Kids2Day Pre-School

Daily soft play gives Kids2Day Pre-School a clear identity. Based within Kids2Day Indoor Play Centre in Chandler's Ford, it combines exclusive use of the on-site centre with a garden and regular outings into the surrounding community. Movement is part of the everyday offer, rather than an occasional addition.

The pre-school has 12 places in total and welcomes children aged 2–5. At its 25 February 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall and found safeguarding effective. That positive judgement came with two concrete priorities: making learning intentions more precise and reducing pressure on staff.

All-day, morning and afternoon sessions serve families seeking different lengths of attendance across the year.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop through play, conversation and activities spanning seven areas of learning. Kids2Day combines play chosen by children with activities introduced by adults. Topics and celebrations organise the curriculum, while five aspirations, each with successive milestones, shape its longer-term planning. For parents, the useful distinction is between what interests a child today and what staff intend that child to learn next.

Concrete examples from February 2025 show how everyday materials became learning opportunities. Children explored sea creatures using toy animals, with related stories extending the activity. Sand-filled containers prompted discussion about quantity, while tape measures gave children a reason to count. These are approachable ways of introducing language and mathematical ideas through things children can handle.

Communication also took forms beyond spoken words. In February 2025, staff used pictures and Makaton sign language to give children additional ways to express themselves. Regular sessions involving music and movement added another form of participation. The day therefore included both conversation around shared activities and opportunities to join in physically.

The central educational reservation concerns precision. In February 2025, staff knew the children broadly, but did not consistently identify the intended learning within an activity or connect support to each child's next step. An enjoyable activity and a carefully targeted one are different things. This matters when parents want to understand how play translates into individual development.

Outdoor and Community Life

Exclusive daily access to soft play gives children repeated opportunities to practise balance, coordination and physical confidence. In February 2025, children used its different climbing levels and slide at the beginning of the day. The physical space is a substantial part of this pre-school's character.

The garden provides another setting for exploration, with outdoor activity continuing through changing weather whenever conditions are safe. In February 2025, searching for worms became an opportunity to introduce vocabulary about where creatures live. Regular community outings extend experiences beyond the centre, while the garden keeps outdoor exploration part of the ordinary day. Further detail on the approach appears on the curriculum page.

Relationships and Communication

Settling began with staff learning about children before their first sessions in February 2025. Children sought reassurance from familiar adults, and staff responded with affection and comfort. That preparation gives settling a personal starting point, rather than treating every child as needing the same introduction.

Family knowledge also informed the day. In February 2025, staff gathered information about home languages and cultural backgrounds, shared developmental updates and offered ideas for continuing learning at home. A lending library allowed children to borrow books. This gave families a practical way to carry shared reading beyond the pre-school session.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff recognised developmental gaps and SEND, worked with families and professionals on referrals and plans, and used additional funding to buy communication resources. The current SENCO role coordinates support with staff, families and outside agencies. These are specific mechanisms for organising help around a child's needs.

Every member of the pre-school team has paediatric first aid training, and a designated safeguarding lead provides a contact for concerns. Those roles describe the arrangements in place; the dated inspection judgement above supplies the assessment of safeguarding effectiveness.

In February 2025, children practised washing their hands before eating and putting on outdoor clothing themselves. Toothbrushing and conversations about healthy snacks brought health into everyday routines. Staff also explained behavioural boundaries and intervened when children needed help managing their responses.

Staff wellbeing needs attention alongside children's experiences. In February 2025, supervision and professional development took place, but some tasks spilled into staff members' own time. The improvement priority was to ease that workload pressure, with consequences for morale as well as the organisation of the day.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 5 Renown Close, Chandler's Ford, Eastleigh, SO53 4HZ. Attendance runs Monday to Friday across 51 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays. An All Day Session runs from 9am to 3.30pm; the Morning Session is 9am to noon, and the Afternoon Session runs from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. An hourly charging option also exists.

These are materially different patterns: a morning or afternoon gives a shorter block of attendance, while the all-day session spans both parts of the day. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email to the pre-school.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through working-family funding, eligible two-year-old funding and universal early education for three- and four-year-olds. Entitlements are stretched across the year. The working-family offer describes 15 or 30 funded hours, depending on age and eligibility, delivered as 11 or 22 hours each week under the stretched arrangement. The 15-hour entitlements for eligible two-year-olds and for children from the term after their third birthday are delivered as 11 hours weekly.

A separate voluntary session supplement covers snacks and non-food consumables, including wipes, nappies and nappy sacks, alongside soft play and outings. It applies to sessions, including those using funded hours, so families should distinguish entitlement-funded time from the supplementary charge. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the funding and fees page explains the structure.

School preparation is organised through Kids2Day, School Tomorrow, a programme developing communication, early reading and maths, independence, emotional resilience and personal care. Its practical emphasis is on skills children will use as they move on.

• Learning beyond the activity. Planning was an improvement priority in February 2025. On a visit, ask staff to explain how a recent activity connects to an individual child's next learning step.
• Staff workload. In February 2025, some staff completed tasks outside working hours. Ask what arrangements now protect time for planning and other responsibilities.
• Attendance and supplements. Morning, afternoon and all-day bookings sit alongside stretched funding and a voluntary session supplement. Request a written quotation for the pattern you intend to use, including how declining the supplement works.
• An active physical setting. Daily soft play and garden access are central to the offer. Ask how staff balance energetic play with quieter periods for your child.

Kids2Day suits families seeking morning, afternoon or all-day pre-school attendance, with substantial opportunities for movement and outdoor exploration. Its small overall capacity, daily soft play and practical school-preparation programme give it a recognisable shape. The February 2025 priorities remain useful decision points: parents should look for clear explanations of individual learning and the arrangements supporting staff time. The attraction is concrete, but so are the questions worth taking to a visit.