Peacock Pre-School

Support for children whose parents are deployed gives Peacock Pre-School a clear identity: in March 2023, deployment boxes and contact with parents overseas helped connect family life with the preschool day. This Drayton setting accepts children aged 24 to 60 months and has 16 places in total across the preschool.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective. The strongest practical examples involved children doing things for themselves, exploring materials and spending time outdoors; language teaching and challenge for the most able children needed further work.

In March 2023, children experimented with lentils, oats and rice, mixing and pouring materials for sustained periods. Water play also involved citrus slices, cups and jugs. These were hands-on opportunities to investigate how materials behave, rather than simply watch an adult demonstrate.

The early years foundation stage sets requirements for children's learning, development and care. Here, the March 2023 curriculum emphasised movement, social interaction and language: outdoor play included sharing and taking turns, while staff talked with children about their activities. However, opportunities to introduce vocabulary were inconsistent, and some activities gave the most able children too little opportunity to extend their understanding.

Outside, the garden had an all-weather pagoda in March 2023. Children used ropes for climbing, negotiated steps fitted with railings and brought creatures to adults to investigate. Physical exploration and curiosity shared the same space.

The March 2023 outdoor activities gave children different kinds of physical tasks: climbing involved ropes, while the steps had railings to support movement between levels. Finding creatures also gave them something concrete to discuss with adults. The garden therefore contributed to both movement and conversation, although the language-teaching concern remained important.

Indoors in March 2023, photographs of children and their peers were displayed for them to discuss. Children recognised themselves in the pictures and commented on others. Alongside group activities such as circle time, when children listened together, these displays made their own experiences part of the learning space. Everyday resources and familiar faces supplied starting points for participation.

In March 2023, deployment boxes contained stories and resources for children experiencing a parent's absence on service. Children could send messages overseas, and serving parents replied to the preschool or joined by video. That made separation something staff could address through concrete contact and familiar materials.

Everyday independence also had practical expression in March 2023: children poured drinks, put coats on themselves and used fruit knives to cut food. Staff and parents used matching strategies where children needed help with self-care, giving those children continuity between home and preschool.

Food preparation offered another practical example in March 2023. Staff asked children which healthy foods they liked, then children used those choices to prepare their own lunches at the setting. Conversations about food accompanied the preparation, connecting choices about eating with a task children could carry out themselves. This was a learning activity as well as an opportunity to practise independence.

At that March 2023 visit, the manager worked with the special educational needs coordinator, with support from an operations manager. Training and support between colleagues formed part of their work on provision. Staff brought in to support the setting were also briefed about the children, so familiarity with individual needs was part of preparing adults for their work.

The address is 15 Birkdale Avenue, Drayton, Portsmouth, PO6 1EY. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, during term time; the setting closes for school holidays. The calendar therefore matters as much as the daily closing time when fitting childcare around work. A weekday finish at 3pm leaves the later afternoon outside the opening window, while term-time attendance follows a different calendar from year-round childcare. These are concrete considerations for families matching preschool attendance to their working hours.

• Language and challenge. In March 2023, vocabulary teaching was inconsistent and activities sometimes offered insufficient depth for the most able children. On a visit, how are new words introduced and activities extended for children ready for more?
• Term-time calendar. Opening runs from 9am to 3pm on weekdays, with school-holiday closures. Families need an arrangement that fits both the shorter day and those breaks.
• Deployment support. The March 2023 examples included resource boxes, overseas messages and video contact. These are especially relevant to families balancing preschool life with a parent's service commitments.

Peacock suits families seeking a small, term-time preschool, with particular relevance for armed forces households. Its March 2023 account gives substance to that appeal through deployment support, practical independence and outdoor exploration. The teaching concerns around vocabulary and extending activities deserve equal weight in the decision.