Barnett Wood Pre-School

A garden shared between two age groups, carefully staged settling sessions and daily photographs for parents give Barnett Wood Pre-School a recognisable character. This Ashtead preschool combines room-based activities with time to choose between indoor and outdoor play. Children can explore together, then return to their own group for stories and songs.

At its May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the preschool Outstanding overall, with the same judgement across education, behaviour, personal development and leadership. That assessment belongs to a particular visit. The current offer includes Caterpillars and Butterflies, a covered outdoor classroom and a settling process that gradually introduces time away from parents.

There are 44 places in total, for children aged two to five, with admission from the September following a child's second birthday. The preschool operates independently on the Barnett Wood Infant School site. Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance are offered during term time, making the attendance pattern an important part of the choice.

Rooms and Ages

Caterpillars, for two- to three-year-olds, accommodates up to 20 children per session and concentrates on relationships, communication and physical development, with sensory tuff trays and a space for investigating natural materials. This is the younger group's foundation: becoming comfortable with other children, developing language and learning through movement and exploration.

Butterflies, for three- to four-year-olds, accommodates up to 24 children and extends learning into early literacy, mathematics, creative expression and understanding the world during the year before Reception. Letters & Sounds phase one supports communication and language through activities; later in the academic year, recognising names and making the marks needed to write them receive more attention.

These are room limits, rather than a promise about the number attending on a particular day. The age-group structure also does not mean children spend the entire session apart. Doors between the rooms open after the initial group activity, allowing children to choose resources across the setting while staff support their next steps.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes the day through learning in language, relationships, movement, early literacy and mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. Alongside that framework, the preschool's curriculum brings in themes including life cycles, looking after teeth and road safety. These give practical subjects a place in play and conversation.

A typical session begins with group time and an activity guided by an adult, followed by opportunities to choose independently. Children help return resources to their places before songs and a story in their base room. Those attending in the afternoon encounter a different adult-led activity from the morning, so a full day brings a change of content as well as more time to play.

In May 2023, vocabulary development included exploring the meaning of fluorescent, while pretend play involved cutting real vegetables. These separate examples illustrate vocabulary development and sensory exploration at that visit.

Enrichment changes with the term. In autumn 2025, Caterpillar Music delivered weekly sessions during the term's second half; its music and movement activities had also featured in spring 2025. Summer 2025 brought Athletix Kidz sports sessions, including throwing and jumping, and Browells Farm Pet Therapy introduced children to animals including lambs, piglets and chickens. These are dated examples of the experiences children have had, rather than a fixed weekly timetable.

Outdoor and Community Life

Both rooms open directly into the garden, where an artificial surface supports play in different weather conditions. Children can usually choose between indoors and outdoors for much of a session. Bikes, hoops and opportunities for larger construction give movement and building a practical place in the day.

The mud kitchen adds textures and smells to imaginative play. Under cover, the outdoor classroom contains a music station and sand tray, giving children another place to play when they want shelter from sun, wind or rain. The physical layout makes outdoor activity part of ordinary session choices.

In summer 2025, structured visits to Ashtead Common took place with The City of London, Ashtead Common Wardens. Children explored, made bark rubbings and played Pooh Sticks. Spring 2025 included World Book Day, when children were invited to dress as a favourite book or character, and shared storytelling with children from Barnett Wood Infant School. Learning extends beyond the preschool's own rooms, but those experiences retain their individual dates and arrangements.

Relationships and Communication

Settling follows a deliberate sequence. Stay & Play gives a child time in the preschool with a parent nearby; a Settling Meeting then introduces the family's Key Person individually. The Taster Session provides an initial period apart from parents before term begins, with attendance numbers limited to help children adjust. Familiarity comes before separation.

Every child has a Key Person who develops the relationship, follows progress and acts as a contact for family questions. Tapestry, the online learning journal, lets parents see observations, respond to them and add photographs or experiences from home. Daily activity summaries and photographs also provide something specific to discuss with a child, rather than relying on a broad account of how the session went.

