Chrysalis Pre-School at The Cricket Club

Bug hunts among leaves and logs, construction with wooden blocks and children helping prepare lunch give Chrysalis Pre-School at The Cricket Club a recognisable character in its October 2022 account of daily life. Practical exploration mattered here. Children had opportunities to investigate, cooperate and take responsibility, rather than simply follow an adult's instructions.

At its 13 October 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Good overall. This preschool is based at Loughton Cricket Club in Loughton, Essex, and has 32 places in total for children aged three to five. That age range makes it a choice for the preschool years rather than care beginning in infancy.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play supports communication, physical skills and understanding of the world. In October 2022, children explored these through concrete experiences, including building, investigating natural materials and talking with adults about their discoveries.

Large wooden blocks gave children a problem to solve together. They discussed how to arrange them so that their structures would hold, while staff introduced language about position. Mathematics therefore had an immediate purpose within play. Questions about combining mud and sand also encouraged children to predict what might happen.

Stories and tools supplied different routes into language in October 2022. Expressive reading drew children into books, while staff explained the names and uses of tools such as pliers. Children subsequently used that vocabulary with one another. Handling scissors and a hole punch brought another practical dimension: adults demonstrated the movements, then children tried them themselves.

Black History Month prompted discussion of prominent Black athletes in October 2022, followed by an obstacle course inspired by their sports. Balancing, running and throwing connected conversation with movement. Yoga and dance also featured at that time, giving children other ways to explore what their bodies could do.

Outdoor and Community Life

In October 2022, logs, leaves and a spider's web became starting points for outdoor investigation. Staff joined children's searches and explained what they noticed. A warning before moving indoors gave children time to finish their activity, which helped preserve the thread of their play.

Community experiences included occasional visits to a nearby war memorial and collecting food for a local church for Harvest Festival. Parents and visiting professionals, including dentists, also talked about work, customs and cultures. These were useful starting points, but the October 2022 improvement priorities included giving children more opportunities to understand their local community.

In October 2022, transfers from a linked setting involved conversations between key persons and parents, with information shared between staff. This gave practitioners a starting point for understanding individual children. Children approached their key person for practical help, including getting changed, showing how those relationships worked within the day.

Emotional language was part of care at that time. Adults asked children about their feelings and helped them find words to express them. Children also undertook helping responsibilities, wearing tabards while preparing for lunch or tackling small jobs. These tasks gave them a tangible contribution to preschool life.

At the October 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective, with staff recognising possible signs of harm, understanding how to respond and reviewing attendance and accident information for patterns. That is a dated judgement, alongside a specific improvement priority concerning small hazards left on the floor.

Four staff worked directly with children in October 2022, and a special educational needs coordinator worked across this preschool and two associated settings. Parents could contribute through a book exchange or by collecting autumn materials with their children; support also included working with other agencies around children's development. These examples describe the arrangements at that time.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with closure on Bank Holidays. For parents organising work around preschool, that opening window is a useful starting point for planning the day.

Getting There

The address is Loughton Cricket Club, The Uplands, Loughton, Essex, IG10 1NQ. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 020 8502 2912 or by email to admissions@chrysalisnursery.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

In October 2022, the preschool provided funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. That dated participation should be kept separate from the arrangements a family agrees for a new booking.

• Small hazards during play. In October 2022, resources left on the floor sometimes created slip or trip risks. On a visit, ask how staff now spot and remove these while children are busy exploring.
• Community experiences. Broader learning about the local community was an October 2022 improvement priority, despite occasional landmark visits and visiting professionals. Ask for recent examples of how this now shapes children's experiences.
• Your booking and costs. The opening window runs from 7.30am to 6pm and funded education was offered in October 2022. What attendance pattern and current funding arrangement would apply to your child, and what would the written quotation include for meals and consumables?

Chrysalis suits families seeking a preschool setting for a child aged three to five, with practical exploration and growing independence as priorities. The October 2022 examples of collaborative building, outdoor investigation and helping responsibilities give that judgement substance. The two improvement priorities deserve attention during a visit, especially how staff manage small hazards and extend children's community experiences.