Amber Pre-School

Woodland exploration gives Amber Pre-School a clear identity: Amber Ant Club takes children into nature twice a week, with child-led play and supported tool use adding something concrete to the indoor day. At the Scout Hut in Horsham, children can also choose between indoor activities and the garden. Outdoor learning is a recurring part of the offer.

At its 14 March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Amber Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. The setting has capacity for 18 children in total, while its current offer welcomes children aged two to five. That capacity is a whole-setting figure, rather than a promise about the number attending an individual session.

Morning and afternoon sessions run during term time. For parents, the strongest combination is the outdoor programme, practical independence and a key-worker system supported by an online learning journal. There is also a clear teaching point to weigh: in March 2024, staff sometimes directed activities too closely, leaving children less room to develop their own ideas.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play, covering language, physical development and social development alongside early mathematics and literacy. Amber's sessions build around children's interests, with observation and assessment informing what staff plan next. The framework is the starting point; the twice-weekly woodland sessions are a concrete addition.

Choice shapes the physical arrangement. Children can move between the indoor space and outdoors, with staff supporting their decisions in different weather. This gives a child scope to follow an interest rather than spend the entire session in one area. It also makes suitable outdoor clothing part of the everyday routine.

In March 2024, children explored shapes through dough, painted and practised early writing within pretend play. Songs, rhymes and shared stories brought language into different activities. These examples show how early learning could sit inside play rather than depend on children completing a formal task.

There was a useful balance between individual activity and learning to cooperate. In March 2024, staff helped children resolve a disagreement about construction tools by encouraging a joint building project. The limitation was in adult questioning: some staff moved discussions along too quickly. Giving children longer to explain an idea or try a solution was the next step for teaching.

Outdoor and Community Life

Amber Ant Club uses a woodland setting for exploration led by the children, including activities with tools under adult support. The practical value lies in having something real to handle, investigate and attempt. Children encounter the natural world while practising concentration and making decisions about manageable risks.

The programme runs twice weekly. Outdoor sessions continue in most weather, with high winds and thunder prompting a change of plan. River paddling is among the activities, so waterproof wellies and appropriate layers matter. A child who is inadequately dressed cannot take part; this is a practical requirement for families choosing the outdoor sessions.

The garden also has a role beyond the woodland programme. In March 2024, children used climbing walls and ride-on toys, played imaginative games outside and carried water in buckets. These were different ways to practise movement, balance and physical effort within the setting itself.

Beyond ordinary sessions, annual Dad's Saturday invites working parents, grandparents and carers to explore the Forest School surroundings with children. Forest School here means woodland exploration with child-led activity and supported practical challenges. Visits to farms and soft play venues add other experiences, although the woodland programme has the clearest stated weekly pattern.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a nominated key worker who follows their development and maintains their learning journal. Initial visits and taster sessions introduce that relationship before attendance becomes familiar, and families can make further visits as needed. The arrangement gives parents a particular member of staff with whom to discuss interests, routines and concerns.

Tapestry Journal is the online portal for photographs and notes about a child's activities and progress. Parents can comment and send photographs or videos from home, giving staff another way to understand what interests the child. Consultations and conversations with the key worker sit alongside that exchange, rather than leaving communication to an occasional formal meeting.

In March 2024, everyday routines gave children opportunities to practise independence: putting possessions away, tidying resources, managing toileting and helping prepare the snack table. A quiet area allowed children to read, relax or play away from busier activity. These are useful details for families considering how a child might manage both participation and downtime.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND and those learning English as an additional language were progressing well, with visual support helping communication and additional funding used effectively for individual needs. That is a dated judgement, supported by a current offer with specific mechanisms rather than a general promise of support.

Amber has an INCO/SENCO role, uses Individual Plans where appropriate and reviews these with parents and the key worker. Developmental observations inform decisions about resources and next steps. Links with Inclusion Support from the Early Childhood Service Team provide access to additional advice, while visual boards, an accessible toilet and a ramp towards the garden support access within the setting.

Transition work is practical. Amber arranges visits to a child's new school, opportunities to meet the teacher and a visit by that teacher to Amber. This helps connect the familiar preschool routine with the next setting; it is preparation for the move, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 8.45am to noon, and afternoon sessions from 11.45am to 2.45pm, during term time only. The enquiry form offers mornings Monday to Friday and afternoons Monday to Thursday. This makes the attendance model useful for families seeking either part of the day, with Friday following a morning-only pattern.

Applications begin through a quotation request, with the desired start date and preferred sessions included. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The setting is managed by a parent committee, and parents are encouraged to contribute through committee membership or fundraising events, giving families a route into its organisation as well as their child's daily learning.

Getting There

The address is the Scout Hut, Amberley Road, Horsham, RH12 4LN. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email at info@amberpreschool.com or by telephone on 01403 210055.

Funding and Paid Extras

Amber offers universal 15-hour funding from the term after a child turns three; two-year-old funding and 30-hour funding depend on eligibility. Its funding offer is term-time. Private hours are also charged, and Amber Ant Club outdoor learning sessions carry an additional fee, so the session pattern and outdoor element both matter to the overall quotation.

Families provide a healthy packed lunch and drink when children stay for lunch, including those attending funded sessions, and may be asked for snack donations during the term. Parents also supply nappies, wipes and nappy bags when required, plus sun cream, rather than those consumables being included for private or funded attendance.

• Term-time sessions. The choice is between mornings and afternoons, with Friday offered as a morning. At a visit, discuss how the intended combination would fit your child's routine and your family's term-time arrangements.
• Outdoor preparation and charges. Amber Ant Club runs twice weekly, carries an additional fee and requires suitable clothing. Discuss how woodland participation, river paddling and clothing requirements will work for your child.
• Space for children's ideas. In March 2024, some adult direction left too little time for children to explain their thinking. Ask how staff now use questions and pauses during play to encourage children to develop their own solutions.
• Individual support. Individual Plans, the INCO/SENCO role and accessible facilities provide concrete points for discussion. Use a taster visit to explore how these would address your child's particular communication, movement or emotional needs.

Amber suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon care with frequent woodland learning and an active role in their child's preschool life. Amber Ant Club and Tapestry Journal give that proposition substance: one extends the setting into nature, while the other connects activities with home.

The March 2024 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, balanced by a specific teaching improvement about giving children more room to think aloud. For a family comfortable with packed lunches, outdoor preparation and committee involvement, the offer has a clear, practical character.