Mill Grove Pre-School

Vegetable growing, weather-ready outdoor play and a Christian ethos give Mill Grove Pre-School a clear character. Based in the premises and grounds of the Mill Grove community in South Woodford, it brings family life into its curriculum rather than treating home and preschool as separate worlds. Children’s interests and parents’ contributions help shape what happens next.

At its November 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Mill Grove Outstanding and judged safeguarding effective. The detail behind that judgement is compelling: children investigated light with torches, harvested vegetables and sustained their attention while solving practical problems. These are concrete examples of learning through exploration, rather than a day built around adult instructions alone.

Children can join from age two, and the setting has capacity for 32 children. Morning and all-day sessions run during term time, with a separate attendance pattern for children using 30-hour funding. The combination suits families seeking preschool education within the school-term rhythm, with outdoor activity forming a substantial part of the experience.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop communication, movement and relationships alongside early literacy, maths, creativity and understanding of the world. This is the shared foundation for early-years provision. Mill Grove’s own curriculum adds The Growth of Love, an approach organised around children feeling secure, understanding boundaries, knowing they matter, belonging to a community and expressing ideas.

Those themes have practical consequences. Staff model considerate choices, use family contributions and observations to shape planning, and leave room for children to choose how they create. Fixed plans are deliberately limited so that children’s ideas can influence activities. For parents, the useful distinction is between a framework that sets expectations and an approach that shapes relationships and the daily routine.

In November 2023, younger children explored textures using paint, pasta, flour and water. Older children’s discovery of a caterpillar prompted conversations about living creatures and food, linked to a familiar story. Learning followed something that had caught the children’s attention. That gives an ordinary encounter several purposes: conversation, curiosity and a connection between books and the living world.

The same visit captured children experimenting with torches and remotely controlled fairy lights, investigating changes in colour and the effects of light. Puzzles, shape sorting and construction provided other opportunities to work things out independently. Books were accessible for children to select themselves, alongside singing, stories and activities in smaller groups. The examples show both adult-guided learning and time to pursue an idea.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden and playground are part of the daily routine. Shaded garden areas provide options in sunny weather, while shelter can be taken in the Reading Room, Outdoor Classroom or Main Hall when conditions become severe. This is an outdoor offer with practical arrangements behind it. Families supply mud suits, wellies and spare clothing, so being prepared for the weather matters throughout the year.

Vegetable growing also connects outdoor activity with food. Children can taste treats made using produce grown outside. In November 2023, children harvested beetroot in the preschool allotment, separated its different parts and discussed exchanging their produce for money with visitors. One activity brought together the natural world, sorting and an early understanding of transactions.

The Big Garden Birdwatch features each January, bringing a recurring nature event into planning. World Book Day expands into a week of book-related activities and opportunities to dress up. These give families recognisable points in the calendar.

Christian celebrations include Harvest, Christmas and Easter. The calendar also incorporates Diwali, Chinese New Year and the Festival of Holi, and parents are invited to share their cultures. A display of family flags helps make those connections visible to children. The Christian foundation is explicit, but learning about family backgrounds extends beyond it.

Relationships and Communication

A key person provides a consistent relationship for each child. The nursery says its approach to behaviour emphasises security and comfort: staff respond calmly to difficult feelings, model social behaviour and work with parents when a pattern needs attention. The Super Duper Board uses songs and picture cards to recognise kindness and sharing, giving children concrete reminders of considerate choices.

Younger children’s routines receive specific attention. Staff discuss eating, sleep and toileting with families, and children may bring a familiar comfort item. A cosy area can be used for rest or sleep when needed. These arrangements matter for a two-year-old adjusting to a group day, because tiredness and unfamiliar routines can affect participation as much as the activity itself.

Famly is the electronic system for children’s learning records and communication. Weekly observations invite parents to respond with ideas and information, allowing the key person to connect preschool learning with home. A settling summary follows six weeks after joining, and termly assessments provide a broader account of development. Families also receive planning information each half term and can contribute suggestions.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Support is organised through a SENCO role, Individual Support Plans and an Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle. Social Group develops interaction and communication, while Chitter Chatters concentrates on speech sounds. These activities sit within a support plan agreed with the family, with goals reviewed regularly. The mechanism is specific: identify a need, agree support, then assess whether it is helping.

