Ready Steady Grow Pre-School

St Mary's Church and the fields beyond its lawn give Ready Steady Grow Pre-School a recognisable Green Street Green setting. The pre-school combines a modern indoor space with a large outdoor lawn, so outdoor play has a proper physical home rather than a token corner of the timetable.

Ofsted judged the provision Good in every graded area on 4 February 2025, including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The 4 February 2025 inspection found safeguarding arrangements effective. At that point, the setting had capacity for 50 children aged two to four, with 43 children on roll across its sessions.

The current timetable combines morning and afternoon sessions with a 9:15am to 3:15pm funded day, plus Breakfast Club, Lunch Club and optional extensions. It is a term-time pre-school with published 2026 to 2027 term dates.

Learning through play

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the curriculum here. In plain terms, that means children learn through play across communication, movement, friendships and feelings, early reading and writing, mathematics, understanding the world and creative expression, rather than through a school-style lesson plan. Activities are planned around individual interests and abilities, with hands-on experiences and guided play used to build problem-solving, teamwork and resilience.

The setting's sample-activity collection gives that broad approach some texture. Pasta Making, Pizza Making and Stick Art are named examples, each presented as a recorded activity rather than a generic promise of craft. The outdoor side is equally tangible: the large lawn overlooks local fields, while farm outings were one activity recorded in February 2025 to help children learn about animals.

That inspection also showed adults using practical resources to make early learning concrete. Younger children counted up to five and identified circles and squares; older children counted dice dots and used weighing scales to learn heavy and light. Story props drew children into books, and obstacle courses, slides, hoops and beanbags gave physical play a clear purpose.

Confidence and participation

There was a sociable thread to the 2025 visit. Children encouraged one another in physical activity, took turns at the outdoor slide and used timers to manage transitions. Music and movement included singing and waving ribbons, while family photographs opened conversations about similarities and differences.

Two February 2025 improvement targets were to plan group activities so hesitant children are better supported to join in, and to give children more chances to explore natural materials. Those are specific next steps, not a vague catch-all, and they matter most to families whose child needs time before joining a group or relishes open-ended outdoor play.

Every child is allocated a key person before or on their first day, with a key buddy who knows their routines and interests if that adult is away. Settling is deliberately flexible: families can visit before starting, parents initially stay for part of sessions, and there is no fixed timetable for separation. The key person is the main parent contact, shares information daily and holds regular conversations about progress and next steps.

In February 2025, staff knew children's individual needs and backgrounds well, and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities made good progress from their starting points. The current SEND policy sets out a SENCO role, assess-plan-do-review support, parent involvement and work with external professionals. That gives families a published structure to discuss where a child needs individual adjustments.

Food routines support both health and independence. The policy describes balanced snacks including fruit and vegetables, water available throughout the day and a nut-safe environment. Breakfast Club provides cereal, toast and fruit; Lunch Club uses a parent-provided packed lunch, with children supported to choose snacks, pour drinks and clear their eating area.

Ready Steady Grow Pre-School is at St Mary's Church, Worlds End Lane, Green Street Green, BR6 6AG. It lists opening hours of 8:15am to 4:00pm from Monday to Thursday and 8:15am to 12:15pm on Friday.

Sessions and attendance

For non-funded children aged two and over, the timetable lists a 9:00am to 12:15pm morning session and a 12:45pm to 4:00pm afternoon session. Funded hours run from 9:15am to 3:15pm. Breakfast Club runs from 8:15am to 9:00am; Lunch Club is 12:15pm to 12:45pm, and the timetable also lists an Early Bird start and an end-of-day extension for funded children.

The pre-school offers universal funded childcare for eligible three- and four-year-olds, and says it can use 27 of the 30-hour entitlement. It also directs families to check eligibility for two-year-old funding and the 30-hour entitlement. Current nursery-specific prices are supplied in the provider's written quotation; the fees and timetable page sets out the current charge categories and session structure.

Moving on

When a child moves to another early-years setting or school, the key person prepares a development summary covering the areas of learning, with parent input. Appropriate information can then be shared with the receiving setting or school to support continuity. This is transition support, not a claim of priority for a school place.

• Group participation. The February 2025 inspection asked the pre-school to strengthen support for children who are hesitant to join group activities. Families of a quieter child should discuss how key-person support works during the sessions they are considering.

• Natural-material play. The same inspection called for more opportunities to explore natural materials. Ask how the outdoor lawn and field-side setting now feature in sensory and exploratory play.

• Session combination. Morning, afternoon, funded-day and wraparound options have different start and end points. Confirm which combinations are available on the family's required days and whether any booking minimum applies.

• Lunch and allergies. Lunch Club uses a packed lunch, while the food policy describes a nut-safe environment. Families managing allergies should agree the current food arrangements directly before their child starts.

Ready Steady Grow Pre-School suits families seeking a term-time pre-school for two- to four-year-olds with a notably open physical setting, practical early mathematics and a clear key-person structure. St Mary's Church, the lawn overlooking fields, pasta-making and story-prop activities give the offer more character than an abstract play-based promise.

It is also a practical match for families who need a morning or afternoon session, as well as those using the 9:15am to 3:15pm funded day with Breakfast Club or an end-of-day extension. The February 2025 Good judgement is reassuring, while its two clearly stated improvement points give parents worthwhile questions to put to the team.