Colours at St Paul's Pre-School

Art, practical independence and a garden give Colours at St Paul's Pre-School its character. This small East Boldre setting combines Montessori activities with painting, construction and cooking, so creative work sits alongside learning to manage everyday tasks. Children share a mixed-age environment rather than separate age-based rooms.

With capacity for 18 children aged two to four, Colours operates from St Paul's Church Hall, Main Road, East Boldre, SO42 7WT. At its March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and found safeguarding effective, with children making good progress from their starting points. The specific improvement required was more consistent help with pronouncing words correctly. That matters alongside the broader picture of purposeful play and positive relationships.

Attendance follows Hampshire County school terms, with flexible starting and finishing arrangements. The practical attraction is the combination of creative learning, a small setting and hours that can be adjusted around a family's routine.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS framework shapes learning through play, combining activities children choose with experiences guided by adults. Montessori adds concrete ways to practise independence and explore concepts: pouring, sewing and dressing sit alongside equipment for comparing weights, matching sounds and recognising shapes. These are tasks children can handle and repeat, rather than ideas presented only through explanation.

Mixed ages are part of this approach. Children use a shared environment, while activities are adapted to their interests and stage of development.

Wooden equipment and other natural materials support early work with letters and counting. Songs, rhymes and phonics-based word games contribute to literacy, while art, textiles and sensory materials give children ways to express their ideas.

Cooking takes place at least once a week, with ingredients supplied and the finished creation going home. Preparing food gives an everyday purpose to following instructions and trying unfamiliar flavours. Snacks also become a practical activity: children practise cutting and spreading, bringing small movements and independence into an ordinary part of the day.

Construction, role play and puzzles provide different kinds of challenge. Blocks and loose parts invite children to experiment together; pretend shops and family scenarios create reasons to talk and negotiate. In March 2024, children worked together on a wooden castle, adjusting their construction to make room for a doorway. The example captures the value of leaving children a problem to solve rather than completing the task for them.

Outdoor and Community Life

A bright shared room and garden provide the main learning spaces. The sandpit supports sensory exploration, and outdoor activities are adapted to children's next steps.

During the week of 20 April 2026, activities included shaping play dough into animals, painting, making mud cakes and washing toy cars. Microphones were used for children to take turns singing during circle time.

Nature also enters ordinary play. In March 2024, children watched tadpoles in a tank and noticed squirrels in the garden. Older children practised keeping hula hoops moving, while younger children used moulds in the sandpit. The outdoor environment offered both close observation and physical challenges, with different activities drawing on different skills.

Relationships and Communication

Settling is adjusted to the child rather than organised around a fixed timetable. Staff gather information about interests, routines and family needs, then use what the child enjoys to help them become familiar with the setting. This gives the settling process a practical starting point: something recognisable to do, supported by knowledge from home.

Tapestry is the online learning journal used to share photographs, videos and written observations. Parents can respond to entries and contribute photographs from home, giving staff another view of children's interests. Verbal updates follow each session, so the digital record sits alongside direct conversation rather than replacing it.

In March 2024, children's next learning steps were displayed in the playroom and shared with parents. Those steps were revisited regularly. For families wanting to continue an interest at home, a concrete next step is more useful than a general account of whether the day went well.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SEN Coordinator role supports the setting's approach to additional needs. Admissions take account of whether this small setting can meet a child's particular requirements. That makes the detail of an individual child's support important, rather than treating an inclusion statement as a promise that every need can be accommodated in the same way.

Children must have been free of fever or diarrhoea and vomiting symptoms for at least 48 hours before returning. Indoor slippers, comfortable washable clothing and a spare set are part of the everyday arrangements.

Healthy snacks are included, while families supply lunch; the lunchbox policy excludes nuts and nut products, among other foods. Children also cook with ingredients supplied by the setting, making food preparation part of learning rather than simply a meal arrangement.

Relationships with local schools support preparation for moving on. In March 2024, staff also worked with other settings attended by the children, helping connect care and learning across different parts of their week. This is useful transition work, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Colours follows Hampshire County school term times and offers flexible hours, including adjustments to attendance. Opening hours are 8.45am to 2.40pm, Monday to Friday. Starting options are 8.45am, 9am and 9.30am; finishing options are noon, 1pm, 2pm and 2.30pm. These choices allow earlier finishes as well as longer attendance within the opening day.

A minimum of three sessions each week is recommended for continuity with the Montessori approach; it is a recommendation rather than a stated compulsory booking minimum. Withdrawals require a full term's notice in writing. That notice period deserves attention when comparing arrangements or planning a move.

The address is St Paul's Church Hall, Main Road, East Boldre, SO42 7WT. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01590 612084.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both funded and privately paid attendance are offered. Funding options include 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds, 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds, and the 30-hour extended entitlement for eligible working parents of two-, three- and four-year-olds. Funded attendance is organised over 38 term-time weeks rather than spread across the summer.

Daily snacks and activity materials are included in both funded attendance and hourly fees. Art, gardening, cooking and sensory-play supplies are covered, alongside presents, party food and special events; families provide lunch.

Additional attendance beyond the child's funded entitlement is charged privately. Payments can be made monthly, invoiced after attendance, or termly in advance; the termly discount applies to non-funded hours. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

There is no registration charge or deposit. Families applying for two-year-old or extended funding must obtain an eligibility code and give it to the setting before the term begins; the setting handles universal funding for three- and four-year-olds. Eligibility remains a condition of the relevant entitlement.

• Pronunciation support. In March 2024, help with saying words correctly was inconsistent. Ask how practitioners now model pronunciation and support children who need extra help with speech.
• Flexible term-time attendance. Earlier finishes and longer days within the opening window serve different routines, but school holidays sit outside this arrangement. A visit is the opportunity to discuss the intended pattern alongside the recommendation for three weekly sessions.
• Individual support. Admissions depend on the setting's capacity to meet a child's needs. Families seeking additional support should use the initial meeting to discuss the child's routines and the arrangements they would need.
• Lunch and notice. Families provide lunch under a policy excluding nuts and nut products, and withdrawal requires a full term's written notice. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food practice, while all families should factor the notice period into their plans.

Colours suits families seeking creative, practical preschool learning in a small mixed-age setting. Montessori equipment, regular cooking and opportunities for painting and construction give the approach substance. Tapestry and session-end conversations provide complementary ways to follow a child's development.

Its flexible attendance can suit families choosing earlier finishes or longer days during school terms. The March 2024 judgement provides a positive inspection position, with pronunciation support the clear point to explore.