Little Badgers Preschool

A private woodland and an allotment give Little Badgers Preschool its character. Based at the Scout Hall on Armour Hill in Tilehurst, Reading, this preschool makes outdoor exploration part of its approach to learning, with growing food and understanding the environment adding purpose to time outside.

Ofsted rated the setting Good at its April 2023 inspection. The current whole-setting capacity is 57 places, while the preschool describes an operating group of up to 30 children at a time and accepts children aged 2 to 5. Those are different measures: the overall capacity should not be read as the size of the group your child will join.

Attendance is term-time only, with morning, afternoon and all-day options. The strongest reasons to consider it are the outdoor spaces, learning shaped around children's interests and a clear system for sharing development with parents.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning, development and care: children learn through play, with adults observing their interests and supporting their next steps. Little Badgers adds an approach it calls in the moment planning, in which staff respond to children's interests as learning unfolds rather than treating every child's development as an identical sequence.

Observation feeds into that approach. Once a child has settled, their key person identifies next steps, shares them with colleagues and brings them into everyday learning. This gives the team a common understanding of what each child is working towards while leaving room for children to follow their own interests. The curriculum information also explains how those observations connect with the learning journal parents see.

In April 2023, singing, books and conversation supported vocabulary, while families could borrow story sacks from a lending library. A game of hide-and-seek became an opportunity to discuss possible hiding places. These were small, practical ways of bringing language into play, rather than reserving it for a separate adult-led activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

The woodland is enclosed by a gate, and the allotment gives children a place to explore how food grows and how to care for their surroundings. The preschool's Eco-school work has earned a Bronze certificate, with recycling and biodiversity among the topics children have explored. Environmental learning therefore has a physical setting as well as a named scheme.

In April 2023, outdoor play included handling leaves and logs, digging, using tools and experimenting with sand and water. Children also turned food scraps into compost, used it for growing peas and made a wormery. The sequence connected waste, soil and growing food in a way children could take part in directly.

That same month, there were weaknesses alongside the active learning: younger children sometimes received less support to participate than older children, and adults occasionally moved on too quickly after asking a question. More opportunities for reasoning and solving problems, together with closer oversight of teaching, were the improvement priorities. These points matter when judging how well child-led play is supported by adults.

Relationships and Communication

Settling involves several visits, with a key person helping the child and family through the change. Children initially spend time with different staff before a key person is allocated on the basis of those interactions. The arrangement gives staff time to get to know the child rather than assigning the relationship solely in advance.

During the first four weeks, observation contributes to an initial assessment and a settling entry on Tapestry, the online journal containing photographs, videos and accounts of learning. Parents can contribute material from home and comment on entries, making the journal a shared account of development.

At the end of each full term, the key person summarises progress and offers a meeting about development and future learning. Tapestry serves as a learning record rather than the channel for routine messages such as absence notifications. That distinction is useful: developmental discussion and everyday administration have different routes.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described an approach to identifying children's needs that involved parents and other professionals where required. This is a dated judgement about practice, rather than a guarantee about every child's future experience.

In April 2023, children practised independence through handwashing, preparing themselves for outdoor play and helping with lunchtime tables and tidying. These everyday tasks gave them responsibilities they could manage, alongside play and conversation.

School transition has a practical process. In the final summer term, the key person prepares a leaving report; parents can discuss it, add their comments and give permission for it to be sent to the child's allocated primary school. The emphasis is on sharing useful information about the child.

Sessions and Attendance

The preschool operates from Monday to Friday during term time. Morning Session runs from 9am to noon, Afternoon Session from 1pm to 4pm, and All Day from 9am to 4pm. Lunch Club occupies the noon-to-1pm interval between the shorter sessions.

The minimum booking is two sessions spread across two days. Sessions can be arranged flexibly, and families do not have to use their entire funded entitlement. For children receiving 30 hour funding, the offered pattern is five sessions running from 9am to 3pm. That funded pattern has a different finish time from All Day.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding is accepted for children aged 2, 3 and 4, with 15-hour and 30-hour provision described and attendance delivered during term time. Private sessions and hours beyond funding are also charged for; payment is due before each term begins. Tax free childcare and childcare vouchers are accepted.

Lunch Club is priced separately as an attendance option. This does not establish whether food itself is included. Current prices should come in the preschool's written quotation, with the sessions and fees information providing the structure of the booking choices.

Getting There

The address is Scout Hall, Scout Association 79th Reading, Armour Hill, Reading, RG31 6JH. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form, and a registration form and the child's birth certificate are required when joining. Families may add a child to the waiting list at any stage.

• Support for younger children. In April 2023, younger children were sometimes less involved in learning, and adults did not consistently leave enough thinking time after questions. During a visit, ask how staff now support the youngest children and extend their problem-solving.
• Term-time attendance. Morning, afternoon and all-day bookings share a two-session minimum across two days. Families need an arrangement for school holidays, and the 30-hour funded pattern finishes at 3pm rather than 4pm.
• Joining payment. The admissions terms describe the initial payment both as a registration fee and as a deposit. Clarify its purpose and whether it is refundable before completing registration.
• Food and everyday supplies. Lunch Club is a separately priced session between morning and afternoon attendance. What food, nappies and other everyday supplies should families provide, and which carry additional charges during funded or private hours?

Little Badgers suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those wanting an all-day term-time pattern. Its woodland, allotment and Eco-school work give outdoor learning substance, while Tapestry and termly meetings provide a structured connection between home and preschool.

The April 2023 Good judgement is a useful starting point, with clear improvement priorities around younger children's participation, thinking time and oversight of teaching. For parents who value child-led learning, the decisive question is how consistently adults help each child make the most of it.