St James' Pre-School

A wormery, a growing garden and a hall reserved for active play give St James' Pre-School a character that goes beyond its classroom. Children can choose between indoor and outdoor activities through a free-flow arrangement, with space for both energetic games and quieter exploration. That freedom is the strongest practical reason to consider this Muswell Hill setting.

At its 18 June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children made good progress. There are 30 places in total, and applications are accepted for children aged two to four. Morning sessions, full days and flexible hours operate during term time.

Christian values shape the ethos through a connection with St James Muswell Hill, while families of different beliefs and backgrounds are welcomed. This is a charitable, non-profit pre-school with an elected volunteer committee, largely drawn from parents. Families can contribute to its running as well as their own child's experience.

Rooms and Ages

The pre-school room combines a kitchen corner, indoor sandpit, books and art resources for imaginative play and learning to share. Children can move between this space and activities elsewhere, choosing between concentrated play and movement.

Exclusive hall access keeps active play possible in poor weather. Scooters, trikes and adventure courses support movement indoors, alongside yoga, dancing and music and movement.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: building friendships, communication and independence through play. Free-flow choices and resources for making, pretending and reading give children ways to practise those skills.

In June 2024, children squeezed, cut and rolled clay, practising the hand movements needed for more controlled making. A pretend kitchen also brought together shopping-list writing and discussions about using oven gloves. These were concrete examples of learning crossing several areas: language, physical control and understanding how to look after oneself.

The June 2024 improvement priorities were to deepen learning about size and patterns and give children time to think before adults supplied answers. The detail matters. In June 2024, counting seats in a train made from tyres gave children a practical number problem, but adults did not consistently develop the mathematical ideas arising from play. Likewise, conversation could become a sequence of adult questions and answers rather than an opportunity for children to contribute their thinking.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outside, a wooden climbing frame has a slide and fireman's pole, alongside water trays, sandpits, painting and construction areas. A reading spot beneath a cherry tree makes room for quieter play too.

The growing garden, wormery and composting connect play with caring for living things and using resources thoughtfully. Children and staff look after the garden and wormery, and seasonal crops are harvested. These arrangements give sustainability a practical form that young children can participate in.

Wild Science brings animal-handling experiences, and trips include Highgate Woods. Both extend children's encounters with the natural world beyond the garden. In June 2024, staff also used outings to discuss road safety, linking exploration with learning how to behave safely away from the pre-school.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated before a child starts and becomes the family's everyday contact. The role includes planning care and learning with parents, maintaining developmental records and sharing information about the child's progress. A back-up key person gradually builds a relationship with the child, providing continuity when the main contact is absent.

Settling is gradual: a parent or close relative stays for much of the session during the first week, increasing time away as the child becomes comfortable. Some children need longer; parents are encouraged to return if their child becomes distressed.

Tapestry, a private online learning journal, brings weekly updates through photographs, videos and written notes. Meetings and calls complement those updates, giving parents both a visual account of activities and opportunities for discussion. Parents can also join a rota, help with reading days and take part in fundraising.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support has a defined route through the SENCO and key person. Observations, parents' knowledge and any specialist advice inform decisions; action plans set out interventions, resources and responsibilities. Reviews are agreed with parents at least termly. Where medical support is needed, a health care plan can sit alongside the educational plan, bringing the child's different needs together.

The behaviour policy starts with understanding the child and helping them manage feelings. Persistent difficulties lead to discussion with parents, agreed adjustments and, where needed, outside advice. Its stated approach excludes humiliation and punitive isolation, with a familiar adult helping a distressed child regain calm. That gives families a concrete basis for discussing how difficulties will be handled.

The team comprises seven experienced, well-qualified staff, with additional practitioners engaged on short-term contracts when required. All staff hold current paediatric first aid certificates and undertake safeguarding training. Collection uses a password arrangement when another authorised adult collects a child, and accidents are documented and communicated to parents.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 171 Fortis Green Road, Muswell Hill, London N10 3BG. Core opening hours are 9am to 4pm from Monday to Thursday and 9am to 1pm on Friday, with breakfast club starting at 8.30am. Office hours run later than children's sessions, so they should not be treated as collection times.

Booking patterns include a morning session from 9am to noon, a full day from 9am to 4pm and an early-finish full day ending at 3pm. Breakfast club runs from 8.30am to 9am, and flexible hours are also offered. The minimum attendance is three sessions or two full days. Afternoon attendance is another option, with packed lunch required for children staying into the afternoon.

This is term-time care. The calendar also includes INSET closures and some noon finishes at term ends, so the daily pattern needs to be read alongside the term dates. For working families, both the shorter Friday and the holiday breaks are material parts of the arrangement.

Funding and Paid Extras

The pre-school accepts 15- and 30-hour funding, including provision for eligible two-year-olds and the Free for 2’s scheme. Funding for three-year-olds starts in the term after their third birthday, and extended entitlement requires eligibility evidence. Care is term-time, with two-year-old funding delivered over 38 weeks; private hours are also offered.

Session charges apply to children over three receiving funded hours, while breakfast club and additional unfunded hours are charged separately. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees and funding page explains the structure. An application registration charge is followed, on acceptance, by an administration charge and deposit; the deposit is credited against final-term fees, with any remaining balance refunded after the notice period.

Breakfast is included in the breakfast-club charge, while families provide packed lunches and are asked to contribute fruit or vegetables weekly for shared snacks. The lunch guidance excludes nuts, cakes and sweets.

Families are also asked for termly donations of consumables, including tissues and anti-bacterial wipes, and to supply sun cream in summer. These contributions are separate from the attendance charges. Fees are invoiced each half term; withdrawal requires one month's notice, and illness or term-time holidays do not generate a refund.

• Term-time timetable. Friday ends at 1pm, and the calendar includes INSET closures and early term-end finishes. Weigh those arrangements alongside the minimum of three sessions or two full days when planning the week's care.
• Time to settle. A parent or close relative is expected to stay during the first week, potentially longer. Use an individual tour to discuss how that gradual separation would work for your child and family.
• Learning conversations. The June 2024 priorities concerned mathematical depth and adults giving children time to answer. Ask how staff now extend patterns, size and mathematical language while keeping children's own thinking central.
• Lunch and practical independence. Families supply lunch, and toilet training is preferred, with an exception for younger starters. Discuss any allergy requirements and your child's toileting support during the joining conversation.

St James' suits families seeking term-time morning sessions or full days, with flexible hours and breakfast club adding options. The hall, outdoor play and gardening give children real choices; Tapestry updates keep parents involved.

Families need to accommodate shorter Fridays, holiday closures and packed lunches, and weigh the June 2024 learning priorities alongside those strengths.