, so managing a turn and understanding another child's feelings were separate parts of the picture.

Operation Encompass is another part of the preschool's arrangements. This national scheme links education settings and police through notifications following a child's experience of domestic abuse, allowing relevant information to reach the setting before the next school day.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is C/O Walkern Primary School, 117 High Street, Walkern, Stevenage, SG2 7NS. Enquiries and applications can be made through the contact form or by email.

Morning sessions run from 08:45am to 11:45am and target children starting primary school the following year. Morning children can also attend Breakfast Club from 08:15am to 08:45am or Lunch Club from 11:45am to 12:45pm. Both extensions carry separate charges and are restricted to morning children.

Afternoons run from 1:00pm to 3:30pm. Children generally begin this pattern between two and two-and-a-half, depending on readiness, usually attending twice a week initially. Attendance may increase to three or four sessions in the second or third term of attendance, following discussion with parents. This is a usual starting arrangement, rather than a stated minimum booking requirement.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education and privately paid sessions are offered. The funding schemes include 15 HOURS CHILDCARE for three- and four-year-olds across all families, 15 HOURS CHILDCARE for eligible two-year-olds receiving additional government support, and 15 & 30 HOURS CHILDCARE for eligible working families. The entitlement descriptions use a 38-week year; eligibility conditions apply.

Session snacks are charged separately, as are Breakfast Club, Lunch Club and the weekly Superstar Sports PE Lesson contribution. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the charge categories.

Being on Walkern Primary School's grounds does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still need to use the local authority admissions process for a state-school place. The preschool's support with school transition should therefore be considered separately from the admissions decision.

• Age determines the session. Mornings prepare children for primary school, while afternoons serve younger starters. At a visit, discuss how the move between these patterns would fit your child's readiness and your family's timetable.
• Learning connections. The January 2025 improvement point concerned helping children use earlier knowledge when learning something new. Ask for a recent example of how staff revisit and extend an activity.
• Understanding other children. In January 2025, staff needed to explain more clearly how behaviour affects others. A useful visit question is how practitioners help children understand another child's feelings after a disagreement.
• Food and paid additions. Snacks, the morning extensions and the PE contribution add to session costs. Families managing allergies should discuss current food arrangements when reviewing their quotation.

Walkern suits families seeking afternoon preschool sessions for younger children or morning preparation for primary school, with breakfast and lunch extensions for the morning group. Its purpose-built classroom, school grounds and family events give the setting a recognisable village character.

The January 2025 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, supported by concrete examples of play, family communication and individual support. The two improvement points deserve attention, especially for parents interested in how adults extend learning and teach children to understand each other.