For Caterpillars, the Key Person completes the Progress Check at Age Two unless another setting has already done it. Parents discuss strengths and areas needing attention with that practitioner. Toilet learning is also handled with families when their child is ready, supported by child-sized toilets, potties and low sinks that make handwashing accessible.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding and highly effective SEND support, with staff, parents and other professionals working together to identify concerns and organise targeted help. The practical point is the collaboration: support was planned around individual needs rather than treated as a separate activity.

The team includes a SENCO and designated safeguarding lead role. Most staff hold relevant childcare qualifications, and the team undertakes paediatric first aid and food hygiene training; safeguarding updates and DBS checks are also part of staffing arrangements. These describe the preschool's arrangements rather than extending the dated safeguarding judgement into a current assurance.

Full-day attendance requires a child to manage without an afternoon nap, because the setting has no sleep facilities. For children still using nappies, families supply spares in the changing bag. These everyday requirements matter as much as the learning offer when deciding whether a child is ready for this particular pattern of care.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 8.30am to 12.15pm, Monday to Friday. Afternoon sessions are 12.15pm to 3pm, Monday to Thursday; full days run from 8.30am to 3pm on those same four days. Friday therefore serves the morning pattern, while the other weekdays allow families to choose a shorter session or combine the day.

The minimum booking is two sessions each week, with a full day counting as two. Children claiming Working Parent Entitlement, Universal Entitlement or FEET funding must attend at least four sessions weekly. An autumn birthday, between 1 September and 31 December, also brings a requirement to attend at least one afternoon session each week.

Attendance is term-time only. The 2026-2027 autumn half-term break runs from 19 to 30 October 2026, and the autumn term finishes on 18 December 2026. Families arranging childcare around employment need to account for those breaks as well as the daily finish times.

Getting There

The address is 213 Barnett Wood Lane, Ashtead, Surrey, KT21 2DF. There is no parking on site; Ashtead train station and the Barnett Wood Lane bus stop are within walking distance.

Applications use a waiting-list form, with priority given to looked-after children or Surrey safeguarding requests, then families with a sibling connection, Ashtead residents and application date. Joining the list does not guarantee admission, and contact about an offer normally comes six to nine months before the intended start. Once an offer is accepted and the registration form returned, a registration charge secures the preschool place; families eligible for FEET funding are directed to contact the setting about this step.

Sharing a site with Barnett Wood Infant School does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply through the local authority admissions process. The preschool liaises with local schools to help children move on, which supports transition rather than conferring an admissions advantage.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes Working Parent Entitlement, FEET funding (Free Early Education for Two year olds) and Universal Entitlement, with funded provision delivered during term time. Additional hours and attendance without funding are privately paid; current prices come in the preschool's written quotation.

The funding and fees page separates voluntary charges for food, non-food consumables and activities. Families can opt out of the enhancements as a whole under the Alternatives Policy, rather than choosing individual elements; where attendance combines private and funded hours, that decision applies to both.

Snacks comprise fruit or vegetables, a dry snack and water or milk, with food enhancements covered by the voluntary charge; children attending a full day or an afternoon bring lunch from home. Non-food enhancements also attract a voluntary charge, while spare nappies remain the family's responsibility.

• Nap readiness. Full days finish at 3pm, and there are no sleep facilities. During a tour, discuss how your child would manage the afternoon if they still depend on a nap.
• Funding and attendance. Funded children need four sessions weekly, and autumn birthdays require an afternoon session. Consider these rules alongside the term-time calendar and the all-or-nothing choice about charged enhancements.
• Settling before term. Stay & Play, the Settling Meeting and the Taster Session give different stages of preparation. Tours are offered in the academic year before a child starts, ideally at 10.30am or 1.30pm; use a show-round to discuss how that sequence would work for your child.
• The shared school site. There is no on-site parking, and preschool attendance does not guarantee Reception admission. Plan the daily journey and the school application separately.

Barnett Wood Pre-School suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those combining them into full days. Direct garden access, a gradual settling sequence and communication through Tapestry give its offer substance beyond the inspection grade.

The strongest match is a child ready for active sessions and, if staying all day, an afternoon without sleep. Funding minimums, holiday closures and parent-provided lunches deserve equal weight in the decision. For families whose routines fit those requirements, the two-room structure and practical learning experiences make this a compelling preschool option.