Jelly Beans

A pirate ship, a mud kitchen and garden cabins give Jelly Beans a recognisable character: outdoor imagination alongside quieter spaces for children who need them. Based at St Andrew's United Reformed Church in Sutton, this term-time preschool combines younger and older children's rooms with a substantial garden. It has 75 places in total across the setting.

Ofsted rated Jelly Beans Good at its July 2023 inspection. The current offer includes settling sessions, individual learning records and specialist support through a SENCO and an SEN support assistant. Children can attend mornings, afternoons or an all-day session, with Early Beans and Late Beans extending the timetable.

The preschool operates on a not-for-profit basis. Church attendance is not a condition of joining, so its church connection should not be read as a religious entry requirement.

Rooms and Ages

Caterpillar Room accommodates younger children, with a stated maximum of 24, while Butterfly Room serves older children and can take up to 50; both use the outdoor play space. These are room limits, not a promise about the number attending alongside an individual child. Attendance numbers build during the academic year as children increase their hours.

For parents considering the younger room, its cap is a useful starting point for judging scale. The shared garden also means outdoor provision belongs to both age groups, rather than being reserved for older children.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the day through play and activities covering communication, movement, relationships, early reading, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. These are the common foundations of early education. At Jelly Beans, activities are planned around children's interests and individual needs, giving staff a way to connect those foundations with what engages each child.

Learning Journey is the name for each child's individual record of development. It accompanies their time at preschool, and information from it is passed to schools in the borough when they move on. That gives the next setting something more useful than a general description of how a child has spent their preschool years.

In July 2023, children used garden chalk to experiment with writing and explored weight and number with scales. Older children tried letters from their names. These examples connect early literacy and mathematics with hands-on play, rather than treating them as separate classroom exercises.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden provides room for planting, imaginative adventures on the pirate ship and messy cooking in the mud kitchen. Covered areas support outdoor play in different weather. Children go outside daily, and twice when attending all day, making the garden a regular part of their timetable.

In July 2023, bicycles and scooters were used with a pretend road arrangement to explore road safety. Bug hunts involved checklists, while handling worms and woodlice introduced care for living things. The practical value was the combination: movement, observation and responsibility could develop through the same outdoor space.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with sessions for new children and an exchange of information with their families. A home visit is also attempted before September starters join. The key person discusses how settling is progressing, and extra days may be offered at no additional charge when they would help a child settle. This makes the initial arrangement responsive to the child rather than simply a fixed introduction.

Communication has several routes: a parent communication book, an activity board, occasional photographs on a private Facebook page and conversations with staff. Families can arrange a meeting with their child's key person about concerns. The everyday emphasis is on conversation and a shared record rather than individual daily activity summaries.

Two Learning Journey Viewing days take place during the academic year, one in autumn and another in late spring or early summer. These are appointments with the key person to discuss development and look through folders and photographs. They give parents a dedicated opportunity to consider progress beyond the brief exchanges around collection.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO, an SEN support assistant and a subscription to Playwise provide routes into additional help. Playwise supplies further support, while the assistant works with children who need help with areas such as language or confidence. Two garden cabins allow sessions to take place in a quieter setting. Parents are involved when professionals visit to plan support, and liaison can include speech therapists, health visitors and other specialists involved in the child's care.

At its July 2023 inspection, Ofsted found coordinated support for children with SEND, effective safeguarding arrangements and a need for more consistent opportunities for bilingual children to encounter and use their home languages. The language point matters alongside the positive findings: communication support needs to recognise what a child already brings from home.

Children may attend in nappies or during toilet training. Parents supply nappies and wipes, with a storage bag supplied by the preschool. Prescribed medication and inhalers can be administered once parents complete a form giving instructions and timings; administration is recorded. Full-time staff hold current paediatric first aid certificates.

Sessions and Attendance

Jelly Beans is at St Andrew's United Reformed Church, Northey Avenue, Sutton, SM2 7HF. Opening runs from 8am to 4pm on weekdays during term time. Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, afternoons from 12.30pm to 3pm, and the all-day session from 9am to 3pm. A lunch session between noon and 12.30pm can connect the two halves of the day or accompany either one.

Early Beans runs from 8am to 9am and includes a healthy breakfast; Late Beans runs from 3pm to 4pm. Sessions can be combined, subject to availability, with a minimum attendance of two sessions on separate days. Once agreed, attendance hours and days are fixed: absence through illness or holidays does not create replacement sessions.

The main intake is in September. Admission at other points in the year is conditional on availability. A signed parent contract forms part of acceptance and continued attendance. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email.

Getting There

The church complex has a car park, and nearby street parking is unrestricted. Cheam station has trains serving Epsom, West Croydon, Sutton and London Victoria; the S2 bus also passes Jelly Beans, giving families an alternative to driving.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted, including working parents funding and funding for eligible two-year-olds receiving additional government support. The term-time entitlement described is 15 hours each week over 38 weeks for three- and four-year-olds and some two-year-olds, subject to eligibility and availability. The three-year-old entitlement begins from the term after the child's third birthday, with cut-off dates applying. The general funding reference to younger babies does not establish a younger starting age at Jelly Beans.

Private hours, including attendance beyond funded hours, are invoiced by term. Payment may be made monthly, by half term or in full. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the admissions and fees page sets out the charging structure.

Parents provide packed lunches, while healthy snacks attract a voluntary contribution and milk and water are supplied. The allergy policy asks families to report allergies and intolerances and provide nut-free lunches, describing the preschool as nut aware. Nappies and wipes come from home, so food and personal-care supplies need to be considered separately from attendance charges.

• Starting age. The main age description runs from 14 months to five, while another starting rule accepts children from one if they can walk. These conflict at the younger end: confirm which starting rule applies to your child before arranging attendance.
• Term-time fit. The minimum is two sessions across separate days, and booked hours cannot be replaced following illness or holidays. Consider whether morning, afternoon or all-day attendance fits your weekly commitments and school-holiday arrangements.
• Languages and additional support. July 2023 brought an improvement point about children's home languages. During a visit, ask how your child's language will feature in activities and how the garden cabins and specialist support would be used for their needs.
• Viewing and allergies. A viewing lasts 30 minutes and requires identification. Use that appointment to confirm current allergy practice, including how the nut-free packed-lunch rule works for your child.

Jelly Beans suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those wanting the all-day option with earlier or later extensions. Its strongest practical combination is a substantial outdoor offer, a capped younger room and quieter garden spaces linked to additional support.

The July 2023 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference, while the home-language improvement point deserves attention from bilingual families. For parents comfortable providing lunches and personal-care supplies, the preschool brings flexible session combinations together with a clear minimum attendance rule. The garden gives it character; the settling and communication arrangements give families ways to build a working relationship with staff.