Tiddlers Preschool Hersham

High-ceilinged halls, weekly sport and outdoor learning give Tiddlers Preschool Hersham a clear character: a preschool where movement and play have room to spread out. Based at St Mary’s Church Hall in Walton on Thames, it combines indoor activities with an enclosed outdoor play area and outings to the local library. The emphasis is on preschool childhood rather than an extended childcare day.

At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good and safeguarding effective, while identifying uneven teaching practice and asking for stronger support to develop staff teaching skills. That gives families a positive overall judgement with a specific improvement point to weigh.

Tiddlers provides early education for children aged two to five. Attendance is term-time only, with morning, afternoon and all-day sessions and a minimum booking of three sessions each week.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the educational framework: children develop their learning through play, activities and relationships. Here, art and craft materials, toys and games give children different ways to explore and practise skills. The high-ceilinged halls are a concrete part of the offer, giving indoor learning a spacious setting alongside the outdoor area.

In February 2024, books drew children into both shared reading and independent exploration. Children chose favourites, looked closely at books and discussed story characters with staff. This gives literacy a practical starting point: enjoying a book, paying attention and talking about what it contains.

Mathematics also emerged through play in February 2024. Dough activities prompted conversations about shape, size and quantities, while pretend baking brought in weight and ingredients. These examples show how familiar play can carry mathematical ideas. Pens and brushes gave children opportunities to make purposeful marks, and shaping dough exercised hand movements as well as imagination.

Outdoor and Community Life

A weekly sports class is led by an external provider, and outdoor learning also takes place weekly. Those are two recurring elements families can build into their picture of the week. They add planned movement and outdoor experiences to the everyday toys, games and creative activities.

The enclosed outdoor play area supports play in different weather, while a nearby recreation ground extends the outdoor possibilities. Library outings include shared story time, connecting the preschool’s interest in books with a community setting. No journey estimate is needed to understand the benefit: children have experiences beyond the hall as well as activities within it.

In February 2024, physical play included balancing outdoors. Combined with dough manipulation indoors, the examples covered both whole-body movement and smaller hand skills. The indoor and outdoor spaces therefore served different kinds of activity rather than simply providing a change of scenery.

Each child has a key worker, giving families a particular practitioner who helps respond to that child’s needs. Partnership with parents forms part of this arrangement. Its practical value is continuity: information about a child can connect care at preschool with what matters at home.

In February 2024, staff talked with parents about children’s preferences and needs and shared updates on learning. That exchange helped parents extend activities at home. Children developed close relationships with practitioners, and staff used encouragement and comfort to help them settle into the preschool day.

Support also extended to ordinary social difficulties. In February 2024, practitioners helped children manage sharing and offered reassurance when needed. For a parent choosing a first preschool experience, these examples matter as much as the activity list: the day includes learning how to be alongside other children and how to seek help from an adult.

Preparation for school is part of Tiddlers’ stated purpose. In February 2024, staff identified skills children would need for that next stage. This is preparation through learning and independence; it is not a reason to infer an admissions relationship with another setting.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St Mary’s Church Hall, 36 Church Street, Walton on Thames, Surrey, KT12 2QS. Families can contact Tiddlers by telephone or email to make an enquiry.

Morning sessions run from 8.25am to 11.45am, afternoons from 11.45am to 2.55pm, and all-day sessions from 8.25am to 2.55pm. Provision runs Monday to Friday during term time. The afternoon starts when the morning finishes, so the all-day option spans both parts of the preschool day.

The minimum commitment is three sessions per week. Families can meet this through three half-day sessions or an all-day session plus a half day. That is a meaningful booking condition: it allows different attendance patterns, but a single weekly session does not meet the minimum.

Funding and Paid Extras

Tiddlers accepts 30-hour funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds, alongside two-year-old Early Learning Funding. Funding is delivered during term time. For the 30-hour offer, the starting point is the term following a child’s second birthday, subject to eligibility and Surrey term dates.

A daily levy applies when using the two-year-old or three- and four-year-old 30-hour funding. Children using Early Learning Funding do not pay a registration fee. These are separate conditions, so families should distinguish the entitlement itself from the charges attached to their chosen arrangement.

Paid sessions are also offered. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the session and fees information sets out the attendance options and funding charge structure.

• Term-time attendance. Morning, afternoon and all-day options operate during term time. Families needing care through school holidays will need to plan around that calendar.
• A three-session commitment. The minimum can be met through three half days or an all day plus a half day. Consider which combination fits your child’s routine before choosing attendance days.
• Teaching consistency. In February 2024, teaching varied on some occasions. At a visit, ask how staff development now supports consistent learning across activities.
• Funded-place levy. A daily levy accompanies the 30-hour funding arrangements. Ask what it covers, including the arrangements for meals and non-food consumables, before agreeing the booking.

Tiddlers suits families seeking term-time preschool education with a choice of morning, afternoon or all-day attendance. Weekly sport, weekly outdoor learning and library story outings give the offer substance, while the hall and outdoor area provide different spaces for play.

The February 2024 Good judgement is balanced by the specific concern about teaching consistency. For families comfortable with the term-time calendar and three-session minimum, this is a preschool with clear practical options and a day built around books, creative activity and movement.