The Donkey Field Pre School

The Burleigh Room, an enclosed garden and a sensory room give The Donkey Field Pre School a clear identity: a community preschool within a village school building, with its own spaces for play and quieter moments. It occupies the community room at Crawley Down C of E School, while retaining a separate entrance and exit. That combination matters for families who value a school setting alongside a preschool's own daily routine.

The overall judgement on 7 December 2022 was Good. It has 30 places in total, and its play-based provision is aimed at children aged two and a half to five. Full and half days provide two attendance options.

The strongest practical features are the separate garden, the additional space for sensory activities and parent meetings, and a key worker who helps each child settle. The dated inspection findings also give families two useful points to examine: how children are encouraged to do things independently, and how learning continues between activities.

Rooms and Ages

The Burleigh Room is the main playroom. Children's work is displayed there, giving their creations a visible place in the everyday environment. The preschool also has its own enclosed garden, so outdoor play has a space separate from the school.

Fundraising and community grants supported a multi-use outbuilding in 2023. It serves as a sensory room, a quiet area and storage, and provides somewhere for parents to meet staff. This adds a different kind of space to the main playroom: useful when a child needs quieter surroundings or a family needs a conversation away from the main activity.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play, including language, physical development, early mathematics and creative expression. Here, music and rhymes sit alongside play, with themes such as transport, sea life and fire and road safety giving activities a shared subject. These are concrete ways to connect conversation and exploration with children's growing understanding of the world.

Planning also takes account of individual development. Staff meet each half term to discuss children's needs and organise activities, while development records draw on observations and assessment. Children can influence the pace of their learning within structured play. For parents, that means the theme is a starting point rather than the only consideration shaping a child's experience.

In December 2022, children experimented with pouring water using a water wall and built a pretend sleigh from planks and crates. These examples show two different kinds of participation: investigating how something works, and collaborating to create something together. Staff also used sticks to help children revisit a story and tell it again, linking practical play with memory and language.

Outdoor and Community Life

The enclosed garden is a lasting part of the setting's layout. In December 2022, staff also used the neighbouring school's hall and library to extend children's experiences. Those inspection-time examples help explain the practical value of the school relationship, while remaining separate from today's attendance offer.

Community involvement has produced tangible resources. The fundraising team welcomes volunteers and holds meetings roughly monthly; families can also support events. The sensory room is the clearest example of what that involvement has achieved. Participation offers parents a way to contribute to the preschool's facilities as well as their child's immediate experience.

Relationships and Communication

Each child is allocated a key worker who helps both child and parent through settling in and takes responsibility for individual needs. This gives families a specific staff relationship during a period that can require patience and adjustment. Individual development records provide another connection between daily activities and a child's progress.

A newsletter is issued each half term. Alongside that regular communication, the multi-use outbuilding gives parents and staff a space for meetings. The two serve different purposes: one keeps families informed collectively, while the other allows a more private discussion.

In December 2022, adults comforted children when they needed reassurance and celebrated their art by displaying it. A book and toy lending library also helped families continue activities at home. These are useful examples of how emotional support and home learning worked at that time, rather than a promise that every arrangement remains identical.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its December 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities were supported well and made good progress, and judged safeguarding effective. The sensory room now provides a physical resource for quieter activity, while the manager's role includes working with outside agencies when needed to support children with additional needs.

Practitioners have paediatric first aid training. The health and safety policy includes checks on sleeping children and routines that teach personal hygiene through everyday activities. These describe arrangements for care; the dated safeguarding judgement remains the relevant assessment of their effectiveness.

Sessions and Attendance

The preschool is at Crawley Down C of E Village School, Hophurst Drive, Crawley Down, Crawley, RH10 4XA. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday. Full-day and half-day attendance are offered, giving families a choice between a longer preschool day and a shorter pattern.

In December 2022, opening was during term time. The 2025/2026 term calendar included half-term breaks and training closures affecting individual morning or afternoon sessions. Enrolment enquiries go to info@donkeyfield.co.uk, and a prospective-parent form collects the child's details and requested sessions.

Funding and Paid Extras

The preschool participates in Free Entitlement funding and asks parents to complete an additional form for Early Years Pupil Premium where eligible. That premium supports the provider's work with eligible children; it is separate from a family's basic funded entitlement. In December 2022, funded early education covered two-, three- and four-year-old children. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation.

Moving on to School

Sharing a building with Crawley Down C of E School gives this preschool an obvious school connection. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. The preschool choice and the school application remain separate decisions.

• Independence in daily routines. In December 2022, adults sometimes missed opportunities for children to manage tasks they could do themselves. During a visit, ask how snack time and tidying now help children practise those skills.
• Learning between activities. The December 2022 improvement points included making transitions more challenging and engaging. Ask what children do while moving between parts of the day, as well as during planned activities.
• The attendance quotation. Full and half days are offered within a 9am to 3pm opening window. Request a written quotation covering your chosen pattern, funded hours, meals and non-food consumables before committing.
• School connection. The Burleigh Room sits within the school building, but preschool attendance does not secure Reception admission. Treat the Reception application as a separate step from preschool arrangements.

The Donkey Field Pre School suits families seeking either full-day or half-day preschool attendance in a community setting closely connected to a village school. The Burleigh Room, enclosed garden and sensory room give that description substance. A key worker and individual development records also provide clear mechanisms for settling and following a child's learning.

The December 2022 Good judgement is useful, but its improvement points deserve equal attention. Families should look closely at children's independence and the activity between planned sessions. For those comfortable with the opening window and the separate Reception application, this is a preschool with a recognisable setting and practical spaces for both lively play and quieter support.