Parkwood Pre-School

Weekly Forest Days, with a mud kitchen and occasional campfire, give Parkwood Pre-School a recognisable outdoor character. Indoors, its Reggio Emilia Approach starts with children's ideas and develops them through play, conversation and adult guidance. These are concrete reasons to consider this Gillingham setting, especially for a child who enjoys exploring and making things.

Ofsted rated Parkwood Outstanding on 9 October 2024. The pre-school has 51 places in total, with younger children in the Caterpillar Room and older preschool children in the Butterfly Room. The main opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, with Breakfast Club offering an earlier start.

The strongest combination here is child-led exploration alongside close attention to individual development. Children's ideas shape learning, while a key person and a shared Learning Journey give parents a way to contribute what happens at home. That makes the relationship between family and setting part of the educational approach.

Rooms and Ages

The Caterpillar Room serves two-year-olds, combining soft furnishings, an enclosed outdoor space and messy play with an introduction to everyday life skills. The Butterfly Room is for three- and four-year-olds: its larger, busier environment supports imaginative play, independent choices and thinking through ideas with other children.

Those environments offer different experiences as children grow. For families choosing between them, the practical distinction is the younger room's cosy surroundings and enclosed outside space versus the older room's more active social setting. A child's comfort with noise, activity and other children will matter alongside their age.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the educational framework: children learn through exploration, active play and thinking creatively, developing language, physical skills and relationships alongside later learning in areas such as literacy and mathematics. Parkwood's Reggio Emilia Approach adds a particular starting point, using children's own ideas as material for learning.

Adults observe children at play, introduce vocabulary and combine guidance with direct teaching. This gives child-led activity a clear adult role. Children's ideas inform learning, while staff observations help them plan further development.

In October 2024, communication received sustained attention. Staff allowed children time to formulate answers and used signing with those still developing language and understanding. For a child who needs longer to respond, that pause matters: participation does not depend solely on being the quickest speaker.

Physical development was also an area staff wanted to embed further in October 2024. Playdough work involved cutting tools and rolling pins, while additional funding had bought indoor climbing equipment. The response combined hand control with larger movements, giving children different ways to practise physical skills.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest Days take place every week and bring outdoor exploration into the routine. The mud kitchen supports hands-on play; a campfire is sometimes lit, and food may be prepared and shared. These experiences introduce practical cooperation and conversations about keeping safe alongside the pleasure of investigating outdoors.

Wellies, waterproof clothing and spare clothes are part of the preparation, with hats and gloves for cold weather. Families should expect outdoor clothing to be useful equipment rather than an occasional extra. The emphasis is on taking part and getting involved.

In October 2024, children also took walks around the local community and staff arranged visitors to broaden their understanding of the world. These experiences extended learning beyond indoor activities. They are a useful complement to an approach that begins with children's questions and interests.

Relationships and Communication

A child's key person works with parents on the Learning Journey, a record combining experiences, observations, photographs and children's creations. Families can add photographs and accounts of events at home, helping staff understand the people and experiences that matter to their child.

Learning Journeys go home at the end of the year and can also be borrowed to share with another setting or important people in the child's life. Opportunities to look through and contribute to them occur during the year. This offers more than a finished keepsake: parents can help build the picture used to plan subsequent learning.

In October 2024, parents received updates about learning and next steps, attended consultations with their child's key person and received home-learning packs matched to developmental priorities. That connection between discussion and practical activities made it possible to continue relevant learning at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the October 2024 inspection, Ofsted found exceptionally strong SEND support, including early identification and coordinated work with families and professionals, and judged safeguarding effective. Staff joined parents at physiotherapy appointments and speech and language sessions so that support at the pre-school could reflect work elsewhere.

The current staff structure includes a SENCO role, a designated safeguarding lead and deputy safeguarding roles, and all staff have paediatric first aid training. These are identifiable arrangements for discussing additional needs and children's welfare. They give parents specific roles to approach when planning support.

In October 2024, the setting employed 10 staff, eight with relevant early years qualifications at level two or above. Those figures describe the team at that time, rather than the number of adults present in a particular room or session.

Sessions and Attendance

Parkwood Pre-School is on Deanwood Drive, Gillingham, ME8 9LP. Its main opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, and the pre-school operates during term time. Morning sessions run from 9am to 11.30am and afternoon sessions from 12.30pm to 3pm, Monday to Friday during term time. Families therefore need to fit attendance around their chosen session and the term calendar.

Breakfast Club admits children from age two from 7.30am onwards. It also serves children attending Parkwood Schools Primary School up to age eight, with staff escorting them to their class or school. Permanent attendance can be paid for weekly or termly, while occasional attendance is paid for daily, using BACS.

Enrolment begins with an online form, followed by contact from the setting. The contact telephone number is 01634 231425. These provide straightforward routes for starting the joining process.

Funding and Paid Extras

In October 2024, Parkwood received funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four. This is a dated statement of participation, rather than a promise of an individual child's entitlement or booking arrangement.

Parents supply packed lunches, and the nursery operates a policy excluding nuts and nut products. Breakfast Club provides breakfast until 8.15am, with fruit offered after that time.

Parkwood occupies the site of Parkwood School, with school-library visits and shared play supporting the move to infant school. Attending the pre-school does not guarantee a Reception place; families still apply through the local authority admissions process. Familiarity with the school environment and the admissions decision are separate matters.

• The term-time timetable. The main day ends at 3pm, while Breakfast Club offers a 7.30am start for children aged two and above. Compare that combination with the hours your family needs before choosing an attendance pattern.
• Room environment and settling. Caterpillar's softer surroundings differ from Butterfly's larger, busier room. On a visit, ask how settling and the move between rooms are adapted to your child's confidence and communication needs.
• Outdoor preparation. Weekly Forest Days include muddy play and sometimes a campfire. Waterproofs, wellies and spare clothes will be part of preparing your child to participate comfortably.
• Lunch and allergies. Families prepare packed lunches under the nursery's nut-exclusion policy. If your child has an allergy, confirm current food-handling practice and how their individual needs will be managed.

Parkwood suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions during term time, with Breakfast Club providing an additional early-start arrangement. Weekly Forest Days and learning built around children's ideas give it a clear character, while the Learning Journey creates a practical connection with home.

Its October 2024 Outstanding judgement provides a strong inspection position. The decision for families is also practical: the afternoon finish, packed-lunch routine and outdoor clothing expectations need to work alongside the appeal of the learning and care arrangements.