Ducklings Pre-School

An old caretaker’s lodge, shared spaces for different ages and an allotment give Ducklings Pre-School a recognisable character. Within the grounds of Brookfield Community School in Sarisbury Green, this is a setting where children can move between practical activities rather than spend the day in separate age-based rooms. There are 26 places in total, and the nursery primarily serves children aged two to five, younger children have also attended.

At its July 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Ducklings Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. The detail behind that judgement is useful: in July 2024, children made their own play dough, explored news about earthquakes and helped grow vegetables. These are concrete examples of a day that gives children things to investigate, discuss and do for themselves.

Care runs across 48 weeks, with daily attendance and a breakfast club.

Rooms and Ages

Children of different ages share spaces, with staff adapting activities and the environment to individual developmental needs. Families choosing between mixed-age and age-separated provision should weigh that arrangement.

Inside, a kitchen accommodates messy activities, another room supports woodwork and smaller groups, and the main room provides space for play and more directed tasks. Children can move freely between the areas and their resources. The arrangement gives them choices about what to explore, while allowing a quieter group activity to have its own space.

Children help select activities and resources, prepare snacks and set tables for lunch. These jobs give them opportunities to express preferences and take responsibility.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care: here, that means learning through play, conversation and practical experiences. Planning builds on children’s interests and their next steps, with time for individual exploration, small groups and activities involving everyone. The framework is the foundation; the particular activities give Ducklings its character.

Alongside child-led play, activities can include woodwork, yoga, stories, music and movement. Children help choose future themes.

In July 2024, children made play dough using ingredients they could reach themselves. Staff encouraged them to solve a sticky mixture problem, giving them a practical reason to test ideas.

In July 2024, children explored syllables by clapping their names, while a children’s newspaper prompted discussion of earthquakes and tectonic plates. Language learning connected sounds with substantial topics to discuss.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor area includes a sensory garden, bug hotel, climbing frame, large sand pit and mud kitchen. These offer different kinds of activity: climbing and moving, investigating small creatures, handling materials and imaginative play. Outdoor use continues through the seasons, making suitable clothing part of the routine.

A separate allotment takes growing beyond simply planting a seed. Children can follow vegetables through to preparing them for homemade soup. The additional lawn provides space for PE and games, and hosts the annual graduation day. Together, these spaces give outdoor activity several purposes, from physical movement to marking the end of children’s time at preschool.

In July 2024, regular forest school sessions helped children explore the natural world, and children were growing pumpkins, cabbages and tomatoes on the allotment. Frequent outings included the woods and library, while recurring care-home visits brought children into contact with older residents. Those experiences extended the day beyond the lodge and gave children opportunities to engage with people and places outside their immediate group.

Relationships and Communication

Families discuss settling options before children start. Parents supply spare clothes to remain at Ducklings and nappies where needed.

In July 2024, families received updates through an online app, newsletters and daily conversations. A parent committee met with staff to discuss fundraising and possible developments. The combination gave parents both day-to-day information about their child and a way to contribute to the setting’s wider plans.

School preparation was practical in July 2024: children researched their future schools, including looking at virtual tours. Exploring an unfamiliar place in advance gave them something concrete to discuss. Ducklings’ position within school grounds does not guarantee a Reception place; families still use the local authority admissions process for a state-school place.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO role supports the identification of additional needs. Ducklings coordinates support with families and professionals, including EMTAS, Portage and SALT, and adapts activities and the shared environment to children’s needs.

At the July 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff supported children with special educational needs and/or disabilities through targeted strategies and individual learning plans developed with parents and other professionals. That is a dated finding about how support worked, rather than a general promise about every future child’s experience.

Hungry Monsters, based in Segensworth, supplies prepared lunches and caters for dietary requirements, including allergies. Lunch is charged separately, and snacks for funded children are covered by a separate contribution towards snacks, consumables and resources.

Sessions and Attendance

Ducklings is at Brookfield School, Brook Lane, Sarisbury Green, Southampton SO31 7DU. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays. The daily attendance window is 8am to 6pm, with breakfast club from 7.30am to 8am; paid hours can also supplement funded attendance.

The lunch session runs from noon to 1pm and includes a prepared meal and dessert. Attendance operates over 48 weeks, with closures during the final two weeks of August, two weeks at Christmas and bank holidays. Families arranging year-round childcare therefore need to account for those breaks, as well as the hours they book during ordinary weeks.

Applications use a downloadable form. Families can discuss settling options before their child starts. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email or by telephone. The application and settling stages serve different purposes: one starts the administrative process, while the other gives families and staff time to discuss the transition.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding is accepted for eligible children aged two, three and four. For three- and four-year-olds in Hampshire, the 15-hour weekly entitlement runs over 38 weeks and begins in the term following the child’s third birthday; eligible working families may receive 30 hours per week, which can be stretched across the year at Ducklings. Eligibility conditions apply, so an entitlement should not be treated as a promise of funding for every family.

Additional private hours are charged by the hour, including top-up hours alongside funded attendance. Funded children have separate charges towards snacks, consumables and other resources, with lunch charged separately too. Parents provide nappies where required, so non-food supplies involve both parental provision and a charged contribution.

The session and funding information explains the charge structure. Families should obtain current prices in a written quotation from Ducklings, keeping the funded hours, additional attendance and associated charges together when assessing the total arrangement.

• Shared spaces across ages. Children use the same areas rather than separate age-based rooms. During a visit, ask how activities and quieter time are organised for your child’s developmental stage, especially if they are younger than the main preschool age group.
• Holiday closures. The 48-week pattern includes breaks at Christmas and in late August, plus bank holidays. Match those dates against work commitments before choosing an attendance pattern.
• Funding and associated charges. Funded attendance carries separate charges for snacks, consumables and resources, and lunch is charged separately. Parents supply nappies when needed. Assess the written quotation as a complete childcare arrangement, rather than looking only at the funded hours.
• Dietary arrangements. Hungry Monsters caters for allergies and other dietary needs. Families affected by an allergy should confirm the current handling arrangements and discuss any alternative meal arrangements before their child starts.

Ducklings suits families who value a shared, mixed-age setting with practical activities and substantial outdoor space. The allotment, woodwork area and opportunities for children to help with everyday jobs give that preference a concrete basis. Its July 2024 Outstanding judgement adds an important dated assessment of quality.

The attendance model can serve both families booking hourly top-ups around funded provision and those using the daily window with an early breakfast club. The main decisions are whether shared spaces suit the child, how the annual closures fit family routines and how the associated charges fit the budget. For parents drawn to children learning by making, growing and taking part, Ducklings offers a clear proposition.