Seahawk Pre School

Sticks, recycled materials and a travelling teddy give Seahawk Pre School its character. This Gosport setting combines loose parts play with environmental activities: children can build with crates, explore everyday objects and take their mascot beyond preschool. Nature is a practical part of the day, rather than simply a theme for displays.

At its 13 January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Seahawk Good and found its safeguarding arrangements effective. There were also clear improvement priorities: more consistent responses to behaviour and better organisation of group activities. Those points matter alongside the positive picture of affectionate relationships and hands-on learning.

Seahawk has capacity for 18 children, with an accepted age range of 24 to 60 months. It belongs to Naval Under Fives and operates at 201 St Nicholas Avenue, Gosport. Its small scale will appeal to parents seeking a preschool where outdoor interests and everyday materials shape children's experiences.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, that means learning through play, with practical opportunities to use language, explore quantities and practise independence. Seahawk's child-led approach adds a clear emphasis on loose parts play: fabric, stones, sticks and reused objects can become materials for constructing and imagining, rather than toys with one prescribed use.

In January 2025, staff used sand play to introduce mathematical ideas, inviting children to estimate the scoops needed to fill a container. Songs accompanied sensory exploration, while chalk and pretend baking offered other ways to create. These were accessible learning experiences built around things children could handle and change themselves.

Language also ran through that January 2025 day. Adults introduced vocabulary during play, read stories and sang with children, using signs and visual prompts to support understanding. Communication was woven into activities rather than confined to a single group session. Yoga featured too, although some group activities lasted beyond certain children's attention spans, leading to distraction for them and others.

Outdoor and Community Life

Seahawk holds a Silver Award in the RSPB Wild Challenge, linked to its outdoor learning and environmental work. Community Clean-Up Day gives that interest a local expression through participation in environmental activities. It connects caring for nature with something children can actually do.

The preschool has also adopted a giraffe at Marwell Zoo. That is an animal adoption, rather than a promise of zoo visits. Gilbert the teddy, its mascot, accompanies children's preschool adventures and can join holidays or days out with families, giving home and preschool a shared point of conversation.

In January 2025, children used litter-picking equipment in the surrounding community and practised taking manageable risks outdoors. Independence extended to ordinary tasks: choosing snacks with tongs and clearing spilled materials. These details show a day in which children had useful jobs as well as opportunities to play.

Gilbert the teddy offers a simple connection between family life and preschool. Taking a familiar mascot on an outing gives children an experience they can bring back into conversations with staff and friends. The relationship is built around something tangible.

In January 2025, children sought cuddles and conversation from familiar adults, who responded warmly. Staff also shared ideas for activities at home through online learning journals. That gave parents practical ways to continue an interest beyond the preschool day, rather than receiving updates alone.

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked with external agencies to arrange early, individual support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), helping them participate in activities. The current team includes a SENCO role and a designated safeguarding lead, and the manager has paediatric first aid training. These are concrete arrangements families can discuss in relation to their own child's needs.

Preparation for Reception is part of the team's work with families. The emphasis is on helping children develop confidence for the next stage, rather than presenting preschool attendance as an admissions advantage.

Seahawk's address is 201 St Nicholas Avenue, Gosport, PO13 9RJ. Opening hours are 7am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Those hours describe the operating window; families should use the attendance question below when considering how it fits their routine.

Direct contact is through seahawk@navalunderfives.org.uk or 07773154762. This provides a branch contact for arranging a conversation about joining.

In January 2025, the setting provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. Families weighing funded hours alongside paid childcare should request a current written quotation as part of the attendance discussion below, so that the proposed arrangement and its costs can be considered together.

• Behaviour boundaries. In January 2025, responses to low-level disruption varied between staff, making expectations harder for children to understand. Ask how the team now responds consistently to snatching and helps children understand the effect of their actions.
• Group activities. Some January 2025 group sessions lost children's attention and disrupted others' involvement. Ask how activities are adjusted for children who need shorter periods of participation.
• Your attendance plan. With opening hours extending from 7am to 5pm, what booking pattern and holiday arrangements would apply to your child, and how would funded hours, meals and consumables be treated in the written quotation?

Seahawk suits families drawn to practical, child-led play and environmental activity in a preschool with 18 places. Loose parts play, Community Clean-Up Day and Gilbert the teddy give it a recognisable character, with useful links between learning, local responsibility and home life.

The January 2025 findings support that appeal while identifying two matters to explore: consistent behaviour boundaries and group activities that sustain children's attention. Parents whose children enjoy making, investigating and doing everyday tasks have clear reasons to consider it.