Edmonton Baptist Church Pre School

A large church hall, a purpose-built garden and a Christian outlook give Edmonton Baptist Church Pre School its character. Children can use both indoor and outdoor space during the day, with adult-led activities alongside play they choose themselves. Families of every faith, culture and ethnic background are welcomed. The religious emphasis is part of the curriculum, so it belongs in a family's decision about the setting.

The preschool occupies Edmonton Baptist Church on Monmouth Road, London, N9 0LS, with 40 places in total for children aged 24 to 60 months. At its May 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good overall and across all assessed areas. Practical learning featured strongly in the visit: children explored vegetables, constructed with substantial materials and used numbers in their play.

Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions run during term time. Parent communication has several concrete routes, including Tapestry, an online observation and assessment system, and the Library Scheme, which encourages families to share books at home. These give parents ways to follow learning and participate in it.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes the educational programme: children build communication, physical, social and early literacy skills through play, alongside mathematics, creative expression and exploration of their world. This is the common framework for early years provision. Here, Christian beliefs also form part of the curriculum, while staff introduce topics and leave room for children to pursue their own ideas.

Observation informs what happens next. Practitioners consider children's interests, achievements and ways of learning, then adjust activities to suit them. For parents, that means progress is connected to the experiences their child receives rather than treated as a separate exercise. The programme includes stories, rhymes, creative work, construction and role play, offering several ways for a child to join in.

In May 2024, number work was woven into physical and creative activities. Children read numbers while measuring height, then practised counting and sorting through play-dough creatures, adding sticks as legs and balls of dough as spots. Those examples make early mathematics tangible: children can handle, compare and count things they have helped create.

Language work during that visit included conversations in which adults introduced vocabulary and demonstrated words. Some children also joined small communication groups with targeted support. Stories and nursery rhymes provided another route into language. The distinction matters: the day combined shared experiences with additional work for children who needed it.

Outdoor and Community Life

The church hall provides the main indoor setting, with a purpose-built outdoor play area and garden alongside it. The day includes time in both spaces. Story and circle sessions sit alongside activities children choose, while snacks can be served during circle time or at cafe time, where children practise pouring drinks and clearing away. Everyday routines therefore give children opportunities to attempt practical tasks for themselves.

In May 2024, garden play included wheeled toys, road mats and stop signs. Children invented road-crossing games and practised paying attention to their surroundings. Cooperative construction during that visit involved foam bricks, pipes and bolts. These are useful examples of play requiring children to coordinate ideas with others as well as handle materials.

Growing activities at that visit used broad beans and cress in pots. Real vegetables prompted comparisons of texture, colour and size, alongside discussion about where food grows. Arkfarm brings animals into the preschool for children to meet and learn about their food, habitats and farm life. It offers a concrete subject for questions and observation; special-event charges are separate from session charges.

Relationships and Communication

Each family is introduced to a key person who takes responsibility for their child during their time at preschool. Parents can discuss progress through an open-door arrangement. Alongside Tapestry, the Remind messaging system carries event information and changes, while a home–preschool liaison book provides another channel between families and key people. These serve different purposes: recording development, passing on practical news and keeping individual conversations going.

Progress information follows a clear rhythm. Parents receive an update each term, with key-person meetings in the autumn and spring and a written report at the summer term's end. A Memory Book gathers photographs and selected work for the family to keep when the child leaves. When a child moves to school, their report is shared with the receiving school, carrying information about strengths and next steps into the transition.

The Library Scheme supports shared reading beyond preschool. Parenting Classes, usually held in the spring term, may be a single session or a short series and cover subjects such as behaviour, early writing and safeguarding. Parents can propose topics and contribute their own skills, including cooking, storytelling or dancing. Participation has several forms, so it need not depend on attending one particular event.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCo role sits within the staff structure, and the preschool works with other professionals involved in a child's care. Support can include help with Education, Health and Care Plan applications where appropriate. The developmental review between ages two and three gives parents a written summary; significant emerging concerns lead to a targeted plan involving the family and relevant professionals.

At the May 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and identified appropriate use of funding for individual support that helped vulnerable children and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress. Current arrangements include a designated safeguarding lead, child-protection training and paediatric first-aid certificates for all staff. Those arrangements describe responsibilities and preparation; the dated judgement provides the assessment of effectiveness.

Staff bring experience in childcare and education, with curriculum, safeguarding and key-person responsibilities identified within the team. Families whose children still use nappies are supported to work on toilet training together with staff. Full-day children bring a healthy packed lunch, and the preschool's nut-free policy asks families to exclude nuts and peanut butter.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 9.15am to 3.15pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. Full-day sessions use that whole window; mornings run from 9.15am until 12.15pm, and afternoons from 12.15pm until 3.15pm. These are separate attendance patterns, allowing families to choose between a shorter session and the complete preschool day.

The Soft Finish arrangement permits collection between 2.45pm and 3.15pm. It gives full-day families a collection window rather than one fixed finishing moment. School holidays are closed periods, so the term-time model needs to fit the family's wider childcare arrangements.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, email or telephone, and an admissions form can be downloaded. The address is Edmonton Baptist Church, Monmouth Road, London, N9 0LS. These provide direct routes for an application or a conversation about joining.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for up to 30 hours over 38 weeks for children aged 2–4, subject to eligibility, through Terrific Twos, Working parents and Universal Funding. Additional sessions are paid privately. The funding pattern is term-time rather than a year-round offer, an important distinction when planning care through school holidays.

Lunch is supplied by parents for full-day attendance, including funded attendance. A separate voluntary annual contribution is requested for consumables, including snacks, nappies and the Library Scheme book bag, because these sit outside the funded entitlement. Farm visits, parties and other special events also carry separate charges. Families can request a current written quotation covering their chosen sessions and the associated extras.

• Christian curriculum. Christian beliefs form part of the educational programme, while families from all faiths are welcomed. During a visit, ask how that religious element is expressed in activities and celebrations so you can judge the fit for your family.
• Term-time planning. Morning, afternoon and full-day choices operate within the school-term calendar, with school holidays closed. Match your proposed pattern to work commitments and holiday care before choosing sessions.
• Responsibility for shared materials. In May 2024, children sometimes left toys scattered on the floor or walked over books rather than clearing them away, and the improvement priority was to develop greater responsibility for belongings and the environment. Ask how staff now help children clear up and care for shared resources, including during cafe time.
• Individual support. The SENCo, targeted developmental plans and work with other professionals provide specific routes for discussing additional needs. Ask how these would be organised around your child's requirements; families affected by allergies should also confirm current food-handling practice.

Edmonton Baptist Church Pre School suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as a complete term-time preschool day. Its church-hall setting, garden access and Christian curriculum make the choice recognisable, while practical learning gives children opportunities to work with numbers, language and real materials.

The parent relationship has substance: key-person meetings, Tapestry, shared reading and transition reports connect home, preschool and the next setting. The May 2024 improvement priority on looking after toys deserves attention alongside the Good judgement. For families comfortable with the religious emphasis and term-time calendar, this is a preschool with clear attendance choices and several ways to stay involved in a child's learning.