Whiteley Pre-School

A community-centre hall with direct garden access gives Whiteley Pre-School its character: children can move between shared indoor play and outdoor exploration throughout the day. This charity-run, committee-led preschool occupies Whiteley Community Centre in Gull Coppice, Whiteley. It welcomes children from 2 years and 6 months and has capacity for 42 children. The emphasis is on play, natural resources and adults helping children develop their own ideas.

Ofsted rated the Community Centre setting Good on 14 July 2021. Its current offer combines a shared main play space, individual key-person support and targeted language activities, rather than separate rooms for successive age groups. Morning, afternoon and all-day sessions run during term time, with a breakfast club for an earlier start.

Rooms and Ages

Woodlands (Main Hall) is the indoor base, with playdough, a creative area and a mark-making table supporting hands-on exploration and early writing. Role play and small-world resources, including trains and bricks, give children materials for inventing stories and working out how things fit together.

Within that shared space, each key group has a carpet area where children keep their drinks and comfort items. Small-group gatherings make room for talking about feelings, sharing ideas and discussing the day. Letters and sounds games introduce early literacy through group activity. A shared hall therefore contains smaller points of connection, giving children a familiar group alongside opportunities to play more widely.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the educational framework: children's learning includes language, physical development, relationships, literacy, maths, understanding the world and creative expression. Here, those areas are approached through play, alongside planned activities shaped around children's interests.

Natural, open-ended materials are central to that approach. Real fruit and vegetables feature in pretend play, and children use china plates at snack time. A muted colour scheme keeps displays visually restrained. These details connect play with ordinary life and leave children room to decide what an object or activity might become.

Adults use sustained shared thinking, working with children to explore an idea or solve a problem rather than supplying an immediate answer. Music, cooking, yoga, stories and circle games can develop from children's interests. Daily messy play adds another opportunity to experiment. Digital resources have a smaller role, with access mainly guided by adults.

Outdoor and Community Life

The hall opens straight onto the garden, so outdoor play can remain part of the day rather than a separate excursion. A mud kitchen and water play area invite experimentation, while a sensory walkway adds opportunities for movement and sensory exploration. The playhouse and bug and investigation area give children further settings for imaginative play and looking closely at nature.

All-in-one weather suits support outdoor access in wet or cold conditions, although extreme temperatures can alter garden use. Beyond the preschool, outings include the park, post office and walks among the trees. The children's lending library extends stories into home life: books can be borrowed from the information stand in the coffee lounge, with a separate collection available for adults.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated before a child starts and becomes the family's main contact. That relationship links settling, everyday care and learning: the same practitioner gets to know the child and shares observations with parents. Development is assessed each term through everyday activity, with information recorded in an individual learning journey. Parents are invited to contribute their own knowledge, keeping home experiences part of the picture.

Settling sessions carry no charge and can continue according to the child's needs. The process begins with a parent and child playing together, then gradually increases the key person's involvement and introduces short separations. Families receive a photo book showing the room and key person, plus a chatter bag and an all about me form. These give parents concrete ways to prepare their child and share useful information before regular attendance begins.

Famly, an app for messages and updates, is the principal communication channel. Key persons aim to talk with parents at the start and end of sessions, and parent meetings take place each term.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Visual timetables help children understand the sequence of the day. Staff also use Makaton, a communication system combining speech with signs and symbols, and share a sign of the week with families. That gives parents a practical way to use the same communication support at home.

A dedicated SENDCo coordinates additional support. Little Talkers is a selected small group for children needing extra help with communication, using play and games in daily sessions lasting approximately 10 minutes. It is a specific support mechanism, not a general promise about outcomes. The preschool also has a designated safeguarding lead role and security locks on its doors; these describe its arrangements rather than establish their effectiveness.

Sessions and Attendance

All-day sessions run from 9am to 3pm; mornings are 9am to noon and afternoons noon to 3pm. The Community Centre breakfast club starts at 8.15am. Attendance is Monday to Friday during term time, with school holidays outside the operating calendar. The minimum booking is two three-hour sessions, so the offer includes shorter sessions as well as a complete preschool day.

There are three intakes during the year, with September the main intake and flexibility according to individual circumstances. The preschool encourages registration before a child reaches 18 months, and additional session requests are handled in order of receipt. Enquiries can be made by telephone or through the online registration route.

Getting There

The address is Whiteley Community Centre, Gull Coppice, Yew Tree Drive, Whiteley, Fareham, PO15 7LA. When using the branch selector on the registration form, choose Whiteley Pre-School for this Community Centre setting.

The preschool describes relationships with Whiteley Primary School and Cornerstone Church of England Primary School. Attendance does not guarantee a school place; families still use the local authority admissions process. School preparation includes independence and communication skills; information about children's progress is shared with parents and carers.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children can use up to 30 funded hours per week, delivered during term time. Funded hours carry no additional charge, while extra hours and attendance before funding eligibility are paid privately. Families can opt into a voluntary monthly contribution towards snacks, non-food consumables and activities beyond the EYFS; this is separate from the funded entitlement.

Morning sessions include an offered fruit or vegetable snack, supported by that voluntary contribution; children attending afternoons or all day bring a packed lunch. Consumables likewise sit within the voluntary contribution rather than a compulsory addition to funded hours. Individual payment plans can be arranged on request, and current prices come in the preschool's written quotation.

Uniform is encouraged but optional, with navy or white polo shirts and a navy jumper or cardigan.

• Term-time planning. Morning, afternoon and all-day sessions finish by 3pm, with breakfast club providing the earlier start. Families needing care through school holidays must plan around the preschool's closures.
• A shared play base. Woodlands combines key-group carpet areas with open play spaces and direct garden access. During a visit, explore how that arrangement would work for your child's preferences and confidence in a shared room.
• Settling and communication. Gradual separations are part of the settling process, supported by a key person and familiarisation materials. Discuss how that sequence would be adapted for your child, especially if separation is difficult.
• Funding and lunches. Funded hours have no compulsory additional charge, and the monthly contribution is voluntary. Afternoon and all-day attendance requires a packed lunch, which adds a practical task to the family routine.

Whiteley Pre-School suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as an all-day preschool pattern during term time. Its strongest practical features are the connection between hall and garden, the smaller key groups within the shared space, and specific communication support through Makaton and Little Talkers.

The community-centre model also gives parents ways to participate, through the elected committee and lending libraries. The Good judgement dates to July 2021; the decision today rests on whether the current play arrangements, settling process and term-time timetable fit the child and family. For those priorities, this is a clearly defined preschool offer.