Bobtails Pre-School at St Francis Church Hall

Trikes on the Bobtails road, an enclosed garden and a church hall divided for preschool play give Bobtails at St Francis its character. Outdoor activity has substantial space here: a shade sail, rubber surfacing and an astro-turf area support play across the seasons. This is a setting built around young children doing things for themselves, with children organised into the Bunnies and Rabbits age groups.

Ofsted rated Bobtails Pre-School at St Francis Church Hall Outstanding on 13 June 2023, with the same judgement across education, behaviour, personal development and leadership. It has capacity for 35 children, with a current age range of 24 to 60 months. Term-time attendance runs on four weekdays, with different finishing times for younger and older children.

Rooms and Ages

Bunnies brings together children aged two to three, while Rabbits is the group for rising four-year-olds. The age grouping keeps children with consistent staff and allows activities to respond to their stage of development. These are groups within the church-hall preschool, so the whole-setting capacity should not be read as the size of either group.

The divided hall provides indoor preschool space, while the enclosed garden extends play outdoors.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play, covering language, physical skills, relationships and the other areas of development. Children pursue their own ideas and also take part in activities guided by adults. Planning responds to their interests and stage of development, while observation during play helps staff decide what to introduce next.

In June 2023, children helped shape the day through practical choices. They voted for a story by putting pebbles into coloured buckets, and on Fridays they selected snacks, which were then recorded in a shopping list. These were decisions with a visible result: the story read aloud and the food subsequently offered. For a parent, that is a useful example of independence being practised through ordinary routines.

In June 2023, the home corner contained real household objects. China crockery came later in the year, after children had learned careful handling: familiarity preceded responsibility for more delicate items.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Bobtails road gives trike play its own recognisable setting on rubber safety surfacing. Elsewhere, children can use large physical equipment, explore sand and water, and dig. The mud kitchen and home corner add opportunities for pretend play alongside movement, so outdoor time accommodates different interests.

An all-weather shade sail and astro-turf area help keep the garden usable throughout the year. Families are asked to supply named wellies for wet or muddy ground, and donated pairs can also be used. Practical clothing belongs in the decision about this preschool: children need to be equipped for outdoor play across the seasons.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a Family worker who oversees their emotional and social needs as well as their learning. The role connects everyday care with observation of development, rather than separating the two. Memory books record achievements over time and go home with the child when their time at Bobtails ends.

For parents who have less regular face-to-face contact with staff, a purple Home Contact Book travels in the child's book bag. It gives both family and preschool a way to exchange messages. Information and photographs also help families follow what children have been doing as they start preschool.

In June 2023, achievements from home were shared on cardboard stars with the child's key person. Children could choose to add them to their memory books. A daily borrowing library and rhyme booklets sent home every six weeks also connected preschool activity with family life; the booklets were adjusted to children's interests and development.

Parent Forum meets each half term and supports the preschool, including fundraising. Parents can also contribute practical help or their own skills. This gives families an organised way to participate beyond routine conversations about their child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs received highly effective individual support and made excellent progress, and that safeguarding arrangements were effective. Current support arrangements include a SENCO role and individual support plans developed with families and external agencies, then implemented, monitored and reviewed.

The manager has a Level 5 early-years qualification and training in autism and speech and language. Designated safeguarding roles and first-aid training form part of the staff structure.

Children have fruit and other healthy snacks, with milk or water offered at snack time; families supply a packed lunch and an extra lunch drink, and lunch boxes are refrigerated. The preschool's allergy arrangements provide for alternatives when families explain an intolerance or allergy.

Long-term medication requires a duplicate supply kept at preschool, a completed care plan and confirmation from the preschool's insurer before the child starts. This is a practical planning point for families whose child uses an inhaler or emergency medication. The arrangements need time to put in place.

Sessions and Attendance

Bobtails operates during term time at St Francis Church Hall, Balcombe Road, Horley, RH6 9AY. It opens on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and is closed on Wednesdays. That midweek closure is central to whether the pattern fits a family's working week.

Opening hours for children over three are 8.45am to 2.30pm. For under-threes, they are 8.45am to 11.45am or 8.45am to 12.45pm.

Applications are requested through an application form. The St Francis contact form, email and telephone provide enquiry routes, with contact hours of 9am to 3.30pm from Monday to Friday. Those contact hours are separate from children's attendance times.

Getting There

Private parking is provided on site for parents and carers. Horley Train Station is within walking distance, and the setting is on a main bus route, giving families alternatives to driving.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education includes the current 15 hours government funding, FEET provision for eligible two-year-olds and 30 hour funded provision. Attendance is term-time, so families need to consider the childcare pattern alongside the entitlement rather than assume a year-round arrangement. Additional paid childcare is also offered.

For funded hours, childcare itself is free, while snacks and other daily consumables are covered through a separately requested voluntary contribution. Families who decline that contribution can supply items from a list instead. Lunch remains parent-provided, so food arrangements combine snacks supported by the contribution or supplies from home with a packed lunch.

Non-food consumables follow the same voluntary contribution or home-supply arrangement, detailed in the fees and funding information.

Invoices are sent during the first two weeks of each half term and cover a whole term, with payment requested within two weeks of receipt. Payment plans can be arranged. Leaving requires a term's written notice or payment of a term's fees in advance, so the commitment extends beyond the next invoice.

• A four-day week. Wednesday closure and term-time operation need to fit the family's care arrangements. Consider both the holiday calendar and the weekday gap before committing.
• Different days for different ages. Under-threes finish at 11.45am or 12.45pm, while over-threes finish at 2.30pm. At a visit, ask how the move between these attendance patterns works for an individual child.
• Food and health arrangements. Packed lunches come from home, and allergy alternatives depend on sharing the child's needs. Families managing allergies or long-term medication should discuss current practice and the care-plan arrangements before starting.
• A term's notice. The leaving terms require written notice for a term or a term's fees paid in advance. Factor that commitment into plans that may change after a move or a change in work.

Bobtails suits families seeking term-time preschool with either a shorter under-three attendance window or the longer day for over-threes. Its enclosed garden, Bobtails road and mud kitchen give play a clear physical setting, while the Family worker and memory books connect care with children's development.

The June 2023 Outstanding judgement supports the choice. Practical fit rests on four weekdays, age-dependent finishing times and parent-provided lunches.