Jack n Jill Pre-School and Nursery

A separate room and garden for two-year-olds gives Jack n Jill Pre-School and Nursery a clear starting point: younger children have their own spaces within a setting serving ages two to four. Based at Stone Lodge Community Centre in Ipswich, it serves families in Chantry and south west Ipswich and has capacity for 48 children.

At its March 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. Practical learning gave the day its character: children squeezed lemons, handled construction tools and explored physical challenges outdoors. Two improvement priorities concerned helping children do more of their own personal care and teaching them to recognise risks themselves.

Attendance can span a full day or shorter morning and afternoon sessions. That breadth matters for families choosing between a shorter preschool day and childcare across working hours.

Rooms and Ages

Two-year-olds have a separate room and garden, giving their indoor and outdoor activity its own base. This is the clearest physical distinction within the nursery, and an important consideration for families choosing a first group setting for a younger child.

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care. In March 2025, play connected language, counting, physical skills and relationships with everyday activities.

Learning and Activities

In March 2025, adults extended children's conversation as they played, giving them opportunities to ask questions and put their ideas into words. Toy-car play also became a chance to practise counting, with adults introducing number language and recognising children's efforts. Familiar resources served several purposes.

Making fruit tea offered a different kind of learning: squeezing lemons exercised coordination, while resources that could be used in different ways let children develop their own ideas. Fruit preparation and construction using nails and hammers brought practical tasks into play. These experiences gave children something concrete to handle, change and investigate.

Outdoor and Community Life

In March 2025, outdoor obstacle courses challenged children's strength and perseverance, while pedal bicycles required them to judge space. Cooking activities connected everyday food preparation with learning about health. The physical activity and practical work gave children opportunities to try tasks for themselves.

Resident pets also formed part of the nursery day at that time, offering calm interaction and opportunities to care about another living creature. Celebrations drew on children's own cultures and those of others, bringing wider-world learning into experiences connected with family life.

At the March 2025 inspection, Ofsted identified support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities as a strength, with staff, parents and outside professionals working together on individual plans. This gives families a concrete picture of the support process: needs were discussed collaboratively and translated into a plan for the child.

In March 2025, settling arrangements were adapted to individual children and helped them establish relationships with their key persons. Daily discussions with parents covered learning and progress, while explanations of the curriculum helped families use related activities at home. Communication linked the nursery day with family life.

The setting employed 16 childcare staff in March 2025, including 10 with early-years qualifications at level 3 or above. Training reflected staff interests and the needs of the children they supported. These are a snapshot of the team at that time.

Personal care was also an area for further work. In March 2025, children practised hygiene routines and received encouragement for doing things independently, but adults sometimes missed opportunities to extend that independence. Turn-taking games and recognition of kind behaviour provided everyday ways to practise getting along with others.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours run from 8am until 6pm on weekdays, across 50 weeks annually. Closures fall over Christmas and during August Bank Holiday week.

The booking choices are specific: an early session runs from 8am to 9am, the shorter morning from 9am to noon, and the longer morning from 8am to 1pm. Afternoon choices run from 1pm to 4pm or from 1pm to 6pm; a full day runs from 8am to 6pm. Families can therefore choose between shorter blocks and care extending across the day.

Fees are paid in advance, with daily, weekly or monthly payment options. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Getting There

The address is Stone Lodge Community Centre, Hawthorn Drive, Ipswich, IP2 0QY. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01473 680887.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered for three- and four-year-olds from the term following their third birthday. The funding terms describe 15 hours each week for up to 38 weeks in a school year, with 30 hours subject to eligibility. Funding for two-year-olds may also be available.

Food depends on the booking: the full-day fee includes breakfast, lunch and light tea, while shorter sessions and hourly care carry separate food charges. Breakfast, cooked lunch and light tea can be added to the relevant shorter bookings, so the session choice affects both attendance and the food bill.

• Independence in personal care. March 2025 brought a recommendation to make better use of everyday teaching opportunities. On a visit, ask how staff now help children take increasing responsibility for their own routines.
• Learning to judge risk. Children used tools and attempted physical challenges in March 2025, but teaching them to recognise and reduce risks needed greater consistency. Ask how adults explain safe choices during these activities.
• Matching sessions and food. Full-day care includes meals, while shorter bookings have food supplements. Consider the complete session and meal arrangement when comparing quotations.

Jack n Jill suits families seeking either shorter morning or afternoon attendance or a full day, with a separate indoor and outdoor base for two-year-olds. Its March 2025 strengths included practical play, parent communication and coordinated individual support. The useful balance is between those concrete strengths and the two teaching priorities: helping children manage their own care and understand the risks involved in increasingly independent play.