Selsdon Baptist Church Pre School

Play, conversation and close relationships define Selsdon Baptist Church Pre School. This active Early Years Register setting operates from Addington Road in South Croydon and has 53 places in total. Its July 2024 inspection judged its overall effectiveness Good, with the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management all receiving the same judgement.

The strongest evidence is in the detail. Mathematics, early reading and writing were clear strengths. Children counted, weighed and wrote through role play, while stories and sustained conversations gave language a purposeful place in the session. Older children also supported younger peers, creating useful everyday models of cooperation.

The curriculum seen in July 2024 was ambitious and rooted in play. Children wrote menus and messages for one another, shared stories with adults and peers, and explored fruit through Handa's Surprise. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) applies here. In parent language, these practical experiences connected communication, literacy, mathematics, physical development and understanding of the world through play. Children could carry skills from a story into role play and from conversation into mark-making, rather than meeting each area in isolation.

Movement mattered too. Bike riding and dancing developed balance and coordination, while low-level risk-taking helped children test their abilities safely. Staff used questions, conversation and information to extend children's thinking. The result was an experience in which early skills were practised for a reason, not simply rehearsed. Children behaved well, built good relationships and made good progress during the inspection visit.

Relationships are a central strength. In July 2024, children arrived happily, settled quickly and moved confidently between activities. Staff knew them well, and the caring atmosphere helped children feel safe, secure and ready to take part. The inspection also found safeguarding arrangements effective and staff supported by training and shared learning.

Children with SEND were cared for well and made secure progress. There is, however, a precise improvement point: language support for these children was not always focused enough. For a child needing additional support, the current planning, review and family-communication process will be an important point to discuss.

Healthy living was made concrete through tooth-brushing activities, fruit exploration and movement. Older children were prepared for their next stage through established links with local primary schools, but this is transition support rather than an admissions advantage.

The setting is at Addington Road, South Croydon, CR2 8LL. The official record identifies it as full day care on non-domestic premises and gives a registration date of 9 February 1999. Before applying, families will need the current session patterns, accepted ages and charge structure. A written quotation should separate any funded entitlement from private hours and additional charges, including meals or consumables where relevant.

The register currently covers early years provision only; it does not show compulsory or voluntary Childcare Register coverage. That distinction matters for families seeking care beyond the early-years scope. Attendance at the pre-school does not itself secure a Reception place, so applications to state primary schools still follow the local authority process.

• Language support for SEND. The July 2024 inspection identified a need for more focused development of language skills for children with SEND. The response since that inspection and the way progress is communicated merit discussion.
• The practical offer. Session patterns, ages, meals, consumables and funding arrangements require direct confirmation. Current terms and a written quotation are essential for a fair comparison with alternatives.
• Register scope. Ofsted's record shows Early Years Register coverage only. Families needing later-age childcare should establish whether the provision they require falls within that scope.

This is a relationship-led pre-school with credible strengths in early mathematics, reading and writing. Its play has purpose: menus prompt mark-making, fruit exploration links stories with healthy choices, and bikes and dancing build coordination. The focused language-support improvement point deserves a direct conversation, but it is specific rather than vague.

Selsdon Baptist Church Pre School is best suited to families who value warm settling, play-based early learning and thoughtful preparation for primary education. Because no published morning, afternoon, flexible or full-day booking patterns could be verified, families needing any of those arrangements should confirm the current model before deciding.