Shelly Tots Pre-School

In May 2026, pipettes, dice and conversations illustrated Shelly Tots Pre-School's approach to learning: children practised language, persistence and number skills through practical activities. Based at Mountfield Community Centre in Orpington, this is a preschool with 37 places in total and a substantial emphasis on working with families. Its community-centre premises are shared, rather than a building used exclusively for childcare.

At its 13 May 2026 inspection, Ofsted awarded Strong standard judgements for achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance, with safeguarding standards met. Those are separate area judgements, rather than an overall grade. Children attending in May 2026 were aged 2 to 4.

Family involvement has concrete forms here, including Breakfast with grand parents and the Healthy me challenge. Morning, afternoon and all-day term-time sessions give parents different ways to arrange attendance; the detailed choices sit below.

Learning and Activities

EYFS (early years foundation stage) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop communication, physical skills and relationships alongside experiences involving stories, mathematics, the world and creative expression. These are the foundations of the day, rather than a branded extra. The curriculum overview separates the prime areas from the specific areas and explains how individual learning is planned.

Intent Clouds name a child's learning aims; planning identifies staff support, and observations capture gains. Parents complete a Cultural Capital form with the key person at the first visit, giving staff a starting point rooted in the child's experiences.

In May 2026, mathematics appeared in practical play: children used dice for number recognition, investigated a cube's sides and compared objects by weight. Younger children persisted with drawing water into pipettes. These are tangible tasks with something to try, adjust and try again, rather than mathematics confined to a group discussion.

Language work was similarly woven into activities in May 2026. Staff responded to children's ideas, talked through their play and used familiar books to revisit vocabulary. Older children sustained conversations and asked questions; younger children reused language from songs and stories in other situations. Music brought movement into the day too, with children dancing and experimenting with different ways of moving their bodies.

Outdoor and Community Life

Breakfast with grand parents runs twice a year and welcomes other relatives too. Children show their visitor preschool life through introductions to friends and staff, an activity and breakfast together.

Sports day takes place annually in July. Families and staff join children at equipment-based game stations before races, certificates and a picnic in the park. The Healthy me challenge also runs twice a year, bringing photographs of home routines into preschool, from preparing food and brushing teeth to exercise and using cutlery. It makes healthy habits a shared project between home and setting.

An annual visit to Bromley Churchill Theatre adds a named outing to the calendar. Graduation gives children leaving for school a short family ceremony, with scrolls and graduation gowns. These events create occasions for relatives to participate, rather than leaving parent involvement to messages alone.

Relationships and Communication

Creating A Happy Child is the settling approach: an electronic book helps a child prepare, visits build familiarity with their allocated key person, and the first day's arrangements depend on individual needs. A catch-up meeting follows after 2 weeks of attendance, giving parents and staff a planned point to discuss how settling is going and whether further steps would help.

Class Dojo gives parents a security-code-accessed channel for key-person messages, learning photographs, rewards and news. Progress-tracker meetings also feature in induction arrangements.

In May 2026, familiar routines helped children participate in the day: they put resources away, washed their hands and managed personal-care tasks with increasing independence. Staff used praise and discussed how behaviour affects other people. Children also talked about safety, including remaining seated while eating and why wet conditions could make outdoor equipment unsuitable.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that children made rapid learning progress, including in communication, and that support for SEND included signs and visual prompts, adaptations to routines and the environment, and work with outside professionals. These details matter more than a broad promise of inclusion: they identify ways children were helped to understand choices, anticipate activities and take part.

Speech-and-language concerns are discussed with parents to agree action. With consent, routes include a speech and language therapist or local children's-centre drop-in. Developmental or behavioural concerns can also lead to The Pre School Panel, with parental consent.

In May 2026, staff had altered activities and the environment to lower noise levels after reviewing how newer children engaged. The shared premises also required resources to be put out and packed away daily. That makes the organisation of space a practical part of provision, rather than assuming a permanent room arrangement.

School transition includes seeking parents' consent to share development information at the end of a child's final term. Documents are password-protected, with the password sent separately. This supports continuity of information as children move on, without implying an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Mountfield Community Centre, 17 Sandway Road, Orpington, BR5 3TU. Enquiries can be made through the online form or by telephone on 07789503741.

Term-time attendance includes Morning session Choice A, 9.15am to 12.15pm, and Afternoon Session Choice B, noon to 3pm. The 5 hour session Choice C runs from 9.15am to 2.15pm; All day session Choice D runs from 9.15am to 3pm. Hourly sessions are also offered, and breakfast club starts at 8.30am. These are distinct booking choices, so parents can match a shorter session or a longer preschool day to their routine.

Shelly's Fun Camps are separate holiday provision for children aged 2 to 12, operating through most school holidays from 8:30am-5:00pm. Activities include bikes, garden play, arts and crafts, and spaces for puzzles and quieter time. Preschool term-time attendance and holiday camps should be treated as separate arrangements.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside privately paid sessions. The funding categories include 15-hour provision for three- and four-year-olds, means-tested Together for 2’s support, working-parent funding for two-year-olds, and 30-hour funding for eligible working parents of three- and four-year-olds. Preschool sessions are term-time; a funding category does not itself promise a particular combination of days. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Parents can send a packed lunch or choose a separately charged lunch supplied by the setting from its daily menu. Packed lunches are expected to reflect its healthy-eating approach.

Payment is due before privately paid sessions, and a booked session remains chargeable if the child does not attend. Uniform is optional. Registration includes a refundable registration charge and a deposit; four weeks' notice applies to leaving or changing attendance days, with the deposit returned at the end of that notice period. Children leaving for primary school are exempt from the leaving-notice requirement and receive their deposit back on their final attendance day.

• Shared premises. Resources were set out and put away each day in May 2026. During the hour-long parent induction and site tour, discuss how the space is arranged for your child's activities and quieter moments.
• Admissions priorities. The waiting-list criteria include siblings, birth date and registration date, with Bromley residents prioritised over families outside the borough. The induction is the place to discuss how these criteria apply to your application.
• The complete childcare bill. Lunch supplied by the setting is charged separately, and booked private sessions remain payable during absence. Ask which non-food consumables families need to supply or pay for, including during funded hours.
• The next development priority. The May 2026 next step was to keep refining practice to increase its benefit for disadvantaged children. For a child needing additional support, discuss the individual aims and how progress will be shared with you.

Shelly Tots suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions as well as those wanting an all-day term-time pattern. Its clearest strengths are concrete: individual learning aims, a structured settling process, direct key-person communication and recurring opportunities for relatives to participate.

The May 2026 area judgements strengthen that assessment. Families should weigh the shared premises and separate holiday-camp arrangement against the preschool's emphasis on parent involvement.