Harvard Park Pre-School

Children turning a garden discovery into further learning captures Harvard Park Pre-School's character better than a list of activities. In May 2025, finding butterflies prompted staff to develop follow-up work on their life cycle. Children's interests shaped what happened next, giving their discoveries a place in the following day's learning.

At its May 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. The current age range is two to five, with capacity for 30 children in total. This is provision for toddlers and preschool children, rather than babies.

There is an important location change to weigh alongside that judgement. In July 2026, Harvard Park announced a move to Marlborough Primary School from September 2026; the inspected premises were at Smallberry Green Primary School. The inspection describes practice at that earlier site. Term-time attendance includes full days and shorter morning or afternoon sessions.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: everyday play and activities build skills alongside attention to each child's development. In May 2025, staff used children's interests to choose activities and then extended them through conversation, questions and additional resources.

Construction was a useful example. Children explored building materials, while adults helped them move towards measuring objects and drawing their own plans. The activity connected making something with thinking about how it would work. It gave practical exploration a further purpose.

Language also received deliberate attention in May 2025. Staff undertook training, observed one another and reviewed videos of their interactions. Younger children heard clear descriptions of their actions and surroundings; older children encountered additional vocabulary and questions. These were concrete changes to adult practice, rather than simply more activities added to the timetable.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Smallberry Green premises included a purpose-built classroom with separate spaces for construction, art, reading, writing and home play. A quieter office accommodated book club, games and early writing work, giving small-group activities a different setting from the main classroom.

At that site, a fenced playground contained wheeled toys, wooden building blocks and equipment for physical play. The garden supported Forest School, an approach involving outdoor exploration and learning, as well as storytelling. These physical details belong to the Smallberry Green site and should be read alongside the announced relocation.

In May 2025, children used sand timers to negotiate sharing and taking turns. Staff supported them to work through disagreements themselves. Independence also appeared in ordinary routines: children practised dressing for outdoor play, cutting fruit and clearing up after snacks. Those small tasks made participation part of the day.

Relationships and Communication

In May 2025, families had regular opportunities to discuss their children's development with staff and to join events and activity sessions. Communication therefore included both conversations about learning and opportunities to take part in it. For parents, those are different but complementary ways of understanding their child's experience.

Emotional support had practical tools behind it. In May 2025, children could use quieter spaces and resources including putty and a sensory basket, while adults helped them identify feelings and consider what might help. The emphasis was on giving children usable ways to respond when emotions became difficult.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff supported children with special educational needs and/or disabilities through work with other professionals, development monitoring and individual action plans, using visual prompts, boards showing what happens next and sensory circuits to help children progress. This is a specific account of support at that date, with mechanisms parents can discuss in relation to their own child.

In May 2025, additional funding had bought sensory equipment for physical development, with plans to use it for children preparing to move to school. The pre-school team also includes a SENCO role and an inclusion-worker role, giving families identifiable responsibilities within the staff structure.

Snacks are supplied by the pre-school and charged separately. Snack activities include exploring where produce comes from, connecting food with everyday learning.

Sessions and Attendance

Attendance is term-time only, with a minimum booking of 15 hours each week. Full-day sessions run from 8.30am to 3.30pm, with an extended finish at 4.30pm. Mornings run from 8.30am to 11.30am; afternoons run from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, also with a 4.30pm finish option.

A combination of two full days and a half-day session is another booking pattern. The minimum commitment matters for families seeking only occasional attendance: choosing a shorter session still sits within a weekly booking requirement.

Getting There

In May 2025, the pre-school operated at C/O Smallberry Green School, Turnpike Way, Isleworth TW7 5BF. The July 2026 announcement named Marlborough Primary School as the destination for the September move. Enquiries go to info@harvardparkpreschool.co.uk or 07984 258 580.

Attendance at a nursery on a school site does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

The pre-school offers 15 hours funding and 30 hours funding, delivered during term time without stretching the entitlement across the year. Additional hours beyond those covered by funding are charged separately. A family's funded entitlement and its chosen attendance pattern therefore need to be considered together.

Consumables carry a separate optional charge, including alongside funded attendance. Families may opt out, subject to the pre-school's terms and a meeting to discuss the arrangements. Snacks also have a separate charge; families should distinguish these extras from the hours covered by funding.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The fees and funding page explains attendance options and the charge structure, so the quotation can be considered against the intended weekly pattern before terms are signed.

• The announced relocation. The July 2026 announcement set September 2026 for the move to Marlborough Primary School, while the inspection assessed Smallberry Green. Which address is now in use, and how do the new indoor and outdoor spaces support the activities described here?
• The weekly commitment. The minimum is 15 hours, even though morning and afternoon sessions are offered. Consider whether the chosen combination fits both your child's routine and the term-time calendar.
• Optional consumables. Opting out involves a meeting and additional terms. Review the written quotation and those arrangements together before deciding which extras to accept.
• Individual support. The May 2025 findings describe action plans, visual prompts and sensory circuits. At a visit, discuss how the SENCO and inclusion-worker roles would support your child's needs and settling.

Harvard Park has a strong dated inspection judgement backed by concrete examples of language work, independence and individual support. It suits families seeking term-time care through full days, mornings or afternoons, provided the weekly minimum fits their plans. The announced move is the central practical consideration: the Smallberry Green environment and May 2025 findings provide useful context, while the premises now used deserve close attention before joining.