Selsdon Park Pre-School

A community hall beneath Sainsburys gives Selsdon Park Pre-School its recognisable setting, while child-led play gives its day a clear direction. Based on Addington Road in South Croydon, it offers hands-on learning in spacious, bright premises. Children’s interests help shape what happens next, with cooking, music and sport adding structure to the week.

Ofsted rated the pre-school Good at its March 2025 inspection. There is capacity for 50 children in total, and the pre-school welcomes children aged 12 months to 5 years. That whole-setting capacity is a useful measure of scale, rather than a description of the group a child will join.

Attendance is term-time, with morning, longer daytime and funded afternoon sessions, plus Breakfast Club. The choice matters: families can build around a shorter session or a day ending at 3pm, while Friday finishes at midday.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning here: children develop language through stories and songs, explore quantities through weighing and measuring, and practise movement through physical play. These experiences connect learning to things children can handle, discuss and try for themselves.

In the Moment Planning is the pre-school’s approach to extending an interest while a child is absorbed in play. Practitioners notice what has caught the child’s attention, use open questions to develop it, and document the exchange afterwards. Those observations then inform the environment and future opportunities. For a parent, the practical point is that a child’s current fascination can become the starting point for further learning.

Cookery brings chopping, stirring, weighing and measuring into lessons linked to the month’s planning. Music takes place on Friday mornings with a visiting music teacher, combining new songs with time together and an emphasis on language, coordination and concentration. Sports runs on Wednesday afternoons, with activities changing weekly between games including hockey, football, tennis, basketball and javelin. Attendance days therefore affect which organised activities a child encounters.

In March 2025, practical learning included cutting mint with real knives in the home corner and preparing fruit at snack time. A track for bikes and cars also became a way to rehearse road safety, with children stopping for others to cross. These are concrete examples of independence and social rules becoming part of play.

Stories had plenty of uses at that time. A book about witches prompted pretend flying and potion making; weighing coloured rice brought counting together with discussion of size and weight. A lock-and-key game and manipulating slime exercised small hand movements. The physical resources served different purposes, from imaginative play to precise handling.

Outdoor and Community Life

In March 2025, children’s outings included the library, opticians and estate agents, giving them encounters with services beyond the pre-school. A dentist also visited regularly to help children learn about oral health. These experiences connected community life and looking after oneself to the nursery day.

World Book Day featured costumes and conversations about favourite books during that March visit. The useful detail is the talk around the celebration: children had opportunities to explain what they were wearing and share stories they enjoyed.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person who observes their play, plans around their interests and assesses whether additional support may help. Settling sessions give that practitioner time to learn about the child’s abilities and needs, while parents can explain what matters to their child. It creates a specific point of contact from the start.

Assessments are shared at a focus child meeting once each term. This gives families a regular opportunity to discuss development, alongside the observations used to plan the child’s experiences. In March 2025, communication also included an online system covering children’s days and progress, and busy bags provided activities to continue learning at home.

Collection has a password procedure. Anyone collecting a child other than the parent must give the agreed password, and families identify authorised collectors on the application form. That is a practical arrangement to explain to relatives who may help with pickup.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENCO works with key people on individual plans and resources, and can involve health visitors, inclusion officers and speech and language therapists with parental consent. Where additional support requires funding, the pre-school can apply to the council for help with individual support, changes to the environment or staff training. These are mechanisms for responding to a child’s needs, rather than a promise that every application succeeds.

At the March 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with SEND making good progress through targeted support, professional collaboration, visual prompts and signing. The specific practices matter for families whose children need help communicating: support included ways to express themselves as well as individual learning plans.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 132 Addington Road, South Croydon, CR2 8LA, in Selsdon Community Hall beneath Sainsburys. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, and a separate application form is completed for each child.

Opening hours are 8.30am to 3pm from Monday to Thursday, and 8.30am to noon on Friday. The application form offers 9am to noon, 9am to 1pm and 9am to 3pm attendance from Monday to Thursday, alongside a free funded afternoon option from 12.30pm to 3pm. Friday attendance runs from 9am to noon. These are term-time arrangements, so the holiday calendar matters alongside the daily finish time.

Breakfast Club opens at 8.30am on weekdays. It is free when used as part of the 30 hour funding, and otherwise carries a separate charge. Breakfast includes cereal, fruit, pastries and toast; the pre-school also publishes a nut-free policy.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid attendance are both offered. Universal funding for three- and four-year-olds provides 15 hours a week over 38 weeks, beginning in the term after the child turns three. There are also funding routes for eligible working parents and for two-year-olds whose families receive specified additional support; the latter begins in the term after the child turns two and requires eligibility confirmation.

Privately paid hours use an all-inclusive hourly price structure. Breakfast Club has the funding condition described above, so its treatment depends on the child’s funding arrangement. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation.

• Friday and holiday coverage. Friday finishes at noon and attendance is term-time. Families needing care across the working week should weigh both limits alongside the morning and afternoon options.
• Activities and attendance days. Sports takes place on Wednesday afternoons and Music on Friday mornings. Discuss the intended session pattern during a visit so these opportunities fit the days your child attends.
• Consistency of teaching. In March 2025, some staff training had yet to become consistent practice across teaching. Ask how leaders now assess whether professional development changes children’s daily experiences.
• Food and personal supplies. Breakfast Club has a specific funding condition and the pre-school has a nut-free policy. Confirm current allergy procedures if relevant.

Selsdon Park Pre-School suits families seeking term-time morning sessions, a longer daytime pattern or funded afternoon attendance. In the Moment Planning gives children’s interests a practical role in learning, while Cookery, Music and Sports provide recognisable activities around which families can consider their attendance choices.

The Good judgement from March 2025 supports that picture, with training consistency the clear improvement point. The decision rests on matching the child’s needs and preferred activities to the session pattern, especially the shorter Friday and term-time calendar.