Flying Start

A scout hall, a sensory garden and children growing food from seed give Flying Start its character. This Molesey preschool makes substantial use of outdoor space: a mud kitchen, water play and construction materials sit alongside quieter places for books and songs. Its appeal is practical as well as playful. Children have room to investigate, make things and choose what interests them.

Ofsted rated Flying Start Good at its September 2022 inspection. The clearest strengths beneath that judgement were children's confidence, developing independence and relationships with familiar adults; the improvement point concerned how consistently staff adapted spontaneous play and group activities to children's different needs.

There are 30 places in total, and children can join from age two until five. Attendance is term-time only, with a shorter morning session or a longer session ending in mid-afternoon. This is a preschool rhythm rather than an evening childcare arrangement.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the shared early-years framework: children develop communication, physical skills and relationships through play, alongside early literacy, mathematics, creative work and understanding the world. Flying Start uses Birth to 5 Matters as its progression framework, helping staff organise the next stages of children's learning. The additional detail lies in how activities are planned, rather than in the framework's name.

Children's interests, experiences at home and individual developmental needs help shape the curriculum. Planned adult-led activities sit alongside play that children initiate themselves. Staff use observation, conversation and children's own contributions to decide what to introduce next. This makes the planning responsive to the child, with opportunities to revisit an idea and develop it further rather than simply move through a fixed sequence of activities.

Assessment includes daily observations, while Tapestry, the online learning journal, carries weekly observations for families. Half-termly tracking, parent meetings and transition reports add more formal review points. Parents contribute too. The useful combination is ongoing detail about what a child is doing and opportunities to discuss the next step, rather than relying entirely on an end-of-year account.

In September 2022, children selected their own activities and were allowed to finish their play. Adult-led learning included connecting sounds and letters with familiar objects and children's names. A dinosaur activity introduced a mixture of vinegar and bicarbonate of soda: children investigated its bubbling, smell and sound. These examples show how everyday play could bring language, observation and experimentation together.

Outdoor and Community Life

The bright hall has soft furnishings and cushions for reading, singing or taking a quieter moment. Outside, the sensory garden gives children natural materials to explore, while the larger garden includes a log pile, bikes and trikes, loose parts and a sand pit. Different kinds of activity have different spaces. A child can investigate materials, build something or move energetically rather than depend on one outdoor activity.

Outdoor activities combine group games and music with wildlife identification and making things from natural materials. A trained Forest School teacher organises and leads them. That is concrete outdoor teaching, alongside opportunities for children to explore independently. The growing area adds a longer sequence: children sow seeds, care for plants and vegetables, and eventually eat what they have grown. It connects an activity today with something that develops over time.

In September 2022, sensory exploration included noticing the sounds, textures, sights and smells of natural materials in the garden. Children's home languages and cultural backgrounds also entered activities, with parents contributing visits. That gave everyday learning a connection to children's lives beyond preschool.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person, called their Special Teacher. This adult learns the child's routines and preferences, offers comfort, follows their development and acts as the family's main contact. The role brings care and learning together: knowing what unsettles a child matters alongside knowing what they enjoy and what they are ready to try next.

The key person shares observations with parents and supports independence in ordinary routines. Families' knowledge of their child is part of that relationship, rather than an occasional addition. Combined with Tapestry and parent meetings, this provides several ways to discuss development and share information from home.

In September 2022, children who were new to the setting received reassurance through gentle interaction and quieter activities. Familiar adults were people children sought when unsettled. Independence was visible in practical tasks, including managing coats, using the toilet and making snack choices. These were small, useful steps towards managing a school day, rather than school preparation being confined to formal learning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and judged that children with SEND were making substantial developmental progress through individual support and collaboration with families and other professionals. Those are dated findings, rather than guarantees about an individual child's experience today.

Current support arrangements include a SENCO role and the Surrey Support Plan, used to plan for children with additional needs. Individual needs also inform curriculum planning. For a family seeking support, the important mechanism is how their child's needs become part of the activities and next steps, with parents involved in the discussion.

The September 2022 improvement point remains a useful question for a visit: staff did not always adjust their approach promptly enough to support younger children's emotions in group activities or extend the communication of more-established children. It concerned the consistency of interaction, making it relevant to both a child still settling and one ready for greater challenge.

Sessions and Attendance

Flying Start opens from 9am to 2.30pm, Monday to Friday during term time. The two booking patterns run from 9am to 12.30pm and from 9am to 2.30pm. Children staying for the longer session bring a packed lunch; snacks attract a separate voluntary charge. The distinction matters when matching preschool with the rest of a family's day.

Two-year-olds must attend at least two sessions each week. For three- and four-year-olds, the minimum is three sessions. These are attendance commitments, so the shorter session still needs to be considered as part of a weekly pattern rather than an occasional morning.

Enquiries and visit arrangements can be made by email at info@flyingstartmolesey.com or by telephone on 07976 041790. Joining involves a registration form. Children are accepted from age two until five; the general funding information about younger children does not change that joining age.

Getting There

The setting occupies the 1st Molesey Scout Hut at 193 Walton Road, KT8 2DY, set back along a small driveway. The entrance is opposite Majestic Wines and near Molesey Library, useful landmarks for finding the building.

Funding and Paid Extras

Flying Start offers working-parent funded childcare and universal funding, with FEET-funded places for two-year-olds also part of its offer. Eligible working families can access up to 30 funded hours, while universal funding provides 15 hours from the term after a child's third birthday. Flying Start itself offers 27.5 hours each week over 38 weeks, so the wider working-parent entitlement and this preschool's operating pattern are different figures.

Delivery is term-time. Families receiving funding complete the Surrey County Council Declaration form; working-parent codes need reconfirming every three months. These administrative requirements matter alongside choosing sessions, because a funding arrangement depends on keeping the relevant paperwork and code current.

The additional-charge structure is explicitly voluntary. It covers snacks, consumables such as wipes and toileting supplies, and additional services and resources. Packed lunches come from home, while snacks are charged separately; non-food consumables also attract the separate voluntary charge, including during funded hours. The listed services include access to Tapestry, cooking and gardening materials, workshops and visits, rather than food alone.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The fees and funding page explains the charge structure, while the curriculum outline sets out planning and assessment.

• A term-time timetable. Both sessions start at 9am and finish by 2.30pm. Families needing care later in the day or through school holidays should weigh that timetable before choosing their attendance pattern.
• Different minimum commitments. Two-year-olds attend at least two sessions weekly; three- and four-year-olds attend at least three. Consider how that commitment fits the child's routine as they get older.
• Interaction during group activities. The September 2022 improvement point concerned adapting teaching to younger children's emotional needs and extending other children's communication. During a visit, ask how staff now adjust a group activity for children at different stages.
• Funding and voluntary extras. The preschool offers 27.5 weekly hours across 38 weeks, alongside voluntary charges for snacks, supplies and additional services. Ask how the written quotation separates funded attendance, packed lunches and the voluntary contribution for your chosen sessions.

Flying Start suits families seeking either morning preschool or a longer session that includes a packed lunch, within a term-time routine. Its strongest practical attraction is the combination of a spacious hall, varied outdoor areas and learning that follows children's interests. Growing vegetables and exploring natural materials give that approach tangible substance.

The Good judgement dates to September 2022, and the interaction improvement point deserves attention when visiting. For parents whose schedules fit the hours and minimum attendance, the key-person system and regular learning observations add useful structure to an exploratory preschool day.