St John's Preschool Hook

A church-hall preschool with food exploration, emotional literacy activities and a parent advisory panel gives St John's Preschool Hook a recognisable character. Based at St John's Church Hall on London Road, it has capacity for 21 children. The emphasis is on the preschool years: children normally join in September or January at approximately 2 years 9 months and stay until school.

Ofsted rated the setting Outstanding at its inspection on 12 July 2021. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of today's practice. The current offer combines play shaped around children's interests with practical preparation for school, including an annual School Ready meeting for parents.

Attendance is term-time only, with whole-day and part-day arrangements and a choice of start and finish times. That makes the calendar as important to a family's decision as the activities themselves.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, covering communication, physical development, relationships and other areas of early development. Here, the curriculum aspirations translate that framework into recognisable skills: expressing needs, understanding feelings, enjoying books and exploring numbers, shapes and patterns.

Independence has a practical place alongside those learning goals. Children work towards managing their own care and making decisions, while creative work includes making art in two or three dimensions. These are useful priorities for families seeking preparation for school that extends beyond early reading and counting.

TastEd adds food tasting and exploration, while ELSA means Emotional Literacy Support Activities. Both give parents something concrete to understand about the programme: one brings food into exploration, the other addresses emotions. Cooking and Spanish also feature among the regular activities covered by the consumables and activities charge. The charge structure matters when weighing the overall attendance cost.

Outdoor and Community Life

The setting occupies a church hall, with an outdoor area that is accessible.

Seasonal activities include an Easter family event, a Christmas party with food, a grotto and entertainment, and a Christmas play whose outfits are covered by the activities charge. These connect the programme with family occasions as well as children's everyday play. Messy and sensory activities sit alongside them, giving the curriculum practical forms rather than leaving it as a list of aspirations.

Relationships and Communication

Parents receive progress updates through conversation or Tapestry, the system used for children's development records and photographs. Meetings with a child's key worker take place at points during the year to discuss progress and next steps. The combination gives families both ongoing contact and opportunities for a fuller conversation.

The Parents Advisory Panel brings parents into discussion of how the setting works. A volunteer group of three parents or carers meets staff once each term to review practice and consider suggestions. It provides a defined route for feedback beyond conversations about an individual child.

An annual School Ready meeting explains the setting's practices and helps parents prepare for the move to school. The emphasis is on preparation for that change, rather than an admissions advantage.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A Special Needs Coordinator role sits within the staff structure. Where the preschool cannot provide sufficient support for a child's needs, it works with the family, local authority and welfare agencies to identify appropriate support. It may then end the childcare agreement.

Staff in the setting have paediatric first aid and safeguarding training. Families must identify who will collect their child. Anyone who does not usually collect must provide proof of identity or the allocated secure word; if staff remain uncertain about their identity, they check with parents before releasing the child. These are practical arrangements parents need to understand.

Food provision centres on snacks, and children attending all day bring a packed lunch. The allergy policy acknowledges possible cross-contamination and provides for an individual risk assessment where a child has known allergies or significant medical needs.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St John's Church Hall, London Road, Hook, Hampshire, RG27 9EG. Attendance runs Monday to Friday during term time, with whole-day, part-day and flexible start and finish arrangements. The September and January entry points are tied to children reaching approximately 2 years 9 months.

A waiting list is maintained for each academic year, taking account of both time on the list and the child's date of birth. Joining requires a registration form and deposit; half the deposit is returned when the child attends their first term. Reducing hours or leaving requires at least half a term's notice, with withdrawal notice given in writing. These terms deserve attention when planning a change in childcare.

Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form. Parking facilities are provided at the setting.

Funding and Paid Extras

Universal funded childcare for three- and four-year-olds is accepted, alongside working-parent funding, and the setting can accept and share a 30 hour childcare code. Funding is delivered during term time. Eligibility conditions still apply, and hours outside the funded entitlement are charged privately.

Snacks, milk, nappies, wipes and sun cream sit within a separate, non-compulsory consumables and activities charge. Families declining that charge must supply their own consumables and give advance notice so arrangements can be discussed; packed lunches remain the family's responsibility for whole-day attendance. This separates funded childcare from the food, supplies and activities associated with attending.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The relevant cost comparison is the attendance pattern together with any consumables and activities charge, rather than the childcare hours alone.

• Later regulatory record. Ofsted's records list a concern dated 15 May 2025; its outcome is not published, so families may want to ask the nursery about it.
• Collection time. Two opening windows conflict: 8.45am to 3.00pm and 8.45am to 4.00pm, both Monday to Friday in term time. Confirm the applicable closing time and your child's agreed attendance before committing.
• Allergies and lunch. Whole-day children bring lunch, and the snack policy acknowledges possible cross-contamination. At a visit, discuss how the individual allergy risk assessment would work for your child.
• Joining timetable. Entry normally falls in September or January at approximately 2 years 9 months, and the waiting list considers age as well as time waiting. New-parent visits run on weekdays from 9:30 to 10am, conditional on space on the relevant year's waiting list.

St John's suits families seeking term-time preschool through either whole-day attendance or shorter part-days. Food exploration, emotional literacy activities and structured parent involvement give its offer useful substance. The annual School Ready meeting also gives families a practical point of contact before the next stage.

The 2021 Outstanding judgement is a positive historical marker. For today's decision, the later concern, conflicting closing times and the relationship between funded hours and additional charges warrant attention alongside the curriculum and parent communication.