St Matthew's Pre-School

A church hall, a grassed outdoor area and a paved veranda give St Matthew's Pre-School its character: a sessional setting in central Redhill where indoor play and outdoor activity both have space. Behind St Matthew's Church on Station Road, it has capacity for 66 children. Parents and staff share responsibility through its management committee, giving families a route into the running of the setting as well as their own child's care.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Good and found safeguarding effective. Children attending then were aged two to four. The strongest practical ingredients today are the key-person approach, outdoor space and a choice of morning, afternoon and all-day sessions during the school-term calendar.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage (EYFS) sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: here, the March 2023 examples show how play, conversation and everyday tasks became opportunities to learn. Communication and social development shaped the curriculum at that time. Staff used signs and visual prompts alongside songs and stories, giving children more than spoken instructions alone to help them join in.

In March 2023, pretend domestic play involved putting dolls to bed, sharing imaginary refreshments and copying ironing. These familiar situations gave children material for conversation and a reason to include others in their games. Clay modelling offered another form of expression, while children chose books to share with adults. The day made room for their ideas.

Physical activity also had a practical purpose in March 2023. Football, ballet and athletics were used to broaden experiences for children who had less outdoor space beyond the pre-school. These activities gave them opportunities to practise larger movements alongside quieter play. They were examples of enrichment at that time, rather than a timetable families should assume runs unchanged today.

Outdoor and Community Life

The hall is spacious, with an outside play area that combines grass and a paved veranda. Those different surfaces give outdoor toys and activities their own setting alongside indoor play. A patio for scooters adds a concrete picture of how children can use the space; water-channel play and bug hunting also feature among the pre-school's activities.

A Redhill library trip connects learning with a local destination beyond the hall. St Matthew's Church is another named community link, as well as the landmark behind which the pre-school operates. These details place the setting within Redhill rather than making its day sound interchangeable with any other nursery.

In March 2023, outdoor learning included working out how rain affected play equipment. Children helped remove water with towels and brooms and considered when equipment could be used safely. This was an everyday task with a learning purpose: children took part in judging and managing a risk, rather than simply waiting for an adult to solve it.

A key person is allocated before a child starts. Settling begins with that practitioner getting to know both the child and their family, then working with parents on an individual plan for care, wellbeing and learning. The same role includes keeping developmental records and regularly sharing information with parents. It gives the relationship a clear purpose beyond introductions.

Staff training includes paediatric first aid, food hygiene and safeguarding. A special educational needs co-ordinator oversees provision for individual needs, providing a specific role for families discussing additional support. This is a mechanism for planning care, rather than a blanket promise about any child's experience.

At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities made good progress, with staff putting professional guidance into practice and sharing it with parents; children learning English as an additional language also made good progress. Speech and language therapists were among the professionals involved. The useful detail is the connection between outside advice, staff action and communication with home.

In March 2023, staff used photographs of significant experiences to help children recognise feelings and talk about them. They also shared information about each child's interests and next learning steps, so another practitioner could continue the work when the key person was absent. That combination connected emotional support with continuity in the day.

There were limits to the approach in March 2023. During group activities, children sometimes spoke over one another because boundaries were insufficiently clear. Adults also intervened too quickly with dressing and lunchtime tasks, reducing opportunities for older children to practise independence before moving on to school. These are useful points to revisit alongside the positive findings.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 71 Station Road, Redhill, RH1 1DL, in the church hall behind St Matthew's Church. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, and 9am to noon on Wednesday and Thursday. The pre-school operates for 38 weeks a year, with term-time attendance.

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon; afternoon sessions run from 12.30pm to 3pm. All-day sessions are also offered. For families collecting older children from school, an early collection at 2.45pm can be arranged. The shorter Wednesday and Thursday opening window matters when matching attendance to a working week.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email. The management committee includes parents and staff, and interested parents can discuss joining it with a staff member. For families wanting involvement beyond regular updates about their child, this is a practical route into the setting's organisation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare is accepted through FEET for eligible disadvantaged two-year-olds, Universal funding for three- and four-year-olds from the term after a child's third birthday, and Working Parent Funding, subject to eligibility and application before the term begins. Funding therefore needs to be matched to the child's circumstances and the relevant start date.

Private fees apply before a child becomes entitled to funded childcare and for additional sessions alongside funded attendance. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The distinction matters: funded entitlement and extra paid attendance are separate parts of a family's booking.

• The weekly pattern. Wednesday and Thursday finish at noon, while afternoons operate within the longer opening days. At a visit, discuss how morning, afternoon or all-day attendance would fit the family week.
• Independence and group participation. March 2023 brought improvement points about children talking over others and adults helping too quickly with routine tasks. Ask how group boundaries and dressing or lunchtime practice work now.
• Staffing by age. The pre-school gives a setting-wide ratio of one adult to six children. Ask how staff are deployed for different ages and activities, rather than reading that figure as a room size.
• The complete booking cost. Extra sessions and attendance before funding entitlement attract fees. Ask for a written quotation covering the chosen attendance pattern.

St Matthew's suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon attendance or all-day provision within a term-time week. Its hall, grassed play area and scooter patio give play a clear physical setting, while the key-person arrangement makes responsibility for settling and parent communication explicit.

The March 2023 picture combined language-rich play and professional support with practical weaknesses in group participation and independence. Families weighing it up have specific questions to pursue, alongside a useful choice of session lengths and an opportunity to participate through the parent-and-staff committee.