Ashurst Wood Community Pre-School

Gardens, village walks and parent participation shape Ashurst Wood Community Pre-School. Its purpose-built home sits within Ashurst Wood Primary School's grounds, with use of the field, hall and playground for play and movement.

At its April 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the pre-school Outstanding, finding excellent progress and an ambitious education for children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. That judgement is dated; the current offer includes outdoor choice, daily reading and a key person who works with each family.

Children can join from their second birthday and attend until statutory school age, five. There are 24 places in total, a whole-setting capacity rather than a count of children attending across the week. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions operate during term time.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the shared framework for learning, development and care. Here, play develops language, movement and relationships, alongside books, numbers, art and exploration.

Books are within children's reach, and staff read with them daily, individually and in small groups. Recognising their own names during self-registration connects written language with something immediately meaningful. Threading, pegging and working with materials that can be squeezed or shaped give small hands practice before pencil control becomes important. Drawing materials are accessible outdoors as well as inside.

Children choose art materials to explore texture, colour and construction. Matching, sorting and counting introduce mathematical language, with adults helping children describe shape and position through hands-on play.

In April 2022, practical investigation included working out how to mend a clock, handling screws and experimenting with shadows made by torches and animal figures. The chatterbox gave children another route into conversation: they took a box home, filled it with objects and brought it back to discuss with others. It made speaking to a group personal and concrete.

Outdoor and Community Life

Children can move between the playroom and rear garden, while a front garden provides space to investigate the natural world. The outdoor decking adds another place for activities. This gives children choices about where to play and combines smaller hand movements with opportunities for larger physical activity.

Weekly movement planning includes dance and yoga. Regular walks extend the day into the village, including visits to the church, butchers and shop, and exploration of the woodland route. Dirty Lane is also among the places covered by outing permissions. Familiar local places become material for observation and conversation.

In April 2022, children climbed in the garden and used herbs and recipe cards for imaginative mud-kitchen cooking. Discovering a bird's nest led to making feeders, turning curiosity into practical activity.

Oral Health Day introduces dental care, with annual toothbrush gifts and information for parents. Regular cooking activities give children practical experience with ingredients.

Relationships and Communication

Before starting, children receive a key person. Families complete an All About Me booklet about their child's interests and needs, shaping individual settling sessions that can include shorter attendance and play with a parent present.

Tapestry, the online learning journal, carries observations and assessments, and parents can contribute experiences from home. Daily handovers provide immediate contact with the key person; termly consultations offer time to discuss development and next steps. Together, these give families both everyday updates and a more considered conversation about progress.

Families can read with children, share skills, help with gardening or maintenance, or join the elected committee. The charity depends on this participation, giving parents several ways to contribute.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support uses an assess, plan, do and review cycle, involving parents in decisions and drawing on outside professionals where needed. The SENCO role provides a point of coordination. For children needing specialist adaptations or enhanced staffing, a multi-agency meeting and risk assessment must take place before they start, with the local authority and insurer involved.

Extra banisters, altered lighting and fluorescent hazard markings adapt the premises. Smaller toilets, potties and a changing table with steps support self-care. Visual timetables explain routines; a calm sensory area supports emotional regulation.

At the April 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, with staff recognising possible harm, understanding how to raise concerns and refreshing their knowledge. Current arrangements include designated safeguarding roles, deputy cover and paediatric first aid training for practitioners. Children with specific medical conditions have healthcare plans, and administering medication requires prior written parental consent and a written record.

Food arrangements are straightforward: the fee includes snacks and drinks, while families supply packed lunches for afternoon attendance. The nut-free policy asks families to exclude nuts from lunchboxes, but the childcare terms acknowledge that cross-contamination cannot be ruled out and require an allergy risk assessment.

Sessions and Attendance

The pre-school opens Monday to Friday, from 9am to 3pm, during term time. Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, afternoons from noon to 3pm, and full days from 9am to 3pm. Charged Early Start attendance runs from 8.45am to 9am, with later collection from 3pm to 3.15pm; later collection must be arranged at least 24 hours beforehand.

The calendar covers 38 weeks, follows Ashurst Wood Primary School's terms and includes closures for bank holidays and inset days. This makes the setting a term-time option, with school holidays requiring a separate family arrangement.

The admissions policy generally encourages at least two sessions each week, allowing an initial single session for extended settling or while funding is awaited. Once funding begins, at least two sessions are required. A pattern consisting only of five mornings is excluded. Sessions are offered first come, first served, and the waiting list follows registration order, with consideration for specified local-authority placements and children involved with social services or child protection.

Getting There

The address is The Sanderson Centre, School Lane, Ashurst Wood, East Grinstead, RH19 3QW. Street-parking bays are on School Lane and Hammerwood Road; the primary-school car park is reserved for its staff, and the entrance zigzags prohibit parking.

Attending on the primary-school site does not guarantee a Reception place; families apply through the local authority. Transition visits and communication support continuity, with relevant records shared with parental consent.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded entitlement is accepted for eligible children aged two and above, including local-authority two-year-old funding, universal entitlement of up to 15 hours from the term after a third birthday, and extended funding of 30 hours for eligible working families. Attendance is term-time. The universal hours can be used across two and a half days, while extended funded hours are used in afternoon sessions.

Additional sessions beyond funded hours are invoiced privately, as are the early-start and later-collection additions. Packed lunches remain a parent's responsibility on funded attendance too. Families provide spare nappies and their child's usual wipes; these need to be included in the daily bag rather than assumed to come with the session.

An opt-in voluntary contribution supports experiences such as reptile visits and village outings. Bills are itemised each term, with payment plans available by arrangement, and current prices come in the pre-school's written quotation. Missed sessions because of illness or holidays are neither refunded nor exchanged; the childcare terms require six weeks' notice to reduce hours or end attendance.

• Term-time fit. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions follow the school calendar, with only short paid additions at either end. When visiting, discuss how the two-session rule and exclusion of five mornings fit your intended weekly pattern.
• Allergy planning. The nut-free policy sits alongside terms acknowledging possible cross-contamination. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food handling and the individual risk assessment before agreeing attendance.
• Support before starting. Specialist adaptations or enhanced staffing require meetings and risk assessments before a child joins. A visit should explore the proposed support, sensory spaces and arrangements for participating in walks.
• Parent participation. An elected parent committee sustains the charity, and families can contribute skills, practical help or fundraising. Consider how you would like to take part alongside your child's attendance.

Ashurst Wood Community Pre-School suits families seeking term-time morning, afternoon or full-day attendance, with a parent committee and village life forming part of the experience. Its strongest practical ingredients are outdoor choice, access to primary-school facilities and communication through a key person and Tapestry. The Outstanding judgement from April 2022 adds a substantial, dated quality assessment. The decision turns on the school-term calendar, the attendance rules and whether this participatory community model fits family life.