At the November 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that personalised planning and daily small-group work supported children with SEND, and that children, including those receiving additional funding, made rapid progress. The current support arrangements include liaison with other professionals and parental permission before outside specialists become involved. Visit notes are shared with families, keeping them involved in decisions about their child.

Ground-floor access is possible through the Rose Walton entrance and lift. The inclusion policy also provides for changes to resources and the environment to accommodate children’s needs, and for communication to be made accessible to families using English as an additional language. These are useful mechanisms to discuss in relation to an individual child, rather than a blanket promise that every need can be met.

Staff induction covers safeguarding, first aid, food hygiene and ways of interacting positively with children. Continuing development uses supervision and feedback to identify training needs, supported by links with the Early Years Childcare Improvement Team (EYCIT). Transition reports summarise children’s development, include parents’ comments and are passed to the next setting, helping the receiving staff understand the child beyond a first introduction.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 10 Crescent Road, South Woodford, London E18 1JB. Morning sessions run from 9.15am to 12.15pm; All Day runs from 9.15am to 3.15pm. Children on the 30-hour funded pattern attend from 9am to 3pm, with an optional, separately charged extension from 3pm to 3.30pm. These are different booking arrangements, so the funded day should not be confused with the standard All Day session.

Attendance is term-time only, following Redbridge school dates for most of the year. Three staff-training days are normally placed around the beginnings of terms; the funding procedure also allows a training or maintenance closure, or an early planning finish, each term, with details given through the preschool calendar. This needs to fit the family’s holiday and working arrangements.

Three or more sessions a week are recommended to help settling; that is a recommendation rather than a stated minimum booking requirement. Admissions use a waiting list: families contact the setting, complete an emailed Register of Interest form, and receive any eventual offer in writing. Priority runs through siblings, local funded children, local non-funded children and then other applicants, with submission date carrying weight within each category.

Funding and Paid Extras

Paid sessions and funded early education are offered. Funding arrangements include eligible two-year-olds’ 15 hours, universal 15-hour funding for three- and four-year-olds, and extended 30-hour funding for eligible three- and four-year-olds. Delivery is term-time. The extended entitlement requires an application code and eligibility checking; the stated start point is the term after the relevant birthday.

Parents provide packed lunches and snacks, and sun cream comes from home. The food policy asks families to exclude nut products; allergy-affected families should discuss current practice before attendance. These arrangements also matter when budgeting for a funded place, because food and the stated sun-cream supply remain family responsibilities.

An administration contribution is requested before a child starts. Payments are made in advance each half term, invoices arrive through Famly, and fees remain payable during holidays, illness or other absence. Uniform is optional, as are occasional donations. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the admissions and fees page explains the attendance arrangements and links to the terms.

• Term-time timetable. Morning, standard all-day and 30-hour funded attendance have different finishing times, with a paid extension for the funded pattern. Compare the exact arrangement with work hours and holiday childcare needs.
• Outdoor preparation. Daily use of the garden and playground comes with a practical clothing list, including mud suits, wellies and spare clothes. At a visit, discuss how your child will manage the outdoor routine and changes between activities.
• Individual support. A visit with your child forms part of the admissions process when an offer may be possible. Use it to discuss settling, toileting, dietary requirements or a support plan, so that expectations are clear before accepting a place.
• Ethos and celebrations. The Christian foundation shapes the calendar alongside celebrations of other cultures. Consider how that combination fits your family and how you would like to contribute your own traditions.

Mill Grove suits families choosing either morning preschool sessions or an all-day term-time pattern, including those using its extended funded arrangement. Its strongest character comes from the connection between outdoor exploration, family contributions and a curriculum concerned with relationships and belonging.

The November 2023 Outstanding judgement carries weight, and the concrete learning examples make it more useful than the grade alone. The practical commitment is equally clear: term-time attendance, food brought from home and clothing ready for outdoor activity. For families comfortable with those arrangements and the Christian ethos, Mill Grove offers a coherent preschool experience with clear ways for parents to take part.