Mulberry Preschool

A mud kitchen, vegetable patch and sensory garden give Mulberry Preschool a clear outdoor character. This Marchwood preschool makes substantial use of the open air, while its indoor play spaces change with children's interests. Natural materials, reclaimed objects and real resources give children things to investigate rather than a single prescribed way to play.

At its December 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Mulberry Good overall and found effective safeguarding and coordinated support for children with additional needs. Those findings sit alongside a specific governance action, which families should weigh as well as the strengths of the children's experience.

Children can join from two and stay until they move to infant school; there are 26 places in total. A key person and co-key person support each family, while emotional learning has its own named programmes. Full-day and half-day attendance are both offered, with a choice of 38 or 41 weeks across the year.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) frames learning and care through play, exploration and activities with adults. Mulberry adapts play spaces to children's interests, with natural, reclaimed and real objects encouraging investigation.

A flexible routine balances child-chosen and adult-led activities. Children make decisions, consider hazards and learn by trial and error, practising independence during ordinary play.

In December 2023, stories and songs were used to extend vocabulary, with adults discussing the reading and returning to earlier learning. A Christmas card activity brought together mark-making, cutting, painting and sharing equipment: older children wrote their names, while younger children explained what their marks meant. These are useful examples of how language, hand control and cooperation can develop within the same task.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play is a substantial part of the current approach, with much of the day spent outside. The sensory garden, mud kitchen, vegetable patch and climbing frame provide different kinds of activity, from investigating materials to physical play. An allotment and imaginative role-play spaces also form part of the daily environment. For a child who learns through movement and handling things, this is a concrete reason to consider Mulberry.

In December 2023, outdoor activities included exploring foliage and foam in a pretend kitchen and using spray bottles to apply colour to hanging cloth shapes. Operating the spray triggers involved persistence as well as hand control. The examples connect the outdoor emphasis with actual learning tasks, rather than treating time outside simply as a break from indoor activities.

Clothing needs to suit that approach. Waterproof trousers and jackets are provided, while families bring suitable seasonal clothing, including boots, hats and gloves. Uniform is optional; ordinary clothes are welcome, provided families are comfortable with them getting messy. A spare change of clothes belongs in a named drawstring bag.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has both a key person and a co-key person, allocated during settling. The key person handles information at handovers; the co-key arrangement provides continuity when that practitioner is away. For families, there is a clear relationship to build rather than relying solely on whichever adult happens to be present.

Communication extends beyond those conversations. Weekly and half-termly planning summaries help parents understand what children are exploring, and Tapestry, the online learning journal, holds photographs, comments and observations. Parents can contribute their own observations too. This gives home experiences a route into the preschool's understanding of the child, rather than making communication entirely one-way.

Stay-and-play sessions and opportunities to help with reading, cooking or crafts give parents a practical role. Staff also work with families on self-care skills and discuss difficulties early, involving parents in deciding the next steps. These mechanisms matter more than a general promise of partnership: they explain how families can participate.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Early Years ELSA is emotional support delivered by an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant. It helps children develop an understanding of feelings and offers support with issues such as anger, self-esteem and bereavement. Its purpose is to support children emotionally, rather than promise to solve their problems.

The Six Strands Curriculum adds a named tool for developing relationships, behaviour and emotional skills. Its strands cover independence, resilience, self-regulation, respect, boundaries and focus. Alongside play-based learning, this gives the social and emotional side of preschool life an explicit structure. It is relevant for children learning to manage frustration, cooperate and express how they feel.

A SENCO role and a speech and language coordinator are part of the team structure. There are designated safeguarding lead and deputy roles, and the team has paediatric first-aid training and enhanced DBS checks. These are concrete arrangements, while the dated inspection judgement above provides the assessment of their effectiveness.

Food is straightforward: families bring a healthy packed lunch when needed, and drinking water is provided throughout the day. Snacks form part of an optional charge for funded sessions, so families using funding should distinguish that arrangement from the lunch they supply.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Mulberry Road, Marchwood, Southampton, SO40 4WB. Opening hours are 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. Full-day and half-day sessions provide different attendance options; the recommendation is at least two sessions each week to support continuity, rather than a stated compulsory minimum.

Families can choose 38 or 41 weeks. The longer calendar includes two weeks in the summer holidays and one at Easter, in addition to the 38 term-time weeks. That is a useful distinction for planning childcare: the extra holiday provision is specific, rather than an all-year calendar.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email. A Setting Tour introduces the preschool and team, with online booking and a 30-minute duration. The tour cancellation policy requires at least 24 hours' notice to cancel or rearrange.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded places are offered for two-year-olds and for children aged three and four, including 30-hour funding. The universal entitlement for three- and four-year-olds is 15 hours; an additional 15 extended hours applies where eligible. Funding paperwork must be completed and returned by the agreed deadline, otherwise full fees apply until it is returned. Families claiming working-parent funding must reconfirm their employment status every three months.

For funded children, the entitlement pays for childcare. An optional Additional Services Charge applies per half-day and includes snacks, wipes, sun cream, seasonal clothing items, celebrations, visitors and enhancements to play provision. Parents can decline the charge and discuss alternative arrangements. This distinction matters: accepting funded childcare and accepting the extras charge are separate decisions.

Lunch comes from home when required. For children who need them, families are asked to bring nappies, nappy sacks and wipes; wipes also feature in the funded-session extras package. Consumables therefore involve both parent-supplied items and a separate optional charge, rather than one uniform arrangement. Families should account for both when preparing for attendance.

Private hours are offered alongside funding. Fees are paid in advance, with weekly, monthly or termly payment arrangements; tax-free childcare and childcare vouchers are accepted. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation, and the fees and funding page explains the charge structure.

• Committee suitability checks. In December 2023, information was required for suitability checks on all committee members; the members concerned had no contact with children or access to sensitive information or decisions, and there was no impact on children's welfare. Ask how committee checks are managed now.
• The holiday calendar. The 41-week option adds specific summer and Easter weeks to term-time attendance. Match those periods to the childcare your family needs across school holidays.
• Funded-session extras. Snacks and some sundries sit within an optional charge, while lunch and personal changing supplies come from home. Establish the arrangements you want, including any alternatives if you decline that charge.
• Seeing the day in practice. Use the 30-minute Setting Tour to discuss how the key person and co-key person share settling support and how outdoor play fits your child's interests.

Mulberry suits families seeking either half-day preschool attendance or full-day care within a term-time calendar with specific holiday extensions. Outdoor resources give its approach substance, while Tapestry and the co-key person arrangement make communication and continuity tangible. Emotional support also has a clear place through Early Years ELSA and The Six Strands Curriculum.

The December 2023 strengths deserve weight, alongside the committee-check action. For parents choosing on the basis of play, outdoor exploration and explicit emotional learning, there is plenty here to make Mulberry a serious contender.