Kingsbury 1st Pre-School

Daily phonics, weekly music and movement, and an outdoor play area shared with Reception give Kingsbury 1st Pre-School a clear character: language, play and a close connection with Kingsbury Primary School. It accepts children aged two to four and has 28 places in total. Its school setting is a practical part of the offer, with indoor spaces for construction, imaginative play and quieter moments with books.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Good overall. The important qualification was adult involvement during children’s own play: staff deployment sometimes left children with fewer useful interactions, and information exchange with other settings also needed attention. Those are concrete points for families to explore alongside the current activities and attendance options.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children’s learning and care here; daily phonics and music activities give children opportunities to practise communication, listening and movement. Phase 1 Phonics combines activities that arise during play with sessions led by adults. That gives early language work a place in both children’s chosen activities and planned teaching.

Kimble's Music & Movement brings a weekly session at no additional cost. Its activities combine sensory experiences, music and movement, with opportunities to practise listening, coordination and taking turns. Instruments and different musical styles are part of the programme. For parents, this is a specific recurring activity included in the ordinary nursery week.

In March 2023, children practised numbers through several kinds of play: using bricks for construction, counting spots on ducks in the water area and counting the buttons on gingerbread figures during play with mouldable materials. Pretend shopping brought counting into imaginative play too. These examples show how number work connected with something children were already doing.

During that same month, staff introduced vocabulary through conversation, stories and singing, and asked questions about children’s activities. Children chose what to play and practised putting on their own outdoor clothing. The picture was of learning built into play, conversation and small acts of independence.

Outdoor and Community Life

Indoors, the messy area accommodates creative activities and wet play, while a construction zone and role play area give children different ways to explore ideas. An ICT area sits alongside these spaces. Sofas, books, cushions and throws furnish the quiet area, giving children somewhere to pause and spend time with stories.

The large enclosed outdoor play area is shared with Kingsbury Primary School’s Reception class. In March 2023, children also used an outdoor mud kitchen, pouring and stirring water as they made pretend food. That example adds a physical dimension to the account: handling containers and mixing materials gave children opportunities to practise movement and coordination.

Relationships and Communication

Each child is allocated a key person when they begin attending. This gives families an identified member of staff connected with their child’s care. The team also includes a Special Educational Needs Coordinator and speech and language champions, so those responsibilities have specific roles within the staff structure.

The time to talk approach aims to improve children’s language and communication through training, observation and screening. It helps staff identify when additional support may be needed and track language development. For a family concerned about speech, the useful detail is the mechanism: children’s communication is observed and support needs are considered, rather than the programme name standing alone.

In March 2023, parents received regular updates about their children’s development. Staff gathered information about children’s starting points and used assessments to plan subsequent activities. However, exchanging learning information with other settings was less consistent. That matters when a child attends more than one provider, because staff need a shared understanding of what the child can already do.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and SEND support strong, with timely referrals, work towards targets set by external agencies and additional funding used to support children’s needs. These are dated judgements, with practical examples beneath them: seeking specialist input and following agreed targets formed part of the support children received.

All staff have first aid training and attend courses to extend their early years knowledge. The key-person arrangement, named support roles and language work give parents concrete aspects of care to discuss. The March 2023 concern about staff deployment remains relevant to that conversation: during children’s chosen play, adult interaction was not consistently as useful as it could have been.

Sessions and Attendance

The pre-school operates within Kingsbury Primary School, on Bromage Avenue, Kingsbury, Tamworth, B78 2HW. Attendance is term-time only, Monday to Friday, with terms aligned to the primary school. It closes on bank holidays. Families needing childcare during school holidays should factor that calendar into their arrangements.

Three attendance patterns are offered: the morning session runs from 8.45am to 11.45am, the full day from 9am to 3pm, and the afternoon session from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. These are separate booking options with different starting and finishing times. The full day therefore follows a different timetable from either individual session.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01827 870488 or through the contact form. An application-to-join form is also provided. These give families a direct route to begin the joining process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both privately paid and funded childcare are offered. Funded places cover children aged two, three and four, including the government’s 30 hours funded childcare and 2Help funding, delivered over 38 weeks each year. This is a term-time arrangement, so the annual childcare plan needs to account for the holiday closures as well as the chosen sessions.

Snacks and consumables are included without an additional charge, including during funded hours. Weekly Kimble's sessions also carry no extra cost. Tax-Free Childcare and childcare vouchers are accepted. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation. The session times and fees page brings the attendance options and funding arrangements together.

The pre-school describes a close partnership with Kingsbury Primary School to support children’s transition through the foundation stage. Sharing the school site and outdoor space gives that relationship a concrete setting. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a place at Kingsbury Primary School.

• Adult interaction during play. In March 2023, staff deployment sometimes left children with less effective adult involvement during activities they chose themselves. On a visit, ask how staff now organise their attention across those activities.
• Sharing care between settings. Information exchange with other providers needed improvement in March 2023. If your child attends elsewhere too, ask how learning information moves between the settings and informs planning.
• Term-time timetable. Morning, afternoon and full-day options operate during school terms, with bank-holiday closures. Families should match these hours and breaks to their working arrangements.

Kingsbury 1st Pre-School suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those wanting a term-time full day. Daily phonics, weekly Kimble's Music & Movement and structured attention to speech and language give its offer substance. The shared school setting also makes transition work a relevant part of its character.

The March 2023 Good judgement sits alongside two useful cautions: how adults participate in children’s chosen play, and how learning information is exchanged when care is shared. For families whose timetable fits the sessions, those are the most productive points to explore.