Crestwood Pre-school

A weekly woodland-garden visit and two key persons for each child give Crestwood Pre-school a clear character: outdoor play, familiar adults and parents taking an active part in nursery life. This committee-run charity works from the community hall at Crestwood Community School's Shakespeare Campus in Eastleigh. It is a setting where family involvement extends beyond exchanging messages about the day.

Ofsted rated Crestwood Good at its 7 July 2025 inspection, with broader mathematical understanding identified as the area needing further development. That gives families a useful distinction between the curriculum's ambitions and how consistently staff put them into practice.

There are 26 places in total, with a current age range of two to five. The application form sets an entry point of two years nine months, subject to space, so younger children's proposed start dates deserve attention. Attendance follows a term-time timetable, with full days running from 9.05am to 3.05pm, Monday to Friday.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes children's learning and care through play, conversation, physical activity and developing everyday independence. Crestwood builds its own curriculum around Development Matters and the skills local infant schools want children to develop before starting school. Staff review that curriculum annually for the children attending, rather than treating the same plan as suitable for every cohort.

Weekly observations shape individual next steps around children's interests. Creative activities include colour experiments, pictures, models, imaginative storytelling and music. Discussing their creations and chosen materials gives children practice in explaining ideas.

Independence has equally concrete goals. Children work towards managing lunchboxes, pouring drinks and handling their own clothing. The communication element includes negotiating over shared toys, discussing emotions and listening to other people. These everyday tasks make preparation for school something children practise during play and care routines, rather than a separate exercise.

Mathematics includes comparisons of weight, height and length, alongside shape and number language. In July 2025, staff did not consistently use their interactions to broaden children's mathematical thinking or stretch existing knowledge. The distinction matters: a curriculum can contain the right concepts while children still need better questions and explanations to develop their understanding.

Reading also has a physical place in the day. In July 2025, children discussed characters in the book corner and joined smaller storytelling groups outside in the garden; families were encouraged to take books home. That connects shared reading at pre-school with something parents can continue at home.

Outdoor and Community Life

Children can choose indoor or outdoor play throughout the day, including in wet weather. With the garden door open, the room can become chilly: layers and a spare jumper matter.

The autumn 2026 programme includes weekly visits to the woodland garden. Families can leave named wellington boots at pre-school, and children need a hooded coat for wet days. Permission arrangements also cover short outings within the Boyatt Wood Area, with separate consent obtained for planned outings.

Family events give the year additional markers. World Book Day on 4 March 2027 invites adults and children to dress as a favourite book character. Fundraising supports experiences such as living eggs and caterpillars, although the number of additional activities depends on the money raised. Families can contribute to those opportunities without treating fundraising as a compulsory part of attendance.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has two key persons as family contacts for care, development and settling. Staff agree settling arrangements with parents and use information about the child to shape activities, connecting home life with pre-school.

Tapestry, the online learning journal, shares observations and developmental milestones between staff and families. Parents can add photographs, comments and observations from home, which help practitioners plan around children's interests. Scheduled parent meetings sit alongside conversations with key persons, so the journal supports discussion rather than replacing it.

The autumn 2026 settling topic brings together children's families, homes and local surroundings. Returning children are resettling too, while newcomers and their parents are being helped into pre-school life. That recognises that a familiar setting can still take adjustment after a break.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and SEND support highly effective, including collaboration with speech and language therapists and medical professionals on children's care and learning plans. Current support arrangements include a SENCO role and an assess, plan, do and review cycle, with parents involved in decisions throughout.

Emotional learning is practical. In July 2025, puppet activities helped children discuss worries about starting school and practise signing an emotion; children also talked about breathing techniques. The current golden rules address kindness, care for toys and other people, walking indoors and using an appropriate voice. They give children understandable expectations linked to what they are doing.

Children in nappies are accepted. Families supply nappies, wipes and disposal bags, and used nappies return home in the changing bag; a potty, toilet-training seat and toilets of different sizes support children making that transition. Parents also provide sun cream, which staff reapply after lunch. These arrangements make home supplies and coordination with key persons part of the daily care routine.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Crestwood Community Hall, Shakespeare Road, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO50 4FZ. Full-day sessions run from 9.05am to 3.05pm on weekdays during term time, with holidays and training-day closures to account for when planning care. Families should notify pre-school when illness or a holiday prevents attendance at a booked funded session.

Applications can be made through the application form, or families can contact the pre-school by email or telephone. The telephone operates during pre-school hours in term time. Joining the waiting list does not guarantee a place: it is ordered by birth date, with older children taking priority, and families are contacted during the term before the intended start.

Funding and Paid Extras

Crestwood accepts government-funded hours, including universal funding from the term after the third birthday, extended funding for eligible families and eligible two-year-old funding. Funding follows the term-time attendance model. Parents complete the nursery's funding form; those using extended hours must obtain their eligibility code and keep it valid.

Additional hours beyond a child's funding are paid for privately. Invoices cover the term ahead, with payment at the start of the chosen monthly or half-termly period; current prices belong in the nursery's written quotation. The summer outing carries a separate charge and is an opt-in activity, while attendance at or contributions to fundraising events are optional.

Morning and afternoon snacks are free, with a voluntary donation box, while parents supply a packed lunch for both funded and privately paid attendance. Crestwood publishes a nut-free food policy and advises an ice pack in lunchboxes. Non-food consumables are also supplied from home: nappies, wipes, disposal bags and sun cream.

Getting There

Drivers use the designated overflow car park at Crestwood Community School, following its arrangements for disabled spaces. If that car park is full, the alternative is Shakespeare shopping centre car park.

The pre-school occupies space within a school site, but attending does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still need to use the local authority's school admissions process.

• Mathematical challenge. The July 2025 improvement point concerned extending mathematical understanding through teaching. During a visit, ask how staff now use children's play to explore comparisons, shapes and problems beyond familiar counting.
• Starting age. The application form gives an entry point of two years nine months, subject to space, while the overall age range begins at two. That entry point affects when younger children can begin attending.
• Term-time routine. The full-day pattern ends at 3.05pm and includes holiday and training-day closures. Check the calendar against working hours and the care needed outside those sessions.
• Food and care supplies. Lunches, nappies, wipes and sun cream come from home, and used nappies are returned for disposal. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food handling and their child's individual arrangements during a visit.

Crestwood suits families seeking term-time full-day preschool care who value outdoor choice, weekly woodland-garden visits and close involvement in their child's learning. Two key persons and Tapestry give that involvement practical channels, while the parent committee offers a further role in shaping the setting.

Mathematical challenge remains the educational consideration; the full-day timetable, home-supplied lunches and care items also need to fit family routines.