Tilly's Preschool

An athletics track, a field and a soft-play area gave Tilly's Preschool an unusually physical setting for early learning in September 2022. Based at The David Weir Leisure Centre in Carshalton, this preschool has capacity for 24 children. The leisure-centre setting is its clearest point of character, with an important distinction between the preschool's own space and the wider public facilities.

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good, identified communication and language as a strength and judged safeguarding effective. Children selected songs, explored movement and practised everyday independence. There was also a specific improvement needed: younger children's interruptions sometimes disrupted older children's group learning.

Children attending in September 2022 were aged two to four. Today's attendance choices include a full day, a morning or an afternoon, all during term time. That combination gives families different ways to fit preschool around their week, while the afternoon finish makes this a daytime arrangement rather than evening childcare.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play and practical experiences help children develop language, movement, social understanding and independence. In September 2022, children's interests shaped activities, with resources adapted to their individual needs. Small-world houses and figures prompted conversations about home and the people living there, connecting imaginative play with children's own experience.

Songs were an active choice rather than simply background entertainment in September 2022. A song board let children select favourites, and actions accompanied the singing. Questions encouraged children to think for themselves. For a child still building spoken language, those activities offered several ways to join in: choosing, moving, listening and speaking.

Everyday routines also became learning opportunities in September 2022. Patterns on socks prompted mathematical discussion when children removed their shoes. Children practised putting footwear on themselves and cutting fruit for a snack. These are small tasks with a useful purpose: they connect learning with things children can increasingly do independently.

Outdoor and Community Life

In September 2022, children climbed and slid in the soft-play area, encouraging one another as they moved. Access extended to an athletics track and field, alongside the preschool's own outdoor space. This gave physical play several settings, rather than confining movement to a single activity area.

Sensory exploration was concrete, too. In September 2022, toy spiders in water and jewels in sand invited children to investigate different materials. The attraction lies in the combination: energetic movement, imaginative play and close-up exploration each offered a different way into the nursery day.

The group-learning concern matters alongside these strengths. In September 2022, younger children's needs were sometimes insufficiently managed during shared activities, interrupting older children's concentration. Parents of children approaching school age should weigh that finding when considering how the preschool balances different stages of development.

Relationships and Communication

In September 2022, each child's key person helped establish familiar relationships, while information from parents informed the starting point for learning. Settling and the move to school received deliberate attention. Parents also received support with potty training and contact with outside agencies, linking preschool care with changes happening at home.

The September 2022 inspection found sound support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, with developmental concerns discussed with parents, documented next steps and assessments supporting progress. This gives the inclusion finding practical substance: support involved identifying needs and planning what came next, rather than relying solely on a welcoming atmosphere.

In September 2022, staff worked with the local council and speech and language therapists to connect families with specialist support. Children learning English as an additional language received specific attention. These arrangements matter for families whose child needs coordinated support across home, preschool and specialist services.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In September 2022, the golden rules, displayed in the room, gave children a shared reference for behaviour. Staff used consistent responses, and children understood familiar routines. Younger children were still learning to share, making the organisation of shared activities an important part of care as well as learning.

The public leisure-centre setting required clear boundaries in September 2022. Doors to the self-contained preschool stayed locked, and children wore high-visibility jackets when going to the additional facilities. Those measures addressed the practical distinction between the children's own space and premises also used by the public.

Healthy eating featured in September 2022 through discussions with children and guidance to parents about packed lunches. Food preparation also provided a learning opportunity when children cut fruit for snack time.

Sessions and Attendance

The preschool operates Monday to Friday during term time. A full-day session runs from 8.30am to 2.30pm; the morning option is 8.30am to 11.30am, and the afternoon is 11.30am to 2.30pm. The shorter choices give families a genuine alternative to booking the whole day, with the same afternoon finish for both the full-day and afternoon patterns.

The address is The David Weir Leisure Centre, Middleton Road, Carshalton, SM5 1SL. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 07786 644 073 or by email to dwlcentre@tillyspreschool.com.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare and privately paid sessions are offered, with term-time attendance. Childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare are also accepted. Families should obtain current prices in the preschool's written quotation.

• Older children's concentration. The September 2022 improvement point concerned interruptions from younger children during group activities. At a visit, ask how activities now protect older children's learning while supporting younger children.
• A public leisure-centre setting. In September 2022, locked preschool doors and high-visibility jackets supported movement between spaces. Ask how children currently access the soft-play area, track and field.
• Term-time cover and an early finish. Every session ends by 2.30pm, and attendance is during term time. Families need an arrangement that fits both the afternoon finish and school-holiday periods.
• The funded-session quotation. Government funding is accepted. Ask which entitlement applies to the proposed booking and how meals and non-food consumables are handled within it.

Tilly's Preschool suits families seeking term-time mornings, afternoons or full-day sessions ending at 2.30pm. Its leisure-centre setting gives it a recognisable character, and the September 2022 picture combined physical exploration, song-led language activities and practical independence. The balance between younger children's needs and older children's concentration is the key reservation. For families whose timetable fits, that is the most useful point to explore alongside how the wider facilities feature in the day now.